Insights: articles, videos, and reflections

Insights

Writings, videos, and reflections on mental health, change, and being a person. Some of it explains what I treat. Some of it is simply worth thinking about.

Concepts

How Change Happens

Change starts here with feeling safe, seen, heard, and understood.

We begin with a comprehensive evaluation, in which I come to understand what you have lived through and how you came to think and feel as you do. We look at your upbringing, your experiences, and your relationships. As our work together progresses, we continue to look at the beliefs you hold, the stories you tell yourself, the meaning you give to things, and the judgments you carry. Together, these help me understand the combination of factors driving your symptoms.

This understanding shapes how I use medication. Knowing what is driving your symptoms helps me choose treatment more thoughtfully and adjust it well over time. When medication is combined with deeper work, research shows improvement is more likely to last.

Videos

Conversations about how I think, how I work, and the questions underneath it.

An Interview with Myself

Lighthouse Journal, issue 3. Honest, unscripted questions about how Dr. Valentine thinks, works, and chose this field.

Read the full issue

Judgment

Lighthouse Journal, issue 2. Where judgment comes from, why we do it, and how loosening labels lets us see ourselves and other people more clearly.

Read the full issue

Articles

Writing and reflections on mental health and life.

November 20, 2025

The Power of Being Seen and Accepted

Being truly seen is one of the deepest human needs and one of the most powerful forces in healing. Healing begins when you no longer have to hide parts of yourself.

October 16, 2025

Healing the Whole You: Mind, Body, and Spirit

True healing is more than managing symptoms. It's about nurturing every part of who you are, your thoughts, emotions, physical well-being, and sense of identity.

September 8, 2025

Finding Yourself Again: Why Identity Matters in Healing

Healing isn't about becoming someone new. It's about finding your way back to your authentic self. Rediscovering your identity is essential to emotional wellness.

Reflections

Quotes, musings, and words worth returning to.

Quotes and Musings

Thoughts from my own work and life.

“How do you do it? Become yourself? Dig. Dig. Dig. Excavate. Remove. Reduce. Peel off all the layers that have been covering you and never belonged to you. Cast away old stories. Create space for the voice within. Practice non-judgment and non-attachment, as the opposite can blur your vision. Pay attention to your body and what it wants. Give to others. Explore the world around you and feel what fuels your passion. Listen. Observe. Then you will know who you are.”Jessee Valentine

“The way people treat you is a reflection of how they feel.”Jessee Valentine

“The moment you label something it loses its individuality.”Jessee Valentine

“How others perceive you says more about them than it does about you.”Jessee Valentine

Words From Others

Words from the writers, teachers, and clinicians who have shaped how I think.

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”Carl Jung

“Awakening is not about becoming someone new; it is about no longer being someone you are not.”Alan Watts

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”Aristotle

“When I let go of who I am, I can become who I might be.”Lao Tzu

“Every time you say no to something that no longer serves you, every time you set a boundary and hold it, every time you choose to believe in yourself despite the doubts in your mind, you reclaim your power. You do not need external validation to feel whole. When you recognize that you are enough you become unstoppable.”Joe Dispenza

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”Carl Jung

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”Bernard Baruch

“Your inherent worth and value are independent of past experiences or future expectations.”Lao Tzu

“We deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise.”Elliot Page

“The way to attract true love is not by becoming someone else but by becoming more of yourself.”Alan Watts

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”Suzy Kassem

“If you want something to manifest do not believe that you will receive it, believe that you already have received it.”Eckhart Tolle

“Inner peace and harmony are impossible to attain if you focus on what you don't have.”Lao Tzu

“We should indeed keep calm in the face of difference, and live our lives in a state of inclusion and wonder at the diversity of humanity.”George Takei

“Success is hastened or delayed by one's habits. It is not your passing inspirations or brilliant ideas so much as your everyday mental habits that control your life.”Parmahansa Yogananda

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”Mahatma Gandhi

“If not now, when?”Hillel the Elder

“Appreciate the things you have the ability to do.”Evelyn Klein

These articles are for general education. They are not medical advice and do not create a doctor-patient relationship. This practice is not monitored for emergencies. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department. If you are in crisis and not in immediate danger, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.