Quill Counseling

06/30/2022

Wonderful women, I'm delighted to facilitate this upcoming virtual eight week therapy group, beginning August 19th, for those who struggle with anxiety. (And these days, phew, who isn't carrying the weight of worry?)

Group therapy is an interpersonally focused, socially connective, and relatively affordable option for psychological support. Sliding scale spots available.

Please reach out to holly@quillcounsel.com.

03/30/2022

I am totally over the moon that Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling featured a write up about Luna, The Letter Bus on their website.

Lewis & Clark was central in my journey to become a therapist. I remember moving to Portland from small town Appalachia and feeling as if I was in a dream when I walked onto their historic, blooming, pine-lined campus. The atmosphere was captivating and felt full of possibility.

Then I began classes. Never before had I been challenged to truly investigate my worldview, biases and barriers in order to provide equitable, social justice based therapy. And never before had my professors been so welcoming and invested. The courses were meaningful and person-centered, and they prepared me well for launching into this profession.

So, thank you, Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling for your support then and now. 💫 🌙

Luna, The Letter Bus, developed by Holly Roland ’12, is on a mission to hit the road this summer!

03/26/2022

Dear friends and neighbors,

My wish to raise at least $500 for Luna, The Letter Bus, came true thanks to your generosity. The next milestone I’m trying to reach is $1,000.

I’ve done some fancy math, and it seems to me that if 25 people chip in $20, we will reach that goal together. Even a buck or two helps!

If you’re called to donate on Luna’s GoFundMe page (https://gofund.me/afbb93b2), I would like to thank you personally with a handwritten note. DM me with your address if you’re interested!

I’m excited to see what blooms from here. Wishing you a beautiful start to spring.

With love,
Holly

🙏🏽

03/23/2022

Journaling is for everybody. You don’t have to be a “creative” type or a “writer.” You don’t have to feel silly like you’re keeping a “dear diary.” Journaling is about processing your thoughts and emotions for catharsis, better understanding and stress relief. It’s a healthy outlet for self-reflection and has numerous mental health benefits. Journaling:

✔️reduces anxiety
✔️breaks cycles of obsessive thinking
✔️ helps shift our perspective
✔️ regulates emotions
✔️ encourages feeling safe while being vulnerable
✔️ helps us recognize triggers and patterns
✔️ provides space for positive self-talk
✔️clarifies fears and concerns as to better work through them

Still, sometimes we look a blank page and feel overwhelmed, not knowing what to write. Or sometimes we journal inconsistently and don’t make it habitual. That’s okay! There are easy ways to get started with journaling and keep going.

Enjoy these few journaling tips and pick up those pens!
🖊 📚 💛

03/22/2022

Weekend highlights: I collected some sweet cards at a yard sale, including these maritime themed beauties. They are my first bundle for Luna, the Letter Bus.

And!! I so enjoyed my continuing education class on writing for clinical practice from . I can’t wait to bring new letter writing exercises to clients.

So, yep, that’s my dreamy weekend combo.

03/21/2022

I dusted off the ole' website tinkering skills and created a proper page for Luna, The Letter Bus. It's exciting that the project has a new online home base!

My goal is to raise Luna's first $500 dollars over the next 48 hours. If you can contribute even $5 to this therapeutic letter writing cause (via the snazzy new "Send Support Here" button on the page), I'd be aflutter with gratitude.

More than kisses letters mingle souls.-John Donne Dear friends, Meet Luna Luna, The Letter Bus, is on a mission to hit the road this summer as a mobile space where underserved populations—in particular, women, children, the elderly, people of color, indigenous people, and those who struggle with h...

03/18/2022

Many of my friends will attest to the fact that I'm a letter writing nerd. To this day, I still send out written greetings and holiday cards with funky, handmade envelopes.

The more I continued to study the positive mental health benefits of expressive writing, the more I dreamed about creating a mobile letter writing machine!

Luna, The Letter Bus, is a project that I'm sending from my heart to yours. I'm raising funds for Luna with the intention of sharing the healing potential of expressive writing.

Thank you, truly, for taking the time to read about it and for spreading the word. If you can contribute to manifesting The Letter Bus, I'd be so appreciative of you helping to bring facilitated letter writing to underserved communities.

Dear friends, Hello! My name is Holly Roland, LMHC, and I'm the owner … Holly Roland needs your support for Help Luna, The Letter Bus, Strengthen Communities

03/18/2022

“Waiting on Clients to Log Into Session: A Montage”

Sometimes clients are late. Or they forget about our meeting. Or they don’t show. It happens.

There are plenty of good, legitimate reasons why. Life is busy. We’ve all got stuff. Dogs. Kids. Dentist appointments. Work.

But sometimes we just don’t feel like it. We are tired. We stayed up binge watching “Killing Eve” (maybe that’s just me). It’s nice outside or a friend asked us to lunch, and let’s just face it, sunshine and sushi is way more appealing than therapy.

This post is to say: I 👏 hear 👏 you. Therapy is tough. It digs stuff up. It can be awkward and uncomfortable. We may be annoyed with our therapist or just don’t feel like being asked a zillion questions about our mood, thoughts and childhood.

Plus, depression and anxiety, the two most common mental health challenges, don’t exactly cheerlead us into session.

My challenge to you is—whether you are in therapy or not, to pause (are you pausing?) and reflect on why you might be avoiding certain commitments, activities, relationships, or conversations. Free write about those “whys” for 10 minutes today if you’d like to go deeper.

Avoidance can be a protective mechanism, but it can also carry a cost.

We all avoid things. It’s becoming more aware of the reasons behind this behavior that is a solid step toward changing it, so you can show up for yourself and for your day as fully as possible.

We are in the forest of life together, friends, and I for one don’t mind waiting ‘round if you ever feel up to talking.

03/17/2022

It is so seemingly simple, social media. Post a picture. Write some words. Get in a few (hundred) hashtags, and keep my tiny handful of followers up to date.

Well, here’s a not-secret trait about me: I am pathetically horrible with social media. Truth be told, I don’t prioritize web presence because I struggle with the toxic elements of technology, and often, I feel the urge not to be a part of social constellations. So, I avoid updating my pages and focus on other business tasks: taxes 🙄, client preparation, reading and research.

But I’ve been trying to find a balance and shifting my thinking. It’s true that I don’t want to spend hours each week obsessively curating content, but it’s also true that I want to connect with others and build community while sharing what I’m excited about in my counseling world.

So, I am resolved to do better while honoring my screen time boundaries: I intend to post a few times a week and find joy in the element of linked humanness that electronic sharing makes possible, and otherwise I aim to stay present in my here and now, smile and sky day-to-day.

But where have I been? When not working remotely—outside—breathing in the buds and waves and forest air. Traveling to visit family and friends. Walking my dog, Sable. Writing poetry.

I realize that I am overdue in showing my face again and saying hello. Quill Counseling is still here, emerging from hibernation. Thanks for being patient with me, and thanks for being here too. 👋 🌸

09/10/2021

Learn about some of the various benefits of expressing yourself through writing, whether as a hobby, in therapy, or in a community writing group! (And please consider joining my Thursday evening “Write for Wellness” online meet up.)

♥️

09/09/2021

Who are you becoming?

We are different versions of ourselves every ✨single ✨day. Opportunities bud around us; things change; relationships ebb and flow. Even deeply rooted values, beliefs and priorities can shift and expand. So much of how we perceive our lives is based on our subjective experience, and with every sunrise and sunset, this experience refreshes, anew.

Think about what you might say to a younger version of yourself, if you could give the "you" living in that moment of time advice? Because you are older now, after all, and have learned a thing or two. You have watched enough maple leaves swirl green to yellow to brown, then re-join the earth cycle.

Could you cultivate compassion? Deliver wisdom? Approach yourself with levity? Recognize the cultural, societal, psychological context of how you were existing during that time?

Try writing a poem to your younger self using the imperative mood, that is, a form of request, such as "do" or "don't." See where it takes you. Reflect on what comes up. Talk about it with those close to you, or, a therapist. 😉

Here's an excerpt from one of my favorite poems, "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid. (And PS, this poem will make an appearance in tomorrow night's "Write for Wellness" virtual drop in group, starting at 6PM!)

“don’t squat down to play marbles—you are not a boy, you know; don’t pick people’s flowers—you might catch something; don’t throw stones at blackbirds, because it might not be a blackbird at all; this is how to make a bread pudding; this is how to make doukona; this is how to make pepper pot; this is how to make a good medicine for a cold;

this is how to catch a fish; this is how to throw back a fish you don’t like, and that way something bad won’t fall on you; this is how to bully a man; this is how a man bullies you; this is how to love a man, and if this doesn’t work there are other ways, and if they don’t work don’t feel too bad about giving up; this is how to spit up in the air if you feel like it, and this is how to move quick so that it doesn’t fall on you; this is how you make ends meet; always squeeze bread to make sure it’s fresh;”

09/02/2021

Befriending our strengths helps us to feel happier, improves self-esteem and supports us in reaching our goals.

Sometimes these strengths are clear and other times they are waiting to be discovered.

What activities fill you with energy? What do other people say you’re good at? When do you feel most aligned with your purpose? What have you been successful at in the past? What makes you a good friend, partner, parent, co-worker or neighbor? Look and watch for the positive parts of you. They are waiting to be acknowledged.

Try this: journal about three strengths you notice and appreciate in others a few times this week. This practice helps us step into a “strength-spotting mindset.” Then, write about a strength you notice in yourself. Read it aloud. Let the words sink down and settle.

There is only one “you” in the world. You carry a special combination of skills, talents and positive qualities that are available resources of resiliency. Don’t forget to develop and use them. Don’t forget they are there.