Thoughtfully Us

We're back! 🎉 Season 2 is officially here, and we're catching you up on everything that's been happening since our last season. Morgan introduces the newest (and cutest!) addition to her family, Maya shares what's been keeping her busy professionally, and Nelly reflects on earning her perinatal mental health certification while balancing the many joys and challenges of life outside the therapy ro...

In Episode 19, we’re joined by the incredible Katie La who is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Supervisor, and advocate for trauma-informed, justice-oriented, and culturally responsive care. Katie shares what she’s loved most about being a therapist and reflects on how her lived experience as a Vietnamese refugee has shaped the way she shows up in the therapy room. We talk about the importance o...

In this episode, we center Black History Month and reflect on what it has meant and continues to mean for Morgan and Maya as Black mental health providers. Morgan shares important context and statistics around Black representation in the mental health field, access to care, and the ongoing barriers Black communities face when seeking support. Together, we talk about what feels affirming and meanin...

This episode was meant to be a deep dive into the ins and outs of social work school but with everything unfolding in our country right now, it didn’t feel right to move forward as planned. Last week, we took a pause. This week, we’re sharing why. Instead of our original topic, we talk about what it has felt like to exist and work as women of color in a time when so many communities are facing fea...

In this episode, we continue our New York series by naming the parts of our experience that were heavy, isolating, and difficult to carry. We reflect on being people of color in a predominantly white graduate program, navigating classroom conversations about race, feeling pressure to educate others, and holding emotional labor that was never formally acknowledged. We talk about the discomfort, the...

We’re kicking off the new year, and a brand-new series, by taking you back to where so much of our story began: New York City. In this episode, we reflect on starting graduate school together in NYC, what it was like to uproot our lives, and the parts of New York that felt exciting, energizing, and full of possibility. From the magic of the city to the sense of independence and community we found,...

In the final episode of our Behind the Mic series, we shine the spotlight on Morgan — doctoral student, anxiety warrior, maternal mental health advocate, and the host who always keeps us laughing even in the deep moments. Morgan takes us inside her doctoral journey in Counselor Education & Supervision, including her upcoming dissertation centered on maternal mental health — a passion fueled by...

In the second episode of our Behind the Mic series, we turn the spotlight to Nelly — therapist, first-generation immigrant, first-time mom, and the founder of Healing Awaits. Nelly opens up about how her upbringing and life experiences shaped her therapeutic approach, especially her commitment to making every client feel truly seen and heard. She reflects on the pride she carries in starting her o...

In the first episode of our Behind the Mic series, we spotlight Maya and take a deep dive into who she is both inside and outside the therapy room. Maya shares the moment she felt affirmed in her career path during an undergraduate internship working within the eating disorder field, a specialty she continues to champion today as it evolves alongside societal pressures and digital culture. We expl...

In this episode, we open up about the things you might not guess about us as therapists — like the fact that yes, we still get nervous, and no, we don’t always take our own advice. We also share a few fun personal surprises that only people who really know us would expect. It’s a lighthearted and honest conversation that gives you a peek behind the mic before we kick off our upcoming three-part ge...

This episode’s got layers. We start with a surprise moment that has us all emotional (you’ll know it when you hear it 👀), then open up about the challenges of fertility and the unseen emotional labor behind conception. From there, we switch gears into a thoughtful — and slightly skeptical — chat about AI’s growing presence in the mental health field: what excites us, what worries us, and what it...

In this episode, we’re talking about the reality of “spiral season” — when the days get shorter, the energy dips, and even therapists need a little extra support. We open up about our own mental health ups and downs, sharing how we prepare for and move through Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and low seasons. From sensory grounding to cozy holiday rituals (and Maya’s joyful rediscovery of apples)...

We started with The Summer I Turned Pretty finale and ended up unpacking the very real, very invisible labor therapists of color carry – especially in today’s political climate. In this episode, we talk about the emotional weight of helping clients navigate policies that harm them…while those same policies affect us, too. We share how hard it can be to hold space for others when your own hearts ar...

In this episode, we’re busting some of the biggest myths about therapy and therapists. We talk about the idea that therapists just “give advice” (spoiler: we don’t), the misconception that we analyze people all day, and the truth about what we actually do — and don’t do — in and out of sessions. We also name the harmful stereotypes around who therapy is for — especially the belief that it’s only f...

Mental health is having a moment online — but not all of it is helpful. In this episode, we unpack the rise of pop psychology on social media. From mental health buzzwords like “gaslighting,” “narcissist,” and “boundaries” to self-diagnosis TikToks and therapist Instagram pages (yes, ours too), we talk about what we appreciate and what gives us pause. We share our own experiences navigating social...

In this episode, we're naming the things that we thought were just part of life – but turned out to be patterns, survival responses, or straight up unhelpful coping. From toxic positivity to anxiety that looked “normal”, we share the habits we’ve unlearned and the moments when therapy cracked something open for us. Nelly reflects on a powerful moment when Maya lovingly called her out, and Morgan r...

In this episode, we’re talking about the things we wish we could say in the therapy room but don’t, because… ethics. From wanting to say “Please just break up with them already” to wishing we could be a little more blunt about red flags, we get real about the moments when our inside voices are doing the most. We also talk about therapist self-disclosure, what it’s like to balance authenticity with...

In this conversation, we explore the therapists we wish we had - and what we've learned about advocating for our needs in therapy spaces. We share what we wish we'd known when we started our own therapy journeys, the power of naming emotions, and the ways stigma can shape our willingness to seek help. We also own the truth that even as therapists, we can sometimes be avoidant in our own healing wo...

In this episode, we open up about the emotional labor of being therapists during moments of collective trauma — like the pandemic — and the challenge of holding space for others while navigating our own grief, fear, and fatigue. We talk about what it means to be both healer and human in a world where societal decisions directly impact our clients and ourselves. We also reflect on how we care for o...

We're so excited to finally share this with you! In this episode, you'll get to know us, hear how we became chosen family, and laugh along as we tell the story of how Nelly thought Morgan and Maya (identical twins) were actually the same person . We also share why we started this podcast and what you can expect in future episodes - honest conversations about mental health, identity, and the beauti...