Understanding Narcissism: Why We Shouldn’t Villainize or Pathologize It By:  Jennifer Youdom, LCSW-C EMDRIA Consultant In Training   The term “narcissism” has become another buzz word these days, often wielded as an insult or shorthand for selfishness and manipulation. This caricature of narcissism paints a simplistic, villainous picture that can influence how we, as therapists, view and work with clients who exhibit narcissistic traits. But the uncomfortable truth is narcissism, as with most mental health terms and diagnoses we use in our field, lies on a spectrum.    In f ..read more

Mindfulness in Trauma Healing: How Mindfulness Practices Support Mental Health Recovery By:  Jennifer Youdom, LCSW-C EMDRIA Consultant In Training Mindfulness comes from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions of sati and meditation techniques, and in recent decades has emerged as a transformative tool in the world of mental health, especially when it comes to healing trauma wounds.    The effects of trauma include disconnection from one’s body, emotional dysregulation, and a pervasive sense of shame. Trauma disrupts a person’s ability to feel safe within their own body and mind. Surv ..read more

By:  Amanda Coval, MSW, LCSW EMDR Certified, EMDR Consultant in Training Honoring Women's History Month: Empowering Stories and Mental Health Insights March is a time to celebrate women’s achievements and address challenges they face, including mental health—an area where empowerment and understanding are crucial for positive change. Women, Mental Health, and History Historically, women’s mental health concerns were dismissed and stigmatized. Terms like “hysteria” invalidated genuine issues, and societal norms discouraged seeking help. Today, advocacy and research, much of it led by women ..read more

By:  Cheyenne Bowman, LCPC EMDR Trained The Impact of Attachment Trauma As a clinician, I have grown to love the nuances and complexity of treating attachment trauma. It is a type of trauma that is ingrained in our everyday life and has such a profound impact on the trajectory of our life and our satisfaction with it. Humans are wired for connection… So what happens when our first connections in life are less than ideal? We may find ourselves struggling with familial relationships, friendships, romantic relationships, and even professional relationships. Even though the dynamics of each o ..read more

By:  Shari Kim, Ph.D. Member of Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative Former Chair of  Human Trafficking Subcommittee, Pennsylvania Psychological Association Former Chair of Behavioral Health Workgroup, York County Human Trafficking Task Force  Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry harming millions of people worldwide.  Thriving in the shadows, it survives solely by our lack of ability to recognize it when it is right in front of us. Most people think of human trafficking as people snatching young children in a scary white van, bringing people in fro ..read more

By:  Callie Hildreth LCSW-C, LCSW EMDR Trained Top Trauma Therapy Techniques for 2024: New Approaches in EMDR, IFS, and Somatic Therapy Trauma therapy has come a long way in recent years, with more diverse, evidence-based techniques emerging to help individuals heal from the impact of past experiences. As we approach 2024, trauma therapy is becoming increasingly innovative, combining traditional practices with new approaches that focus on the mind-body connection, emotional processing, and subconscious healing. Three therapeutic modalities that are gaining traction for their effectiv ..read more

By:  Shari Kim, Ph.D EMDRIA Consultant  There is no official diagnosis for Complex PTSD, so it is easy for us to become confused about the nature of complex trauma. Social media provides us with conflicting and often erroneous information about diagnoses surrounding trauma, making us even more confused. Hopefully this information will help make things clear. Complex trauma is defined as a series of traumatic events compiling onto one another.  For example, people who undergo repeated physical abuse or domestic violence over a period of years have experienced complex trauma. We c ..read more

Cheyenne Bowman, LCPC Everyone experiences dissociation at some point in their life, to varying degrees. Dissociation is a complex and unique response that our brain has to trauma. If a client is coming to you with this as a presenting concern, their dissociative symptoms may be interfering with important areas of functioning. That does not mean, however, that dissociation is not a powerful coping skill that may have served them at some point in life. The more we can understand dissociation and what causes it, the better able we can spot it happening, work to ground ourselves, and even begin t ..read more

Crystal L. Rainey, LCPC EMDRIA Consultant Little humans experience trauma too! Children and adolescents are resilient, but this does not mean they are immune to developing PTSD. They process differently than adults which means symptoms may present differently as well. These differences can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis and less effective treatment. Diagnostic Criteria The DSM-5-TR requires the presence of the following: Exposure, intrusive symptoms, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Duration of symptoms is more than one month, b ..read more

By:  Amanda Covalt, LCSW EMDRIA Consultant Window of Tolerance Window of Tolerance is the window in which one can tolerate distressing emotions and use coping skills effectively. Distress can be subjective and some people cannot tolerate positive and/or negative emotions so when they experience these emotions, they become outside their window of tolerance. This window is important when performing trauma work because when one is outside their window of tolerance they are unable to process or cope with distressing emotions and memories. It is often necessary to take time for preparation pri ..read more