The Reality Phase of Isolation
“This pandemic is making me face myself.” I’m hearing that over and over. The busyness of life, especially pre-pandemic life, can really keep symptoms at bay. It reminds me of being in graduate school. I was learning so much and it was showing me things about myself...
How does somatic therapy work online?
Greetings from my corner of the pandemic. It’s been about seven weeks since I last saw clients in person in my office. It seems both an eternity and an instant. As a therapist known for using touch to work with developmental trauma, some people thought sessions would...
Change your relationship with anger for more peace in the world
The emotion and body experience of anger are SEPARATE from the behaviors we often associate with it. If you equate anger with yelling, hitting, harsh words, you’re of course going to try to avoid it because you don’t want to hurt people. And if you don’t succeed in stopping unhealthy angry behaviors, you’re likely to suffer intense shame as a result. If you work on the energy of anger inside and let it do what it’s trying to do SEPARATE from the behavior, your behavior is likely to be different.
Lessons of Regulation from a Deer
A video of a fawn collapsed in the road and then supported by its mother is the perfect example of how our nervous system can move through intense stress. Watch the video and learn what I’ve nicknamed “The Fawn Cycle”.
Anger – It’s not bad…it’s a little misunderstood (part 1)
Anger and confrontation can be very scary for people. It can make us withdraw, shut down and avoid showing up as who we are when we are afraid of our own or someone else’s anger. Most anger skills classes focus on people who have too much anger and need help controlling it. I think most of us can use help with a healthy fight response. Here are 4 steps to starting to get better at anger.
Becoming a psychotherapist using touch? It was a leap!
Becoming a psychotherapist who uses touch was quite a journey. Not only did I need to learn touch skills, I also had to figure out what was allowed in the field. Would an angry mob show up at my door and take my license away? Read how I found answers about using touch ethically in psychotherapy so I could safely offer this powerful healing tool to people. It was quite a leap, but with great reward.
Spiritual Support for Healing: Expanding our Net
I’m so excited to share with you something a little different. Last month I sat down with my friend and colleague Dr. Daniel Foor to discuss his work and recent book Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing. If you are interested in ...
A little known fact: It’s hard to track!
Traveling is tough for people with sensitive nervous systems. When we get overstimulated, our ability to pay attention and respond to details is greatly reduced. I’m sure the airport lost and found is filled with items left behind by people who just couldn’t keep track all their belongings AND process all the instructions, noise and movement of a busy airport. Read my story of a recent plane trip and how different it is now after many years of healing.
How do you know when you’re getting better?
When you’re healing it helps to recognize the smallest signs of getting better! Learn about tracking signs of regulation and changes in your symptoms patterns. Also, my colleagues share their stories of how they first noticed they were getting better.
What you should know about mind-body practices and trauma healing
When people are healing from trauma, they are often led to try things like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, massage, Craniosacral therapy, and so many more – but for people with trauma, there is no one size fits all approach. What worked great for your friend or hundreds of students of a renowned teacher may not work for you – and that doesn’t make you wrong. Here’s my suggestions for approaching healing methods (or support practices) to find what works for you.
Healing from Trauma? First check your brakes
If you’re working on healing your trauma, you’ll want to avoid triggers as much as possible, but when you’re trying new methods and working with your nervous system’s over active stress responses, you’ll want to make sure you know how to reset after overwhelm hits. Here are some ideas about how to work with triggers and practice your “brakes”.
Help for the Harsh Inner Critic
Ever feel like you are your worst critic? What if that critic is so toxic you get stuck? It happens. Here is a video and my best tips for starting to change your relationship with your harsh inner self.