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Team Spotlight: Laura Balin, LCSW

We are excited to give you all the opportunity to get to know one of our clinicians, Laura Balin, LCSW. Laura is especially interested in treating women who struggle with anxiety after trauma, and she is also interested in obsessive compulsive disorder. She is starting her EMDR training this month. Let’s get to know Laura!

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Navigating Trauma in Turbulent Times: Post Election Self Care for Sexual Mistreatment Survivors

Regardless of your political leanings, the recent election, political climate, and pending changes have been distressing for a lot of folks. This can be particularly true for women and individuals affected by sexual mistreatment, assault, or abuse. It’s important to acknowledge this impact and we want to share some information and strategies with you all to help cope with the effects.

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Virago Wellness Virago Wellness

Team Spotlight: Nicole Tourigny, LMSW-cc

We are excited to give you all the opportunity to better get to know one of our great clinicians, Nicole Tourigny, LMSW-cc. Nicole has been such a welcome addition to our team. She is most passionate about working with teen girls and mothers. Let’s get to know Nicole!


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Understanding EMDR: A Path to Healing and Recovery

What is EMDR?

You've probably heard about EMDR, but what exactly is it? According to EMDRIA.org, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched and effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders. EMDR is based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, which suggests that traumatic memories aren't stored properly in our long-term memory. This is why those vivid, painful details of traumatic events can feel so fresh and intrusive.

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Virago Wellness Virago Wellness

Coping with Tragedy

Current events continue to negatively impact the mental health of our clients. It’s normal and understandable that the events in your world impact you emotionally and mentally. You may experience waves of different emotions, increased stress, and even physical impacts as a result. This is a trend that does not appear to be changing anytime soon.

In response to the recent mass shooting in Lewiston this week it’s not surprising that many of our clients and staff are feeling the weight of this developing issue. Not only is gun violence a major issue for our society but this one hit home. Maine has been relatively unaffected by this type of gun violence and understandably, many of us are rocked by this. We know this list is simple and does not match the enormity of the situation. If you are struggling, connect with a therapist for more in depth support catered to your individual needs.

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Resources for Pregnancy and Postpartum by Meg Terwilliger

Resources for Pregnancy and Postpartum. Pregnancy is a great time to prioritize mental health and general self-care alongside prenatal care. Virago Wellness’ Meg Terwilliger shares some of her personal experience and local resources

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Virago Wellness Virago Wellness

Self-Care Tips for Helping Professionals by Laura Balin LCSW

The concept of self-care has been ingrained in us as helping professionals and many of us learn that self-care is related to taking action externally. We’ve all heard the cliche messages to “get a massage” or “get a pedicure” when burnout appears, and while these activities are most definitely self-care, they are not the all encompassing, end all, be all of what self-care fully entails.

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Understanding Insurance Coverage for Therapy

At Virago Wellness, we understand how much you pay for insurance and how important it is to be able to utilize the benefits you work so hard for. We understand that navigating insurance benefits can be a bit of a nightmare. There’s a lot we do to work with our clients to help make it as easy as possible for them to utilize these benefits. It’s also important to us that clients understand insurance coverage. Here’s some detailed information to help demystify the process and let you know what to expect when receiving services from Virago Wellness.

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