The Nervous System Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget
Four years ago, I had my first and only near-death experience in which I came very close to running myself over with my own car. (0 out of 0 stars; I do not recommend). Fortunately, I lived to tell the tale, but I was definitely injured, hospitalized, and had some recovery. At the time this happened, I had been a trauma therapist for almost 2 decades. I thoroughly understood the symptomatology of PTSD but had never actually experienced it.
Difficult Conversations in the Therapy Room
We want our clients to feel safe and connected with us. We tend to believe that we should offer unconditional positive regard and support our clients no matter what they’re doing or not doing, because their problems are often rooted in unresolved developmental trauma. We want to be present and attuned, authentic and relational. But this stance can be challenging to maintain with some of our clients or in complicated clinical situations.
I Refuse to be a Nice EMDR Therapist
I have a lot of “nice” clients. And that’s their problem. Hear me out!
As I prepared for my July conversation on Let’s Talk EMDR with EMDRIA (which you can hear in my previous blog post), I started to feel clearer on my clinical stance around supporting all of my clients to differentiate between the potential destructive passivity of being nice versus what it looks like to be kind (to themselves and others). Learning the difference may be one of the most important steps toward real healing.
The Pressure to Be Nice: Women, Boundaries, and EMDR Therapy
This episode explores the complex relationship between women, societal expectations to “be nice,” and how these dynamics show up in the EMDR therapy room. Whether you’re a therapist or a client, we unpack how people-pleasing, boundary-setting, and emotional safety intersect during trauma processing.
Unlocking Healing: The Power of EMDR Therapy
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based and highly effective therapy intervention that assists with healing from traumatic experiences.