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In the Writing
Here at Untangled Mind℠, you'll discover my deep passion and ongoing pursuit of rigorous, evidence-based mental health care. Through this blog, I share thoughtful insights, practical strategies, and reflections drawn from the Untangled Mind Pathway℠, my structured, measurement-based framework designed to move beyond subjectivity toward real, trackable progress. I love exploring ideas that elevate standards in therapy and empower both clients and clinicians. Most posts have a companion episode on the podcast, so be sure to check out both.
Welcome, let's untangle the mind together!
How to Apologize Effectively and Why Some People Don’t
We have all been on both sides of a bad apology. You are the one who messed up. Maybe you snapped at a partner, ghosted a friend, or dropped the ball at work. The words tumble out wrong. Or worse, someone hurts you deeply and offers a half-hearted “sorry you feel that way” before changing the subject. A genuine apology is not just polite etiquette. It is one of the most powerful tools we have for repairing trust, reducing resentment, and strengthening relationships. But it is
Piper Harris, LPC
3 days ago5 min read
What Trauma Really Is (and Isn’t)
If you’ve ever felt like your body is still on high alert even when life feels calm, or wondered why certain triggers hit harder than they “should,” you’re not alone, and you’re not broken. Trauma touches far more lives than most people realize. According to the latest CDC data, about two-thirds of U.S. adults have experienced at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), with roughly one in six reporting four or more. Among high school students, the numbers are even highe
Piper Harris, LPC
Apr 133 min read
Creating Your Legacy: How to Move from "Life Happens to Me" to "I Choose What This Means"
One simple question in the first session can change how you see your entire story, and the one you're writing for those who come after you. Life has a way of happening to us. Challenges arrive uninvited: family patterns we never asked for, losses that reshape everything, or quiet struggles that leave us wondering if anything will ever feel different. For many people, these experiences pile up until they start to feel like the whole story. But what if your story isn't finishe
Piper Harris, LPC
Apr 64 min read
Offended: The Greatest Tool You Can Use
I used to think getting offended was a sign of weakness. Now I see it as one of the most powerful tools we have; if we’re willing to pick it up and use it right. A few weeks ago, I finished a training for a group of counselors. The overall feedback was strong: people felt seen, equipped, and energized. But one response stood out. The participant said my delivery occasionally made them feel inadequate. They even added a note of self-awareness: “I recognize my own insecurities
Piper Harris, LPC
Mar 304 min read
The Sticky Filter: Why Old Negative Beliefs Linger Long After Therapy and How the Brain Keeps Them Alive
You’ve done the work. You’ve sat in the chair week after week, unpacked childhood wounds, named the automatic thoughts, practiced boundary-setting, and watched your life shift in meaningful ways. You’ve felt the relief of insight, the quiet power of new choices, the moments when you actually believed “I am enough.” Yet, in a quiet social gathering, a work meeting, or even a loving conversation, that old whisper returns: They’re just being polite. You don’t really belong here.
Piper Harris, LPC
Mar 235 min read
Orderly Life, Radical Healing
“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” — Gustave Flaubert I wake at 5:00 a.m. sharp. Brew the first pot of coffee while the house is still dark and quiet. Spend forty-five minutes in prayer, then open Scripture and let whatever rises in my journal find its way onto the page. Get the family moving; breakfasts, lunches, goodbyes. Gym. Shower. Another cup of coffee on the way to the office. Once there, I light my three-wick c
Piper Harris, LPC
Mar 164 min read
Rolling in Bees and the Smell of Sunshine: What Dreams Actually Mean
A few nights ago, I had a dream that felt like a mash-up written by an overcaffeinated novelist: I was rolling in a pile of bees (I’m allergic, so that’s not ideal). There was a conveyor belt of robot-humans. And somewhere in it all, I could smell sunshine. Warm. Clean. Almost nostalgic. On the surface, I can see the obvious influence. I’ve been reading a time-travel novel. The robot assembly line makes sense. My brain borrowed imagery from what I fed it. But bees? And the sm
Piper Harris, LPC
Feb 233 min read
Courage: The Skill Therapy Forgot
Courage is one of the least discussed and most misused concepts in modern therapy. Culturally, the word has been softened, manipulated, and stretched until it no longer means much. Courage is often framed as self-expression, emotional vulnerability, or simply “honoring your feelings.” While those may have value, they are not courage. Courage is action. Historically and clinically, courage has always involved movement toward what is feared, avoided, or resisted. It is not comf
Piper Harris, LPC
Feb 163 min read
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