Spencer Northey
I was originally inspired to create this blog when I noticed how much certain songs connect and overlap with the powerful feelings and experiences discussed in therapy. This song was one of them. In Beth Crowley’s, Monster, I hear a familiar reactivity. I hear the experience of people who don’t mean to lose it, but…
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Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! As part of the celebration, I am reflecting on Celia Cruz’s salsa classic, La Vida es Un Carnival. This song could be an anthem for anyone pushing through challenges over the past years. It’s a simple rhythmic 4/4 beat that motivates: “Just. Keep. Go. -Ing!” With each downbeat: on one…
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“Bring Me to Life” is one of my favorite karaoke songs. I don’t think I am alone in this. It is so very emotive and dramatic to perform the 2003 rendition. There are these operatic female vocals and then the male voice just gets to yell some extra stuff. The story behind this song also…
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This song expresses the flooded angry thoughts of a person betrayed by someone (or someones) they believed they could trust. As aggressive as some of the lyrics are, anyone who has experienced this level of betrayal can likely relate with these words. If you’ve ever been through something like this, similar thoughts and imagery may…
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Summary: In this post I recognize May as Mental Health Awareness Month, and I reflect on how it is important to open your mind to BOTH/AND lines of thinking. I reminisce about my connection to the song, “It’s Gonna Be Me,” and the many memes poking fun at the mispronunciation in the chorus. I connect…
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Summary: This post shares eight things you can do to practice setting boundaries and letting go in difficult relationships. I recently took a leap and started relationship therapy group with some courageous and insightful participants. It was so meaningful to do this work with them. This post is dedicated to those people as we wrap…
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We do our best to detach from people who mistreat us. That’s often a big goal in individual therapy for clients: Identify who is zapping our energy and redirect it away into the people who support us. With insight and more confidence drawing boundaries, we can get better at excusing ourselves from connections with difficult…
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The authenticity and simplicity of these lyrics and the video caught me today. Like with many songs on this blog, the words and emotion feel like I’m communicating directly with a client. They echo what I’ve heard clients express to me over the years, and especially these past years. I feel a lump welling in…
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Spring is starting to spring, and I am starting to feel like myself again as I get back to work. I remembered that I never posted this blog last year, since I was going on maternity leave in September 2021. In the spirit of authenticity, I am posting this exactly as I wrote it last…
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Disney’s Encanto has had family therapists buzzing ever since it came out in November 2021. Honestly, this movie just made our jobs easier. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a clear and engaging reference for talking about family systems. Lin-Manuel Miranda over and over has shown such a keen sense about how human relationships…
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