Journaling is one of my favorite ways to let the unconscious mind speak to us. It’s a moment, or moments, that allow us to sit with ourselves in the some of the deepest truths we can access. I invite you to grab your favorite journal and writing instrument to explore the following journal prompts around […]

Dear Friend, What a wild ride 2022 has been. As I look back on the year, I’m filled with gratitude for the good, the bad and the ugly. In preparing for the new year I wanted to share some numerology aspects and some of my personal favorite reflections to close out the year and ring […]

Generalized Anxiety Disorder The ninth-grader goes to the health office at school. He tells the school nurse that he can’t breathe. His pulse is racing and he’s sweating profusely. He feels nauseated. The lawyer has a client meeting. It’s not a particularly important meeting, but of a sudden, she begins having chest pains. Both the […]

“Just remember to breathe.” How many times has someone said that to you? And how many times have you thought, “Um, how is it possible to forget to breathe?” It’s easier than you might think. Many times, we get deeply involved in a task. We are laser-focused on finishing that project for work, reading the […]

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was developed by Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., and introduced in 1987 as a treatment for PTSD. Dr. Shapiro is the founder of the EMDR Institute, Inc., in Watsonville, CA. She came upon the idea for EMDR quite by accident. Shapiro, upset by events at school that day, decided to walk […]

In 1944, a film (based on an English play of the same name) was released called “Gaslight.” That movie isn’t very well known, but the term “gaslighting” is famous.  In the movie, a husband tries to make his wife think she is losing her mind. As a teenager, the wife witnessed the murder of a […]

There never seems to be enough time. Before we know it, the demands of life seem to occupy every minute of the day, leaving barely any time for ourselves.  Study after study confirms that self-care is critical to overall health. Yet, most of us fail to take even a little bit of time to focus […]

It’s no secret that African-Americans have been marginalized by society. Though slavery ended with the Civil War, true equality still has not happened. This sad truth has very deep roots.  Numerous studies have found that many descendants of slaves suffer from what is known as intergenerational trauma. Very simply, trauma experienced by their ancestors has […]

Trauma, Redefined. Trauma means different things to different people. For one person, it might mean the aftermath of a violent attack and for another, it might be recognizing toxic patterns playing out from childhood. Then there is every situation in between. When I started my career as a therapist, I was working with gang-affiliated young […]