In recent weeks, our nation has once again witnessed evidence of racial bias in its institutions. Between shootings of African-American men by police in Baton Rouge and Minnesota, contentious social media debates, and scenes in television shows such as Orange Is The New Black, we see examples of the ways that African-American people in particular experience racism through devaluation and often violence.
Read MoreJessica Jones uses the universe of the superheros and villains to explore the concepts of rape, stalking, gaslighting, empowerment, and consent with remarkable success.
Read MoreI have been trained in EMDR since 2011 and have found it to be a successful therapy in helping my clients move through their dysregulation from trauma and anxiety. I often get asked about EMDR, as it looks different from traditional talk therapy. Here are a few of the Frequently Asked Questions I often hear about EMDR
Read MoreTrigger Alert
Most people would say that they want to support victims of sexual violence, but some incidents of sexual violence reported on in recent years have been met with mixed responses and a less-than-unified front in supporting victims. I explore these public instances of response to sexual violence
Read More
In the last post, I explored the criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Next, let’s look at the types of treatments that are available to treat PTSD.
Read MoreWe are seeing a lot more about Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the media in recent years, particularly as more and more military personnel are returning from combat and as our culture is recognizing the traumatic impacts of physical, emotional, and sexual violence. This increase in awareness and the available treatments for PTSD is largely positive and will help lower the stigma or messages that one should “just get over” a traumatic event, allowing more people to receive treatment and alleviate suffering.
Read MoreIn my first two blog posts on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we explored how the show portrays symptoms of trauma and resiliency. In this post, we will look at Kimmy's recovery and how her process depicts what survivors may face during their own journeys.
Read MoreIn the first blog post on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we looked at the impact of trauma on the character of Kimmy. This second post shifts to exploring ways Kimmy exemplifies resiliency and posttraumatic growth.
Read MoreIn March, Netflix released the first season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, an original series created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. I would probably watch anything involving Tina Fey and actress Ellie Kemper (who plays Kimmy Schmidt), so I settled in without knowing much about the plot of the series.
Read MoreDr. Irina Diyankova is a friend and colleague who is providing valuable therapy services to survivors of trauma in Knoxville, Tennessee. She recently wrote the following blog post about the high activation and disconnection
Read More
The symptoms of anxiety or effects of trauma can take up a lot of mental and physical space in the body. As humans, our attention goes to these areas of pain or discomfort. This is adaptive in some ways (for instance, you need to notice pain that lets you know that you are in immediate danger), but it is problematic when the attention chronically goes to areas of unease.
Read More