Our Blog: Upward Alabama

Thriving at School, at Work, and on Standardized Tests with a Disability: Reasonable Accommodations and Your Rights

By Misti Norton, Ph.D.

Posted: March 10, 2025

"Reasonable accommodations" refer to modifications that allow individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. This can involve changes to the school or work environment, how tasks are completed, or how the hiring process is conducted. Individuals with conditions such as ADHD, Autism, OCD, Anxiety Disorders, Depression, and Sleep Disorders may require these accommodations to fully participate in school, the workforce, or important standardized tests (such as the ACT or the bar exam).

The Digital Disconnect: How Technology Creates Distance in Relationships

By Megan Keyes, Ph.D.

Couple Therapy

EFCT Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy

Posted: February 28, 2025

Technology and social media can impact intimate relationships in a myriad of ways: some good, some bad. Read more to learn how to use technology to enhance your intimacy.

Celebrate Love & Connection with Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT)

By Megan Keyes, Ph.D.

Couple's Therapy

Posted: February 13, 2025

Valentine’s Day is our designated holiday to celebrate love in all forms but most typically the romantic love between two people. However, behind every social media post of roses, chocolates, and candles with “#couplegoals” in the caption, there is a real couple in a real relationship that encounter real challenges at times. Individuals are complex and pairing them together enhances this complexity. A satisfying relationship typically requires ongoing commitment, investment, and effort from each partner to maintain its longevity. In a word, relationships are work. But, for most individuals who desire an intimate relationship with another, the love and connection their union provides is worth the effort.

Sleep Problems...Symptom or Disorder?

By Misti Norton, Ph.D.

Sleep

Posted: February 1, 2025

Are sleep problems a symptom or an independent disorder? They can be both! Sleep challenges are a component of many disorders. Indeed, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5th addition (DSM-V) lists disturbed sleep as a symptom of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Although sleep problems are not an explicit symptom of disorders such as OCD, ADHD, and autism, clients with these diagnoses frequently report that their sleep is poor. If low-quality sleep is a symptom, will treating depression, anxiety, or PTSD also fix sleep? In many cases, sleep problems persist even after other symptoms have been successfully relieved. Does it make sense to start with addressing sleep or addressing the other disorder?