Chris Baulch, LPC

09/15/2026

Sometimes the problem isn’t just one toxic relationship. It can become a cycle.

A toxic family relationship can affect how we understand ourselves. That can influence the friendships we choose. Those friendships can reinforce unhealthy beliefs about ourselves and relationships. Those patterns can show up in romantic relationships. And eventually, the stress, isolation, anger, shame, or hopelessness can lead to unhealthy coping behaviors.

Then the cycle starts again.
Family → relationships → self-worth → friendships → coping → back to relationships.

And here's the hard part: You can recognize that something is unhealthy and still not know how to break the pattern.

Therapy isn't about blaming your family, cutting everyone out of your life, or pretending the past didn't happen.

It's about understanding the patterns, figuring out what belongs to your past versus your present, learning healthier ways of responding, and deciding what you want your relationships to look like moving forward.

If you keep finding yourself in the same kinds of relationships, having the same arguments, struggling with the same boundaries, or wondering "Why do I keep ending up here?" it may be worth taking a closer look at the cycle.

You don't have to figure it all out by yourself. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor in Spring, TX, and I work with adolescents, adults, parents, and families dealing with relationship difficulties, life transitions, anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, and other challenges that can make these patterns difficult to change.

If you're ready to start looking at the pattern instead of just surviving it, send me a message. We can talk about whether therapy might be a good fit for you.

08/26/2026

I came across an interesting article today from The Conversation about the future of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

For decades, psychiatric diagnoses have primarily been based on patterns of symptoms and behavior. Unlike many areas of medicine, we haven't generally had a blood test, brain scan, or other biological test that can definitively tell us, “This is depression,” “This is ADHD,” or “This is PTSD.”

That may be beginning to change.

Researchers are now working toward incorporating biology and neuroscience into our understanding of mental disorders. The long-term goal is potentially more precise diagnosis and more individualized treatment.

And I think that's exciting but it also raises an important question:

How do we incorporate biology without losing the person?

Two people can have the same diagnosis and have completely different histories, relationships, environments, coping strategies, and experiences.

Biology matters.

So do trauma, stress, relationships, family dynamics, learned behaviors, life transitions, and the meaning we give to what we've experienced.

That's one reason I believe therapy has to go beyond simply identifying a diagnosis.

The more useful questions are often:

What happened?
Why does this pattern make sense?
What keeps it going?
And what can we do differently?

A diagnosis can give us a framework. It shouldn't become the entire story.

If you're struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, anger, relationship difficulties, major life changes, or simply feel stuck in patterns you can't seem to break, therapy can provide a place to slow things down, understand what's happening, and figure out what comes next.

You don't have to wait until you're in crisis to ask for help.

If you're considering individual therapy, send me a message to learn more about my approach and schedule an appointment.

You don't need to have everything figured out before you start.

Read the full article:
The DSM will use biology in the next edition (https://theconversation.com/im-part-of-the-team-writing-the-next-bible-of-psychiatry-for-the-first-time-the-dsm-will-use-biology-to-understand-mental-disorders-288064)

Despite advances in neuroscience, the underlying biology of mental illness has remained elusive. The DSM-6 will attempt to integrate neurobiology into how clinicians diagnose and treat psychiatric conditions.

08/15/2026

The kids are back in school. Now, what about you? 🌿

The back-to-school season brings a massive shift in energy. After months of summer coordination, camp schedules, and constant multitasking, the house suddenly gets a little quieter.While it’s tempting to immediately fill that quiet time with household chores or work, this transition is also the perfect opportunity to check in on your mental health. Managing a family takes a village, but managing your own emotional well-being takes intentional space.If you have been waiting for a break in the chaos to focus on your own anxiety, boundaries, or self-care, I have a few select daytime counseling openings starting next week (August 17).✨ Take this time for you.

Visit the link in my bio, call to schedule, or request a confidential initial consultation.

Privacy note: Please protect your confidentiality by using my website's secure contact form rather than booking or inquiring in the comment section below.

07/26/2026

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that being a man meant handling everything on our own.

We push through the stress. We bury the anger. We tell ourselves we're just tired, it'll pass, or we need to work harder. Then one day we realize we're short-tempered with the people we love, disconnected from our families, or simply surviving instead of living.

The truth is, taking care of your mental health isn't weakness. It's responsibility.

I've sat with men from all walks of life. Fathers. Husbands. Veterans. First responders. Professionals. Students. Men who never imagined they'd talk to a therapist. What they often discover is that therapy isn't about someone "fixing" them. It's about having a place where you can be honest, make sense of what's weighing you down, and learn practical ways to move forward.

You don't have to be falling apart to benefit from counseling. If you've been carrying more than you let on, this might be the sign you've been waiting for.

If you're ready to take that first step, I'd be honored to walk alongside you.

Send me a message or visit my page to learn more about how we can work together.

07/09/2026

Life as an adult, and especially as a parent, can be rewarding, exhausting, and everything in between.

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience a mental health condition each year, and many parents report significant stress as they balance work, family, and their own well-being.

You don’t have to carry it all alone. I provide a warm, collaborative space where adults and parents can feel heard, develop practical skills, and move forward with greater confidence and connection. If you’re ready to invest in yourself or your family, I’d be honored to support you on that journey.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or to schedule a consultation.

06/21/2026

Happy Father's Day.

Earlier today I read an article about fathers who fix broken things instead of replacing them. It immediately brought back memories of my father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and uncle. If something broke, their first instinct wasn't to throw it away. They would take it apart, study it, tinker with it, and see if they could bring it back to life.

As a kid, I thought they were just being stubborn.

As an adult—and now as a husband and father myself—I think I understand it a little differently.

Maybe it isn't about saving money. Maybe it's about honoring the history attached to something. Maybe it's about refusing to give up on something just because it's damaged. Maybe it's about finding purpose in being able to repair, restore, and care for the things entrusted to us.

My wife would probably tell you I keep far too many things "just in case." She wouldn't be entirely wrong. But I also enjoy working with my hands. There is something deeply satisfying about taking something broken and making it useful again.

In therapy, I often see a similar process.

People come in feeling damaged, worn down, stuck, or convinced that parts of themselves are beyond repair. Yet healing rarely comes from throwing away the difficult parts of our story. More often, it comes from understanding them, caring for them, and learning how to rebuild.

Maybe that's one of the lessons many fathers try to teach without ever saying it out loud:

Broken doesn't always mean worthless.

Sometimes it just means it's time to get to work.

Happy Father's Day to the fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles, mentors, and father figures who taught us the value of patience, persistence, and repair.

Psychology suggests that fathers who repair broken items instead of replacing them are rarely being cheap or stubborn. More often, they are preserving something far greater than the object itself. In many cases, they are protecting memories, honoring familiarity, and holding on to the emotional mean...

06/02/2026

Lately, one theme keeps showing up in conversations with clients:

A lot of people are exhausted from carrying everything alone.

Not just physically exhausted. Emotionally exhausted.

Holding it together at work while falling apart internally. Feeling disconnected in relationships but not knowing how to explain it. Staying busy because slowing down means the thoughts catch up. Feeling guilty for being irritable, numb, overwhelmed, or emotionally shut down.

Many people learned early on that survival meant pushing feelings aside, staying hyper-independent, or always being “the strong one.” Those strategies may have helped at one point, but eventually they can leave people feeling isolated, reactive, anxious, or disconnected from themselves and the people they care about.

Healing is not about becoming emotionless or perfectly regulated all the time. Often, it starts with learning how to slow down long enough to understand what your mind and body have been trying to say underneath the stress.

You do not have to wait until things completely fall apart to ask for support.

05/18/2026

One of the most important concepts in ACT therapy is learning how to separate yourself from the thoughts and emotions you experience. Not every thought deserves obedience. Not every emotion deserves control of the steering wheel.

A simple intervention we use is third-person perspective taking.

Instead of: “I’m angry.” “I’m failing.” “I’m not enough.”
Try: “John is noticing anger showing up.” “John is having the thought that he is failing.” “John is noticing self-doubt right now.”

That small shift creates psychological distance. It allows you to observe the experience instead of becoming consumed by it.

Star Wars actually gives a great example of this.
Anakin Skywalker fused completely with fear, anger, shame, and loss. Every emotion became an absolute truth that demanded action. Instead of noticing fear, he became controlled by it.

Luke Skywalker, especially later in his journey, learned something different. Fear, grief, and anger still showed up, but he became more capable of observing those experiences without surrendering his values to them.

That is psychological flexibility.

ACT therapy is not about pretending painful thoughts and emotions do not exist. It is about learning how to make room for them without letting them define your identity or dictate your behavior.

You are the observer of the experience. You are not the experience itself.

05/17/2026

Some Saturday sessions are heavy. Others end with Mario Kart trash talk and a reminder that healing also happens through connection, laughter, and being fully present with the people you love.

As a therapist, I spend a lot of time helping clients work through anxiety, grief, emotional burnout, ADHD-related overwhelm, relationship stress, and the pressure of trying to hold everything together while life keeps moving. One thing I talk about often is this: regulation is not only built in the hard conversations. It is also built in moments like this.
A living room. A race. Kids laughing. Competitive parents. Rosalina somehow taking over the leaderboard.

Mental health is not just crisis management. It is learning how to create more moments where your nervous system can finally exhale.

This weekend, I hope you make room for both the meaningful work and the meaningful memories. Even if that memory includes getting absolutely destroyed in Mario Kart.

04/28/2026

A lot of people do not come to therapy because they are “struggling enough.”

They come because something is starting to feel off, even if they are still functioning.

I often work with adults, especially men and parents, who are new to therapy or unsure about it. Many of them are not looking for someone to analyze them or label everything they do. They are looking for a space where they can be direct, practical, and figure out what is actually going on without overcomplicating it.

Therapy does not have to feel abstract or uncomfortable. For a lot of people, it becomes more about learning how to manage stress, improve communication, reduce irritability, and get unstuck from patterns that keep showing up.

My approach is straightforward and collaborative. We focus on what is relevant, what is workable, and what actually changes things in your day-to-day life.
If you have never been to therapy before, or you are not sure it is for you, that is a completely valid place to start from.

You can reach out here if you want to ask questions or see if it makes sense to connect.

Located in Spring with telehealth available.