When we feel stuck trying to solve a problem that appears unsolvable, we may need to step back, re-evaluate, and find another point of entry if we are going to find the solutions we seek. This, of course, is not always an obvious choice. As we attempt to untie one particular knot in the chain, we can become consumed with...[ read more ]

Things are not okay.  In fact things are far from okay. I am seeing more and more of my clients struggling with anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and many have nervous systems that continue to stay offline.  I know we are tired.  I know I am tired.  We are all experiencing fatigue, feeling it in our bones, yet we are not...[ read more ]

We may all wrestle with ego, but knowing how to differentiate between self-compassion and self-obsession can help us effectively heal from our traumas, versus staying stuck wandering around a hall of mirrors.  The truth is that we absolutely have to be able to give ourselves the same loving kindness we extend to others, without being labeled (or labeling ourselves) as...[ read more ]

At what point did we tell ourselves that we are not supposed to feel emotions?  When did emotions become something to be pathologized, exorcized, locked away, or completely ignored?  And when did we decide that it was not okay for others to see our emotional selves, and attempt to prevent what we have come to know as the “vulnerability hangover?”...[ read more ]

George, 44, described his own personal and painful experience of what it meant to feel lost, depressed, and directionless.  “It feels like I am in the middle of a large lake, in a boat without an oar, and no idea where the shore is I need to get to.”  His description, and use of metaphor, gave me a much sharper...[ read more ]

I can't shake this feeling that I need to speed up, but recognize the pull backwards, as I simultaneously feel the need to slow down. There is a stickiness to this that seems to amplify the feeling of unrest that I think is as pervasive, as it is universal, for human beings everywhere. Although feeling the pull in both directions...[ read more ]

Lots of folks are experiencing emotional fatigue due to the ongoing anxieties that plague our planet right now. As human beings, we habituate to everything, and over time we can become desensitized or burnt out due to ongoing exposure. As you read this, you or someone you know may be struggling to keep burnout at bay. Before we talk about...[ read more ]

We all have days where we want to give up. Days that just seem too hard, too long, and too painful. For some of us, these days come at what we would consider appropriate times, after we have experienced the loss of something important such as a meaningful relationship, a job, or a loved one. It is through these events...[ read more ]

I understand trauma as a therapist, I also have my own personal story of grief and loss, but I cannot imagine what it is like to live every day afraid for your life, your partner’s life, your parent’s lives, or your children’s lives.  To live in a constant state of fear, to feel misunderstood, and to be the target of...[ read more ]

I do not believe that compassion is inherent to us as human beings, but rather something that has to be cultivated over time. From my experience, compassion is one of the biggest healers there is, and far bigger than many of the challenges each of us face. Some would argue it is bigger than all of it. How do you...[ read more ]