Welcome to
Tiny Cottage Therapy’s Blog
A Holistic Mental Health Resource for Anxiety, Burnout & Cultural Identity
I’m Caitlin Blair, LCSW and holistic psychotherapist based in California. I love helping people find more balance in their lives by building awareness & building practical habits to support their whole selves.
Guilt vs. Shame: How to Tell the Difference (And Why It Matters)
We’ve all had moments when something we said or did didn't sit right. Maybe we snapped at someone we care about. Or forgot an important birthday. In the aftermath, two powerful emotions can show up: guilt and shame.
At first glance, they can feel similar. Both bring a heavy emotional weight. Both can trigger a desire to retreat or “fix” something. But understanding the difference between guilt and shame is essential for emotional healing and mental well-being.
Burnout: Here’s How to Spot It, Treat It, and Keep It from Coming Back
If you're feeling worn out, irritable, or just plain "over it," you’re not alone. Burnout is something I see often in therapy—especially in high-achievers, business owners, caregivers, and folks who are constantly putting others’ needs before their own. It doesn’t just happen at work. Burnout can show up in school, in parenting, and even in your relationships.
Let’s break it down: what burnout really is, how to spot it, why some of us are more vulnerable to it, and most importantly how to recover and prevent it from taking over again.
Your Brain Wasn’t Meant for Constant Information
In a world where the news never sleeps and updates flood our phones by the minute, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information we’re expected to process each day. From breaking headlines to trending topics, the constant stream can leave us feeling anxious, exhausted, and emotionally drained.
But here’s the truth: your brain wasn’t designed to take in this much information at once.
5 Self Care Practices for Summer
Summer is a time of vibrancy, warm weather, and lots of sunshine. With the longer days, it can be the ideal time to add in a handful of new self-care activities.
What We Love About Vacation—and How It Can Soothe Anxiety in Daily Life
There’s something about being on vacation that feels so different from everyday life.
We breathe deeper.
We laugh more.
We feel (at least temporarily) free from the pressure to be productive, polished, or on top of everything.
7 Ways Slow Living Supports High-Functioning Anxiety
If you experience high-functioning anxiety, you might be familiar with the feeling of always needing to be on. You’re constantly pushing yourself, overcommitting, and staying busy—because slowing down feels uncomfortable, even impossible. But what if slowing down was actually the thing that helped the most?
Help, It’s My First Time Going to Therapy!
What to expect when starting therapy
I want to start by reassuring you if you feel nervous, apprehensive, or anxious about your first therapy session, that’s super normal. Starting therapy (especially for the time first time) can be really scary and take a lot of courage. I want to commend you on your steps to even get to this point.
5 Self Care Practices for Spring
Spring is a time of renewal and growth, which makes it the perfect time to start new routines.
Avoiding New Year’s Resolution Burnout
It's easy to start off the year with huge goals to be better, stronger, and more productive than the year before. We set objectives and tactics that maybe feel realistic at the time but after a month, we are dwindling. We are exhausted and the pace we thought we could sustain we can't.
Journal Practice for the End of the Year
I have always been an off and on journaler. One of these structured practices that I have been engaging in for years is an end of the year reflection. It helps me track my own progress each year and reflect on the ups and downs. It helps show me how much I've grown and synthesize lessons that I've learned. It has been so valuable to me, especially in filling the weird days between Christmas and New Year's.
5 Self Care Practices for Winter
With shorter and shorter days approaching Winter Solstice, I find my regular routine pushing up against the boundaries of daylight. I frequently work days that start before the sunrises and end after the sunsets. I feel sleepier and wanting to go to sleep earlier but aren't sure if I should. All these things tell me, something needs to change.
Financial Care is Self Care
I wish I could fool myself into thinking that taking care of my overall wellbeing does not include finances. I want to pretend I can just live in a world where money doesn't matter. However…
Ways to Engage with Spiritual Health, Whether or Not You’re Religious
Think of spirituality as an umbrella term. Many people fulfill their spiritual needs through specific religions… but there are others ways…
A Moment for Self Compassion
Take a moment to think about how you've talked to yourself today, or even in the last hour. Were you kind?
5 Self-Care Activities for Fall
Fall is the world's embodiment of change, slowing down, and finding balance. Days become increasingly shorter and cooler. These months beg for our preparation and care.
Intro to Intergenerational Trauma, Historical Trauma and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD)
We hear a lot about trauma these days. We talk a lot less about intergenerational trauma, historical trauma and complex post traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD).
How & Why to Live More Seasonally
When we live according to work & school schedules it is easy to forget that we live in a naturally cyclical world. With all of our modern conveniences, it is understandable that we fail to remember our lives are affected by the moon phases, the tides cycles and daylight hours. At its core, seasonal living is…
What is Bibliotherapy?
The idea is not that reading or listening to books replaces person to person therapy but that it offers another way to explore ourselves and receive insights from others. It can be an opportunity to explore different points of view and more diverse experiences.
Interested in Therapy Together?
Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation
I offer a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation to discuss your needs and see if we're a good fit for working together. This brief call gives you a chance to ask questions and get a feel for my therapy approach without any obligation.
What to expect during our consultation:
A brief discussion about what brings you to therapy
An overview of how I might support your specific needs
Answers to your questions about the therapy process
Information about session rates and scheduling
Taking the first step toward therapy can feel vulnerable, I'm here to make the process as comfortable as possible