The therapist's perspective: A ‘raw’ window into humanity

Kingren (left) notes that adolescents like her patient Emerson Gordon, 19, are far more willing to be open and vulnerable compared to those who grew up in a time when mental health issues were more stigmatised. — TNS

Those who enter Ellen Kingren’s office get the choice of a chair or a small sofa.

Like each therapist’s room at Nystrom & Associates’ Apple Valley clinic in Minnesota, United States, Kingren’s reflects her personality and intentions, like the piles of board games, knickknacks from her grandparents lining the windowsill and the art piece painted by her fiancé on the wall.