Summer Hawkins M.S., LPC, RPT

09/22/2025

This is always a busy time for everyone. Make sure you’re making time for yourself. ❤️

Happy Fall, y’all! Now is as good a time as any to focus on your mental/relational health. Give us a call to make an appointment! (479) 226-8403

09/03/2025

Thank you to everyone that nominated and voted for me last year. I was one of four healthcare heroes for 2024! I enjoy what I do, and have been blessed to serve the River Valley as a mental health professional since 2013!

Do you know a physician, dermatologist, dentist, school nurse, or other healthcare professional that should be recognized?

Nominate them for Healthcare Hero now! 🎉

We are looking for anyone in any healthcare field who goes above and beyond! Whether it’s your primary care physician, dental hygienist, mental health professional, or any other healthcare professional - tell us why they are a hero! Multiple nominations for the same person are accepted.

To nominate:
👨‍⚕️👩‍⚕️ Comment their name (tag them if you can!)
🏨🩺 Tell us where they work
🩹🩵 In a few short sentences, tell us why you're nominating them

Nominations for week 1 must be made in the comments on this post. Deadline is 9/5 at 12pm! Share this post so we can find that special Healthcare Hero!!

Thank you to our gift sponsors for helping celebrate our Healthcare Heroes!

08/11/2025

I say it often, I see people in therapy because someone in their life didn’t go.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder:
A condition where the sufferer gets to destroy people's lives, while their victims get blamed and end up in therapy—confused, isolated, and shattered from the inside out.

It’s the disorder where the one who causes the most damage often appears the most put-together. They charm crowds, manipulate narratives, and rewrite history with ease. Their mask is polished, their lies rehearsed. And by the time their victim begins to realize they’re being emotionally dismantled, it’s often too late—their voice has been dismissed, their reputation questioned, their sanity doubted.

Victims are not just hurt; they are psychologically disassembled. Their self-worth is picked apart piece by piece. They begin to apologize for things they never did, defend themselves against accusations born from projection, and slowly start to believe they deserve the very treatment that's breaking them. Gaslighting becomes a daily poison. Emotional neglect is rebranded as “discipline.” Cruelty is disguised as “tough love.” And control? It’s repackaged as concern.

The narcissist plays the role of the misunderstood savior, while the victim is left explaining invisible wounds. By the time the truth surfaces—if it ever does—the damage is so embedded, therapy feels like stitching up an emotional battlefield with a single thread. They have to heal not only from what happened, but from the shame of letting it happen, the guilt of staying too long, and the confusion of not seeing it sooner.

Friends and family may not believe them. After all, the narcissist smiled in every photo, said all the right things in public, and made sure to craft the perfect image. Behind closed doors, though, the victim lived a very different reality—one of fear, manipulation, silent punishments, and the constant need to prove their worth to someone who would never see it.

And the cruelest part? The narcissist often walks away untouched—starting over with a fresh target, a clean slate, and the same polished lies. Meanwhile, the victim is left in pieces, trying to explain a pain that has no bruises.

06/26/2025

I had a little visitor in my office today. He thinks his mom has the best toys!

06/25/2025

Please love your kids more than you hate your ex.

Getting a divorce may not be the easiest decision to make. Deciding whether to have a high-conflict divorce or a peaceful divorce is another decision that has to be made too. Keep in mind: Creating a peaceful divorce has nothing to do with benefiting your ex & everything to do with benefiting you and your children.
If you are putting the children at the “center” of the divorce, be sure that it is in a peaceful situation & not a hostile one.
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05/15/2025

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Small reminders for you as we continue

05/13/2025

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Here are some simple ways to tend to your mental health today!

05/10/2025

Happy Mother’s Day weekend! 💖

04/23/2025

Happy 10 years! 🎉 Thanks to all clients past and present for allowing me to be a part of your healing story! I joined this staff in 2017 as a 29 year old baby therapist, and have enjoyed watching this team grow to what it is today!

Today marks TEN YEARS of Re:Fresh (formerly Fresh Roots) serving the mental health needs of the Fort Smith River Valley. It seems impossible to summarize these 10 years. We have had the privilege of wonderful office staff and therapists come into this place and leave it better off. What started as three wide-eyed and excited therapists on a new venture has changed and grown into nine of us constantly striving to serve our clients well and be a safe space for hurting people.

We are so thankful for every life that has stepped into this space the last 10 years. We are who we are because our clients have entrusted us with their lives. We are forever grateful for the jobs that we get to have and for you who trust us!

Happy 10 years of growing, changing, learning and loving on people!

03/05/2025

s Divorce can bring many unexpected challenges, and one that stings for many parents is when their child starts calling their ex’s new part...

02/22/2025

You can’t just talk about it, you have to be about it! 👊🏼

Many of us go to counseling, and are we feel great, excited and INSPIRED by what we’ve learned (about ourselves or our relationships), and then we go about business as usual after we leave. But REAL CHANGE comes from taking that information that we’ve learned and DOING something with it.

02/21/2025

Parallel Parenting vs. Co-Parenting in Joint Custody Situations When parents share joint custody after a divorce or separation, they typical...