Like many in their late 20s-early 30s, I grew up during Nickelodeon's heyday (ahem... back when it was good) and enjoyed watching shows such as All That, The Amanda Show, and Drake & Josh. Josh Peck played roles on all the aforementioned shows. Having been chubby throughout my childhood and adolescence, I appreciated seeing the representation that Peck's characters brought...[ read more ]
I keep up with the Freeform show, Grownish, and was impressed with how they tackled the topic of mental health meds in this week's episode. So today, I'll be sharing some of the insights I gleaned from the episode (Sidenote: you don't have to be familiar with this show to learn from this post.) To start, I love that the...[ read more ]
For today's book review, I selected Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams with my middle and high school therapy clients in mind. Though this book is written for that age group; as an adult, I found the novel to be very compelling, as it addresses the issue of colorism in a way I haven't seen before. So let's get...[ read more ]
Today, I'm excited to share about the memoir that I just read by Jamie Lynn Spears titled, Things I Should Have Said. Background I wasn't sure how I'd like this book, as celebrity tell-alls often come across as exaggerated; however, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm about the same age as Jamie Lynn and I remember loving her...[ read more ]
While I'm no Oprah, her annual list of "Favorite Things" inspired this post. I began to level up my self-care in the last quarter of 2021 after a few bouts of burnout. Today, I'd like to share a few of the things that I've been doing in 2021 or plan to start doing in 2022 to foster self-care for my...[ read more ]
I came across the movie, Joe Bell while scrolling through Prime Video. The trailer caught my eye and after watching the film, I am excited to share my mental health movie review with you. What's the movie about? Joe Bell is a movie based on a true story about a man and his family, focusing primarily on Joe's son, Jaden....[ read more ]
Johnzelle reflects on the chapter about racism from Justin Baldoni's book, Man Enough: Undefining my Masculinity (link below). Click the episodes below to listen: Episode 1 Episode 2 If you enjoyed this content, feel free to buy me a coffee to support the blog and podcast. Man Enough: Undefining my Masculinity by Justin Baldoni: https://amzn.to/3rwd5FT (paid link). For the full book...[ read more ]
Today I'm excited to review the new workbook, Successful Coparenting with a Toxic Ex: A guided Journal to Support and Encourage you and your Children, written by my friend and colleague, Susan Buniva, LCSW. She's a licensed therapist, divorce coach, and co-parenting counselor with over 30 years of experience. As the title of the book suggests, this book is for...[ read more ]
I enjoyed reading and reviewing Ashley L. Peterson's new book, A Brief History of Stigma: Looking for Ways to Move Beyond Mental Illness Stigma. Below, you'll find the two podcast episodes I did to discuss the book in more depth. Click the links to be taken to the episodes. Part 1: Introduction Part 2: The Nuances of Mental Health Stigma...[ read more ]
The book recommending algorithm didn't disappoint when it brought The Passing Playbook, by Isaac Fitzsimons to my attention. Though this is a novel with a target audience of adolescents and young adults, I, reading from a therapist's perspective, was very impressed with how well the author does with covering a multitude of topics impacting gay, transgender, and nonbinary youth. With...[ read more ]