Stacey Hannigan (she/her)

Mindfulness-based exercises and tools help us to return to our bodies and to the present. When we feel anxious, overwhelmed, scared, flooded, triggered, or panicked, we lose track of both. Learning how to bring our awareness back to the here and now, and into our physical bodies can help us feel more grounded and secure.

"Trauma" is less about the event or pattern and more about our experience of it. Many trauma responses feel awful and confusing, but are actually protective responses meant to ensure our survival. Understanding our trauma responses and their root causes can help facilitate resolution and healing.

Often when we have a traumatic experience, the memories of it get stuck in our minds in a way that causes us to feel we are reliving it whenever we think about it. This then reinforces negative thoughts and messages connected to the event, and can strengthen behaviors and choices that work against us as we try to function day to day. EMDR therapy can help to desensitize these memories so that they can be experienced as past events who no longer dictate our lives.

Abuse of any kind leaves lasting, and often invisible, wounds. When untreated, these wounds get passed through generations and spread through relationships despite our best attempts to stop the cycle on our own. If you are taking steps to actively heal your own wounds, you are not only healing yourself, but honoring the generations both before and after you, and protecting the relationships surrounding you now.

Abuse of any kind leaves lasting, and often invisible, wounds. When untreated, these wounds get passed through generations and spread through relationships despite our best attempts to stop the cycle on our own. If you are taking steps to actively heal your own wounds, you are not only healing yourself, but honoring the generations both before and after you, and protecting the relationships surrounding you now.

PTSD can look very different for everyone. It might look like not trusting anyone, never feeling like you can fully relax, or feeling like you have intense reactions that don't even make sense to you. But when we begin to understand that our symptoms are often protective responses meant to keep us safe, we can begin to approach ourselves with more curiosity and grace, and less judgement. Trauma fractures our relationship with ourselves, so this is where healing begins as well.

Survivors of intimate partner violence often experience deep, relational trauma. This can lead to significant anxiety and self doubt, making it hard to trust yourself and your gut/instincts. When this happens, attempts to protect ourselves can sometimes make us more vulnerable. I can help you understand your experiences, your responses, and learn to trust yourself again.

Survivors of intimate partner violence often experience deep, relational trauma. This can lead to significant anxiety and self doubt, making it hard to trust yourself and your gut/instincts. When this happens, attempts to protect ourselves can sometimes make us more vulnerable. I can help you understand your experiences, your responses, and learn to trust yourself again.

Survivors of intimate partner violence often experience deep, relational trauma. This can lead to significant anxiety and self doubt, making it hard to trust yourself and your gut/instincts. When this happens, attempts to protect ourselves can sometimes make us more vulnerable. I can help you understand your experiences, your responses, and learn to trust yourself again.

Sometimes you wish you could crawl out of your own skin. Your thoughts are on non-stop repeat, either obsessively replaying an interaction that's already happened or rehearsing for one that hasn't happened yet, and the usual distractions are not distracting enough. You wish you understood why your brain works like this and desperately need some new skills to get through the day. I can help with both.

Depression is a liar, telling you that you are worthless and unloveable. It can be subtle, sneaking its way into your relationships and becoming a barrier to your goals. Or it can be really obvious, making it feel like just getting out of bed or taking a shower requires more energy than you could possibly dredge up. Together, we'll work on finding root causes, working through things are making it worse, and giving you some new ways to cope.