by Susan Smith | Apr 19, 2026 | All Posts, Demystifying Therapy, Susan Smith, Trauma Recovery
When Therapy Feels Like It’s Making Things Worse Susan Smith There are moments in therapy that don’t feel like healing.Often, many of them. They can feel like: more anxiety, not less old memories getting louder emotions stirred up that don’t settle as quickly a sense...
by Cory Degnen | Oct 16, 2025 | All Posts, Cory Degnen, Personal Growth
Confusion is one of the most avoided human experiences—and one of the most essential. We spend so much of life trying to know: to know who we are, what we want, what’s next. Yet being human means not knowing. It means being confused. Somewhere along the way, we lost...
by Joey Tadie | Jun 9, 2025 | EMDR and Trauma Recovery, Joey Tadie, Trauma Recovery
Imagine a young elephant tethered to a stake in the ground by a heavy chain. At first, the elephant resists—pulling, struggling, testing the boundaries. Nevertheless the chain holds firm. Over time, the elephant stops trying, accepting the limits as reality....
by Susan Smith | May 5, 2025 | Internal Family Systems (IFS), Personal Growth, Susan Smith
Editor’s Note: Susan wrote this reflection on a snowy spring day. As we move deeper into the season of growth and light, her words about tending to dark emotions feel even more relevant. On this chilly, snowy day, I find myself revisiting a favorite post on dark...
by Susan Smith | Apr 14, 2025 | Demystifying Therapy, Family Dynamics, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Susan Smith, Trauma Recovery
Mother Hunger is a term coined by Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor Claire Bidwell Smith to describe the deep, insatiable longing for love that arises from a lack of nurturing maternal care. This unmet need can manifest as emotional distress, relational...
