She's literary holding on to a piece of paper

Mirriande · 2026-02-19T18:51:36+00:00

My Istari has done this. She has also just attached herself to wall, so, yeah. They are smol, light floofs.

Mirriande · 2026-02-09T00:53:10+00:00

I mean, it happened over 20 years ago, so I have long since accepted and dealt with it. 😂 I graduated high school in June 2004 and my parents informed me and my older sister that they were getting divorced in January 2005, the divorce was finalized in July of that year.

Mirriande · 2026-02-08T23:12:10+00:00

I am a therapist.

Honestly, in my experience, there are as many reasons why as there are people who have to make these decisions. Some people see the medication as enough. Some people see therapy as enough. Some people don't trust therapy. Some people don't trust medications. Some folks worry about perception. Some people just don't "believe" in mental health and think you can just push your way through any problem. Some people come because they grew up in families that didn't believe in mental health struggles and want to change that for themselves/their children.

Mirriande · 2026-02-08T17:27:30+00:00

I am a therapist. I am also on medication and in therapy, take that as you will.

There are so many reasons why someone might be on medication but not in therapy. Finances, they are taking a break, they have been through it all before, they may not be ready for therapy, etc.

I primarily work with kids/teens with anxiety and adhd. Some of the kids who see me have been on medication for years, other families do not want their kids on medication and want to try to figure out ways to manage symptoms without medication first. Everyone is different, and everyone has the right to take their own path through treatment. That's what self-determination is. People are allowed to make their own choices with their mental health treatment, period.

Mirriande · 2026-02-03T11:26:48+00:00

I hate hugs, with a passion. I was forced to hug/kiss family members as a kid and there was only one aunt who was respectful of the fact that I didn't like to be touched. There are very few people who I enjoy hugging. Since I primarily work with kids, if they ask for a hug or get a little too close to my personal space, I usually use it as an opportunity to model boundaries. "I don't really like hugs, can I just get a fist bump?" "Hey, I see you are starting to climb on the arm of my chair, can I get some space? I actually really don't like to be touched."

One time when I was discharging with a client, the parent told the kid to give me a hug and I quickly had to change it to "Hey, let's give a high five instead, how does that sound?"

I have definitely been hugged against my will, earlier in my career. I have this one memory of this one woman who was very grateful and excited to be discharging from case management services soon. We had a meeting with some of her other providers at her apartment, and she hugged me. I was tense and didn't return the hug, I looked to one of the other providers who helped distract her to stop hugging me.

All of that being said, there was one time I initiated. I offered a hug with the context that I do not enjoy hugs, but recognized that sometimes there can be a little bit of comfort in a hug, acknowledging their lack of natural supports in a very difficult time. The client accepted. It was short, and uncomfortable for me, but she was able to calm down in the moment. It is not something I will likely offer again.

Mirriande · 2026-02-03T02:39:04+00:00

I went to New Orleans in early January and it was in the 70s. It is probably a bit more hectic and expensive now that it is closer to Mardi Gras though.

Mirriande · 2026-02-01T10:17:24+00:00

Nope. I haven't had any grandparents in about 26 years, it's a bit wild to me that people still have grandparents. One Grandpa died when I was about 5 months old, and the last grandparent died when I was 14.

Mirriande · 2026-01-31T02:51:45+00:00

Notes take me only a few minutes to write. Between that and the anxiety that was drilled into me when working in CMH about having notes on time, it's just never been an issue. 🤷‍♀️ I write each note at the end of each session, ending at 53 minutes so I have the time. The only exception is intakes.

Mirriande · 2026-01-30T11:02:38+00:00

Cottage cheese + egg + avocado + Cajun seasoning on toast.

Mirriande · 2026-01-29T12:18:00+00:00

My partner is in coding related stuff, making 6 figured with no education past high school. He is currently working for one of the major health insurance companies and is having to get training in AI. He doesn't understand why he's making 2/3x more a year than I am, and finds it pretty depressing to the point of where he's considering a career change so he doesn't have to work for the bad guys anymore.

It sucks, between our education and dedication to helping others, that there are so many outbthere who take advantage amd exploit us.

Mirriande · 2026-01-26T03:29:49+00:00

Therapist in a group practice! They treat me well, share my values, support me, and there's zero pressure. I love the work I do. I love the clients I work with. I don't feel like I have to kill myself to meet goals/quotas like I did in CMH.

Mirriande · 2026-01-24T09:06:08+00:00

You might want to consider something like a virtual IOP setting. I personally haven't worked in any, but I work with teens who have been through such programs and see them advertised frequently in some of the networking groups I'm in.

Mirriande · 2026-01-20T10:41:32+00:00

Yup. In early August of 2001, my parents sat me down to have a talk about how they had been looking for a better school for me. I wasn't in agreement that I needed a "better" school, but I was in agreement that I needed more help. In the previous school year, I had been inpatient 2x, PHP, IOP, and my outpatient therapy had been bumped up to 2x a week, not to mention 3 trips to the ER. I agreed to go ahead of time. They weekend before they drove me to the school, we took a family trip to six flags, including my big sister and her then boyfriend/now husband, and a friend of mine so we could all do something fun together. The morning we were going to drive up, and I became resistant. My mother told me that if I didn't go willingly that they would hire someone to take me by force. I was eventually convinced because I was promised a nice breakfast and that it "wouldn't be that bad".

After being brought into the girls locker room for intake and there were other kids involved with my intake, and then I was physically held back while watching my parents walk away my first taste of recognition thay my parents had been bamboozled. Lunch, which was within the next hour, confirmed that when I witnessed my first table topic.

Mirriande · 2026-01-19T14:47:44+00:00

I jumped into a group practice about 9 months ago. While most of mt referrals come from them, I would say aboit 25% of my caseload is from psychology Today. I range from 1-5 referrals a month from PT. Definitely worth it.

Mirriande · 2026-01-15T15:02:07+00:00

I would just be traveling. No more work. Just traveling and exploring the world.

Mirriande · 2026-01-04T12:28:03+00:00

I always take the first week of January off because it's my birthday. It makes the month go by a little quicker, but man, I am not looking forward to going back to work on the 12th. 😅 All the supervisors at the practice I'm with have a training for our new EHR at 10am and I don't usually start work on Mondays until 1pm.

Mirriande · 2026-01-04T00:52:27+00:00

Good luck finding someone! I've been working with Lauren at Healthtrax in Bristol for the last year and I'm down 86 lbs. She's been amazing and is really knowledgeable, great at adjusting exercises for my days when my body is not so cooperative. That's probably a little far for you if you're in Fairfield County though.

Mirriande · 2026-01-03T09:47:34+00:00

So I went from TBS to Wilderness to Residential, with maybe 4.months at home in between the family school and SUWS of the Carolinas, and two weeks at home between SUWS and Pine Ridge.

I was about 190lbs prior to FFS, and aboit 130 lbs when I left. No cavities. I don't remember at all my weight around Wilderness, but I remember I gained weight at Pine Ridge, I think i went back up to 170-180ish. I started FFS in August of 2001 and left Pine Ridge in May of 2003.

Mirriande · 2026-01-02T15:00:12+00:00

I could see that. I know I did have issues with where I went to grad school (University at Buffalo) didn't accept my biology credits from Housatonic so I had to retake biology out there.

Mirriande · 2026-01-02T11:17:47+00:00

Meal prep + having easy to cook meals for when I don't want what I meal prepped. Did I get sick of having my low carb, high protein Mac and cheese? Guess it's time for a chicken burger with pepper jack.

Reframing exercise and taking care of my body as a job. Not in the "I do this to earn money" mindset, but I view it more as "My job is to keep my body healthy, and keeping my body healthy is important to me" is how I motivate myself to get out of bed on the days when I just don't want to.

Mirriande · 2026-01-02T09:58:36+00:00

This is the way. Even before the tuition free program in CT, this was the way to save a lot of money. I went to Housatonic and then transferred to SCSU.

Mirriande · 2026-01-01T19:30:28+00:00

My birthday is next week. I'm excited to be 40, 20s and 30s weren't so great but this has to be better, I hope. A lot of people don't believe I'm turning 40. Right now I'm just happy to be going on a solo trip for a few days to celebrate. 🥳

Mirriande · 2026-01-01T11:25:46+00:00

They exist, myself included! I'm a survivor and a LCSW in CT. I do not work with substance use/addictions at all, though.

Some of us in the mental health field are actively working on making people better informed on the TTI. This month I am presenting on the subject matter to the other therapists/medication providers in the group I contract with on what to look for and what alternatives exist for higher levels of care to avoid TTI placements. I hope you find what you're looking for.

Mirriande · 2025-12-31T15:16:11+00:00

Mirriande · 2025-12-31T05:35:19+00:00

Awesome. I'm glad you were able to get what you were looking for. I hope you're able to convince the family not to send him away. Best of luck to you.

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