This episode explores some of the emotional and cognitive changes that may occur once the perpetrator passes away.  ..read more

Today's episode is all about trauma drives - the experience of feeling ultra-driven to be productive in order to avoid triggers related to past trauma.  ..read more

Today's episode is all about the experience of shame - why feeling shame is common with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, why feeling shame is NOT justified, and what you can do if you can't seem to shake feeling shame.  ..read more

Today I describe the fawn response. Fawning is a stress response that is learned as a child that helps us stay safe. Fawning is when we try to please and appease an abusive authority figure in order to try to prevent harm from coming to us.  Reference: Walker, Pete (2013). Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving. Lafayette: Azure Coyote.  ..read more

Today's episode explores the link between childhood sexual abuse and chronic pain in adulthood.  References: -     Afara N, Ahumada SM, Wright LJ, et al. Psychological trauma and functional somatic syndromes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychosom Med. 2014;76(1):2-11. Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American ..read more

In this episode I discuss dissociation. Dissociation is a symptom that occurs frequently with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, which involves feeling numb, feeling like you're in a dream, and losing chunks of time without realizing it until afterwards.  ..read more

I describe what flashbacks are, and offer some techniques you can try when experiencing flashbacks.  ..read more

In this episode I provide information on Cognitive Processing Therapy and Internal Family Sytems Therapy. I also reference a few other trauma treatments (Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, Accelerated Resolution Therapy, Sensorimotor Therapy, Natural Processing).  References:  Resick, P. A., Monson, C.M., & Chard, K.M. (2017). Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Manual. The Guildford Press.  Schwartz, R., & Sweezy, M. (2021). Internal Family Systems Therapy (2nd Ed). New York, NY: Guildford Press.    ..read more

In this episode I describe what is EMDR (an evidence-based treatment for PTSD), how it works, and what to expect as you go through the therapy.  References: Shapiro, F. (2017). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: Basic principles, protocols and procedures (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guildford Press.  ..read more

In this episode I give an overview of how adverse experiences impact survivors emotionally, cognitively and behaviourally, and provide information on how psychotherapy treats these symptoms.  ..read more