The winter holidays promise warmth, connection, and celebration, but for many adult children of emotionally immature parents, people-pleasers, and BIPOC young adults, they also bring a tidal wave of stress. You might find yourself bracing for passive-aggressive comments, unsolicited advice or judgment about your romantic or work life, an itinerary pre-made for you, or the pressure to play peacemaker.

As the air turns crisp and the days grow shorter, fall often ushers in more than just pumpkin spice and cozy sweaters. For many, it marks a season of transitions—new school routines, shifting work demands, changing daylight hours, or even subtle internal stirrings that hint at something shifting.

For many trauma survivors, this question can feel strangely backward. Wouldn’t it make more sense to struggle with negative emotions such as anger, fear, or sadness, rather than the good ones? Wouldn’t people who have been through so much pain be so welcoming and ready to feel positive moments? Yet for adult children of emotionally immature parents, adult children of alcoholics, and anyone healing from relational trauma, accessing positive emotions like joy, pride, and connection can feel difficult – due to the vulnerability it takes to feel good.

Therapy is becoming more accessible and less stigmatized, and that’s a beautiful shift. But with so many practitioners and the alphabet soup of modalities available, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. If you’ve ever wondered, “Why didn’t therapy work for me?” or “Is there a deeper way to heal?”, you’re not alone.

Conflict is a natural part of human relationships. Yet for many adult children of emotionally immature parents, narcissistic caregivers, or alcoholic family systems, the idea of conflict can feel threatening, destabilizing, or even shameful. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Am I conflict avoidant?”—know that your question is valid, and your concern is deeply human.

Trauma leaves an imprint not just on the mind, but on the body, relationships, and sense of self. Whether it stems from a single event or accumulates over time, trauma can quietly shape how we move through the world. For survivors and helping professionals alike, the effects of trauma on mental health are profound, yet often underestimated at a glance. It’s important to know that you’re not alone and that healing is possible.

Many people still think of therapy as something you turn to only when life feels unmanageable — when you're in crisis, overwhelmed, or at a breaking point. But what if therapy wasn’t just a lifeline in hard times? What if it was also a launchpad for growth, clarity, and confidence?

Integrating indigenous knowledge and practices into mental health care is a crucial aspect of decolonized therapy. Call it indigenous, ancestral, precolonial, or native — the first peoples of the Americas and all colonized lands carry their own healing practices and wisdom traditions. These traditional methods often offer holistic approaches to health and well-being that can complement and truly deepen Western therapeutic frameworks.