For many survivors of childhood trauma, personal agency, healthy boundaries and the freedom of choice did not feel like options that were available. In dysfunctional systems, many were in survival mode and developed a high tolerance for people pleasing, co-dependency and having their needs lost in unhealthy relational dynamics. What was life-giving to one’s soul was often sacrificed in order to keep safe, “not rock the [...]

The work of healing the heart is most often a beautiful mess. Over two decades ago, early in my own recovery from life’s wounds, I thought I could escape the mess from pressing through to the outside world. I hid it from others. I hid it from myself. I hoped I could keep the mess tidy and contained. I honestly had no understanding of just how [...]

For many who enter the doors of a therapist office, finding words to accurately honor painful and abusive experiences is an ongoing challenge. For those with PTSD, Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders, gaining access to and giving an account of the trauma can be profoundly difficult. Offering “Restorative Creativity” sessions to assist in processing traumatic experiences has given many clients a visual language with which [...]

For the longest time, I dreaded the ascent up the ladder into the attic above our garage. We had decided to sell our home and begin to take steps towards building a new refuge on our property. It was a process I intuitively knew would propel me back into my story and through all the bittersweet years I had spent trying to understand it. The first [...]