Your home for holistic and compassionate counseling for individual, teens and couples in St. Petersburg, Florida.
01/09/2026
Here’s a message from one of our therapists Jessi:
“Hi all, Jessi here 🧚🏼
Walking into the new year with confidence doesn’t mean having everything figured out.
It means trusting the part of you that has already survived hard seasons. It means moving forward without rushing. It means letting clarity arrive through action, not pressure.
As a mother, wife, friend, daughter, therapist, and acrobat, I’m doing less mental gymnastics and more listening: to my body, my values, and the pace that actually supports me.
Confidence isn’t loud. It’s quiet self-trust. It’s knowing you can meet what comes without abandoning yourself.
What matters most is alignment, not achievement.
Step forward gently. You’re allowed to go at your own pace.”- Jessi 💗
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01/08/2026
You don’t have to start the year feeling motivated to be doing it right 💛
The beginning of a new year often comes with pressure to have clarity, goals, or a fresh sense of direction. But not everyone enters January feeling renewed. For many, this season is quieter, heavier, or filled with mixed emotions.
Honoring where you are means allowing yourself to move at your own pace. It means recognizing that rest, reflection, and simply getting through the day are meaningful in their own way. Growth doesn’t need to be rushed, and it doesn’t require a perfect starting point.
💛 Save this post if you’re giving yourself permission to go slowly this month.
💛 Comment Below: What does honoring where you are look like for you right now?
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01/06/2026
Shorter days don’t just change the light, they change the nervous system too 🍂
When energy dips and schedules tighten, support doesn’t have to be complicated.
Morning sunlight within the first hour of waking helps regulate mood and sleep.
💧Hydration still matters, even when it’s cooler out. Water supports focus and steady energy.
🍜 Warm, grounding meals like soups, teas, and roasted vegetables help the body feel safe and nourished.
⏸️ Small pauses matter. Even five minutes of stillness can signal the nervous system to reset.
Let this be a gentle check-in instead of another thing to perfect.
Save this for later, or share it with someone who’s feeling stretched thin right now.
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01/02/2026
“May your walls know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibility.” — Mary Anne Radmacher
Here’s a message from our founder and CEO, Jamie:
“Wishing you a wonderful holiday season full of kindness, warmth, love…and a decadently delicious cup of coffee.”
❤️☕️
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01/01/2026
Starting the new year grounded, healing, and rising ❤️
A reminder that resilience does not mean perfection. It means growth, perseverance, and the willingness to begin again. Every challenge faced has shaped the strength carried forward into this new year.
The start of a new year is an invitation to rise with clarity, intention, and self belief. To honor what has been and step confidently into what is becoming.
Comment below! What strength are you carrying into the new year?
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12/30/2025
A reminder that emotional safety isn’t built by getting it “right”, it’s built by learning how to pause with love.
Our couples and individual therapist Jessi DeLeo, was recently featured on Wildly Well Mamas Podcast sharing grounded, real-life tools for navigating conflict, nervous system overwhelm, and connection in partnership and parenthood.
This conversation weaves emotional intelligence, neurodivergence, and practical relationship skills into something that feels deeply human and usable in the messy seasons of life.
Listen to the episode, share it with a partner or parent who needs it, and save it for the next moment when a loving pause could change everything.
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12/29/2025
Let’s destress ❤️👏🏼
Nicole here! Not only am I a therapist, but I also teach stress management at the collegiate level. The holiday season is now winding down! And one of the biggest things I talk about with my students is how to actually optimize breaks and vacations so they support real restoration.
Even when we may technically be on holiday break, our minds often stay busy: ruminating on unfinished tasks, worrying about what’s ahead, and replaying the year behind us. Slowing down when we finally have space isn’t a luxury; it’s essential for our mental well-being.
Here are a few ways you can intentionally slow down and find presence as we end the year!
✨ Practice intentional slowing: move slower than usual, create gentle mornings, or take a mindful walk without rushing.
✨ Create tech-light pockets of time: put your phone away for an hour and let your nervous system reset.
✨ Engage your senses: light a candle, savor a warm drink, take a few deep breaths, or sit in silence for a moment.
✨ Do something just for enjoyment: read, create, dance, play, or do something purely because it feels good.
✨ Find micro-moments of presence: pause before starting the car, breathe deeply before a meal, or notice small details around you.
✨ Protect your energy: gently say no when needed and honor what your body is asking for.
Wishing you presence, gentleness, and the kind of rest that nourishes you from the inside out ❤️
Comment below, how are you winding down for these final days of the year?
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12/26/2025
And sometimes asking for help and connection is the bravest thing you can do!
Connection is not something we outgrow. It is woven into who we are. Support, community, and shared experiences remind us that we were never meant to do life alone!
There is strength in leaning on others and courage in allowing ourselves to be seen. Growth happens faster and deeper when we choose connection over isolation.
Who are the people that help you feel supported and understood? Take a moment to reach out, say thank you, or simply let someone know they matter to you.
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12/23/2025
What if slowing down is where the clarity lives ✨
These journaling prompts are an invitation to listen beneath the noise, tend to what’s asking for care, and gently release what no longer needs to come with you. Winter isn’t about pushing through, it’s about protecting what matters.
Choose one prompt, and give yourself 5 quiet minutes today. Your nervous system will thank you 🤍
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12/19/2025
Help us congratulate one of our therapists, Rochelle, on an exciting update! 🎉
Rochelle has passed her licensure exam! Here’s a message from Rochelle on motivation and test anxiety:
“Hey everyone! Like many of us, growing up, my family struggled with mental health. I had dreams of helping and what I really wanted to do was become a therapist.
When I was 24, I decided to just “try.” I enrolled in college not really sure where I’d land but I knew I wanted to land somewhere. Teaching was somewhere that felt safe to me and still allowed me to help others. During my career as a teacher, I felt excited and confident. But I also felt a bit stuck. So I thought, “why not “try” counseling again?”
I enrolled in my Master’s program, two years later (to my delight!) I graduated, and 2 years after that, worked through my registered internship. The next step came closer and closer though: the national licensing exam. Some big thoughts crept in: “can I do this?” “am I good enough?” And it’s fascinating what our anxiety tells us. The little lies that feel like truths or monsters. I didn’t know if I could pass the exam which made me feel pretty stuck... again!
Despite this, I tried. Two weeks ago, I took that 5 hour exam... and I passed it!
I wasn’t sure if my childhood dream could happen, but I tried anyways. My anxiety told me lies, but I tried anyways. I recognized that the anxiety I was feeling was also trying to keep me safe from failure. In life, your anxiety will tell you things too. It’s important to try to not listen to it and pursue your passions anyways.In about a month, I’ll officially be a licensed therapist and I can’t express enough how thankful I am that I just kept trying.
Thank you to everyone for helping me celebrate a life and career win! If you’re having anxiety around failure and it’s telling you similar lies, listen to it with a grain of salt (& I know that’s hard!) but I encourage you to keep trying anyways ❤️”
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12/17/2025
Love shouldn’t cost you yourself 👏🏼
Codependency often starts quietly. You put someone else’s emotions first, adjust yourself to keep the peace, or take responsibility for fixing things that were never yours to carry. Over time, it can feel like you’re disappearing in the process.
Understanding codependency isn’t about blaming yourself. It’s about recognizing the patterns that taught you to over-function, over-give, and overextend. And it’s about learning that your needs, boundaries, and identity deserve just as much care as anyone else’s.
Healing begins when you start coming back home to yourself: slowly, intentionally, and with compassion.
Comment below: Which part of codependency are you learning to release?
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12/16/2025
Feeling stuck but can’t explain why? Try this 60-second nervous system check-in. 🌿
Therapeutic Tool: The 3 B’s (CBT + Somatic Awareness)
This tool supports moments of overwhelm, spiraling thoughts, or shutdown by slowing things down and creating choice.
✨ Body: What is being felt physically right now? (jaw tight, chest hot, shoulders lifted)
✨ Belief: What story is riding with this sensation? (“I’m failing,” “It’s all on me”)
✨ Behavior: What is one tiny action that honors the nervous system and core values?
Nothing needs to be fixed all at once. Awareness creates space. Small actions create safety.
Save this for the next spiral 🤍 Share with someone who needs a gentler way to cope.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to Be Your Best Self & Thrive Counseling:
Be Your Best Self + Thrive is a group of warm, compassionate mental health therapists in sunny Saint Petersburg, Florida.
We work with teens, adults and couples that want to reduce anxiety and stress, overcome trauma and depression, improve their relationships, and learn how to develop positive attitudes towards life’s most complex and challenging circumstances.
Our unique approach to mental health includes a variety of mind-body-spirit approaches and we offer support both in-person and online. Our services are available to all Florida residents.
We believe that everyone has the internal strength, desire, and ability to be happy. As we grow older, however, we can experience negative life events and challenges that make it hard to access that part of ourselves. We can also easily get distracted by the outer world and lose touch with our inner spirit and true, authentic selves. We become tired, disconnected, and stuck. Sometimes we even seek happiness in the wrong places or people and get stuck in unhealthy patterns of behavior.
The good news: Each and every one of us, with the right guidance, can change! We can break out of the old ways, release our traumas and unhealthy behaviors, and find the peace, joy, and fulfillment we are seeking. By drawing from our unique mind-body-spirit approaches, our team can help you find a more peaceful, healthy, and happy way of life that you deserve.
