Suicidal ideation (thoughts of suicide) can feel like a very big topic, and it may not have been something your family or community discussed. Suicide and suicidal ideation have carried stigma for a long time. This blog will help break down the components of suicidal ideation and the difference between active and passive suicidal ideation.

You are probably here because you or a loved one may have experienced treatment-resistant depression and are looking for support. You are not alone: treatment-resistant depression is a condition that up to ⅓ of adults with major depressive symptoms experience.

October is National Depression Education & Awareness Month! You are probably here because you or a loved one may have experienced the symptoms of depression, or a depressive episode and are looking for support. You are not alone: depression is a condition that an estimated 21 million U.S. adults experience every year, and is considered one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States.* Here at Woven, we want to be able to provide information and support for you.

There is a strong connection between narcissistic or emotionally unstable parenting and complex trauma (C-PTSD). In other words, adults with complex trauma often have parents with narcissistic qualities or significant emotional limitations. Thus, C-PTSD children often grow into adults who are used to navigating emotionally nonreciprocal relationships.  

Today we are going to talk about the overlap between childhood complex trauma and narcissistic abuse, and how this can show up in adult relationships. We will also discuss 3 strategies to heal from narcissistic abuse. 

Here at Woven, we specialize in trauma therapy. We are passionate about providing trauma-informed care, and a big part of that work is providing psychoeducation on trauma and its effects on our bodies and minds so you can feel empowered in your healing. One of the first steps in understanding your own trauma and healing is to learn about trauma responses.

In recent years, ketamine and other psychedelic therapies have shown incredible results with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) combines the helpful medicine of ketamine with the emotional support of a therapist to help you take your healing to the next level.  

If you are looking into Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, you might feel overwhelmed by all of the different components of the treatment process. Ketamine is still a newer form of treatment, and it is normal to have a lot of questions. This blog will provide some insight into what your first session will feel like.

Just as the eyes scan the outside environment for information and signals, they do the same in our inside environments, scanning inside our brains for areas where trauma is stored. Essentially, when we talk about trauma, the brain scans itself to reveal where that trauma is being held. Reflexive cues—seen in the eyes—tell us when the brain has found something important. Brainspotting notices and follows these cues to find where the brain pointing to—where that trauma is stuck. This place is called a Brainspot. 

Immigration can cause trauma. The reality is that most immigrants are leaving their home country due to traumatic experiences such as war, poverty, or natural disasters, and the violence endured during the journey to come to a new country is also often traumatizing.

Sometimes when trying to change patterns, cyclical thoughts and behaviors can bring you a lot of shame and frustration. Understanding that there is a significant physiological component to creating lasting change helps you to see you are not flawed or damaged.

If you’ve been following along on my Instagram, you know by now that we have been closely watching the Depp/Heard trial unfold, and Amber Heard’s diagnoses have us all talking a little more about personality disorders. Let’s start off by defining what Borderline Personality Disorder is.

If you scroll through social media, you may see people talking about the importance of good mental health. We are no stranger here to why that is important, but have you ever thought about what factors make up good or bad mental health? I will start off here by saying that the factors are many, and are often complex.

The cultural norm (traditional talk therapy) often argues that there is a disconnection between your mind and body, and places a higher value on your thoughts as more trustworthy than what your body communicates. Recently though, there has been a change in the paradigm where the soma, (meaning body in Greek) and the mind are studied alongside one another. This approach of holistic care is an integrative approach for treating the human being as a whole. Thoughts, feelings, sensations, belief systems, temperament, and attitude all have an impact on your physical well-being.

If you are someone who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, religion can be a tricky beast as queerness is not usually celebrated in most church communities. For some people, religion can feel protective, risky, or a combination of the two. What’s worse: many Christian faith traditions believe that you cannot identify as LGBTQIA+ and be a Christian.

Why do so many religious trauma survivors have OCD? Something that you may not know is that religious trauma and obsessive, compulsive symptoms frequently go hand-in-hand. This might be a little difficult to grasp so take your time reading this post. If you have OCD and religious trauma, it could be relieving for you to realize the connection is not just you. 

Have you ever felt shame, guilt, or negative feelings about your LGBTQIA+ identity? If so, you may have experienced internalized homophobia and/or transphobia. If you aren’t familiar with these the terms internalized homophobia and internalized transphobia, let’s start off by defining them before we jump into learning how to overcome them.

It can be very lonely to feel as if you are the only person going through an experience and that no one else can relate to you. This is something that LGBTQIA+ individuals experience often.

One of the most painful aspects of religious trauma is sexual repression. In psychological research, we see that early life trauma results in developmental delays. This is because brain development can be interrupted by maltreatment, neglect, or abuse in adolescence or childhood.

In rigid, high-control religious environments, you may be taught that there is a specific way to relate to others that is permissible in the eyes of God. This formulaic, dogmatic, and fear-based teaching may get in the way of healthy relational development.