Well-Being for NGHS Women
Life can sometimes feel stressful or overwhelming, and challenges with mood, anxiety, or emotional well-being are very common. Taking care of your mental health is an important part of overall health. Maintaining regular routines, such as getting enough sleep, staying active, and engaging in restorative activities like meditation, mindful breathing, yoga, or qi gong, can help support well-being. Positive social connections can also play an important role.
Below is a list of mental health resources and wellness resources that may provide support for concerns such as depression, anxiety, stress, or other emotional challenges. It is very common to need extra support at times, and reaching out for help is an important step. We hope this list is helpful to you or someone you know.
You can also find additional urgent support services for adults and children, including resources related to substance use, domestic violence, and addiction, as well as a wide range of mental health, coping, and support resources through UCSF COPE (Coping and Resiliency Program), developed by members of the NGHS team.
Mental Health Resources
Below is a list of mental health hotline services, therapy services, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programs, peer support networks, and mental health apps!
Mental Health Hotlines
National Mental Health Hotlines:
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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (988 / 800-273-8255)
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Crisis Text Line (text TALK to 741741)
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Disaster Distress Helpline (800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs)
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline (800-662-HELP / 4357 or text your 5-digit zip code to 435748)
Local Mental Health Hotlines:
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California Youth Crisis Line (800-843-5200)
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San Francisco Suicide Prevention (415-781-0500)
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Call or text 855-600-WARM(9276)
Mental Health Therapy
Therapy in San Francisco
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Bayview Hunter's Point Foundation Behavioral Health Program. Community-based outpatient support, prevention, and early detection for mental health issues. Referrals, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Sliding scale based on ability to pay; no one is denied service. Accepts MediCal.
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Chinatown North Beach Mental Health. Individual and group therapy. Full diagnosis, medication evaluation. Sliding scale based on income, accepts Medicare. Multi-lingual (Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, Lao, Cambodian)
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Mental Health Association of SF. Mental health education & awareness, various peer programs and support groups (including Hoarding & Cluttering), advocacy, participation in local policy issues, referrals. Workshops for people with mental health challenges, family members, & professionals. No clinical services. Free. English & Spanish.
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South of Market Mental Health Services (Adult Integrated Service Center) (BHS). Psychiatric medication management, counseling, clinical case management & support group. Filipino counseling team. Citywide, but priority given to SOMA, Western Addition, & Tenderloin. $0-full bill. English, Spanish, Tagalog.
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Sunset Mental Health Services. Drop-in (call ahead if you can) MTu 9-11 am, WThF 1-3 pm. Primary care & medications, individual therapy, peer counseling support & activity groups, referrals. Medi-Cal, Medicare, HealthySF, Healthy Worker (will help you get Medi-Cal), $0-full bill for first 90 days. English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian
Therapy in Greater Bay Area
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Psychological Services Center. No drop-in services. Individual, couples, and family therapy and assessments for children, teenagers, and adults. Training clinic for the California School of Professional Psychology. Sliding fee scale and Medi-Cal
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West Marin Multi-Services Center. Founded in response to the needs of this rural community and offers a range of services. Behavioral health counseling and behavioral health medication support.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MSBR) Programs
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Osher Center for Integrative Health at UCSF. Offers mindfulness-based stress reduction programs and other integrative health services designed to help people manage stress, anxiety, and chronic health conditions.
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Kaiser Permanente. Kaiser offers mindfulness, stress-management, and mental health programs for members, including classes and digital resources focused on resilience and well-being.
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Stanford Medicine. An 8-week program led by Dr. Hui Tong that teaches participants how to better care for themselves by understanding the connection between the mind and body, while developing inner resources for coping, learning, growing, and healing.
Online Therapy with a Live Therapist
We do not endorse these companies personally, but we are listing them here because they have licensed professionals, sell direct to consumer, and appear to be reasonably priced, with largely favorable reviews
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Headspace Care. Formerly known as Ginger.io, this platform provides on-demand mental health coaching and therapy through messaging and video with licensed professionals.
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Meru Health. This app offers a 12-week mental health program designed to treat depression, anxiety, and burnout including video sessions with a licensed therapist, in-app messaging, anonymous peer support, and more. Their program is covered by many major health insurance providers.
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Talkspace. Online therapy that connects users with licensed therapists. It offers therapy sessions over video, voice, live chat, and messaging. Talkspace accepts many insurance plans.
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Grow Therapy Online therapy platform that prioritizes matching users with therapists that accepts their insurance. Offers both talk therapy and medication management. Grow Therapy is Medicaid (Medi-cal) friendly and offers low-cost or zero co-pay options for several insurance plans.
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Therapy for Black Girls Large database with over 400 women of color therapists and mental health providers. The site is inclusive of both in-person and virtual therapy services, pro-bono sessions, medication management, and group therapy sessions. Users are able to filter providers by insurance options. Therapist specialties include perinatal care, race-related stress concerns, psychological evaluation, and family therapy.
Peer Support Networks
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Institute on Aging (Friendship Line)
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(888) 670-1360. Call line for older adults and caregivers. Offers free emotional support and conversation 24/7.
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Serves survivors of domestic violence in San Francisco and the Bay Area. Offers a free 24/7 support line for peer counseling and low-cost therapy sessions.
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Provides free and anonymous online mental health support, with volunteer listeners available 24/7 to chat. This platform also offers affordable online therapy and coaching with licensed therapists.
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Pacific Center for Human Growth
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Offers ongoing peer-facilitated groups for LGBTQIA+ and QTBPOC individuals and their families within the Bay Area. Most of their groups are offered on zoom and span various sub-groups, including Parents and Caregivers of Trans and Non-Binary Youth, Partners of Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Folk, and Women Coming Out of Straight Marriage Groups.
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Non-profit mental health organization that provides community-based and culturally-competent services with expertise in serving AAPI and Russian-speaking populations. RAMS offers an in-person wellness center, peer counseling and outreach services, and prevention and early intervention services.
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Provides grief support for youths and families who have experienced loss, as well as provide support for grieving caregivers. Peer-based support are In-person for adults.
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Mental Health Apps (Self-Help)
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A meditation and mindfulness app offering guided exercises for stress, anxiety, sleep, and emotional well-being. Headspace also offers focus music, and guided meditations for stress and sleep for free on their YouTube channel.
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Free meditation, mindfulness, and sleep app with a customizable meditation timer, library of guided meditations, and music for sleep and stress relief.
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Mental help for sleep, mentation, and relaxation. Baseline free version available.
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A daily mental wellness and digital fitness app designed to make self-care engaging, routine, and allows for personalization. Baseline free version available.
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Research-backed mental health app that incorporates a variety of best practice tools which include mood journals, nervous system regulation, breathwork, CBT tools and habit tracking. Offers free and premium services.
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iBreathe. https://www.jadelizardsoftware.com/ibreathe
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Simple and minimalist breathing app which emphasizes a user-friendly interface and customizable breathing exercises. This app is free and available through Apple.
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Provides users with interactive CBT-based tools to ease anxiety. Includes educational content, coping cards, and progress tracking to build healthy habits. Free download with no subscription requirements.
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This app provides a structured program based on evidence-based techniques to help users build better sleep habits and alleviate symptoms of insomnia. Free download and users report an accessible interface.
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Bearable is a comprehensive app meant to aid users in combining symptom tracking to help gauge outlook on overall health and wellness. In addition to tracking mood and mindfulness, this app also tracks mental health symptoms, energy levels, and stress levels from work and lifestyle. The baseline version of the app is free.
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Alternative Resources for Healing
In addition to therapy, COPE highlights mind-body approaches that support well-being, including mindfulness and meditation (e.g., MBSR), breathing practices, yoga, guided imagery, and other mind-body movement practices that promote relaxation and resilience, as well as supportive lifestyle practices such as regular movement, time outdoors, and restorative daily routines.
Explore more resources here!
Wellness Resources
Below is a list of resources that may provide support your emotional and physical wellbeing, including tools and information related to stress reduction, exercise, and healthy eating.
Stress Reduction Exercises
Here are some exercises you can try to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. You can practice them at home, at work, or anytime you want to calm your mind and body.
Box Breathing
Follow this 4-part breathing pattern.
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Inhale: 4 seconds
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Hold: 4 seconds
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Exhale: 4 seconds
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Hold: 4 seconds
As you breathe, visualize moving around a box, tracing up as you inhale, across the top as you hold, moving down as you exhale, and across the bottom you hold. You can repeat this technique for several rounds.
Here is a video tutorial you can follow along!
Physiological Sigh
Follow this deep breathing technique with two inhales and a slower exhale.
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Inhale: take a full breath through the nose.
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Second Inhale: Take a second, shorter inhale through the nose to fully expand the lungs.
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Exhale: slowly and completely exhale through the mouth, emptying the lungs.
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Repeat: Repeat this breathing sequence 2-3 more times.
You can also follow along this video tutorial.
5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
This grounding exercise uses your five senses to help reduce feelings of anxiety or overwhelm by bringing your attention back to the present moment.
Identify:
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5 things you see
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4 things you feel
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3 things you hear
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2 things you smell
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1 thing you taste
Belly (Diaphragmatic) Breathing
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Sit up or lie down with hands on belly.
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Breathe in slowly through your nose so that your stomach moves out, causing your hand to rise.
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Slowly exhale through the mouth, causing your stomach to fall as your lungs empty.
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Continue breathing slowly for 5-10 minutes, focusing on the movement of your belly with each breath.
You can also follow along this Headspace video tutorial
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This is a relaxation technique that involves tensing and releasing muscle groups one by one. It can be performed standing, seated, or lying down. A common approach is to start at your feet and gradually work up the body to your face.
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Tense: While inhaling, contract one muscle group for 5-10 seconds.
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Release: Exhale and suddenly release the tension. Give yourself 10-20 seconds to relax.
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Notice: While releasing tension, focus on the changes you feel when the muscle group is relaxed.
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Repeat: Continue tensing and releasing each muscle group, working your way up from your feet to your legs, hands, arms, shoulders, and finally your face.
You can also follow along this video walkthrough or these guided instructions.
Exercise "Snacks" (Quick Energizing Breaks)
"Exercise Snacks” are short bursts of vigorous physical activity (typically 30 seconds to 5 minutes) you can do throughout the day without gym equipment. They can help break up long periods of sitting, improve cardiovascular fitness, and boost energy levels and mood.
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Jogging up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
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Doing a set of squats while waiting for coffee to brew.
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Trying a few yoga poses between tasks.
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Taking a brisk walk around your neighborhood.
More examples can be found here:
Healthy Eating Recipes and Nutrition Resources
Midlife is a time of significant hormonal and physical changes, making good nutrition especially important for supporting overall health and emotional well-being. Eating a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, calcium, and vitamin D can help maintain energy levels, support bone health, and promote a stable mood. Consistent, nourishing meals may also help manage stress, improve sleep, and support mental health during the menopausal transition and beyond.
Click Here to Review Helpful Resources
Worksheets and Activities
In addition to having support from mental health professionals and community support, incorporating research tools and worksheets can help strengthen skills through practice. Below are some evidence-based worksheets that are focused on managing stress and anxiety.
Productive Worrying
This worksheet helps guide individuals to write down their worries and identify what next steps need to be taken. The goal of the exercise is to ease the anxiety of taking action and safely work towards desired solutions or goals.
Click here to access the worksheet!
Circle of Control
This activity helps individuals experiencing anxiety differentiate between circumstances that are within their scope of control and are outside their scope of control.
Click here to access the activity!
Cycle of Avoidance
This worksheet helps individuals identify common anxiety traps and demonstrates how
anxiety can worsen over time when one has fallen into a pattern of avoidance.
Click here to access the worksheet!
Window of Tolerance
This worksheet helps provide insight into the various states of the nervous system and how stressors can affect them. The worksheet also provides tips on expanding and regulating one’s window of tolerance to help manage stress.
Click here to access the worksheet!
Creating Work-life Boundaries
This worksheet helps provide individuals guidance in implementation boundaries to provide more engagement in their personal lives and reduce burnout.
Click here to access this worksheet!
