Conversations on Mental Health, Human Connection & Healing

Sometimes We Begin Again

Hello friends,

Last week I wrote about dropping our son off in Charlotte and watching him begin a new chapter. This week, it's our daughter's turn.

Eighth grade already. I honestly don't know how we got here so quickly.

Alongside the usual back-to-school preparations, she's beginning something else too: therapy, again — this time with a different approach.

Her new therapist specializes in working with adolescents, sessions are virtual so she can talk from the comfort and privacy of her own room, and her therapist incorporates online gaming as a form of play and connection. My first thought was, well, this certainly will be fun. 😊

But that's exactly the point. Therapy doesn't have to look the way we imagine it's "supposed" to look.

Our daughter's mental health journey began after the pandemic, during an incredibly hard stretch for our whole family — her brother was struggling with depression, my sister was in the middle of her own serious crisis, and somewhere underneath all of it, our daughter began struggling too. She was eventually diagnosed with anxiety and ADHD.

We've learned a lot since then: when to step in and when to give her space, that what works for one child doesn't necessarily work for another, and that sometimes therapy helps tremendously, sometimes you take a break, and sometimes it's time to try again — with a different person or a different approach entirely.

At 13, she's also stepping into a completely different stage of life. Friendships shift. Bodies change. Social dynamics get more complicated. Independence starts to matter, even while she's still very much a kid figuring out who she is.

So we're beginning again. Not because something is terribly wrong — because sometimes taking care of your mental health means recognizing when a little more support might help.

I'm curious to see how this new approach works for her. And most importantly, so is she.

Path To Hope™ Is Getting Very Real

After months of building, rewriting, redesigning, and occasionally wondering why I decided to take on another project — the new website is ready. And I'm genuinely happy with where it landed.

Seeing Path To Hope™ come together in one place — the speaking, the book, this newsletter, Dance for Mental Health™, and the podcast — feels rewarding in a way I didn't fully expect.

The podcast itself is moving forward too. We're preparing the guest outreach campaign, and soon I'll be moving from microphones, backgrounds, and technology to the part I've actually been waiting for: the conversations. I want to talk with clinicians, parents, researchers, educators, leaders, and people with lived experience — not just about what's wrong with our mental health systems, but what's working, what we're learning, and what ordinary people can do with that.

If there's someone you think I should talk to — or if that someone is you — reply to this email. I'd genuinely love to hear from you.

Something Else Taking Shape at Ellie

At Ellie Mental Health – Concord, we've started recruiting for our first Path To Hope™ Community Learning Series parent group, and this part has been genuinely fun to build.

We're bringing together clinical expertise, education, and peer connection in a way I desperately wish had existed when our own family was trying to understand what was happening to us.

Parents have questions that don't always need a therapy appointment:

• Is this normal adolescence, or something I should be concerned about?
• How do I talk to my child without making them shut down?
• When should I seek professional help?
• What kind of help do we even need?

Those are exactly the conversations I want these groups to make easier. We're starting with parents, learning as we go, and I'm excited to see what this becomes.

Path To Hope™ Learning Corner

Starting with this issue, I want to leave you with something useful every time — something you can remember, use, or pass along to someone else.

This time, something our own family has learned firsthand: therapy is not one-size-fits-all.

We tend to talk about "therapy" like it's a single treatment. It isn't. Think about physical health — a bad knee sends you to an orthopedist or physical therapist; heart symptoms send you to a cardiologist. Different symptoms call for different specialists and approaches. Mental health deserves that same level of thought.

There are many kinds of mental health professionals and just as many therapeutic approaches — CBT, DBT, EMDR, play therapy, family therapy, and others — each suited to different ages, needs, and diagnoses. And the relationship with the therapist matters just as much as the method.

If therapy isn't helping, that doesn't mean therapy doesn't work. It may mean it's worth a conversation with your provider about what isn't working, whether the approach still fits, or whether a different clinician or a fresh evaluation makes sense. Finding the right care can take more than one try — our family has certainly learned that.

Maybe that's part of why I'm at peace watching my daughter begin again. At 13, she's learning that caring for her mental health isn't something to be ashamed of — it's simply part of learning how to care for herself.

That's a lesson I wish more of us had learned much earlier.

Until our next conversation,

Saroni
Author • Speaker • Mental Health Advocate

Founder, Path To Hope™
Owner, Ellie Mental Health Concord, MO

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