Mindful Connections, Shannon McInchak, LMSW

06/10/2026

06/10/2026

06/09/2026

Setting family boundaries is easier said than done. I wrote an article about some common themes underlying family guilt and provide some sample scripts on how to communicate with difficult parents. You can access the article on my website here:
https://www.staymindfulmi.com/blog/dealing-with-difficult-parentsnbsp-scripts-for-saying-no

06/04/2026

The main drive behind starting my own practice was to have freedom. The last job I had in healthcare expected me to have 10 clients a day on my schedule. I was in a salaried position making a livable wage and I had benefits, but the caseload just wasn't sustainable. My job in community mental health (CMH) had productivity expectations that I had to constantly worry about meeting. Unfortunately, neither place cared much about the quality of therapy I was providing, just that people were showing up and they could continue to fund their programs.

The benefits you see as the client are you're working with a therapist that has more capacity to support you. Not having to worry about "productivity" or high caseloads means we're more present. Since we get to decide our rates and keep more of our earnings, it means we don't have to work with as many clients. When you support a private practice, you're supporting your community instead of a large corporation.

06/02/2026

The fact is, if you're paying $75 for a therapy session, your therapist is probably making $30 - 40 an hour. They would have to see 8 clients a day, 5 days a week to just make an average of $57,000 a year. That's not even including the time it takes for admin tasks like writing treatment plans, making phone calls, responding to inquiries, and writing progress notes. This would easily become a 60 hour work week, turning that "affordable" rate into minimum wage.

The only way to make therapy affordable and hassle free is to have universal healthcare. I dream of a system that compensates therapists at a fair, livable wage and one where you don't have to go through an insurance plan for access.

05/06/2026

Ideal clients for a therapist are the ones that we work well with because we have adequate knowledge, comfort and experience with their issues. It does NOT mean favorite or superior. Our goals are aligned and the sessions feel productive and low effort. We probably share similar values and may have some common interests too. The ideal client/ideal therapist match is one of the first steps towards a positive therapy experience.

04/21/2026

Highlights from my home office!

1) What most clients see when they connect for their virtual sessions: my degree from Wayne State, a few old textbooks, an awesome knit cat pillow that my aunt made for me, and a stack of borrowed books I need to read.

2) A painting by my brother in law. I chose to put it here because it feels very relevant to my therapy work. When I look at it, it makes me think of slowing down, breathing, and making space in my mind and body.

3) Bought this painting at the Wyandotte Street fair a couple of years ago. The pictures are from my trip to Scotland in 2016, specifically from the Isle of Skye.

4) A puzzle and art from one of my favorite video games - Zelda.

5) A painting I saw at the Renaissance Festival that I had to have. It's called Lady in the Lake and is a King Arthur reference. Personally I bought it because it made me feel powerful and cool 😎

6) My collection of nerdy artifacts from various movies, books and video games I love.

7) A spot for my cats Leo and Pepper to hang. Can you see her in the picture?

04/15/2026

You might be wondering - is my anxiety normal or not? In this day and age, it can be hard to tell with the constant chaos happening in this country and across the world. There are still key differences between anxiety as a stress response vs anxiety that's disordered. If your anxious feelings repeatedly hold you back from experiences that matter to you, then you may have an anxiety disorder. Read more: https://www.staymindfulmi.com/anxiety-therapy-michigan

04/13/2026

Internal Family Systems Therapy, or IFS, is a therapy that works by resolving emotional pain by healing wounded “parts”. Rather than seeing our psyche as one, IFS sees you as a system of parts that are often in conflict with each other (i.e. like an inner family, hence the name). Parts are born from past experiences that caused you pain and they developed to protect you or carry the pain. IFS may be right for you if you find yourself repeating patterns or behavior despite a true effort to change. It can shine a light on unconscious sources of pain and heal them. I just love it. Read more about IFS: https://www.staymindfulmi.com/ifs-therapy-anxiety-trauma

04/10/2026

New office space at 2836 W Jefferson Ave in downtown Trenton. Once again my colleague Heather has an eye for design. It's a very cozy and comforting space!