Roots and Branches Therapy

There's a specific feeling that shows up every September, even for those of us who haven't set foot in a classroom in decades. New notebooks in the drugstore aisle. The air shifting just slightly. An urge, almost involuntary, to make a list of everything we're going to do differently starting now. If this sounds familiar, you're not imagining it — and you're definitely not alone. What's Actually Happening: The Fresh Start Effect Psychologists call this the "fresh start effect" — our tendency...

You can be deeply in love with someone and still feel profoundly lonely. In fact, one of the most painful dynamics I see in therapy isn't the couple who fights constantly, it's the couple who has stopped fighting altogether because they've quietly settled into feeling like roommates, coworkers, or strangers sharing the same space. Many people arrive in session confused by this exact feeling. They tell me that nothing is really wrong, that their partner is a good person, that they aren't...