Reflecting Without Comparison
Beginning the New Year with Self-Compassion The start of a new year often brings a wave of reflection — and with it, a quiet pressure to measure where we are against where we think we should be. We scroll through highlight reels, read lists of goals and achievements,...
The Mental Health Benefits of Festivus: Airing Your Grievances (Without the Wrestling Match)
For those unfamiliar with Festivus, the Seinfeld-inspired “holiday for the rest of us”, it’s a quirky celebration that includes an aluminum pole, feats of strength, and, most importantly, the airing of grievances. While that might sound like a recipe for chaos (and...
Ghosts of Holidays Past
Honoring What Was, While Staying Present to What Is The holidays often stir up more than cheer. They can awaken memories that live quietly in the background all year — the smell of something baking, the sound of a familiar song, the way the light fell on snow outside...
Holidays and Sensory Overload: How to Stay Regulated When Everything Feels Like Too Much
The holiday season can be both joyful and overwhelming. Between travel, family gatherings, work deadlines, and social expectations, your nervous system might be taking in far more stimulation than it can comfortably process. At Untethered Therapy, we often remind...
Reimagining Home: Finding Belonging When You Feel Displaced
A Reflection for the Season of Connection The holidays often bring talk of home — going home, coming home, feeling at home. But for many people, that word carries complicated feelings. Maybe the place you come from no longer feels safe. Maybe the people you once...
When Trust Feels Tender: Navigating the Holidays After Betrayal
The holidays don’t pause for healing. If betrayal trauma has shaken your sense of safety or belonging, it’s okay to move gently this season. You can protect your peace, redefine connection, and show up as you are — whole, hurting, and hopeful.
When Gratitude Season Feels Complicated
The holidays can bring both connection and complexity. If family gatherings stir old patterns or leave you feeling drained, it’s okay to protect your peace. Setting emotional boundaries doesn’t mean withdrawing from loved ones — it means showing up with clarity, compassion, and choice.
You Don’t Have to Carry It All Alone
November is Men’s Mental Health Month — a time to shine light on a conversation that too often stays in the dark. For generations, men have been taught to “tough it out,” “stay strong,” and “handle it.” The problem is, no one ever told them what to do when “handling...
When the Days Grow Shorter: Caring for Your Mental Health Through Seasonal Change
As the days grow shorter and sunlight fades, many people notice subtle shifts in their energy, motivation, and mood. For some, those changes are mild — a little more fatigue, a stronger pull toward cozy nights in. For others, the seasonal shift brings more significant...
Finding Peace in Body Neutrality
At Untethered Therapy, we often talk with clients about the many ways our relationship with our body can shape our mental and emotional health. For some, that relationship has been marked by years of criticism or comparison. For others, by pain, illness, or a sense of...
Breathing Underwater: Accepting That You Are Allowed To Live Instead Of Just Survive
“May all your dreams but one come true, for what is life without a dream?” ― David Gemmell In the interesting times we live in, it can be easy to find ourselves in a position where seeking beyond what we have sounds like a fool’s errand. When making ends meet is the...
Good Grief! What It Means To Experience Loss “Well” In The Digital Age
By Christina Murzynski, Clinical Mental Health Intern It has been said that loss plays an intrinsic role in the human experience. If all things eventually must end, then grief might be considered a natural response to those endings. But what constitutes a “natural”...
What Does It Mean – A Therapist’s Perspective on Expectations in Healing
By Shoshana Thaler, MA, NCC, CSAT Candidate What does it mean to be an effective therapist? What does it take for you to know that you have been successful? When your clients come to you for help, what do they expect from you? “Fix me, heal me, tell me that although I...
The Buffalo and the Cattle: Meeting the Storm
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Fractured
The following poem was written by an Untethered Therapy client, under her pen name Emberwing. The poem explores her journey from abuse and trauma through healing and recovery. This client credits a combination of EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, and...