During my undergraduate program, in one of my textbooks I read a paragraph that has stuck with me. It talked about self-esteem and how our self-esteem is rooted in our childhood, that if we had a childhood filled with chaos, neglect or abuse that our self-esteem would be low, on the other hand if we […]

The term “trigger’ in psychology has been around for a long time. While there has been a more popular culture explosion of the term, with both positive and negative effects on the original meaning, we still conceptualize triggers as things that can cause intense negative emotions because they remind us of a previous trauma. Post-Traumatic […]

I love to stand up for others, especially when it comes to matters of social justice. It is relatively easy for me to verbalize when I feel someone is being mistreated for the color of their skin, their gender, their sexuality or their social class. But when it comes to myself and those closest to […]

Sometimes when I work with kids (and even adults) who struggle to express their feelings or ask for what they need or want I will say, “You know you best.” Or, “You know yourself better than anyone else.” In other words, “speak up for what you think, feel or need because you know what you […]