The Therapist Diaries

Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  This week at my private practice, we've been busy planning for an Intensive ART service we'll be providing next week in London. This service will include 14-16 hours of therapy over a period of two days. At Voyager we offer these in office, in a retreat like setting, or in the client's own home if that's more comfortable for them. Intensive services of any kind are a lot, but for us, we specialize in Trauma Therapy, so two whole days is a huge commitment from the client. It's mentally and physically exhausting and takes a lot out of the client. So why do we offer it? The results speak for themselves. Research suggests that intensive therapy can achieve similar results in a short window of time, as up to a year of weekly sessions. Why? Because there's no progress lost between sessions. If you could help someone heal in 1-5 days compared to a year, wouldn't you want to give it a go?  The success of intensive se...

 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...

  Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries, Sometimes our brains needs an off switch. If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at night, replaying a conversation for the tenth time or imagining every possible “what if” scenario, you’re not alone. Overthinking is something so many of us do, often without realizing how much space it takes up in our minds. It can feel like your thoughts are running on a treadmill that never slows down, and no matter how much you tell yourself to stop, the mental noise keeps pushing forward. It can be overwhelming and even give us physical symptoms such as headaches or breathing difficulties. As a therapist, I see this a lot, and experience it myself. and I want you to know that overthinking isn’t a personal flaw. It’s a very human response to stress, uncertainty, and emotional wounds we haven’t fully understood yet. One of the biggest reasons we overthink is that our brains are hard-wired to protect us. When something feels unfamiliar, risky, ...

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  Starting something new is scary. Whether it’s a new job, a move to a different city, beginning therapy, or even something as simple (and not so simple) as forming a new habit, there’s a vulnerability that comes with stepping into the unknown. And as Ross from Friends once dramatically exclaimed, “Nobody likes change!” We laugh because it’s true. Change can feel like the rug being pulled out from under us, even when it’s a change we’ve chosen. But here’s the paradox: as much as we resist it, change is constant. Very little in our lives will stay the same and that’s not just a cliché; it’s a fact of being human. So, what do we do with the anxiety that creeps in when change is on the horizon, or is already here? First, we ground ourselves. This blog (and my therapy practice) is heavily focused on mindfulness and grounding so of course that's what I recommend first. Take a deep breath and take a moment to recognize whatever it is you...

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  Today I wanted to talk about F33.9 , more commonly known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) . The seasons have shifted firmly from summer to autumn, and winter is just around the corner. While many people welcome this time of year with open arms for their love of pumpkin spice, cozy blankets, and holiday traditions, it’s also a time when many others begin to notice a subtle (or not-so-subtle) shift within themselves. As the days grow shorter and the air turns colder, it's common to feel changes not just in our environment, but in our mood, energy, and motivation. For some, this seasonal transition brings more than just a passing “winter slump.” It can trigger a very real and diagnosable condition: Seasonal Affective Disorder . SAD is a type of depression that follows a seasonal pattern, most commonly showing up in late fall or early winter and easing up in the spring and summer. While it might sound like it’s “just the winter blue...

 Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  For the final part in this series on what Fairytales can teach us about mindful living, we're turning to one of my favorite stories, the tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, which in my opinion is one of the most underrated Fairytales out there. Every night, twelve royal sisters are locked in their room, and every morning their shoes are completely worn out, like they’ve been out partying until dawn. Their father, the king, is totally confused. No one knows where they’re going or how they’re getting out. Eventually, a quiet soldier figures out that the princesses have been sneaking out through a hidden door into a magical underground world where they dance until they can barely stand. It’s a fun mystery on the surface, but as a therapist, and particular in light of writing this four-part series, I'd like us to look a little deeper. This isn’t just a story about enchanted forests and secret passageways. It’s a story about exh...

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  As Halloween sneaks ever closer I was thinking about the darker fairytales we have in our libraries. Y es, Grimms' Brothers, I’m calling you out! There’s a story I often return to, not so much for its darkness (though it has that too), but for its surprising depth. It's the tale of Hansel and Gretel. Yes, the Grimm brothers' eerie fairy tale of two children lost in the forest, lured by a house made of sweets, and forced to outwit a witch. At first glance, it's a survival story. But beneath it, there’s a profound metaphor for the mindfulness work I do every day, with clients and with myself. We are all, in some way, leaving breadcrumb trails in our lives; tiny efforts to feel safe, to remember who we are, or to find our way back when we feel lost. And like Hansel and Gretel, we don’t always know where we’re headed. Sometimes the forest is just that overwhelming. In therapy, clients often describe the “forest” as anxiet...

Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Dairies, In the last post I introduced the idea that in addition to warmth and nostalgia, Fairytales are filled with lessons on mental health and wellbeing, in particular, the idea of mindfulness.  Mindfulness is the ability to be present and fully engaged with the current moment, free from distraction or self-judgment. It involves actively observing and acknowledging your thoughts and feelings, neutrally, and maintaining awareness of surroundings and sensations. By focusing in on the present moment, we can help our bodies reduce stress, anxiety, and depression while also improving our overall well-being. It gives us the freedom to step out of "auto pilot mode" and become more positive in our responses to tough moments which in time, builds our overall mental resilience.  In this post, we’re going to step into the world of Cinderella, not just as a fairytale, but as a reflection of mindfulness in action. Beyond the b...

 Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  I recently found myself rewatching one of my favorite childhood TV shows -  Once Upon a Time . For those unfamiliar, it’s a modern-day retelling of classic fairy tales, where Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, and other beloved characters live double lives in a small town called Storybrooke, completely unaware of their magical origins. I've always loved the storytelling, the magic, and the drama, but watching it now, through the lens of a therapist and mindfulness practitioner, something deeper stood out. Fairy tales are more than whimsical stories for children; they are powerful mirrors of our inner self. At their core they are stories of transformation, much like the journey of healing. They’re filled with moments of struggle, uncertainty, and revelation, echoing the emotional landscape we navigate in therapy. And as surprising as it might sound, these age-old stories offer a powerful metaphor for mindfulness: the process of ...

 Hello and Welcome Back to The Therapist Diaries,  Today we’re finishing off our four part mini series on making our days more purpose filled, today I wanted to look at the act of reflecting on progress and how this can help us on our journey to make our daily mental health routine more positive.   There’s something quietly powerful about sitting down at the end of the day, or week, and simply asking yourself: How did I really feel today? What worked? What didn’t? It’s a moment of honesty, and in our fast-paced lives, it’s often the moment we skip. Think of reflection as the pause that allows growth to catch up with us. Without it, we move from one moment to the next without really absorbing what we’ve learned, felt, or achieved. When we take time to reflect, we allow ourselves to: Track emotional patterns: (Am I constantly overwhelmed on Mondays?)  Notice progress: (I actually followed through on three small goals this week!) Redirect when necessary: (That habit I a...

 Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  In a world that often praises the hustle, it's easy to get swept up in setting big goals and chasing them with tunnel vision. Whether it's about career advancement, health, relationships, or personal growth, we’re constantly told to "dream big" and "push harder." But what if the real power of goal-setting lies not in the intensity of our pursuit, but in the flexibility of our approach and the compassion we show ourselves in the process? If you’ve done therapy before you’ve probably talked to your therapist about SMART goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Defining these parameters as they pertain to your goal helps ensure that your objectives are attainable within a certain time frame. The reason therapists mention these so often is because this is how we formulate our treatment goals on your treatment plans. For example, if a client comes to me with a presenting...

 Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries,  I recently met up with a good friend, and over coffee she started telling me about her experience in grief counseling. She’s a fellow mental health practitioner, so she already knows her way around a lot of coping strategies. But finding the right therapist, she said, was harder than she expected. She didn’t want someone telling her to “breathe through it” or “count to ten” when things got too much, she was talking about mindfulness, and that was something she already practiced every day. Her story stuck with me. It made me think about how often, as therapists, we suggest mindfulness in those big, overwhelming moments and how unhelpful that can feel if mindfulness isn’t already part of someone’s life. It’s like handing someone a new tool when their garden is already overgrown, and expecting them to know exactly how to use it and start using it immediately.  So today’s post is about the small, doable ways we can bring mind...

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,...

Hello, and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries!  Not long ago, I was chatting with a friend who is smart, thoughtful, and deeply self aware. As we were talking she said something that stuck with me. “I’ve thought about therapy,” she told me, “but I don’t know… I feel like it’s only for people who are really struggling. Like, something has to be seriously wrong.” I hear this kind of thing all the time. And honestly? It breaks my heart a little. Because while we’ve made huge strides in how we talk about mental health, a lot of myths about therapy still linger in the background—quietly shaping how we see it, and whether we feel “allowed” to seek help. So today, I want to shine a light on some of the most common therapy myths I hear as a therapist. And more importantly, I want to offer a gentler, more accurate picture of what therapy can really be. Myth #1: “Therapy is only for people with serious problems.” Truth: Therapy is for everyone—not just those in crisis. Here’s the thing: ...