In Need of Help
These are difficult times. If you are feeling overwhelmed and in need of help, please reach out to a person who knows you and can support you through this. We all go through low points. I’ve been there. The way our bodies handle extreme emotional stress may surprise us sometimes. Personally, I had never experienced panic attacks until I went through an excruciating period of grief. It is always a good idea to choose one or two people ahead of time who you know will respond in an encouraging way to you when you are in need of support.
If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please call: 1 (800) 273-8255
I am a therapist. However, it is against the ethical standards of my profession to provide therapy to someone who is not my client/patient.
Written
Two books that most shaped my thinking during my master’s studies in education and psychology are Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire and In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté. Both of these books describe working with people who are living at the intersection of trauma and oppression, medical care, and education. They provide a framework for healers while still maintaining the patient or student’s dignity, will, and spirit. Both are excellent examples of how a person can bring theory to practice in a challenging and complex world. A few other books I have recommended with positive feedback from readers:
To understand the affects of trauma on the body and self I recommend, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk
Also recommend The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining Emotional Control and Becoming Whole by Arielle Schwartz, PhD
To learn more about our criminal justice system from an author who knows it well and hopes for better, read The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
To understand more about how children’s brains are growing, how to parent in an emotionally receptive and instructive manner, and how to encourage self-regulation, I recommend, The Yes Brain by Tina Payne Bryson and Daniel Siegel
To learn more about racism in our country and what to do about it, check out, How to Be An Antiracist by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
For more about the U.S. church and its relationship to racism, The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby
I am currently reading Toward Psychologies of Liberation by Mary Watkins and Helene Shulman.
For specific needs or interests in the area of therapy, trauma, race relations, education, parenting, or Christianity, please feel free to contact me directly.