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Written by Maura Carey, MIACPIntegrative Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor & Doctoral ResearcherFounder & Clinical Director, Cherry Blossom Therapy Shame is one of those experiences that can be difficult to identify or put into words mainly because shame can be hidden, almost in plain sight. We tend to associate shame with embarrassment, humiliation or a wish to…

When Someone Else’s Success Gets Under Our Skin The Psychology of Envy, Comparison and Begrudgery Written by Maura Carey, MIACPIntegrative Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor & Doctoral ResearcherFounder & Clinical Director, Cherry Blossom Therapy Have you ever heard good news about someone you know and, almost before you have had time to think, felt something uncomfortable stir…

A Trauma-Informed and Neurobiological Understanding of Fear, Survival, and the Physical Impact of Acute Threat Several years ago, I experienced an incident that remained in my body for some time after the incident was over. A man got out of his car aggressively and came towards me with the intention of attacking me. Before there…

A Trauma-Informed Understanding of Fear, the Nervous System, and Non-Concordance There are experiences people carry privately for years because they do not have the language to explain what is happening within their bodies. One of the least spoken about, and often one of the most shame-filled, is the experience of feeling sensations within the pelvic…

Have you ever been in a room full of people, people you know, people you trust, and suddenly it feels like they are all blankly staring at you. It feels like you can’t escape, you don’t know why it’s happening, you don’t know what to do. And in that moment, it feels terrifying, if you…

January is often talked about as a fresh start, a chance to reset, refocus, and begin again. For some people, that really does ring true, there is relief when the festivities end, and for some finding comfort in routine seems grounding. The calendar feels open again and that can feel hopeful But that isn’t everyone’s…

Every year as Christmas approaches, something starts to stir for people. Not the lights or the shopping or the familiar songs on the radio, but something inside. A mix of excitement and pressure and the feeling that you should be looking forward to it more than you actually are. Christmas has a way of bringing…

I have spent a lot of time thinking about why family, the very foundation of our lives, can also be a source of deep pain. In my work, I see people grappling with family dynamics that shape them in ways they are only beginning to understand. I often ask myself:Why do we inherit these unspoken…

School refusal is an umbrella term used to describe when a young person does not want to attend school or finds it difficult to remain in class for a full day (Lyon & Colter, 2007). It affects between 1% to 5% of school aged children, the prevalence is much the same across genders (Richardson, 2016). Animosity develops…