The story before BroknOpen

Where I Was

At the start of 2020, I thought I was entering one of the happiest chapters of my life. I was working full-time in the mental health and wellness field, planning my wedding, buying a home, and checking off all the milestones I thought life was supposed to have. Then the pandemic hit—and in the middle of it, I lost Brayden, my 15-year-old soul dog. I didn't know it then, but that loss would be the beginning of years of grief.

What Came Next

Over the next several years, loss seemed to keep finding me. I lost grandparents, my stepdad, my uncle, a close friend, my cat, watched my dad nearly die twice, and experienced losses that changed the future I thought I would have. Still, I kept working as a therapist. Helping someone else find their way through the darkness gave me a reason to keep showing up when I was struggling to find my own.

Then I broke

In 2025, my four-year-old Cane Corso, Brooklyn, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. We did everything we could to save her, but we lost her just months later. I returned to work almost immediately, believing I could keep doing what I had always done—push through the grief and keep going. But this time, I couldn’t.

After years of loss, grief, stress, and putting one foot in front of the other, my mind and body finally said enough. My health declined, I went on medical leave, and eventually I lost the career I had spent years building. And strangely, losing the version of my life I thought I was supposed to have forced me to finally ask:

What if rebuilding doesn’t mean becoming who I was before?

That's where BroknOpen began.

Not because I'm completely healed. Not because I have everything figured out. But because somewhere between grief, burnout, losing pieces of my identity, and starting over, I began choosing myself again. I'm still a therapist. I'm also a creator, wife, dog mom, and a woman building a completely different life than the one she once imagined.

Same girl. Different chapter. Not the same journey—and that's the point... Heal with me.

Life Outside the Therapy Room

A Little More About Me

Outside of BroknOpen, My name is Steph and I live in Texas. I’m a wife, bonus mom to two, dog mom to two very spoiled furbabies, and staff to two bossy outdoor cats who basically adopted us. 😂 My husband has also unintentionally become a recurring character in my content—usually somewhere in the background adding commentary, making me laugh, or turning everyday married life into couples comedy. We’re pretty simple when it comes to the things we love: spending time with our furbabies, going to the movies, laughing at each other, and enjoying the everyday moments that make life feel like ours.

Before becoming a therapist and creator, I worked in both fashion and radio, so creativity, style, and music have always been a big part of who I am. Now I love getting to bring all of those pieces together as a creator—sharing life, sharing what I’m learning along the way, and connecting with others through all the messy, funny, hard, and beautiful parts of being human.

A few things I love:
Cooking • Crafting • Pilates • Fashion • Music • Movies • Animals • Football • Planning • DIY

The story before BroknOpen

Where I Was

What Came Next

Then I broke

Life Outside the Therapy Room

A Little More About Me

The Story Behind BroknOpen

Where To Next?

Explore more tools, resources & support from BroknOpen.

The story before BroknOpen

Where I Was

What Came Next

Then I broke

Life Outside the Therapy Room

A Little More About Me

The Story Behind BroknOpen

Where To Next?

Explore more tools, resources & support from BroknOpen.

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