Heidi J. Dalzell, PsyD

04/13/2026

Trauma treatment has evolved significantly over the past few decades. While traditional weekly talk therapy remains valuable, many clients find that it doesn’t fully reach the depth of their experience—especially when trauma is stored in the body, held in implicit memory, or rooted in early developmental wounds.

Today, a growing number of clinicians are embracing “out-of-the-box” approaches—modalities that move beyond insight alone and into deeper, more experiential healing. Read more here:

Trauma treatment is evolving beyond weekly talk therapy into more experiential, integrative approaches that address how trauma lives in both mind and body. From EMDR intensives and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to somatic and psychospiritual practices, these emerging methods offer deeper, faster p...

04/07/2026

Ever wondered about microdosing? Microdosing psychedelics has become a popular approach for people seeking emotional healing, enhanced creativity, and greater mental clarity—without the intensity of a full psychedelic journey. While the practice is trending in wellness spaces, it also holds meaningful potential within a trauma-informed, psychospiritual framework when approached with intention and care. Read more here:

Microdosing psychedelics offers a gentle, intentional path toward emotional healing, creativity, and self-awareness. Rather than dramatic breakthroughs, it invites subtle shifts—supporting nervous system regulation, insight, and meaningful change over time when approached with care, integration, a...

04/01/2026

When we talk about healing trauma, we often focus on changing behaviors, regulating emotions, or “letting go” of the past. But what if the very patterns you’re trying to change were once the most intelligent ways your nervous system knew how to survive?

From a trauma-informed lens—and especially through the framework of Internal Family Systems (IFS)—these patterns are not problems to eliminate. They are parts of you that adapted under pressure. And healing begins not with fixing them, but with self-compassion. Read more here:

Healing trauma isn’t about fixing what’s “wrong” with you—it’s about understanding the intelligent ways your nervous system learned to help you survive. Through an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, patterns like anxiety, perfectionism, or emotional shutdown are protective parts, not fl...

03/25/2026

Sharing my latest blog about what makes Psychedelic therapy different than recreational use. Enjoy!

Is taking psychedelics with friends the same as psychedelic therapy? While the substances may overlap, the purpose, structure, and outcomes are profoundly different. This article explores how intention, set and setting, professional guidance, and integration transform psychedelic experiences into a....

03/18/2026

Working on healing trauma? It’s not easy. This blog discusses trauma therapy and why it often feels worse before it gets better. https://www.talktogrow.com/post/why-trauma-healing-often-feels-harder-before-it-feels-better?fbclid=IwY2xjawQm-9FleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFYT1Q4VmtGQzFZZlkyTUV4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHk7Dwdus1IcywELGZEBIc6vGGKeNXM2G7JdCPTvdJpMkJe2W3o3GkJwhaeHS_aem_ypvqGuQYVc29fwbpxwkbMg

Starting trauma therapy and feeling worse can be surprising—but it’s often a sign that healing has begun. As the nervous system processes suppressed memories and emotions, symptoms like anxiety, fatigue, or vivid dreams may temporarily increase. This is a natural part of trauma recovery, which u...

03/17/2026

Please join us for on March 27 at 10:00 PST for this upcoming course about the potential for psychedelic medicines to aid in the healing of eating disorders: https://unlimited-education.thinkific.com/products/courses/healing-the-hungry-soul?fbclid=IwY2xjawQmqsJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeuXB_Y6pi2l1qan-1t2maKW6XPl6j_OwKC7ihjuXt9u4QYDZ-NZjrkby0OIQ_aem_cv6m37efGyzZHcEvYHdjrw

This course bridges clinical knowledge and personal stories, exploring the emerging role of psychedelics in eating disorder recovery. Through case studies, research, and guided practices, you’ll learn how psychedelic-assisted therapy can support embodiment, food freedom, and compassion for the sel...

03/09/2026

There is a kind of hunger that food can never touch.

It shows up as restriction, bingeing, purging, compulsive exercise, body hatred, or relentless comparison. It may look like control on the outside — discipline, “clean eating,” high achievement — but inside, it often feels like longing. A deep, unnamed need.

I call this the Hungry Soul.

Not because food is irrelevant. But because disordered eating so often begins as an attempt to soothe, regulate, or control something much deeper.

This is a story about trauma, meaning, and the hunger beneath the hunger. Read it here:

Disordered eating is rarely just about food. Beneath restriction, bingeing, purging, or compulsive exercise often lies a deeper hunger — a longing for safety, belonging, meaning, and self-connection. When trauma and unmet emotional needs live in the body, food and body control can become ways to r...

03/09/2026

International Women's Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women's advancement. Since 1911, IWD belongs to all who care about gender equality. Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Now more than ever please join in recognizing this important day!

03/04/2026

I am not a politician.
I am not famous.
I am a psychologist.

Every week, I sit with people who are living with the long-term effects of sexual abuse and exploitation. I see what it does to the body, to relationships, to identity, to the nervous system. I see how it shapes a person’s sense of safety in the world.

So when powerful men are implicated in systems of sexual exploitation, this is not abstract to me. It is not political theater. It is not gossip.

It is personal.

Read more:

When powerful men close ranks, when colleagues refuse to ask hard questions, when public figures remain conspicuously quiet, the message is clear: preserving the circle matters more than protecting those harmed outside it.

02/24/2026

Many of us carry stories, emotions, and patterns that didn’t begin with us. We feel them in our bodies, our relationships and our struggles. We may not know why certain fears feel so old, or why particular wounds feel so familiar. This is where ancestral healing enters the conversation—not as a mystical bypass, but as a deeply grounded, psychologically and spiritually meaningful practice. Read more here:

Many of us carry stories, emotions, and patterns that didn’t begin with us. We feel them in our bodies, our relationships, and our struggles—often without knowing why. This is where ancestral healing enters the conversation. It isn’t a mystical bypass; it is a deeply grounded, psychological pr...

02/18/2026

Self-compassion is everywhere right now—on social media, in therapy rooms, in wellness spaces. And yet, many people quietly think: I’ve tried that. It didn’t really help.

If that’s you, you’re not failing at self-compassion. You may just have been given versions that are too abstract, too performative, or disconnected from what actually happens in a nervous system shaped by stress, trauma, or shame. Read more here:

Self-compassion is everywhere—but for many people, it feels abstract or ineffective when life is actually hard. Real self-compassion isn’t about positive thinking or letting yourself off the hook; it’s about changing how you relate to suffering in real time. These five grounded, nervous-system...