Written by Jo Natividad, LCMHC When the Holidays Don’t Feel Merry Christmas is supposed to be a time of wonder and joy, but for many of us it dredges up pain from a lifetime of struggle, or a single memory that still feels like a deep wound. Sometimes the trees, the bells, and the rituals […]

The Parenting Trap Parenting adolescents who have experienced trauma sits at the intersection of tenderness and steel. In general, teens today carry layered stressors: personal history, family disruption, chronic news of violence, and a social world that never powers down. When trauma is present—domestic abuse, loss, coercive control, spiritual harm—the heat rises fast. Parents often […]

Pastoral Partnerships As a pastor or elder, you carry the weight of shepherding your people. Week after week, individuals come to you with struggles ranging from marital conflict to trauma to questions about faith and purpose. While the church is called to care for souls, some situations require both pastoral care and professional counseling. The […]

Teen Dating Abuse When we think about abusive relationships, we often imagine adult couples caught in destructive patterns. The sobering reality, however, is that these patterns frequently begin much earlier, during the formative teenage years when young people are first exploring romantic connections. According to experts, one in three teens will experience some form of […]