Without a doubt, the compassion we offer our clients is often a key part of their healing. But how do we help our clients build compassion toward themselves . . . . . especially when they feel frozen and unable to act, cut off from themselves and those they care about? When their ability to […]
One Key Insight That Can Help Clients Undo Years of Blame and Shame
As practitioners, we’re well-acquainted with the fight, flight, freeze response – that automatic response that evolved to protect us from external threats or danger. But what happens when the threat is internal? When the threat is painful emotions or distress? Our response can still be automatic, and for many clients it can often be to […]
A Traumatized America: Weeping with Those Who Weep
In the aftermath of the recent tragedies in El Paso and Dayton, it’s nearly impossible to know what to do or say. These acts of gun violence bring up all sorts of painful emotions – grief, sadness, anger, and fear. As the daughter of a pastor, I was taught the importance of weeping with those […]
How Might Epigenetics Influence the Link between PTSD and Inflammation?
Is there a link between PTSD and our body’s immune response? Well, research published in the Journal of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity has stretched beyond focusing on what happens to the body’s nervous and endocrine systems after trauma. . . . . . and researchers have discovered a connection between trauma and the body’s immune […]
PTSD and Emotional Trauma Affects Partners of Veterans, Too
Caring for someone with PTSD can sometimes lead to secondary trauma. And researchers at the University of Utah wondered just how bad that secondary trauma could be. While completing her graduate studies, Catherine Caska Wallace, PhD and her research team studied two groups of male veterans, along with their female partners. In 32 couples, the […]