What Is a Third Place? And How Well Together Is Reimagining It for Modern Life
More therapeutic than Central Perk, less smelly than the YMCA.
What Is a Third Place?
Most of us move between two main spaces: home and work. Each holds its own set of roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Yet humans have always needed a third place; a space outside of home and work.
A place for connection, learning, rest, belonging, and the kinds of conversations that help us hear ourselves more clearly.
Sociologist Ray Oldenburg described third places as the informal gathering spots that once shaped community life: cafés, libraries, porches, parks, and neighborhood hangouts. If Central Perk or JJ’s Diner come to mind, you’ve got the concept! Places where people lingered not to perform, but to participate. To feel part of something larger than themselves.
Why Third Places Matter for Mental Health and Connection
Today, many of those gathering places have grown scarce. Our schedules are fuller, our cities more spread out, and our social lives subsist on infrequent get-togethers and spamming each other with funny IG reels. No shade, we love ‘em too! But we also recognize the need for more. Spaces that ground us. That invite us back into our bodies, our breath, and deeper connection with each other.
As a therapist, I see the impact of that absence every day. So many people come into therapy longing for exactly what a third place provides:
A space to pause, reflect, and recharge amidst the busyness of life
A feeling of community, even in one-to-one work
Permission to slloooooww dooooowwn
Opportunities to learn, grow, and be witnessed
A sense of belonging that doesn’t require performance
The Disappearance of Everyday Gathering Spaces
While most of us aren’t gathering at the Rotary Club meeting or Friday night bowling league anymore, the need for spaces that once brought people together in laughter, shared purpose, and community hasn’t gone away.
Those spaces gave people more than something to do, they offered a rhythm of belonging, a reminder that showing up for ourselves and others mattered. And though our modern lives look different, that longing for connection and meaning remains the same.
How Well Together Is Reimagining the Modern Third Place
That’s the heart behind Well Together: creating a modern version of a third place, where people can reconnect with themselves and with others. Therapy is one pathway. Workshops, groups, and retreats are others. But the purpose stays the same: to offer spaces that support reflection, rest, learning, and genuine connection. Spaces where you don’t have to hold everything alone.
We hope to see you there.
Interested in Exploring a Modern Third Place for Your Own Wellbeing?
Learn more about therapy, workshops, and retreats at Well Together: a modern third place for personal and collective wellbeing.
