Freedom Corner
Lesley Joy Ritchie on Parenting and Attachment
The healing begins to occur when we can replace the maladaptive self-soothing or reactive parenting response with an attuned and connective response of affirming feelings and meeting needs.
Barbara Tantrum on Foster Care and Adoption
For children with trauma, emotional expression can often feel unsafe – for many kids the only thing they can express is anger. Other emotions feel too vulnerable, so any strong emotion that they feel ends up coming out as anger.
Lydia Peckover on art and play therapy, EMDR and DBT skills
Brain scans have shown more activity in the brain when using creativity, art, music, and movement than when a person is using speech alone. Our brain naturally wants to help us heal, we might as well allow more areas of the brain to participate in therapy!
Bethany Hendrickson on the Intersection Between Survivors and Perpetrators of Violence
The cycle of violence continues until it is broken, and for many people it begins in childhood – witnessing violence between their parents, being targeted for abuse within the family, or even just
Tyler Ziebarth on Trauma and Our Innate Desire for Growth
This is a deep belief that I hold: we all have an innate drive towards growth and development. Our natural movement is towards wholeness and “largeness”, that is, occupying a larger sense of who we are and our worth as individuals.
Ashley Zimmerman on Bodies & Trauma Informed Yoga
Bodies are complex, yet courageous healers; bearing the stories which are yet to be revealed. Bodies wear scars like badges of honor, marking resilience and mastery. The truth of what you’ve endured is woven in the fabric of your being.
Conner Cress on Naming Harm & Renaming our Stories
It’s easy to think of “relationship” as the connection between “another person and I,” or maybe “God and I.” But we often forget our relationship to self. Often this is due to lies spoken over us in the past by caregivers and loved ones
Katya Wojcik speaks on domestic violence, PTSD and learning to trust again
Your voice is one of your biggest assets. It’s this and your experience that can help others to increase their awareness, resiliency, and understanding of what abuse is. Your voice can help others connect with their own experiences.
Dr. Kristie Williams, Silence, Grief, & A Space for Voice
In instances of domestic violence and abuse, silence can deaden or harden the heart of the survivor. The survivor may no longer trust themselves or allow themselves a space for relationship. They may become hyper-vigilant, fearing the possibility of ever having or maintaining safe connections.
Bethany Hiser on Soul Care
At least in popular culture, self-care seems to mean pampering or other activities that we need to add to our lives. In contrast, I see soul care as a deep tuning in and tending to our whole self. It is not necessarily adding activities but reorienting our lives and listening to what our body needs.