Blogs

Having no motivation to do anything is rarely as simple as being lazy. More often, low motivation is a sign that something is draining your mental or physical energy, whether that's ongoing stress, burnout, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, ADHD, grief, trauma, or a difficult season of life. Everyone has days when getting started feels hard, but if that feeling keeps showing up or you've stopped enjoying things that normally matter to you, it's worth paying attention. What I tell clients is this: struggling to do something is not the same as not caring about it. You can care deeply about your job, relationships, home, health, or future and still feel like you have nothing left in the tank.

Some anxiety in children is a normal part of growing up, and many kids move through fears and worries with time and support. It's time to consider getting help when your child's anxiety is intense, keeps coming back, or starts interfering with school, sleep, friendships, activities, or family life. A child therapist can help you understand what is happening and give both you and your child practical tools for managing anxiety.If you're wondering whether you should have noticed sooner or done something differently, try not to turn this into a parenting report card. Anxiety isn't always obvious. Sometimes a teacher notices changes at school first, while other children hold it together all day and unravel once they're home.‍

Emotional numbness can happen when stress, trauma, depression, grief, or other difficult experiences become too much to process at once. You may feel disconnected from your emotions, the people you love, or even the life happening around you. Therapy can help you understand what is behind that shutdown and gradually reconnect with your feelings at a pace that feels manageable. Feeling numb can be frightening, especially when you don't understand why it's happening. You may wonder why you aren't excited about things you normally enjoy or why you can't feel close to someone you know you love. Emotional numbness does not mean you have stopped caring, and it does not necessarily mean you will always feel this way.

Feeling distant from your partner doesn't always mean you're falling out of love. Often, it means you've become disconnected through stress, unresolved hurt, a big life change, or simply drifting apart while life got busy. A clue is how you feel about the possibility of closeness: if part of you misses your partner, the love may still be there underneath the distance.When you've been having the same fight for months, recovering from a breach of trust, adjusting to a new baby, or barely talking beyond schedules and responsibilities, it can be easy to mistake disconnection for the end of love. Before deciding what your feelings mean, it can help to understand what has changed between you.

In a recent magazine interview, I was asked about three skills that helped me in my journey to becoming a marriage and family therapist. It didn’t take me long to realize that the following words really did help me get to where I am today. Commitment, Consultation, and Curiosity. The 3 Cs of personal and professional growth, in my opinion. Commitment has been the top because it has allowed me to focus on my goals and allow me to really understand what I am putting myself into when I decide to do something for myself. Regarding my education and professional background, I committed myself to the school journey of earning the degrees I have, to increase the opportunities that I gained overtime. I don’t believe that I would be where I am today without the educational and professional experiences.

Mental health affects everyone, yet conversations about it remain difficult in many Latino households. While awareness has grown in recent years, stigma, cultural expectations, and limited access to care continue to prevent many individuals and families from seeking the support they deserve. Closing this gap begins with understanding where the stigma comes from and creating spaces where mental health is viewed as an essential part of overall well-being.

I think airports are proof that humans were never meant to feel fully certain. At an airport, there are people who still don’t know that you have to take your laptop out during TSA, water bottles that somehow cost $8, and crowds full of people either departing from home or arriving at it. Nothing is certain there. Will your flight be delayed? Cancelled? Will there be turbulence? Will you forget your luggage on your patio because you got distracted? (Okay, that only happened to me once, maybe twice, but I swear I’ve remembered it ever since...)

There’s something unmistakable about the first beat of a reggaeton track. It doesn’t ask for permission—it enters your body, finds your rhythm, and gently (or not so gently) pulls you into motion. For many people, that movement is more than just dancing. It’s a release. It’s grounding. It’s healing.In a world where mental health conversations are finally becoming more open, we often hear about therapy, mindfulness, journaling, and medication. But there’s another powerful, accessible tool that deserves a seat at the table: music—specifically, reggaeton.

The act of breathing is such a beautiful metaphor for life itself, taking it in with every inhale and letting go with each exhale. Life is about having the most fulfilling human experience: overcoming difficulties with resilience, savoring joyful moments with ease,feeling powerful through our productive endeavors, learning to grow, and loving deeply. Each moment has a unique rhythm of breath: slow and deep, fast and sharp, shallow and short. The way we breathe carries information about our physical experience of the world, which we then label as emotions. We go through life underestimating one of the most powerful tools for accessing emotional and physical shifts: our breath.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most dominant models in modern psychotherapy. If you train as a therapist, you’re going to learn it. I did.‍Before training as a therapist my background was in history, and recently I learned about the link between Stoicism and CBT and here’s the part that interests me most: many of CBT’s core ideas are not actually modern. They trace back over 2,000 years to Stoic philosophy in Ancient Greece and Rome.‍Exploring this historical connection does not require taking a position on CBT’s overall effectiveness. Rather, it highlights how enduring philosophical questions about emotion, judgment, and suffering have shaped the development of modern psychological theory — and I find that interesting.‍I was trained in CBT. I understand the structure, the thought records, the cognitive distortions, all of that. But I don’t practice CBT in a strict, manualized way. It’s not the framework I primarily work from. That said, I douse certain cognitive ideas when they’re useful. And I also find myself naturally incorporating Stoic principles in therapy when they fit.‍So for me, this isn’t about promoting CBT. It’s about recognizing where some of these ideas came from — and why they’ve lasted so long.

Mental health isn’t a trend, a buzzword, or a weakness. It’s part of being human. Some days you feel productive, connected, and hopeful. Other days, getting out of bed feels like climbing a mountain with no summit in sight. Both experiences are valid. Both are real. And neither defines your worth.‍ The Myth of “Having It All Together” We live in a world of highlight reels. Social media shows us curated success, glowing skin, tidy homes, and ambitious morning routines. What we don’t see are the panic attacks before presentations, the quiet loneliness after social gatherings, or the tears behind closed doors.Struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means you’re navigating life.Even high achievers, leaders, and creatives talk openly about their battles. Athletes like Simone Biles have spoken about prioritizing mental health over performance. Public figures such as Prince Harry have shared their experiences with grief and therapy. These conversations remind us that mental health challenges do not discriminate.

One of the biggest barriers is not knowing what to look for or how to respond. As many as 2 out of 3 adults have reported that they do not feel confident recognizing when someone may be considering suicide. Although many adults are unsure of what steps to take, most are open to learning more. Education empowers us to show up for one another with clarity, compassion and intention. Understanding risk factors, warning signs, and protective factors can help us feel more prepared to support those who may be struggling.

As a therapist, some of the most important and vulnerable conversations I have are with clients—children, teens, and adults—who are struggling with suicidal thoughts or self-harm tendencies. These moments are tender and often filled with fear, but they’re also moments of incredible courage. When someone opens up about wanting to hurt themselves, they are giving us an opportunity to help hold their pain. One tool I use in these conversations is the ASK method: Acknowledge, Support, Keep safe. It’s a framework that makes something overwhelming feel manageable, and it’s just as valuable for parents, friends, and loved ones as it is for therapists.

Growing up in a Hispanic household, mental health was rarely discussed. Anxiety was called “nervios”, sadness was “estar triste”, and seeking help could feel like weakness. As a Latina and a therapist living with anxiety and depression, I’ve learned that healing rarely happens in a straight line. Sometimes it’s found in therapy sessions, sometimes in community—and sometimes in the pages of a book you thought was just fiction.

As a therapist, I often hear things like, “You must have it all together,” or “I’m sure you don’t deal with anxiety.” All I have to say to that is: WRONG. I’m a therapist who lives with anxiety—and I’m human, too. Over time, I’ve learned to accept that both truths can exist side by side. My anxiety isn’t something I can just “turn off..." Not even in Disneyland. Actually… especially not in Disneyland. Between the crowds, the noise, the overstimulation, and the pressure to "make every moment magical," anxiety can sneak in before I’ve even scanned my Disney Magic Key pass. But here’s the twist: Disneyland is also the very place that’s taught me how to pause, ground, and regulate myself in ways I didn’t even expect. Over time, it's become my own kind of therapy, offering real-time present moment opportunities to practice the same tools I often share with clients as well as with my own work.

"Was this movie inspired by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?" If you’re not familiar with it, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic approach that focuses on how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are all interconnected. Basically, CBT says that what we think affects how we feel, and how we feel affects what we do—and vice versa.

Being sick forced me to stay home, rest, and eventually slow down. I found myself wanting to bounce back quickly, to return to my usual routine: workouts, work, coffee dates, travel. But my body asked me to pause. In that stillness, I realized how much I was living in the future, always feeling anxious, and thinking, “what’s next”. This helped bring me back to the present and realign my values to actions of living slowly and more intentionally.

Passive recharging falls into the activities that don’t require a whole lot of planning or energy, i.e., sleep, watching a tv show or movie, listening to music, etc. These are activities that are needed to just shut my brain off and have some space to do nothing. Active recharging requires an energy cost. Think about exercising or engaging with a hobby you’ve been putting off to “not having enough time.” It requires planning and engagement. A barrier can be an automatic thought, such as, “I’m too tired… I don’t want to spend more energy.” But, this can be an unfounded thinking trap! I often forget about how energized I feel after going on a walk after a long day.

Does your morning have a similar flavor? Maybe you don’t have kids but you hit the ground running as soon as your alarm goes off. Maybe the thoughts start their racing hamster wheel as soon as you open your eyes. Especially in today’s culture of do more with less, I find it hard to cultivate a sense of peace and calm in the midst of life’s daily activities.

Anxiety can be perplexing. Sometimes anxiety helps out by motivating us to plan ahead and be thorough when arranging a trip or completing an assignment at work. Other times it can sabotage us with fear and keep us from asking for a raise or from going out to meet new people.

You can practice mindfulness by taking even just a few seconds out of your day to notice what your five senses are telling you. The classic example that is often talked of in books on mindfulness involves using all your senses one by one to examine a raisin with curiosity, treating it as the first time you’ve ever experienced a raisin.

Calling all superheroes! Are you ready to unlock the secrets of optimal nutrition? Picture this: your mighty powers, unyielding determination, and unbreakable spirit. But there's one crucial element that can take your heroism to unparalleled heights

Think of your brain as a superhero headquarters. Mental health is like having a team of well-rested, focused, and emotionally stable superheroes working for you

Exercise is the secret weapon that will take your mental health to epic proportions! Are you ready to embark on an epic superhero fitness journey? Here are some tips to help you develop an exercise routine that suits your superhero lifestyle

Calling all mental health heroes! In the quest for optimal well-being, there's a mighty power that rivals even the most extraordinary superhuman abilities...