The Therapist Diaries

 Hello and welcome back to the Therapist Diaries!  Last week on the blog, we explored how to find the right therapist and choose a therapy approach that fits your needs. This week, we're diving into a question almost everyone asks before they begin:  How long will I be in here? You’ve found the right therapist, and maybe even picked a modality that feels like the right fit for you, you’re off to a great start, but now you start thinking about the logistics of it all… How long is this going to take? How many sessions? How often do I go? Will I be in therapy forever ? The short answer? Therapy doesn’t come with a one-size-fits-all timeline. But there is a roadmap and from the very first session, your therapist should be planning for your exit. Sounds odd, right? You just started, and we’re already talking about goodbye? Let me explain. If I do my job properly then eventually we’re going to get to a point where I never have to see you in my office again. #sorrynotsorry! But ...

  Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries!  For this Wellness Wednesday post, I'm going to let you in on some tips to help you find the best therapist for you, because therapy should feel like a safe place, not just another appointment on your calendar. And if it doesn’t feel like a good fit, it’s okay to admit that something’s not working. In fact, that awareness is a form of progress. I can’t tell you how many clients have come to me saying, “I tried therapy before, but it didn’t really help.” More often than not, it’s not that therapy as a whole failed, it’s that the relationship with their therapist wasn’t quite right. And that’s something we as therapists don’t talk to clients about enough. We get so focused on starting the therapy that we sometimes forget some basic introduction and foundational work such as giving client's guidance on how to advocate for themselves in terms of therapy and providers meeting their needs.  Let’s rewind for a second. Say you...

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  It's Wellness Wednesday and today  we’re talking about mental health survival kits because  let’s be real: adulting is a lot. You’re  out there working, commuting, navigating relationships, juggling bills, trying to eat vegetables   and   remember your login password for the 12th time this week. Some days you feel like you’re in survival mode… because you are. As a Clinical Social Worker who works with young adults in their 20s and 30s (and as someone firmly in the “functioning but tired” crew), I’ve learned this:  mental health isn’t just about therapy or deep healing work. Sometimes it’s about what’s in your bag when everything feels like too much. So here it is:  my on-the-go Mental Health Survival Kit. Some  actual, tangible items I (and my clients) carry to stay grounded, centered, and  human  in the chaos of real life. I keep mine in a small pencil case at the bottom of my bag,...