What to Expect in Your First Individual Therapy Session: A Step-by-Step Guide
Starting therapy can feel both exciting and a little nerve-wracking. Whether you’re seeking support for a specific issue or simply exploring ways to improve your mental health, understanding what to expect during your first therapy session can ease some uncertainties and help you feel more prepared. This guide outlines the key steps involved in your […]
How Individual Therapy Can Help You Thrive: A Guide to Building Resilience and Emotional Well-Being
Life often presents challenges that can leave us feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, or stuck. Whether you’re facing anxiety, depression, or simply looking for ways to enhance your emotional health, individual therapy offers a transformative opportunity for personal growth. By providing a safe space to explore your thoughts and feelings, therapy can help you develop the skills […]
How far down can we bury things? Only as deep as our outstretched arms
Songs featured in this blog: Like Him (by Tyler, the Creator, CHROMAKOPIA, 2024) Stand (by Yebba, Dawn, 2021) seven (by Taylor Swift, folklore, 2020) Mother I Sober (by Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, 2022) Fourth of July (by Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell, 2015) If you don’t have some part of you […]
How to be Yourself: A Lesson from Johnny Cash to Nick Lowe
(from an interview with Tom Casciato, PBS Newshour, September 24, 2024) Johnny Cash once said to me (incredibly disappointingly, I thought at the time): “Nick, what you have got to do is figure out how to be yourself.” I didn’t really know what he meant. (I thought, “Is that the best you could do, John?”) […]
4 Existential Truths – How Modern Life Makes Them Harder & How Psychotherapy Can Help or Hurt
1. Freedom When people first learn about existentialism, it can seem like a depressing, boring, or hopeless philosophy. But for those practicing existential psychotherapy (or at least addressing existential themes in therapy), dealing with some of the difficult or terrible stuff in an authentic and brave way can help people experience the most precious gems […]
How Running Away Can Help Us Return
Song featured in this blog:Hejira (live performance by Joni Mitchell, Shadows and Light, 1979) Coping with this crazy life—and feeling sane—comes partly from accepting how impossible it all is. This is the kind of paradox that makes ‘achieving’ mental health so difficult. As Rumi put it, “Who makes these changes? I shoot an arrow right. […]
I’m Right Where You Left Me
Songs featured in this blog: She Used to be Mine (by Sara Bareilles, What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress, 2015) right where you left me (by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner, evermore, 2020) Song to the Self (by Shawn Mullins, Eggshells, 1996) Outside my office door, there is a small quilt hanging on the wall with […]
11 Things to Remember When Searching for a Therapist
I have been a therapist in private practice for 25 years, but I was in therapy for about 15 years before that. I started as a client when I was 11 years old; and over the years, I had great therapists and terrible therapists. Here is what I learned from being a mental patient and from working with (and […]