SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO)–A Sioux Falls therapist began reaching a wider audience after posting videos to Instagram focused on healthy relationships. Now he’s reaching even more people with some important mental health help through a new book launching next week.

“I just wanted to help people and make it more accessible,” licensed therapist Jason VanRuler said.

Jason VanRuler started by sharing some advice in reels on Instagram.

“I always tell people, it was my 280th video before I got any likes. It did not take off quickly,” VanRuler said.

But eventually, it took off in a big way; he now has more than 138,000 followers on Instagram where he shares a lot of tips and advice he’s learned from working with therapy clients in Sioux Falls over the last decade.

“The more work that I did with people the more I recognized some patterns, what if I could share some of what I see happening to help people actually know what to do in those situations,” VanRuler said.

He’s now doing that in a big way, writing his own book called Get Past Your Past.

“It’s about getting past the things in our background that we’ve struggled with. Whether we’ve had an amazing childhood or terrible childhood or easy life or difficult life, we all have that thing, what is the thing that’s happened to you that keeps coming back up and causing problems?” VanRuler said.

VanRuler says after working with clients of all ages, he believes it’s an issue that truly touches everyone. His book lays out practical steps on how to do the work to dive into your past and make a change for the better.

“What if I took that thing and actually made it so it’s something that empowers us instead of holding us back? That’s really the core of the book, what do we do with hard things and how do we use those to make us better,” VanRuler said.

His book comes out on October 10th; you can find his new book here.