Davorka Marovic Ph.D., LPC

11/05/2025

Did you know the air inside your home could be quietly accelerating cognitive decline? While many people invest thousands in “brain optimization” programs, they may be overlooking one of the most powerful factors for brain health—the air they breathe.

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—tiny particles about 3% the width of a human hair—can slip past the body’s defenses, cross the blood-brain barrier, and inflame neurons. Studies show these invisible invaders don’t just correlate with dementia—they cause the same brain changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease, including amyloid plaques, and neuroinflammation.

Even so-called “safe” levels of air pollution are linked to higher dementia risk. A Harvard meta-analysis (2023) found a 17% increase in dementia risk for every 2 µg/m³ rise in PM2.5, even below EPA limits.

A JAMA Internal Medicine study tracking 28,000 adults found that 188,000 dementia cases each year in the U.S. may be caused by PM2.5 exposure.

Specific pollutants like black carbon, sulfates, and organic matter—mostly from traffic and fossil fuels—are strongly tied to dementia, with no safe threshold.

The good news: cleaner air can reduce risk. Research shows that lowering PM2.5 levels by just 1 µg/m³ over ten years can reduce dementia risk by up to 17%.

Spending more time in nature-rich environments—forests, parks, and areas away from heavy traffic—helps the brain detox from inflammation, improves oxygen flow, and supports cognitive function.

You can protect your brain by:

Using HEPA air purifiers at home.

Checking local Air Quality Index (AQI) and keeping windows closed on high-pollution days.

Adding indoor plants like peace lilies or spider plants to naturally clean the air.

Avoiding synthetic fragrances, aerosols, and paraffin candles.

Taking regular nature walks.

Clean air isn’t just about breathing easier—it’s about thinking clearer and aging healthier. If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, you can read one of the key research articles here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27049-2

Air pollution has been linked to neurodegenerative disease. Here the authors carried out a population-based cohort study to investigate the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and warm-season O3 on dementia and Alzheimer’s disease incidence in the United States.

11/05/2025

Research shows that people with functional GI disorders often experience pain more intensely because their brains don’t regulate digestive pain signals properly, meaning stress can turn up the volume on discomfort. The gut and brain are in constant conversation, so emotional distress can quite literally upset your stomach. In fact, studies reveal that therapy focused on reducing stress, anxiety, or depression often brings greater symptom relief than standard medical treatments alone. Even more intriguing, your thoughts and emotions can actually influence the community of bacteria living in your gut, shifting this delicate balance in ways that can fuel inflammation and affect your overall well-being.

You may feel nauseated before giving a presentation or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. You're not imagining it. The gut and the brain influence each other. For example, stress (or depression or other psychological factors) can affect movement and contractions of the gastrointestinal tra...

08/08/2025

What is HeartMath and Why I Integrate It with Brain-Based Therapy Like Brainspotting?

HeartMath is a science-based system that helps individuals build emotional resilience and regulate their nervous system through techniques that cultivate heart-brain coherence. It uses breathing techniques and focus practices to help people shift into a state of physiological harmony known as coherence.

In a coherent state, the heart and brain are in sync, creating smoother heart rhythms and improved communication between the autonomic nervous system and the brain. This alignment supports greater mental clarity, emotional stability, and physical well-being. When we operate from coherence, we respond to life with more presence, compassion, and resilience—not just cognitively, but emotionally, relationally, and physically.

I like integrating HeartMath with brain-based therapies like Brainspotting because both approaches support deep healing by regulating the nervous system and enhancing self-awareness. HeartMath brings clients into a regulated, receptive state, making it easier to access and process stored trauma or emotional patterns through Brainspotting.

Below, I'm sharing some short clips from one of my workshops where I introduce these concepts in action.

07/21/2025

What Is Brainspotting? 🧠

Brainspotting is a powerful, brain-based therapy that helps people heal from emotional and physical pain—especially trauma. Discovered in 2003 by Dr. David Grand, it uses specific eye positions, called “brainspots,” to access areas of the brain where difficult experiences are stored. By focusing on these spots, Brainspotting helps the brain and body naturally process and release stuck emotions.

This method can be used not only to process trauma and stress, but also to enhance creativity, performance, and personal growth.

As someone certified in both Brainspotting and HeartMath, I enjoy blending these approaches with cognitive, somatic, and emotional therapies for a holistic healing experience.

If you're curious to learn more, visit: brainspotting.com

07/21/2025

Starting September 2025, I will be offering Intensive Therapy Packages — a focused, neuroscience-informed approach designed to support meaningful shifts and breakthroughs in a condensed period of time. Unlike traditional weekly therapy, these sessions are longer and more frequent, often spanning several hours a day over the course of a few days or weeks. This format accelerates healing and provides faster relief, especially for those navigating anxiety, trauma, or emotional roadblocks.

One powerful option is the Brainspotting + HeartMath + Neurocounseling Intensive — a dynamic blend of methods to support deep emotional release, nervous system regulation, and healing. You’ll engage in Brainspotting to target unresolved trauma or performance blocks, HeartMath techniques to build heart-brain coherence, and Neurocounseling — a trauma-informed, neuroscience-based approach grounded in years of my doctoral research and training — to access and rewire subconscious patterns for sustained healing.
Contact information 📞 tel: 314 406- 7281
📧 email: davorkamaroviclpc@gmail.com

07/01/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLjJkzIRi3Q/?igsh=MWczb2gwOWkwOXQ3eg==

If you want to naturally increase your serotonin levels listen to this clip by Dr. Huberman.

06/16/2025

Another book I brought on my vacation, and am rereading for the third time, is by one of my favorite authors, Dr. Dan Siegel, M.D. I have to say, Dr. Siegel is a true parenting guru and one of the world’s leading experts in child and adolescent development, emotional regulation, and brain-based parenting. He’s a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, and the executive director of the Mindsight Institute.
Since I just returned from spending three wonderful weeks with my son Aleks and his girlfriend, I was reminded once again how much the parenting wisdom of Dr. Siegel — alongside my clinical practice and personal growth journey — has shaped the way I show up as a mother. Dr. Siegel’s work has provided me with invaluable tools to better understand how our brains work, how our emotions are regulated, and how relationships shape our resilience, adaptability, and sense of belonging.
The particular book I revisited, The Whole-Brain Child, is ideal for parents of younger children. It explains the difference between the right and left hemispheres of the brain and how to help children process difficult or even traumatic experiences by teaching them emotional regulation skills early in life.
Rather than avoiding difficult conversations, Dr. Siegel encourages parents to help their children tell their story — sometimes more than once — and to support them in labeling their emotions in order to process experiences and move forward.
One of his most important insights is that in moments of conflict or distress, parents must first learn to calm and regulate themselves. Children naturally mirror their parents' emotional states and learn how to regulate their own emotions by observing how we manage ours. Of course, emotional regulation is influenced by more than just parental feedback and responsiveness. Factors such as sleep, gut health, exposure to electronics, environmental stressors, and even exposure to endocrine disruptors all play important roles in a child’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being, ultimately affecting brain function and cognitive-emotional balance.
For those raising teenagers, I highly recommend Dr. Siegel’s Brainstorm, another fantastic book. It offers a compassionate, neuroscience-informed understanding of the adolescent brain and provides tools for parents to support their teens through this intense and formative period of development.
👉 Here’s the link to Brainstorm: https://drdansiegel.com/book/brainstorm/
If you’re a parent, no matter where you are on your journey, Dr. Siegel’s work is a wonderful, practical, and deeply compassionate resource for creating more connected, emotionally resilient families. I’m grateful for how it’s shaped my approach as a mother — and how it continues to enrich my clinical and personal journey.

06/03/2025

This year I brought several books to read while visiting my homeland, Montenegro 🇲🇪. One of them is a book I have been intending to read for many years, and I guess the timing for it is right. It is called Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss, MD. It is a true story about his experience with one of his patients, who, under hypnosis, began recalling her past lives. I am curious, what do you think about this? Do you believe we have been here before? Do you believe that some souls choose to return, while others move on to another plane of existence? I often struggle to make sense of this, especially when I think about souls who have truly suffered in this lifetime. Why would anyone choose such a difficult existence? Is it karma? Or something else? What do you think? ❤️

02/02/2025

I just completed Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) certification training with a colleague of mine in Austin, Texas. It was fun and incredibly interesting.

NLP explores how our thoughts (neuro), language (linguistic), and behaviors (programming) shape our experiences and interactions. By understanding these patterns, NLP offers powerful techniques to reframe negative thoughts, enhance communication, and unlock personal potential. It’s used in therapy, coaching, business, and everyday life to improve confidence, break bad habits, and foster meaningful connections. Imagine rewiring your brain for success, resilience, and deeper relationships. NLP is the toolkit that helps make that happen! By the way, can you find me in this photo 🙂?

01/18/2025

Are You in a Growth-Fostering Relationship?

Take a moment and think: Who are the five people you spend the most time with? These relationships matter more than you might realize! Research from relational neuroscience highlights four key pathways that make healthy, supportive relationships thrive.

Want to find out who in your life keeps you calm, accepts you just as you are, resonates with your experiences, truly sees you, and leaves you energized? Then dive into this fun and insightful assessment!

Why does this matter? Because your relationships are literally shaping you—from your mirror neurons to your heart, microbiome, energy levels, and beyond. When you're surrounded by energizing, supportive people, your brain releases more dopamine, the feel-good chemical that fuels your motivation, zest, and drive to chase your goals. Dopamine isn’t just about feeling great—it’s your secret sauce for living with passion and purpose!

Oh, and here’s a cool tidbit: Did you know the longest-running study on happiness, started at Harvard in 1938 and still ongoing, found that the quality of your relationships is one of the biggest contributors to your mental health, well-being, and overall happiness? Yep, it’s that important!

So, take the C.A.R.E. Relational Assessment to gain deeper insight into your relational experiences. It was developed by Harvard-trained neuroscientist and psychiatrist, Dr. Amy Banks, who specializes in the science of relationships. Let’s explore how to build stronger, more meaningful connections—or enhance the ones you already have.

The C.A.R.E. Relational Assessment:

https://amybanksmd.com/CARE/

Got questions or thoughts? Drop them in the comments—I’d love to hear from you! 😊