It’s Child Abuse Awareness Month. No one likes to think about child abuse. So we’re largely silent about it. Which creates a perfect condition for child abuse to thrive and proliferate. Because abuse of all kinds thrives in silence and darkness. And the cost...
We store our experiences not only in our minds, but also within our bodies. Traumatic events can imprint themselves on our physical sensations, leading to lingering effects that impact our physical and mental well-being. Addressing these deep-seated traumas requires a...
In Florida, mental health counselors can be Graduate Interns, Registered Interns (RMHCI or RCSWI), or fully Licensed (LMHC, LMFT or LCSW). Are you confused by all these letters and titles? How do you know what to look for in a...
What is OCD? Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) is characterized by experiencing cycles of unwanted intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that can cause a significant amount of distress for an individual (International OCD Foundation, 2022). This vicious cycle can be debilitating and feel endless for those who struggle with this condition. OCD can latch onto anything you can think of, and obsessions and compulsions can include: Common Obsessions Contamination:...
October is "Domestic Violence" Awareness Month. I put "domestic violence" in quotation marks because that's an outdated term that emphasizes the physical violence, and misleads us to think it's only happening in domesticity -- such as in a marriage. There's a better term: Intimate Partner Violence, and related to that: Coercive Control. A substantial part of "domestic violence" happens between dating partners, separated or divorced partners, in public, in the workplace, while traveling, in a...
This post was originally published on March 2, 2014. Thousands of comments later, I'm still getting emails and calls about it weekly. Given the interest in sociopathy in the news today, I decided to re-publish it here.Ted Bundy. Jeffrey Dahlmer. Danny Rolling. Jim Jones. David Koresh. Charles Manson. Hannibal Lecter. Aileen Wuornos. Norman Bates. Names you probably think of — real and fiction — when you hear the word “sociopath”. But did you know that we cross paths with sociopaths on a...
Some thoughts on the last few weeks. I’ll make the writing short and the recommendations long for further learning, because my thoughts aren't needed here; we need to listen to the voices of people of color. Trauma needs a witness, and I witness with my feelings first: horrified, enraged, grieving. About the murder of black and brown bodies, recently including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and far too many more. About Amy Cooper and Christian Cooper in Central Park. Tentatively...
“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to get through this thing called Life.” — Prince I’m shifting gears from the 3-a-week blogs on poems/pods/books. I’ll keep sharing what I’m leaning into going forward….just not in this same 3x/week form. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed some of the poems, books, and podcasts! For me, the rhythm of looking for words that inspired me provided a steadying direction, a light in the darkness, and a fresh exposure to things I previously didn’t take...