cptsd foundation

Testimonials

Would You Share Your Experience?

If you are or were previously a part of any of our programs, a regular website visitor or blog reader, we want to hear from you. We would appreciate your thoughts on how CPTSD Foundation has impacted your healing journey from complex trauma.

 

What CPTSD Foundation Means to Me

 

We are extremely grateful for each and every member of the Daily Recovery Support Calls, Healing Book Club, and all of the programs we offer. It’s our goal to provide a safe place for survivors of trauma living with CPTSD symptoms, and to always be a source of encouragement and validation.

We are so humbled and thankful for each of our members or website visitors who have been willing to take a minute or two and share what being a part of CPTSD Foundation means to them.

Below are just a handful of comments or short stories we receive on a regular basis. Out of respect for privacy, we do not include the names of our members or their picture, unless they specifically request us to do so.

Thank you for the daily winter support. So beautiful and just what this CPTSD sufferer needs. I need to know I am not alone in this battle. Thank you for caring and for your care! Just felt like I had to say thank you because I know what you all do takes a ton of time and effort! I am grateful your foundation exists. xo.” 

Thank you for the connection you provide and the daily calls, they are incredibly helpful and rewarding. The group environment is so welcoming and supportive in a way I haven’t experienced before.” 

“The daily calls are helping me to take better care of myself and have boundaries. How to recognize safe people and unsafe people and receive encouragement and support that I do not get otherwise. They help me recognize I am not alone in my feelings and thoughts.” 

“It’s so amazing having the book club, I find reading triggering a lot of the time but I follow along and get so much from the content anyway. Also, the community aspect is so lovely and Sabra has such a wonderful way about herself; gentle, compassionate, funny, modest, and humble. Sooooo bright and knowledgeable and easy to follow.” 

I feel very fortunate to at long last be in a support group that is specifically for survivors of CPTSD and run by survivors of CPTSD. Your contributions make a huge difference and I feel strongly that peer support bridges the gap that is often left by well-meaning professionals who are certainly helpful but simply can not “grok” what it is to be a survivor. To be understood on that level is an incredible gift, thank you.” 

Daily Recovery Support Calls Member

Daily Recovery Support Calls Member

 

“The calls have helped me to gain insight into how trauma affects us and I have learned so much. I am reassured that I’m not alone and others have similar experiences and struggles. I appreciate the validation and encouragement I receive there and has really helped me in my healing journey. I have made new friends and have a safe place to show up on a daily basis.”

“I’ve realized recently just how much my healing has benefited from being on these calls. My heart just swells thinking of all of you because I honestly cannot imagine a more loving, supportive group of people.” 

“I’m so glad and blessed that we have this “Framily. I don’t think I would have made it without this awesome support group.” 

“I absolutely love the book club. Sabra does a wonderful job leading us in discussions that are informative and validating. Plus, she values our opinion, which makes me feel like I’m truly appreciated for who I am. I like the pace of reading through each book, and the notes she creates for us every week.” 

“I love the Daily Calls. I love the topics and the offerings of Athena and Matt. Most of all I love the chat where the members show their trust of each other in sharing what’s going on with them and the positive support from everyone. I feel like I belong, and that is new to me. I trust enough to share, and the support I receive has changed me, contributed to my inner peace, my hope, and my ability to give support to the others.”

“My FRAMILY is amazing. You all are amazing and inspiring. I truly love all everyone on the calls and thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me heal through this community.”

“It gives me great relief to know I can come every Saturday and get help with healing from Narcissistic Abuse.”

“There is nothing else out there like this! Joining a committed, compassionate group of survivors, every single day, has been my biggest act of self-compassion.”

“These calls have changed my life. I feel encouraged every time I join my “framily” on a daily call. I know I’m supported, and I feel comfortable in sharing my struggles.”

The calls have catapulted me forward in my recovery in multiple ways. I now have an anchor that is reliable, consistent, encouraging, educational, safe and soul-enriching. There are still tough days but I no longer get stuck in isolation for long periods of time. I know the calls are there for me even if I only sit and listen. It has become a sacred space for me to return to again and again. This is new for me, I’ve never experienced this before. Home. It is what I imagine ‘home’ to feel like. So grateful!!!!!.”

“I love this group! I know I don’t talk much, but every time I’m here I find myself nodding in agreement and understanding all of the time, and quietly celebrating all of your victories.”

“I love the encouraging daily texts, I get one right after lunch at work every day, and some days I really need it..”

“Personally, I consider Athena to be my guide and Sherpa as I climbed my Mt. Everest of problems related to my family of origin and childhood trauma that seeped into current, everyday life. What a difference she has made in my healing and ability to fully live my life. She truly is a guide and if one knows anything about the role of a Sherpa, they have climbed the mountain themselves before and now climb alongside you; they are not at the bottom cheering you on, they are right next to you and know what you are going through, your potential, and what you can overcome. A Sherpa also knows there isn’t just one route to the top and Athena has helped me find my unique route and stays with me as it changes and evolves along the way. It is this kind of shared experience and credibility that sets her apart from any other coach or therapist I have worked with. 

I think the accountability of the book club has been beneficial. I do read a lot of books on my own, but book club gives me a sense of “showing up for class” that feels productive, but also supported.

The healing book club has been such a blessing. It is very meaningful and I feel that I have established true, authentic connections. It’s comforting to have a designated space each week that’s safe, normalizing, educational, and secure. Thank you for this incredible resource!

meditation classes

“The meditation classes have helped me connect with the sensations in my body. I am in trauma counseling that involves somatic release. Meditation has helped me become aware and feel my body sensations. It helps me connect with myself.

Improved sleep time when I meditate before going to bed. More focus and calmness if I meditate before going to EMDR therapy/sessions (specifically when trying to reprocess a very painful memory). Overall sense of serenity has increased.

I noticed huge immediate effects after just the first day. I had new insights about internal parts, unburdening of parts, decreased food cravings. I am better able to handle challenges with other people. The benefits are so clear I want to do the meditation, and this is after decades of using other meditation techniques without anything close to these results. Thank you.

“For the first time in my life, I can actually say that I feel spoiled because they do so much to help us. Thank you so much! The way I have always felt I deserved to be treated came from these groups so I cannot thank you enough. I found the family I spent my childhood dreaming about.”

“I love spending my evenings with everyone. I look forward to it every night.”

“I never realized how helpful these calls could be. I’m so glad I decided to join, and take a chance on myself. I learn so much, and always feel validated when I have the opportunity to join a call.”

The Daily Calls are my safe refuge for each day. Participating in them live is one of my daily goals. The subject matter of each call is important to me, I want to soak it all in every night. What helps me even more is the interaction with the other members in the chatbox. Offering and being offered compassion for our various personal struggles is helping me to build strong listening and intimacy skills. That is very key to my own issues with the outer critic constantly ruining my life in the past and present. Pete Walker recommends building intimacy skills to manage the outer critic, along with mindfulness. I’ve been working on those parallel paths since late May 2020, with your help. And I’m noticing a positive difference. Thank you so much.”

I love having the opportunity to support others- the mutual support and the love received and given is extraordinary. It’s only been a month and I’ve already seen a shift- I find myself feeling HAPPY, CONNECTED, and little more HOPEFUL than I ever have been before. It has been such a transformative experience! I am grateful to be here and ecstatic to have the opportunity to help one another heal. I LOVE MY FRAMILY! 🙂.” 

My healing has been greatly impacted by this ‘community’ of peers who offer me a place to be seen, heard, understood, and accepted..” 

“This group and book club has been really resourceful for me. I wanted to share that it has been really eye-opening for me in a way that honestly I didn’t expect… It’s also has been insightful in my healing journey.” 

I feel safer inside knowing the past calls are available at any time and I feel less alone knowing I can join a call today if needed.

I don’t feel like an alien anymore. I always felt invisible until I came into this community. I am so relieved to know I am not alone. Members all support each other, we all seem to be each other’s cheerleaders- feels good when everyone celebrates another members win, and these “wins” may be small or may seem “small” to the outside world but to us, it’s truly something to be proud of.”

“Athena has a unique mix of talents: intuitive coach, off-the-charts amazing listener, an expert in trauma and its varied, insidious effects, and a visionary for her foundation whose services are desperately needed in the world today. I am more optimistic about the future knowing that her vast knowledge and skills, through this foundation, will not only reach those with CPTSD symptoms but also will prevent traumas from occurring in the first place. “

Would You Share Your Experience?

We would love to hear from you on how CPTSD Foundation has helped you in your healing journey.