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“Just Tell Me What to Do” Is Not Always Helpful
The Mental Load Is Real (And No, It’s Not Just About the Dishes) There is a really specific exhaustion that comes from being the one who knows everything. The person who knows who needs a dentist appointment. Who the teacher calls when there is an update. When the trash goes out. When the car needs an oil change. When you're on the last bit of toothpaste. Oh, and what you're eating for dinner. And sometimes, when you finally ask, “Can you please help with this?” the response
Casey Luciano
2 days ago5 min read
I’m a Therapist. I’m Also a Work in Progress.
There is something slightly humbling about being a therapist who spends her days reminding people that they are allowed to have feelings… and then forgetting that it applies to me too. I know the language. I know the coping skills. I know hat rest is productive, and that asking for help is a sign of strength. And yet, sometimes my brain responds to all of that knowledge with "so did you complete the million things on your to-do list? Did you make time for your family and frie
Casey Luciano
2 days ago4 min read
The Unapologetic Guide to Not Making Everyone Comfortable
A gentle reminder that someone else’s discomfort is not always your responsibility. There is a very specific kind of tired that comes from constantly trying to make sure everyone around you is comfortable. You think about how your words sound. You replay conversations over and over. You tamper down your requests to make them easier. You add “if that’s okay with you” to things that are, in fact, definitely okay to ask for. You say, “I don’t care,” when you actually do. You say
Casey Luciano
2 days ago3 min read
My Journey to Becoming a PMH-C Perinatal Mental Health Provider
I did not pursue my perinatal mental health certification because this was just another training. I pursued it because I kept coming back to the same thought: I need to learn more. How can I help parents through a season of life that is both so happy and also the scariest thing they have ever done? As I was working with my clients, this thought just kept repeating. Some of my clients were pregnant and terrified by thoughts they could not explain. Some had just given birth and
Casey Luciano
2 days ago9 min read
What to Expect From Your First Therapy Session
If you've never been to therapy before, your first session can feel a little like showing up to an interview for a job you don't remember applying for. You might be wondering: What am I supposed to say? Am I going to have to talk about my childhood immediately? What if I cry? What if I don't cry? What if I don't know what's wrong with me? What if my therapist thinks I'm ridiculous? Here is where I am going to have you take a really deep breath. You don't have to walk into you
Casey Luciano
Aug 105 min read
Things I Wish Every Person Knew Before Walking Into Therapy
Let me tell you something about therapy that no one puts on the brochure: You do not have to have your shit together before you come to therapy. Trust me when I say this: this is actually the best time to come to therapy. It's kind of the point. You don't need to come prepared with a five year-plan for goals that you must hit for therapy to be a "success." You don't need to come in with a perfectly organized timeline of your life (but if you do, that is welcome too.) You don’
Casey Luciano
Aug 106 min read
The Grief No One Talks About: Living With a Chronic Illness
When most people hear the word grief, they think about death. But grief isn't limited to losing someone you love. Sometimes grief looks like losing the body you once trusted. The energy you used to have. The career you imagined. The hobbies you loved. The version of yourself who could make plans without wondering if your symptoms would show up first. Chronic illness often comes with a type of grief that is invisible to everyone else. And because no one sees it, many people wo
Casey Luciano
Aug 42 min read
What Love Island Accidentally Gets Right About Relationships (According to a Therapist)
Confession time. Every summer I tell myself the exact same thing: "I'm not getting invested this season." And every summer, approximately three episodes later, I'm sitting on my couch saying things like, "He's clearly emotionally unavailable," about a man whose primary personality trait appears to be going to the gym. As a therapist, I know reality TV is heavily edited. We don't see the whole story. We don't know these people. I would never diagnose someone through my televis
Casey Luciano
Jul 304 min read
What It's Actually Like To Work With Me As Your Therapist
Finding a therapist is weird. You're essentially scrolling through the internet trying to decide which stranger you're willing to ugly cry in front of. No pressure. Most therapist websites promise the same thing: compassionate, supportive, evidence-based care. And while all of those things matter...they don't tell you what it's actually feels like to sit in the room with someone. So here's the honest version. I'm probably not the right therapist if you're looking for someone
Casey Luciano
Jul 303 min read
The People We Grieve While They’re Still Alive: Understanding Relationship Grief and Loss
Some of the hardest people you will ever grieve are still here. Nobody really prepares you for that. When someone dies, we understand the rituals of grief. We send flowers. We bring meals. We write sympathy cards. We gather around someone and acknowledge, something terrible happened. There is language for that kind of loss. But what happens when the person you are grieving is still alive? When they are still posting vacation pictures. Still celebrating birthdays. Still living
Casey Luciano
Jul 308 min read
When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned: Grieving the Future You Thought You’d Have
No one prepares you for how often adulthood quietly punches you in the throat. Not in a dramatic, everything-is-on-fire kind of way.Not always with some huge moment where everything falls apart. Sometimes it’s just one ordinary moment where you stop and realize: Oh. This is not what I thought I signed up for. Because if we’re being honest, most of us were sold a plan. A timeline. A very confident promise that if we worked hard, stayed positive, made good choices, and followed
Casey Luciano
Jul 305 min read
This Is Unapologetic Counseling & Wellness
Every practice has an origin story. This one starts with a refusal. A refusal to rush grief. A refusal to polish pain so it’s easier for other people to sit with. A refusal to treat therapy like a place where you come to be fixed, corrected, or talked out of what you feel. I created Unapologetic Counseling & Wellness for people who are tired of pretending they’re fine, and even more tired of apologizing for not being okay. Why “Unapologetic”? Because so many of the people who
Casey Luciano
Jun 262 min read
Welcome to Unapologetic Counseling & Wellness
Let’s get one thing out of the way: You are not “too much.” You are not broken. And you don’t need to be shrunk, silenced, or smoothed out to deserve support. Unapologetic Counseling & Wellness exists because too many people have been told—explicitly or subtly- that their grief should be quieter, their needs smaller, their relationships easier, and their healing faster. That’s not how being human works. And here, I am not interested in pretending otherwise. This practice was
Casey Luciano
Jun 262 min read
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