The Therapist Diaries

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  As many of you know, my boyfriend and I went to school together. From age 11-16 we saw each other most days, shared a bus ride, and had similar friendships circles which overlapped quite a bit. As we reminisce over "the good old days", sometimes our memories don't match up. He has a brilliant memory about our time together and remembers things in much more detail than I do... and sometimes he remembers big events that I swear blind never happened.  Why is this? Part of this comes from the fact that he just has a better memory than me. I definitely need to do a few more brain training activities in the morning before work. But another big part of it is that, quite simply, my boyfriend and I had different high school experiences, as we all did. The fact of the matter is that our teenage years are incredibly important for memory formation and anything that knocks us slightly off balance, has the potential to impact our memori...

 Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  Has anyone else had an incredibly busy start to 2026... or is it just me?  This year came in fast . One minute it was January 1st, and the next I was rushing from one commitment to the next, living on half-finished to-do lists and Starbucks runs. The peace and harmony I felt at Christmas quickly vanished. This week especially, I’ve felt completely rushed off my feet, mentally, emotionally, and logistically. And yet… it was all worth it. Because in the middle of the chaos, I passed my LCSW exam. To those who don't know the therapy abbreviations for everything (believe me, there's a lot,) becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker opposed to a Licensed Master of Social Work, means I’ve met advanced clinical training and supervision requirements and can now practice independently. It deepens the work I do, expands how I can support clients, and reflects years of learning, growth, mistakes, resilience, and showing up eve...

 Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  This week I was talking to my boyfriend about how many people read the blog and how grateful I am for that. I truly am so glad that so many of you have joined me in this space where we slow things down, get honest about stuff and remind ourselves that struggling doesn’t mean we’re failing, it means we’re human. Despite that, I also mentioned how, despite being a therapist, sometimes I don't feel like I'm a good enough therapist to be giving any kind of advice to anyone. Ever heard of Imposter Syndrome? As he always does, my boyfriend supported and encouraged me, but it was a thought that remained.  So today we’re talking about something so many of us quietly carry, self-doubt- that feeling of not being good enough, even when others tell us we are. If that resonates, take a breath, settle in, and know you’re not alone in this. If you’ve ever had someone look you straight in the eyes and say, “You’re doing great,” and ...

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  Today was an emotionally fatiguing day for me. I am so incredibly privileged that my job allows me to travel between the UK and the USA, and that I have friends and family waiting for me on both sides of the pond. Today it was time to fly back to the USA after spending an amazing three weeks in my homeland for Christmas. I have some great things coming up in the US and I cannot wait to see my parents… but still, getting on that flight and saying goodbye to my loved ones was hard!  So, how do we motivate ourselves to do the things in life that we just do not want to do?  I’m a philosophically hedonistic person. I truly believe that we were put on this Earth to find our passions and experience everything we possibly can. More often than not, for me, this results in me following my heart and doing whatever option pleases me best in the moment. There’s nothing wrong with living life this way, but it can’t be our attitude in ev...

  Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  It’s been a while since we’ve connected so how are you? I hope you enjoyed the holidays and were able to spend the time focusing on you and what matters most. The holidays often come with disrupted schedules, later nights, more stimulation, and a different pace of life, and when it all suddenly ends, our bodies are left trying to catch up. Even when we’re ready mentally to “get back to it,” our nervous systems may still be adjusting. I know this is something I’ve been struggling with this week. So today, we’re talking about routines and how to get back into the swing of things.  I’ve been watching the Taylor Swift documentary,End of an Era, and one detail really stood out to me. After every show, Taylor follows a very intentional routine designed to calm her body down after hours of adrenaline, lights, noise, and performance. That routine helps her nervous system shift out of high-alert mode and into a state where she ca...

Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  This weekend I was assisting in a training with a co-worker who I admire tremendously. I've known her for a few years, and her work fascinates me. She is a certified Geek Therapist and a Therapeutic Game Master... and in all honesty, I (someone who favors more traditional therapy) had no clue what that meant.  She explained that you can use strategies from your favorite video game to develop real-life coping mechanisms, analyze character archetypes from a beloved fantasy series to better understand your own identity, or apply world-building principles from tabletop gaming to envision and create a more fulfilling personal future. By linking therapeutic concepts to things that you already love, we create powerful and lasting connections for change. I was fascinated. So, I thought I’d do some more research and share my findings with you. Welcome to the heart of Geek Therapy . At its core, Geek Therapy is a strengths-based approach...

 Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries, Impulsivity: When the Urge Feels Louder Than the Pause Impulsivity is something most of us recognize instantly, sometimes in ourselves, sometimes in others. It’s the text sent too quickly, the purchase we regret, the sharp words that tumble out before we’ve had time to breathe. I often tell clients that if you’re human, you’ve been impulsive. I certainly have. I’ve seen impulsivity show up in the therapy room in countless ways: clients who interrupt their own healing by ending relationships abruptly, people who make big life decisions in moments of emotional overwhelm, or those who when describing a recent argument say,  “I don’t know why I said that it just came out.” And while impulsivity often gets labeled as “poor self-control,” the truth is far more compassionate and complex. So, let's start here,  impulsivity is not a character flaw, it's a nervous system response. Why Impulsivity Happens At its core, impulsivit...

 Hello and Welcome Back to the Therapist Diaries,  Have you ever found yourself doing the very thing that pulls you away from what you want most? Maybe you procrastinate on something important, push away people who care about you, abandon goals right as they start to feel possible, or repeat patterns you promised yourself you were done with. If so, you’re not broken, and you’re not alone. This is often what we call self-sabotage , and it’s far more common (and understandable) than most people realize. As a therapist, I want to start with this: self-sabotage is not a character flaw . It is usually a learned survival strategy that once made sense, even if it no longer serves you now. Self-sabotage refers to behaviors, conscious or unconscious, that interfere with our goals, values, or well-being. These behaviors might look like: Procrastination or avoidance Perfectionism that keeps you stuck Negative self-talk or harsh inner criticism Pushing away people closest to us  Stay...

 Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  As the holiday season approaches, many people find themselves pulled in different emotional directions. There’s excitement, connection, and celebration, but there can also be stress, overwhelm, and the pressure to make everything feel “just right.” If you’re noticing your shoulders creeping up toward your ears or your mind moving faster than you'd like, you’re not alone. This is a time of year when mindfulness can become a gentle anchor, something steady to return to when everything else feels a bit chaotic. This year is the first year that I'll be spending the Christmas holiday away from my parents and while I'm very excited for the plans I have made, a few days ago I suddenly found myself overwhelmed with the anticipation of juggling work, travel, cooking my first dinner, and the feeling that everything needed to be perfect. After having a good crying session and talking it through with my loved ones, I stopped and took a...