When Should a Family Consider Therapy?
Families go through seasons of closeness and seasons of tension. Disagreements, miscommunication, and stress are part of normal family life. But sometimes patterns of conflict, distance, or overwhelm start to feel stuck. When that happens, family therapy can help families reconnect and find healthier ways of relating.
If you’re searching for family therapy in Seattle or Kirkland, or wondering whether family counseling might help your family, you’re not alone. Many families reach a point where outside support creates the space for meaningful change.
Read More
Why Community Connection Matters: Gabe Solseng Shares Insights with HuffPost
At Self Space, we believe that no one should have to navigate their darkest moments alone. Recently, our very own Gabe Solseng was featured in a moving HuffPost article discussing the power of community and connection in suicide prevention.
Read More
The Courage to Ask for Help
The tension between strength and vulnerability has been a big part of my journey, both personally and professionally. In many ways, working in mental health has been my way of pushing back against some of the unhealthy masculine attitudes that were common where I grew up…
Read More
Loving Someone Who’s Struggling With Addiction
There is a particular kind of loneliness that comes from loving someone who is hurting themselves. It doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like an extra drink at dinner. A promise to cut back that never quite sticks. A partner who feels present one minute and gone the next.
Read More
Every Rep Builds the Muscle: Rethinking Masculinity Through Vulnerability
There’s nothing weak about being vulnerable. The truth is, it takes tremendous courage to soften when every instinct tells you to armor up.
When I talk about masculinity, this is what I mean. We’re told that to be a man is to push through pain, to hold the line, to be the protector. But what strikes me as far braver is the willingness to crack that shell, to let the world see you as you are, and to accept yourself even when it feels risky.
Read More
Why Our Brains Focus on the Negative (and What to Do About It)
Long ago, our survival depended on noticing danger quickly. The brain learned to treat negative experiences as more important, more memorable, more worthy of attention.
Read More
Can EMDR Really Work Online? What We’ve Learned Since the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic created a rapid and lasting shift in how therapy is delivered, with telehealth moving from a necessity to a viable long-term option. One of the biggest questions for trauma therapists was whether EMDR could be delivered effectively and ethically through a screen.
Read More
Holding Steady in an Uncertain Job Market
Work stress is something that brings many folks to therapy, but lately we’ve noticed an uptick in anxiety around work here in Seattle and Kirkland.
Read More
This Coping Behavior Is Super Common Right Now - And It Says So Much About Where We Are As A Country
Dissociation - the brain’s way of mentally “checking out” during extreme stress - can either serve as a protective mechanism or become a chronic challenge. Learn more in Kayla Ritchie’s Huffington Post article.
Read More
Shared Space: Stories from our Therapists
Pull up a chair and enjoy our new series Shared Space: Stories from our Therapists. This series is an invitation to get to know the people who may sit with you in hard moments. You’ll find candid conversations, personal stories, and reflections on how each therapist approaches connection and healing. No clinical jargon, just real stories to help you get a feel for each therapist’s voice, values, and vibe before you ever book a session or make a recommendation. Enjoy!
Read More
The Art of Balance: DBT Skills for Healthier Relationships
In Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), many of the concepts and skills focus on increasing our ability to think flexibly and find balance. One area that I often explore with clients is their ability to balance maintaining the relationships in their lives with maintaining their own self-respect.
Read More
When Does Stress Become Overwhelm?
Stress is a large part of the human experience. But sometimes, it doesn’t even seem possible to manage our stress. It’s too big, too uncertain, too quick moving, and too mind-boggling to even begin to sort out. This feeling might actually be overwhelm and not stress, but distinguishing these two emotions can be tricky.
Read More
Why Conversations about Health are so Confusing
If you look up the definition of health, you will likely see descriptions of a person having total physical, emotional, and mental well-being. But even this definition continues to be updated and built upon. Finding one singular explanation of health is challenging, especially when you include larger cultural ideas regarding health.
Read More
Managing the Mental Health Impacts of Chronic Pain
Defined by the medical community as pain lasting three months or longer, chronic pain is closely linked to mental health, and can have an immense impact on a person’s psychological well-being.
Read therapist Tucker Robinson’s thoughts in this Seattle Times article.
Read More
Learning to Slow Down: What My First Year as a Therapist Taught Me
When I started my journey as a therapist, I carried a mix of excitement and uncertainty. I knew why I was here. I wanted to become the kind of person I didn’t have supporting me while growing up. As an Asian American man, therapy wasn’t something we talked about in my community or in my family. There was a strong message, spoken and unspoken: push through, don’t complain, keep the family in mind. Emotions were often seen as distractions, even threats to harmony. So when I first found the language to describe my own internal experience in college, it was like a dam breaking.
Read More
An 'Invisible Day' May Be The Little Thing You Need To Better Your Mental Health
Therapists say it's an important way to reconnect with yourself and help combat the anxiety so many of us are feeling.
Read therapist Tychelle Graham-Moskowitz’s thoughts in this Huffington Post article.
Read More
When Panic Shows Up: What’s Happening in Your Body and How to Find Calm
Here’s the thing: panic is your body’s built-in alarm system. It’s your nervous system flipping into high alert, even when there’s no real danger. Understanding what’s happening inside your body can make the experience a little less overwhelming - and knowing a few simple ways to slow things down can make panic feel a whole lot more manageable.
Read More
Thoughts on Loneliness in Seattle and "the Seattle freeze"
Loneliness is not a permanent state; it’s a signal, a quiet invitation to notice ourselves and how we want to relate to others.
Read More
Building and Repairing Trust in Relationships
In one of our recent blog posts, we talked about how couples can begin repairing trust after lies. That piece resonated with so many of you, and it makes sense. Trust is at the core of every healthy relationship, and when it’s broken, the path forward can feel uncertain.
Read More
Family Therapy in Seattle and Kirkland: Building Stronger Connections
As someone who grew up in a family of five kids, I know firsthand how wonderful family can be. I also know how complex it can feel when communication breaks down or when life’s challenges make it hard to stay connected.
Read More
