Empowering Peace Counseling PLLC

11/01/2025

I just want to say something about what’s going on with health insurance premiums right now—because it’s not just “part of doing business.”
It’s personal, it’s local, and it’s affecting our community more than most people realize.

Therapists—many of us who own our own practices—are watching our insurance costs skyrocket. I’ve seen dozens of colleagues saying they may have to shut down their private practices and go back to salaried jobs just to keep healthcare coverage.

You might think, “Well, that’s unfortunate, but why should I care?”

Here’s why: if therapists can’t afford healthcare, they get sick and can’t work. If they have to shut their doors, you lose your therapist. And we all know finding a therapist who actually fits—your schedule, your needs, your personality, and your insurance—is already like finding a unicorn in rush hour traffic.

When private practice therapists disappear, access disappears. When insurance companies keep low-balling reimbursement rates, we can’t sustain this work and keep it affordable. That means therapy becomes something only the privileged can afford—and that’s not okay.

This isn’t just a small business issue. It’s a mental health access issue. It’s a community issue.

Email your senators. Tell them these hikes are unsustainable and hurting both providers and clients.
If we want to keep mental health care accessible, we have to speak up now.

10/30/2025

Three ways to work on authenticity (aka stop shapeshifting for approval):

Catch the performative version of you. The one who says “I’m fine” with dead eyes. Notice when you’re shrinking to make someone else comfortable. That’s not peace—it’s people-pleasing in a cute outfit.

Tell the truth, even when your voice shakes. Especially when it shakes. Authenticity isn’t calm; it’s messy honesty that smells like freedom.

Stop trying to be “low maintenance.” You’re not a plant. You have needs, emotions, edges, and opinions. Own them.

You don’t find authenticity—it’s what’s left when you stop pretending.

10/29/2025

10/29/2025

Healing isn’t a big breakthrough.
It’s the tiny decision to stop pretending you’re fine.

10/23/2025

When life feels heavy or anxiety hums too loud, the big picture can feel impossible—so zoom in.

Joy hides in the small, ordinary things: the smell of coffee before the first sip, the sun flickering through leaves, your toddler’s chubby fingers wrapped around yours, the sound of birds reminding you that life still moves gently forward.

You don’t have to feel amazing to notice something good.

Start there—one tiny, tender moment at a time—and let those small things be enough for now.

10/23/2025

we might be singing and drinking braums!

10/21/2025

💜💜Domestic Violence Awareness Month 💜💜

Domestic violence isn’t just a “relationship issue.”

It’s a wound that runs through families, generations, and entire communities. It steals safety, trust, and identity. It changes the brain, the body, the way someone moves through the world. It shapes how we love, parent, and see ourselves long after the danger is gone.

This work matters because it’s life or death.
It’s not just bruises and broken bones — it’s fear, silence, and survival. It’s the invisible cost society pays when trauma gets passed down instead of healed.

And yet… survivors are some of the strongest, most resilient people I’ve ever known. They rebuild from the ashes of what others tried to destroy. They reclaim their voices, their power, their joy.

I feel endlessly grateful and humbled to be part of that journey — to witness healing, empowerment, and the fierce determination it takes to choose life, peace, and freedom every single day.

If you’ve survived, you are not broken — you are proof of what strength truly looks like.

If you’re still in it — your life matters. Your story isn’t over yet.

10/20/2025

Let’s talk about something uncomfortable.

So many women are haunted by this quiet fear that as we age, we’re becoming less valuable. Not less wise. Not less grounded. Not less interesting. Just… less desirable. And that belief? That’s internalized misogyny doing push-ups in the background of our lives.

We were raised in a culture that taught us our worth was in how we looked—how youthful, small, smooth, or pleasing we could be. We absorbed that message even when we knew better. So now, when we catch our reflection and hesitate, or cringe at a new line, or scroll past someone “aging gracefully” and feel shame instead of solidarity—that’s not vanity. That’s conditioning.

But here’s the thing:
You can’t heal what you won’t name.
And this—this is something to name.

A few steps to start unlearning it:

Notice the voice, don’t obey it.
When the thought pops up—“I look old,” “I shouldn’t wear that,” “People will judge”—pause. Whose voice is that really? Yours, or society’s? You don’t have to believe every thought your brain repeats from the patriarchy.

Surround yourself with women who honor aging.
Follow women who are loud, messy, powerful, and aging out loud. Community shapes perception. The more you see women living fully at every age, the harder it is to buy into the lie that beauty has an expiration date.

Shift your mirror moments.
Instead of scanning for flaws, try catching your own eyes. Ask, What stories live in this face? You’ll start to see history instead of “imperfection.”

Stop apologizing for existing in your body.
Whether it’s gray hair, wrinkles, or a body that’s lived—none of that needs softening with self-deprecation. You don’t owe anyone palatable femininity.

Aging isn’t a loss of beauty—it’s a transfer of power.
The kind that doesn’t need permission.

10/19/2025

Do you want to see something simply magical!?

Tonight we watched in awe as one of our Moonflowers bloomed! She will only bloom for tonight and then she will wither. It’s magical because when I look at them I am always reminded that we can always grow and bloom even in darkness 💚💚💚

Life is sometimes all about taking a few moments and just sitting and watching something beautiful inspire you! I hope you took time this weekend to allow rest!

10/17/2025

Struggling with your kid not listening, being angry, or having more meltdowns?

Spending too much time on screens may cause emotional and behavioral problems in children—and those problems can lead to even more screen use, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

The study revealed that the more children engaged with electronic screens, the more likely they were to develop socioemotional problems. This included both internalizing problems, such as anxiety and depression, and externalizing problems, such as aggression and hyperactivity. Conversely, children experiencing socioemotional problems were found to be more likely to turn to screens as a coping mechanism.

This isn’t a post to create shame it’s to help with change.

To set screen time boundaries
establish clear rules like screen-free mealtimes or a one-hour pre-bedtime cutoff,

create tech-free zones at home, use built-in device settings or apps to enforce limits,

consistently model healthy behavior by engaging in offline activities.

Prioritizing alternatives like physical activity, reading, and hobbies helps make the boundaries easier to maintain for both adults and children.