As we now know, spring cleaning is just as much for the mind as it is for the home. So, what if there were a book that combined the best of both self-help and interior design? Enter: Home Therapy by therapist turned designer Anita Yokota (she/her). In this gorg guide, Anita thoughtfully unpacks the tools you need to support mental wellness in your own space through decor styling recs and tips.

“Like therapy teaches us, healing is a journey we go on,” she says. “Sometimes it’s a straight line, but most times it’s a zig-zagging course that we traverse. Our homes are the same. Give yourself permission to change course, and listen to your heart. If you love something, keep it. If you’ve outgrown something, let it go. We need to be shepherds on both of these paths—safeguarding and setting boundaries, holding ourselves accountable, and believing that we are meant to live in beauty.”

Before you begin your own spring refresh, let’s dive a little deeper into the ideas behind Anita’s bestselling book.

Was there a specific moment that impacted your career change from therapist to designer?
I grew up with an architect father and real estate mother, so design was a daily conversation in my house. As funny as it sounds, going into marriage and family therapy was the departure from the norm in that sense. I loved it, but returning to interiors was like coming home. Now, I have the bonus of this background in therapy that informs all my choices as an interior designer.

What was the inspo behind Home Therapy?
As a therapist, home visits were a part of my regular practice. I would go in and help people make sense of the space around them, and in the end, it helped them make sense of the space within them. That process crystalized something for me. It became the seed of what might have been a therapy book in my former life but expanded and grew into Home Therapy when I became a designer. I knew it was the book that I needed to write and the message I wanted to send—that the way we live in our homes impacts the way we feel inside.

There are 4 main sections in your book: Can you take us through each one?
As a therapist, you learn how the habits and processes we create can either be tools to help us heal or turn into the alibis we use as humans to excuse away our less-than-helpful behaviors. But, when we set up systems to rely on, we’re establishing a certain self-accountability to begin to heal. My domains are those systems:

1. You can start anywhere, but, for me, The Individual Domain feels like the starting gate of Home Therapy. It’s the airplane safety message that says you have to help yourself before you can help your seatmates. We start off by setting our intentions and evaluating ourselves in our spaces. That includes the energy, the flow, and the use for each space. Because it’s all about intention, I’ve given us some keys on how to safeguard and be vigilant with that intention. Humans are visual, so giving ourselves visual cues helps. One biggie for me is the intention tray. This is a literal tray where we gather items that represent our intention. Mine right now is letting go of limiting beliefs, so I’ve gathered items like my favorite candle, a journal, crystals, and a pen to carry out my daily practice of meditation. Each time you walk by the tray, you are reminded to hold space and time for your intention.

2. The Organizational Domain says that the spaces around us impact the spaces within us. It can be overwhelming to put into practice because, while we crave organization, we can feel at a loss for how to tackle it. This section gives us the systems we need to get it done. In fact, my most regularly used method is the Ski Slope Method. It gives us a strategy for how to clean or declutter a space by skiing through it in a zig-zag zone cleaning approach. This method lets you know that if you get overwhelmed, you can walk away for a bit and return to the zone you were in. When we give ourselves a system or approach, we are in essence giving us a way to cope.

3. The Communal Domain is important because we aren’t always the only ones living in our homes. We have partners, family members, roommates, or even guests! This domain sets the practices that will ensure our homes lift up every person there. A tactic in this domain is the command center on a spare wall—an area of the home where all calendars, shopping lists, and work supplies can be found. Not only is it a place where we can go to find out everything that’s going on in the house, but it’s also an area where kids can contribute like chore grids. Subconsciously it lets every family member know they’re responsible for the energy and healthy dynamic of the home.

4. The Renewal Domain encourages us to introduce the optimism of renewal and expansion into our homes. In ourselves, this can look like refilling our cup with a walk, trip, or an afternoon of self-care. In our homes, it looks like re-imagining or redesigning spaces to keep them feeling supportive of our story. It can be as simple as swapping tired lampshades for new ones, painting, rearranging, or going all the way by fully redesigning. This is the area where we get to change the world around us as we change within us.

Are there any brands you personally love and use in your own home?
I am forever the woman who when you say you like my shirt, my way of saying thanks is shouting out where it came from [laughing]. I love recommendations, and Home Therapy is filled with them. For starters, in nearly every client reno project I use Rejuvenation lighting and cabinet hardware. Fireclay Tile is my fave tile source for its sustainable materials, made in the USA commitment, and colors that can’t be found anywhere else. Parachute is my go-to for bedding linens. They’ve been a mainstay for me because of their quality and their colors. I also love The Citizenry, West Elm, and Loloi for pillows, throws, and rugs. And my first stop for sourcing artwork is Minted.