Category Archives: red flags

What Is A Trauma Bond?



Jourdan Travers defines the term “trauma bond” and discusses what relationships typically have them and why they are a powerful dynamic in relationships.

Jourdan Travers is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in the treatment of anxiety, mood, substance abuse/dependence, and personality disorders. She received her MSW from The University of Maryland and her B.A. in psychology from California State University Northridge. She is a well-respected psychotherapist trained in CBT, DBT, Trauma-Informed Care, Mindfulness, and Psycho-Education. She has previously worked at Promises Treatment Center and Malibu Vista in Malibu, California, and the Lindner Center of Hope in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ms. Travers has experience working with a range of patient populations, including individuals with severe mental illness as well as those with less acute diagnoses. Ms. Travers takes a holistic approach to mental health treatment — utilizing a variety of therapeutic approaches to help clients move through distressing thoughts, managing overwhelming emotions and urges, and focus on their strengths to achieve long-term results.

To schedule and appointment with Jourdan click here.
Check out Jourdan’s Instagram here and her Facebook here.


What is Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD)?



Robyn Brickel, M.A., LMFT  discusses Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  She defines CPTSD, outlines best practices for recovery, and examines how it is both similar and different to PSTD.

Robyn is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 25+ years of experience providing psychotherapy, as well as the founder and clinical director of a private practice, Brickel and Associates, LLC in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. She and her team bring a strengths-based, trauma-informed, systems approach to the treatment of individuals (older adolescents and adults), couples and families.  She specializes in trauma (including attachment trauma) and the use of dissociative mechanisms, such as: self-harm, eating disorders and addictions.  She also approaches treatment of perinatal mental health from a trauma-informed lens.

Robyn guides clients and clinicians who wish to better understand the impact of trauma on mental health and relationships. She has a wide range of post graduate trauma and addictions education and is trained in numerous relational models of practice, including Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT), the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), and Imago therapy.   She is a trained Sensorimotor Psychotherapist and is a Certified, Senior Facilitator for Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), Certified EMDRIA therapist and Approved Consultant.  Utilizing all of these tools, along with mindfulness and ego state work to provide the best care to her clients. She prides herself in always learning and expanding her knowledge about the intricacies of treating complex trauma, trauma’s impact on the person and body, including the impact on maternal mental health and perinatal distress, all to aide clients in healing and post traumatic growth.

Read much more about Robyn on her website

She frequently shares insights, resources and links to mental health news on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram as well as in her blog at BrickelandAssociates.com


What Are Six Steps Toward Recovery From A Toxic Relationship?



On this episode psychotherapist, Kaytee Gillis, LCSW-BACS, chats about her article 6 Steps Toward Recovery From a Toxic Relationship.  She describes the six steps, discusses how survivors can move between the steps,

Kaytee is a psychotherapist, author, and consultant with a passion for working with survivors of relationship and family trauma. Her first book, Invisible Bruises: How a Better Understanding of the Patterns of Domestic Violence Can Help Survivors Navigate the Legal System, released in 2021, sheds light on the ways that the legal system can perpetuate the cycle of domestic violence by failing to recognize patterns that would otherwise hold perpetrators accountable and protect survivors. Her new book, It’s not High Conflict, It’s Post Separation Abuse is set to be released in February.
Kaytee has been featured on Psychology Today, iheart radio, Psychotherapy Networker, The Dr. Wendy Walsh Show, CP24 News out of Toronto, Newsweek, The Mind Journal, Shaye Ganam’s radio show, and numerous others.

To get in touch with Kaytee:
www.kaytlyngillislcsw.com
Instagram: @KurleeKaytee
Instagram: @Claras_ _Voice – support for survivors and allies
Facebook: Claras Voice- a group in support of survivors and allies
Twitter: @Kaytee_Gillis
Blog: Invisible Bruises, Psychology Today


Are Any of the Relationships on “Love Is Blind” Abusive?



On this episode, Dr. Isabelle Morley discusses the toxic and abusive relationship behaviors she saw on the latest season of “Love Is Blind”. We chat about what responsibility Netflix has to contestants and viewers, and how Netflix can protect both groups.

Isabelle Morley, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, writer, and co-founder of The Relationship Coaches. She specializes in helping people navigate their romantic relationships. Dr. Morley has trained in several couples therapy orientations and does extensive work with couples and individuals on healing and strengthening their relationships. This includes working on communication, emotional intimacy, healthy boundary setting, dependency awareness, and conflict resolution skills. She is a writer for Psychology Today, and in her blog, Love Them or Leave Them, she analyzes on-screen romantic relationships in scripted shows and reality television. As co-founder of The Relationship Coaches, Dr. Morley provides evidence-based but accessible information on how to form healthy relationships through PDFs, intensives, and retreats. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two daughters, and a toy poodle named Clifford.
To get in touch with Dr. Morley, please visit her website and social media:
Website
Instagram
And don’t forget to sign her petition to Netflix to help protect contestants and viewers from abusive relationships HERE

How To Date After An Abusive Relationship



On this episode, Dr. Aimee Daramus stops by to offer advice on how to date after an abusive relationship.

Aimee Daramus, Psy.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in chronic mental illness. She works in private practice at Urban Balance in Chicago, and is an adjunct professor at Harold Washington College. She wrote a book, Understanding Bipolar Disorder: The Essential Family Guide, and her new book on Relationship OCD is coming out in February. She loves classic horror movies, has been kicked out of bookstores at last call, and is a guest co-host on the Bipolar Girl podcast.


What Do You Wish You Knew About Abusive Relationships?



On this episode, coauthor of Kendall Ann’s book “What I Wish I Knew: Surviving and Thriving After An Abusive Relationship”, Dr. Amelia Kelley, stops by to answer reader and listener questions with Kendall Ann.  They discuss how the book came to fruition, suggest other books survivors can read to help them thrive, chat about the difference between an abusive partner and a “jerk” and much more.

Dr. Amelia Kelley is a trauma-informed therapist who has conducted research on the effects of exercise on ADHD symptoms as well as a the effects of resiliency on PTSD. She is a trained Hypno-therapist, Art therapist, HSP Therapist, EMDR-informed therapist, meditation teacher, as well as a Certified Yoga instructor integrating therapeutic yoga and psychotherapy. She is a presenter and writer in the “science-help” field focusing on Highly Sensitive Persons, trauma, motivation, healthy living, and adult ADHD.  She is a guest podcast presenter focusing on women’s issues and coping with the trauma of unhealthy relationships, as well as a coach and trainer for SAS’s Work/Life Program in Cary, NC and a resident trainer for the NC Art Therapy Institute. Her practice is also currently part of the Traumatic Stress Research Consortium at the Kinsey Institute.

For more information about Dr. Kelley visit her site and follow her social media HERE.

Click HERE to purchase, rate, or review What I Wish I Knew: Surviving and Thriving After an Abusive Relationship.


How Do You Help Someone Who Is in a Toxic Relationship?



Chelli Pumphrey, MA, LPC stops by to discuss what to do if someone in your life is in an unhealthy, toxic, or abusive relationship.

Chelli is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Relationship Coach, Reiki Master, and author with almost 30 years of clinical experience. She specializes in working with trauma, adult attachment, narcissistic abuse and pathological love relationships.

Chelli founded Trilogy Holistic Mental Health in Denver, CO, and currently serves as Clinical Director of both Trilogy and Strength in Motion Counseling in Boulder, CO. She also maintains her own private practice where she offers toxic relationship recovery coaching programs. As a Certified Integrated Medicine Mental Health Practitioner and Reiki practitioner, Chelli is passionate about integrative, holistic mental health, believing that mind, body, and spirit should be nurtured throughout the healing journey.

Chelli has hosted an internet talk show, Destination Love, and was a featured relationship coach in LEAP: The Coaching Movie with John Gray and Jack Canfield in 2018. Her book, Insight is 20/20:How To Trust Yourself To Protect Yourself From Narcissists and Toxic Partners will be published in May 2022 with New Degree Press.

SOCIAL LINKS:

https://www.facebook.com/chellipumphreytherapy

https://www.instagram.com/chellipumphrey/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chellipumphrey/

 


What is Gaslighting?



In this episode I chat with Dr. Stephanie Moulton Sarkis about gaslighting. Dr.Sarkis defines gaslighting, explains its effects, describes why it is such a powerful tool for those looking to manipulate others, and discusses how you can protect yourself against it.

Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, Ph.D., NCC, LMHC, DCMHS is a bestselling author and psychotherapist. She has been in private practice for 20 years. She is an American Mental Health Counseling Association Diplomate (one of 100 in the U.S.) and an AMHCA Clinical Mental Health Specialist in Child and Adolescent Counseling (one of 20 in the U.S.).  Dr. Sarkis received her degrees and training from the University of Florida.  She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a National Certified Counselor.  She also is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator and Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator.  She maintains a private practice in Tampa, Florida, where she specializes in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and anxiety.

To preorder Dr. Sarkis’s seventh book, Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People -and Break Free, click here.

To read Dr. Sarkis’s article, “11 Warning Signs of Gaslighting” click here.

Click here for more information on Dr. Sarkis.


Relationship Red Flags



In my first episode of High Heels and Heartache, I sit down with Dr. Candice Creasman to discuss red flags in relationships that might be indicators of toxic, unhealthy, or abusive behaviors. We also have a fantastic chat about boundary setting in relationships.

Dr. Creasman  is a therapist, author, and meditation teacher with over 10 years of experience treating clients with mood disorders, personality disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. She is in private practice in Raleigh North Carolina where she works primarily with women who have survived domestic violence and sexual assault. She is a contributor to the meditation app Insight Timer, a foundational teacher for Aura Health, and expert contributor for marriage.com.

Learn more about Dr. Creasman by visiting (www.creasman-counseling.com

www.facebook.com/drcandicecreasman

www.insighttimer.com/dr.candicecreasman