As the days shorten and temperatures drop, venturing outdoors can feel less inviting. Yet, fall and winter months offer a unique chance to deepen our connection to the natural world. Spending time in green spaces and the natural environment during colder months can boost mood, reduce anxiety, improve focus, and support physical health.

Whether you live in urban environments like downtown Kansas City or prefer rural areas just outside the city, nature-based therapy is accessible to anyone with a little planning.

In this post, we’ll explore practical ways to engage in nature therapy during the winter season, backed by scientific research, and highlight local parks and trails for immersive experiences.

Relationships are a beautiful blend of trust, love, and mutual respect—or at least they should be. But when controlling behavior creeps in, what could be a healthy relationship can quickly spiral into something toxic and damaging. Control issues often manifest subtly at first but can grow into serious emotional abuse over time, affecting self-esteem and overall mental health. Whether it's constant monitoring, making unilateral decisions, or emotional manipulation, control in intimate relationships can wreak havoc on both partners’ well-being.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into the nature of control issues in relationships, how they affect self-esteem, and how to recognize warning signs. We’ll also explore resources in Kansas City for those facing domestic violence and the crucial steps for building healthier relationships.

Grieving the loss of a loved one can be an incredibly difficult time, filled with waves of emotions that often catch us off guard. As a close friend or family member, finding the right words to offer support can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re writing a condolences letter to a grieving person or trying to express your own emotions in a personal letter, understanding the importance of your message is key. In this blog, we’ll break down a template for writing a heartfelt grief letter, addressing the impact of the holidays, and discuss how grief can be mistaken for other things.

Additionally, for those struggling with grief, we’ll provide resources like a loss worksheet or grief worksheet and offer insights on the next step in healing. If you’re in Kansas City, Missouri, or the surrounding areas such as Springfield or St. Louis, grief therapy or working with grief therapists can be a powerful aid in the healing process. So, let's walk through how you can write a grief letter that offers hope, healing, and a pathway forward.

We’ve got exciting news to share—gokc has officially opened a new therapy location right here in Lee’s Summit, Missouri! Our team is thrilled to expand our services and welcome clients from across eastern Jackson County, including nearby communities like Blue Springs, Raytown, Independence, and Kansas City.

Welcome Emily Kriehn, LCSW to gokc! Emily brings Compassionate Connection, trauma-informed care and decades of skills to help you heal!

You're not broken. You’re just using a healing tool that isn’t the right fit—for now.

If you’ve done your best in talk therapy—processing, journaling, showing up on the couch every week—and still feel like something's stuck, EMDR therapy might just be what your nervous system has been waiting for.

“That wasn’t even that bad… why can’t I just get over it?”

If you’ve ever said something like this to yourself, you’re not alone. Most people misunderstand what trauma actually is—believing it only applies to major events like war, physical abuse, or catastrophic loss. But trauma is sneaky. It wears different outfits. It can show up in your life quietly, subtly, and over time. And it can absolutely take a toll, even if no one else sees it.

In this blog, we’ll unpack what really counts as trauma, how trauma impacts your mental health, and why trauma therapy at gokc in Kansas City may be the gentle but powerful nudge you’ve been needing to feel like yourself again.

Grief has a way of hijacking life. One minute you're holding it together, and the next, you're in line at Costco crying over a frozen lasagna because it reminds you of someone you lost. (Totally hypothetical. Definitely not something that’s happened to any of us.)

For LGBTQIA+ folks, grief often comes with extra layers—layers of silence, stigma, rejection, or grief that no one else even recognizes as grief. Whether you’ve lost a person, a relationship, a sense of safety, or a future you thought you’d have, grief can be overwhelming. And EMDR therapy—yes, that thing with the eye movements—might just be one of the most powerful tools to help navigate the emotional labyrinth.

Let’s dive into what makes grief uniquely complicated in queer and trans lives, and how EMDR therapy in Kansas City helps untangle the threads.

Grief doesn’t always come with a headstone and a eulogy. Sometimes, it shows up in the middle of a family dinner, during Pride month, or while scrolling through your high school friend’s wedding photos. In the LGBTQIA+ community, grief can be subtle, drawn out, and ambiguous—kind of like an indie movie that never really ends.

Welcome to the world of ambiguous grief: the quiet ache that lingers after a relationship changes, a family connection fades, or the person you once were no longer fits. It’s real, it’s complex, and yes, it absolutely deserves to be talked about—especially in queer spaces where grief doesn’t always follow “traditional” paths.

Let’s unpack it.

Starting your own private practice as a therapist is a dream for many mental health professionals. It’s a chance to be your own boss, work on your own terms, and build a thriving private practice. While the journey involves hard work, strategic planning, and a significant investment of time and money, the rewards can be life-changing for both you and your potential clients. This guide will walk you through the best way to start a successful private practice, with a focus on Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas City.

Starting your career as a Provisionally Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) is an exciting step in your journey to becoming a fully-licensed clinician. Finding the right clinical supervisor is one of the most important decisions you’ll make during this time. This blog will provide guidance on how to select a clinical supervisor, outline specific requirements for Missouri provisionally-licensed therapists, and highlight best practices to ensure your clinical growth and successful career.

As a newly minted mental health professional, you’re likely buzzing with excitement and ambition. You’re eager to jump into the mental health field and start making a difference. But let’s face it: the transition from graduate school to practicing can feel overwhelming. Where do you set up shop? How do you find clients? What about administrative tasks, office space, and health insurance? These questions often lead to one pivotal decision: should you start as a solo practitioner or join an established group private practice?

So... What Exactly Is Queer Trauma?

Queer trauma refers to the psychological and emotional wounds that arise from experiencing discrimination, rejection, violence, and systemic oppression due to one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

If you’ve ever hidden in the pantry to escape a toddler meltdown or stared into space wondering if you packed your laptop and your kid’s lunch, welcome. You’re in the right place.

In the Kansas City metro, parents are stretched thin trying to juggle careers, relationships, and all those endless tasks that come with raising tiny humans. It's not just stress—it’s burnout. And it’s more common than you think.

But here’s the good news:
Supportive parenting therapy can help.

My Approach

As a queer, second-generation Vietnamese American therapist trained in EMDR, I understand how complex healing can be, especially when your identity is layered, intersectional, and historically marginalized. Therapy with me isn’t about “fixing” you. It’s about creating space to explore what’s been heavy, what’s been hidden, and what needs to be honored. I bring honesty, warmth, and humor into the room because I believe in meeting people where they are, not where they’re expected to be.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your graduate degree program, earned your master’s degree or doctorate degree, and are ready to enter the mental health field. As a new therapist, whether you’re focused on family therapy, clinical mental health counseling, or another area of practice, the job market can feel both exciting and overwhelming. But the good news is that there are plenty of job opportunities for mental health professionals in Missouri and Kansas. Here's how to navigate your first steps and find a great therapist job after school.

As allied and queer therapists, we recognize that healing from this unique pain isn’t just about discussing the past—it’s about reclaiming your sense of self, rebuilding trust in community, and learning how to engage with your spiritual life or personal values on your own terms. Therapy can offer a nonjudgmental space, practical tools, and a caring relationship to begin the healing journey—and yes, even find some peace.