depression
Sara Stanizai
It’s So Beatable: Three Lessons I Learned About ...

by Tiffany Hooton, LMFT

If you’ve ever played Dark Souls, you know it’s a franchise that carries a reputation for its punishing bosses, bleak atmosphere, and environmental storytelling. Players new to the series find themselves facing defeat at every turn. The world of Lordran feels hostile and desolate. Everything wants to kill you, even the environment itself. Because, as seasoned players know, the real boss is gravity. The story is fragmented. Progress is slow and grueling.

So why do people like this game so much? True, there are fans who are in it for bragging rights, who want to make the game seem as difficult and as inaccessible as possible to new players in order to bolster their gamer egos. But there’s more to it than that. For many others, there is a genuine pleasure taken in meeting the challenges the game presents, and it’s in those challenges that I’ve found the greatest meaning.

Of course, I don’t mean to suggest that video games are a cure for mental health struggles; however, like any work of art, games can reflect life back at us in sometimes surprising ways. And, as someone who’s worked closely with depression and has, at times, struggled with it personally, I found that the mindset I developed while playing Dark Souls was useful for more than just beating bosses.

It’s So Beatable: Three Lessons I Learned About Navigating Depression from Dark Souls
self-esteem
Sara Stanizai
When Is It Time to Go No-Contact with a Toxic ...

by Andrew Kravig, LMFT.

For many people, family is a source of love, support, and belonging. But what happens when your family of origin—parents, siblings, or extended relatives—becomes a persistent source of pain, chaos, or emotional harm? The idea of going no-contact can feel drastic, even taboo. Yet, for some, it’s a necessary step toward healing and reclaiming personal peace.

When Is It Time to Go No-Contact with a Toxic Family of Origin?
couples therapy
Sara Stanizai
Brave Love: Telling Your Family You're in a ...

By Andrew Kravig, LMFT.

 

Okay, where to begin?! Let’s start with this: Leaning into vulnerability isn’t comfortable, but it’s where courage is born.

When you’re preparing to tell your family you’re in a polyamorous relationship, you're not just sharing a fact about your love life. You’re sharing something deeply personal, layered, and likely misunderstood. Something about who you are as a person and how you understand your place in the world. And that means vulnerability will have to walk hand in hand with this conversation.

But here’s what I know: Authenticity is a practice. And living wholeheartedly means choosing to show up, even when there are no guarantees. So, let’s let go of certainty, and see what vulnerable authenticity can offer us.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you approach this conversation.

Brave Love: Telling Your Family You're in a Polyamorous Relationship
anxiety
Sara Stanizai
Hello Kitty: How I learned DBT from One ...

By Brianna Patti, LMFT.

My Instagram feed lovingly (read: rudely) reminded me that July 23, 2025 was the 15-year anniversary of the formation of One Direction. Coincidentally, I had come across my collection of CDs a few months prior and noticed that I never purchased their final album, Made in the A.M. (2015), because the eight-month-old wound of Zayn’s departure was still too fresh at the time. I decided it was finally time to include this fifth album to my collection, sans our beloved fifth boy.

While I waited for the CD to arrive, I started playing their old albums again. I popped Up All Night into my Hello Kitty boombox (easily my best eBay purchase ever), and I nearly burst into tears when I heard the late Liam Payne sing the first line of the opening track. Suddenly, I was a teenager finding solace in the harmonies sung by other teenagers. This emotional time travel helped me return to a time when music, fandoms, and daydreams softened the edges of my reality. 

I know I’m not alone when I say that my adolescence was rocky, and my favorite boy band offered me a temporary sense of safety. I’d describe their music as a kind of emotional scaffolding— something to hold onto when everything else felt unsteady. Their music didn’t fix anything, but it made me feel less alone, and sometimes that was enough. As a therapist, I’d like to share what I’m noticing about the benefits of diving into this kind of nostalgia.

Hello Kitty: How I learned DBT from One Direction
Sara Stanizai
How to Socialize and Make Friends: Dealing with ...

By Tiffany Hooton, LMFT.

Does it ever feel like people are just… lonelier? Depending on your algorithm, it seems like we can’t go more than a few days without hearing the words “male loneliness epidemic,” tossed around (sometimes sincerely, sometimes not), across articles, podcasts, and social media. Online commentators warn of the growing “atomization” of society. You could probably fill a bingo card with all the buzzwords floating around this conversation. But glib remarks aside, there’s something real behind the noise. Our social lives have changed, and for many, that’s meant a growing sense of disconnection and weakened community ties. And, though the media loves to center the struggle of white cishet men, this is a trend which extends far beyond those narrow boundaries of gender and sexuality.

How to Socialize and Make Friends: Dealing with Loneliness and Finding Ways to Foster Connection in the LGBTQ+ Community

anxiety

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How Being the "Black Sheep" of your Family Affects your Mental Health

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How Being the "Black Sheep" of your Family Affects your Mental Health

The black sheep of the family is the outcast, seen as different, written off. At best, they're playfully teased; at worst, they're rejected. The more they're ridiculed, the less likely they are to open up and share things about themselves. The less they share, the more of an outcast they become. 

Why does this happen, and what can you do about it?

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5 Ways to Cure Impostor Syndrome

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5 Ways to Cure Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome is that internal voice telling you that you don't deserve the success you've created. People often describe an internal fear of inadequacy and failure, and constantly waiting for the "other shoe to drop."  Here are five ways you can undo those feelings in your work, relationships, and at home:

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Being Seen For Who We Truly Are

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Being Seen For Who We Truly Are

When you’re dismissed, erased, ignored, attacked, or denied - it can cause you to question yourself. It can cause you to feel angry, to feel defeated, to get overwhelmed, to test people, and to feel like you have to prove who you are to yourself and others every day.

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Am I Ready to Start Therapy?

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Am I Ready to Start Therapy?

For people who are used to handling things alone, it can be difficult to know when to seek professional therapy. Like most folks, you probably brush off your problems and wait for them to go away on their own. And that seems to work most of the time.

Convenient to Long Beach and Seal Beach at:

4510 E Pacific Coast Hwy, #540, Long Beach, CA 90804

contact@prospecttherapy.com | (562) 704-4736