Ampersand Counseling Collective

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Ampersand Counseling Collective

A collective of psychodynamic therapists and mental health professionals serving Washington State.

08/27/2026

The word anxiety is thrown around very casually in everyday language. Often times it blurs the line between a normal emotional response and a more serious mental health condition. Understanding the difference between feeling anxious and having an anxiety disorder helps us to appropriately support our mental health without mislabeling our experiences.

Read more about this important distinction on our website. www.ampersandcollective.net/understanding-anxiety

🔗Link in bio

08/19/2026

When you're activated (anxious, overwhelmed, shut down) it's tempting to just push through, but it's actually important to notice what we're feeling. The 4Ns give us a framework for doing this:

🔹 Notice what's happening in your body and mind, without rushing to fix it
🔹 Name the emotion as specifically as you can
🔹 Normalize it as a human response, not a personal failing
🔹 Nurture what needs care

The goal isn't to make hard feelings disappear, but to creates enough space to work with it.

Which N is hardest for you? Tell us below 👇

The full post with grounding strategies is linked in the comments.

08/11/2026

Feeling the weight of the world lately?

In this re-post, Maggie Hemphill shares how focusing locally can help ease the anxiety that comes with trying to hold everything happening globally.

🔗 https://ampersandcollective.net/thinking-global-serving-local/

08/05/2026

Our nervous systems are in constant conversation with the people around us.

When someone near you is calm and grounded, your system tends to settle.
When someone near you is activated and anxious, you feel that too.

We shape each other more than we realize, and that's good news.

Last post in our series explores why. Link in bio and comments below. 🔗
https://ampersandcollective.net/power-of-community-emotional-health-co-regulation/

07/29/2026

“A great irony of therapy is that we pay for a judgment-free zone, only to walk into the room and immediately censor ourselves.”

Depth work in therapy is about getting to the parts of ourselves that we have hidden, even from ourselves. Sometimes that looks like engaging the “taboo” topics that carry with them shame or anxiety. Things like envy, desire or dark thoughts that we think we no one else has.

Read our latest post on six taboo topics to take to your next therapy session. 🔗 Link in Bio.

07/23/2026

New Post on taboo topics to bring to therapy! 🔗 Link in Bio
“Therapy is a judgment-free zone, meant to be a place where we can honestly and vulnerably share the fullness of ourselves in our experience. However, we still sometimes censor our darkest, most embarrassing, or unconventional thoughts, only to share what feels acceptable or tidy, while keeping the parts of our humanity hidden.”

07/15/2026

Play isn't just play.

For kids, it's how they process big emotions, hard changes, and things too confusing to put into words. That's the heart of play therapy, and it might be exactly what your child needs right now.

https://ampersandcollective.net/how-play-therapy-helps-children-heal-and-grow/

07/10/2026

Listening well doesn't mean agreeing with everything you hear.
It means being willing to understand, even when it's uncomfortable.
That distinction has changed a lot of conversations for a lot of people.

A new post on the art of active listening is now available: https://ampersandcollective.net/active-listening-skills-relationships/

06/25/2026

Feeling anxious or depressed after graduation? Life after college can feel hard, but that’s pretty normal. This week on the blog we’re talking about some of the reasons you may be experiencing a post-graduation slump and a few ways to help reorient yourself.

🔗Link in profile

06/17/2026

Most people spend a lot of time finding the right kind of therapy. But research shows the relationship with your therapist might matter even more than the method.

Read more about why "fit" matters.

🔗 https://ampersandcollective.net/why-your-therapist-matters/

Address

365 Ericksen Avenue NE
Bainbridge Island, WA
98110

Telephone

+12064149019

Website

http://www.ampersandcollective.net/

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