Seasons of Change KC

09/17/2025

The Seasons of Change Fall Newsletter has dropped! Topics include AI in therapy, Burnout, Couples Therapy and more.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGzEmfAhCI/K0wRb9zCoYt7GIPaX-SYLA/view?utm_content=DAGzEmfAhCI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h6537538bc8

09/04/2025

08/15/2025

ChatGPT and AI have been growing in popularity — but can they really support our mental health?

I’m a big fan of ChatGPT as a resource. It helps me brainstorm, organize ideas, and even create posts like this one.

When I asked ChatGPT whether it should be used for mental health, it summed it up well:

"ChatGPT can be a supplement — like a self-help book, journaling prompt, or friendly sounding board — but it should never be your only source of mental health care. For diagnosis, treatment, and crisis support, a qualified mental health professional is essential."

The #1 predictor of client success in therapy is the therapeutic relationship.
For therapy to be effective, we need a human connection — trust, empathy, and attunement. And in moments of severe crisis, there’s no one “behind the curtain” in AI to ensure safety.

If you want to explore new ice cream flavors or draft a thoughtful reply to your boss’s email, AI is a fantastic tool. But if you’re struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a professional who can provide the care, support, and presence you deserve.

Source: [Sentio AI Survey on Mental Health](https://sentio.org/ai-blog/ai-survey #:~:text=The%20data%20reveals%20anxiety%20(79.8,categories%20of%20mental%20health%20concern.)

06/20/2025

This one hits deep. 💥

True love isn't about fixing.
It’s about trusting.
Letting people find their own strength, even if it means watching them fall and rise on their own terms.

Caretaking isn't always compassion — sometimes it’s control dressed in concern.

06/17/2025

It’s not just about how much we achieve or acquire — it’s about how deeply we connect.
The love we give.
The trust we build.
The space we create for others to feel seen, heard, and safe.

Every meaningful relationship adds richness to our experience — shaping not only how we live, but how we feel alive.

06/09/2025

Oofffppph. Let that sink in. This is a hard lesson. And an important one.

Love doesn’t mean control.
Support doesn’t mean saving.
Compassion doesn’t mean taking over.

When we step in to “fix” or decide for someone else, we rob them of their power — and we carry a weight that was never ours to hold.

Healthy relationships honor boundaries.
Respect autonomy.
Choose empathy, not enmeshment.

💭 Healing begins when we stop trying to manage others and start tending to ourselves.

06/04/2025

We often forget that intimacy is about connection, not just technique. It’s about presence, vulnerability, and the emotional journey shared between two people — not just a checklist of physical motions.

True intimacy transcends the physical. It lingers in the way someone looks at you, listens to you, holds space for you. It’s an experience that lives in the in-between — where emotion, energy, and desire meet.

05/23/2025

A power article from therapist Anna Aslanian on the difference between healthy shame and toxic shame and creating internal safety.

Learn what shame is, what it does to your well-being, and what practical steps will disarm it from isolating you.

05/17/2025

Of course grief lives in the body. Thank you Dr. O’Connor for your work in providing evidence based research on grief and its impacts to our cognition and physiology.

04/19/2025

Burnout is a common topic that often surfaces in therapy—but what’s actually burning us out?

In their book Burnout, Emily and Amelia Nagoski explore not just what burnout is, but how we can move through it by completing the stress cycle.

They remind us: we're human beings—not human doings. Our role is to be human. Yet so often, we suppress our natural emotional and physical responses, leaving us feeling stuck, overwhelmed, and unable to move forward.

This book is a powerful invitation to listen to your body, honor your emotions, and allow yourself to complete the cycles your nervous system needs in order to truly heal.

04/09/2025

AI in therapy continues to be a hot topic. NPR published an article this week regarding AI bots can deliver mental health therapy with as much efficacy - or more - than human clinicians. The study they referenced mentions that AI can deliver personalized mental health interventions to scale.

While interventions are an important piece to therapy, the truly human component of a regulated nervous system of the therapist and being an empathetic witness to trauma, pain, and stress may be missing. I share more details in my latest video.

Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes and should not be considered therapy or a therapeutic relationship



https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5351312/artificial-intelligence-mental-health-therapy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSXpQufCigc

AI is everywhere, but does it have a role in the counseling office? AI can provide a tremendous amount of information and access to therapeutic concepts, wh...