A note to all who feel empty inside There’s a lot of talk in the mental health community about holding space. To “hold space” for someone involves listening or being present in a nonjudgmental way. The goal is to help someone feel seen and heard.  The term is appealing with its imagery. When I am […]

Book launch edition I love my job. I get to help lots of humans with big, human things. But sometimes my downstairs brain gets loud. Last month marked my eighth time (what!!??? How can that be?) sharing a precious book baby of mine out into the world, and I have noticed some patterns. 2-3 months […]

Sadness is a complicated, vulnerable emotion.  Feeling sad is uncomfortable for most people, it seems, even though it is an integral part of the human experience. When sadness is related to the deep, confusing grief of childhood trauma or other ambiguous losses–all the things Hallmark doesn’t make cards for–it can be even more difficult to […]

Here’s the magic of understanding our senses. Joe (real person but not his real name) was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and was in counseling by age 6. Over the next 3 years, various psychologists and therapists taught him and his parents every tool they had to help calm his anxiety and reduce his meltdowns. […]