The Learning Curve: Bridging Evidence and Experience
Hi, Hello! I’m glad you’re here. This space is dedicated to the exploration of mental health topics discussed in sessions. At JTC, I integrate evidence-based research with lived experience to foster and support lasting transformation.
Each post is designed to inspire self-awareness, encourage emotional resilience, and deepen your understanding of interpersonal patterns that shape your daily life.
Whether you’re considering starting therapy, exploring habits and patterns that hold you back or are simply curious about mental health, The Learning Curve encourages you to engage in the process of learning and becoming, at your pace, with intention.
Explore Articles By Topic
Why Do High Achievers Still Feel Like Frauds?
Many capable, accomplished people carry a private belief that they have fooled everyone around them. This blog looks at where that belief comes from and how perfectionism keeps it going.
How Long Does Grief Last?
Is there a “normal” amount of time to grieve? Learn about the grief timeline, the five stages of grief, why grief can come and go, and what can help with coping after a loss.
Why Do I Shut Down When I’m Overwhelmed?
Why do you shut down when overwhelmed? Learn how the nervous system responds to stress, why overwhelm can make it harder to think or respond, and how to recognize the signs of shutdown earlier.
Why Do I Always End Up in the Same Role in My Family?
Why do old family dynamics return even when you have changed? Explore how family roles develop, why they persist into adulthood, and what it takes to respond differently.
Beyond the Buzzwords: What TikTok and Instagram Therapy Gets Right (and Wrong) About Repairing Family Relationships
One video says your parents are narcissists. Another says your child is an avoidant attachment style. The next tells you to go no contact. Another explains that an uncomfortable conversation is "gaslighting," most disagreement is a boundary violation, and every family has an emotionally immature family member.
If you've spent time on TikTok or Instagram, and listened to content like this, I encourage you to read the sections below.
Can Family Relationships Improve After Years of Conflict?
Can family relationships heal after years of conflict? Research suggests they can. Explore what Dr. John & Julie Gottman and Harriet Lerner teach us about trust, repair and the conditions that make lasting relational change possible.
Why Do I Feel Like I’ve Outgrown My Life?
When the life you built stops matching who you're becoming, the resulting discomfort is not a sign that something is wrong. It is often a sign of growth, and growth tends to bring grief for what no longer fits alongside uncertainty about what comes next.
What Do You Believe About Yourself When No One Is Watching?
Core beliefs are the deeply rooted assumptions we carry about who we are, what we deserve, and how we expect others to respond to us. These beliefs influence the way we interpret successes, setbacks, relationships, and even our own thoughts. This blog introduces how core beliefs, self perception, and the internal narratives that shape confidence.
Should I Go No Contact With a Family Member?
Social media presents family relationships as having only two options: tolerate harmful behavior or cut someone out of your life entirely. That’s not reality. Let’s understand the difference between estrangement, boundaries and repair.
How Traumatic Experiences Shape Family Dynamics Across Generations
Unprocessed trauma behaves like weather. It doesn't stay in one place. It moves through a family system, shaping the emotional climate that children grow up in long after the original event has passed. Learn how healing creates opportunities to build healthier relationships.
Why Does Losing Weight Feel Impossible Even When You’re Doing Everything Right?
Curiosity often opens the door to change more effectively than criticism ever will. If you've been doing everything "right" and still feel stuck, the answer may not be another diet. Learn how emotional eating, stress, perfectionism, and the nervous system influence lasting weight change.
Why Can’t I Relax Even When Life Is Going Well?
Sometimes the external circumstances change long before the internal patterns do. This post explores how chronic stress reshapes the nervous system and why safety can feel unfamiliar even after life becomes more stable.
When Should Families Consider an Intensive Instead of Traditional Therapy?
A guide to family intensives, chronic conflict, and deeper therapeutic work
What Do You Expect Therapy To Be (And Is It Accurate)?
How your thoughts, prior experiences and expectations may be shaping the process before it begins
Why Can’t I Stop Replaying Conversations in My Head? Finding Relief from Overthinking
Have you ever walked away from a conversation feeling fine but then hours later find yourself wondering if you did or said something wrong? This is for YOU.
Is it Disordered Eating or an Eating Disorder? How to Tell the Difference and Why it Matters
Learn the key differences, common signs, and when to seek support. If food, weight, or body image are affecting your mental health, therapy can help you build a healthier relationship with food and yourself.
Do I Need Therapy or Am I Just Stressed?
Stress is part of a full life but chronic overwhelm shouldn’t be. When you’re used to performing well under pressure, exhaustion and tension can feel normal. Explore how therapy creates space to examine pressure, anxiety, perfectionism, and the cost of always holding it together. This post will help you recognize the signs of chronic strain and discover how therapy can help you recalibrate, restore balance, and move forward with greater clarity and steadiness.
How Therapy Helps with Major Life Transitions (Divorce, Loss, Career Promotion, Parenting)
Life transitions are disorienting. Even the "good" ones can feel like a whirlwind. Discover how therapy helps you hold contradictory emotions, clarify your values, and build emotional capacity during life's biggest shifts.
How to Set Healthy Boundaries
Learn the specific skills that make boundary-setting a little less uncomfortable.
What It Really Means to Set Healthy Boundaries (And Why It’s So Hard)
Discover why people-pleasing, perfectionism, and past experiences make saying no feel nearly impossible.