Sommerville Bevilaqua, LPC, out in the wild.
“For some, summer’s promise of ease can turn into greater stress, which in turn can move us into a place of resentment, irritability, and far from showing up as our best self,” writes Asheville, North Carolina-based psychotherapist Sommerville Bevilaqua on her blog, News from the Grove.
We found ourselves exhaling, reading Sommerville’s slow-down strategy for how to let go of the pressure we all feel — once the good weather arrives — to get outside and have a blast:
To love all of our self means first, that we need to acknowledge our whole self. The part of our self that is not Instagram-able, the part that is embarrassing, or even mean, or the part that sacrifices one highly held value in order to prioritize another, only to see the disastrous aftermath in full effect when it is too late.
In addition to seeing clients in private practice, Sommerville runs Aspen Roots Collective, offering therapeutic adventure retreats with her colleague and fellow guides, Sara Hunter, LPCA, and Maz, a “therapy-puppy in training.”
As we move through July and August, we’re going to take Sommerville’s recommendation to heart:
To let go of the ecstatic summer energy a little, to slow down and feel…to sit along the river bank, in the boat, or atop the SUP board, feet dangling, and to notice the cool water flowing over our skin…moving effortlessly around us,
regardless of who we are,
what we have done,
or said,
or thought,
or felt.
Read more of Sommerville’s summer strategy on her blog post, “Take Me to the River.”
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