#pvdpsych

Our team traded the office for the court this week! 🏀💙

We had an incredible time cheering on the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun, sharing laughs, making memories, and enjoying time together outside of the work we love.

Taking care of our community starts with taking care of one another—and moments like these remind us how important connection is.

Today, we honor Juneteenth: a day that commemorates freedom, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of equity.

At PVD Psych, we recognize that mental health care cannot be separated from the communities and systems in which people live. Access, representation, cultural understanding, and belonging all play a role in emotional well-being.

As we celebrate Juneteenth, we also acknowledge the importance of creating spaces where every individual feels seen, heard, and supported.

Affirming therapy means more than acceptance.

It means creating a therapeutic relationship built on respect, understanding, and cultural humility—where clients can show up as their authentic selves.

You deserve care that honors every part of who you are.

Supporting LGBTQIA+ Youth Starts with Listening. 💛

Young people thrive when they have adults who affirm who they are.

Therapy can help children, teens, and families navigate: 🌈 Identity exploration 🌈 School-related stress 🌈 Anxiety and depression 🌈 Communication challenges 🌈 Building resilience and self-esteem

Finding the right therapist is important. Finding one who truly understands and affirms your identity can make all the difference.

For many LGBTQIA+ individuals, therapy isn't just about addressing anxiety, depression, relationship challenges, or life transitions—it's also about having a space where they feel seen, respected, and understood without having to explain or defend who they are.

Affirming therapy recognizes the unique experiences, challenges, and strengths within the LGBTQIA+ community while providing compassionate, evidence-based support. Whether you're exploring your identity, navigating coming out, building a family, managing relationships, or simply seeking support for everyday life, you deserve care that honors your whole self.

At PVD Psychological Associates, we are committed to providing LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy for individuals and families in a safe, welcoming environment.

In academic environments, pressure can become normalized.

The pressure to perform. To publish. To excel. To manage everything perfectly.

At PVD Psych, we frequently work with adolescents, college students, graduate students, faculty, and others navigating the mental health challenges that can accompany academic life, including anxiety, perfectionism, ADHD, burnout, stress management, and imposter syndrome.

Stress doesn’t just live in the mind — it shows up in the body, too.

When we’re stressed, our bodies release cortisol, a hormone that can increase appetite and cravings for foods high in sugar, fat, or comfort. Over time, reaching for food during stress can become an automatic coping pattern.

In recent years, we’ve observed a notable shift in how stress and burnout manifest across generations.

The experience of a young professional today isn’t the same as it was for someone a decade or two ago and that matters for both individuals and those who manage them. In this blog we will explore the nature of the divide between younger and older generations, highlight the key pressures each group faces, and offer practical guidance for managers seeking to support their teams across the age spectrum.

Research indicates that younger generations, for example those born into Generation Z and younger Millennials, are reporting higher levels of stress and burnout compared to older generations. One large-scale study found that 68% of Gen Z and younger millennial employees said they felt stressed “a lot of the time” compared with older age groups.

Similarly, a study of nurses revealed that Millennials were six times more likely to experience overall burnout than Boomers, and three times more likely than Gen X-ers.

Put simply: the landscape of work and life is different, and the effects of pressure are too.