Thoughts and Musings - Sienna Forest • Somatic Ecotherapy

The Inner Family You Didn’t Know You Had: A Guide to Internal Family Systems

In traditional psychology, we’re often taught to see the mind as singular—one unified voice that should “make up its mind” or “figure itself out.” This is known as the mono-mind perspective, the idea that we should have one clear, rational sense of self. When you, say, blow up at your partner during a conflict, the mono-mind perspective might say that you simply lost control, acted irrationally, or need to “do better” next time. It assumes that [...]

Sienna Forest2025-04-08T15:17:39+00:00April 8, 2025|Tags: authenticity, connection, Internal Family Systems, mental health, parts work, relationships|

Coming Home to Yourself: My Offerings for Authentic and Embodied Living

So many of us go through life out of sync with what we truly want and who we genuinely are. We say yes when we mean no. We strive to be easygoing, to not rock the boat, to keep things simple for others—even at the cost of our own needs. We show up in ways that feel inauthentic because we’re afraid of what might happen if we let our true selves be seen. And in [...]

Sienna Forest2025-03-14T14:32:18+00:00March 5, 2025|Tags: authenticity, breakups, connection, couples therapy, dating, relationships, somatic therapy, therapy, vulnerability|

Finding Home in Motion: A Story of Place and Purpose

When I moved back to my hometown for grad school, I told myself it was temporary—just a couple of years, then I’d be off to find my place in the world. But grad school came and went. I started dating someone. I settled into the everyday rhythms of Santa Cruz. I had my community, my family close by, a climbing gym I loved, the ocean at my doorstep. Life was good. And yet, something felt... [...]

Sienna Forest2025-03-07T20:44:03+00:00February 28, 2025|Tags: authenticity, community, connection, gratitude, here and now, mental health, mindfulness, vulnerability|

Finding Your Voice in Relationships: The Power of Differentiation

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how things shift when we’re in a romantic relationship. It’s fascinating how easily the lines between what I need and what they need get blurred. Differentiation—the ability to hold onto your own sense of self while staying connected to your partner—can get really tricky. It sounds simple, but it’s something that can quietly slip away without us even realizing. Take this for example: When I’m single, I feel so [...]

Sienna Forest2025-02-24T20:12:31+00:00October 18, 2024|Tags: accountability, boundary, communication, conflict, connection, couples therapy, dating, differentiation, Marthakauppi, needs, partnership, relationships, responsibility, trust, vulnerability|

Boundary Setting: It’s not you, it’s me (seriously)

Nature even likes to draw the line! These days, we hear the word “boundary” thrown around a lot. One might say “I set a boundary with my partner the other day and told her she needs to stop calling me so much”, or “I set a boundary and told them to not talk to me like that”. While these examples might feel good to say in the moment, they aren’t actually boundaries, because they [...]

Sienna Forest2024-10-05T01:07:30+00:00September 25, 2024|Tags: boundaries, boundary, communication, dysregulation, overwhelmed, therapy|

Trailblazing Therapy: Embracing Nature’s Healing Pathways

On February 5, 2024, the New York Times published an article titled “Therapists Trade the Couch for the Great Outdoors”. The impact of this article rippled through my life unexpectedly, with approximately seven friends reaching out to me about it, followed by a flood of inquiries from graduate students and fellow clinicians curious about my experiences with hiking therapy. It was evident that this article had struck a chord, whether due to its prominence in one [...]

Sienna Forest2024-09-25T21:33:08+00:00April 1, 2024|Tags: alternative therapy, authenticity, benefits of nature, hiking therapy, imposter syndrome, mental health, nontraditional therapy, outdoor therapy|

The Paradox of Choice: Swiping for a Soulmate

I have been thinking a lot recently about dating and relationships in my generation, about the challenges of finding lasting love in a world that tells us we should seek perfection. Dating apps give us so many options, and just like when we get overwhelmed at the supermarket trying to decide between 17 different types of toilet paper, having the ability to just swipe right or left on an infinite number of potential suitors is both [...]

admin2024-09-11T01:24:17+00:00February 2, 2024|Tags: conflict, cool girl, couples therapy, dating, dating apps, modern dating, paradox of choice, perfection, relationships, technology|

I am Seeing I am Healing

I found this burned tree while hiking. Hiking is so beneficial in helping me process emotions when I am going through a rough time. If you had told me last year at this time that I would experience one of the worst bouts of anxiety and depression of my life, I would have looked at you incredulously and laughed. I was in a happy partnership trying a new relationship style for the first [...]

admin2024-09-19T03:51:47+00:00October 2, 2023|Tags: anxiety, breakups, community, depression, hypervigilance, mental health, nervous system regulation, rumination, shame, stigma, suicidal ideation, support|

Is it oversharing to share this blog post?

I have been thinking a lot recently about the difference between vulnerability and oversharing. For the past few years, I have taken pride in my ability to be authentic and vulnerable with many people, but I have begun to wonder about the line between sharing openly and sharing too much. Is there a point where my desire to share becomes a pretense for creating connection that simply isn’t there? And with whom should I share vulnerable [...]

admin2024-09-11T01:37:00+00:00May 29, 2023|Tags: authenticity, breakups, connection, embarrassment, healing, heartbreak, oversharing, shame, vulnerability|

From feeling like an outsider to seeing my home through an outsider’s eyes

I woke up the other morning, went on a walk, and was greeted by this incredible view. I can’t believe I live here! When I was in high school, I was convinced that I would leave my hometown and move to the Pacific Northwest for college, where I would fulfill my dream of beanie-wearing, coffee-drinking, alternative music-loving hipsterdom. Even though I came from a vacation town known for incredible nature, a beautiful coastline, and [...]

Sienna Forest2025-03-12T23:51:23+00:00March 28, 2023|Tags: community, connection, friendship, gratitude, hometown, isolation, mental health, travel|