Woven Wholeness Services

09/16/2026

If you've been in therapy for any length of time, there's a good chance you've been given a list of coping skills. Maybe you've learned breathing exercises, grounding techniques, mindfulness, journaling, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, or ways to challenge anxious thoughts. Maybe you've been told to take a walk, get some sleep, practice gratitude, put your phone down, or use one of those wonderfully simple five-senses exercises when you're overwhelmed.

To be fair, these things can help. Coping skills have a place in therapy, and there are plenty of moments when having something that helps you get through the next ten minutes is exactly what you need.
But what happens when you've gotten really good at coping and you're still struggling?

If you've been in therapy for any length of time, there's a good chance you've been given a list of coping skills. Maybe you've learned breathing exercises, grounding techniques, mindfulness, journaling, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, or ways to challenge anxious thoughts. Maybe you've b...

09/10/2026

If you live with anxiety, you may have noticed that understanding why you feel anxious doesn't always make the anxiety go away.

You may know that you're safe, yet still feel tension in your chest. You may recognize that you're overthinking, but find it difficult to turn your thoughts off. Or you may be able to talk about what is bothering you while your body continues to feel stuck in a state of stress or alertness.

This is one reason some people are interested in Brainspotting for anxiety. Brainspotting is a therapeutic approach that uses focused eye position, body awareness, and the therapist's attunement to help clients process distressing experiences. Research on Brainspotting is still developing, but early studies suggest that it may help reduce distress associated with difficult memories and emotional experiences.

If you live with anxiety, you may have noticed that understanding why you feel anxious doesn't always make the anxiety go away.You may know that you're safe, yet still feel tension in your chest. You may recognize that you're overthinking, but find it difficult to turn your thoughts off. Or you may....

08/28/2026

If you’ve ever cared for a houseplant, you know the quiet satisfaction of watching it thrive. But if you’ve kept one long enough, you also know the moment when it stops growing. You check the soil, adjust the light, and realize: it’s rootbound.

The pot that once provided safety, structure, and life now holds it back.

In many ways, healing developmental trauma can feel similar to repotting a houseplant. The process of outgrowing old environments, moving into new ones, and learning how to nourish ourselves in a different space follows a surprisingly similar path.

If you’ve ever cared for a houseplant, you know the quiet satisfaction of watching it thrive. But if you’ve kept one long enough, you also know the moment when it stops growing. You check the soil, adjust the light, and realize: it’s rootbound. The pot that once provided safety, structure, and...

08/24/2026

When people walk into a therapy office, one of the first questions they ask is almost always, "How long is this going to take?" How long you'll be doing something like therapy for is a completely natural thing to wonder. When you are sitting with emotional pain, feeling stuck, or trying to unlearn patterns that no longer serve you, having an "end date" can offer a sense of relief and predictability.

The reality is that the timeline of therapy and how long you'll be in therapy for depends entirely on the type of therapy you are doing and what you are bringing into the room and outside of the sessions

When people walk into a therapy office, one of the first questions they ask is almost always, "How long is this going to take?" How long you'll be doing something like therapy for is a completely natural thing to wonder. When you are sitting with emotional pain, feeling stuck, or trying to unlearn p...

08/11/2026

One of the hardest relationship patterns to explain is wanting connection more than almost anything, while somehow ending up creating distance from the very people you care about.

If you've ever found yourself pulling away from someone you genuinely liked, ignoring texts from a close friend even though you missed them, or convincing yourself that a healthy relationship "just doesn't feel right," you've probably wondered some version of the same question: Why do I keep pushing people away when all I really want is connection?

One of the hardest relationship patterns to explain is wanting connection more than almost anything, while somehow ending up creating distance from the very people you care about.

08/08/2026

We’ve all been there: feeling overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, or tangled up in an anxious spiral, only to find ourselves scrolling through social media for two hours, binge-watching a show, or throwing ourselves into a home organization project.

In moments of intense distress, looking for an escape is a completely human response. But it often leaves us asking a tricky question: Is this distraction actually helping me self-regulate, or am I just avoiding what hurts? The line between helpful regulation support and avoidant distraction can feel blurry.

We’ve all been there: feeling overwhelmed, emotionally exhausted, or tangled up in an anxious spiral, only to find ourselves scrolling through social media for two hours, binge-watching a show, or throwing ourselves into a home organization project.

08/06/2026

Super excited to kick off the next three days with David Grand and BIPOC Brainspotting Phase 4. While I wish I was in person with everyone in Minneapolis, the energy of our collective is still passing through that Zoom wall. ✨A favorite quote from David this morning: "Culture comes before science." - Emily

08/05/2026

There is nothing inherently unhealthy about ambition, of course. Working hard, pursuing meaningful goals, and taking pride in what you've built can all be deeply fulfilling. Many people genuinely enjoy challenging themselves and creating something meaningful and that's a beautiful and rewarding thing.

The problem begins when achievement becomes responsible for something it was never designed to provide: Your worth.

There’s a particular kind of person I see in my therapy office over and over again. They're successful: On paper, they're doing everything "right." They have impressive careers, advanced degrees, thriving businesses, or lives that many people would envy.

07/15/2026

Many people think that therapy works because the therapist knows what to say and has all kind of fancy trainings to heal their clients. If you've experienced developmental trauma, complex trauma or childhood trauma though, the healing often has far less to do with the advice and technique and much more to do with finally experiencing a relationship your nervous system hasn't known before.

Many people think that therapy works because the therapist knows what to say and has all kind of fancy trainings to heal their clients. If you've experienced developmental trauma, complex trauma or childhood trauma though, the healing often has far less to do with the advice and technique and much m...

06/29/2026

"I don't think I have trauma. Nothing that bad happened to me." This is one of the most common phrases that we hear clients say. They often recognize that their childhoods may not have been the absolute best, but they don't want to call it "trauma" because they don't align with the word "abuse" for their situations.

Developmental trauma can occur and leave lasting impact well beyond traditionally thought of abuse. Check out our recent blog to learn more.

"I don't think I have trauma. Nothing that bad happened to me." This is one of the most common phrases that we hear clients say. They often recognize that their childhoods may not have been the absolute best, but they don't want to call it "trauma" because they don't align with the word "abuse" for....