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.
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.
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.
By Tiffany Hooton, LMFT.
In today’s world, many queer couples are creating relationships that challenge traditional gender roles and expectations. However, even the most liberated among us can still struggle with shaking off the unconscious pressure of societal norms that creep into our relationships. Whether it's about who initiates intimacy, managing household tasks, gender presentation, or covert expectations around emotional expression. As a result, these unspoken scripts about how people "should" behave in relationships can lead to confusion, tension, or misunderstandings that leave partners feeling frustrated, especially when we don’t realize they’re there. That’s why exploring how these norms impact LGBTQ+ partnerships can be so important (and why couples therapy can be a powerful space for healing, connection, and growth).
by Andrew Kravig.
Starting therapy is a brave decision. It means you're choosing to face challenges head-on, work through pain, and seek a healthier, more fulfilling life. But anyone who’s been in therapy knows—it’s not always easy. Real growth takes time, and two of the most important ingredients in that process are committing to do the work and consistency.
We live in a world that rewards quick fixes, fast results, instant gratification, and “life hacks.” But therapy doesn’t work that way. It’s not about getting answers overnight. It’s about learning to understand yourself, change patterns that don’t serve you, and build a more solid foundation for the future. That takes time, and it takes effort. The progress you make may be slow at times, but that doesn’t mean it’s not working.
Yeah, ok. You keep hearing about "the importance of setting boundaries" and you kind of have an idea of what people mean by that. (It's just saying "no" a lot more frequently....right?)
How do you set limits without hurting people's feelings? Especially when you don't even intend to be hurtful, but people take it the wrong way? Sometimes it feels easier to just give in and hope the other person notices that they're asking too much.
Most couples are unhappy for an average of 6 years before deciding to try therapy together. Whatever the reason (stigma associated with counseling, not wanting to admit they are "that couple," prioritizing work over their relationship, etc.), by the time they decide to try therapy, they aren't sure what happens next. Here's a little of what you can expect:
Convenient to Long Beach and Seal Beach at:
4510 E Pacific Coast Hwy, #540, Long Beach, CA 90804
contact@prospecttherapy.com | (562) 704-4736
