Video Blog: Try an Exercise “Create-a-Day” for Secure Attachment This Spring
Spring is a time for renewal, but it might also be time to try something new for neuroplasticity. I like to call these Create-a-Days where you set aside time to engage in your interests, but you never seem to have time. Create-a-Day could include new recipes, trying new art galleries, planting a garden for the first time. The important thing [...]
Video: Dr. Heller on FoxNews about Trauma Resources after the Boulder Shootings
Colorado therapists, Dr. Diane Poole Heller and Jennifer Silacci were interviewed on FoxNews on March 26, 2021, to discuss the far-reaching arms of trauma and how each time one of these mass shooting events occurs, it can re-trigger the families and communities. Re-opening these wounds does not have an expiration date, even as far back as Columbine and beyond. Resources [...]
Response to Boulder Tragedy: Tips to Calm the Nervous System and Therapy Resources
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the mass shooting tragedies that have occurred in the US in Atlanta, GA on March 16th, 2021 and Boulder, CO on March 22nd, 2021. For families of other mass shootings, even those as long ago as Columbine, these events can be triggering, causing the reliving of grief, loss and fear for people [...]
The Relationship Between Attachment and Trauma
As therapists, a strong understanding of attachment theory can inform nearly every aspect of your clinical practice, since attachment informs adult behaviors and relationships. How we respond to trauma often depends on attachment history and emotional resources developed early on, and can include medical conditions, birth trauma, or temperament. We are looking here mostly through the lens of caretaking patterns [...]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Video Blog
We have had a few spring-like days in Colorado, and it even smelled like spring! For me, this is always time for renewal, both on the Earth and in our lives. With the pandemic dragging on, everyone I know is excited to get outside for some socially safe get-togethers. Having that social connection is so important to secure attachment. In [...]
Diane’s Interview with Thomas Hübl – Collective Trauma: Healing the Unintegrated Past
Diane sat down with Thomas Hübl to discuss his new book, Healing Collective Trauma, and his perspective on healing collective trauma. Thomas joined us from Israel and shared his insightful and heartfelt experiences with treating collective trauma, particularly in Germany and Israel, but also worldwide. He shared his observations when healing in a group where the transmission of healing impacts every [...]
Happy Valentine’s Day 2021 from Dr. Diane Poole Heller
In Mexico, Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a friendship day as well as a day to honor your romantic partner. I really love that broader focus of Valentine’s Day. I think a meaningful focus for the holiday is looking at how we can enhance our ability to give and receive love. One beneficial thing is understanding your attachment style. If [...]
Slowing Down to Move Forward: Pacing and Dosing in Trauma Therapy
As therapists, when working with clients who grapple with trauma, whether it’s developmental trauma or shock trauma, avoiding retraumatization or emotional overwhelm, poses a challenge. Tempering Language in Therapy It can be tempting to allow clients to “vent” or proceed full-speed into re-enacting or reliving their most traumatic moments and the accompanying emotions. What we truly want to accomplish in [...]
The ACE Study and Developmental Trauma’s Impact on Shock Trauma
We understand through medical studies that certain health conditions, exposures, and lifestyle factors make us more susceptible to diseases and conditions such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. But what makes us more susceptible to shock trauma, an impaired connection in relationships or having less resiliency as adults? While trauma therapy is a growing field with varied treatment modalities, our [...]
Video Blog: Connecting with Your Future Self in 2021
We have all had plenty of time to reflect as we spent much of 2020 in isolation. I have heard so many of you say you’re really looking forward to 2021 and all of the possibilities it will bring. Our tradition is to set personal and professional goals each New Year, but what if we focused on connecting with our [...]