http://www.theempoweredtherapist.com/

The Empowered Therapist, 12720 Hillcrest Road, Suite 106, Dallas, TX (2025)

09/24/2025

The truth is some of us have been preparing for this work since the day we were born.

To those of you who clocked in for your role as a caregiver when you were way too young, I see you.

(IC: I’m not saying ALL helping professionals have mama trauma, but if you told me the Venn diagram was two completely overlapping circles, I wouldn’t be surprised)

09/22/2025

Thanks for being here y’all. Feel free to tell me a little bit about you in the comments.

To those of you healing from things you should have never had to endure, I see you.

(IC: Unfortunately, I do love: Playing early 2000s music too loud, Advocating for survivors even louder, Hot coffee in the heat of summer, When my clients show me pictures of people in their lives, When a friend texts, “I need to be petty for a minute”, Brunch on a patio, Every time a client starts a story with, “You’ll never believe this!”, Making eye contact with dogs rather than their owners, Letting people be wrong about me, Leaving podcast length voice notes for my friends, Saying cuss words even when other words would work, Creating healing communities where folks can access safety, Waking up without an alarm, Helping therapists build trauma-informed businesses, Speaking my truth all the way out loud, Friend hangouts with a topic agenda, Science, and also horoscopes and tarot cards, An at home facial every week, Talking about our nervous systems non-stop, Dreaming up opportunities for healing and connection)

09/18/2025

When Brittany and I started our private practice in the Fall of 2018, there was so much we didn’t know. One thing was for sure though- we had to leave the oppressive system we were working in. Luckily, we had each other and a lot of determination to make this business work, but when I tell you the learning curve is STEEP, I mean that there are tons of things therapists don’t even know, they don’t know, about what it takes to run a therapy practice.

This is why I created The Empowered Therapist Entrepreneur Collective. Because therapists deserve to have a non-competitive space to learn, grow, vent, and be messy. We need spaces where we can ask questions and discover the answers to things when we don’t even know to ask.

Therapists need community- not just for clinical consultation, but also for business-related information. We need each other, especially since our graduate programs teach next to nothing about what it takes to be in private practice.

If you’re longing for business support, community with like-minded, supportive therapist peers, and a space where you can get curious about how to build or create a business that supports you in a trauma-informed way, join us for our next Entrepreneur Collective cohort!

Now accepting applications- check out the link in my bio.

To the therapists building a practice that feel sustainable for them, I see you.

09/17/2025

I am so tired, and I know many of you are too. Remember that there are others who see things the way you do- who yearn for safety and inclusion.

Keep doing your healing work so you can be a safe place for yourself, others, and the world around you.

To those of you carrying the weight others refuse to acknowledge, I see you.

(IC: Slide 1: Heal for yourself. But also so you can be less fearful of people who identify, live, love, or function very differently from you.; Slide 2: Only those who are highly insecure seek to limit the existence of others.; Slide 3: Only those who are accustomed to hiding parts of themselves expect others to do the same.; Slide 4: As we heal, we invite in more nuance. We allow for more variation. We become more tolerant of differences. We learn to be flexible with ourselves and others.; Slide 5: Fear limits our lives, and if we don’t tend to our fear, it can become a weapon we wield at others.; Slide 6: Attempting to limit or eliminate someone else’s existence will never fill the void inside of you.; Slide 7: Healthy, healed, and safe people don’t need to exert their power over others.)

09/16/2025

The people who are for us won’t require convincing. The people who turn towards us are the ones we can count on. The people who stay only after we shapeshift, plead, or beg won’t be the people we feel most ourselves with. Safety can’t exist when we’re emotionally chasing someone who wants to go.

When a friend, partner, or otherwise someone we have counted on, leaves, we may feel completely upended. We may swirl with fear; we may feel many emotions all at once. And sometimes, we get this internal calling that says, “Stop them. Convince them. Be better so they stay.” And this inner voice will dictate our behavior if we don’t tend to it.

When we let our fear be louder than our trust in ourselves, we will find that we are upended by other people’s behavior and choices. Rather than allowing ourselves to grieve the loss, we may struggle to come to terms with it and find ourselves behaviorally showing up in ways that center the other person over ourselves.

Dear ones, sometimes we have to let them go so we can find ourselves. And I know it is tempting to believe that you can’t go on without this person in your life, but once they end the connection, you are already existing without them.

The love and connection that will heal you is your own, not theirs.

To those of you learning to grieve, release, and move forward, I see you.

(IC: Slide 1: Begging someone to stay will never be the right move; Slide 2: Waiting for someone who isn’t available won’t help you to feel secure; Slide 3: Longing for someone who has chosen to turn away will not resolve your grief; Slide 4: Dear ones, don’t confuse familiarity with safety. If someone desires to leave, don’t make them break your heart over and over again; Slide 5: The right-for-you people won’t need your convincing, and they won’t need to be chased down)

09/12/2025

Dear Therapists,

It’s Friday, you’ve made it through another challenging week. I know this is a lot, and you’re doing it. Remind yourself that it feels heavy because it’s a lot to hold. The collective trauma continues, and of course you’re going to feel impacted by it. This has been a long 5+ years.

Thank you therapists for showing up for your clients. For tending to yourselves so that you can tend to them (don’t forget this part!). Thank you for letting your humanity show. Thank you for co-journeying, for co-regulating, for co-creating safety- even if it’s just for 50 minutes at a time.

To the therapists holding the grief, pain, fear, and anger that might otherwise not be felt or validated, I see you.

09/11/2025

There is too much going on for our brains and bodies to consume, and if we aren’t careful, we’ll become so flooded that we will be even more desensitized. We have to find the sweet spot between looking non-stop and turning away.

I hope you’ll tend to you, because your survival depends on it.

To those of you trying to figure when and how, and how often, the lean in, act, and take time away, I see you.

(IC: Slide 1: I hope you don’t see this post because you are taking a break from the internet; Slide 2: Just posting to remind you that we were not designed to take in this much distressing information all at once; Slide 3: If you feel flooded, anxious, fearful, dissociated, or many things all at once- all of that makes sense; Slide 4: It makes sense if your nervous system doesn’t know how to ride the wave of this much activation; Slide 5: For complex trauma survivors, the constant news cycle of death, violence, discrimination, and harm is likely to bring up times you have felt powerless in the past; Slide 6: If it feels like social media is yelling at you, it’s because it is; Slide 7: We desperately need to care about what’s happening in our world. And we need to tend to ourselves so that we can actually create change.; Slide 8: Staying in chronic activation is highly detrimental to your well-being.; Slide 9: Let your feelings be real and valid. Let your anger motivate you. But tend to your fear, move through your activation, and take necessary breaks from activating content online.)

09/10/2025

Today is World Su***de Prevention Day, and this is your reminder that a lot of people suffer in silence.

So many of us carry burdens no one else knows about. So many of us ache to be seen but fear anyone looking at us. So many of us learned to do it all, be it all, and attend to it all that we never learned how to allow ourselves to fully exist.

Sometimes the people who struggle the most don’t look like they’re struggling at all, and this is something that’s really important to keep in mind when we are connecting with others.

Check on your people and allow them to check in on you.

We need each other.

To those of you looking for safe places and connections where you can be fully yourself, I see you.

(IC: Slide 1: Some of the people who struggle most with their mental health tell no one, and don’t look like they’re struggling; Slide 2: Complex trauma survivors often experience heightened suicidal thoughts and gestures as they come to terms with the traumatic past they’ve endured; Slide 3: For some, the risks associated with su***de become greater as they begin to heal, and for others, their suicidality may be present because they feel hopeless in their healing; Slide 4: This year’s theme for World Su***de Prevention Day is “Creating Hope Through Action”, which reminds us that showing up, checking in, offering acts of kindness, and being available for timely support are all crucial in reducing suicidal risks; Slide 5: But you know what else is su***de prevention? Slide 6: Su***de Prevention looks like: Believing Black Lives Matter, Gender affirming care, Trans rights, LGBTQ+ rights, Access to basic needs and housing, Access to affordable medical care, Access to mental health care, Financial stability, Veteran’s support programs, Allowing people to be different from us, Reducing bullying in schools and online, Safe community, Believing survivors; Slide 7: We are su***de prevention. Safety starts with us.)
***depreventionawareness ***depreventionday

09/09/2025

Let me start here: It will never be Lauryn’s job to be empathic, forgiving, and understanding of her mom and her behaviors towards her. Please keep this in mind when I share my next statement.

At the end of the documentary, Kendra spoke about coming to understand her own traumatic past and its influence on her and her behavior towards Lauryn and Owen, and I sincerely hope that someone is kind and compassionate towards Kendra in her healing process.

You might be thinking, wait. Why does Kendra deserve compassion? So let me pull you into some of the nuance here.

Lauryn’s healing is actually the one I care most about. What she endured at the hands of her mother is despicable. When a child experiences an emotionally violent and manipulative caregiver, it is likely to negatively impact them in profound ways, well into their adulthood. The way Lauryn longs for a relationship with her mom is heartbreaking, and also very common for children who grow up with a caregiver who is both the source of their comfort and the greatest source of their suffering.

At the same time, people don’t heal through shame, and when perpetrators are shamed rather than held accountable, more people get hurt. So, I hope that Kendra receives support from her peers. I hope she has a therapist who specializes in trauma and personality disorder traits by her side. I hope someone other than Lauryn holds some compassion for her so that Lauryn can be free to focus on herself and her healing.

You see, children in these environments are apt to protect their abusers, especially if they see that others have turned their backs on them. This leads to the child suffering even more, because in addition to enduring the initial abuse, they’re now all alone in supporting the person who is harming them.

Talk about a mind and body f*ck.

While we never have to be the one to support the person who has abused us, it’s helpful for there to be people in their lives to tend to them- even when they have done something horrible. Can you see the nuance, dear ones?

To those of you healing from childhood wounds, I see you.

09/04/2025

Every good therapist loves a good metaphor.

To those of you learning to rebuild, remodel, and renovate yourselves, I see you.

Want more?
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✍️Check out my weekly blog on my website!

🏡Join me Nov 6th-10th in Dallas, TX for our next Healing Your Way Home Retreat!

(IC: Slide 1: The best healing work happens when you can live in the house while you’re remodeling. I’m not talking about a house.; Slide 2: Healing can be a full-time job, but many of us don’t have the luxury of stepping out of our lives in order to heal.; Slide 3: We have to grieve while working. Feel sad and still function. Acknowledge and release our anger and still stay in connection with others.; Slide 4: When we’re ‘remodeling’ ourselves, it can feel super uncomfortable. We may feel displaced. We may feel as if we’re existing in an environment where we don’t belong.; Slide 5: And yet, if we’re intentional, we may establish new norms each day. We may find that we’re far more flexible than we thought. We may even find that the changes we’re experiencing bring about hope for what things will look and feel like when the job is done.; Slide 6: Just like home repair, our own renovation process can be activating. Anything new and unknown stands to be uncomfortable while we’re in the process.; Slide 7: You’re allowed to be uncomfortable and still in process. You’re allowed to be fearful and a work in progress. Your house won’t feel like a home until it does.; Slide 8: One day you’ll wake up and the renovations that seemed to take forever will be complete. And then dear one, you will finally feel at home in yourself.)

09/03/2025

Woke up this morning with a strong sense that some of us needed this message.

To those of you learning how to forgive yourself first and foremost, I see you.

(IC: Slide 1: Real talk: we need to stop expecting people to forgive those who have never been sorry for the harm they’ve caused; Slide 2: The truth is some of us have been expected to forgive people who have never apologized; Slide 3: Forgiveness is personal, and shouldn’t be the expectation when repair hasn’t been attempted; Slide 4: You are free to forgive anyone you want, but don’t forget that forgiveness isn’t the only way to release the feelings you have about someone causing you harm; Slide 5: You really want to move forward from relational trauma? Validate the heck out of yourself and your feelings. Believe yourself so fully. Build up your own self-worth.; Slide 6: Focusing on what you deserve will help you to create healthier relationships moving forward, and this serves as the corrective experience you need in order to feel a sense of closure for the pain you carry; Slide 7: I’ll be so direct here: Focus on your healing, not on forgiving them; Slide 8: Our own love and changed behavior will do far more for us than forgiving someone who isn’t sorry for the pain they’ve caused)

The Empowered Therapist

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