The impact of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) on sexual development is significant and often overlooked. While many treatment models focus on symptom reduction—managing anxiety, depression, or dysregulation—it's just as important to address how trauma shapes an individual’s relationship to their body, intimacy, and sexuality. When therapy fails to address this domain, many people continue to struggle despite making meaningful therapeutic progress in other areas

A striking pattern shows up in families impacted by childhood trauma: the person who seeks therapy is often the only one who ever does. In many cases, it’s just one individual across multiple generations who chooses to examine what happened. That person is rarely “typical” within their family system. More often, they are wired differently—sensitive and emotional—and that difference is part of why they felt the impact of their environment so deeply in the first place.

Processing Grief through The Stages of Alchemical Transformation

At its most fundamental level, everything is energy. Our bodies, our breath, our thoughts, our cells, and even our emotional states are made up of constantly moving and interacting systems. When we begin to view emotions through this lens, we can understand them not as personal failures or fixed traits, but as temporary energetic states that influence how we experience ourselves, others, and the world around us.

We can stop self-sabotaging when we build awareness of internal drivers. Using the framework presented in Internal Family Systems, we utilize partswork as a means to embrace Self-leadership and stop the vicious cycle of self-sabotage.

The trauma repetition compulsion is the unconscious drive to recreate past painful experiences, often in relationships, behaviors, or emotional responses. The nervous system seeks familiarity - even when it’s harmful - because we conflate predictability with control and familiarity with safety. With awareness and identification of your patterns, there is a strategic way to stop these behaviors and make meaningful, adaptive change.

Emotional triggers can come from many sources—both internal (thoughts, memories, past experiences) and external (places, interactions, tones of voice). A trigger sparks an intense emotional or physical reaction, often regardless of your current mood. Learn about important techniques that can help you regulate your body and emotions so you can take meaningful action from a calm and centered place.

Fear is a primal and necessary emotion of survival. When triggered, the body is perceiving stimuli , whether internal (your own thoughts!) or external (your boss's email), as a threat to your safety. Grounding techniques that calm the body first are an effective way to reduce the experience of fear and anxiety.

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is the cornerstone for individuals seeking a path to healing at Sensing the Self. This compassionate approach centers on creating an environment that prioritizes safety, trust, and validation. When dealing with challenging emotional experiences, understanding your trauma can become the first step toward profound mental health enhancement.

Heart-brain coherence refers to a state where the heart and brain's rhythms synchronize, leading to improved physical, mental and emotional well-being. This coherent state broadcasts an elevated vibration that is a vital component in manifesting external. circumstances

The subcortical brain and autonomic nervous system work in tandem to keep us safe in the face of threat, perceived or actual. With physical threat, we rely on the fight, flight, freeze response to activate and keep us physically safe (think of the proverbial lion creeping through the grass of the Serengeti about to attack a gazelle. In a split second, the gazelle activates to either fight back, run away, or freeze in the hope that the lion will lose interest in the attack).

Healing trauma requires that we approach our early childhood experiences with curiosity and compassion to contextualize our experience and work towards understanding and healing.

The Expanding Container is a simple exercise I created that combines somatic awareness and breathwork with a visualization component. It's an invitation to strengthen the mind-body connection and learn how to get "comfortable with discomfort."

In trauma therapy, it’s tempting to get excessively focused on the trauma itself. But overly identifying with what happened to you can keep you stuck in the past and the familiarity of that painful story. Change requires 1. the courage to let go of the old, 2. the flexibility and adaptability to pivot, and 3. the creativity to envision a new future. It’s important to place the appropriate emphasis where it belongs: a balanced approach helps us provide the deliberate and compa

Inner child work is a therapeutic process of exploring your childhood experiences and how they influence your present-day thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This work intentionally seeks to reconnect with, understand, and heal the younger, vulnerable parts of oneself shaped by early life experiences.

The journey to the mountaintop originated as a modern Zen proverb reminding us that peace is an internal state, not a destination. It is a profound reminder that we cannot escape ourselves by changing our environment. The mountain simply reflects what is already hosted within your mind, body, and spirit.

People tend to come to therapy when certain behaviors have become problematic. True change starts when we explore deeper into what's motivating these actions. Only until we look at our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, experiences and the meaning we have been making can we transform from within.

It is common for people to experience discomfort over the uncertainty of the future. We are inherently vulnerable creatures who need safety for survival. We often avoid change due to fear of the unknown; people conflate familiarity with safety to mitigate the discomfort of change. Our ability to embrace uncertainty is the key to reducing anxiety. Your power lies in focusing on what is within your control.

Psychotherapy is often seen as a last resort, a place people go when they feel overwhelmed or lost. However, it can be a powerful tool for personal growth and transformation. Many individuals find that engaging in therapy not only helps them navigate their current challenges but also equips them with skills to handle future obstacles. This blog post explores how psychotherapy can profoundly change lives for the better, offering insights into its benefits, methods, and real-li

Psychotherapy is often seen as a mysterious process, shrouded in misconceptions and stigma. Many people may wonder what happens during therapy sessions or whether it can truly help them. In reality, psychotherapy is a powerful tool for healing and personal growth. This blog post will explore what psychotherapy is, the various types available, its benefits, and how to find the right therapist for you. What is Psychotherapy? Psychotherapy, often referred to as talk therapy, is