The old LGBTQ debates about who counted were never only about identity. They were about rights. Marriage. Protections. Safety. Stakes also feel high around diagnosing. Whenever rights hinge on a label, people draw tight lines. But lived experience is wider than the definitions built to contain it.

We can name a thing without ever capturing its essence. Yet the words we choose still enter the world and take on a reality of their own.

UT undergrad. Sociology. Reflecting back. The Thomas Theorem kept echoing: what’s defined as real becomes real. No wonder identity shifts when someone names your story before you can.

When my nephew was three, he pointed to a moth and shouted “bird!” Either way, we still had to help it back out of the house. We often reach for the nearest name we have, the closest our understanding can offer at the time.

My new essay in Please See Me explores the shadow side of a mental health diagnosis—the parts our diagnostic tools can’t hold and the slow work of finding language that truly fits. #Nonfiction #NarrativeEthics #LivedExperience #MentalHealth #NarrativeMedicine pleaseseeme.com/issue-17-fre...

Here is one psychoanalyst's use of humor in writing by poking fun at how uncomfortable a first day at class can be...sometimes. granta.com/clown-school/

Here is something from ACT. It speaks to the dialectic, also key to DBT. Even IFS uses this approach--"there is a part of me that feels"... Some mistake this for ambiguity. It is more about synthesis. Internal Struggles (The Chessboard Metaphor) by Dr. Russ Harris www.youtube.com/watch?v=phbz...

Hi 👋, I’m Monica. I’m cautiously exploring Bluesky to see if it feels like the right fit. I’m a licensed therapist with an interest in digital health technology—something I view as both a powerful tool and a complex challenge. Excited to connect and explore here!