Welcome to Attuned: The Flow State Psychotherapy Blog

This marks the inauguration of Flow State Psychotherapy's blog, coinciding with the first newsletter in about ten months. Moving forward, my intention is to offer a monthly blog and a quarterly newsletter. Whoever you are and wherever you are in life, I'm so glad you're here — I hope you find something useful or supportive for your own journey.

The intention of this blog is to reconnect with this part of my process and my business dream: creating a buzz around the experience of flow through connection, love of human relationship, and community. Specifically, this blog will touch on my journey with writing, offer a teaser about Flow State theory and why I was inspired to create Flow State Psychotherapy, LLC, and close with a window into my personal journey — one area of my life where I've recently been cultivating flow.

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 writing. The journal has been a companion to me through beautiful periods and challenging ones throughout my entire life. I have concrete evidence of a journal I started when I first went to kindergarten. [Add a quote of it here…] I also carry a vivid memory of writing in my journal in sixth grade about how hard middle school was.

Even so, I often feel overwhelmed by the process of getting everything out of my head in a concise and coherent way — and, not to mention, it feels deeply vulnerable. But through some of the spiritual work I've been doing recently during solo time, I've felt increasingly drawn to sharing my thoughts with you.

There's 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 — because time with family always brings layers of memory and feeling to process. 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. I owned that part of myself a little more that day.

In fact, 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. In adventure therapy, we call this squiggles. I was drawn in and then seduced by my own writing — poems I had written, thoughts I had captured, ideas I had planted. That particular journal spanned a nine-month guide course called Ceremony and Rites of Passage, and it also marked my transition from a managed care setting into private practice and the dream to build 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 — here and now. Flow State is most commonly discussed in the context of sports psychology or peak performance, but with the right awareness, it is far more accessible across a wide range of everyday experiences.

One of the people who has most inspired this work for me is Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who defines flow as "the psychology of optimal experience." What energizes me about his work is the suggestion that with the right conditions and level of engagement, flow is readily accessible — not reserved for elite athletes or rare moments.

The reason I was inspired to create Flow State Psychotherapy, LLC was rooted in a theme I observed across fifteen years of practice in three managed care settings, working with hundreds of clients. Regardless of diagnosis, specific conditions, impairment level, or available resources, there was a near-universal desire to feel more present — more in flow. I was also particularly curious about the role of the therapist-client relationship in cultivating access to this state: first on the micro level between therapist and client, and then transferring that capacity into the client's broader life. I first became fascinated with Flow State 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, and I'll be breaking this down further in future blogs.

What's Been Keeping Me

It felt important to share why there has been such a gap in communication with this wonderful community. I've been intending to return to the newsletter for about six months — my last one went out in May. The squiggle that pulled me in a different direction was a caregiving role I was called into unexpectedly.

Our beloved dog, Dasher, is doing well and continuing to improve — but about six months ago, he sustained a dislocated hip. This injury set off a series of necessary interventions to support him and allow him to live out his dog life with as little pain as possible. In the process, I've been learning how to be a more present and attuned caregiver, and finding flow within the daily rhythm of physical therapy, medication, and tending to my sweet boy.

In practice, this has looked like: finding a teamwork rhythm with my husband, establishing specific goals (three walks a day for a period of time), working within time parameters (length of each walk), and attending to concrete, tangible tasks like cleaning soiled garments and managing his medication schedule. What I've just described is actually a working example of how flow gets created — clear goals, time structure, and full engagement. And yet, it also meant I didn't have the energy or bandwidth to organize my thoughts for this space.

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.