Spencer Northey
Ciara’s 2018 hit single, “Dose,” is a high energy pep-rally style song that may increase some happy chemicals as you listen and move to it. It includes a marching band, community dancing, and the hook “when you fall, just get back up again.” When Ciara sings the refrain “I’ma hit you with a DOSE!” she…
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“Be Kind,” by Halsey and Marshmello, makes me think of parents who struggle to be kind to their children. I have encountered these parents directly working as a family and early childhood therapist, as well as their shadows and ghosts in the therapy room when working with the adult children they have affected. Failure…
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In Mitzki’s critically acclaimed song and music video, “Your Best American Girl,” she starts out feeling cute. Then, she is rebuffed in exchange for an “All-American” prototype that she doesn’t fit into. That most Americans do not fit into. True to Mitzki’s wise – though, absurd – style, she turns to herself for answers.…
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This post marks my 50th Therapy Jam Session post! I started this blog almost 5 years ago in September 2018. For years I had wanted to start a therapy blog, but I struggled with writer’s block. So, guess when an idea for a blog finally came to me? Two months after my first child was…
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Tracy’s Chapman’s eponymous album is one of my first memories of music. It is a masterpiece musical tapestry that pulls me into different worlds for the duration of each song. Even the songs that are heartbreaking have a haunting pull to them. She tells these stories with empathy, love, and a glimmer of hope that…
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If you breathe-in to the musical sunrise that is the intro to Faith Hill’s powerhouse ballad, “Breathe,” you are inviting in the peace of a deep full breath. Talk therapy can help with many issues, but it’s no substitute for the regular practice of deep breathing. Deep breathing puts you directly into the “here and…
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“Heart to Break,” by Kim Petras, and her accompanying video, is pure gender euphoria as she embraces her young-girl-in-love femininity. Gender euphoria is generally defined as the joy people experience when their gender expression aligns with who they are. It is the opposite of gender dysphoria. Both transgender and cisgender people can experience gender euphoria.…
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Cover songs often help me better hear the lyrics of the originally performed song. Just like how sometimes in relationship therapy you hear your loved-one better when a someone else reflects their words. These words are deep with questioning and regret. They also communicate an earnest desire to get out of the state they are…
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If you want to explore one of the most 180-degree-turn-glow-up-Lewks of the last decade, then buckle up for the Melanie Martinez fashion journey. At least in an artistic sense, it appears she’s hard-core exploring how to differentiate from a culture and relationship system she grew up in. Let’s call her whole fashion journey Differentiation-Core. Even…
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The Billboard Hot 100 provides a fascinating reflection of American culture. When I see artists like Morgan Wallen absolutely crushing it on this chart, I know I’m going to be in business for a long time. Wallen’s sound has heart, catchy rhythms taken directly from contemporary R&B and mixed with some classic country sounds –…
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