Healing Through Action

New mothers with mobility-limiting disabilities face many obstacles that can increase the risk of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Isolation, disconnection, exhaustion, lack of accessibility for services, and discrimination are just a few factors that can contribute to this. Many people assume that women with disabilities don’t want children, but this is just not true. My blog this week talks more about this.

It’s okay to have more than one feeling at once. #mentalhealth #acceptance #feelings #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #creationsofa4yearold

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. So many women stay silent about the pain and grief they experience when they need support, not just at the beginning of their loss but years later. As women, we have the power to hold each other up and listen to the stories of those in pain. #pregnancyandinfantlossawarenessmonth #perinatalmentalhealth #maternalmentalhealth #nowomanalone #momtherapist

Playback Theatre is an amazing way to share feelings and stories that are reflected back, creating validation for our lived experiences. As a member of People’s Playback, we continue to perform virtual shows in order to create space for people in our audience to feel seen and heard through the use of improvisation. Won’t you join us October 25th! #peoplesplayback #theatre #improv #healing #virtualtheatre #connection #community

Today is World Mental Health Day. Along with the COVID-19 crisis, we are seeing a mental health crisis. People are experiencing increased anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. Too many feel isolated and alone. It is more important than ever to seek out support. There is no need for shame when there is scientific evidence that therapy can help. I tell my clients that I will hold hope for them until they can hold it for themselves. May you hold hope today. May you ask for help. May you support those seeking help. May you continue to fight the stigma. #worldmentalhealthday2020 #mentalhealth #talktherapy #creativeartstherapy #dramatherapy #momtherapist #perinatalmentalhealth #maternalmentalhealth

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. My heart goes out to Chrissy Teigen & John Legend and all who have been through pregnancy and infant loss. There is no wrong way to grieve.

Happy Autumn! Another time of change has arrived. How can we create meaning with the changes that come our way? #fallequinox #mentalhealth #momtherapist #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #leavesoflove

Maternal and infant death rates are significantly higher for women in the Black community. These disparities are an atrocity! We need to learn to listen, to examine our own biases, to stop the deaths of innocent Black lives. Please listen to Brittany. Please hear her.

I have been hearing many stories of, on one hand I am feeling_____, on the other hand I am feeling_______. While there are many obstacles we are all facing, there are also victories over these obstacles. Focusing on these victories help us in cultivating resilience. #resilience #mentalhealth #narrativetherapy #dramatherapy #narradrama #creativeartstherapy #momtherapist

When I think about the amount of women who needlessly suffer with Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders because they don't seek help, my heart breaks. I have worked with so many moms that are able to find hope and recover more quickly than they expected. Recovery is possible with treatment!

Mental Mental Health Awareness Week!

We can redirect our focus in so many ways. Noticing a part of the body that feels pleasant, looking at a picture that brings us a sense of calm or joy, looking up and noticing the colors, sounds and smells in our periphery. Perhaps thinking of a simple but lovely moment during the weekend. Taking several minutes a day to focus on what is pleasant helps to support our parasympathetic nervous system to decrease stress as well as increasing our neuroplasticity. Our bodies are marvelous in supporting us. #somatictherapy #mentalhealth #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #simplejoys #momtherapist #resilience

This is a lemon tree we bought a few months ago. We forgot to water it and we thought it was dead. We still haven’t watered it, but it has sprung back to life. I guess you never know what will happen. Life hasn’t given me lemons yet, but I know that eventually I’ll be able to make lemonade. #growth #renew #nevergiveup #throughwintercomesspring #mentalhealth #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #momtherapist

Moms already take on a disproportionate amount of the mental load. This pandemic is exacerbating that. Whatever is felt will be magnified. Let yourself cry. Let yourself laugh. Getting it out is more helpful than keeping it in. You are not a pillar of strength - hard and inflexible. You are an ocean of amazement - some days clear and some days stormy; riding the waves to shore. #momtherapist #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #mentalhealth #wellness #resilience #wewillgetthroughthistogether #momtribe

As everyone continues to Zoom along, it’s important to deeply listen. It can be harder to do this virtually when we can’t read the body language or feel the energy of our friends and family. But we can continue to connect emotionally despite social distancing. It just may take a little more effort. It’s a skill we can take with us even after the world opens up again. I hear you. I see you. #resilience #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #mentalhealth #socialdistanceconnection #wellness

My TeleHealth office aka my home inside my home. In practicing gratitude, I am grateful for my home office as I know I am privileged to have a dedicated and confidential space to continue caring for my clients. I’m grateful that my clients have been open to the transition, especially since transitions can be so hard for so many. It can be hard to find gratitude in a world full of uncertainty. This is why it’s a process and not a destination. #gratitude #mentalhealth #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #TeleHealthTherapy #momtherapy #momtherapist

Elaine is an amazing woman that I have had the honor of learning the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM) from. This somatic approach to trauma has been instrumental in supporting the resilience of those with community and individual trauma. I feel so grateful that I have been able to work with the creator of this model to further support my clients both in my office and through TeleHealth. Trauma lives in the body; somatic work helps to restore. Healing is possible. #traumaresiliency #mentalhealth #somatictherapy #momtherapist #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy