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2131 Capitol Ave. Ste 206
Sacramento, CA 95816
US

916-287-3430

Thrive Therapy & Counseling provides high quality therapy to Highly Sensitive People and to kids, teens or adults struggling with anxiety, depression or self-esteem.

Blog

This blog is written by a therapist in midtown Sacramento and focuses on the concerns and struggles of highly sensitive people (HSPs) and of kids, teens and adults struggling with depression, anxiety or just trying to figure out what they want for themselves.  There's help and hope through counseling and therapy!

How to Stop Over-Apologizing: What Your Constant “Sorry” Might Really Mean

Ivy Griffin

Constantly saying “sorry,” even when you’ve done nothing wrong? Over-apologizing often points to deeper patterns like people-pleasing, low self-worth, or fear of conflict. Learn what’s really behind the reflex—and how therapy can help you build confidence and take up space without guilt.

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Highly Sensitive and High Sensation Seeking

Ivy Griffin

Have you ever wondered if maybe you were a highly sensitive person (HSP) but felt like some of the traits just didn’t seem to fit?  Perhaps certain aspects such as sensitivity to stimuli, emotional depth, empathy, and a need for introverted time and a rich inner life really resonate with you. On the other hand, maybe you also seek adventure, thrills, a need to immerse yourself in new experiences.  Perhaps sometimes you find yourself bored or even a little depressed when life becomes small or too mundane.  Maybe you sometimes feel torn between going out and staying in, or you crave novelty and excitement while you also want to feel assured and know what to expect. Sometimes the highly sensitive person is not just highly sensitive, but is also high sensation seeking (HSS). 

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Brainspotting for Trauma Recovery: What to Expect

Ivy Griffin

Brainspotting is a powerful, body-based therapy that helps process trauma, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm—especially when talk therapy isn’t enough. Learn what to expect from sessions and how this gentle, somatic approach supports deep healing in Sacramento or online across California.

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Highly Sensitive? Tips for Avoiding Burnout This Summer

Ivy Griffin

Feeling overwhelmed this summer? If you're a highly sensitive person (HSP), the season's heat, social pressure, and disrupted routines can lead to burnout. Learn why summer can be especially draining for HSPs and discover practical, therapy-informed strategies to stay grounded and restore your energy.

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People-Pleasing in Young Adults: Where It Comes From

Ivy Griffin

Walking side-by-side with your therapist, outdoors and in motion, can ease anxiety in ways a traditional office can’t. Walk and talk therapy blends nature, movement, and conversation to support emotional regulation—especially for highly sensitive people, young adults, and anyone who feels trapped by anxiety.

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Lessening Conflict with Observation

Ivy Griffin

The couples I work with would not be surprised to hear me say that I’m an avid fan of using intentional language to lessen relational conflict. My own affinity for prose and poetics alongside my training in Narrative Therapy do well to reinforce the view that words are powerful crafters in how we make sense of ourselves, the world, and one another’s intentions. The slightest shift in word choice by the speaker can drastically alter the impact of the statement or expression for the listener. 

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3 Ways to Build Resiliency in Teens

Ivy Griffin

There is often a disconnect between the convenience of the modern world and the distress we witness in many of our teens. They have so much knowledge, entertainment, and capability at their fingertips and yet, many of them seem to struggle with overwhelm and paralysis around life tasks and social emotional connection and growth. How do we support them while also helping them to be more capable, confident, connected human beings? Here are 3 ways to build resiliency in teens.

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The Messy Middle

Ivy Griffin

I wake up sweaty and tense. I’ve had another dream about wandering through a hotel as I desperately try to get to my room. The catch is that the hotel keeps changing. The stairways move, levels don’t connect, elevators only go to certain floors and they constantly change course.

I’m up against terrible odds, and this seemingly easy task of going to my room has become a nightmare. No matter how much I try, the circumstances keep changing, and there’s so much that’s out of my control. 

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The Most Sensitive Song of the 70's

Ivy Griffin

Over the course of his tragically short career, singer-songwriter Jim Croce became famous for his world-weary love songs and comic ballads of bullies getting their comeuppance. In his public persona, Croce embodied a very particular masculine archetype in American music and pop culture: a working-class guy with high emotional intelligence, rough-hewn but romantic and with an almost religious dedication to poetic justice.

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Is It ADHD?

Ivy Griffin

If you’ve been in a school, at a doctor’s office, or even frequented social media lately, you may have noticed that ADHD has been getting a lot of attention in recent years. While there is a bit of controversy about whether ADHD is over- or under-diagnosed, there’s no question that it’s on a lot of peoples’ minds these days.

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Living in a World Unraveling

Ivy Griffin

There is enough to contend with being an HSP in a healthy and functioning world, but what do you do when the world feels like it’s unraveling? When it feels like every few minutes there is a news update about a cataclysmic natural disaster, ongoing conflict in war torn countries, reversals in civil rights policy, and increasing division in the world, what pressure do we put on ourselves? Do we expect ourselves to be unimpacted, to separate emotionally, to not react or respond. Being a highly sensitive person means we are highly attuned and keyed into the world around us — so naturally, an HSP would pick up on the intense emotional experience happening in the world right now and have a correlating reaction to it.

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