Just complete our form, and we’ll match you with the therapist who's right for you!

1614 X St., Suite A
Sacramento, CA 95818
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!

Filtering by Category: coaching for hsps

A highly sensitive playlist

Ivy Griffin

It’s no surprise that HSPs are overrepresented among the ranks of musicians and other artists in our society. Tapping into the imagination and being open and receptive to inspiration require a great degree of sensitivity. Yet there is a paradox here for creative folks. Artists are people who, on one hand, devote their energies to sharing their innermost worlds with listeners, viewers, audiences. Onstage, they are brash, bold, daring. Yet many crave solitude, need the nourishment of reflection, or retreat at a distance from the roar of the crowd.

Read More
categories coaching for hsps, different kind of therapy, highly sensitive person, HSP therapy
tags highly sensitive therapist, highly sensitive person, self-care for hsps, therapy for HSPs

Understanding Highly Sensitive People (HSPs)

Ivy Griffin

Since I started working with HSPs, I’ve come to notice similar themes emerge around challenges they face due to ongoing stigma for being highly sensitive. Those challenges include: negative core beliefs, wishing others were more aware of the trait, and working through the constant battle of having to conform to a world that tends to value extroversion and sometimes devalues sensitivity. I also think it is important to highlight the gifts of being an HSP and what role you may be playing in an HSP’s life.

Read More
categories coaching for hsps, HSP therapy, improve communication, relationships
tags highly sensitive therapist, healthy relationships for HSPs, communication in relationships, highly sensitive person

Tossing out what you’ve been told

Ivy Griffin

In the United States and throughout many western, developed countries, we live in societies that value decisiveness, physical strength (which might also be labeled aggression), extraversion, charisma, strong opinions, individual over group needs, pushing ahead at nearly all costs (often thought of as progress), and toughness, (usually defined as not showing emotions). For sensitive souls, these values simply don’t align with who we are.

Read More
categories be true to yourself, coaching for hsps, highly sensitive person, therapy Sacramento
tags highly sensitive therapist, values, highly sensitive person, coping skills

Affirmations for HSP's

Ivy Griffin

You know the feeling when you get that AWESOME insight and things just “click” and make sense? It’s that “Aha!” moment when you’re like “Wow, therapy is really paying off!” Just kidding…sort of. And then…it’s gone! As quickly as it enters your mind, it just floats away on the breeze! Where did it go? I like to say that some of our best insights are put on shelves somewhere in our brains, collecting dust.

Read More
categories coaching for hsps, HSP therapy, self care, therapy Sacramento
tags highly sensitive therapist, highly sensitive person, communication tips, self-care

Tuning Out the Static

Ivy Griffin

As HSPs, we can pick up on subtleties in our environments and the feelings of others. We may have received reinforcement from our families or the wider cultures we grew up in for being able to anticipate the needs, feelings, and desires of others. We may have even been punished in some way for not knowing others’ needs and living up to their expectations. All of this to say that we can often feel flooded by the noise of others’ needs and priorities in the form of what I like to call “static”.

Read More
categories coaching for hsps, highly sensitive person, HSP therapy
tags highly sensitive therapist, self-care, stop overthinking, stress management

How We Self-Sabotage With Self-Judgment

Ivy Griffin

As HSPs, we may spend a significant amount of energy managing our day-to-day lives. Work, home responsibilities, social interactions, and running errands can leave us feeling drained and like we need lots of time to recuperate. This can be tough when we live in a society that values productivity and activity over rest and rejuvenation. It’s easy for self-judgment about what we “ought” to be doing to creep in. 

This self-judgment can manifest as a sense of “I’m not doing enough”, “I’m so lazy”, or “What’s wrong with me that I can’t do more?” When these messages are the ones playing loudest and most often in our heads, they interrupt the time we need to recuperate and make it so we can never fully relax. They can also put pressure on our social interactions which can lead them to feel strained or tense. In the end, our self-judgment drains us of even more energy so that we’re not only left feeling exhausted, we feel bad about ourselves as well. 

So what can we do? 

  • Recognize where this self-judgment comes from -- We learn these messages and we can unlearn them with time and practice. They may reflect the values of the wider society and/or our peers and family. But do they represent our values? At the end of the day, we’re the ones that must live in our own heads so we must think about the way we talk to ourselves. 

  • Try challenging these messages with questions like “Are all societal/familial values healthy?” or “How does it impact me to buy into this mindset?” or “Who stands to benefit from me buying into the belief that I need to be productive to be valued?”

  • Start replacing these messages with more realistic and compassionate ones like “Adequate rest is essential to my ability to function at my best.” or “Just because rest and rejuvenation were not valued in my family, doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable and healthy.” and “Taking time to myself helps me to be more available and engaged when I do have to/choose to interact with others.”

Over time, we can begin to build the type of acceptance we need to be more compassionate and understanding towards ourselves and others. When we honor and respect our own boundaries and needs, we bring that to our relationships and interactions as well. With practice, we may start to find that we’re better able to find balance in our lives and finally let go of the self-judgment that’s been holding us back. 

Initiating and maintaining these types of practices can be difficult -- don’t be afraid to reach out for support! The therapists at Thrive are here to help.

Best wishes, 

Ileana Arganda-Stevens, AMFT #99821

she/hers

Supervised by Ivy Griffin, LMFT #51714

Thrive Therapy & Counseling

916-287-3430

thrivetherapyandcounseling.com/ileana-arganda


categories highly sensitive person, coaching for hsps, self care Sacramento, therapy Sacramento
tags highly sensitive therapist, setting boundaries, self-care, self talk

When emotions are too big

Ivy Griffin

Do you have those moments when it feels like your entire body has been taken over by a feeling? When it doesn’t even matter if you know the feeling is out of proportion because it’s such an all-consuming tidal wave that you can’t begin stop it? I imagine most of us HSPs have had and will continue to have these moments—much to our chagrin. We hate them, right? I have that sense of “Wait, seriously?” when it starts to happen. Like, are you kidding me—I’m here—AGAIN?! But, that doesn’t make the tears subside.

Read More
categories therapy Sacramento, therapy, highly sensitive person, coaching for hsps
tags highly sensitive therapist, coping with overwhelm, coping with anxiety, coping with feelings

Tips from a Highly Sensitive Therapist: Are you ready to flourish?

Ivy Griffin

Are you a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) who keeps meaning to spend some time exploring this trait and understanding yourself better? Maybe such precious time spent investing in yourself keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your "to do" list. Or, maybe you've only recently discovered this trait of sensitivity and are ready to understand what it means for you and how to work with your sensitivity, instead of against it. Perhaps you've never really thought about what being a HSP means but want to learn how to flourish in your own skin. 

Elaine Aron, PhD, who first coined and researched this trait, speaks about sensitivity and shares some great tips for us HSPs . . 

Read More
categories coaching for hsps
tags highly sensitive therapist, highly sensitive person coaching, personal growth