Spencer Northey
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…
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…
It’s important to address how lack of closure after any length of time can leave us struggling to get over a relationship for longer than we might, had there been a clear and satisfying end. Lack of closure seems to happen more often with short-term relationships because our culture seems to think there should be…
This is a heavy post. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness month so it’s time to post it. “Heavy” was actually my very first blog inspiration. It just so happened that this song popped up in a random Spotify mix right after a session. As I heard the lyrics for the first time, they echoed the…
The Orpheus and Eurydice tale broke my heart when I first learned it in high school, and I have been in the bargaining phase of acceptance of it ever since. It was one of the many contributors to my decision to become a relationship therapist. I’m probably not kidding. In short, the story is about…
This post is about both Hold Me Tight by the Beatles, one of their least favorite, but still famous songs AND the groundbreaking couple therapy book Hold Me Tight by Dr. Sue Johnson. (Note: I chose to post the cover from the movie Across the Universe because the sound and video quality is better than…
Jay-Z’s song “Moment of Clarity” is a powerful example of what renowned family psychotherapist Murray Bowen calls “going home” and “doing the work” to make sense of your family system. To thoroughly experience the song, I recommend you find his version from The Black Album on your favorite streaming platform. The variations posted on YouTube…
We are in peak summer 2021 and December 2020 seems a long way away. Even though things are not completely back to normal, and some of us are anxious about the variant, most of us who are vaccinated in the DC area have been able to move on from having to stay in, socially…
The song “La Noche de Anoche” by Rosalía and Bad Bunny is so seductively haunting. It embodies the paradox of a fiery connection that is both ephemeral, and everlasting in your heart. Lyric Sample: Porque la noche de anoche fue (-ue) Algo que yo no puedo explicar Sola, dando y dándole sin parar (-rar) Tú…
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) Recorded 1987 By Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michal Stipe Performed by REM World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed Tell me with the rapture and the reverent in the right, right You vitriolic, patriotic, slam,…