Magical Thinking as Trauma Response: How I Created Safety through Imagination
Faced with traumas before unimagined, Laura turned to the tool of magical thinking to create safety after ongoing experiences of trauma.
Author: Laura Farrell
Anxiety & Trauma Poems
Faced with trauma and grief, writer Laura Farrell turned to poetry to process her experiences.
The Vital Mission of a Therapist Working with Marginalized and Disenfranchised Populations
Angelica Pinna-Perez, an intersectionally-oriented therapist, works with marginalized and disenfranchised folx to access culturally-competent, affordable treatment.
A Clinician’s Journey from Complex Trauma to Thriving: Reflections on Abuse, C-PTSD and Reclamation
Sheri Heller’s new book, A Clinician’s Journey from Complex Trauma to Thriving, is a guide to healing with a keen awareness that no two paths are the same.
Review – Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice from my Bipolar Life
Ellen Forney has written a second graphic novel, Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice from my Bipolar Life, which leads the reader through her healing process.
A Psychologist Helps You Retrain Your Brain
Laura Farrell reviews Seth Gillihan’s book, Retrain Your Brain: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks, an interactive guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Listening: My Time in a Psych Ward
Perhaps it is important to talk about how I ended up in a psych ward and how I ended up having an earache. I can explain pieces of the first thing.
Disclosure
Disclosure is about feeling safe enough to find a kinder voice for ourselves. Every time I share my experiences in safe spaces I feel truer to myself.
Hospitalized for a “Break From Reality”
Being hospitalized for a “break from reality” is a part of my history, and it does not define me. I can understand this with distance from the experience.
Recovering From Trauma With EMDR Therapy
The trauma that has affected me the most happened when I was nineteen years old. After that experience, EMDR therapy taught me to trust myself and my body.
Friendship and Recovery: Laura & Catherine
Over the 15+ years we’ve know each other, friendship and recovery have been intertwined. Being a person, being a friend, is constant work.
Things Blur
“Things Blur” is a story about a break from reality. Due to PTSD (among other things), I had what was later described to me as a manic episode.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
It’s okay to not always know how to navigate complex memories, emotions and traumas. The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a gift in teaching me these things.
Mental Health > Art
Is art more important than mental health? Laura Farrell shares her own mental health art and says that mental wellness is more important than creating art.
Marbles
Marbles is a hilarious moving graphic memoir about artist Ellen Forney’s diagnosis & recovery journey with bipolar disorder, a search for clarity & wellness.