Living with suicidal ideation is often overwhelming. Thoughts of ending one’s life can feel relentless, leaving little space for hope or relief. For many, these thoughts are not a sign of weakness but a reflection of intense emotional pain and the absence of effective coping strategies. Dialectical Behavior Therapy, better known as DBT, was developed specifically with people in mind...[ read more ]
Suicidal thoughts often feel like an internal battle. One part of us longs to live, while another insists that giving up is the only way forward. For many, this struggle can feel shameful and isolating, as though the very existence of suicidal thoughts means something is deeply wrong. Internal Family Systems (IFS) offers a compassionate alternative. It reframes suicidal ideation...[ read more ]
When someone is living with suicidal thoughts, the pain often runs deeper than daily stressors or surface-level struggles. At the heart of suicidality there is often a profound crisis of meaning. People may feel cut off from purpose, from belonging, or from a sense of connection to something larger than themselves. Transpersonal psychology offers a way to reframe despair not...[ read more ]
You wake from a dream feeling unsettled. You remember only fragments ... a staircase that leads nowhere, an old friend whose face you haven’t seen in years, a glowing object just out of reach. The dream lingers like fog, leaving you with the distinct sense that it meant something, even if you can’t quite say what. In a place like...[ read more ]
It's 3 AM and you're lying in bed, mind spinning with tomorrow's presentation, next month's rent, and that conversation from last week that you can't stop replaying. Your body is tense, your breathing is shallow, and despite being exhausted, sleep feels impossible. You're caught in what feels like an endless anxiety loop. Your mind is jumping between past regrets and...[ read more ]
Your heart pounds as you join the crowd gathering to protect a neighbor from deportation. Your shoulders carry the weight of generations of struggle. Your breath quickens as sirens approach. Your feet know the rhythm of marching for justice, even if your mind feels overwhelmed by the complexity of the moment. Your body is not just present at the protest—it...[ read more ]
You wake up to news of another ICE raid in your community. Immediately, different parts of you spring into action: one part wants to drop everything and join the protest, another part reminds you of the work deadline that can't be missed, while yet another part just wants to turn off the phone and hide under the covers. By noon,...[ read more ]
This month, our featured associate is Elizabeth Dausch. One of her primary modalities is Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), and in this blog, she offers an insightful introduction to how it works and why it matters. You can also learn more about Elizabeth from our Conversations with Clinicians Interview. As a therapist, I’m continually struck by how many tools and...[ read more ]
In the practice of Gestalt therapy, chair exercises like the empty chair and two-chair techniques offer unique, experiential ways to engage with emotions, confront challenges, and process complex experiences. As therapists in San Francisco often incorporate these methods, people in the Bay Area who are searching for “gestalt therapy near me” can find meaningful, strengths-based support in this modality. Here,...[ read more ]