When the Rush of Summer Fades and the Hush of Fall Begins
There’s a sacred kind of transition that happens when summer starts to loosen its grip. The frantic pace of long days, packed calendars, family obligations, vacations, heat, and constant motion begins to soften. The evenings cool. The sunlight changes. The trees start preparing to let go. And if we’re paying attention, something […]
When The Branch Falls: What Comes After Letting Go
In my last blog post, The Temperature of the Wounded Healer: When the Tree Self-Regulates (And We Don’t), I talked about the day I learned of nature’s natural “shedding” process. I received such a wonderful response from this article that I felt like I needed to do a follow-up. When the Branch […]
The Temperature of the Wounded Healer: When the Tree Self-Regulates (And We Don’t)
Heat refuses to stay outside. It seeps into our moods, our meals, our patience, and our plans. It perfectly mimics the internal climate of our nervous systems, specifically, how we navigate our emotions when our environments, our clients, and our communities are collectively burning up. It has been exceptionally […]
Silence Is Not Neutral: More Reflections on Truth and Repair
Last week, you may have read my takeaways from the transformational book by Judith L. Herman called Truth and Repair. As both a clinician who works with those who have been harmed and those who have caused harm—and as a woman who has lived trauma beginning at age eleven with sexual assault […]
From Repair to Prevention: Rethinking How We Care for Mental Health
“We have spent years treating harm after the fact; our future is dedicated to ensuring the harm never happens at all.” This quote stopped me in my tracks. I was in the middle of applying for a grant, and it was simply one of the pieces of information I was sharing about […]
When Springtime Feels Hard Instead of Hopeful
In my last blog post, I mentioned how the transition from a bleak, cold winter to a warm and sunny spring can lift people’s spirits. Spring is often described as a season of renewal, with longer days. Warmer air. A sense that life is waking up again. But for many people, spring […]
Spring as a Gentle Reminder: Light, Hope, and the Nervous System
There’s a subtle shift that happens each spring. The light lingers a little longer. The air softens. The world begins to wake up—slowly, quietly, without urgency. For many people, this seasonal change can bring a noticeable lift in mood. Not a sudden happiness or a cure-all, but a gentle easing. A […]
Lines of Communication: Finding My Father’s Legacy in a Hollywood Story
On February 2, 2026, Belmont, North Carolina, slowed to a near standstill. Snow covered the roads, appointments were rescheduled for the safety of my clients, and suddenly I found myself with something I don’t often get—an unexpected day of rest at home with my daughter. The timing felt meaningful for another reason, […]
It’s Not That Hard to be Kind
Kindness often gets framed as something extraordinary, something reserved for big moments, big gestures, or especially generous people. But the truth is much simpler: kindness is usually quiet, ordinary, and available to all of us every single day. It’s not that hard to be kind.What’s hard is remembering to choose […]
“I Want Nothing From You.” What a Colleague Taught Me About True Support
As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I spend a lot of time living in the how-to of mental health. Assessments. Interventions. Evidence-based models. All of it matters. But today, while attending a Safer Society webinar on improving solution-focused techniques in suicide prevention, I was reminded of something both simpler and far more powerful: […]
