Procedural memory, an integral component of our cognitive architecture, plays a crucial role in shaping our behaviors and responses. In the context of trauma treatment, understanding the mechanisms and implications of procedural memory is essential for fostering healing and resilience. The intricacies of procedural memory have profound implications for trauma recovery within the framework of somatic therapies, especially. And it can just be downright interesting to learn abou

Who does not love to be protected? Can you remember a time when someone stuck up for you in public?

Romantic relationships can be hard. Like, really f’ing hard. And it can be so nice to have help given to us in the form of a succinct list.

Psychology Responds to Physiology In my last blog post, I spoke about the way we use addiction as a means of dealing with chronic nervous system dysregulation, aka trauma. When we experience a traumatic event, and find ourselves stuck with too much or too little nervous system charge, something psychologically resourceful happens as a result, and this something deserves attention. Humans are incredibly inventive. We are creators by nature. Each word, movement, and impulse is

If you will indulge me…Take your right hand and begin massaging your left index finger. Start out gently and slowly use more force so that y

I began meditating fifteen years ago, when I was twenty-one. I can remember my first experiences of breath-centered focus quite clearly.

My tween years were filled with adventures, made invaluable by my close-knit and friendly circle. I remember spending a whole summer at an o

You’re a woman in her early thirties, dressed nicely, and on the bus coming home from work. It’s about 7pm, and dusk is arriving. You take y

When I was born, I was given up for adoption. It would take me nearly thirty years to understand how much this has affected me. Speaking as a fellow sufferer and an enthusiastic researcher, I know that developmental trauma comes with challenges not necessarily faced by those enduring adulthood shock trauma. It has taken me nearly five years of working with Somatic Experiencing (SE) to become regulated enough to write such a blog post. In SE and several other forms of somatic

In a recent conversation, my mom asked me why some people become addicted to drugs while others do not. I love when conversations go in a ch

Another reason to do psychotherapy is that we are all fucked up in some ways. Depending on your social situation, privilege, and culture, th

During client-centered therapy, the therapist is absolutely careful not to send the client down a path which is not of their making.