What we are writing now
Our clinicians write in clusters: one essay that lays out the whole idea, then shorter pieces that go deeper into one part of it. Start at the top of a series and work down, or read any one on its own.
01
ACT explained from inside the room: the six processes as they actually show up in a session, one essay at a time.
02
What it takes for therapy to hold culture, family, and immigration history as part of the clinical picture instead of background detail.
03
How the menstrual cycle shapes mood, and where the ordinary premenstrual week ends and something that deserves treatment begins.
04
The moves a mind makes to keep itself comfortable, read closely and without judgement, from a psychodynamic frame.
05
What it means to understand a person by their level of personality organization and character style rather than their symptom list, and why that changes how the work is done.
Recently published
Cultural competence is what a therapist knows. Cultural humility is what they do when they reach the edge of it. A psychologist on the difference, and why the second one matters more.
Letting go and giving up look almost identical from the outside and feel completely different inside. A Carlsbad psychologist on acceptance, resignation, and the line between them.
Many people feel like someone else in the days before their period. Naomi Wu, PsyD on what that experience means, and how to meet that version of you instead of fearing it.
Splitting is the mind's habit of seeing people, including yourself, as all good or all bad, with no middle. Sean Noe, PhD explains where the defense comes from, what it protects, and how therapy helps it soften.
Psychoanalytic diagnosis asks who you are, not just what symptoms you have. Jean Jho, PsyD explains levels of personality organization, character styles, and how the PDM differs from the DSM.
Cognitive defusion is the ACT skill of seeing a thought as just a thought. A Carlsbad psychologist explains what fusion costs you, what defusion feels like, and a few ways to practice it.
Culturally sensitive therapy is more than competence. A licensed psychologist on what cultural attunement actually feels like, and how to find it.
Acceptance and commitment therapy, explained from inside the room. A Carlsbad psychologist on what ACT actually is, how the six processes work in real sessions, and who it tends to help.
PMS, PMDD, and premenstrual exacerbation are not the same. Naomi Wu, PsyD explains the differences, the warning signs, and when to seek help.
Table of contents
The archive
The Letter
One thoughtful letter a month. A new essay, a few lines worth sitting with, and nothing else. Unsubscribe anytime.
We write once a month, never more.
Colophon
Undercurrent is the in-house publication of Coastal Therapy Group, a relational psychodynamic group practice with offices in Encinitas, Carlsbad, and Vista. The essays are written by our clinicians, who spend their working hours listening closely to the stories people tell themselves and thinking about what those stories are quietly doing.
Nothing here is a substitute for therapy. If something you read makes you curious about the work of being known, we would be glad to hear from you.
