This month, we’re talking all about social media and how it can positively affect our lives. I know, shocker, right? But some people do use social media for good, and we want to shine a spotlight on those using their platform for good. Recently, we’ve seen a big surge in therapists using Instagram to reach a wider audience, and it’s really such a beautiful thing. If you caught my post on therapy, you know I’m a huge advocate for it, but also understand it’s not always feasible financially. Even though Instagram isn’t meant to replace therapy, these therapists are bringing their knowledge and expertise to your grid daily.

Dr. Cassidy

 

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Doors close tomorrow to join me in the Modern Private Practice e-course! Fellow therapist @dr.jessicah (who is working through the course) sent me a message on Friday calling the course a “soulful roadmap” and I don’t know if any words about something I’ve created have ever made me feel so fulfilled and grateful. Link in bio for all the info and to enroll! Doors close tomorrow night and won’t open again until November ⋒

A post shared by Cassidy Freitas, Ph.D., LMFT (@drcassidy) on Sep 1, 2019 at 7:00am PDT

Our dear friend Dr. Cassidy is a bright light in the Instagram universe. She uses her social media accounts and podcasts (yes, plural!) to not only help families, but other therapists!

Ashlee Bennett, AThR

 

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There’s no need to wait until you’re a certain weight or have achieved a sense of worthiness to show yourself gentleness and compassion. Place your hands tenderly over the areas that need the most love and nurture. Don’t wait. Please don’t wait. Hold yourself the way you needed to be held. Hold all the little, soft, vulnerable parts that don’t understand. Hold the parts that protest and feel uncomfortable being held – the parts that want to run away or fight. Fiercely and unapologetically let yourself come back home. Let your heart in and invite it to expand, because you are a safe place now. Keep holding yourself until you feel the defenses melt and you can’t believe how grateful you are to be alive in this body, and at the same time feeling the grief you’ve not wanted to feel. Let yourself feel the relief of knowing that you’ll never abandon yourself again. Let yourself feel the wholeness of knowing that you’re a complex, full being ❤ you’re not alone . . #bodyimage #edrecovery #dietculture #meditation #gratitude #writing #healthateverysize #haes #intuitiveeating #bodypositivity #selflove #wisdom

A post shared by Ashlee Bennett, AThR (@bodyimage_therapist) on Mar 1, 2020 at 2:07am PST

Ashlee is an art therapist who uses her account to talk about body image, internalized fat phobia, trauma, sex and relationships, and more.

Shadeen Francis

 

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Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is tell the truth. . . Your voice is one of the most powerful tools that you have. That is why it is so emotionally destructive to be silenced, and so painful to be misunderstood. . . But then there are ways we avoid using our voice. Maybe you don’t feel like you have anything of value to say. Maybe you don’t expect your voice to matter. Maybe you don’t know how to speak up, or aren’t sure what to say. Whatever the reason, we owe it to ourselves and the people/causes we care about to use our voices to speak up, to advocate, to challenge, to affirm, and to teach. It isn’t enough to have a seat at the table- what are you going to say when you get there? . . The truth I champion is our indisputable right to peace and pleasure. YOU DESERVE IT. Nobody else is owed your energy, your time, your gifts, or your wellness. I bring that message with me loudly, wherever I go. It is a challenge necessary for our collective healing and liberation from oppression. In a world that constantly devalues our humanity, truth is radical. It isn’t always comfortable, but gives us the bravery to bring a microphone to the table and take up space for what we know is important. . . Thank you to the @theccnyc for creating #culturecon as a space for us creatives of colour to have real conversations about art, access, and community. Our voices were strong, and we will continue to speak up. For truth. For liberation. For the culture. . . Shirt reads: Women don’t owe you shit. (Which is also true.) #catchfeelings

A post shared by Sex & Relationship Therapist (@shadeenfrancislmft) on Nov 15, 2019 at 6:05pm PST

Shadeen is a marriage and family therapist, professor and author that specializes in sex therapy and social justice and is committed to “helping people live lives full of peace and pleasure.”

Dr. Sasha Shokrian, Psy.D.

 

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It is common for our fears to stand in the way, when things feel uncertain or unknown. We feel a sense of peace, when the world feels more figured out. ⁣ ⁣ Yet, what we often miss when preoccupied with our fears, are the meaningful opportunities that present themselves. In our desire to control the moment, we miss receiving what it is in fact we really need. We close ourselves off from the possibility of freedom.⁣ ⁣ In fact, our egos motivate our desire to control our success. But, it is only in surrendering to the present moment, where one makes space to discover their divine purpose. While we engage with our purpose as opposed to our success, we begin building a more trusting experience both with ourselves and the world around us. ⁣ ⁣ How do you surrender in times of fear? ⁣

A post shared by Dr. Sasha Shokrian, Psy.D. (@drsashashokrian) on Oct 21, 2019 at 12:00pm PDT

Dr. Shokrian specializes in therapy for depression, anxiety and relationship dynamics. If you’re going through a breakup, divorce or struggle with relationships with people with narcissism or borderline personality disorder, she’s a really valuable account to follow.

Andrea Glik, LMSW

 

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30k!!!!!!!!!! 💓 I am so excited to have you all here. 💓 I’m Andrea, I use she/her/hers pronouns and practice on occupied Lenape territory (colonized as NYC). I’m originally from a place with very few OUT queer and trans people and like many others moved here to come out and find my authentic self. 💓 I studied Gender Studies and Queer Theory in college, while also working as a feminist sex educator, and wanted to find a way to apply those ideas to help others on a deeper level. I had done crisis counseling on and off since high school and so with all those experiences, along with my own mental health struggles, I went to social work school. 💓 There I found trauma work, as most mental health issues led back to trauma (especially for my communities), and shortly after that, somatic work as a way to process that trauma safely. 💓 And now here I am! Getting to share with you about healing, the nervous system, and living fully & authentically. 💓 What’s not in this story is what I’ve been through. And because I’m a therapist I can’t say much, but what I do want to share is that I get it. I have trauma. I have a sensitized nervous system. I’m still learning too, still healing. What I post is for you, but it’s also for me. 💓 Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

A post shared by Andrea Glik, LMSW she/her (@somaticwitch) on Dec 11, 2019 at 5:21am PST

Andrea is a New York-based LMSW who specializes in treating trauma and PTSD for queer and trans folks, using body-based and feminist therapy practices to help clients come home to themselves.

Natalie Y. Gutierrez, LMFT

 

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It’s been a minute since I’ve introduced myself to this growing community. I’ve done intros several times before, so in doing something different- I want to introduce myself using parts work & naming the parts that exist in my internal world (and make it educational)- especially as I continue my training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), I come to understand myself and all people as the sum of all our parts. . My manager parts (the parts that are in place within us taking preemptive measures in protecting us from hurt): are 1. The part that desires to control 2. The over-preparer and the learner 3. The Rage 4. The ancestor 5. The momma bear 6. The Advocate 7. The perfectionist (although this part has done a lot of relinquishing power). . My firefighter parts (parts of us that are reactive and try desperately to put an end to a rising issue) look like: 1. Shutting down (mostly occurs when I’m in rage- helps protect me from violating my values and becoming aggressive), 2. Overspending part (also from poverty trauma and scarcity mindset), 3. The Fixer- (those nights where I’m up at night trying to solve everyone’s problems), 4. The Controller (some parts can be both managers and firefighters as both are protector parts). This controller is more panic driven and angry and will go whatever measures to extinguish whatever fires. . We also have exiled parts- that include our inner children and the traumas we have endured. Shame lives here, imposter syndrome lives here, depression lives here- all the things we try to run away from (hence, exiled parts). . Still, I lead with self energy. So do you. We all have some unblending and unburdening to do with our parts- but it’s important to first get to know them and their purpose. . What parts do you identify within yourself? (Don’t feel pressure to answer here, but explore with yourself your own parts)

A post shared by Natalie Y. Gutierrez, LMFT (@nataliegutierrezlmft) on Feb 25, 2020 at 3:53pm PST

Natalie Gutierrez is another New York-based therapist who specializes in working with adults who have suffered relational trauma, which include survivors of domestic violence, childhood sexual abuse and/or sexual trauma in adulthood and are dealing with issues related to post-traumatic stress, traumatic attachment, family of origin issues, depression, anxiety, shame, guilt, and anger. 

Instagram posts are never a substitute for therapy or professional help, but following these therapists can certainly bring some inspiration to your daily scroll.