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Valeria 林沛晴

@valeriavalentini1

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Just make sure you notice the collateral beauty
Psych PhD @brighamyounguniversity🌷Learning therapy techniques as I study them
@trevzerilli 💍 🇮🇹 🇺🇸

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During these couple of days (yay I graduated!!!!) I’ve pondered so much. My BYU experience has been incredible and transformative. Since moving to Utah (April 4th, 2022), I’ve changed in ways I didn’t know were possible. Don’t get me wrong—it’s been incredibly difficult AND incredibly fulfilling.

BYU has been a wild, wonderful, and weirdly perfect ride. It’s been hard—like cry-in-the-library hard—but also full of the kind of joy, growth, and surprise that makes you believe in becoming. I’ve been stretched, challenged, uplifted, and deeply inspired by the people, ideas, and experiences.

I came here with a lot of questions and (surprise!) I’m leaving with even more—but better ones. Ones that make me excited about the future. From research presentations to late-night talks with friends, from moments of quiet doubt to bursts of bold clarity: every piece mattered.

To my mentors, my classmates, my friends, and especially my family—thank you. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of this story. You’ve made it so good.

BYU teaches us to “Come to learn, go forth to serve,” and I hope to do exactly that, wherever life takes me. But most importantly, I’ve learned that everything—every moment—is done by divine design. And that truth has changed me more than anything else.

Here’s to the next chapter. I don’t know where I’m going exactly, but I know who I am now—and that’s more than enough. I mean, I also have a BS in psychology and a minor in business and a minor in global women studies, so that’s also a plus.

Go Cougs!!! 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼 by @valeriavalentini1

“….Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done, a naturalness beyond words. And so today, in front of everyone, I promise to build with you a life made of patience, of trust, of Sunday lunches, of shared dreams, and of summer lemonades—in both the Italian and American sense.
I promise that when you ask me if you have a concussion, I will answer with patience. I promise to hold your hand when you are sad and need comfort. I promise to always encourage you, even when you doubt yourself. I promise to speak your language, and to always make you feel at home in mine. I promise to watch Star Wars without falling asleep at least once. I promise to laugh at your jokes, though that’s not hard. I promise to give you all of myself, and to choose you, every single day, as if it were the first time.
I am yours, you are mine, and I promise to love you truly and unconditionally. Today, and every day after this, I choose you: now, and forever.”
August 23,2025 🔐
1/3 by @valeriavalentini1

Which of these did you recognize from the explanation? Comment 1, 2, or 3! Part 2 | Cognitive distortions

Part 2 of learning CBT as a PhD student. Cognitive distortions are common ways our thinking can get skewed, as I’m learning it.

1️⃣ All-or-nothing thinking
2️⃣ Catastrophizing
3️⃣ Mind-reading

Save this list if it helped the patterns click.
Follow for Part 3: the thought record, explained 👀

For educational purposes only. I’m a Counseling Psychology PhD student, not a licensed psychologist or therapist, and this content is not therapy or individualized mental health advice.

#CBT #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #CognitiveDistortions #Psychology #PsychologyStudent CounselingPsychology MentalHealthEducation TherapyTheories by @valeriavalentini1

WE DID NOT GET TICKETS BECAUSE IT’S SO EXPENSIVE MY GOSH BYU
Once a cougar, always a cougar 🤙🏽
(But @trevzerilli is older than me so it’s just byu spirit cougar I swear 🤭)
#cougars #byu #byufootball by @valeriavalentini1

A little Italy (and love) in this rainy day 🌧️ by @valeriavalentini1

CBT is more than just “thinking positively.” 🧠
One of the core ideas I’m learning is that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can influence one another.
For example:

💭 Thought: “I’m going to fail this exam.”
😰 Feeling: Anxious, overwhelmed, stressed
📱 Behavior: Avoid studying, procrastinate, distract myself

And then the cycle can reinforce itself: avoiding studying may make “I’m going to fail” feel even more believable. What I find especially interesting about CBT is that the goal isn’t simply to replace every negative thought with a positive one. It’s about becoming aware of our patterns and learning to examine and respond to them differently.

I’m a first-year Counseling Psychology PhD student sharing what I’m learning along the way. 📚

Save this if the visual helped CBT click for you.

Part 2: cognitive distortions 👀

For educational purposes only. I’m a Counseling Psychology PhD student, not a licensed psychologist or therapist, and this content is not therapy or individualized mental health advice.

#CBT #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #Psychology #PsychologyStudent #CounselingPsychology PhDStudent TherapyTheories MentalHealthEducation by @valeriavalentini1

Want a copy of these Gestalt therapy handouts? I made a free downloadable PDF for you!!

Part 2 of Gestalt therapy techniques 🌷🪑
In this video, I’m talking about 3 more techniques you might see in Gestalt therapy:

🌼 Exaggerating emotions — intentionally amplifying a feeling, movement, or expression to increase awareness of what might be happening underneath it.

🌼 Rehearsal exercises — practicing something you may want to say or do in real life, like expressing a need, setting a boundary, or responding differently.

🌼 Role play — stepping into another role or perspective to explore emotions, relationships, and different ways of experiencing a situation.

One of the things I find so interesting about Gestalt therapy is how much emphasis it places on experiencing something in the present moment, rather than only talking about it.

If you want the complete Gestalt handout I use in the video + additional resources to learn more, comment GESTALT and I’ll send you the link in your DMs 💌
Save this for later & share it with someone who is learning about therapy theories with you 🤍

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and is not therapy, mental health advice, or a substitute for care from a qualified mental health professional. These techniques are presented as examples of Gestalt therapy and should be understood within the broader therapeutic context in which they are used. by @valeriavalentini1

Me when I realize I have to do a split-plot ANOVA write-up: 🫠📊💀

Stats has never exactly been my favorite subject. And as someone who learned English as a second language, statistics sometimes genuinely feels like learning a third one… except I’m learning that third language in my second language. 😂
There are still moments when I look at an output and wonder how all those numbers are supposed to turn into actual words. But today, something kind of clicked.
I did a split-plot ANOVA write-up, understood what I was looking at, and realized that things that felt completely overwhelming not that long ago are slowly starting to make sense. I know that split plot is so basic compared to SEM, and I am even terrified about SEM by simply writing the name of it, but it was a victory for me today.
One of my favorite parts of being in a PhD program so far has been noticing these little moments of growth. I definitely don’t have everything figured out (and I’m still allowed to panic when I see a factorial or split plot ANOVA table), but I’m really proud of how much I’m learning and how much more capable I feel than when I started. 🥹 Tiny PhD win for today. 🤍📚

#PhDLife #PhDStudent #GradSchool #GradStudentLife Statistics ANOVA ResearchLife PsychologyPhD CounselingPsychology WomenInAcademia AcademicLife PhDJourney by @valeriavalentini1

I can’t really describe Trevor, I can’t find enough words, but I will try. He is kind, generous, funny (incredibly I might add), determined, compassionate, empathetic, kindhearted, friendly, sincere, deeply welcoming. He is dependable, caring, trustworthy, genuine, honest, loyal, reliable, adventurous, charismatic, quick-witted, vibrant, ambitious, decisive, resilient, AND SO MUCH MORE. He is the person that will quite literally fight for you with every fiber of his body. He is nurturing and kind, protective and soft. He is definitely my better half, and he deserves the world. So everyone, come wish happy birthday to Trev ❤️ by @valeriavalentini1

I am wearing white, so hate how you like, this is the love of my life 🤍

Couldn’t pass the opportunity to post to the new tay’s song. Yes, the rumors are true, Trevor and I got married “twice.” once in the US and once in italy, basically the party I have always dreamed of. Being loved by Trevor makes me the luckiest person ever (sad for everyone who will not experience being loved by him but selfishly happy he is all mine). I love him, he loves me. And the love we have for each other is hard to explain because the words that would describe it have not been invented yet. Honestly, we had to go through some opposition we didn’t expect. We figured it out. And I want to scream it loud and clear THIS IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.

Thanks to everyone who came, more to come 🫶🏼

🎥 @luciociccarone_photography | ✂️ @valeriavalentini1 by @valeriavalentini1

Third week of my PhD at BYU 💙
Went to the Graduate School Fair and got to meet other grad students, learn about some of the resources BYU has for us, and of course get all the free stuff.
Since most students at BYU are undergrads, it was really nice to have an event just for graduate students and feel a little more connected to the grad community.
Also… mini Cougar Tail + shaved ice. 10/10.
Thank you BYU Graduate Studies @byugraduatestudentsociety @byugradstudies for putting this together and making us grad students feel a little special. And Go Cougs! 💙 @byucougars

#BYU #BYUGradStudies #PhDStudent #GradSchool #GradSchoolLife by @valeriavalentini1

Italy was indeed a fireball this August

The sparkles are sweat

Please give me a fan

From humble beginnings to roman power 🏛️

I am Francesca’s fav tourist

When in Rome, find some shade

Trevy at the Trevi fountain, the multiverse is real

Rome wasn’t built in a day, but we explored it in one

❤️

We deserve a panzerotto emoji

uagnù

Crossover

Best picture of the trip by @valeriavalentini1