The Counseling Haven

05/29/2026

People often assume strong emotional reactions come “out of nowhere.”

But many reactions are connected to patterns the brain has learned through past emotional experiences.

The brain is designed to form associations.

This helps people recognize safety, avoid harm, and respond quickly to emotionally significant situations.

But sometimes those learned associations continue activating responses long after the original experience has passed.

This is part of why certain situations, tones, interactions, or dynamics can feel disproportionately intense.

Not because someone is choosing the reaction, but because the nervous system has learned to connect the experience with emotional significance.

Understanding reactions through this lens shifts the focus away from self judgment and toward understanding what the response may actually be connected to.

Research references:
• LeDoux, J. (1996) The Emotional Brain
• Van der Kolk, B. (2014) The Body Keeps the Score

05/21/2026

A lot of people assume overthinking means they just need to “let it go.”

But often, the mind keeps returning to something because it does not feel emotionally resolved.

This can look like:
replaying conversations
mentally revisiting situations
trying to figure out what you should have said
or repeatedly searching for clarity that never quite feels complete

The brain is designed to return to what feels emotionally important, uncertain, or unfinished.

And while insight can help, thinking alone does not always resolve emotional material.

This is part of why people can logically understand something and still feel mentally stuck in it.

Understanding rumination through this lens shifts the question from:
“Why can’t I stop thinking about this?”
to
“What is my mind still trying to resolve?”

Research references:
• Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2000) The Role of Rumination in Depressive Disorders and Mixed Anxiety/Depressive Symptoms
• Watkins, E. (2008) Constructive and Unconstructive Repetitive Thought

05/21/2026

The nervous system responds to environment constantly.

Many people walk into therapy already carrying stress, emotional overwhelm, anxiety, hypervigilance, or exhaustion from remaining in survival mode for too long.

The Counseling Haven was intentionally designed to feel calm, quiet, and emotionally safe from the moment someone walks through the door.

Research continues to show that environment influences regulation, emotional processing, attention, and felt safety. Small details matter more than many people realize.

Every therapy space inside the office was created with intention for children, teens, and adults receiving care.

www.thecounselinghaven.com

05/11/2026

One of the most distressing things about intrusive thoughts is how personal they can feel.

People often assume that if a thought appears repeatedly, it must mean something important about them.

But intrusive thoughts are not always reflections of intention or character.

Research suggests the brain is more likely to repeatedly focus on material connected to emotional significance, uncertainty, or unresolved distress.

This is part of why certain thoughts can become “sticky,” especially when they trigger fear, shame, or emotional activation.

And paradoxically, the harder someone tries not to think about something, the more attention the brain begins giving it.

Not because the person wants the thought there, but because the brain has started monitoring for it more closely.

Understanding intrusive thoughts through this lens can help shift the experience from self judgment toward understanding what the mind may actually be trying to process.

Research references:
• Wegner, D. (1994) Ironic Processes of Mental Control
• Clark, D. (2005) Intrusive Thoughts in Clinical Disorders

05/08/2026

05/04/2026

Many emotional reactions do not start with a thought.

They start with a response.

You may notice it as:
feeling on edge
getting irritated quickly
shutting down in a conversation
or reacting in a way that feels stronger than the situation calls for

And then after, trying to make sense of it.

This happens because parts of the brain are designed to respond before you have time to think it through.

It is fast, automatic, and based on what has been learned through past experience.

So when something feels off, even subtly, your system may respond as if something is wrong, even when you cannot immediately identify why.

This is not a lack of control.

It is how the brain has learned to respond.

And when these patterns are addressed at their source, the response can begin to shift.

04/20/2026

Some experiences are remembered. Others are relived, especially those that carried intense emotion.
Your brain has two memory systems: narrative (the story) and emotional (the feeling). Emotional memories can remain active in your nervous system, making past experiences feel immediate even years later.

This explains why you might:
• Feel anxious in seemingly safe situations
• Have anger that surprises you
• Shut down during certain interactions
• Know you're safe but not feel it

This isn't a lack of insight. It's how your brain encoded survival relevant experiences.

The good news? Therapy that works at the level trauma is stored can help your nervous system update these experiences, reducing their intensity over time.

Healing is possible.

Ready to begin? Visit www.thecounselinghaven.com or call 251-716-2170

Lorin Puebla MS, ALC, NCC
Under the Supervision of Anna Barksdale MSCP, LPC-S

Citations:
LeDoux, J. (2000). Emotion circuits in the brain
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score
McGaugh, J. (2000). Memory and emotion
Brewin, C. (2014). Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction

04/15/2026

Trauma is often understood as something that happened in the past. However, research suggests it is also shaped by how that experience was stored in emotional memory.

Traumatic experiences may be encoded with heightened sensory and emotional intensity while remaining less integrated into autobiographical memory. As a result, these memories can remain highly accessible and continue to trigger emotional and physiological responses even when the original threat is no longer present.¹ ²

Throughout this series, we have explored how anxiety, panic, intrusive thoughts, rumination, negative self-beliefs, performance anxiety, and grief can all be connected to emotional memory and how it is processed.

When trauma-related memories remain highly accessible and not fully integrated, the brain may continue responding as though the experience is ongoing. Supporting how these memories are processed may influence how individuals experience emotional and physiological distress.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy® (ART) is an evidence-based approach that focuses on how emotional memory is processed, which may support reductions in distress and improvements in emotional regulation for some individuals.

This concludes the ART Beyond Trauma series.

Research References

Brewin CR. Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction in PTSD. Psychological Bulletin. 2014.

Ehlers A, Clark DM. A cognitive model of PTSD. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2000.

Kip KE, Rosenzweig L, Hernandez DF, et al. Randomized controlled trial of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for combat-related PTSD. Military Medicine. 2013.

Storey DP, Marriott ECS, Rash JA. Accelerated Resolution Therapy for PTSD in adults: A systematic review. PLOS Mental Health. 2024.

04/08/2026

Grief is often described as sadness, but it is more accurately understood as a response to the loss of a meaningful emotional connection.

It can involve longing, emotional pain, and memories that feel difficult to move away from. These responses are not simply thoughts, but are closely tied to emotional memory and attachment.

Research suggests that grief is associated with ongoing activation of attachment-related memory systems. Memories connected to the person or experience can continue to trigger emotional responses after the loss.¹ ²

Grief-related distress can persist when attachment-based memories remain strongly activated and not fully integrated into ongoing experience. Supporting the integration of these memories may influence how grief is experienced over time.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy® (ART) is one approach that focuses on how emotional memory is processed, which may influence how individuals experience grief-related distress.

Next week we will explore ART and trauma memory processing.

References

Bowlby J. Attachment and Loss. 1969.

Shear MK. Complicated grief. New England Journal of Medicine. 2015.

Bonanno GA. Loss, trauma, and human resilience. American Psychologist. 2004.

Kip KE, Rosenzweig L, Hernandez DF, et al. Randomized controlled trial of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for combat-related PTSD. Military Medicine. 2013.

Storey DP, Marriott ECS, Rash JA. Accelerated Resolution Therapy for PTSD in adults: A systematic review. PLOS Mental Health. 2024.

04/01/2026

Performance anxiety is often experienced as fear of an upcoming event. However, it frequently involves the brain anticipating negative outcomes before they occur.

Thoughts such as “I might fail,” “I will be judged,” or “something will go wrong” are often accompanied by vivid mental imagery and physiological activation.

Research suggests that the brain can respond to imagined scenarios in ways similar to real experiences. Vivid mental imagery has been shown to activate emotional and physiological responses, contributing to anticipatory anxiety.¹ ²

Performance anxiety is often maintained by repeated mental rehearsal of negative outcomes. When these anticipated scenarios are processed differently, anticipatory distress may decrease.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy® (ART) is one approach that targets how emotional imagery and memory are processed, which may influence anticipatory responses in some individuals.

This is Week 6 of the ART Beyond Trauma series exploring research-supported applications of Accelerated Resolution Therapy®.

Next week we will explore ART and grief.

Research References

Holmes EA, Mathews A. Mental imagery in emotion and emotional disorders. Clinical Psychology Review. 2010.

Ji JL, Heyes SB, MacLeod C, Holmes EA. Emotional mental imagery as simulation of reality. Emotion Review. 2016.

Kip KE, Rosenzweig L, Hernandez DF, et al. Randomized controlled trial of Accelerated Resolution Therapy for combat-related PTSD. Military Medicine. 2013.

Storey DP, Marriott ECS, Rash JA. Accelerated Resolution Therapy for PTSD in adults: A systematic review. PLOS Mental Health. 2024.