

Healing from Emotional Abuse: Understanding Gaslighting and Finding Your Way Back
Emotional abuse is a deeply isolating experience. Unlike physical abuse, there are often no visible scars, and the effects can slowly erode your confidence, self-worth, and trust in your own perception. One of the most deceptive forms of emotional abuse is gaslighting. What is Gaslighting? Gaslighting is a form of manipulation where someone makes you doubt your reality, memories, or feelings. Over time, this can make you feel “crazy,” anxious, or unable to trust your own judg
Jessica Elliott
Dec 22 min read


Talking About Sex in Therapy: Building Connection and Finding Hope
Sex is one of the most vulnerable, intimate aspects of a relationship, and yet, it’s also one of the hardest topics for couples to talk about. Many clients feel ashamed, anxious, or afraid of judgment when sexual struggles show up in their relationship. As a therapist, I want to normalize this: difficulties with sex are common, and they don’t mean your relationship is broken. They simply point to areas where healing, understanding, and new tools can bring closeness back. Sex
Jessica Elliott
Dec 26 min read


Understanding Trauma: You Didn’t Ask for This
One of the most important truths about trauma is this: you did not ask for it. No one chooses trauma, and no one deserves it. Trauma isn’t a sign of weakness, and it’s not something you should “just get over.” It’s a real, human response to overwhelming experiences, and it deserves to be understood with empathy and care. What Is Trauma? Trauma is not just the event itself, it’s the impact that event leaves on our body, mind, and spirit. Trauma occurs when something overwhelms
Jessica Elliott
Dec 23 min read


Addiction, Families, and the Hard Work of Healing
Addiction touches almost every family in some way. Even if we’ve emotionally cut off a loved one who struggles, the impact lingers. Addiction doesn’t just affect the individual, it weaves its way through families, generations, and relationships. One story I once read captures this truth: An alcoholic father had two identical twin sons. One son grew up to become an alcoholic himself. The other never touched a drop of alcohol in his life. When each was asked why they made the c
Jessica Elliott
Dec 23 min read


It’s Okay to Not Be Okay: Understanding Grief and Giving Yourself Permission to Feel
Grief is messy, unpredictable, and often misunderstood. Society has expectations about how long it should last, how it should look, and how we should “move on.” But grief doesn’t follow a schedule, and it doesn’t care about anyone’s timeline. As Megan Devine reminds us in It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, grief is not a problem to fix, it is a process to live through. Often, loved ones mean well when they say things like: “It’s time to move on.” “At least you had [X].” “You need to b
Jessica Elliott
Dec 22 min read
