PREVIEW: We’ve all become familiar with our own personal comfort zones; where we operate and interact with the most ease and predictability. Some of us are more inclined than others to step outside of their comfort zones, and maybe even crave the feeling of pushing those limits. Others find it difficult and sometimes even debilitating. How is it healthy and beneficial to step beyond our comfort zones? Clinical Therapist Mariah Loftin is here to discuss this topic in SKYlights episode 26. In her work at Open Sky, Mariah helps young adults launch into adulthood and independence by building confidence, grit, and resilience outside of their comfort zones. We’re grateful to have her back on the podcast! GUEST PROFILE: MARIAH LOFTIN, MA, LPC As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Mariah skillfully blends her background as a psychotherapist, behaviorist and art therapist. She is quickly able to assess and appropriately treat students, masterfully illuminating the issues that are difficult for them to face. She then pushes them to their edges to start working on those core issues. In her work, she melds a variety of modalities such as Art Therapy, Behavior Analysis, Relational Psychotherapy for Trauma, DBT, Family Systems Therapy, MI, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy to best meet the individual therapeutic needs. TOPICS COVERED: young adults, comfort zone, grit, parenting tips, core values, therapy, wilderness therapy, treatment, parenting SELECT QUOTES: “However, if we stay in that place of predictability, of familiarity, of safety, life is not going to be particularly rich and we're not going to be able to build up the ability to deal with whatever it is that life throws at us.” “I love this idea of the wilderness itself being a place that people in general, but particularly young people, can come to heal because those trees, those mountains are not going to judge you.” “There are huge comfort zones that I would say most people bump up against when they're emotional challenges. Things like talking about our emotions and our feelings, and actually allowing other people to see us like that, to me, is vulnerability.”   “For a lot of people, asking for help is actually outside of that comfort zone. And that's my biggest encouragement: look at what's going on, make a plan and accept support where you need it.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.