Therapist Thoughts

To my sweet Pierre- bubba love, lover boy, the notorious P.I.G., Today would have been your 13th birthday. Daddy would have made you an organic, naturally sweetened treat. I would have given you a monogrammed gift you’d consider subpar. We all would have played in a park, ran on a beach and after ten whole minutes, schnugged in bed the rest of the day. If only you were still here with us.    Of all the many emotions I feel right now, my strongest for you is absolute gratitude

Well these last few weeks… have been a whirlwind at best and slowly I’ve been settling into this new pandemic lifestyle. Which has proven quite the transition from where I was not too long ago, what now feels like another lifetime, shuffling between my office, therapy sessions and face to face meetings all week. Mornings at Orangetheory , fetching vanilla lattes mid afternoon, time spent out with friends and family on the weekends. Supperclub with the girls, monthly book clu

In the midst of this pandemic, I am attempting to find small moments of peace, in any way possible. Last week truly felt like an avalanche of paranoia, uncertainty and fear that I was in absolutely no way prepared to deal with, but as with everything, we did our best to adjust. I was fortunate enough to still have work I could do remotely and maintain safety from the comfort of my own home, unlike a number of people who were not. And I want to take a moment to acknowledge the

Getting back onto skis… felt as ambitious as exhilarating a task. Given my last attempt felt much like a failure, I knew this time would either solidify my ambition to shred down a mountain gracefully or reinstate my rightful place as most prompt for après hour. Getting back onto skis… felt as ambitious as exhilarating a task. Given my last attempt felt much like a failure, I knew this time would either solidify my ambition to shred down a mountain gracefully or reinstate my

Almost a year before the wedding… I made a list of what was most important for that special day. Aside from a particular dress, venue, or cake, I had a clear idea that I wanted to feel really good in my body, to have lots of energy, enjoy the moment and feel great. I often talk about wellness in fairly vague terms but to me it’s really all encompassing. I truly believe that beauty comes from within and that if you nourish your body and mind, everything else follows suit. We

It’s Here… I know we say this every year, but how did time fly so fast?! It’s December and as excited as I am about the full on holiday festivities, I am also getting more and more anxious about our condo remodel getting finished. It’s this weather (50 degrees in LA) and season that makes me crave the coziness of a warm, and at this point, just completely finished, home . Aside from living in absolute chaos, the most difficult part of the build has been our separation from o

Because the holidays aren’t always merry and bright…  Beyond the mistletoe, classic movies, enticing treats, ornate decorations and overhaul of lofty expectations for happiness, altruism and gratitude, lies the not so jingle worthy reality that holidays can also be hectic, stressful, overindulgent, lonely and expensive. When our friends, families, partners, kids and coworkers can bombard us with unattractive small talk, uncomfortable political discussions, the overconsumptio

Oh how I love the topic of tech… As people close to me know, this is one of my favorite things to talk about. Perhaps because I am always so intrigued by both relationships and technology as topics on their own, but even more so together. As a therapist, I present to children, parents and other service providers on internet safety. As a blogger, I am obviously very grateful for the opportunities I’ve been afforded in pursuing my creative outlets online.  However, the interne

The calm before the storm… It’s all about to happen, the holidays that can be oh so wonderful and oh so overwhelming too. I will of course be updating my annual holidazed post regarding my thoughts about not only surviving, but thriving,  during this time of year. But before we get to all of that, I want to take this month as a nice little respite between a crazy end of summer/beginning of fall. Luckily for me, there’s not too much happening this month; no travel plans, no b

Back to life, back to reality… Well it’s September and I am beyond excited to jump back into a routine at home, ready to fully engage in my annual attempt to find Fall in Los Angeles. As much as I love summer, this one was A LOT, to say the least. If you haven’t been paying attention I have done it all this summer: planned a wedding, moved into an unfinished condo, turned 30 , got married, left the country for two weeks, welcomed my in-laws to their new home in Los Angeles; I

When my husband … (still getting used to that) came up with an idea to sail the Greek isles for our honeymoon, I was immediately in; 100%.  Sailing the Greek Isles:  can a trip sound more chic than that? But aside from all the nautical imagery and Jackie on holiday inspired ensembles I drummed up in my mind, was the slightly less glamorous reality of a long trip at sea. An adventure, would be a more realistic way to frame it— and trust me, it was. Anyone who’s had experience

After 30 years of chasing perfection, I am FINALLY chasing peace… So what exactly does peace even mean at this point? For some context, I am writing this reflection on the last thirty years of my life. It’s my 30 th  birthday today and I initially imagined I would have a big collage of pictures celebrating all the years so far of my life, some witty anecdotes on surviving my twenties, perhaps a sunset beach photoshoot with sparklers, pink champagne and cake… Short story, it’s

The COUNTDOWN IS ON…  We are so close – God willing-  to moving into our newly renovated condo, in addition to being about a month out from our wedding and an oversees honeymoon. These events are creating all good things, absolutely wonderful and exciting things; nonetheless, A LOT of things, for me to do in a fairly compact window of time. Did I mention I am also turning 30 the week of the wedding and attending another friend’s wedding out of state the weekend before mine?

This past weekend some of my closest friends in Los Angeles threw me the sweetest lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Ivy at the Shore . I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting, the facade alone is enough to steal my heart, the abundance of pink bougainvillea spilling over a pretty pale pink and green trimmed Spanish style building. It was a perfect backdrop for the millions of pictures we took and coordinated well with my unintentional, but very Carrie Bradshaw -esque,

In the 1990s the Italian Supreme Court  overturned a rape case because they assumed that since the victim was wearing tight jeans she must have assisted her rapist in getting them off, thereby acknowledging consent. The next day, women in Italian parliament wore jeans in solidarity and for the past 19 years Peace Over Violence  has run the #DenimDay campaign, to raise awareness about sexual violence. As a mental health therapist and social worker, raising awareness and speaki

I visited Charleston…  for all the common reasons most Americans do. The historic homes, delicious cuisine, charming and colorful streets, the experience of being in a place that despite it being the year 2019 takes great pride in conserving the character and history of a place with deep, old American roots. A place that appears to be consistently praised for and perhaps also haunted by its history. So when coming to visit for the very first time, those same roots that create

Perhaps I’m being a tad dramatic… but this is big news beyond just moving back to my old neighborhood, which is only four miles away from Santa Monica where we live now. But exciting perhaps because we’re moving into a place that is officially our own. I’m extremely proud to announce that we bought a condo in Brentwood! This obviously calls for many celebrations, but I just feel extremely grateful to have had the privilege to own a small piece of this amazing city. The other

I want to preface this post…  by acknowledging that I grew up leaning these things from so many different places; my family, pop culture, books, movies,  the media and plenty of people I have come into contact with throughout the duration of my life. These are concepts much larger than a storyline in a movie or an immature view on relationships. They are well established narratives, embedded in the fabric of our society, rooted deep in the history that took place long before

The  term self-care…  came up A LOT in my graduate program. It was constantly thrown into every lecture, referenced in every assigned reading, mentioned among other students when they talked about their weekend plans and stress getting papers done. I would hear it talked about so frequently but I don’t think I ever gave the term real thought; I sort of assumed self-care meant the freedom to get a manicure, watch housewives marathons and add a little mac and cheese to my to-go

An impromptu trip to Havana, Cuba… was a quite an experience, and a well appreciated surprise. We went a few weeks ago on a whim and it happened to serve as perfect inspiration for this year’s resort wear guide, coming this week! Exploring somewhere new is always a good time, but particularly when it’s somewhere warm during this time of year. Even living in Los Angeles in the winter will make you crave some humidity and Havana did not disappoint. But beyond the bright colors,