Welcome to Attuned: The Flow State Psychotherapy Blog
This marks the inauguration of Flow State Psychotherapy's blog called Attuned. It will coincide with the first newsletter in a year due to circumstances that posed a barrier to my being able to follow through with getting organized enough to create content. Moving forward, my commitment is to post a monthly reflection and a quarterly newsletter. Thank you for reading this and I hope you find something inspiring or supportive.
The intention of this blog is to create a ripple effect of greater collective attunement by sharing about and exploring the experience of flow through connection with nature, humans and adventure in everyday life. Specifically, this blog will touch on my experience as an amateur writer, offer some thoughts about Flow Theory and why I was inspired to create Flow State Psychotherapy, LLC. Finally, I will close by sharing a personal story about how I’ve learned to incorporate flow as a caregiver to one of my pets the past 10 months.
On Writing
I've always journaled, and it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I recognized journaling as a legitimate form of art through writing. Writing in a journal has been a companion to me throughout my entire life of beautiful periods and challenging ones. I have concrete evidence of a journal that I started when I was eight years old. The story was titled “The First Day of School.” I was writing about a little boy who didn’t want to go to school because he felt scared. I wrote that even though he was scared, his mom told him he had to go to school anyway. I’ve taken an excerpt from this journal from 1988 and quoted my exact words. I wrote “he got to school and he started to cry but his teacher said ‘don’t werry, you will be ok. You will meet a freind.’ The boy said ‘no I won’t, I don’t no inebide.’ Then he fond a frind. He stopped ciring. then he had reciss- he played with his friend for recess.” I read this story from my eight year old self and I think about two things: 1. How long I’ve been writing and, 2. How I can still feel scared and do it anyway. I think about the qualities of life that bring meaning and how we as humans know how to cultivate and find it from a very young age but we forget how simple it can be.
Just like my eight year old self, I feel scared by the idea and experience of self-expression through writing in public facing way because, for me, it feels deeply vulnerable. However, as I’ve learned from my eight year old self, I can be scared and I can even cry, but if I’m encouraged to move through my fear instead of avoid it, meaningful experiences occur. Namely, I might meet a new friend or get to play. Maybe it’s ironic, maybe it isn’t, but it’s not lost on me that two of the basic ingredients that cultivate flow include the right level of challenge with the right degree of skill. In this simple story of an eight year old boy, he faced a challenge (being scared to go to school) and applied a skill (communication with a peer and letting himself feel his emotions). The kid and the writer may have both experienced flow. I do not remember if I felt in the state of flow at eight years old but I do know that I often connect with my flow state through writing.
With that said, there is a running joke between my dad and me about this. Whenever I'm spending time with family, my journal is always nearby. Inevitably, there comes a moment when I need to sort through thoughts or emotions when being with my family because they say “if you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” A couple of years ago, in one of those moments, my dad looked at me and said, "You've always been a writer." Something clicked and I embraced that part of myself a little more that day because my dad saw that part of me. My hope is that this blog is, simultaneously, a space for me to explore my own self-expression in a public facing way and a space to offer tools and ideas to live a more attuned, present and meaningful life.
Speaking of meaningful, just yesterday I stumbled across a journal from 2020–2021 while looking for something else entirely and I got beautifully sidetracked. Getting distracted or going on tangents is a usual experience of mine and I’ve learned to embrace it. In Adventure Therapy, we call these squiggles and they are explored as opportunities to “go off the beaten path” because it may pose an insight. Once again, I was drawn in and seduced by my own writing during a nine-month guide course called Ceremony and Rites of Passage. This course marked my transition from a managed care setting into building my dream private practice Flow State Psychotherapy, LLC.
A Little Flow Theory
Flow State is a synergistic state in which the mind, body, and cognition are in alignment with one's environment. When a person is in flow, they are fully and completely present or attuned to the here and now. Flow State is most commonly discussed in the context of sports psychology or peak performance, positive psychology and has it’s roots Adlerian Psychology. I find myself living with a constant question, if the right awareness and knowledge are applied, is it possible to access this state of consciousness more frequently and in everyday experiences?
The modern day pioneer of Flow Theory Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, would say “yes.” He defines flow as "the psychology of optimal experience." What energizes me about his work is that he suggests that with the right conditions and level of engagement, flow is readily accessible and not reserved for elite athletes or rare moments.
I was inspired to create Flow State Psychotherapy, LLC because I observed a theme I throughout fifteen years of mental health practice in three managed care settings, while working with hundreds and hundreds of clients. What I noticed was, regardless of diagnosis, specific conditions, impairment level, socioeconomic status, or available resources, there was a near-universal desire to feel more present, connected and engaged- i.e. more in flow. Specifically, I was also curious about the role the therapist-client relationship plays in cultivating access to this state: first, on the micro level between therapist and client within the session, and second transferring this capacity into the client's broader life. I first became fascinated with Flow Theory during graduate school in 2006, and I found my way back to it five and a half years ago when I began envisioning my own practice. There are many layers to unpack here that I'll be breaking down in future blogs.
What's Been Keeping Me
It felt important to share why there has been such a gap in communication with my readers. I've been intending to return to the newsletter for about 10 months since my last one went out in May of 2025. The squiggle that pulled me in a different direction was a caregiving role that I was unexpectedly called into.
I have a dog named, Dash/Dasher, that I love a lot. He is an 85 lb. adorable, loving and light-haired goldendoodle who is currently doing well and continuing to develop strength. However about ten months ago, he sustained a dislocated hip that set off a series of necessary interventions. In the process, I learned how to be a more present and attuned caregiver despite my fear, irritation and conflict with my feelings about caregiving being inconvenient. First of all, I was forced to slow down and take one day at a time which often happens when a loved one is struggling. Secondly, I learned how to find flow within the daily rhythm of physical therapy, medication, and tending to my sweet boy. The capacity to find flow amidst my perception that caregiving was inconvenient, was life-changing and opened my heart to love my dog and my life even more. For that, I’m grateful. I was scared when my dog got hurt, I cried and I found my way and even made some new friends..
Furthermore, finding flow with my dogs recovery looked like finding a teamwork rhythm with my husband, establishing specific goals (three walks a day), working within time parameters (for 5, 10, 20 min.), and attending to concrete, tangible tasks like cleaning soiled garments and managing a medication schedule. What I've just described is a working example of how flow gets created - clear goals, time structure, and full engagement. Finally, combining the right amount of challenge with the right amount of skill, creates greater access to the Flow State.
I hope you enjoy this month's blog and newsletter, and that the resources I've shared feel beneficial or spark something for you. Please feel free to share any thoughts or reflections — and thank you, genuinely, for being here.