Mental Health
How to Get Clients to Open Up: 8 Practical Strategies
One of the biggest challenges in therapy isn’t just what to say—it’s how to create a space where clients feel safe enough to share. For many, talking about emotions is unfamiliar, intimidating, or overwhelming. Whether you’re a therapist, coach, or facilitator, helping people access and express their emotions is a key part of the work. Here are 8 practical ways to encourage clients to open up and share their feelings, with and without therapy tools. 1. Normalize Emotional Hesitation—But Offer a Start Some clients feel pressure to talk right away, which can create resistance. Acknowledge this openly: “It’s completely normal
Therapist’s Guide: Using Therapy Cards to Grow Connection
Therapy cards offer a creative and structured way to explore emotions in sessions. Whether working with couples, individuals, or groups, they can be a powerful tool to facilitate deeper emotional work. By using structured prompts and interactive elements, therapy cards help clients name, explore, and process their emotions in a way that feels approachable and engaging. Why Use Therapy Cards? Therapy can be intimidating, especially when clients struggle to put their emotions into words. Therapy cards provide a tangible and visual tool that can break down barriers and create a safe, guided entry point for discussing deep and complex emotions.
Relationship Reflection Prompts: Past, Present & Future: A list of powerful questions to help couples, friends, or individuals reflect on their emotional journey with love.
Reflecting on our relationships offers valuable insights into our emotional journeys, helping us understand how past experiences shape our present connections and future aspirations. Engaging in thoughtful reflection allows us to navigate our emotions, recognize patterns, and foster healthier interactions with others and ourselves. Reflecting on Past Relationships Our past relationships, whether romantic, familial, or platonic, significantly influence our current perspectives and behaviors. Taking time to reflect on these experiences can help us identify lessons learned and areas for growth. Consider these prompts to delve into your past: Understanding Present Connections Being present in our current relationships involves recognizing and
Valentine’s Reflection: What Did Love Mean to You as a Kid?
As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s a perfect time to reflect on how our understanding of love has evolved from childhood to adulthood. Our therapy card set, Emotions in Time, is designed to help you explore these evolving emotions, bringing moments like these into focus. By revisiting your earliest memories of love, you can gain valuable insights into your emotional development and the factors that have shaped your current perceptions of affection and connection. Childhood Perceptions of Love In our early years, love is often perceived through simple, tangible actions. For instance, young children might associate love with “helping each other,”
Love & Play: A Personal Reflection
Growing up, I thought love was about getting things right. Saying the perfect words, showing up in the right way, knowing how to navigate emotions without making mistakes. But love—whether for ourselves, our partners, or our clients—isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence. And presence often looks like play. Play is underrated in love. We think of it as something for kids—silly, carefree, irrelevant to the serious work of relationships. But when we look closer, play is often where love flourishes. It’s the inside jokes, the random deep conversations, the way we open up when we feel safe enough to be
Facing Wildfires and Mental Health Challenges Together
Wildfires, like the ones sweeping through California right now, bring chaos, fear, and uncertainty. If you’re already dealing with mental health struggles, this can feel like too much to bear. But here’s the thing—if you’ve faced hard times before, you might be better prepared than you realize. When It Feels Like Too Much Disasters like this can bring up a flood of emotions: panic, helplessness, or even just feeling completely numb. If you’re finding it hard to cope, you’re not alone. Those of us who’ve dealt with mental health challenges often feel things more deeply—and in moments like this, that
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