MSH Counseling Services

08/23/2026

This is a good reminder that it is not just chronic pain, chronic illness, or mental health issues that can make a person feel this way. A lot of people feel this way for a lot of reasons including the list above but also if they are going through a big life change like loss of loved one, loss of a pet, having children, becoming a empty nest( kids going to college/ moving out), retiring. All of thease are reasons to speak with someone or seek support.

Chronic illness can make you miss the person you were before the pain — and sometimes the hardest part is pretending you’re okay when you’re completely exhausted from trying to keep going. 💜🦋 Kristen Bell has spoken openly about experiencing depression while presenting a cheerful, outgoing image to the world, saying she realized that shame can prevent people from talking about what they are really going through.

That contrast can feel painfully familiar to people living with fibromyalgia and other chronic illnesses. You can smile, laugh, go to work, care for your family, and look completely fine while privately dealing with pain, fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep, and the emotional exhaustion that comes with having to manage symptoms every day. Looking okay does not mean feeling okay.

Bell has also described depression as more than simply having a bad day, explaining that for her it created a profound sense of isolation and loneliness. Although she was talking about her mental-health experience rather than fibromyalgia, that feeling of being alone inside a struggle can resonate with people whose chronic illness has changed their everyday lives.

Sometimes you grieve the old version of yourself quietly. 💜 You miss being spontaneous, having energy, making plans without calculating the consequences, or waking up without wondering how much pain the day will bring. And because other people may only see the version of you who still manages to show up, they may never realize how much effort it took to get there.

Fibromyalgia is associated with widespread pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties, cognitive symptoms, and altered pain processing, and living with persistent symptoms can take an emotional toll. That does not mean the pain is psychological or “all in your head.” It means chronic illness affects the whole person, and emotional support deserves to be part of compassionate care.

You do not have to pretend everything is fine to make other people comfortable. You can miss who you were, grieve what has changed, and still slowly discover a version of yourself worth loving now.

07/03/2026

Sometimes we can learn a lot about ourself when a horse or any animal is saying no.

05/29/2026

Science is just know starting to link up with what anyone who has spent time with horses knows but often can’t explain.

05/13/2026

This 60minutes piece is a great explanation of what I do with animal assisted therapy at Packard Meadows. The first segment is focused on there hippotherapy program which is a type of animal assisted therapy but is done with PT and OT. The second segment at the prison is something I could do as an animal assisted interventionist and the last segment is what I do with a client that wants An animal assisted therapy session and I am hoping to develop a grant funded program to do the exact work with veterans that is talked about in the final segment. 

Horses can form powerful bonds with people owing to their ability to sense and feel human emotions. Endeavor Therapeutic Horsemanship, in Bedford Corners, N.Y., has programs that help people with disabilities, veterans with PTSD, and the incarcerated through interactions with their horses. "60 Minut...

05/12/2026

This therapist approves this as a daily intention especially if you work in a toxic environment. I can help you mange dealing with a toxic work environment. Still accepting new clients. 

05/08/2026

This is an amazing step forward in equine assisted learning for kids along with this should be many levels of equine assisted activity including psychotherapy and hippo therapy.

An equine charity is urging policymakers to include alternative learning approaches—such as equine-assisted interventions—in plans to improve support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In February, the Government released its “every child achieving and thriving” white paper, outlining proposed reforms to schools and the SEND system. The consultation includes measures aimed at improving outcomes for children with SEND, such as providing earlier and fairer support, increasing accountability among local partners, investing in staff training, making mainstream education more inclusive, and introducing new specialist provision packages.

Bristol-based HorseWorld, which has run its Discovery programme for 18 years, delivers part-time, therapeutic, skills-based interventions designed to complement mainstream education. In response to the white paper, the charity hosted a round-table event with stakeholders including schools, alternative learning providers, local authorities, parents, and MPs to discuss how the proposed reforms could work in practice.

A key focus of the discussion was how part-time alternative provisions—like equine-assisted learning—can support early intervention, inclusion, and prevent issues from escalating. Following the event, HorseWorld published a report highlighting the “vital role” these providers can play in helping young people re-engage with education and avoiding more complex needs developing over time. The report stresses that “earlier, more flexible intervention can lead to better outcomes – for individual children and the system as a whole”.

HorseWorld chief executive Jo Coombs, who is also a parent of two children with SEND, believes equine-assisted learning providers should actively contribute to the consultation process.

“This is the time for the horse world and others in equine-assisted learning to say what we do is, and can be, as mainstream as maths and English for neurodivergent children and children with SEND,” she said.

“There are some good things in the white paper, but there are some things that can be built upon and bits for concern. We really hope to start conversations, one around part-time provisions supporting mainstream rather than being an alternative to it. We’re not an alternative to school, we’re specialists working with schools – and that’s really important because I don’t think the white paper addresses this.

“We are also championing equine-assisted and the role of horses as teachers, which is not for every child, but for the children it is for, it can have such a quick impact.”

Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, who attended the event, emphasised the importance of creative approaches in SEND education.

“There is an urgent need to reform the SEND system, and parents are rightly concerned about how the funding announced by the Government will translate into real change within schools that are already overstretched and under-resourced.

“What came up time and again was the importance of creative subjects for children with SEND, particularly neurodiverse children. Creative subjects are not an optional extra; for many children with SEND they are where confidence is built and talents are discovered. If the Government is serious about inclusion, it must protect a broad and creative curriculum.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education responded:

“Our reforms are resetting the way we view inclusion to create an education system fit for every child no matter their needs or background, including through providing schools with direct funding to make changes that prioritise inclusion and ensuring trained specialists are available within every community.

“For children with the most complex needs we are guaranteeing specialist provision packages – expert-designed plans with full legal protections, setting out exactly what each child requires, from specialist teaching and therapies to communication devices.”

04/29/2026

For sure we think about you! We think about how your doing inbetween session, if we see something you might like.

02/22/2026

I will listen and help you work through your feelings.

02/15/2026

If Alexa has this function it might be helpful .