culturally affirming therapy

Can Therapy Help With Chronic Pain? What the Research Shows and Why Therapy for Chronic Pain Helps

When my older brother was in his last year of college, he developed a condition where he would break out in intense, painful hives whenever he was excited or stressed, when it was hot outside, when he was exercising, or even when he stepped into a hot shower. I watched as it turned his life upside down. He had been struggling with depression before college,…
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What Is EMDR Therapy?: A Los Angeles Therapist Explains How It Works and What to Expect

I learned about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) long before I ever experienced it. People described it almost reverently, as a kind of last resort that actually worked, something that helped people recover when other approaches hadn’t. Of course I was curious. It took me years to fully understand how much of what I was struggling with was rooted in trauma, so I didn’t…
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What Is Emotional Dysregulation? Signs, Causes, and Tools That Actually Work When You Feel Out of Control

Yesterday morning, my daughter and I were running late to school. Again. The crosswalk light was blinking as we approached the busy intersection near our home in Los Angeles, and she started to dart across the street. “I don’t want to be late!” she yelled over her shoulder. My body reacted before my brain caught up. My heart lurched, my breath caught, and I screamed…
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Anxiety vs. Depression: What’s the Difference? Can You Have Both?

I’m no stranger to depression or anxiety, and have been managing both for the duration of my adult life. Depression, I’ve known since adolescence. I was a tween when my critical inner voice got louder and louder, when I would struggle to get out of bed, and when I would find myself thinking about dying far more than I now know is normal. I may…
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Back-to-School Stress?: A Therapist’s Guide to Easing the Transition

Back-to-school season can be exciting, but it can also bring a wave of stress and anxiety for both kids and parents. From shifting routines to worries about friends and teachers, the transition after summer can feel overwhelming. In my own family, I was reminded just how big these feelings can be when my kids received their teacher assignments the night before school started. During summer…
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Take Root Therapy July Newsletter

We consider the impact stress has on our mental health, offer support during ICE raids, and build a support system without a traditional family structure. A Letter From Our Founder   Dear friends, I’ve been thinking a lot about stress lately. Not just as a therapist, but as someone living through these times alongside all of you. The ongoing ICE raids here in Los Angeles…
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Image of a person sitting on the floor with their hands wrapped around their knees and their head resting on their knees to illustrate what stress and depression can look like

Can Stress Cause Depression? 5 Ways To Prevent Depression

When I think about the early days of the pandemic in Los Angeles, I remember feeling overwhelmed and scared, but I think there was also a feeling of excitement. I may be rewriting history here — and I don’t want to downplay the real fear that I was experiencing (and the magnitude of how many people were dying)– but as the eternal optimist, I assumed…
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Take Root Therapy June Newsletter

We talk about bi+ erasure, ground through yoga, and support our immigrant neighbors. A Letter From Our Founder   It’s the end of Pride Month, and I’ll be honest. This year, it has felt like Pride faded into the background. Not because it does not matter, but because so much else has been happening. The ICE raids here in Los Angeles, the war abroad, and…
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What Is Bi+ Erasure? How Bisexual Invisibility Impacts Mental Health and Identity

When I think about my sexuality, I go back to my earliest crushes. I remember being completely smitten with both Ariel and Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid. I didn’t have the words for it at the time, but I knew I felt drawn to both of them. Still, when I played with my kindergarten classmates, I only talked about Prince Eric. That felt easier. That…
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Take Root Therapy May Newsletter

We manage the urge to people please, tend to the land, and celebrate PRIDE. A Letter From Our Founder   Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a retreat that was held right at home in Los Angeles. It was something I’d really been looking forward to. I went in hoping to slow down and reconnect with myself. And I did, eventually. But it took…
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