Thrive Therapy Blog

Meet Dr. Erica Wollerman, our Founder

8/9/2022

By: CanvasRebel
This is an excerpt from an interview between our founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman, and CanvasRebel. To read the interview in full, check it out here!

Alright, Erica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a time when the advice you provided to a client was really spot on? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

One of the most common themes that comes up in my work, and my life personally, is around limits. People often really struggle to know their limits in the sense of “how much can I take on, how much more can I do, or am I doing too much?” This is something that resonates with me personally as well and I have finally understood a better way to approach the questions around doing too much or not enough. The thing I encourage people to consider is that everything, and I mean everything, has a cost. Since I work often with working parents who have demanding careers, this is so true for them and for me and my family. For example, if you are choosing to work hard for a promotion or have a job that is too demanding for you, the cost might be to your energy, ability to engage with your kids, or mental health. I usually frame conversations about our choices in this light and understanding the cost so that we can make more conscious choices. Otherwise, we end up with unrealistic expectations that will just never be met.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I founded Thrive Therapy Studio in 2017 after approximately 11 years in the field of mental health and therapy. I am a licensed clinical psychologist and I LOVE working with working parents who are struggling to balance it all. Since I have a background working with children with a variety of diagnoses, my understanding of children informs my work with parents to help benefit the whole family. I am a firm believer that if parents are coping better, their kids will also be coping better. My approach is similar to my parenting style – firm with lots of compassion and understanding. I am most proud of being gable to develop an office where my team loves to work, our clients love to come, and where we truly can support the whole family.

We also wanted to share with you some pictures of our updated office! We have expanded our office space so that we can better serve our community, increase our in person session offerings, and further grow our team!

Check them out below!

At Thrive, we take a positive, client centered approach to therapy that is focused on creating a genuine connection with our clients. If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about yourself, your child, or teen attending therapy via video sessions, please reach out to us by phone at 858-342-1304.

As always, thanks for reading and comments are always welcome regarding any issues around child or teen psychotherapy services in San Diego by Thrive Therapy Studio.

To stay in the loop on the services offered and to receive updated information about Thrive, please feel free to sign up for the newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/dsgLNL.

5 Ways to Address Suicidal Ideation as a Parent

1/26/2022

By: Andrea Seldomridge

Wondering if your child is at risk of hurting themselves can feel incredibly scary. Sometimes it is hard to know if your child’s depressed mood is another part of being a child or teen, or if it is a sign of something more urgent. Maybe you are concerned that your child is feeling suicidal or they might have already communicated that they are indeed having suicidal thoughts. It can be hard to know how to keep your child safe when it comes it suicide or how to even broach the topic. If you are wondering if your child is experiencing suicidal thoughts or are concerned that their depression is something more than depression, here are some ways you can address suicidal ideation as a parent.

Check for warning signs. There are several potential warning signs of suicidal thoughts. These include experiencing a depressed mood, loss of interest in activities, increased substance use, saying statements like “I wish I could sleep and never wake up” or “no one would miss me if I was gone”, or talking about death and suicide.
Ask them directly if they are having suicidal thoughts. There is a common myth that asking someone if they are suicidal or bringing up the topic of suicide can put the idea in their mind. Research shows that this is not only a myth, but it is actually best to ask directly. This can look like “have you been having thoughts of killing yourself or thoughts of suicide?” This lets your child know that you see their pain, care enough to ask, and that you want to support them.
Assess risk. When we assess for risk in therapy, we always assess for if someone has a plan to commit suicide, an intent on doing so, and if they have the means to. As a parent, you can ask “have you made a plan to attempt suicide? have you thought about how you would attempt suicide?” and if so asking if they have access to the items they would use. If they answer yes to any of these, let them know you are glad they could share this information with you and that you will continue to be there for them. It would then be important to seek out professional help, such as contacting a therapist, calling a suicide hotline, or visiting your local emergency room if the risk is imminent.
Make the situation safe. Removing the means someone would commit suicide with is a way to help keep someone safe. For example, if a child shares that they would use medication to attempt suicide, you can keep the medication locked in a different cabinet. Additionally, I would highly encourage you to keep firearms locked and kept out of access.
Ask how you can support them. This can be different for every child, but if they are able to identify a way you can be there for them, thank them for letting you know. Be sure to avoid minimizing pain or providing a quick fix. If they are not ready to talk, you can let them know that it is okay if they are not ready and that you will be there to listen whenever they are. For many children, attending therapy can be a great place where they can begin talking with another person who will listen and support them. Lastly, another way to support them is finding small activities to engage in together, such as going on a walk or watching a movie. This shows them that you are there for them without feeling a pressure to talk.

If you are ever concerned for the safety of your child, seek out professional help. This can look like seeking out therapy for your child or calling the Access and Crisis line (1-888-724-7240). If your child is at immediate risk, call 911 or go to your local emergency room.

Setting an Intention for 2022 - Are we sure? Do we dare?

1/6/2022

By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

So, my title is a bit in jest but also a reflection of the turbulent times we are in yet again as we start 2022. Honestly, it has been a whirlwind of a start for our family in 2022. We had a Covid scare that really shook me up and while everyone is okay (and testing negative), the steep rise in cases feels reminiscent of 2020 for me. It feels strange to just continue with life and making plans but it also would feel strange not to make plans for this year as I am also tired of just getting by!

So here I am, writing my annual blog about setting an intention for this year, wondering if it is a good idea at all since everything feels so uncertain yet again. Obviously, since I am still writing, I think it is a good idea but I also understand if anyone wants to take this year off from planning. I mean, we are all exhausted from plans, canceled plans, dashed hopes, and the struggle of managing our lives in light of a pandemic that seems to upend everything just when you get comfortable. So, dear reader, you have my full permission to just stop reading and stop planning and to cautiously enter into this year with the hopes that we make it through as unscathed as possible.

For those of you who want to set an intention, I fully encourage you to consider going easy with your plans. As I said last year, we need pandemic goals, not normal goals! I believe that it is important to counteract hustle and grind culture with some ease and grace. This is why last year, I set the intention of Grace. Interestingly, I had almost forgotten that but when I reflect on the year, I feel I held grace to just get through and to rest, read, recharge, and recover as much as I could. Now, I feel ready for something else but if you have not yet been able to rest, recharge, process, recover, etc. please consider setting your goals around this!

My word this year is “Queen.” While that might sound super bold and ambitious, the meaning is slightly different for me. You see, my name, Erica, actually means Queen (or at least I was told that by all the things I read as a kid and now it seems to refer to “Eternal Ruler” from all my google searching). I still remember how awful I felt about the idea of being a ruler or queen. See, I’ve always played kind of small and thought of myself as wanting to be small, unnoticeable, and not a Queen but something dainty like a princess. For some reason, even as a child, the word Queen was something that scared me and the power of it was not something I wanted to claim. Now I understand that this is likely due to systemic factors like misogyny and patriarchy but also my personality and being more of a people pleasing person.

As I’ve aged (gracefully I hope), I have realized that my fear of my own strength, power, and abilities has only hindered me both personally and professionally. My self-doubt and humble nature at times make me a better mom, wife, therapist, leader but also at times also means that I am not clear in my expectations and communicating them. It can mean that I do not lead with the confidence I would like to or that I play small in terms of my goals and ideas. It can mean that I avoid taking up space, having hard conversations that need to happen, or asserting myself and my vision.

My goal of setting my word as “Queen” is to embrace my inner leader, my confidence, my self-assuredness, and to really work towards going BIG. Last year, I worked hard to keep my life slowed down and to not take on too much and now I am feeling ready to really challenge myself to lean in and embrace my inner queen and power.

Professionally, we are expanding our office space (even though we are still telehealth) and this is something that I want to stop doubting and to just own the choice and the risk. I tend to only do things that I fully believe in and I want to communicate in a more bold way to others around me rather than expressing all my doubts. I want to embrace my role as a boss mom and a leader and to embrace my belief in my ability to lead. I want to play big and stop trying to be small. That is what the word and intention of “Queen” means to me.

One of the things I engaged in during 2020 and 2021 was a deeper dive into reflecting on our society and why I, like so many women, play small, try to be small (literally in my physical body and in life), and avoid owning our power. The books, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor, and Burnout by Amelia Nagoski and Emily Nagoski were the foundation of my interest and ability to work to claim my power and confidence. I can’t recommend them enough and would encourage you to check them out if anything I am saying resonates with you as well :)

So here we are starting 2022. I am going to bravely hope that I am setting a bold enough intention to challenge me and help me grow this year and that I can go easy on myself when I need it. You see, I try hard to use the lessons of each year’s intention that I have set so that I can use them all. I will be going into 2022 with the themes of Balance, Strength, Faith, Gratitude, Abundance, Nurture, Enough, Grace, and Queen.

If you would like to read more about my blog posts about setting intentions - check them out below!

2021 Blog Post (My word is not included, this is a reflection of trying to ease into 2021)

2020 Blog Post - Nurture

2019 Blog Post - Enough

2018 Blog Post - Abundance

2017 Blog Post - Gratitude

3 Questions to Help You Choose an Intention

Meet Lauren Allbee, ACSW

10/18/2021

Tell us about you and why you wanted to become a therapist.
My first introduction to the realm of mental health and cognition was in a Psychology 101 course while studying for my undergraduate degree. I was undeclared at the time and vividly remember that first day of class and the instructor introducing the concept of psychology, how there were essentially limitless depths towards better understanding the human mind and I immediately felt my first professional “AHA” moment. Everything discussed in that class set the tone for my passion in assisting others in better understanding themselves and their own minds to achieve better outcomes.

What do you love about being a therapist?
I feel so privileged when engaging with clients. It is truly an honor to be a part of someone’s journey towards better understanding themselves, their background, and their place in their current environments. I enjoy the process of getting to know my clients and being able to support them in their goals, and sharing in opportunities of moving in alignment to one’s truth.

How would you describe yourself as a therapist?
I would describe my primary framework as holistic, client-centered, and relational. No one fully functions within a vacuum, though it can absolutely feel that way at times. I pride myself on centering my practice on the individuality of each client and how that client interacts with and is affected by the various systems that influence them. We are all connected and depend on our own communities and systems to succeed and I incorporate that concept into all of my work as a practitioner.

Who do you love working with in therapy?
I enjoy a variety of work in therapy. My experience in child development and multidimensional family systems particularly suits my current focus of children, youth, and families.

Do you have a particular theory or framework that guides your work as a therapist? If so, describe it and tell us why you use that.
Ecological systems theory, relational theory, and the person-centered framework all guide my work as a therapist. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory incorporates not only the child and their immediate environment into effective practice, but also recognizes the impact of many different levels of systems impacting that child. These could be tangible systems like their school setting or their neighborhood and could also incorporate more abstract systems like their individual culture and their own value system. Relational theory posits that a core aspect of healthy development acknowledges the importance of and ability to form connections through relationships. The person-centered framework acknowledges that we are each the expert in our own lived experience and that through coordination and collaboration with clients, we can achieve sustainable positive change as a team!

Share one thing you are passionate about in your professional or personal life.
My truest passion is learning! I consider this a lifelong process and jump at the opportunity to learn new things about myself, my community, and the world at large. Currently, I am striving to get over a reading slump by allotting time each night to reading in a dedicated space in my home. I am also learning to knit and am signed up for pottery classes!

Lauren Allbee is an Associate Clinical Social Worker (ACSW #98512) who is supervised by Jennifer Gonzalez ( LMFT98444). She is scheduling new clients during her evening and weekend hours now! Call us today for more information about working with Lauren or our team.

Why Starting Therapy Can Be So Intimidating

2/19/2021

What do you mean I’m supposed to talk to a STRANGER?! And tell them my deep dark secrets?! I barely even share that to the people I actually know!

I get why starting therapy can be overwhelming and intimidating. It’s hard enough to talk to people you actually know, so why would you want to talk to someone you don’t know?

But actually, talking to someone outside of your circle can be liberating and refreshing. Here’s why:

A therapist has no idea who your family or friends are or what your life is like. You could talk about your life and the people in your life, and what is said in the room, stays in the room. There are no prejudgments or expectations and there shouldn’t be! Your therapist also has no preconceived notions of you because they have yet to discover who you are. So feel free to spill your guts!
You don’t need to impress your therapist. Your therapist does not care if you wear your best outfit or sweats. You could be at your worst or the messiest version of yourself, and your therapist will still hold space for you to just be you.
Your therapist is there for YOU. Just you. Whatever you need. It’s literally what you’re paying them for.
In a private practice setting, 99.9% guaranteed that you are not your therapist’s most difficult client. Trust me. (And if you’re thinking that you’re the 0.1%, then it’s DEFINITELY not you. The difficult ones would never acknowledge that they are difficult.)
You really don’t have to tell them your deepest darkest secrets if you don’t want to. You also don’t have to do it in the first session if you aren’t ready. Every relationship, including the therapeutic one, should be built. It’s a process, and it takes some time.
If you don’t like your therapist, find a different one! If you are finding that your therapist is not working for you, you never have to talk to them again. Breaking up with a therapist is not like a dating relationship where you still have to see your ex on occasion and it’s awkward. You have zero obligation or responsibility to continue talking to that person, and there are no ramifications (as long as you tell them that you no longer want to see them so you don’t get charged a no-show fee if an appointment has already been made). Note: this does not mean that your therapist will not sometimes tell you something difficult to hear or that you should bounce around until you find someone who tells you only the things you want to hear, but finding the right FIT is important.

Anyway, in a therapy session, you have all the power to dictate whether you want to stay or go and what you want to say or don’t say. You can also tell your therapist how you’re feeling and address your concerns or anxieties with them during session. It’s crazy to think that you can tell someone all these things right off the bat, but here’s the craziest thing of all, it works. When you find YOUR therapist, someone who you actually like talking to, someone who understands you and will listen to you, someone who really gets you… it works.

Welcome to the Thrive Team Alexina and Ying-Ying!

1/22/2021

I couldn’t be happier to be writing this blog post today. While 2020 brought so many challenges for all of us, even in our Thrive family, we have been fortunate enough to be able to add new therapists to our team that started just this week.

While I was a bit nervous about hiring during a pandemic and meeting candidates virtually, I have to say that both of our new team members just blew me away with their ability to connect, even virtually during an interview, and to both offer skills that will help our clients reduce symptoms quickly but also to dive deeper with clients into the roots of their challenges to resolve them in a more long-term way.

They will each be writing blogs to introduce themselves to our audience, but I wanted to write a little something to share my perspective on them and just how excited our whole team is to have them on board!

Alexina Clarke is a Registered Associate MFT (AMFT110916) who is supervised by Jennifer Gonzalez (LMFT98444)

Alexina Clarke, AMFT
Alexina is a rare find. She is an associate therapist who also has a lot of specialized experience as she was trained specifically in Emotion Focused Therapy working with couples as well as individual clients. While she does not work with children, Alexina brings a unique perspective to her work with individuals as she views everything from a systemic and relational perspective that I find fits well with the rest of us at Thrive. Plus, she is bringing a whole new service to Thrive by offering couples therapy! Alexina impressed me with her ability to connect with and understand the complexity of situations in a very deep and intuitive way that I think allows her to work with a lot of different presenting issues. She definitely is a welcome addition to our team!

If you would like to read more about Alexina and her approach in therapy - please check out her bio here. If you would like to connect with her to discuss how she can help you and your family, please call us today! Link this to our phone number please!

Ying-Ying Shiue is an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor (APCC 5349) who is supervised by Jennifer Gonzalez (LMFT98444)

Ying-Ying Shiue, APCC
Ying-Ying is indeed a perfect fit at Thrive! She works with everyone we all love working with - children, teens, parents, families, and adults and is incredibly easy to get along with. Her warmth and easy going personality won us all over pretty quickly. However, Ying-Ying is much more than just someone who can get along with all of us - she truly has the experience and ability to connect with clients quickly and then help them move into a place of change with her support. Her insight, easy going nature, and ability to address and understand complex challenges make her a huge asset to our team!

If you would like to read more about Ying-Ying and her approach in therapy - please check out her bio here. If you would like to connect with her to discuss how she can help you and your family, please call us today!

As I mentioned, this was not an easy decision in terms of hiring during a pandemic but it has been so rewarding for all of us. Alexina and Ying-Ying bring needed new energy and perspectives to Thrive and we can’t wait to see how each of them progresses in their careers with us.

Please contact us today to learn more about Thrive, our team and how we can support you and your family!

5 Phrases to Help Our Loved Ones Feel Less Alone When in Struggle

8/21/2020

How can we help our kids and loved ones feel less ashamed of their differences, struggles, and challenges? One word, Normalize things. First, what does it mean to “normalize” something?

Often, in the therapy world, a lot of us refer to what we do as therapists as “normalizing.” I thought it might be interesting to share about both what that means exactly as well as just how important it is to do this for all of us, especially parents!

When I first start meeting with a client, one of my biggest goals is to build a relationship with them built on trust as well as helping them view themselves the way I often do... As a person who most likely is struggling with something (that is why people come to therapy after all) but who also has strengths and so much to offer the world.

No matter the age, the topic of “is this normal?” or “am I weird?” or “is this crazy?” inevitably comes up. Everyone feels a bit uncomfortable coming to a therapist and sharing their story for the first time, even those of us in the field! As humans, we are driven to connect with others and fear being cast out as “strange, weird, or not normal.” So, my goal is to create a safe space for my clients to know that they can be comfortable sharing anything and everything with me. Even their most shameful secrets or thoughts are fair game and not something that I am going to even have a big reaction to.

You see, I view people from a different perspective than most. I view people from an inherently positive perspective where I believe that we are all doing the best we can in our lives and that we are all flawed and amazing all at once. I also believe that the more we can learn to embrace the parts of us that are deeply challenging, our uncomfortable emotions like jealousy and anger and fear or even our actions we feel terrible about later - the more we can reconcile our identities and grow towards being more integrated people. You see, when we are more integrated and more of our unconscious thoughts and feelings are brought to the light, the more we can act in our lives with intention and purpose rather than acting out old patterns and wounds without even knowing we are doing that.

So, to help with this, my goal is always to help people not feel “other” and “different” for their struggles. This is what we therapists mean by “normalizing” the experiences our clients share with us. I started thinking that maybe this is something I could help other people do too as when anyone shares something tough, it is a great way to be able to respond that actually helps them rather than making them feel worse.

Here are 5 Key Phrases that are simple to incorporate into day to day conversations and that help people feel less alone, weird, or crazy when they are struggling:

“Same” - One of the most powerful words in our language is “same.” When someone shares something that you can tell is tough and which you relate to, just noting that you would feel the same way can help them feel less alone.
“I think I would feel that way too” - When someone is sharing something that you don’t quite understand or haven’t experienced, you can just share that you can understand how they are feeling or reacting by noting that you might feel the same way or react the same way if you were in their shoes.
“That’s totally understandable” - Sharing that you view someone’s reaction, feelings, or experience as understandable or even expected given their situation can also help people feel less alone or ashamed.
“That makes sense to me” - While this is deep in my therapist toolbox because when I say things like this, it is usually deeply involved in helping a person understand their experience and situation by pulling together patterns and themes, I also think that this sentence is great on it’s own. To share with a person that you get where they are coming from is inherently connection building and going to help that person feel less alone.
“I don’t think that is ____ (strange, weird, wrong, etc.)” - Whenever a person is sharing a fear about a situation or how they might be perceived as wrong, bad, weird, etc, it can help just to clearly state that you don’t see it that way. For example, if your child is saying that they told a joke that no one laughed at and felt so embarrassed because other people might think they are strange - you can tell them you don’t think it’s strange or that they are strange. Even if you don’t think the joke is that funny (I mean, we’ve all been there!), you can connect with them on that feeling of discomfort when a joke falls flat by adding in “I hate feeling that way - oh it’s so uncomfortable!” And then you can mention that you get that they were telling the joke to connect with their friends and wanted to make them laugh, which is understandable and something everyone likes to have happen.

The trick with these conversations is to just join with the person in the feeling of discomfort or even pain and to not then try to fix it. Sharing it with them can be as powerful as holding an umbrella over someone else’s head when there is an unexpected storm.

As a therapist, I also often use tools like books to help trigger these conversations with younger kids. I was recently shown a preview of a great book now on Kickstarter, called “We’re All Weird.” I’d encourage you to check it out here and full disclosure, if you use my link, I do get a small bonus.

Video sessions, with my therapist? Are you sure?

3/18/2020

By: Dr. Wollerman

As many people are making dramatic changes to their lives to try to #flattenthecurve in our country while we deal with this pandemic, therapists are making changes as well. Most of us are moving towards video session and our practice is no different! Starting next week, we are going to be only offering video sessions for our clients until it is reasonable to start up in person sessions again and we feel comfortable doing so without concern of transmitting Covid19.

As the leader in our practice, this was a tough decision for me for many reasons. One, I really want to support my clients and love doing so in person. Two, I really didn’t want this choice to impact people’s access to care particularly during a time where so many of us are understandably feeling stressed, anxious, and even depressed. Three, I also genuinely believe in how calming it can be to have some normalcy in our lives when the world feels like it is falling apart.

Upon reflection, I realized that while I am feeling all these conflicting feelings about it, people might be feeling conflicted even about attending sessions. We all know that there has been a variety of responses to Covid19 and some people continue to feel that we are all “over-reacting.” However, there are also those who are working hard to change their lives in the interest of protecting the most vulnerable in our society. Once I got used to the idea of changing our life and the way we offer our services, the more I realized that this is valuable coping in a time when things are unstable. Perhaps the more we learn to roll with the challenges life hands us, even when they are HUGE like right now, the more we all learn how to refocus on what mattes and how we can connect and cope together through this unprecedented time in our world.

So, I had my first client video sessions in the past few days and realized that this is actually such a great way to connect with my clients! We luckily had very few tech related issues and the sessions felt almost exactly the same as in our office. My clients loved it and I felt thrilled to be able to continue to provide services without feeling any conflict around if I could possibly be exposing my clients to something dangerous.

For those of you on the fence about telehealth, I thought I would share some pros with you!

You can do it from the comfort of your home
Video sessions are very similar to in person sessions when you are using a platform with little buffering like we are at our office
You don’t need to worry about possible transmission of coronavirus
You can optimize your time as you will not have travel time

These are just simple things that were fun today. The most important reason to continue with telehealth is that you don’t need to cancel your personal growth just because everything else in our world is cancelled. You can still work on yourself, how you are managing the unknown of this situation, and find support. Plus, we are all not sure how long this situation will last and it is going to be important for all of us to schedule in self-care. I feel that many parents in our world who are suddenly home schooling while working, are going to feel the pressure to be in survival mode throughout this situation. I would encourage you to consider the harm and stress of that. Carving out an hour a week to find support and a time for you, is most likely going to be crucial in maintaining this situation as long as we need to.

We at Thrive would be thrilled to help any Californians during this time and are no longer limited to the bounds of who can drive to our office. We are hopeful that this will help extend the people we are able to help, particularly during a time of such challenge and uncertainty in our country. We are even working on strategies of things to do with younger kids in telehealth and ways to continue our work with the whole family!

From our Thrive family to your family, we hope everyone is hanging in there and we look forward to supporting you!

New Groups at Thrive!

12/4/2019

Happy Holidays to everyone from the Thrive Team! We hope everyone is enjoying the hustle and bustle of the holidays as much as they can!

At Thrive, we have been busily getting ready for the New Year and launching our new and improved groups! We have been proud to offer several groups in the past few years and recently took a pause from offering them to revisit their format and change some things to make them more accessible to the community.

I wanted to make sure I took the time to share in detail with our readers and followers all the info now that we have it set up!

Open Format and Online Scheduling- The groups are now going to have a more open format. Participants will need to contact us to participate and have an intake to make sure they are a good fit for the group and after that, they will receive an online scheduling link. They can then schedule the groups for weeks they would like to attend! There is no commitment other than attending the groups you sign up for!

Group Topics and Days/Times offered – (Click for more info)

We have opened up the calendars in January so feel free to contact us now to get set up to participate!

Grateful for our Thrive Team!

11/26/2019

All the reasons why I love working with each and every one of the therapists at Thrive!
By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

I had the distinct honor of being given an award last Friday by a dear colleague of mine, Dr. Julia Rosengren. Julia was given the responsibility of choosing someone she wanted to publicly honor in our San Diego mental health community and I was flattered that she chose me! In our line of work, it can be rare to be publicly recognized for what we do and the differences we can make in our communities. The whole event nearly brought me to tears it was just so kind, thoughtful, and uplifting. At the event, they asked those of us being honored to “pay it forward.” This led me to think about not just the many colleagues I respect, admire, and cherish in our community but the colleagues that I am lucky to work with at Thrive. My team, my favorites really J

So, I thought I would follow up my gratitude post from last week with a gratitude post all about them to share with all of our readers just what makes Thrive such a special place to be and work.

Angela Bianco, ASW
I have so many things I could say about Angela but most of all I am grateful for her ability for introspection and experiential learning. Angela has been such a gift as an employee as she is just so creative and talented at helping all of us access deeper parts of ourselves. Though she only works with us a small amount, she brings huge value to our team.

Dr. Maria Fowlks
When I think of Maria, I can’t help but think of all the times we have laughed together. She has been a guiding light for me especially in my own transition to being a working mama. Maria is someone who is just all heart and gives everything to her friends, her family, and her clients. She is fierce in the most loving and compassionate way and I am honored to have her in my life!

Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT
Jennifer was my first therapist that I hired who I was not supervising and who I did not know before interviewing her. I am SO grateful for her and that I took that step! She has been such a rock for me since we started working together. She is someone that I can count on to be a grounding presence of support, compassion, and leadership. The more we work together, the more I value Jennifer and the ways we balance each other out!

Panicha McGuire, LMFT, RPT
A colleague once told me that Panicha is “such a light in the world.” I have to say, I agree. She cares with her whole heart and truly wants to help everyone she meets. She is also business minded and ambitious in what she hopes to do at our office – which is so nice for me! I can always count on her for more ideas and ways to help more clients in our community!

Lauren Spinelli, LCSW
Lauren is one of the warmest and kindest people I have ever known. She brings a sense of joy to everyone she works with and can just light up a room with her energy and joy. She has a way of making everyone at the office feel seen and cared for while also laughing off the challenges of our job.

Anoushey Nazir Khan, AMFT
All I can say about Anoushey is one of the most kind and grounding people I have known. She is truly gifted in her ability to bring a sense of calm and warmth to every situation she is in. She was our most recent addition to our clinical team and after meeting her, we felt sure that we were complete as a clinical team!

Special Shout Out to our newest addition – Jessica Felix-Acuna
Jessica is our most recent addition at Thrive and is our new administrative assistant. I already have been appreciating her willingness to dive in and take things on to help us all out.

As you can see, I am truly lucky to be part of such an amazing team. We spend so much of our time together supporting each other as well as laughing together and just enjoying our time. I can’t help but think that this is how every workplace should be! I know it would not be possible without teach and every one of them. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for making Thrive what it is and making my dreams of owning a group practice with a great work environment a reality!

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Meet Dr. Erica Wollerman, our Founder

By: CanvasRebel
This is an excerpt from an interview between our founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman, and CanvasRebel. To read the interview in full, check it out here!

We also wanted to share with you some pictures of our updated office! We have expanded our office space so that we can better serve our community, increase our in person session offerings, and further grow our team!

Check them out below!

5 Ways to Address Suicidal Ideation as a Parent

Setting an Intention for 2022 - Are we sure? Do we dare?

By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

Meet Lauren Allbee, ACSW

Why Starting Therapy Can Be So Intimidating

Welcome to the Thrive Team Alexina and Ying-Ying!

5 Phrases to Help Our Loved Ones Feel Less Alone When in Struggle

Video sessions, with my therapist? Are you sure?

By: Dr. Wollerman

New Groups at Thrive!

Grateful for our Thrive Team!

All the reasons why I love working with each and every one of the therapists at Thrive!
By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

Blogs from the Thrive Family!

Categories

Archives

Call Today! 858-342-1304

Contact Us

By: CanvasRebel This is an excerpt from an interview between our founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman, and CanvasRebel. To read the interview in full, check it out here!

We also wanted to share with you some pictures of our updated office! We have expanded our office space so that we can better serve our community, increase our in person session offerings, and further grow our team! Check them out below!

By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

By: Dr. Wollerman

All the reasons why I love working with each and every one of the therapists at Thrive! ​By: Dr. Erica Wollerman

Blogs from the Thrive Family!

Categories

Archives

Call Today! 858-342-1304

Contact Us

By: CanvasRebel
This is an excerpt from an interview between our founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman, and CanvasRebel. To read the interview in full, check it out here!

We also wanted to share with you some pictures of our updated office! We have expanded our office space so that we can better serve our community, increase our in person session offerings, and further grow our team!

Check them out below!

All the reasons why I love working with each and every one of the therapists at Thrive!
By: Dr. Erica Wollerman