The Benefit of Shame

Shame is the feeling or belief that we are somehow flawed and unworthy of love and belonging. If we are capable of connection and empathy, we are vulnerable to shame. It is a common human experience. Unlike guilt, which is the conviction that I did something bad, shame is the feeling that I am bad. … Continue reading The Benefit of Shame

Understanding EMDR Therapy

What is EMDR? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is “an integrative psychotherapy approach that has been extensively researched and proven effective for the treatment of trauma. EMDR is a set of standardized protocols that incorporates elements from many different treatment approaches” (www.emdria.org). EMDR essentially makes traumatic material less powerful. For example, if you … Continue reading Understanding EMDR Therapy

Why is Healing so Hard?

The primary function of our brain, to put simply, is to survive. This requires physical safety. This also requires an element of emotional and psychological safety (otherwise suicide would not be as prevalent as it is). As discussed before we are innately wired with the capabilities to survive very difficult things. But if the threat … Continue reading Why is Healing so Hard?