Psic. Liz M. Betancourt

19/08/2025

In contrast, what human therapy can offer is the creative encounter, unpredictable and unscripted - and yet, we could observe, such moments do happen with therapy bots too. The question would be, how are they different – if they are – from such moments in human-to-human therapy?

One effect of the rise of AI therapy will no doubt be to perpetuate the assimilation of humans to machines, as we judge our own interventions by comparison with the bots

19/09/2023

18/09/2023

This happened to me for decades.
Now I don't minimize, invalidate or deny the abuse I endured as a child.
Or allow anyone else to.
I validate it all fully and this helps my inner child feel safe, loved and believed.
I also don't make excuses for the abusers - because my inner child knows they intentionally harmed her and they lied about it.
~ Lilly Hope Lucario
💜
Healing From Complex Trauma and Ptsd/cptsd

23/05/2023

Are the labels “Positive” or “Negative” helpful?

In my work with emotions, I don’t categorize emotions as positive or negative. And I don’t treat any emotion as better or worse than any other.

Instead, I focus on why each emotion arises, what job it does, and how you can work with each and every emotion you have.

In my years of research and work, I’ve found that every emotion has a purpose, and every emotion is important. The key is learning to understand each of your emotions and building the skills you need to work directly with each one.

Join me on my blog this week as I continue my discussion of how shifting this one perspective can change your relationship with your emotions: https://karlamclaren.com/the-myth-of-positive-emotions/

09/05/2023

"We learned over time that it’s when we built trusted relationships with one another that we all did better, that we lived longer, that we were safer, we were more fulfilled. And the thing is, even though our circumstances are so different now, fundamentally our nervous systems haven’t changed."

"Aprendimos con el tiempo que es cuando construimos relaciones de confianza entre nosotros que todos lo hacemos mejor, que vivimos más tiempo, que estamos más seguros, que nos sentimos más satisfechos. Y es que, aunque nuestras circunstancias ahora son tan diferentes, fundamentalmente nuestro sistema nervioso no ha cambiado."

The physician/public servant on formation for whole, healed human beings in the time ahead; the many costs of despair; and love as a public good.

03/05/2023

“Trauma compromises our ability to engage with others by replacing patterns of connection with patterns of protection.” - Stephen Porges

Heal from trauma with online self-paced 10-minute a day exercises from Rewire Therapy by visiting https://bit.ly/3YtwUKK

21/03/2023

“We’ve found that across cultures, most of us were raised to believe that being vulnerable is being weak. This sets up an unresolvable tension for most of us, because we were also raised to be brave. There is no courage without vulnerability. Courage requires the willingness to lean into uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.”

Excerpt From
Atlas of the Heart : Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience (9780399592577)
Brown, Brene

12/01/2023

Many highly empathic people have difficulty setting and maintaining boundaries, and this difficulty tends to come from a misunderstanding of what boundaries are and what they can do.

Many of us have been taught that boundaries should be rigid and wall-like, and this rigidity tends to reduce empathy (which is sometimes a good thing).

But healthy boundaries are living, flexible structures and agreements that shift and change with changing circumstances.

Rigid boundaries can be fine in some situations, but highly empathic people need boundaries that make room for the fluid and interactional ways they live in this often rigid and unempathic world.

On Saturday January 21st, I’ll be offering a 2 hour mini-workshop called Developing Empathic Boundaries, where we'll explore boundaries that support empathy and deep interactions, and protect highly empathic people from overload.

To sign up or learn more, visit:
https://empathyacademy.org/course/developing-empathic-boundaries/

02/10/2022

“You would think such darkness would be scary, that you would want to turn and run, but when it calls to you it is like home. You are grateful it has returned, thankful that it has come back for you. It reminds you, keeps you grounded and makes you whole.”

"You would think such darkness would be scary..."

30/09/2022

“that what you do, what you practice in your everyday, is what makes — is a pattern that is part of that larger pattern that you want to see.”

“que lo que haces, lo que practicas en tu día a día, es lo que hace, es un patrón que es parte de ese patrón más grande que quieres ver.”

The social creative with a lexicon of emergence. Fractals. Organizing as time travel. How we change — and change together.