The latest · C. Julieta Aguilera Rice, PhD
Undercurrent.
What we are writing now
The series.
Our clinicians write in clusters: one essay that lays out the whole idea, then shorter pieces that go deeper into one part of it. Start at the top of a series and work down, or read any one on its own.
- From the page to the room Grief support group in Carlsbad
01
Growing around grief
Why grief rarely shrinks, what grows around it instead, and the specific things that help: being witnessed, a changed connection, permission, and a body that can carry it.
Start here · 8 min Grief Doesn't Go Away. You Grow Around It.The other 4 essays in this series
- 01 All Grief Needs Is a Witness 6 min
- 02 You Don't Have to Let Them Go 7 min
- 03 There Is No Right Way to Grieve 6 min
- 04 Finding Meaning: Grief's Sixth Stage 6 min
- From the page to the room Psychodynamic therapy at CTG
02
Defenses and the unsaid
The moves a mind makes to keep itself comfortable, read closely and without judgement, from a psychodynamic frame.
Start here · 7 min Defense Mechanisms, Explained in Plain LanguageThe other 4 essays in this series
- From the page to the room Individual therapy at CTG
03
The nervous system and what it leaves out
Somatic work gets something real about the body, and a calm nervous system is not the same as a known self. What regulation reaches, what it cannot, and where the body and its meaning meet.
Start here · 8 min Beyond Nervous System Regulation: What Happens When We Look Deeper - From the page to the room Work with Naomi Wu, PsyD
04
Culturally responsive care
What it takes for therapy to hold culture, family, and immigration history as part of the clinical picture instead of background detail.
Start here · 7 min Culturally Sensitive Therapy: What It Feels Like to Be UnderstoodThe other 6 essays in this series
- 01 Cultural Competence vs. Cultural Humility in Therapy: What It Means to Be Truly Seen 5 min
- 02 Living Between Two Cultures: Bicultural Identity and Your Mental Health 5 min
- 03 The Second-Generation Experience: Honoring Your Parents While Building Your Own Life 4 min
- 04 Finding Healing and Belonging: Embracing Mental Health for Asian Americans 8 min
- 05 Working with an Asian American Therapist: What Cultural Understanding Can Make Possible 4 min
- 06 Culturally Compassionate Care for Asian American Clients: Insights for Therapists 9 min
- From the page to the room Individual therapy at CTG
05
Acceptance and commitment therapy
ACT explained from inside the room: the six processes as they actually show up in a session, one essay at a time.
Start here · 4 min What Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Actually Is, From Inside the RoomThe other 7 essays in this series
- 01 Cognitive Defusion: How to Stop Believing Everything Your Mind Says 4 min
- 02 Acceptance Is Not Approval 4 min
- 03 When Trying Harder Makes It Worse: Understanding Experiential Avoidance 4 min
- 04 The Difference Between Letting Go and Giving Up 4 min
- 05 What Are Your Values, Really 4 min
- 06 ACT for Anxiety: Why Fighting Your Anxiety Keeps It Alive 4 min
- 07 ACT for Chronic Pain: When the Goal Cannot Be Getting Rid of the Pain 4 min
- From the page to the room Work with Naomi Wu, PsyD
06
The cycle and the mind
How the menstrual cycle shapes mood, and where the ordinary premenstrual week ends and something that deserves treatment begins.
Start here · 9 min The Menstrual Cycle and Your Emotional Life: What the Medical Model Leaves OutThe other 5 essays in this series
- 01 PMS vs PMDD: How to Tell the Difference 5 min
- 02 Why Your Emotions Change Before Your Period, and What They Might Be Telling You 5 min
- 03 Feeling Like a Different Person Before Your Period 4 min
- 04 When “It’s Just Your Period” Isn’t the Whole Story 4 min
- 05 Therapy for PMDD and Premenstrual Distress: What It Can and Cannot Do 3 min
- From the page to the room Personality assessment at CTG
07
Psychoanalytic diagnosis
What it means to understand a person by their level of personality organization and character style rather than their symptom list, and why that changes how the work is done.
Start here · 8 min Understanding Psychoanalytic Diagnosis: A Different Way of Seeing PeopleThe other 2 essays in this series
- From the page to the room Couples therapy at CTG
08
Loving across difference
What interracial and intercultural couples carry that other couples do not, and what the research says actually helps them thrive.
Start here · 9 min What Makes Interracial Relationships Different, and What Helps Them Thrive
Recently published
More essays.
Working with an Asian American Therapist: What Cultural Understanding Can Make Possible
What therapy with an Asian American therapist can offer, from stigma to family pressure to identity. A psychologist on culturally attuned care.
You Don't Have to Let Them Go
Grieving does not require severing the relationship. Continuing bonds research says the opposite. A Carlsbad psychologist on staying connected to the person you lost.
When Trying Harder Makes It Worse: Understanding Experiential Avoidance
Experiential avoidance is the effort to escape uncomfortable inner experiences, and it quietly drives a lot of suffering. A Carlsbad psychologist explains.
All Grief Needs Is a Witness
David Kessler says grief must be witnessed. Here is what that actually means, why the people around you went quiet, and what to do about it.
Therapy for PMDD and Premenstrual Distress: What It Can and Cannot Do
What therapy can and cannot do for PMDD and premenstrual distress, and how it works best alongside medical care rather than in place of it.
Grief Doesn't Go Away. You Grow Around It.
Most people come to grief therapy hoping the grief will shrink. It usually doesn't. What changes is the size of the life around it. A Carlsbad psychologist on growing around grief.
Schizoid personality: closeness as a wish and a fear
Schizoid personality is organized around wanting closeness and fearing being engulfed by it. Jean Jho, PsyD explains the pattern, how it develops, why it is not introversion or avoidant personality, and what helps in therapy.
Masking, Social Anxiety, and People-Pleasing: Which One Is It?
Masking, social anxiety, and people-pleasing look alike from outside and need different treatment. Lisette Montañez, PsyD on how to tell them apart, and why it matters.
ACT for Chronic Pain: When the Goal Cannot Be Getting Rid of the Pain
When pain will not fully go away, ACT helps you reclaim your life from it. A Carlsbad psychologist on acceptance and commitment therapy for chronic pain.
What Makes Interracial Relationships Different, and What Helps Them Thrive
Couples who come from different racial or cultural backgrounds are doing the ordinary work of a relationship plus a second job that mostly goes unacknowledged. The five pressures that make it harder, and what the research says helps.
Humor as a Defense Mechanism: The Joke That Helps You Keep Going
Humor is one of the friendliest defense mechanisms: it names something painful while keeping you on your feet. Sean Noe, PhD explains why we joke through hard moments, when it helps, and when it keeps people at a distance.
The Letter
Quiet, monthly reflections, in your inbox.
One thoughtful letter a month. A new essay, a few lines worth sitting with, and nothing else. Unsubscribe anytime.
We write once a month, never more.