Dr. Gloria K Vanderhorst - Psychologist & Writer

03/16/2026

Some cultures speak of the Wise Older Woman, a figure you must journey to find when life’s questions grow too heavy to carry alone.

She is not easily reached, and her wisdom is not given lightly. The journey itself tests your courage, your sincerity, and your willingness to face truths that may challenge you. Seeking her guidance means choosing vulnerability, trusting another person with your deepest questions, and being ready to act on what you learn.

Where do you find one? When do you need one?

03/09/2026

Winter can feel long.

The gray days stretch on, the garden beds sit quiet, and I find myself searching for the smallest signs that spring is on its way. If you are anything like me, you may be feeling that restlessness too, the feeling that the season has lasted just a little too long.

But winter may also be asking something different of us. Patience. Care. Attention to the small things that still need tending.

If you are like me, you are sick of winter. When the sun comes out, I am crawling around the garden looking for signs of life. Come on!

03/07/2026

With the temperatures today, it is hard to believe it was snowing earlier this week.

Watching the snow fall has a way of slowing everything down. Each flake drifting quietly to the ground, children rushing outside to catch them on their tongues, the laughter that comes with snowballs, forts, and the simple magic of a winter afternoon.

But snow looks different depending on where you stand in life. For a child, it is excitement, imagination, and endless possibilities. For an adult, it might mean shovels, snow blowers, wet mittens on the radiator, and the quiet responsibilities that come with caring for others.

Still, there is something beautiful in both perspectives.

This time, you can see each separate flake. They are floating to the ground rather than falling.

03/06/2026

In this heartfelt conversation, we explored what it means to grow emotionally across a lifetime, from our earliest experiences to the complex journeys of adulthood.

We talked about emotional development, healing, and the ways culture shapes how we learn to feel, express, and connect. I also shared insights from my work as a psychologist, writer, and mentor, and from my book Read, Reflect, Respond: The 3 R’s of Growth and Change, which was created to support meaningful reflection and personal transformation.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen inward, and remember that growth is possible at every stage of life when we give ourselves permission to feel.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gPNmfmxtpjQL6en49vNMX?si=ntIkMBEgRJmTxUkku4HCsg

Heart to Heart with Abagaba · Episode

03/02/2026

We still have mountains of snow with no sign of thawing. It is the strangest winter I can remember, snow packed so tightly it feels like concrete, hard and unyielding. Watching someone walk across the top of it without sinking feels almost impossible, yet there it is, a solid crust formed by time and pressure.
That image stayed with me.

Life forms the same way. It settles in layers, one season pressed upon another. Some are light and beautiful. Some are heavy and difficult. Over time, they harden into something that can either hold us up or weigh us down.

We still have mountains of snow with no sign of thawing or melting.

02/27/2026

In my years as a psychologist, I have met countless capable women who are insightful, accomplished, and deeply self aware.
And exhausted.

Often it is not more understanding they need. It is steadiness. A nervous system that feels safe enough to soften.

Sally’s Unshatterable resource offers a simple framework to help ease chronic bracing so the emotional intelligence you already have can truly work.

If you are doing everything right but still feel depleted, this may be worth exploring.

These three grounded steps create space to settle your nervous system, reconnect with your strengths, and move forward with more clarity and steadiness.

02/21/2026

When boys learn early that certain feelings are unwelcome, they don’t stop feeling them. They learn to carry them alone. That disconnection often follows them into adulthood, where relationships and parenting ask for emotional presence they were never taught how to offer.

02/18/2026

In just a few hours, I will be joining AJ for a live conversation about fatherhood, emotional strength, and what boys truly need from the men raising them.

Many fathers want to raise confident, grounded sons. Yet too often, boys are taught to restrict their emotional lives long before they understand what they are feeling. Strength becomes confused with silence. Independence becomes confused with emotional distance.

Fueling inspiration, one channel at a time. Celebrating a world of independent creators. e360tv - Entertain. Evolve. Engage.

02/14/2026

Do you remember decorating a shoebox or basket, carefully choosing cards for every classmate, making sure no one was left out? There was something beautiful about that simple rule. Everyone mattered. Everyone received something.

In this reflection, Gloria Vanderhorst, Ph.D., revisits those tender school day memories and traces the surprising path of Valentine’s Day, from ancient Roman rituals to the courage of a priest who believed love was worth defending.

Woven throughout are timeless voices on love, from Aristotle and Rumi to Oscar Wilde, each reminding us that love is not just romance. It is connection. It is courage. It is fuel for the soul.

This Valentine’s Day, pause to consider the love you have received, and the love you give.

I have fond memories of this day in school.

02/14/2026

Boys don’t become resilient by being left alone with big feelings.

They become resilient when someone stays with them through frustration, sadness, and disappointment, and helps them move through it. What we do in those moments becomes the template they carry forward.

02/08/2026

Waiting looks different for all of us.

Sometimes it is sitting in medical offices, flipping through old magazines, listening for a name to be called. Sometimes it is watching the phone, hoping for news of a new life, a promotion, a milestone worth celebrating. And sometimes, waiting is the quiet, aching space of loving someone at the end of their life.

I wrote a piece about waiting, the alertness, the anticipation, the tenderness, and the grief that can all live inside that one word. It is about friendship, kindness built over a lifetime, humor that endures even at the edge of goodbye, and the way love gathers people together when time feels short.

If you have ever found yourself waiting, for news, for change, for a moment you know will alter you, I hope this reflection meets you where you are.

Oh boy. What comes to mind when you read that title?

02/06/2026

One of the quiet truths about boys is that tenderness is often the first thing they’re taught to hide.

Not because they don’t feel it, but because adults don’t always know how to stay with it. Boys need room for softness as much as they need room for strength. When we make space for both, we give them a way to stay connected to themselves and to others.