Pacifica Counseling & Psychiatry

02/10/2026

Be the ball. ⚽️

What started as pink soccer-ball hair ties and early mornings on the field became some of my earliest lessons in regulation, resilience, and agency.

In Dr. Hanna's (aka lil spud's) newest blog, she reflects on youth sports, developmental neuroscience, and trauma recovery—and why learning to move toward challenge (rather than away from it) shapes the brain across the lifespan.

🧠 Confidence is practiced.
🧠 Resilience is learned.
🧠 Healing is possible.

Read the full piece on the Pacifica blog!

https://www.pacificacounselingllc.com/post/be-the-ball-early-development-resilience-and-the-neuroscience-of-growing-strong

From pink soccer-ball hair ties to developmental neuroscience, this reflection explores how early experiences shape resilience, regulation, and healing across the lifespan—and why learning to “be the ball” may be one of the most powerful lessons we give developing (and healing) brains.

01/27/2026

You don’t have to be in crisis to be in therapy.

So often, people wait until things are falling apart before reaching out. But therapy can also be a space for reflection, grounding, and making sense of life while you’re still standing.

This week, our Pacifica offices feel especially connected. With intense cold and icy weather affecting both Minnesota and Georgia, many of us—and many of the people we serve—are navigating similar stressors: disrupted routines, cabin fever, uncertainty, and the quiet emotional weight that comes with it.

Even across state lines, we’re holding space for the same human experiences. And there’s something powerful about remembering that none of us are alone in it.

Therapy doesn’t require a breaking point—just a willingness to be human, together.
🤍

01/23/2026

Always feel that you count.
Always know that you are somebody.
Always remember that your life has significance.

Much of the pain people carry comes from being taught—directly or indirectly—that they don’t matter.

Our work isn’t about fixing people.
It’s about helping them reconnect with their inherent worth.

Inspired by the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

01/14/2026

If you’re afraid and still trying…
If you’re unsure and still showing up…
If you’re tired and still choosing growth…

That is strength.

We’re honored to walk alongside you. 🤍

01/06/2026

📚☕ Pacifica’s Article Club is officially a thing.

A glimpse into our world:

This year we’re being intentional about therapist wellness & creating space to learn, nerd out, and connect without pressure. Oftentimes therapists exist on an island by themselves rather than in community with others. @ Pacifica, our islands are interactive & fun! 😎

Theory, curiosity, community, and cozy vibes included.
Grateful to start the year this way, together and see where the learning takes us this year.

01/02/2026

🎥 What No One Knows About Being a Therapist in January

January is often framed as a fresh start — new goals, new energy, new routines. But for therapists, January can carry a very different weight.

In today’s Pacifica Live, our CEO Dr. Hanna Cespedes speaks candidly about what January actually looks like behind the scenes in the therapy world — the emotional labor, the increased demand, the responsibility clinicians carry, and the quiet resilience required to keep showing up for others.

This conversation is for:
• Therapists who feel the January pressure
• Clients who wonder what it’s like on the other side of the therapy room
• Anyone curious about the human side of mental health care

🎥 Watch the replay here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/_VKMOZiXaZM

As we begin a new year, we’re grateful for our clinicians, our clients, and our community. Mental health work doesn’t reset on January 1 — and neither does our commitment to thoughtful, ethical care.

💛 Feel free to like, share, or comment if this resonated.

January is often framed as a fresh start — but for therapists, it can be one of the most emotionally demanding months of the year.In this live conversation, ...

01/01/2026

Ending the year with intention. Entering the new one the same way. 🎊

Therapist Eliza said it best! She continues to model thoughtful leadership, steady clinical presence, and grounded intentionality. We are deeply grateful for her leadership in our Atlanta office as we step into a new year together. 🙏🏼

As shared at the close of this clip from Dr. Hanna —this year has been one of the most meaningful and successful seasons of growth for our practice. We’re incredibly thankful for the trust of our clients, the support of our community, and the clinicians who show up with care and integrity every day.

Here’s to continued growth, reflection, and connection in the year ahead!

12/25/2025

✨ Merry Christmas from Pacifica Counseling & Psychiatry ✨

This season invites reflection—on growth, connection, and care. Whether Christmas brings joy, grief, rest, or a mix of emotions, we want you to know you’re not alone.
We’re grateful for our clients, clinicians, partners, and community who trust us with their stories. May this season offer moments of peace, grounding, and hope as we move toward the new year together. 🤍

12/19/2025

All we wanted for Christmas was… meaningful growth conversations 🎄☕💻

Today was filled with virtual professional growth reviews—reflecting on a year of thriving, celebrating growth, reviewing the numbers that matter, and identifying areas to keep strengthening in the year ahead.

At Pacifica, supervision & feedback is collaborative, professional development is ongoing, and growth doesn’t pause for the holidays. Even with geographically diverse team, these conversations keep us connected, aligned, and moving forward—together.

Ending the year grateful, reflective, and proud of this team.

Now… onto cookies and a little rest. ✨

12/17/2025

🎄 December can feel like a holiday highlight reel — but for many it brings nostalgia, pressure, grief, or burnout.
Our latest blog, December Reflections, explores why emotions feel amplified this time of year and how you can care for your mental health with compassion and intention. From boundary setting to grounding rituals, this post meets you wherever you are on your emotional journey. 💬💛

Read more ➡️
https://www.pacificacounselingllc.com/post/december-reflections


We hope this piece helps you pause, reflect, and honor your experience as 2025 winds down. ✨

December often carries more than cheer. Alongside warmth and tradition, it can stir grief, nostalgia, pressure, and emotional fatigue. This reflection explores why feelings intensify during the holidays and offers gentle, therapeutic tools to help you set boundaries, honor memory, and care for your....

12/13/2025

Today’s Pacifica Brown Bag Series was led by Dr. Britney Turk of Mountainview Counseling, and the timing could not have been more important—right in the heart of the holiday season, when therapists are often carrying more than they realize.

Dr. Turk spoke powerfully to the Pacifica team about wellness management and burnout prevention for mental health professionals, grounding the conversation in both clinical insight and personal experience. One line especially stayed with us:

“Therapist wellness is client safety.”

Not a luxury. Not an extra. A clinical responsibility.

Burnout, she reminded us, often grows in isolation. Awareness is the first step—but commitment to wellness is what sustains us. When therapists care for themselves, they protect the quality, ethics, and safety of the care they provide.

We are deeply grateful to Dr. Turk for leading this timely, honest, and necessary conversation—and for reminding us that tending to ourselves is part of tending to our clients. 🤍

12/10/2025

Okay, Rochester 😍 ❄️

We love our cozy corner for our third office location in Rochester, MN. While the weather may be very different than our Georgia home, our mission stays the same: cultivating peace and wellness at both the individual and community level, with or without snow! ❄️ ☃️