She showed up in some shrubs near my carport a few weeks ago, a fleeting ghostly image with a very bold voice. As I would enter and exit my car, she would talk to me loudly as she hid beneath the lorapetalum leaves, eyes eerily shining in the dark. I didn’t know exactly what she […]
Lizard Brain
I’ve had an unusual invasion in my office lately. Lizards. I’ve had lizards in my waiting room, patiently waiting for their turn to be seen. I’ve had lizards in my therapy office, keeping a watchful eye on clients who are distressed. I’ve encouraged more lizards than I’ve ever met before to return to their outdoor […]
The Empathy of Dogs
Those of us who are dog lovers know how cued in and responsive they can be to our emotional state. I’ve been under a great deal of stress the past several weeks and my Nani Girl has been constantly at my side, following me and keeping an eye on me. And yes, while she wants […]
Complex Trauma Doesn’t Have to be a Life Sentence
I first came to hear the term Complex Trauma many years ago when I was trained in Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS), a group model for teens living in chronic stress. Prior to that most of my training in traumatic stress had been around Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. There are […]