Staying Connected When You Disagree: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Navigating Political Differences with Loved Ones
In today’s polarized world, it can feel especially painful when the people we love hold political beliefs that contradict our values—especially when those beliefs impact our identity, rights, or lived experience. Whether it’s a parent who dismisses LGBTQ+ rights, a...
Rewriting the Script: Changing the Song and Scenery of Our Now
Part I: As I listen to Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” on a loop, I mentally counter the lyrics with the fantasy that the sun will just fall from the sky. Can’t it do me the courtesy of burning out and shrouding me in complete darkness at long last? All...
Understanding the Spectrum of Spiritual Trauma
As a complex trauma clinician, survivor, and interfaith minister, I’ve come to understand that true recovery is incomplete without addressing the wounds of spiritual trauma. By spiritual trauma, I refer to the profound psychological, emotional, and existential wounds...
Abuse Happens – Even During the Holidays
It is almost Christmas. A season for families to get together and spend quality time catching up on the year that has been. Most families have relatives who travel home from out of the State or even from other countries. We live in a fast-paced world where the...