If you’ve been following this blog for more than a few weeks, you probably realize that I am apt to post about one of three things:

-self care and wellness

-trauma

-people-pleasing

Don’t believe me?

Go back and look at the records. I’ve been posting every week for over a year, and I think that almost every post can be put into one of these three categories.

…I suppose there was that one post on creativity, but we could argue that creativity is an important form of self-care.

Maybe that seems like a strange hodgepodge of topics, but they’re all closely related. But I’m not getting into that relationship today. We are going somewhere different instead.

The experiment

This blog began as an experiment. There were a few things I wanted to try:

-to see if I could keep a weekly writing commitment

-to share useful information with you

-to develop my own understanding of my calling as a therapist

Why the “year in review” post in the middle of summer?

Well, I’m letting all that gathered experience bloom in my practice. I figured out my message– who I want to serve and how I can best help them.

So, my website is all about people-pleasing now.  There are lots of other changes coming up, too.

I made you a thing

For the last few weeks, I’ve been working on something for you. It’s a handy guide to saying no, called “Ready, Set, NO!!” It’s good for brushing up on your saying no skills, from picking your battles to understanding why saying no is kind and good to common mistakes to avoid when setting limits.

The guide even includes a no-phobia quiz. It helps you understand why saying no is tough for you, so you know what you need to make it easier to do. You can get this guide for free by signing up for my monthly newsletter.

You can also expect that I’ll be putting up a reading list soon, with book reviews and recommendations. The books will be geared towards the people-pleasing and “nice girl” stuff we struggle with– but there will be lots of other good finds, too.  I’ve also added an online scheduling feature, so you can set up appointments online.  No more appointment phone tag!

Even with all these changes, some stuff remains the same. I will continue to post on this blog every Tuesday at 9. But even with this, I’m trying new things– adding pictures and comments to posts.

I hope you’ll make full use of all of this stuff– after all, I made it for you!

Why all these changes?

I’ve known for a long time that I had something to offer people-pleasers. It’s something I’ve struggled with for years, and it gives me great joy to let a personal hardship usefully impact my work with clients.

For months, I’ve been trying to put my calling into words– through this blog, through my own journaling and notes, with vision boards and conversations with colleagues and strangers.

My message and my practice will continue to evolve as I do. But for now, I think I’ve found something important and I’m looking to share it with others.

Could you lend a hand with that? If you read this blog and find it valuable, I would be very grateful if you would do these two things:

1.) Post a comment

2.) Tell someone about this blog

Culminations

I think culminations are exciting and scary at the same time. It’s a time of harvest– to stop offering promises and making plans and instead reap all that you’ve planted.

So, with all the culminations and changes happening around here, I’m glad we’re on the journey together.  And I thank you for helping me spread the word about my blog and my practice.  Thanks for being here, for reading, for sharing a few minutes of your time with me.

See you next week!