In the past several weeks since the 2024 presidential election, I’ve felt myself as well as held space for feelings of frustration, division, anger, and worries about safety, rights, and personal freedoms. These issues can create a perfect storm of anxiety, grief, and fear. I’ve noticed myself moving from hopeful, to numb, to powerless especially when it seems like the problems are so big and out of our control. And then there’s confidence in our ability to make a better future peeking through as I engage with my community. It’s an interesting time to be a therapist.

The first thing that comes to mind is this degree of some kind of personal responsibility, regardless of disservices done in places we may want to blame or criticize or complain. At the end of the day, it kind of feels like I'm an agent in this body and I have so much ability to choose what I'm going to do with it, and fingers crossed, I do what's useful for myself and others....

Sometimes it's easy to forget how it felt before I got sober, but I think such a big part of it that, I didn't think of it in this way at the time, was that I was really cut off from other people. I mean, I had people in my life. I did have some support networks, but I think there were a lot of barriers that I had built up that made it difficult to connect with people. And even being in the recovery community or in different recovery communities, you hear a lot of people say, kind of just feeling like they were different or they never fit in, or you hear all these different ways of describing not feeling connected, not feeling a part of something bigger.

Joining a "No Buy" community group can be a game-changer for anyone committed to curbing spending and fostering mindful consumption. In these groups, you'll find a supportive network of like-minded individuals who share similar goals and challenges. The community is a treasure in it of itself, offering a judgement- free space for encouragement and company.

Despite living in Los Angeles, one of the most saturated markets for psychotherapy, trying to find a therapist who a) is the right fit for you, b) has current openings, and c) will actually call you back, is increasingly more difficult. We hear horror stories all of the time about people never hearing back from therapists they’ve sent inquiries to or feeling very discouraged not knowing where or how to even start looking for a therapist.

Our therapist, Anna Kim, is hearing more and more these days about Bad Feelings. Maybe it’s the seasonal change, the darker evenings, or the anticipation of the upcoming holiday season. As we settle back down into routines and take stock of another summer, it’s normal to feel a pull toward reassessment, an acknowledgement of the time that has passed, toward loss. Whatever the cause, it’s coming up a lot and there’s a need to advocate for the feelings we like to push off and label negative. Read on why "good" or "bad" feelings don't exist.

When interviewing for a position at Kindman & Co., a question that our co-founders ask is, “What does it mean to you when we say: ‘Therapy is political’?” This concept of therapy being political has been a driving force at Kindman– shaping our discussions and our collective approach to caring for clients. That’s why it felt important to get everyone’s take on what it meant to them. Read to hear our team’s thoughts.

Being an immigrant in the U.S. is not easy, whether that is the immigration process, xenophobia, racism, etc. Amanda shares similarly with many of their second-generation, child-of-immigrant-parent peers the want to find what they love to do and also navigate privilege that their parents didn’t and still don’t have. Click here for more about assessing privilege and building community as second-gen immigrants.