Restoration Beyond the Couch

The First Step Toward Mental Wellness: Welcome To Restoration Beyond The Couch

• Dr. Lee Long/ Lila Pond • Season 1 • Episode 1

Share episode

Send us a text

When Dr. Lee Long witnessed where life and death converged on a bridge, he was struck by a profound realization about the critical importance of mental health support, not just for those struggling but particularly for those who encounter trauma, such as our valorous first responders. The ripple effect of that mental health incident ignited a fire in him to make change.  In this episode Dr. Long and Lila Pond delve into the essence of Restoration Counseling, a sanctuary for psychological restoration that goes beyond the confines of conventional therapy. Their insightful conversation uncovers the intricate process of creating a safe environment where a variety of therapeutic approaches, including DBT, RODBT, CBASP, EMDR, Neurofeedback provide not merely transient relief but arm individuals with transformative coping mechanisms.

Have you pondered how evidence-based therapy can significantly redirect the course of someone's life? Within the supportive environment of Restoration Counseling, the dynamic between openness and empirical mental health strategies lays the foundation for a journey towards healing. Here, clients are treated as individuals, paired with therapists in a team-oriented approach that tailors treatment to their unique needs, crafting a personalized wellness journey. This episode shines a light on the critical role of choosing the appropriate therapeutic tools, sharing success stories of overcoming emotional challenges that once seemed insurmountable.

Envision the act of inhaling hope and exhaling despair, a simple yet profound metaphor for renewal. We explore the interconnection of mental, physical, and spiritual well-being through accessible grounding techniques. Dr. Long introduces a breathwork practice that captures the core of our mission: a path to mental wellness that equally values the acceptance of flaws and the quest for equilibrium. Join us in a space where professional expertise and genuine empathy forge a path to CELEBRATE RESTORED FREEDOM.

Intro Speaker:

Welcome to the premiere episode of Restoration Beyond the Couch Brought to you by Restoration Counseling. Today we're thrilled to have an enlightening conversation with Dr Lee Long, visionary author and founder of Restoration Counseling, alongside Lila Pond, a distinguished licensed professional counselor and supervisor at Restoration. Together, we'll delve into the inspiring narrative of Restoration Counseling, explore their innovative methods and share valuable insights and actionable advice that you can apply in your daily life. Join us as we embark on this adventure of discovery and mental wellness. Your path to mental wellness starts here.

Lila Pond:

Lee, we're so happy to be here with you and we look forward to hearing from you why, beyond the Couch.

Dr. Lee Long:

I'm glad you asked and I'm glad to be here with you too. Beyond the Couch, the heart behind this is simply to demystify the idea of psychological health, of mental health, and, for those who may not be willing to step in an office like this, we want to offer tools and thoughts and ideas for those individuals, as well as individuals who may be leaving the therapy session and just want to think more on the things that they just encountered.

Lila Pond:

That is great. Some people have a hard time even understanding why it would be helpful, right.

Dr. Lee Long:

That's so true.

Lila Pond:

And, like anything else in life that we're learning, so much of it happens after we leave the learning setting and so much of it can happen prior to even getting there.

Dr. Lee Long:

Such great points.

Lila Pond:

So you know, Dr Lee, can you take us back to the very beginning and share your personal story, your inspiration behind even founding restoration counseling? Where did that come from?

Dr. Lee Long:

I always knew. I loved understanding why we do what we do, connecting with people. What are our behaviors? Where do they come from? That's always been fascinating to me. When I was in college you know, my degree was psychology I was driving over a bridge and there was tons of traffic. I just thought, oh well, you know, there's just traffic. As I pulled over this bridge, I saw why there was traffic. Unfortunately, it was somebody who was trying to take their life, oh my. And I recall the look on the face of the EMT driver that was there and the police officer that was there, and I just remember thinking I never want anyone to experience that, that pain, that struggle. At that moment I just wish there was a safe place that knew how to help this precious human whose life is hanging in the balance. Who could help these? Support workers, these?

Dr. Lee Long:

first responders could be present for this, because this isn't just about this precious person who's contemplating their own life. This is a big ripple effect. Where did the idea of restoration come from? It's wanting to have a place where people can feel safe walking through the doors, where they know that somebody who's going to care deeply for them but who's also going to be highly trained that can help them walk out some of these really complex and difficult things. That's really the heart and the inspiration behind. That was a really pivotal moment for me driving up on that.

Lila Pond:

Oh, I can't imagine. I can see where that would inspire you to be drawn to this profession and to counseling, and I also can imagine that actually putting feet to that and creating a path to what is now restoration counseling had many steps to it. Can you fill us in on that?

Dr. Lee Long:

That is, in fact, true. Yeah, the education alone was quite a path, you know, working through and recognizing the, getting my master's degree and then you know getting the experience and then my doctorate and the experience from that. And so, yeah, the education that came along with getting to a place where restoration could even be an idea was quite the path, but in that pathway, not just education but also the education through certain, you know, types of jobs. I worked for a adolescent residential facility and ran that for a while and learned a lot there, working with adolescents and their families and the struggles that they had experienced and encountered. And, you know, working with the staff and you know, running that facility and moving back to Texas and beginning a practice. You know you don't start out with a host of clients to work with when you move from out of state, and so it took a lot of effort to build restoration, utilization review, which is working with insurance companies and making sure patients got to stay as many days as they needed to stay.

Dr. Lee Long:

And I worked with the Texas Youth Correctional Facilities and working with kids that had been pulled out of foster care because they had broken the law and, you know, really trying to help those kids and teaching life skills to kids that were in, you know, junior, high, high school, working with kids in alternative school when you're in public school and you get into so much trouble instead of expelling you but you're in alternative school.

Dr. Lee Long:

I was hired by an organization to teach life skills and drug refusal skills to these young kids. The experiences in each one of those different jobs was so pivotal in the themes and the things that we have built here at Restoration. In working with, you know, the, as I call them, the babies, the two, three, four, five year olds, with the play therapy, and then, you know, working with the elementary kids, the junior high kids, and really working through with the parenting curriculums and using utilizing DBT and other modalities that really hone in on skills like C-BASP and R-O-D-B-T and the things that we utilize and realizing how important skills really are. All of that background was so pivotal in influencing how Restoration all came together.

Lila Pond:

That's incredible. That took a lot of work and a lot of learning. Learning in this profession is an ongoing process and with that you know. Yes, there I think life is a learning process, isn't it? And here we are. You know you listed quite a few initials DBT, c-basp, et cetera. It sounds like it's extremely important that you have some empirically validated theories and therapies in place. Why, to kind of help our listeners here today who may not be familiar with what that means, could you explain in real, simple terms what empirically proven, empirically validated therapies or theories are?

Dr. Lee Long:

You bet that is a great question. Empirically validated therapies or theories means that it has been proven in studies to be effective and have effective outcomes. In essence, the theory does what the theorist, the creator, said it was going to do. We have outcomes. We can show you that, we can prove that. So it basically means that in the right context, this therapy has been shown to be effective. Why do we use empirically validated theories and therapies at restoration? Because we want to know that we're using something that's been proven, that we know it's going to work.

Lila Pond:

So can you give us an example of how these therapies, theories, have led to successful patient outcomes? Let's just say I came to see you and I was really struggling with I have big emotions and they're so intense and so quick and I just my whole life I haven't been able to regulate them. How would you help me with that? What theory would you use?

Lila Pond:

As a therapist, I know that when a client walks in the room and says I'm really struggling with anxiety, they don't want to just hear a thought for the day or a meditation of the week.

Lila Pond:

They want to know, when the rubber meets the road, what's really going to help me. And so if they were to say to me, for example, I'm really struggling with obsessive thoughts, I want to be able to pull from proven, supported scientific methods and not just myths and maybes. That will help them be grounded and be able to navigate dealing with these continual thoughts. Or let's just say a client walks in and says my anxiety is so high I don't know what to do with it. We'll want to walk through an empirically proven method and skill-based theory that would help them understand number one how their hardware works, their brain, the neuropsychology of it, how is my brain working and then how is it impacting my mind, my soul and how I interact with life and how I allow life to interact with me? To me as a therapist, it's supportive to have that kind of science to back up the relationship in the room and be able to present skills. It's that trifecta.

Dr. Lee Long:

Very well said. When someone is coming to see us and they're in the midst of a struggle, first of all, reaching out for help is a very vulnerable but very powerful step to take. Stepping into that vulnerability is definitely a place. As therapists, we want to make sure we meet you there with all of the tools that we have to help you walk those things out.

Lila Pond:

We want to make sure that our toolbox is full, and that's kind of like you don't most of us when we're getting a repair on our car. We don't want off market parts. Right, that's getting true to that model and we can offer authentic, reliable parts and skills.

Dr. Lee Long:

One thing that is, I believe is unique about restoration is that we believe that relationships are at the center and at the core and we operate as a team, and I'm just curious if you would elaborate for our listeners on how you see that and any observations or thoughts that you wanted to offer our listeners.

Lila Pond:

Sure. Thank you so much for asking, because to me, a team approach is what gets the ball across the goal line. You know, when teams we think of teams in sports, but also in life we are wired for connection and community and long before restoration became sanctioned, if you will, by the dialectical behavior therapy author, we met as a team to support one another, to problem solve, to create a connection where I may do things my unique way. However, there are times where I need some input from someone else, and it's supportive. As a team, every player on a team is equally as important and it's not about one person knowing more or being better. It's about how do we move the ball across the goal line effectively and relationally. And you know as therapists that relationship with one another is very important to the culture that is able to provide individual relationship in those therapeutic settings, in that room, on the couch with that one individual.

Dr. Lee Long:

I remember, in the beginning of my career, feeling like I was an island unto myself. Oh man, I remember that you constantly are giving away of yourself and that in a therapeutic relationship there's a limit to what you're allowed to share and you're not there to be supported by your client, you're there to be supportive of Exactly. And I remember that feeling of being an island was so beautifully undone with the team, where you feel like in between sessions how nice is it to walk the hallway, to run to the kitchen for a glass of water and you run into three of your teammates and they may just smile at you and that's the interaction and it brightens your day. Or they may give you a high five, or they may say gosh, that was such a tough session. You can put your arm around them, either figuratively or literally, and just say go get them, you've got this, we're with you, and just knowing that that's there is such a burden lifter for me in particular.

Lila Pond:

Oh, that is so well said and so true. As therapists and as team members, we have life events that take place, and yet we show up for our clients and put those aside. So it's nice even to have that camaraderie. That is not necessarily there to hear about our life events, but is there, like you say, if we have to have surgery or have had a loss, or even just the dishwasher ran out all over the kitchen with water, whatever it's like. Hey, you can do this. It's very supportive.

Dr. Lee Long:

We get underneath that boulder with each other from time to time and help shoulder that weight.

Lila Pond:

Oh, that's a great point, and so how does that ensure that we all stay on the same page, too, when it comes to treatment planning and progress or problem solving?

Dr. Lee Long:

I think, having a relationship primary. We all know where we're coming from. We're all, professionally, intimately aware of each member of our team, their worldview, knowing that a person has a certain gifting that is unique to them, that when a certain case comes in that we know, oh, that's going to be a great fit for so-and-so. There you go. It's ensuring that we get people fit with a good fit.

Dr. Lee Long:

When it comes to working as a team and ensuring that people get good care, I think sometimes we can get involved in a case and we don't always see the high level intricacies that, even not anonymously talking about it, but whitewashing all the details without giving that person's name, we can still collaborate with one another and help each other see little intricacies.

Dr. Lee Long:

That being so up close to the case, we may overlook my mentor or our mentor, a big Jim.

Dr. Lee Long:

Dr McCullough, at 87 years old, still still talks about how critical it is to have supervision with our peers and he still, at this point in his career, still has places where he walks through his cases and says, okay, I need your eyes and ears on this, to take the pressure off of us to believe that we have to have all the answers and we don't Again we whitewash the person's name and vitals out of that, so that it's not if you come to restoration, every therapist is going to know you're here and what you're dealing with.

Dr. Lee Long:

That's not the case, but we can talk about them and collaborate without using all of those details and I think that helps us all be better for the people that we treat. I think about a time when there was a family that was coming to see us, that was here and multiple family members being treated by us and just thinking about walking that family through chaos and division. Then everybody collaborating and caring and really wanting to see this family come together and really wanting them to overcome some of these really painful and destructive obstacles Obviously with their permission, through collaboration, through all of everybody pouring in as a team and being supportive of one another that this family emerged on the other side more open, more supported, more loving and repaired. They were restored.

Lila Pond:

That's a great story and a great outcome and the goal it sounds like that you had when you experienced that experience on the bridge the vision there it is and the teamwork together there it is.

Dr. Lee Long:

That's right. I mean the vision from the bridge, from really being young and enjoying understanding why we do what we do, the bridge through all of the different experiences of the education to the different jobs, to all of those high points of my career. It's all come to fruition here at Restoration in the sense that there's a safe place for people to bring their children, that they know that they'll get good, sound care, that people can bring their loved ones, that couples can come and hopefully work through the things that they're struggling with, to families that need help reuniting and reconnecting and being restored that anybody I mean. Our moniker here is celebrating restored freedom. We want to see families and we want to see individuals and families do just that. We want to see them celebrate their restored freedom.

Lila Pond:

That is such a strong and needed moniker our process, really and learning process for people who want to connect with themselves and be able to connect with others in a safe way and in a way that becomes effective in their life. I think it would be helpful for our listeners if we can give them a practical tip. When they're not in therapy, they're not in the session, they've gone home, what would be something? One practical thing that you think would be helpful for someone to practice, to find a grounding and a place of centering and stability?

Dr. Lee Long:

I think by listening to this podcast I think that's a great first step is learning about what is available out there to help me grow. I would say, too, lila, that in this moment, while you're listening to us, whether you're driving, walking, laying in bed, however, you enjoy your podcast. I would say that she's paying attention to that monologue that we all have in our mind. Just pay attention to that, notice it. Is it negative? Is it positive? Is it neutral? Does it vacillate? Stay aware of that, because that monologue that a lot of us quiet out or press out really influences what we do on a day-to-day basis. And if we're internally critical, then we're going to walk around just whipped. But if we become aware of how we talk to ourselves, how we think about ourselves we just become aware of that you might be really surprised at how much lighter you feel when you stop criticizing yourself.

Lila Pond:

Oh, that is such a great practice. And how many times a day should a person do that? I would say I agree with you continually Notice, notice, because there are those voices in our head that are we have adopted the criticism of the input from life. It could be the bully on the playground in first grade. It could be the kid in PE class in seventh grade. It could be the coach. It could be our father, our mother, our sibling, our friend, the neighbor, or it could just be an assumptive conclusion we make about ourselves because we engaged in comparison. Thank you for that. I hope that all of you listening will really dial into that practice and see how that impacts your life.

Dr. Lee Long:

Here's one thing that may actually dovetail beautifully with the noticing the self-talk. Okay, people are quite undone by how critical they are of themselves, and it might be dysregulating to discover that. If you find yourself dysregulated, one thing that you can do is you'll notice your breath. You'll notice you may be holding your breath, you may be breathing really shallow and quick, rapidly. As a result, you may just want to take a deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth. I heard one person that I work with said smell the flowers, blow out the candles.

Dr. Lee Long:

There you go, that's awesome, that was a really sweet way to say it. Flowers blow out the candles and it's a very regulating exercise and I think, just wherever you are, if you find yourself feeling just undone or out of sorts, notice your breathing.

Lila Pond:

You know, lee, that is so helpful and it really fits together because it goes from our mind to our body and the two work together right. Our mind, our body, our spirit, our soul, it all is connected and so often just that simple act of intentionally breathing can calm not just our mind but also our body, because our brain is sending signals to our body all the time. We're so complex, and that's why those practices are helpful all day long. We do hold our breath a lot, don't we?

Dr. Lee Long:

We do, and it's interesting to note that is how often we do hold our breath when we do tense up and when it's telling you a really difficult story. One of the things that I noticed is that they tend to hold their breath while they tell that story, right, and it's often just saying, ok, take a deep breath, just let's breathe through this process, right, right.

Lila Pond:

You know what this has been so informational and also so relational today that I hope everyone who's listening knows that our goal in these podcasts is not just to give you a history of how restoration started and what your vision and mission were, but also the importance of being professional and warm and relational. So we just appreciate everyone coming to hear us and take in what we had to offer today.

Dr. Lee Long:

Thank you for being with us today.

Lila Pond:

It was a joy to be here.

Closing Speaker:

If you found value in our discussion and wish to uncover more about the fascinating world of mental wellness, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. Stay tuned for our upcoming episodes, where Dr Long will continue to delve into empowering therapies and strategies for mental wellness. Your journey to understanding and embracing mental health is just beginning and we're excited to have you with us every step of the way. Until next time, keep exploring, keep growing and remember to celebrate restored freedom as you uncover it.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Dr. Lee Long

Host
Head Shot

Lila Pond

Co-host