Stuck Points in Healing from Complex Trauma
Whether you are struggling to contain painful rumination, finding it difficult to cope in the present, or feeling apprehensive about the future, there is a good chance that stuck points are influencing your experience. Stuck points are rigid, distressing thoughts and...
When “Calm Down” is Contempt
In my first mental health job in the early 1990s, I learned a rule that still holds under pressure. Never tell an upset client to “calm down.” It backfires. The person does not feel heard, seen, or validated. They feel managed. The phrase sounds helpful to the one...
Are You a Positive Thinker? The Benefits of a Positive Mind
Hey, how are you doing today? Can you remember your first thoughts this morning? Was it a positive thought about your day ahead? Our world is full of negativity right now. It can be hard to tune everything out that’s going on in the news and in our cities. Did you...
“The Channel is Right but the Volume is Too High”: Understanding Emotional Triggers
In a scene from one of my favorite films, The Iron Giant, a boy named Hogarth plays in a junk yard with his new friend, a giant metal man fallen from space. In the midst of their game, Hogarth pulls out a toy gun and aims it at the giant. Instantly, and without his...