October 2023 Newsletter

In this newsletter: feeling your feelings, psychedelic assisted therapy, and very exciting practice updates! 

Just like that, Summer is slipping away and Autumn is arriving.  

When I reflect on the themes that have emerged through the past few weeks, I feel a deep sense of gratitude and warmth for the work that happens in therapy. This month’s theme is one that to me, leans on the human experience as a whole: let yourself feel your feelings.

Therapy Theme

Many conversations I have with my clients (and sometimes with myself) involve statements like, “I wish I wasn’t feeling this way”, or “I wish this was easier”. And yet, the human emotional experience is full of a vast range of feelings, not just the easy or pleasant ones. 

People in general want to avoid discomfort (of course). This checks out - who wants to be uncomfortable on purpose? But sometimes, discomfort is unavoidable. When a relationship ends, or a loved one dies, or you’re stressed about your finances, or even when you’re having a tough conversation, discomfort is part of the experience. So while sadness, or anger, or anxiety may not be comfortable, these feelings actually make perfect sense. 

I’ve noticed that where people get tripped up is in resistance. When you attempt to wish away or avoid your feelings, what you’re really doing is doubling down on that emotion. For example, feeling anxious about feeling anxious. What if instead, you were a bit more gentle with yourself? What if instead of “I wish I wasn’t feeling anxious, what’s wrong with me?”, you gave yourself permission to feel? That narrative could instead become: “I’m feeling anxious right now, it’s okay for me to feel this way”. Not only are you naming your feelings, but you’re also giving yourself the grace to know that your feelings are normal. 

We live in a society full of messaging around positivity. “It’ll be okay!”, “Don’t worry”, “there are people who have it so much worse than you”, “things will get better”. 

If you buy into these messages, it tends to feel like something is wrong with you when you’re stressed, or sad, grieving or angry. When something feels wrong, you may end up feeling like you need to be fixed. What I find so powerful about therapy is that you have an opportunity to learn that emotions are part of life, even if they sometimes hurt. 

With all of this said, I think it’s important to name that access to therapy, and even health insurance to cover therapy is a privilege. Whether you’re currently in therapy or not, here are some things you can do to help yourself feel your feelings:

• Practice naming your emotions (here’s a feelings wheel I love). When you name something, you give yourself options. For example, if you can recognize that you’re feeling anxious, you can then implement a coping skill to help you through it.  

• Develop a list of coping skills that work for you. Instead of pushing down your feelings, give yourself the opportunity to explore them. You can journal or meditate if you’re stressed, take a walk if you’re sad, or yell into a pillow if you’re angry. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to working with emotions, so try a few ways of coping and see what feels best for you. 

• Pay attention to the way you’re speaking to yourself. Rather than beating yourself up for having emotions, try a more gentle approach. Emotions are human, and there is nothing wrong with you for experiencing them.

Practice Updates and Behind the Scenes

Something very exciting is coming to Mind Body Wellness this Fall!

At the end of Summer, I completed my training for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, and over the past few weeks have been putting the pieces together to implement this work into Mind Body Wellness. And now, I am officially accepting new clients for this powerful healing work! 

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy is a psychedelic healing modality that has powerful antidepressant effects, even for treatment-resistant depression. Not only that, but it helps to move through stuck and maladaptive patterns of behavior in a different way than traditional psychotherapy. KAP involves the administration of ketamine together with psychotherapy, which allows you the ability to process and integrate any insights that arise during the medicine session with the collaborative support of your therapist. If you want to learn more about this work and find out if it’s right for you, read more here.

Recommended Resources

As always, I like to leave you with some resources that I hope are helpful. A podcast that I absolutely loved this month was about the neuroscience of relationships and connection. Leave it to me to be brought to tears talking about the brain, but this episode brought a whole new light to ways to handle conflict and connection. You can check it out here. 

And if you haven't already heard, I have created a new Resources page on my website! This page will house podcasts, books, and courses for you all in one place, so if you miss something in a newsletter, you can always go back to find it here. Not only that, but if you want to go back to view previous newsletters, they are always available to you too. 

I'd love to hear from you! How are these newsletters resonating? What questions do you have? I would love to connect with you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being here with me. 

Happy Fall, 

- Nicole