19 results for tag: Healing from Trauma


Indie Reader Book Review – RAISED BY WOLVES, POSSIBLY MONSTERS

Indie Reader Book Review by Edward Sung

IR Rating: 4.7

Raw, compassionate, and perceptive, Michael Swerdloff's memoir RAISED BY WOLVES, POSSIBLY MONSTERS is a vital excavation of toxic masculinity's rot—and an urgent call for individual and cultural transformation.
October 9, 2024
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Help Someone Going Through A Crisis, Use These 7 Words

When somebody is going through a crisis, many people respond by trying to fix their problem and solve it without considering the person and their current experience. Typically, the person in crisis is not ready to "fix" the situation. First, they need some attention. A crisis can activate the nervous system, which makes it hard to self-regulate. Co-regulation can be a wonderful gift to anyone experiencing a crisis. In the article below from NPR, Kelly Corrigan maps out an excellent and incredibly simple method of offering support to anyone in crisis....

Accepting New Reiki Counseling Clients!

Reiki counseling is a system my teacher designed for working with people through challenging and deep-seated issues. What makes it so effective is the combination of the loving and supportive energy of Reiki, helping somebody move to a slow enough brain rhythm that their inner resistance becomes less of an obstacle. Reiki also creates a safe enough container for us to work on issues that traditional therapy/counseling, bodywork, and many other modalities are not able to access in just a few sessions....

The World Needs More Healers—Not More Flakes.

This morning, Elephant Journal published one of my articles, The World Needs More Healers—Not More Flakes,  and it is an editor's Pick of The Week! Here is an excerpt from The World Needs More Healers—Not More Flakes.:   I don’t know how this came to be, but somehow the new age community thinks that one has to be a flake in order to be a healer. "I can tell you with complete certainty one can be a healer, shaman, teacher, or Reiki Master without being a flake. The shift toward flakiness is curious. I am grateful that the dogmatic version of spirituality and religion has expanded and shifted. We have included love and joy and ...

How I Got Sober and What I Now Know About the Impacts of Alcohol

How I got sober in September of 1989 was incredibly anti-climactic. Nothing was particularly awful or special about when or how I got sober. It was a Monday night, three days before I went for an alcohol assessment. I wanted to "beat the test," so I stopped drinking in advance to prove that I was n0t an alcoholic. I know; it's pretty funny, actually. Even though I have been clean and sober since September 11, 1989 (Yes. September 11th, but twelve years before THAT September 11th), my recovery has four separate phases.

How I Got Sober - Phase One

The first phase was short-lived. I was going to an outpatient program four nights per week and AA/NA meetings the other days. I hated all of it, was not interested in what they had to offer, and was only complying to prove to my girlfriend at the time and her therapist that I was not an alcoholic. I still chuckle when I think about it. That phase came to an end when I freaked out, drove my car over 100mph, passed a cop, had that cop pull me over and approach my car with his rifle pointed at me, and a whole lot of drama during the following twenty-four hours that lead to me being locked up in an in-patient mental hospital while "sober"....

9 Things your Therapist wants you to Know

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this essay on things your therapist wants you to know! As a counselor, I often want to share many of the elements the author describes below. Many people make assumptions about therapists and counselors and what we know, don't know, or what we are like when we are not meeting with clients. I tend to chuckle when folks assume that I am someone who goes to bed early, gets up at dawn to meditate, and rarely if ever, goes out and comes home late at night, which I often do! Therapists and counselors are rarely shocked by your experiences or traumas. For someone like me, who has been doing this since 1993, I have been present with folks sharing their experiences, challenges, and obstacles for a long time. I have also experienced plenty in my own life. I am ready for whatever your particular brand of mess or chaos is. We all have messes in our lives!...

Are You Really Being Accountable?

In the last handful of years, there has been an increased focus on accountability and taking responsibility for our actions. I have really appreciated the energy and attention to wanting to do and be better, primarily birthed by Gen Z and Millennials. It’s about time! But are we truly being accountable, or are we just telling people what we’ve done wrong and why we did it? I invite you to read the full article on being accountable, including the steps to cleaning up mistakes here: Are you really being accountable? Being responsible and accountable is about changing our behaviors, and the patterns that create them. It’s not about ...