Welcome to Efflorescence Insights!
This information is provided for informational purposes only, it is not mental health advice and we have not established a therapist-client relationship by your use of this website. This website is not a substitute for active mental health treatment, including counseling, medication management, or crisis services. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please dial 911 to be connected to emergency services.
Are you tired of wondering if the mental health information you see on social media is accurate?
Does all the contradictory information make your head spin?
Well look no further! My name is Marie Spence and I’m a licensed mental health professional who wants to help share clear, accurate, and helpful information about therapy and mental health. Here’s what you can expect from online articles on Efflorescence Insights:
Clear and reliable information, based on established practice and research
A trauma-informed approach with an anti-racist and decolonizing lens (I won’t claim to be perfect, but I am always seeking to grow and apply these perspectives!)
Information on a variety of topics - everything from navigating therapy to parenting to trauma, and the list goes on!
And here’s what you won’t find here:
Mental health services - these articles for educational purposes only! I may be a therapist but I am not your therapist. If you are interested in starting services with me, feel free to reach out! Otherwise, this is just a learning platform :)
Quick fixes - I’m not going to sit here and pretend something is a magic cure all or even that it will work for you. Every person is different and therapeutic work often takes a lot of effort and dedication. Hopefully, this blog is just a starting point!
Advice - I’m not here to tell you what to do. I hope this information will help you make more informed choices and give you knowledge to work with so that you can do what feels best for you!
“We are by nature observers, and thereby learners. This is our permanent state.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Why I Started This Online Space
One of my greatest joys as a therapist is sharing information that helps you understand yourself better. With all the misinformation and buzzwords I see on social media, I wanted to create an online space focused on sharing grounded and nuanced information on mental health.
You may have come across trending topics like “narcissistic personality disorder,”, “boundaries”, or even relationship advice where you are presented with lots of labels, rigid thinking, and extreme advice. While some of the information might be accurate, it’s easy to get caught up in the cycle of quick information and quick fixes.
Here, we are going to do things a little differently.
These articles will be a space to explore topics in a more gentle, trauma-informed, and detailed way. In a way that you can’t do in a viral 30-second social media clip. I hope for these articles to go beyond a soundbite or clickbait, where instead we really examine: what does this mean and how do I apply it to myself?
Now, I won’t claim to be perfect. I won’t always be able to explore every perspective and I might miss things sometimes. My goal is to take a holistic and empathetic approach to the information I provide and I would invite you to engage in the comments! I’d love to see your perspectives and additions to this knowledge base.
Comment Section Rules
Yes, you have the right to comment anything you want. I also have the right to delete it. While I know rules create strong feelings, rules also help us establish safety. When commenting on articles, please keep the following in mind:
Absolutely no hate speech or discrimination of any kind will be tolerated.
Absolutely no threats of harm will be tolerated. As a mandated reporter, this may also result in me making a report.
No personal attacks. I would love for this to be a space to discuss mental health topics and even to disagree with one another! Let’s engage in discussion respectfully.
Don’t yuck anyone’s yum. We are all different and different things work for different people! If someone else loves a skill or practice, let’s build them up, not tear them down!
Do your best to share accurate information. If you’re not sure if it’s true, that’s okay! Just make sure you state that in your comment and we might even be able to work together as a community to fact-check and find more info.
Let’s be open while still holding boundaries. I would love for your to share your knowledge and expertise with the community! Everyone has unique perspectives and insights to offer and we would love to hear yours! That being said, please make sure to limit personal details - both for your privacy and to prevent triggering others.
I hope these guidelines will help us build a community space focused on building up one another and sharing information. I can’t wait to see the knowledge we share together!
A Little Bit About Me
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and have been practicing as a therapist for over 6 years. As a Latina woman and first-generation college student, access to knowledge and information is a deep passion for me. I know that it can be hard to find affordable therapy and navigate the sea of misinformation online. I’m really excited to share articles online and hopefully make mental health knowledge more accessible!
In order to become a therapist, I completed my master’s degree in social work. However, I’ve also completed a master’s degree in research methods and statistics. While that might seem like a weird combination, it gives me a lot of experience looking through research, evidence, and information - which I hope to share with you!
Outside of work, I love spending time with my family (including my big fluffy husky!), getting outside, and drinking lots of coffee. I’m a therapist, but I’m also a human. Sometimes I procrastinate. I get cranky. I don’t always say the right thing. I hope this becomes a space where we can be more human, together.
If you want to read a little bit more about my background and training, you can find that here.
Thank You for Being Here!
I’m really grateful that you found my little corner of the internet. I’m so excited to see what grows here and I hope you will be part of that process. Please feel free to engage in the comments section or you can reach out to me directly at marie@efflorescencetherapy.com . Happy reading!