Jennifer A Sorensen, MA, LCMHC

01/24/2026

The autonomic nervous system is divided into 3 parts, each with its own set of protective actions.
🧠 The earliest dorsal vagal system brings strategies of immobilization.
🧠 The sympathetic system, next to arrive, adds fight or flight.
🧠 The most recent ventral vagal system offers the ability for safety through connection and social engagement.
Recognizing the hierarchy of your autonomic nervous system is fundamental to your success in therapy. When your system has moved into a dysfunctional state, your body and brain have been hijacked and you’re being held in survival response. When the ventral vagal state is active, body and brain work together, and processing and change are possible.

01/20/2026

I’m noticing these days lots of talk about anger in my sessions. I love how honors this emotion so well. Emotions communicate and motivate. Anger is big for a reason. What is it trying to communicate to you?
Also, did she say turn tables?🤔
I think I’ve heard that somewhere 🩷

01/19/2026

An important topic in preparing for trauma reprocessing is grounding. Trauma has a way of sucking us out of reality and into an illusion. 5 ways grounding is important:
🐎 Being grounded helps you think clearly.
🐎 Being grounded increases your awareness of what is actually happening.
🐎 Being grounded makes you aware of your choices.
🐎Being grounded makes it less likely you’ll make regretful decisions.
🐎 Being grounded makes it more likely that you’ll make decisions that keep you safe.
Orient and anchor yourself to the present.

01/08/2026

Sometimes, the most important thing in relationships is learning when NOT to be in relationship.
To not act. To not step in. To wait.
This is important in your therapy session. As a relational therapist, I understand when it’s time for me to step back and for you to step into your power.

12/30/2025

There’s always a cost/benefit ratio when moving toward healing. It’s never going to always be just ok.
Luckily we have the freedom to do things differently.
Let’s operate from a higher sense of self in 2026. Let’s know our parts and how they react under stress. Let’s have awareness of our own reactions to rage, anxiety, grief, and sadness. Let’s unblend and soothe as needed.
2026: renewed commitment to healing.

12/28/2025

The majority of traumatic experiences occur in relationships. It would make sense that treatment must involve a corrective relational experience-safety, attunement, and repair.
The therapeutic relationship is not secondary to treatment-it is a primary mechanism of change.
Find a therapist you can build trust with.

12/19/2025

There’s a big reason why I’m not going to tell you what to do in a therapy session.
If you’ve experienced relational trauma, it’s fair to say your opinions, values, emotions, thoughts, and interests, were either not important or too much to handle.
You lost your sense of self and self trust. It was obliterated.
My job is to help you find that again. It doesn’t come from me telling you what to do. Somewhere inside, you know exactly what you need to do, I just point you that direction.
I’m the professional, you’re the expert.

12/18/2025

Trauma doesn’t just live in the mind-it’s stored in the body.
EMDR works with both, helping the nervous system integrate so healing isn’t just understood-it’s felt.
Mind. Body. Healing.

12/12/2025

Real connection comes from presence, not pressure.
Try shifting your approach on relationships from:

“what should I do?”

to

“how can I just be?” 🩷
#406

12/11/2025

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do in therapy is arrive with an honest truth and an open heart. The rest we can navigate together. 🩷

12/02/2025

I’m not going to be nice to you. I won’t avoid conflict, or try to keep things smooth. I won’t be agreeable, or worry whether you like me or not. It does you no good and that’s not my job.
I will be kind. I will focus on what actually helps you, by doing the right thing. I will give you honest feedback, model healthy boundaries, and help you stay accountable. You’re going to get uncomfortable, but that’s what you need. And, in the end, you’ll thank me for it.

08/15/2025

It's the little things, built up over time that make the difference.

Fun little tune for your day! 🥰

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