ILLUM Counseling Center for Trauma and Loss

01/08/2026

Healing is not linear.
Some days require rest.
Some days invite movement.
What matters most is how gently we meet ourselves along the way.
If this season feels heavy, you are not alone.

01/02/2026

This New Year, may we release the pressure to rush and honor the wisdom of winter.
For many — especially those healing from trauma, loss, or major life transitions — this season is not about productivity, but presence.
Cocooning is not falling behind. It is becoming.
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12/30/2025

🌿 2025 | A Year of Becoming & Building 🌿

This year reminded me that even in the presence of challenge, we are still capable of creating, serving, and becoming.

From becoming an LPC-S, launching CEU offerings, holding grief & loss retreats, beginning my mini retreat series, collaborating in healing experiences, and leading groups of courageous women. 2025 was about planting seeds of hope and building lives we do not need to escape from.

As we step into 2026, I do so with deep gratitude for this work, this community, and the unfolding ahead.

Martha Sanchez, M.Ed., LPC-S, CCTP, RPT
Illum Counseling Center for Trauma & Loss

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12/25/2025

Christmas can hold so much more than what we see on the surface.
For many of us, it carries memory, grief, longing, and love that still lingers in quiet ways.
Wherever this season meets you, may you move gently with yourself today.
You don’t have to hold it all alone. 🤍
Sending warmth and compassion to every tender heart this Christmas.
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12/08/2025

My heart is with our Brownsville community.
The recent fire has left many families displaced and others injured and recovering in the hospital. Events like this shake our sense of safety and can leave deep emotional and physical impacts long after the flames are out.
In moments like these, may we wrap one another in care through presence, donations, prayers, meals, and gentle check-ins. If you or someone you love has been affected, know that you are not alone. Support, connection, and healing matter in the aftermath of trauma.
Holding space for all who are grieving, recovering, and rebuilding.

12/05/2025

Placing an ornament on the tree has become a ritual for me—a tender, intentional practice to honor the one I lost. It’s not about avoiding the pain, but gently inviting it in… along with the joy, the memories, and the love we shared.
These small rituals help their light live on in the spaces they once touched, reminding us that continuing bonds is an act of love, not letting go.

11/27/2025

Permission to Feel
Today may feel heavy, give yourself permission to feel whatever is present. Your emotions don’t have to match the holidays. Your grief is valid, and it deserves compassion.

11/17/2025

✨ I am deeply moved by this weekend’s grief workshop. ✨
What an honor it was to hold space for a beautiful group of women who arrived as strangers and gently discovered the common threads we all carry in grief, those universal themes that live in the heart, no matter our individual paths. It was heartwarming to witness how grief can gently shift when held in community, through shared experiences, connection with nature, and moments of stillness.
Nature teaches us that we all move through seasons… each one asking for patience, grace, and presence. And just like nature, we are perfectly whole even in the places where we feel broken. It’s often through those very fractures that light, healing, and deeper understanding emerge. I am profoundly grateful to everyone who showed up, shared space, and allowed themselves to be held by nature and by one another. 🌿 A special thank you to Esmie from for graciously donating her time and offering a beautiful Sound Bath experience. Your presence added so much depth and calm to our day.
And heartfelt gratitude to LSNB and Jason’s Deli for their generous support in helping make this workshop possible. Your contributions allowed us to create a nourishing and meaningful space for the community.

11/12/2025

My heart is full
The Honoring Loss, Embracing Love Grief Workshop is officially sold out! I am deeply grateful to everyone who registered and to those who continue to support this vision of creating healing spaces in our community.
A special thank you to Lone Star National Bank for their generous sponsorship and to Jason’s Deli for providing lunch for our participants. Your partnership helps make this offering possible.
It fills me with so much gratitude to see how our community values rest, connection, and healing. Thank you for trusting me to hold this space with you.

10/31/2025

10/28/2025

✨ I’m so pleased to announce that Esmie from will be leading the sound bath at our upcoming grief and loss workshop. Her calming energy and beautiful sound healing will be the perfect way to close our time together. I can already tell this will be a truly special experience. 🌿💫
If this gathering speaks to you, I invite you to reserve your space and join us in community and reflection.