CaraConnect Counseling

05/01/2026

Mental Health Awareness Month. Take some time to self reflect and check in on those around you. 💚

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to elevate the conversation around mental health and reduce stigma in our communities.

Mental health is essential to overall well-being. It impacts how we think, feel, connect with others, and navigate daily life. Yet many individuals continue to face barriers to care, including stigma, lack of access, and limited resources.

This month, we encourage you to:
• Check in with yourself and those around you
• Normalize conversations about mental health
• Seek support when needed, and remind others that help is available
• Advocate for increased access to quality mental health services

In Indiana and beyond, mental health professionals play a vital role in supporting individuals, families, and communities. Together, we can continue working toward a future where mental health care is accessible, equitable, and stigma-free.

💚 You are not alone. Support matters. Awareness leads to action.

04/23/2026

The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate has overlapping elements with his previous book When the Body Says No. If you are curious about mental health in America, this would be a great book to read. He identifies how our health care systems are improving, while overall wellness in Western society is not. Not considering trauma as a key component of illness is negligent to understanding its origin. Mate uses his vast experiences to look at what is really "normal" when it comes to health. In this book, Mate introduces his approached called Compassionate Inquiry. This approach allows one to take a deep look at underlying, unconscious, traumas, emotions and limiting beliefs that shape one’s life. It allows someone to remain rooted in the present while noticing body sensations and emotions to release stored trauma. This book is worth the read!

03/06/2026

This is Your Brain on Sports: Beating blocks, slumps and performance anxiety for good!
By David Grand, Ph.D. and Alan Goldberg, Ed.D.
This is Your Brain on Sports is a great book for parents, coaches or others who are involved in sports. It explains the concept of Sports Traumatic Stress Disorder (STSD) and Repetitive Sports Performance Problems (RSPP), which can lead to anxiety while performing. RSPPs are what is referred to in the sports world as “the yips”. Previous injuries or humiliations are held in the brain and over time lead to a block or slump in performance. This book has technical, therapeutic approaches to work toward healing the RSPP with Brainspotting Sports Work. The final chapter of the book also includes self-help strategies one could use to address an RSPP on their own.

02/23/2026

Goodness exists still and we deserve to notice it. Keep your eyes open to the good stuff everyone!
She will post something positive every week day reminding us to keep our eyes open to what is good around us.

12/23/2025

Awake by Jen Hatmaker is a memoire from the author about the unraveling of a 26-year marriage. Through that, she discussed the grief of reevaluating the cultural and religious systems that created who she was at that point in her life. This is a book using stories from her childhood and events in the present that helped bring about healing and growth during a dark season in her life. This book quotes 3 books I have read and reviewed, Codependent No More by Melody Beattie, The Wisdom of Your Body by Hillary McBride, and one I love called Wintering by Katherine May. At the end of the book Jen identifies questions she is done asking herself and questions she will ask herself. This is a great list for self-reflection and mimics the concept of the Let Them Theory.
Questions I am done asking:
Will this bother someone?
Am I asking too much?
Does he/ she/ they like me?
What is wrong with my body?
Can I handle this?
Should I just be ok with this?
Is it too scary to change this?
Is this making everyone else happy?
Are my needs an imposition?
Am I smart enough?
Am I brave enough?
Am I maintaining my love-ability?
Is God disappointed in me?
Is being alone worse than being unhappy?
Should I keep hiding?

Questions I will ask myself forever:
What do I want?
What do I love?
What do I need?
what does my body know?
Why not me?
What am I excited about?
Am I free?
Who does god say I am?
what do I care about?
How do I want to live?
How can I love beautifully?
Am I being honest?
Am I being true?
Am I happy with me?

12/23/2025

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey is a diary by the author of lessons learned from his life. This is a lighthearted book with stories, poems and other antidotes; identifying how experiences in his life can be looked at as greenlights, instead of looking at events as red lights. It is an easy and entertaining book that helps the reader look at potentially difficult experiences with a positive spin. If you are an audio book fan, it is read by the author.

11/06/2025

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May.
"And there it is; that howling experience of the cold and the dark that becomes a crucible. That sense of falling through the crack between two worlds. Void. State of Limbo A wintering". This is such a beautiful book in which May encourages us to change how we look at our own difficult times. She offers a model of the acceptance of sadness and finds healing in retreat and the beauty of winter. She encourages the reader to not only learn how to endure difficult times, but also find how to embrace the opportunities offered. This is a book I will read again and again. I feel personally challenged to find ways to enjoy and appreciate the darker, quieter days.

10/16/2025

At Pathway Community Church, our Care and Support Ministry provides practical help, encouragement, and prayer to individuals and families facing life’s difficulties in Fort Wayne.

10/15/2025

A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings. This is a well-written autobiography explaining the author’s experience in a fundamentalist conservative Christian church. She helps the reader understand how she created a belief that to be a good Christian she must follow a list of additional life principles, including secret keeping and the importance of appearances. These principles led to strict discipline and isolation. She hid her abuse from others in order to protect her children. This book may lead to a strong emotional response so please take care of yourself as you read. I cannot wait for the release of her new book in the spring of 2026, entitled "I Belong to Me: A Survivor's Guide to Recovery and Hope after Religious Trauma". This book is a must read.

10/15/2025

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection by Charles Duhigg is a really good book if you are looking to improve your communication skills. Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand the different types of conversations: practical, social and emotional. With that knowledge, you can improve the depth of your communication with others. Duhigg uses great examples to really solidify the understanding of supercommunicators. Charles Duhigg is also the author of The Power of Habit. This is a book I have recommended to many clients who are on a quest to change behavior patterns.