A Therapist Walks Into A Blog: Random thougts, big Feelings, and the occasional meltdown

Welcome to the usually normal, but sometimes twisted, mind of a licensed psychotherapist

Hi! I’m Stephanie

As a licensed therapist in the mental health field, I understand the importance of having an authentic voice in becoming healed and whole. This blog is a reflection of where I am right now—messy, curious, and very much in process, with little snapshots of where I am along that path. It’s a space for me to share my individual observations and experiences as a human, personal reflections on my own winding growth journey, and maybe even a few therapeutic strategies that keep me from losing my shit…well, usually anyway. I have my moments.

I may be a therapist, but I’m also someone whose own healing has unfolded (and continues to unfold) in the therapy room, so this is not a space for fixing, performing, or pretending to have it all figured out. I write about all of the painful and beautiful layers of self-discovery, often with a laugh or two alongside the heavier stuff. That’s not an accident: it’s how I survive, how I make meaning, and how I connect. Big feelings and levity are not mutually exclusive, and are welcome here, often in the same paragraph, held with as much honesty and compassion as I can manage on any given day.

Will my thoughts be random? Yes. Count on it. Will there be big feelings? You can bet your sweet ass. Will there be an occasional meltdown? I pretty much guarantee it.

What inspired you to become a therapist?

My journey as a therapist actually began as a client. Since I was about 13 years old, I struggled with depression, and felt like I had to tough it out on my own. It didn’t help that when I finally did admit how I was feeling, I was met with oh so affirming, “What do you have to be depressed about?” As an adult, when I finally decided to try therapy, I had two contrasting experiences with two separate therapists. The first was helpful enough. I learned about some new resources, but ultimately I quit after being pushed into doing group counseling because she “did her best work” in groups. As a textbook introvert, I did not do MY best work, and bailed after two session. The work I did with my second therapist was transformative, and that contrast between my first therapist and my second informed my own counseling identity. She just got me, and had a reverence for my woundedness, and I truly felt seen and heard. I knew I had a partner in my journey toward healing. That was what I wanted to be for others – no fixing, no performing, just shared presence.

Sometimes it’s enough just to be witnessed.

How Do You Approach Therapy With Your Clients?

What inspires me to continue being a therapist is my clients. I’m just stupid lucky to be working with the best people ever, but that begins with building trust right away, so at first I just listen. Of course I transfer skills. I don’t want my clients walking around having panic attacks when I have about 148 strategies that help. Then over time, when the stories are all told, and the mental bird shit is cleaned off the windshield, the view becomes more clear, and THAT’S when the real work begins. Healing isn’t the end game. It’s only part of the process. The real goal is always authenticity; becoming your whole Self – unapologetically. We build the relationship, and they know I have their back, so when they’re acting like assholes, I can tell them honestly, and we get back to work.

How Do You Approach Your Own Therapy?

“The Journey” is not just a cheesy metaphor. My own therapy over the years has been in stages. First, there was the diagnosis (Major Depressive Disorder), and alleviating symptoms mostly through skills and psychoeducation. Once that was all managed, my therapy became about healing trauma. Does that mean I don’t get depressed anymore? Actually, kind of. Episodes are few and far between, and way less intense, but now I treat depression like a cold – it’ll go away in a few days with some treatment and unrepentant napping. Now my therapy is about self-discovery and radical self-love, cleaning up the long-dried blood from past wounds, and being the most authentic version of myself, while also appreciating that who am I today will not be who I am in 10 years, and getting excited for the future versions of myself. Does that mean suffering is gone from my life? Uh no, I’m not the Buddha. I still cry in therapy. My tears just don’t define me anymore.

Why Start A Blog?

Honestly, I feel like so many of my personal experiences are relatable. Just because I’m a therapist doesn’t mean I’m exempt from the human condition. I mess up, act out, and fall down too, but I’ve also spent many years on both sides of the couch, learning about myself, and from others, about how to navigate this shit show with a bit more ease. Life can get so heavy sometimes, and a little levity and connection can go a long way in reducing the impact of anxiety, depression, and general overwhelming stress. By sharing my thoughts, I hope to create a space where we can explore complex feelings together, finding humor and meaning in our shared struggles. Ultimately this blog is a gift to myself, but I truly do want others to benefit from my years of experience in the mental health field, and maybe my stories can provide some insights and intervention that can help others cope when the pooh hits the fan and splatters all over the place. It’s perfectly okay to not have everything figured out. After all, we are all works in progress, and we’re allowed to be messy! I just want to have some fun in the process.