

Quick summary: How do you mark the New Year? Are you more worried or hopeful, rested or restless? Today, we’re sharing insights from our conversation with a mental health professional about how to approach family and partner relationships right now, how a new model of therapy can help, other intentions for the New Year, and more.

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Advice for the New Year from a Black therapist
Hey, y’all,As 2025 nears, a jumble of fears, hopes, and uncertainties may be rattling around your heart, family, and community. How does a new year fit into this moment? The familiar sense of a broad page on the verge of being turned over is in the air. Are you looking for rest and recharge? Or, are you ready and restless for all that is to come next? There’s plenty to anticipate, that’s for sure. For now, though, an array of holidays and gatherings with family or other loved ones mark the passing of the year’s final hours. How can we approach this time — both inside our relationships with others and as individuals — to step into the depths of 2025 with confidence, healthy goals, and sustainable support systems?To understand some possible answers, URL Media spoke with Dr. Racine Henry, a Black marriage and family therapist in New York and New Jersey and professor and researcher at the Northwestern University Graduate School.
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