The Fawn Response is defined as a response to a traumatic situation where a person chooses to become a soft, cuddly, people-pleasing fawn in order to calm down a big, scary person and re-establish a sense of safety and security. The Fawn Response is essentially an instinctual response that arises to manage conflict and trauma by appeasing a non-nurturing or abusive person. In kids, fawning behaviors  develop as a way to survive or cope with a difficult parent.

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Julie called me yesterday and explained that she recently learned that her husband, Todd, was having an affair at work with a co-worker. Julie confronted Todd about the affair, he admitted that he had been cheating, but told her he wanted to stop and to save their marriage. Julie was thrilled to hear this, but ... View Post

Emotional abuse is quite common and can be really hard to detect. I've taken care of countless men and women - smart, beautiful, amazing women - who have found themselves in very abusive relationships. They all worry that they're the damaged one for not seeing this beforehand. That they should have predicted it, they should have seen the signs, that they shouldn't "have been so stupid." View Post

Are you wondering how to repair your relationship? Feeling a bit frustrated by all of the information online and all of the different how-to articles? I understand and assure you, you're not alone. It is confusing! In fact, it was confusing for a lot of therapists too, until the amazing John Gottman, PhD and his team at the Seattle Love Lab started to scientifically study couples in happy (and some not-so-happy) marriages.

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A child's bond to their parents starts forming from the moment they are born. Children thrive in environments with close, continuous contact with their parents so they can feel safe, loved, and protected. Unfortunately, our modern lives have created a lot of demands that prevent us from devoting unlimited time to our kids. Many of us have to return to work quickly after giving birth and this causes a lot of stress on both the child and ourselves! View Post

Janine and Krystle Guerico made waves recently by announcing their platonic marriage on TikTok, saying "We act as a married couple does, but we don’t have the romantic or physical stuff.” Their video went viral and prompted over 10,000 comments! Their video also prompted several of you to reach out and ask me about platonic marriage. Here are your top questions about platonic marriage answered...

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We all want to be loved and feel truly, deeply valued. But did you know that we all love differently? Turns out that we receive love in unique and personal ways. If you want your partner and your friends to feel deeply loved, you definitely want to figure out their love langagues... so you can love them the way they crave to be loved!

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We live in a very stressful and intense world, so if you find yourself struggling to deal with anxiety, you are not alone. Most of us do too! One of the very best things you can do for yourself and those around you is to learn how to manage your anxiety. Let's talk about 10 different ways you can cope with stress and feel so much better... View Post