This morning, I spoke to the Family Law Section of the Atlanta Bar Association. After attending these breakfasts for many years as an attorney, it was fun to come back in my new role as a therapist. I talked about the concept of vicarious trauma: the behaviors & emotions that result when one hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another and witnesses another’s pain. This was a frequent topic in my master's program as there seems to be a greater awareness in the m

Tonight, I'm speaking to a group of attorneys with the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers about the benefits of mindfulness. Since taking a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class last summer, I have been cultivating my own mindfulness practice and often reflect on how these skills would have served me when I was practicing law. Through a regular meditation practice, I have noticed that I am better able to recognize when an experience triggers negative emotions and to wat

When our anxiety gets triggered, our breath is often one of the first casualties. We forget to breathe fully and deprive our bodies of oxygen. Without a good supply of this essential resource, we are less equipped to respond to the anxiety in a healthy way. This simple tool helps to regulate our breath by giving us a visual reminder to lengthen our inhales and exhales. By inhaling as the geometric shapes expand and exhaling as they contract, our breath begins to settle. I