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Building a Therapeutic Relationship

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  When people think about therapy, they often picture the techniques used, coping skills, worksheets, breathing exercises, EMDR, CBT, trauma processing. Those tools absolutely have value. But after years of sitting across from clients I can tell you with confidence that the most powerful force in therapy isn’t a worksheet or a modality. It’s the relationship. The therapeutic relationship is the professional bond between you and your therapist. It is built on trust, emotional safety, mutual respect, collaboration, and clear boundaries. It is not a friendship, and it is not advice-giving. It is a structured, ethical relationship designed entirely around your growth and well-being. In a strong therapeutic relationship, you feel heard rather than judged, understood rather than analyzed, supported without being rescued, and challenged without being shamed. It becomes the space where you can say the thing you’ve never said out loud before. ...
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Self-Care Sunday: Make Your Breakfast First

 Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  There is nothing I love more than lazy Sundays, and this Sunday might have been the best one ever! But in our house, in order to enjoy a lazy Sunday, you first have to get through two small voices asking, "Can we have pancakes for breakfast?" It's like they hear you open your eyes and come running in to ask before you actually roll out of bed and declare the day started for the day. My boyfriend's children are both under 10 years old, and so pancakes are a very important part of our Sunday morning routine... no matter how tired I might be at 8 o'clock in the morning. As I fumbled out of bed, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I couldn't help but reflect on the bigger lesson tucked inside that pancake request. I was, of course, happy to make them the breakfast they loved, but I had to remind myself that in order to take care of others, I first needed to take care of myself. It’s a simple, almost laughable tr...
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5 Mental Health Apps I Recommend (and Why)

Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  People that know me know that technology is not my best friend. I am definitely a paper and pen kind of girl, however as a therapist working with teens and young adults, I am a big believer that mental health support doesn’t only happen in the therapy room. While apps will never replace therapy, the right ones can be powerful tools that help you build skills, stay grounded, and feel supported between sessions. Below are five mental health apps I often recommend to clients. Each one serves a slightly different purpose, so think of these as options, not “shoulds.” As I always say, take what serves you, leave what doesn’t. Headspace – For building a meditation habit that actually feels doable What it is: Headspace is a guided meditation and mindfulness app designed to make meditation approachable, even if you’ve never done it before. Why I recommend it: Clients often tell me they want to meditate and feel grounded but feel overwhelm...
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Stress vs Burnout: How to tell the Difference

  Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  Congratulations, you’ve made it through January. However you did that, I’m not here to judge, only to offer a breath of fresh air as we finally step into February… one day closer to Spring! All jokes aside, I found January really stressful. Returning from the holiday period, the beginning of tax season, the lead up to the Super Bowl… there’s just so much going on in one month. This month, I’ve definitely learned  how important it is to take it slow, calm it down, and not let the stress of the season overwhelm us.  Stress and burnout are words we hear and use constantly, often as if they mean the same thing. Many people describe themselves as “burned out” when they’re under a lot of pressure, while others say they’re “just stressed” when what they’re experiencing runs much deeper. Although the two are connected, they aren’t interchangeable, and knowing the difference matters. What helps relieve stress doesn’t always ...
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How Childhood and Adolescent Trauma Can Affect Adult Memory

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...
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A Busy Week

 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...
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I'm Just Not Good Enough

 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 ...
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Doing Things We Just Don’t Want to Do

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...
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The Taylor Swift Routine

  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...
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What Video Games Taught Me About Therapy

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...
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