ILLUM Counseling Center for Trauma and Loss

09/22/2025

✨ Lessons in Adaptability & Grace ✨
I had been preparing for this workshop for months—ordering supplies, booking the venue, planning every detail. But of course, life had other plans. My supplies never arrived, and when I got to the venue… there was no electricity. One of my worst fears.
For a moment, my mind raced. I felt the stress rising—but I also knew I had a choice. I allowed myself to breathe, to accept the situation, to pivot and look for solutions. I didn’t want to disappoint the participants who showed up ready to do the work.
We set up outside—despite the heat, humidity, and chance of rain—and somehow, it worked. It became a lesson in humility, adaptability, and finding the calm in the storm. Eventually, the power returned and we were able to move inside, but by then the magic had already begun.
The participants showed me so much grace, kindness, and support. Together, we explored the Wellness Wheel, honoring its Indigenous roots and approaching it with cultural humility. What unfolded was a beautiful space of awareness, restoration, and deep connection—with self and with others.
I left the day with a heart full of gratitude—for the resilience of the group, for the lessons in surrender, and for the reminder that even when things don’t go as planned, healing and connection will always find a way. 🌿

08/19/2025

✨ You’ve done it—you’ve poured your heart, time, and energy into helping your child reach their goals. And now, they’re ready to spread their wings and leave the nest.
There’s so much pride and excitement in this season, but there can also be a quiet ache. The house feels different. A certain energy is missing. The drive home without them feels heavier than you expected.
Yes, you can visit. Yes, they’ll be back. But right now, you may find yourself asking:
🌿 Who am I beyond being “Mom” ?
🌿 What brings me joy now?
🌿 How do I create a meaningful life that feels whole, even as the role I’ve known for 18 years shifts?
This isn’t just an ending—it’s also an invitation. A moment to pause, reflect, and rediscover yourself.
💫 My upcoming workshop, A Return to Yourself, is a space designed just for this season of life. A place to nurture what’s been waiting quietly inside you—to emerge with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
It’s time to return home… to yourself. 🌸
Register here: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/illum-cctr/a-return-to-yourself

08/12/2025

A Return to Yourself
A soulful, Nature-Based, half-day workshop for women ready to reconnect with who they are beneath the roles they’ve carried. Through the art of collage—guided by the Indigenous Medicine Wheel and the Wellness Wheel—you’ll explore your emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental wellbeing. This experience blends somatic practices, breathwork, and creative reflection to help you return to your body, your voice, and your inner wisdom.
Register here: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/illum-cctr/a-return-to-yourself

08/11/2025

It’s back-to-school season.
Even though I no longer take my son to school, there’s still an unmistakable energy in the air — a buzz of excitement, anticipation, and the quiet awareness that something is shifting.
With change often comes a swirl of emotions: joy, hope, uncertainty, even a touch of anxiety or grief. These are all natural responses to transition. As humans, we are meant to evolve — and with that comes the inevitable sea of change.

The way we meet these moments is shaped by our perspective. We can view change as an opportunity, a loss, or a mix of both. All are valid.

So as this new season begins, take a moment to pause. Notice what’s stirring in you. Sit with it. Let it flow.

07/31/2025

Something meaningful is coming this fall…

This season, I’m offering a series of workshops rooted in nature, creativity, and embodied reflection—each one an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and return to what restores you.

These non-therapeutic, nature-based workshops are open to both community members and mental health professionals. They’re designed to support personal insight, emotional wellness, and the integration of expressive arts, somatic practices, and breathwork. Optional CEUs will be available for Texas LPCs.

Here’s what’s coming:
Return to Self – A half-day workshop to reconnect with your body, voice, and inner wisdom through collage, breathwork, and somatic practices, guided by the Indigenous Medicine and Wellness Wheels
The Wisdom of Trees – A nature-based exploration of how the seasons and life cycles mirror our own, using metaphor, art, movement, and reflection
Honoring Loss, Embracing Grief – A full-day experience to honor death and non-death losses (like chronic illness or life transitions) through expressive arts, somatic rituals, breathwork, and sound-based restoration

Taking place in September, October, and November Held in a nature-based setting
Optional CEUs available for Texas LPCs

Comment FALL or DM me to join the interest list and be the first to know when registration opens.

07/29/2025

This past weekend’s New Counselor’s Toolbox workshop was filled with creativity, connection, and deep grounding.

Participants explored how to integrate expressive arts and trauma-informed tools into their work—including creating personalized collage coping skills boxes to support clients during moments of overwhelm.

We also took time to step outside, reconnect with the body, and practice somatic exercises and breathwork under the trees—a reminder that healing often begins with the body and returns us to nature.

Grateful for the courage and curiosity in the room. I’m already looking forward to the next one.

07/07/2025

04/27/2025

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and I have been proudly wearing teal in honor and support of survivors. 💙

This month, I had the incredible privilege to present at the Sexual Assault Conference hosted by Family Crisis Center in collaboration with the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA), speaking to over 150 people. I was also honored to be a speaker at the FCC Southern Charm Brunch — a beautiful, sold-out event.

It has been truly heartwarming to witness so many people show up for survivors, standing together in solidarity and hope.

I am extremely proud of the work I do — walking alongside survivors as they reclaim their voice and heal from the unspeakable. I don't measure success by titles or accolades; I measure it by the lives I’ve touched, the hope I've helped spark, and the voices I've helped amplify.

This is the legacy I am building. I am a cycle breaker.
I see you. I hear you. I believe you.
I am a healer of trauma — and I wear that title with pride. 💙

04/12/2025

Lately, my chronic condition has been speaking louder than usual.
Since Wednesday, I haven’t been able to sleep through the night—my body simply won’t settle. And on Thursday, I had to show up and present at a conference in front of 150 people. I did it… but not as well as I had hoped.

I fumbled over words. My brain felt foggy. I was self-conscious.
And afterward, the inner critic showed up loud and clear.

But the story doesn’t end there.

At the conference, I noticed some wilted hydrangeas on the tables—flowers that were about to be thrown out. I asked if I could take them. Someone asked, “Why would you want dead flowers?”
I told them, “I think if I put them in water, they might bloom again.”

I brought them home. My husband asked the same question: “Why did you bring home dead flowers?”
Again, I said, “I have faith. If I put them in water, they’ll bloom again.”

And the next morning?
They were in full bloom.

Nature has a powerful way of reminding us that even when things look dead or bleak, if we allow ourselves to be tended to—with water, with rest, with care—we can bloom again.

This season feels tender. If you’re there too, you’re not alone.
Be gentle with yourself. You’re not broken—you’re becoming.

🌿

04/04/2025

I know how defeating it can feel. I’ve been there too. As someone living with a chronic condition, I can relate, it often comes with a rollercoaster of ups and downs. One moment, things seem to be getting better—you finally feel like you’ve turned a corner—and then suddenly, without warning, you're pulled right back in.

It’s easy to get stuck in that place. It can feel like you’ve hit rock bottom.

But this is also the place where resilience begins to shine. Where the strengths already within you start to stir. You’ve made it through hard things before—maybe even without realizing it. I believe our bodies and souls carry an innate wisdom and a deep capacity to heal. It may not happen all at once, but healing is possible.

There’s nothing wrong with taking a pause. In fact, sometimes it’s in that pause that we rediscover our strength and our truth.

I invite you to see the beauty in the pause, even when it feels like you have nothing left to give. And remember—you don’t have to do it alone.

What if you didn’t have to carry the weight by yourself? Whether it’s a trusted friend, a loved one, or a therapist—you deserve support. Someone to walk beside you, to help you uncover that inner strength, and to guide you back to the parts of you that feel joy, passion, and peace.