The Stories We Tell Ourselves
First grade was the first time in my life I felt understood. I loved everything about school. The snacks, the smell of mimeographed worksheets, learning how to read and write, the playground, and most of all, I loved my teacher Mrs. King. She was the first adult I had...
Attachment Trauma: The Unique Impact of Trauma in Infancy
It’s around 8 or 9 on a Saturday night and I’m on a 3-hour drive home. I’m returning from the field research I do every weekend in California’s Central Valley as part of my graduate studies. I’m feeling horrible, but not because of any particular event or problem. The...The Thumb-Sucker
The Thumb-Sucker Fight or flight: the instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation, which readies one either to resist forcibly or to run away. **Please be kind to yourself as you read** I thought I was safe. At four years old, I believed if I...
The Email My Ex-Therapist Never Sent.
To those who have ever been harmed in therapy, I am sorry. To those who continue to ruminate over what happened and are unable to move past it, I can relate. We may never receive the answer we are looking for, but we can learn to be gentle with ourselves. I wrote this...