Tony Ziolko - Licensed Therapist

If you read my posts on X and think that’s the entirety of my thought process, this platform might not be for you. These are condensed quips, not dissertations. Nuance lives in conversations, not character limits; so maybe don’t judge me based on a post. Common sense 🤷‍♂️

Therapy is not for everyone and should not be forever, says @tonyztherapy

The dangers of suicidal empathy in therapy, with @tonyztherapy

Empathy in therapy, a shift in perspective, with @tonyztherapy

@lukedsimmons D > E > B > A > C If people can’t feel what your church is like, they’re not coming. Culture > content. Most churches miss by talking to insiders about insider things.

When you think about social media for churches, how would you rank these potential goals? A. Encourage church members B. Engage non-Christians C. Evangelistic/shareable content D. Experience/sample for guests E. Establish culture across church F. Other?

Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross Hebrews 12:2

Over-therapizing happens when insight replaces action.

The version of you that got you here is not the one that will take you forward.

At some point your life becomes a reflection of what you tolerate.

Chuck Norris once went to therapy and the therapist got better.

Therapy is not about finding someone to blame. It’s about reclaiming your agency. You can glance at the rearview mirror. But if you stare at it, you will crash. At some point, growth sounds like this: “It hurt. It mattered. And now I choose what happens next.”

It’s not always your parents’ fault. Some were crummy. Some were wounded. Most of them were doing the best they could with what they had. And even if they failed you, it is still your responsibility to heal. Understanding your past explains you. It does not excuse you.

You cannot be a transgender person & NOT have a mental illness. Transgender people exist; meaning I think men genuinely think they are women (vice versa), but make no mistake, that is a mental illness. Transitioning is not the medication.

All I have to do is tell people it isn’t always their parent’s fault. It’s wildly unpopular 😂

@DoctorPerin I was always taught that respect is earned but honor is given. I honor the position of the US President therefore whoever is in office would be honored by me. However it doesn’t mean I respect the person in that position always.

Respect is earned.

@TweetATherapist Unless it’s the Bad Friends podcast with Bobby Lee. Its hilarious. 😂

We think it’s weird that kids watch videos of other kids playing ((and it is)) but what is a podcast ((the uneducational ones)) except listening to two adults conversing Passive participation

Healing is not just about looking inward.
Sometimes it begins when someone lovingly steps in and allowing the vulnerability for someone to step in. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Galatians 6:2

Trauma blocks love & connection BUT Love & connection heals trauma We were created for relationship. Sin and suffering fracture that connection, but grace restores it. God often uses people; their presence, patience, and love, as instruments of healing.

No. Therapy is a tool, not a requirement for being human. Some people need it. Some people benefit from it. Some people grow just fine without it. We don’t need a culture where everyone is “in treatment”… we need a culture that actually knows how to live.

@johnmark276 I resonate with this. Therapy culture likes to over label, over explain, & sometimes remove personal responsibility from the equation. mental health is real, it just means it’s not the only lens. addressing each layer as needed is where I think this actually lands well.

Agreed, at least in the sense that we are accurately identifying the root causes (personal sin, spiritual attack, physiological/chemical, cognitive, etc.) and working towards solutions that address each “as needed.” But IMO the cultural waters we swim in already over-reduce sin (and spiritual deliverance for that matter) while over-amplifying mental health. Ideally all potential causes are treated as needed and in conjunction with one another. What I see much more often as a pastor is a people over diagnosed on mental health and under diagnosed on sin. But maybe that’s just my own context 🤷🏾‍♂️

😂🤦‍♂️ some people are hilarious…and stupid. There are sin issues and mental health issues. Sometimes they overlap but to say sin is the reason for mental health when we all sin constantly would imply we are all mentally ill.

@johnmark276 I get what you’re saying, & I appreciate the nuance. I’d just be careful not to let “many” turn into a framework that overlooks the complexity of mental health. Both can be true, without reducing one to the other.

@tonyztherapy Tony, I have respected your posts for a long time now (and that certainly doesn’t change because of this!). But OP said many, not all. If we understand “many” to be sheer quantity and not “kinds” then surely you would agree?