Beyond the Bio: Seven Questions With the Humans Behind the Therapy Credentials (Part 2)

Lauren: This one is so random and I am chuckling typing this. Did you know that plant “juices” can react with sunlight to cause chemical burns? My cousin spent the day cutting back a large fig tree on his property. A day later his entire upper body was covered in burn like abrasions. A little bit of research later and boom, phytophotodermatitis. Also called ‘margarita burn’ comes from plant saps reacting with sunlight to cause chemical burns on human skin. Who knew?!

Justin: I’m bummed I can’t find the link but I have been thinking about an article I read recently that discussed how anxiety is often fueled by catastrophic thoughts (something really bad is going to happen) and lack of confidence (I won’t be able to handle hardship when it comes). I have not heard it put quite like that before and it makes a lot of sense to me. The author suggested thought management around these types of thoughts being a helpful tool for worry.

Jennifer: I just finished reading a cool book called The Wild Edge of Sorrow. It’s about grief and how sacred that emotion and the work around it can be. Most people wouldn’t find deep grief work interesting, but I do!

Lauren: I have never in my life been so excited to learn about the new Legend of Zelda movie coming out next year. When I say I am obsessed… I mean it is borderline unhealthy how closely I am following the release of this film. However, if Link talks, I may walk out of the theatre. If you know, you know.

Justin: I’m pretty excited about my trip to Olympic National Park in September 🙂

Jennifer: Gardening! I bought a house recently and I’m planning to overhaul my yard over the next few years. I’ve spent the last couple of months fangirling over gardeners like Monty Don and Piet Oudolf while nerding out over the history of landscape design and public gardens and parks. Did you know that public parks and green spaces only became a thing because a guy named Frederick Law Olmsted believed in radical ideas like egalitarianism, social justice, and conservationism? Yes, I am officially a gardening nerd.

Lauren: Easy – a seagull. You live at the beach, opportunistic feeder, they fly wherever they want, and did I mention they live at the beach?

Justin: A rich person’s dog, sounds pretty great.

Jennifer: This is a hard one. Flying around as a bird sounds really cool, but so does swimming around as a dolphin, or carrying your safe little home on your back like a turtle. But in reality, wild animals often have short, hard lives. So, I’m going to say I would want to be one of my cats. I don’t know how that would work, but I know my cats are well cared for and deeply spoiled. Seems like a sweet life.

Lauren: As a young kid my older brother bet me I couldn’t eat a WAD of this green stuff. That was the first and last time I ate wasabi.

Jennifer: This is going to sound so dumb, but it was a Qdoba burrito. I am a giant wuss about spicy food, so I always order the most mild stuff, but somehow Qdoba mixed up my order and gave me a mega spicy (to me) burrito. I thought I was going to die.

Lauren: Baggy T-shirt and pajama pants. I like what I like.

Justin: I would probably wear a hood all day if that was acceptable haha.

Jennifer: I love sweater weather, so probably an oversized cardigan that could swallow me whole and keep me cozy all day. But it’s like 90+ degrees as I write this, so no chance I’ll be wearing that any time soon.

Lauren: Totoro and The Grinch. My family will admit that even today they can’t watch them with me because I will recite every line and ruin it for everyone. Still my two favorite movies.

Jennifer: Ghostbusters! I watched it a ton as a kid and Bill Murray’s dry, sarcastic sense of humor reminded me of my dad. Fun fact: I once went to a wedding dressed as The Keymaster, complete with a spaghetti strainer covered in wires on my head. I’m not crazy, it was a Halloween wedding and we were supposed to dress in costumes.

Lauren: Deep breathing techniques. I will always encourage practicing these skills outside of being escalated, but I am horrible at doing it myself despite knowing the immense value this skill has.

Justin: Something I often discuss in session is taking a moment to stop and name emotions when they arise before responding to them. I believe this is a life long skill and something people develop over many many years. The idea is that we move away from emotional reactions and move toward emotion-informed, value driven responses.. Easier said than done.

Jennifer: I often talk about the judo-like communication skill of speaking to the emotion underneath what someone is saying. For example, someone may confront you with an angry, accusatory tone. But if you listen closely, you might notice sadness, hurt, loneliness, or something similar underneath. Responding to the underlying emotion can throw off the combative or contentious dynamic and open the door to a deeper, more meaningful conversation. But try telling me that when I’m irritated with someone’s tone.