Kernels of Truth: Behind the Missing Checkmarks
The Negativity Bias, intimacy, popcorn, and a bit of butter about Jessica Hansen, LMFT — a fun, reflective sneak peek at what comes next at CouplesTherapy.co! 🍿🎥
Before you read the blog below, spend a moment with the chart!
— First, notice where your eyes go. Then notice where your mind flows.
Most of us instinctively scan for what’s missing — what’s off.
Not because we’re morbid, but because we’re human — and that’s our body’s built-in security system.
After completing my own column in the chart above — checking 37 of 41 boxes — even I felt drawn toward the empty spaces. Proof that none of us escape the Negativity Bias. You know — the one we talk about in your sessions — where your mind fills in gaps with assumptions and biases that lean toward the worst-case scenario.
The antidote: openness, honesty, and transparency.
Allow me to fill in the boxes with the missing checkmarks so your mind doesn’t have to.
A Few Kernels of Truth About Me
Kernel #1: I’m not an uncle. For reasons I hope are obvious.
Kernel #2: I’m not a father either. For reasons I pray are obvious.
Kernel #3: Yes, I’m not married (anymore).
Kernel #4: No, I don’t have kids (though I’ve tried).
The irony isn’t lost on me — a Couples Therapist without a ring or a stroller.
Trust me, I’m aware.
Although… to be fair, I did have a stroller this past year.
And I used it — like an OG dog mom — daily and proudly!
Teggy rode around Miami like a boss, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve really come to appreciate that while romantic relationships are important — our other relationships matter too! Including the one you have with yourself.
On Intimacy & Popcorn 🍿
What is intimacy anyway?
It’s a process of getting to know someone — getting to know yourself.
And here’s the thing: a precursor to intimacy is TIME — a lifetime.
And intimacy that lasts unfolds slowly — es un proceso.
It arrives the way homemade popcorn does: with patience and steady heat —
not the rushed, microwaved kind where half the kernels burn and the rest never pop.
And now that we’ve got our refreshments — in this blog anyway…
it’s time for the…
Preview 📽️
With the launch of CouplesTherapy.co, I have an opportunity to pull the curtain back a bit.
And in 2026, you’ll hear some of my outside voice — writing, blogging, vlogging — you know, all the things the kids are doing these days + and I’ll be offering a weekly Relationship Skills CLASS™ that will turbo-charge your therapy process.
I’ll be sharing:
anecdotes
personal thoughts
my opinions about dating, relationships, and sex
a little raw
a bit less filtered
and hopefully some laughs
Inside the room, the focus remains on you.
That’s your story — and it’s sacred.
There, I am your well-trained, enthusiastic audience — listening intently, compassionately, and with a clinical ear.
Sometimes acting as a director, asking you to CUT 🎬 “try it again” — a different way this time!
But if you’d like to take a break from time to time and hear what I have to say in different formats — there will be plenty of opportunities for you in the New Year.
At CouplesTherapy.co, we share when we can and HAVE FUN in the process — because it’s OKAY TO PLAY and still get serious. ☺️
So keep an eye on The Pit Stop under the About section in the nav bar — that’s our digital bulletin board where what’s next will showcase.
Stay tuned!
— Jessica Hansen, LMFT & Founder
CouplesTherapy.co.