11 Therapists Share Their Mental Health Wins From 2025
Moving through grief, managing time, and staying in the present moment.
Before the new year, I (gently! Eagerly!) urge you to think about things you’ve done for your mental well-being over the last 12 months. If you can pinpoint a few, props to you! If you’re fighting to come up with one, maybe set a goal for 2026 (*Sam suggests gently yet eagerly*). Why? To take a line from Ilon Specht and L’Oréal, you’re worth it. You and your mental health.
Since therapists are typically in tune with the importance of emotional and psychological well-being—and because they’re real-life people too—I asked almost a dozen of them about mental health accomplishments they wanted to highlight from 2025. Some of these experts worked through childhood or adult-level struggles. Some got more grounded or established boundaries. Others celebrated professional successes.
I hope these mental health wins inspire you to celebrate yours—or future ones that are closer than you’d think. Ready for you to claim. Definitely worth honoring.
Genesis Games, LMHC
“There are some years where so much happens—you reach goals, hit milestones, and experience big life moments. Then, there are quieter years that are more routine. Same old, same old, with nothing major to look forward to or check off a list. 2025 seemed to be that second kind, and it left me feeling stuck. Everyone appeared to have exciting updates except me.
Through my own therapy, I was reminded that one of the simplest hacks for improving mental health is living in the present. So, I started to romanticize the day-to-day, ordinary stuff: sunset walks with my dog, a new book, perfecting my matcha, running errands with a friend.
Constantly taking in everyone’s social media highlight reels can really mess with your perspective. It can make you question your life, even when yours might actually be pretty fulfilling just as it is.”
Gina Moffa, LCSW
“In 2025, I focused on the idea of noticing: relationship dynamics, the way I was feeling, the way I wanted to feel, my habits, and the work I do in my sessions. By committing to noticing, I identified a pattern where my clients had strained and tense friendships, often losing their friends in the process. This type of loss is the subject of my second book, What Happened to Our Friendship?
As a grief and trauma therapist, I am deeply grateful to have another opportunity to bring a grief-healing book into the world. And to think I got my book deal this year because of this practice of noticing! How humbling and moving it has all been.”
Heidi McBain, LMFT, LPC
“I’ve struggled for years to keep my online private practice running on time. With in-person therapy sessions, you can physically signal time’s up by slowly walking your clients to the door. This obviously isn’t possible in a virtual setting.
When I was behind, I’d think to myself, I’m always running late. In the last quarter of 2025, I made it a point to repeat, My practice runs on time. That slowly became, My life runs on time. To honor this, I moved everything back by five minutes, which helped me wrap up sessions. I’d also kindly cue that we were ending, and then I’d set a boundary and stick to it.
I’m super proud of myself for this change. It has brought me a lot of unexpected calm and peace. Still, I’ve learned to give myself grace and compassion when I’m not on schedule.”
Chris Warren-Dickins, LPC
“In March, I found out my best friend, Nicola, had pancreatic cancer. She passed away in September at only 56 years old. She held me as a newborn baby—that’s how long we’ve been each other’s ride or dies. Saying goodbye to her was mind-blowing.
As a therapist, you somehow need to set aside your grief and focus on your clients, which can be difficult when they’re sharing their own struggles. However, what I have always known, and what Nicola’s death reminded me, is that our distress is interwoven with the distress of others—and so is our capacity to heal.
My mental health win in 2025 was learning to cope with grief and tap into gratitude despite how horrible Nicola’s passing was. I still get desperately sad when I wonder where her love and wicked sense of humor has gone. It is hard to accept that I might never get an answer, but I received a renewed sense of gratitude for all that I have left. Most importantly, I have the opportunity and capability to connect to, learn from, and heal with others.”
Risa Williams, LMFT
“Every day of 2025, I listed one to three tiny wins in a journal: I wrote a page of my book, I called a friend, I took a walk. Then, at the end of each month, I wrote down the specific small wins I wanted to remember. I plan to highlight my top 10 tiny wins of the year too! I’ve documented small victories before, but consistently consolidating them into one journal was new for me.
This daily practice boosted my motivation to stay on track with my goals, and I encourage my clients to do the same. I even made the Tiny Wins Journal people can use to build their own tiny wins routine and show themselves proof of their progress.”
Jacqueline Garcia, LCSW
“I am profoundly grateful to have reached a significant milestone: wrapping up my fourth year in therapy. I began back in January of 2022 to address childhood wounds that affected my relationships. I look forward to continuing, especially as I step into new chapters, like my engagement and creating a safe home with my fiancé. Through this long journey, therapy has brought my nervous system to a state of regulation and grounding, allowing my body to release tension and cultivating space for growth and healing. I’m a therapist who values the transformative power of my own therapy.”
Olivia Verhulst, LMHC, PMH-C
“I am celebrating two wins this year! As therapists, we tend to feel pretty comfortable in our caretaker and ‘giver’ roles, expending lots of emotional labor. That can make taking sick days and breaks a tad uncomfy. I’m happy to report, in 2025, I took those breaks whenever I needed them, and I really tended to my physical and emotional health.
I also made my off-Broadway debut (words I never thought I’d utter). Across four different performances, I was the Q+A expert at the end of Right Before I Go. The play, from Gilmore Girls writer Stan Zimmerman, focused on dismantling stigma around discussing suicide.”
Sean Hershey, LCSW
“I specialize in helping clients overcome chronic pain. In 2025, I decided to not only start a podcast for people who are struggling with this type of pain, but to also talk openly about recovering from my own chronic IBS and hip pain. Emotional and psychological work has changed my life, and I’m so excited to pay it forward.
Therapists are trained to be extremely judicious with self-disclosure, and I really threw caution to the wind as I shared my journey. I had to move through some major fears about putting myself out there, but now I have a successful podcast, Mindbody Medicine for Chronic Pain, with over 40 episodes and 7,000 downloads. It was a big year for me.”
Terri Bacow, PhD
“I started writing my second book, for mothers in heterosexual relationships, in 2025. It’s about the unsustainable mental load of motherhood and how to enlist your partner to share more responsibilities. I provide research-backed communication skills along with strategies for shifting your perspective, using positive reinforcement, solving problems collaboratively, managing resentment, and more. I’m halfway through writing. It has been a wonderful challenge that allows me to blend personal and professional experience to help fellow moms.”
Tisheila Justice, LCSW
“The last three years, I only worked part time for my therapy private practice while I kept another job. In 2025, I went full time in my practice. The mental health win is that I don’t feel drained and pulled in two directions. I think I am a better therapist for my clients now, and I am doing so much to combat burnout in the field.
I also got accepted into and graduated from Goldman Sachs’ Black in Business program this year. Although I had already been running my therapy practice, the program helped me build my skills as an owner. I learned how to sustainably grow my business in a way that aligns with my values. This win is another safeguard to prevent burnout and keep me accessible to the clients I serve, even through hard times.”
Leeor Gal, LMFT
“As a therapy practice owner and new mom, this year was filled with lots of change, challenges, and rewards. Although I have hard days, just like any of us, my goal was to focus on joyful moments when life felt overwhelming. It’s the idea of slowing down, not taking things for granted, and being mindful of the good parts—being present in the idea that I was actually living in the ‘good old days.’ So, I took a mental snapshot every time I felt bliss: my son’s first words, cuddling on the couch, hiring another clinician to my practice…the list goes on and on! I needed to choose grounding and gratitude.”
The quotes above were edited for clarity.
Great article!❤️👏🏼