Introduction 🦖 Couples often arrive in therapy saying, “We fight about money, sex, or chores.”  On the surface, these look like practical problems — and yes, communication scripts, budgeting plans, or intimacy exercises can help, but beneath those arguments, the dinosaur brain  is often roaring!! 🦕🔥 The dinosaur brain is our survival system — the fight, flight, or freeze responses that hijack conversations when we feel threatened. Trauma rewires this system, so even everyd

Reflections on working with Indigenous peoples and the ongoing journey of allyship.

For many middle school and high school students, school can feel like a constant trigger for that dinosaur brain. The environment, the expectations, the social pressures — all of it can send their nervous systems into overdrive. And when that happens, learning, and even functioning, becomes incredibly difficult

I often tell my clients: “You're not your dinosaur brain.”  But what do I mean by that? Think dinosaurs. Big, powerful creatures…with...

Thank you so much for checking out my blog. My name is Stephanie, and I’m a registered social worker and trauma therapist with nearly 15...