I began bullet journalling while in school for my masters in Counseling Psychology. In one of the bullet journaling forums I followed, a visitor posted about possible ways to track triggers and got zero responses- so I set out to take what I’d learned in grad school about trauma, mindfulness, and the value of self-advocacy…
Many families that are struggling will identify one person as “the issue.” Having one person to care for (or rage against) soothes the family by allowing them to create a place where they can locate their pain. When the family locates their problem in this “identified patient,” the sense of helplessness is eased as the…
This doodle depicts a visual way of conceptualizing the difference between personality disorders, and how those disorders tend to line up with interpersonal styles that I’ve found really helpful. Graphic adapted from Dr Jeffrey J Magnavita’s Evidence-based treatment of personality dysfunction: Principles, methods, and processes. It was interesting to engage the feedback on this post when…
You don’t have to have an uncanny ability to create outline letters in order to create bold outlined texts in your sketchnotes and bullet journal. This post (part of a series of posts on ways to create dramatic subject-specific content during a live lecture or presentation), shares my favorite method for creating bold, tidy outlined…
I found this vintage speedball hand lettering instructional tutorial tucked into a weathered cardboard fountain pen case in a flea market in Missouri. I’m a sucker for vintage things, hand lettering, and pens, so I knew I had to buy it- as much for the tattered old piece of paper as for the actual pens…
It can be hard to hammer down what actually IS mental health or mental illness, and how treatments work. Paradoxically, this sometimes feels even more confusing in the middle of graduate school as information from many different theoretical orientations flows out with the volume and velocity of a broken fire hydrant. Yesterday as we had…
The amount of art in my notes is in direct proportion to how bored/tired/distracted I am in class. #itsontopicatleast my favorite part of these notes is the sentence I just dropped mid-word #sotired………#psychology #psychblr #psychotherapy #studynotes #handwriting #studyspo #handwritten #psych #illustration #recovery #recoveryisworthit #mentalillness #mentalillnessrecovery #mentalillnessawareness #keepfighting #staystrong #alwayskeepfighting #fixyourwings #psychblr #gradpsych #psychotherapy # #counseling…
Genograms are like family trees, but have their own visual language so the complexity of relationships and intergenerationally transmitted issues can be concisely represented. This feels 100% up my alley so I’m really looking forward to the class I have on it this term.
Racism is a structure, not an event.
Advice my Relational Therapy professor repeats almost every class: learn to hear your inner voice as you listen to another person. Don’t cling to what textbooks say is a "correct" intervention, and don’t allow your natural defenses to control the interaction, both will destroy the possibility of an authentic encounter.
Your body, your community, and the kids in your shpere of influence need you to think critically about cultural messages about weight, who is allowed to eat what without judgment, and what being healthy actually means. Notes from a #healthateverysize training in Seattle. Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift by Linda Bacon…
When you get to a study sesh and realize you have no pen, but it’s ok because you have an orange felt-tip and Photoshop…
In a heathy relationship, partners offer one another containment. Setting healthy boundaries is the self-care equivalent of offering yourself containment.
When I sold my small business in 2015, I promised myself that I would see more of the world. Initially, I was turned off to the idea of solo travel, so I put my travel plans to the side. That was two years ago. In the time since, I’ve grown in my ability to navigate…
During my second year of study to earn a Masters in Counseling Psychology I had to take a class called Psychopathology. At most schools, this is the class where you memorize DSM-V, how to diagnose different mental illnesses, and form treatment plans. We did all these things, however my professor was particularly interested in the…
This summer has been kind to me and offered many opportunities to travel. While it was nice to be home after the long trip in July, I took one last jaunt out of the city in August. It was a great way to savor some of the last days of summer before Seattle’s all-too-short summer…
On the second-to-last day of my trip to Rome this summer, I was tired, lost, and wandered upon an art supply store on a narrow street near Piazza Navona. While there I discovered a product I’d not seen in the US before- masking liquid in a pen- and eagerly bought it for about 7€.…