Laura Mueller-Anderson, LICSW

Can’t stop thinking about this brief and extremely thought provoking read. Are you burned out by the nonstop pace of life? Do you find yourself craving a slowdown, a more deliberate and thoughtful approach? Andy Crouch argues here for a more intentional, relational, meaningful and rich experience than the fast paced utilitarian way technology has us trending. I am fascinated by his thought experiment of imagining a chain of people, 100 people long, that ties you to your distant ancestral past. If each person in the chain represents 1 generation/20 years then someone 18 people away from you lived in the time of Shakespeare; the first person in the line of 100 lived at the same time as the events of the New Testament in the Bible. It’s fascinating to think about the role relationship has and its importance to our species. Much more to dig into here….highly recommend!

Sometimes the best way to self care is to get immersed in nature. When the world seems upside down and injustice is everywhere nurturing yourself and then taking action around what is most important to you can help. How will you nurture yourself today?

New on the blog: How to Find Peace When Life is Unjust and Unfair.

Acceptance is a skill we work on a lot in therapy but it is truly a skill and a practice. It doesn't mean you are ok with bad things that happen, it means you drop the struggle against acknowledging when those are the cards that have been dealt.

So how to move into accepting? More info on the blog about what it is, how to do it, and why it can help.

www.counselingwithlaura.com/blog

To everyone for whom Father’s Day is complicated, sending you love.

New on the blog: Nine Questions from Therapy to Help You Move Forward in Life

There is a misconception that therapy is about getting advice. It's much more helpful to clients in the long run to instead find new ways of thinking through challenges, looking at situations in a different way, or digging into patterns that emerge in life.

I've put together on the blog (link in bio) a series of questions that are often used in therapy to do this reflecting and digging deep. Once you are able to see things from a new angle it can help you to make decisions, take action, or find greater contentment.

www.counselingwithlaura.com/blog

Important announcement: now able to accept CIGNA insurance! Openings are available Thursdays and Fridays. See my website for scheduling: www.counselingwithlaura.com

I’m sensing a theme here

Such a great read, hard to put down, extremely thought provoking, vulnerable and important. Mira Jacob writes about race, colorism, raising a child in a threatening and invalidating world, navigating relationships of all kinds while being true to herself…. There is so much more here that I encourage you to find out for yourself by picking this up. And it’s a graphic novel! 10/10 highly recommend.

Growth 💕🌼

If you are the parent, guardian, caretaker, or trusted adult to a middle school or junior high student, you will not regret reading this book immediately!

This age is a scary, confusing, exciting time for kids AND their adults. offers a way to begin guiding your growing tweenager by helping them think through challenges instead of feeling we need to provide them with answers. The more they practice and learn this skill now, the more it will be available to them when they need it most— high school and beyond, when we aren’t there looking over their shoulders advising them directly in the moment anymore.

The author suggests shifting your mindset in parenting this age group from “manager” to “assistant manager “ and definitely far away from micromanager.

The author also has a Facebook group for parents which might be another great place to start.

New on the blog: Sunday Scaries take the joy out of the weekend and increase the stress of Monday morning. You might be familiar with that sense of dread that creeps in on Sunday night in anticipation of the week ahead. What can be done about it? Here are five ideas for some strategies that could help get your weekend back and find more work/life balance.
Read more here: https://www.counselingwithlaura.com/blog

Have a great rest of your Sunday!

Excuse the terrible photography of this gorgeous book. A great read to start 2022, especially if you’re still processing 2021. Louise Erdrich writes movingly about literature, ghosts and haunting, the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and so much more. As a white woman living on Dakota land, right on top of where some of the most outrageous events of war and land stealing happened, I appreciate the reflection and learning this book offers. Will be reading more of her writing soon.

New Year’s Eve! I love reflecting back on the previous 12 months and setting intentions for the next 12.

If you are considering a weight related resolution this year read this book first.

Would you be surprised to learn that larger bodied people actually have better health outcomes than smaller bodied people?

Would it surprise you to know that our bodies have incredibly complex ways of staying at a set weight despite the extremes people go through to try to counter it?

What if you could learn to listen to your body’s own specific needs, respond to them accordingly, AND love your amazing body for all it does?

What would be different in your life if you ended the battle with your scale and mirror and celebrated the body that takes you through life each day?

If these questions are generating a lot of conflict in you I strongly recommend starting the year off with this amazing book! By the way, the author’s name has since changed from Linda to Lindo. thanks for an incredible final read of 2021!

Every once in a while I read a book and then find myself constantly quoting it, referring to it, raving about it, and recommending it. This is that book currently!
For fans of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT it is taking those principles and practices and applying them directly to self doubt. Being present with difficult emotions instead of trying to avoid or numb them, self compassion and self kindness, identifying core values and acting in line with them…..

There is so much here and Russ Harris is an excellent explainer. If you find yourself stuck, in a pattern of low motivation or fear, or finding many excuses to stay stagnant I encourage you to check out this quick read.

Does the shortening of daylight hours impact you every winter? Are you facing the time change this weekend with dread as a result?

There is a full diagnosis to explain how depression can connect with the seasons. For many people the impact is less severe but can take a real toll.

Fortunately there are ways to fight this pattern and there is an end date to it each year. Visit the blog for ideas and strategies.

www.counselingwithlaura.com/blog

New on the blog:

Top 4 Most Controversial Pieces of Sleep Advice! Sleep experts agree about the basics and not about everything else. Maybe something you think is settled fact is not, and changing it could help you sleep better.

www.counselingwithlaura.com/blog

Photo by Brett Jordan via unsplash.

If you or someone you care about struggles with addiction or with any “vice” you’d prefer not to, this book may help!

Our brains are wired to seek out rewards and whether that reward comes from illicit or legal substances, hours of gaming, excessive work, binging snacks or shows, from the viewpoint of dopamine it’s all the same.

It’s interesting to get a window into how truly difficult ending an addiction is. Highly compelling clinical stories from the therapy room make this book a quick read that you will be thinking about for a long time afterward.

I recently heard Anna Lembke speak on a few podcasts and really couldn’t stop thinking about all the profound and thought provoking things her research and clinical work have uncovered. Highly recommend her episode on as a starter.

Farmer’s market beauty for this Saturday 🌺🌸🌼

Laura Mueller-Anderson, LICSW updated their business hours.

Some thoughts:

It’s interesting to look back and see the paths my mind takes in curiosity of what to learn next. Sometimes the paths are easily connected and sometimes they are really disjointed and tangential.

Healthy curiosity and a love of learning are good things. There is always more to learn about and grow about. The ugly counterpoint to that is self doubt, impostor syndrome, and lack of confidence. There is far more information in the universe than one per could ever consume.

Reading a physical book can be such a lovely wind down after a long day of screens. Maybe this is why I NEVER finish e-books. If it’s on the kindle app it’s dead to me.

Highly recommend Grady Hendrix for a change of pace from therapy-related reading. His books are impossible to put down! If horror movies are too vivid for you, try a horror book!

🚨🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨🚨

Now accepting online therapy clients in Texas through insurance!

I am now officially providing services for the following insurance companies:

United
Oscar
Oxford

Book at my website (link in bio) or through Headway { headway.co/providers/Laura-mueller-anderson }

Is it jarring when someone you only know by video changes their look up?

Everyone needs to read this immediately! I’ve heard it has sold out in places so be sure to check your local library. Understanding how traumatic experiences show up in daily behavior afterwards but Oprah and Dr. Perry make it really easy to understand. I’ve slogged my way through more than one extremely dense and technical therapy books on understanding and treating trauma. Skip all those and go for this one. There are helpful graphics too!

I actually love when the pride flag outside my church gets faded and frayed. It means no one has stolen or vandalized it for a long time! I’ll take that as progress and it probably is. By the way, if you are wondering why this version of the flag is being flown…we receive donated flags and use what is in stock. That support is wonderful to see too. Hope you had a great Pride month 2021, make it a pride year!

What a reflective and thought provoking book. It is and it isn’t about hunger. Hunger for food plays a role but more so hunger for acceptance, love, belonging, healing, comfort, satisfaction and fulfillment, connection, authenticity.

Roxane Gay is such an entertaining and engaging writer. She is so good at generously showing a window into her life and depths and allowing the reader to take a look around. I loved Bad Feminist. Her weekly substack newsletter is a DELIGHT. If you aren’t following you are depriving yourself of a quality curation of art, excellent writing, puppy adorableness, and absolutely delicious looking baking.

If you have experienced sexual assault please know that a description of a brutal childhood r**e and how the trauma has been and still is with her daily is a central part of this memoir. Also, much is said about various experiences of disordered eating, restricting, purging.

I was quoted in an article about sleep difficulties in middle age. Did you know that sleep gets more interrupted as we get older? Because we spend less time in deep sleep stages and more time in the lighter sleep stages it is extremely typical to have frequent waking up during the night from middle age on. In the article I also briefly mention some acceptance strategies to manage when you wake up in the middle of the night:

https://www.eatthis.com/over-50-try-these-secret-tricks-for-sleeping-better-says-science/

Over 50? Try These Secret Tricks for Sleeping Better, Says Science | Eat This Not That If you're over 50 and struggle to sleep, trying one of these secret sleep tricks—from supplements to morning walks—which will help you.

Do you wish you could sleep like you did at younger ages? Lots of things change as we age and how we sleep is one of them. It’s incredibly common to wake up frequently during the night in the second half of life. People who aren’t aware of this common change can be really worried and stressed out by it. That definitely does not help anyone sleep well! New blog posted about this and some strategies to address it:

https://www.counselingwithlaura.com/blog/sleep-difficulty-over-50-and-3-ways-to-combat-it

Want to learn more about our new federal holiday? This is a great read to get up to speed if you don’t know much about Juneteenth yet. It’s also a thoughtful reflection on the love for and frustrations with Texas that the writer holds, as a Black woman born and raised in Texas and now living and working elsewhere. Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed also provides in depth info on the relationship between people of African descent and the land that is Texas, in all its various governmental iterations. A quick but reflective and informative read. If Texas holds a spot in your heart you will gain great knowledge from this short book.