The BRAVE Blog: Community for Trauma Therapists

Isolation is one of the top causes of therapist burnout, community is one of the best ways to heal. You don’t have to do this work alone - there are trauma therapists out there who get what it’s like to do this work and are ready to connect and heal together.

Featured

The BRAVE Holiday Survival Guide for Trauma Therapists

Every December, the work feels heavier — sessions take more out of us, and even the air in our offices feels thick with unspoken grief and urgency. This season pulls at trauma therapists in ways we often ignore. In The BRAVE Holiday Survival Guide for Trauma Therapists, I share five grounded ways to steady your nervous system, protect your bandwidth, and move through the holidays without losing yourself in the process.

AI in Therapy 2026: What Every Trauma Therapist Needs to Know

AI isn’t coming for therapy, it’s already here. And for trauma therapists, it’s a current shift that’s reshaping how we work, how clients access care, and what “therapy” even means. In this post, I’m breaking down what’s already happening with AI in mental health care, what’s coming next in 2026, and what every trauma therapist needs to know to stay informed, ethical, and human in the process.

How to Know When a Client Is Ready for EMDR (and When You Are Too) with Katie Grant

If you’ve ever questioned whether your client — or you — were truly ready for EMDR, you’re not alone. In this honest conversation with EMDR consultant Katie Grant, we dig into what readiness really means, why safety matters more than speed, and how to do EMDR like a human, not a technician.

You Can’t Fake Regulation: What Your Clients Really Feel in the Therapy Room with Lynn Fraser

I used to think regulation meant staying calm no matter what. But as Lynn Fraser reminded me, our nervous systems tell the truth before our words ever do. This conversation is a reminder that presence, not perfection, is what heals.

When Structure Meets Safety in Trauma Therapy with Rachel Grant, MA

As trauma therapists, we’re trained to start with structure — the intake, the assessment, the data that helps us understand our clients’ stories. But sometimes the most therapeutic thing we can do isn’t to keep asking questions, it’s to pause, regulate, and make space for safety. In this post, inspired by a conversation with sexual abuse recovery coach Rachel Grant, I explore how we can hold both structure and humanity in our work.

When Rest Becomes Radical: Lessons from Therapists Living with Chronic Illness with Lindsay Boudreau, LISW

What if rest wasn’t a reward but a radical act of care?

In this conversation with therapist and Cozy Couch Crew founder Lindsay Boudreau, we explore how chronic illness reshapes boundaries, burnout, and what it means to build a sustainable therapy practice that works with your body, not against it.

Why It Hurts So Much When Therapist Spaces Fail Us

Therapist spaces are supposed to be safe places where we can show up as our full, human selves. But what happens when those very spaces make us feel small, dismissed, or even attacked? In this post, Jenny shares a recent rupture in a local therapist group, the impact it had on her nervous system, and what it’s taught her about repair, regulation, and building trauma-informed spaces that truly feel safe enough to be seen.

Why Therapist Spaces Often Feel Unsafe — And What We Actually Need Instead

So many trauma therapists have been hurt in therapist spaces: judged, dismissed, or made to feel like being human made them less professional. In this reflection, I share what happened when I finally experienced a different kind of room, one where I didn’t have to perform or prove anything to belong.

Why It’s So Hard for Trauma Therapists to Celebrate Wins and How to Start

You help your clients celebrate progress all the time. But your own wins? You skip past them like they don’t count. If pride feels unsafe or performative, this blog is for you. We’ll unpack where that shame comes from, introduce a nervous system-friendly practice for integration, and help you feel the good — without needing to earn it.

What Peer Support Really Does for Your Mental Health as a Trauma Therapist

Peer support isn’t a luxury for trauma therapists — it’s real mental health care. In this post, we’re naming the power of peer connection to interrupt isolation, regulate our nervous systems, and remind us we were never meant to do this work alone.

Why Equity Matters for Trauma Therapists: Building Sustainable, Supportive Careers

When equity is missing in trauma therapy, it doesn’t always look loud or dramatic. More often, it looks like brilliant, compassionate trauma therapists quietly leaving the work they love—not because they can’t handle the weight of the stories they hold, but because the systems around them make it almost impossible to stay.

Why Peer Support is a Systems-Level Intervention for Trauma Therapists

Some days, you leave your office feeling like a ghost of yourself.

You’ve held space for client after client, absorbed stories of deep pain, made SO MANY clinical decisions—all while holding yourself together.

But when the workday ends and you slam the laptop shut for the day, the work doesn't just disappear.

You Can’t Pour From an Empty Cup-Trauma Work Was Never Meant to Be Done Alone

Some days, you leave your office feeling like a ghost of yourself.

You’ve held space for client after client, absorbed stories of deep pain, made SO MANY clinical decisions—all while holding yourself together.

But when the workday ends and you slam the laptop shut for the day, the work doesn't just disappear.

Peer Support for Trauma Therapists: Why We Need It and How to Start

As trauma therapists, we often take care of everyone else and forget that we need support too. I’ve been there—burned out and isolated—but finding community has been a game-changer in my career. It’s not about solving every problem, but simply connecting and feeling seen. Learn more about how building community can support your well-being as a trauma therapist.

Decolonizing Trauma Therapy: How to Integrate Anti-Racist Practices into Your Work

What if some therapy frameworks we’ve been taught actually reinforce harm, especially for clients from marginalized communities? Many traditional models reflect colonial, Eurocentric values, often leaving clients feeling unseen and isolated. Let’s explore how these frameworks prioritize neutrality, distance, and individualism—creating barriers for marginalized clients—and why embracing humanity and cultural identity is essential for fostering real, transformative change in trauma therapy.

Rethinking Therapy Ethics: Why They’re Your Superpower, Not Your Shackles

Ethical boundaries in therapy often feel like tightropes, don’t they? Early in my career, I was second-guessing every move like I was about to step over the edge of a cliff! But what if we shift our perspective? Our ethical codes aren’t prisons; they’re the scaffolding of confidence and freedom in our work.

Start the New Year with Intention: Find Your Word of the Year

As the new year begins, many of us, especially trauma therapists, are already thinking about how to juggle all the things. Instead of diving into a long list of resolutions (which often fizzle out by February), let me introduce you to a practice that has transformed the way I approach the year: finding your Word of the Year.

From Helpful to Harmful: A Quick Guide to PTSD Medications

Trauma treatment is complicated. Just like there are lots of different therapeutic angles to come from there are also a zillion ways that prescribers attack Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with medications. But how do you know if your client’s regimen is a solid one? Could it be causing more harm than good?

Navigating the Intersection of Racial Trauma and Vicarious Trauma: A Guide for Trauma Therapists

Trauma therapists often face the dual impact of racial and vicarious trauma. When we don’t get to manage them, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Learn how to navigate these challenges and how the Racial Trauma and Vicarious Trauma Quarterly Spaceholder Meetings can help!

I Only Saw Strength - Guest Blog with Sarah Sanders, LMFT

Being a trauma therapists means we wear many hats, and we often try to keep them all nice, neat, and separated. This week, we have a Guest Blog post from Sarah Sanders, LMFT, and she shows us the power of showing up as an integrated self - trauma therapist side and all!

The Stigma of Countertransference - Blog Takeover by Liliana Baylon, LMFT-S

"As we ask our clients to trust us with their most profound narratives, there exists a reluctance to extend the same trust within our professional community." Liliana Baylon, LMFT-S, RPT-S, shines a light on the silence around therapists' humanity and the need for a shift towards authenticity in our practice.

Spring Into Healing: Embracing Growth and Boundaries in Trauma Therapy

This is a special time of year when everything is coming back to life again. As I am working on getting our garden back in shape, I can't help but be reminded of how this can also be an important time of renewal for us as trauma therapists - a time to weed out vicarious trauma and plant seeds of vicarious resilience!

Finding Healing Within: Preventing Burnout and Thriving as a Trauma Therapist

You are no stranger to the emotional toll trauma work can take on you. Of course you’re committed to helping others, and as you do that, it's crucial to be aware of the challenges you face so you can prevent burnout and thrive in the work you love.

Trauma Therapists Deserve to be Cared For Together

Despite the passion you have for this work, there's an inner voice that often goes unheard — your own. It's time to shatter the silence and acknowledge a truth: trauma therapists deserve to be cared for too.

Beyond Self-Care: Healing Your Heart While Healing Others as a Trauma Therapist

As a trauma therapist, you do such important work.

I know you love your specialty, I do too! But we can’t ignore the heavy emotional toll it takes on us. Let’s also not pretend that all the talk about “just practice self-care” doesn’t get to you.

You Don’t Have to Do This Work Alone

The BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective is the online community membership where you will receive the support you deserve as a badass trauma therapist. Full access for just $9 a month!

Learn more and join today!

What our community is saying:

“BRAVE as helped normalize my moments of burnout and fatigue, which has helped my get through what to do in those moments. This community has also given me tools to support my wellbeing in addition to supporting clients going through similar issues.”
-Samuel M., LMFT
“BRAVE has given me something that is lacking as a private practice owner- consistency. Although I'm growing my practice and often have to choose a paying appointment over a BRAVE call, it is so grounding to see those calls on my calendar and know that I can always drop in.”
-Sonia A., LPC
“Working with Jenny gave me the hope I needed to keep going and to realize I did not have to totally switch careers. It also taught me about my own self-care practices and awareness of my own needs/feelings, not just those of my clients.”
-Alisha B. LCSW
“Jenny was the best possible sounding board for questions both big and small. She offered a unique perspective that really allowed me to broaden my own thinking.”
-Michael, V., Grad Student
“BRAVE is a wonderful and supportive community. I particularly appreciate the support received through the asynchronous consultation group chat in the Signal app. Jenny is kind, approachable, and human.”
-Emily P, LLP and Brainspotting Consultant

The BRAVE Blog: Community for Trauma Therapists

You Don’t Have to Do This Work Alone

How Does VT Show Up for You?

Your VT Tracker is On Its Way

Helpful Links