Alicia W. Guichard, LMHC

07/31/2026

07/31/2026

Discernment.
Learning to figure out how to make the best call in the moment.

It's a skill.
It's involves attunement and connection to yourself; being present to your own needs, and aware of what's within your control and what isn't.
And it's not easy. It takes practice, and it takes making mistakes and then reflecting on your lived experiences and how they impacted you, so that you're able to learn from them and apply those learnings to new situations.

Discernment requires self-honesty; being able to own what is yours in a dynamic with another person.
To be able to recognize your own limits, your triggers, and to be able to take responsibility when your baggage is at the heart of the conflict you're navigating.

Discernment also requires self-trust.
It requires trusting yourself to be able to walk away when you need to, and knowing that you can handle the emotional discomfort that comes from sharing your limits.
It requires listening to your own intuition when something doesn't feel right, or when it feels deeply right and making the call that might not be popular with others.

It takes time, practice, self-attunement, and humility to be willing to improve your discernment; to deepen your self-trust by improving your judgment over time.
It's learning how to be in the present moment; not simply acting out of fear of repeating the past, but learning how to notice what's different this time, too.

Discernment is a practice, and it requires on-going presence and connection to your own heart and body.
Do you trust your ability to discern what's right for you?

If you're working on these skills, The EQ School online community is now open —
this online space will have self-paced EQ content from my curriculum,
weekly practices and exercises for you to do with other members,
live calls with me to ask questions and connect with others,
and more!

And if you register by August 1st (and commit to staying for 3 months), I'll send you a complementary copy of my new book, The Wisdom of Feeling.
Looking forward to meeting you there!

https://www.skool.com/the-eq-school-9321/about

07/24/2026

Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing.

You can forgive someone and still have boundaries. You can love deeply and choose distance. You can be Christlike and protect your wellbeing, your marriage, your children, and your mental and emotional health.

Healthy relationships make room for both grace and accountability.

If this message resonated with you, follow for practical, faith based mental health content on boundaries, relationships, trauma, and emotional healing.

07/23/2026

✨ Life isn’t always an “either/or.” Sometimes, the most emotionally intelligent answer is “and.”

We often feel pressured to choose one truth over another:

💛 I can handle this myself and I can ask for help.
💛 I am kind and I can set boundaries.
💛 I am enough as I am and I can keep growing.
💛 My feelings are real and They won’t last forever.

Holding two truths at once doesn’t mean you’re confused—it means you’re making space for the complexity of being human.

When we move away from black-and-white thinking, we create room for self-compassion, resilience, and wiser decisions.

✨ This week, try replacing “but” with “and.”

Instead of:
❌ “I’m tired, but I need to keep going.”

Try:
✅ “I’m tired, and I want to take care of myself.”

A single word can shift the way we see ourselves—and the choices we make.

💬 Finish this sentence in the comments:
“I am ____________ AND ____________.”

06/22/2026

https://iptrauma.org/docs/body-of-knowledge-of-psychotraumatology/understanding-the-window-of-tolerance-in-trauma-theory/

The Window of Tolerance, a concept developed by psychiatrist Dan Siegel (1999), describes the optimal emotional zone within which an individual can effectively manage life's ups and downs. Within this "window," a person experiences emotions at a level that feels manageable—they are neither overwhe...

06/22/2026

Stress does not look the same in everyone.

For some people, it looks like panic, anger, tears, racing thoughts or feeling completely out of control.

For others, it looks like silence, numbness, shutting down, withdrawing, avoiding people or saying “I am fine” when they are not.

This can happen to children, teenagers and adults.

When someone is overwhelmed, their body may move into survival mode. They may not be trying to be difficult, rude, dramatic or uncaring. They may be struggling to cope with more than their nervous system can manage in that moment.

That is why understanding emotional regulation matters.

Sometimes people need space.
Sometimes they need connection.
Sometimes they need movement, rest, reassurance, routine, breathing, comfort or simply someone calm beside them.

We all have limits.
We all need safety.
We all need people who try to understand what is happening underneath the behaviour.

Free WINDOW OF TOLERANCE PRINTABLE REGULATION POSTER PDF (with a simple worksheet)

LIKE the photo and comment "WINDOW" and we will send you a message with a link to a free PDF of this resource.

06/17/2026

06/09/2026

Share those with a colleague who needs a reminder that therapists don’t have to be perfect to be effective 👍🏻
👏
Some of the most effective therapists I know are open and honest about their own imperfections. 
❤️ 
 It’s not our job to show up as perfectly polished versions of ourselves. Do we need to have boundaries? Yes 🙌 
❤️
But do we have to be perfect to be great therapists? No ✨