Sabrina Z (she/her)

I've been mostly using this site to lurk and catch up on news, but I'd feel remiss if I didn't share that today my very queer marriage is 24 years old.

No matter how much the right tries to fight us they cannot legislate away the sheer joy my wife gives me.

Semicolons are for two independent clauses that go so well together they can't be put into different sentences or even separated by a conjunction. Em dashes are for an important aside that would be diminished by parentheses. I like them both, but they can't be substitutes for each other.

I feel like sharing this fun fact in the month of Pride and not including a link is vaguely biphobic. :P

I hate AI mostly because of the blatant theft and environmental impacts. But a small, petty, part of me is pissed because I love using a good em-dash when the situation calls for it, and now I feel like it makes my long form writing look fake.

Clip of Taylor Swift from the video for her song "Willow". Taylor is shown in a hooded dress walking and then a group of other hooded folks are shown gathered around a magical fire which she runs her fingers through.

Fellow clinicians, do I have an obligation to mention to my evening clients that I just spent an hour listening to most of Evermore? #therapistsky

Note: I did not say this to a client! A friend had just shared that their therapists thinks they should be a therapist.

Real thing I said about therapy this week:

When therapists tell clients they should become therapists, it means that we:
a) like you
b) think you've experienced the kind of fucked up shit that leads to folks becoming good therapists.

#therapistsky

Just got to see a talk by RF Kuang. It was so good, y'all. If you ever get the chance to be in a room with her, take it.

Whoa! You are absolutely right :)

Seconding this but also adding Happy Friday to all the therapists who had to cancel sessions this week in order to take care of yourself.

I know the guilt that comes with that, but it's good when we model self-care by prioritizing our own health. 💜

Right? We had been talking earlier in the session about the ways that making the world more accessible for neurodivergent folks often make it easier on neurotypical folks too so when we segued over to talking about eating meals with others, this realization came to me.

Today in realizations I had (and said) in therapy:

You know, I think part of why people enjoy socializing over food is that it's an acceptable way to fidget and not make direct eye contact while we talk.

Client and I were both like "Whoa" after I said it.

#therapistsky

I love it! I also used the phrase "grown ass man" today albeit in a different context (we were talking about respecting the autonomy of someone making a decision that client didn't agree was the best call.)

I know someone who works in a field that utilizes AI and they straight up said the data from the recordings would be used to train the programs. It would have the identifiable info stripped out first (allegedly).

All these EHR's offering this for free? They want the data. I don't trust it at all.

Real things I said in therapy this week. (Remember, I'm the therapist.)

"Like you're not going be the lesbian Caitlyn Jenner, here."

And, in closing a session, I raised my Coke can and said,

"Here's a toast to having better sex than Ben Shapiro's wife."

I love my job.

#therapistsky

A meme from ICE (logo in lower left h corner, ICE.gov in lower right) Background is dark grey or black. In white text it says: "If it crosses the U.S. border illegally, it's our job to" "STOP IT" is written in a larger font, in black text over a on orange rectangle. There is an orange cross next to a list that reads: PEOPLE MONEY PRODUCTS IDEAS These words are written in all caps in white.

I get why there's a lot of focus on the ideas part, but please note the dehumanizing language of referring to people as "it"

I think the decision is specifically on the healthcare provider side. I don't know if the insurance coverage will change.

I am planning on sending postcards to employees - at their jobs, not trying to find out where they live - to encourage them to complain to their bosses.

UPMC is an insurance company headquartered in Pittsburgh. They also own a variety of healthcare facilities from Urgent Care to Hospitals. Most locals have insurance through them so you can use their facilities. It was already pretty gross.

Note, that was specifically for PA. I didn't look at their national data over time.

Gender Affirming Care Saves Lives.

And trying to force kids back in the closet will lead us to a lot of dead kids.

I am not going to sugarcoat this. UPMC will be directly responsible for dead children.

I don't know what enough about their raw data to know how exact this is, but when I look at the Trevor Project data over the last few years, the percentage of LGBTQIA+ youth in general and trans teens specifically who contemplated suicide and who actually attempted have been trending downward.

I am struggling to create the postcards I am making because the facts keep depressing the hell out of me.

JAMA published research in 2022 that showed youth receiving gender affirming care, including puberty blockers and HRT, had a 72 percent reduction in odds of suicidiality. (More)

Today I cancelled sessions and have spent my time developing and now implementing a plan to push back against a local healthcare provider (UPMC) that is complying in advance by refusing to provide Gender Affirming Care for folks under 19. Coming up with a plan was not difficult. But (more)

I want lots of big boots but my atm says no.

I have both friends and clients (I'm a therapist) who receive Ketamine treatment to treat (treatment resistant) depression and had positive results. It could be good to get the word out about that aspect.

A black cat is laying on a bed being pet by a white woman. All you can see is her arm and part of her hand. The cat is leaning into the hand to get maximum pets in.

A handsome black cat lays on a bed. Behind him is a checkered weighted blanket which the photographer swears changed her life. The photographer feels similarly about the featured cat.

I haven't posted on here in a bit. Here is a pic of Cheeks, one of my rescue kitties who I was told three months ago it would take me six months before they would tolerate pets.

This is a really great resource! Thank you for writing it :)

My agency recently did an update where each of us (clinicians) checked off boxes rating how comfortable we were working with a host of issues. Adoption was on the list and I was like "Are we talking adoptees or adoptive/prospective adoptive parents?" Because that is two very different populations.

To be fair, I also noticed that for years people had been comfortable sharing rather personal things with me when they barely knew me, that I enjoyed helping folks, and the other reasons people decide to enter this field. But knowing I'd be better than her at it is what out the idea in my head.

Spite.

Ok not exactly, but I had a horrible therapist once and after dealing with her I was like "Yikes, we need more folks who know what polyamory is and can be supportive of it as therapists" and I wished someone who was actually polya would step up. Then I realized I could be the someone.

I swear to all that is holy I was scrolling down the comments so I could say the same word. You just beat me to it

It's such a great word :)