Healing Doesn’t Take a Vacation: Why Therapy Can Be Your Summer Self-Care

Written by: Erin Choice, LPC

Summer often comes with its own kind of pressure:

☀️ To relax

☀️ To be carefree

☀️ To be happy and fulfilled

But the truth is, mental health doesn’t follow the seasons — and healing doesn’t take a vacation.

In fact, for many people, summer can be an especially challenging time. Routines change; kids are out of school, family visits increase, and social media is full of carefully curated images of “perfect” summer days. If you’re working through grief, anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, or burnout, this can feel especially isolating.

The good news? Therapy can be one of the most valuable acts of self-care you give yourself this season.

Here’s why:

🌼 1. Summer Slows Down (and Brings Things Up)

When life gets quieter — whether due to vacations, lighter workloads, or changes in routine — many people find that buried emotions start to rise. Without constant busyness to distract us, old patterns or unprocessed pain can resurface.

Therapy offers a safe, structured space to gently explore what’s coming up — instead of pushing it away again.

🌻 2. Stay Connected to Your Growth

If you’ve been making progress in therapy, taking an extended break can sometimes disrupt the momentum you’ve built. Summer is actually a great time to lean into that growth:

• With more daylight and flexible schedules, you may find it easier to reflect, journal, and practice new coping tools.

• You can use this season to solidify emotional skills you’ve been learning and prepare for busier seasons ahead.

  
  

🌞 3. Counterbalance Summer Stress

While summer is “supposed” to be relaxing, it often brings unique stressors:

• Childcare challenges

• Family visits and strained relationships

• Financial pressure from trips, camps, and activities

• Body image anxiety with more social events

Therapy can help you navigate these experiences with greater self-compassion and emotional resilience.

🌷 4. Self-Care Isn’t Just Spa Days — It’s Doing the Work

It’s easy to think of self-care as bubble baths and beach days — and those things absolutely have their place!But true self-care sometimes means showing up for the hard work of healing and setting boundaries that honor your mental well-being.

Therapy is one of the most powerful forms of self-care because it helps you heal from the inside out.

☀️ Simple Summer Self-Care Routine with Therapy

Here’s a gentle routine you can try to integrate therapy into your summer self-care plan:

🗓 Weekly✅ Keep your therapy appointments consistent✅ Reflect with a short journal entry after each session✅ Choose 1 skill or insight to practice that week

🌅 Daily✅ 10 min mindfulness or breathwork practice✅ Name one thing you’re grateful for✅ Ask yourself: What do I need today?

🌸 Seasonally✅ Set a “summer intention” (ex: embrace rest without guilt or stay grounded through change)✅ Schedule at least one joyful activity each week✅ Give yourself permission to take up space — emotionally and physically

Final Thought: Your healing matters year-round. You don’t have to wait for fall, or January, or “when life slows down again” to prioritize it.

If anything, this summer may be the perfect time to deepen your care by staying connected to therapy and yourself.

You are worthy of rest, reflection, and renewal — inside and out.