Whole Hearted Healing Trauma and Relationship Therapy

Whole Hearted Healing Trauma and Relationship Therapy Childhood Trauma.CPTSD. Attachment. Love Addiction.Couples/Sex.Narcissistic Abuse.Online/In person

If you grew up in a house where something was wrong, you probably also grew up paying close attention to the people arou...
06/18/2026

If you grew up in a house where something was wrong, you probably also grew up paying close attention to the people around that house.

Watching who noticed. Watching who said something. Watching who didn't.

The aunts, the neighbors, the family friends. The ones who saw enough to comment on it later, but not enough to say anything when it actually mattered.

We talk a lot about the person who caused the harm. We don't talk enough about everyone who stood close enough to see it and chose comfort instead.

This post is for the people who are still working out what to do with that.

Does this resonate with you? Drop a šŸ™‹ below if it does. I'd love to know how many of us are carrying this šŸ‘‡

06/17/2026

Granada was one of the parts of our retreat I keep coming back to.

After days of deep inner child work, grief work, group process, writing, movement, and a lot of emotional honesty, we went into the city for the afternoon.

We went to the hammam. We wandered. We ate. We watched flamenco. We got to be tourists for a little while šŸ’ƒ

And I think that mattered more than I realised it would.

Because healing work canā€™t only be about processing pain.

At some point, the body also needs to remember beauty, pleasure, play, music, warmth, food, laughter, and the feeling of being alive in the present.

There was something really meaningful about doing such deep work together, and then also being able to laugh together, sit in warm water, walk through Granada, watch people dance with their whole bodies, and let the day be beautiful!

For so many people with childhood trauma, joy can feel complicated. Rest can feel undeserved. Play can feel unsafe. Pleasure can feel like something that has to be earned after everyone else is okay.

So an afternoon like that was part of the work too šŸ«¶

Not a break from healing.

Part of remembering that life is allowed to be more than survival ā¤ļø

If youā€™re interested in the next in-person inner child healing retreat, or my upcoming online weekend intensives, let me know!

06/16/2026

To those who came to The Inner Child Immersion RRP Retreat, I want you to know how much Iā€™m still carrying you with me in the most grateful way ā¤ļø

You came into a space that asked for honesty, softness, courage, and a willingness to meet parts of yourself that may not have been met with much kindness before.

That is no small thing!

You let yourselves be seen. You tried things that felt unfamiliar. You stayed with the work when it was tender. You let other people witness you. You witnessed each other.

And you brought so much humanity into the week šŸ«¶

The tears mattered, but so did the laughter.
The grief mattered, but so did the play.
The deep work mattered, but so did the meals, the music, the conversations, the little moments where something opened without anyone trying to force it.

As a therapist, itā€™s such a privilege to hold this kind of work.

As a person, it moved me deeply.

Thank you for trusting the space, the process, the group, and yourselves.

Thank you for reminding me why this work matters so much! ā¤ļø

I wish more people understood this about trauma recovery.So many people come to this work after years of trying. Theyā€™ve...
06/12/2026

I wish more people understood this about trauma recovery.

So many people come to this work after years of trying. Theyā€™ve been in therapy, read the books, have insight and understand the language.

And still, their nervous system is living from old patterns.

That doesnā€™t mean they failed at understanding or healing.

It means the roots need care.

RRP group work gives people a place to practice relationship over time. To be seen. To feel what comes up when they are cared for. To notice conflict, shame, fear, withdrawal, pleasing, anger, grief, and all the ways the younger self learned to survive.

And then to have different experiences.

Iā€™m planning more online and in-person groups and retreats in the near future. If youā€™d like to be the first to hear when details are ready, drop me a comment or send me a DM and Iā€™ll keep you updated!

06/11/2026

I always tell clients: weā€™re not going to sit here saying, ā€œbut your mom did her best.ā€

That might be true.

It also might not be šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø

And either way, itā€™s not the most important thing in the room!

When someone comes into trauma work, theyā€™ve often spent their whole life protecting the parent, explaining the parent, understanding the parent, managing the parent, and feeling guilty for having any anger toward the parent.

They donā€™t need therapy to become one more place where the parentā€™s humanity takes centre stage.

Of course, parents are people. Of course, they have histories. Of course, many of them were harmed too.

But when the work keeps rushing to explain the person who caused harm, the clientā€™s reality gets pushed to the side again.

Thatā€™s not healing šŸ’”

In RRP, weā€™re not neutral about abuse, neglect, cruelty, abandonment, manipulation, or parentification.

Weā€™re not sitting in the middle, politely weighing both sides while the child part of the client is still waiting for someone to finally say that shouldnā€™t have happened to you.

That doesnā€™t mean we dehumanize parents.

It means we stop asking survivors to abandon themselves in order to stay loyal to the people who hurt them.

Thatā€™s what Iā€™m modelling in the work.

If this approach to trauma work speaks to you, make sure youā€™re following me. I share more on childhood trauma, inner child work, RRP, and what relational healing can actually look like šŸ«¶

Belonging was never meant to be something you had to earn!And itā€™s never too late to experience it differently šŸ«¶If youā€™r...
06/11/2026

Belonging was never meant to be something you had to earn!

And itā€™s never too late to experience it differently šŸ«¶

If youā€™re longing for belonging that doesnā€™t require you to perform, please, shrink, or disappear, follow me for more on childhood trauma, inner child work, and relational healing.

And I know that makes some people uncomfortable, especially in therapy spaces where so-called neutrality can get treated...
06/09/2026

And I know that makes some people uncomfortable, especially in therapy spaces where so-called neutrality can get treated like the highest possible virtue.

But neutrality ā‰  care.

Sometimes neutrality protects the person causing harm.

Sometimes neutrality tells the person being harmed that their reality is still up for debate.

Sometimes neutrality becomes a very polished way of avoiding responsibility.

As a therapist, I need to be thoughtful and boundaried. I need to stay curious. I need to make room for complexity.

But curiosity should never mean pretending harm isnā€™t harm.

And being boundaried should never mean becoming so careful that we lose our humanity.

Abuse thrives when people are more invested in appearing reasonable than telling the truth.

Oppression thrives when people with power decide their comfort matters more than someone elseā€™s safety.

So no, I donā€™t believe therapy should be cold, detached, or 'apolitical' when people are living inside systems and relationships that hurt them.

I believe therapy should help people name what has happened.

I believe it should help people trust their own reality again.

I believe it should support people in moving out of shame and into truth, protection, grief, anger, choice, and connection.

That doesnā€™t mean we stop being ethical.

It means our ethics have to be alive enough to recognize harm when itā€™s sitting in the room with us.

What do you think? šŸ¤”

Sometimes inner child work starts with a very simple question: What does my younger self need from me right now?It might...
06/03/2026

Sometimes inner child work starts with a very simple question: What does my younger self need from me right now?

It might not be a huge answer.

It might be rest. Reassurance. A boundary. A little bit of play. A slower pace. A kinder way of speaking to yourself when you make a mistake.

So much of this work is learning to notice the parts of us that had to adapt, hide, please, perform, stay small, stay quiet, or stay strong for too long.

And then, gently, learning how to respond differently.

You donā€™t have to do it perfectly.

You donā€™t have to figure out your whole childhood this week.

You can start with one small act of care šŸ«¶

If your inner child could ask you for one thing this week, what do you think it would be? šŸ‘‡

One of the best decisions I made for our first week-long Inner Child Immersion retreat in Southern Spain was bringing th...
06/02/2026

One of the best decisions I made for our first week-long Inner Child Immersion retreat in Southern Spain was bringing this team together šŸ™Œ

I could have held the therapeutic work, but what Cam, Ali, and Esther each brought made the week feel fuller, richer, and more supported than it ever could have been with one person holding every part of the experience!

Cam brought another steady therapeutic presence into the room. There was something really grounding about holding the RRP work alongside someone who understands the depth of this process and can stay present with people as things unfold.

Ali brought the body, creativity, play, and movement into the week in a way Iā€™m still so grateful for. The embodiment work, expressive arts, theatre games, grounding, and massage helped people stay connected to themselves in ways talking alone doesnā€™t always reach.

And Esther brought such a calm, supportive presence in the background. She helped the space feel cared for, practical, and steady, especially outside the main therapy hours.

Thatā€™s what I loved about this team šŸ«¶

Everyone brought something different.

Different skills. Different energy. Different ways of supporting the same work.

And together, it made the retreat feel more human, spacious and alive.

I left the week feeling very clear that this is how I want to hold this kind of work moving forward.

Thank you, Cam, Ali, and Esther for helping make this first retreat what it was ā¤ļø

Deep inner child work asks a lot from people šŸ˜®ā€šŸ’ØIt can bring up grief people didnā€™t know they were still carrying. Grief...
05/27/2026

Deep inner child work asks a lot from people šŸ˜®ā€šŸ’Ø

It can bring up grief people didnā€™t know they were still carrying. Grief for what happened, grief for what didnā€™t happen, grief for the child who had to adapt, cope, perform, disappear, stay pleasing, stay strong, or stay small.

It can also be tiring.

There is a kind of exhaustion that comes after telling the truth, being witnessed, staying present with your body, or letting yourself receive care when that has never felt easy.

And group work can feel vulnerable, even when the group is safe. Sometimes being seen is healing. Sometimes being seen is scary. And sometimes it is both at the same time!

Thatā€™s why the work needs pacing.

It needs rest, food, movement, space, care, privacy, connection, and permission to step away and come back.

I donā€™t think healing spaces have to feel heavy all the time. I also donā€™t think we need to pretend deep work is always soft and easy!

The Inner Child Immersion RRP Retreat reminded me that people can touch grief and still laugh at dinner. They can feel vulnerable and still feel held. They can do hard work without being pushed.

That is the kind of healing space I believe in ā¤ļø

If this kind of work speaks to you, Iā€™m considering online weekend retreats as a more accessible way to begin. Message me if youā€™d be interested.

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