Category: Moving Forward

1/12/2026 0 Comments

How to Grieve Well: Healing After Loss (A Therapist's Guide for Trauma Survivors)

Picture of hands and book. EMDR, mental health counseling online therapy California telehealth therapy services, virtual therapist, online, counseling for adults online, counseling for teens, mental health support

Grief is one of the most difficult human experiences to navigate, and when you're a trauma survivor, it can feel nearly impossible. I've spent years working with clients who've faced this exact struggle, people who feel stuck, numb, or overwhelmed when loss enters their already complicated emotional landscape. If you're reading this, you might be one of them.

Let me start by saying this: there's nothing wrong with you if grief feels different or harder than what others describe. Your nervous system has been through things. Your attachment patterns have been shaped by difficult experiences. The way you grieve will be uniquely yours, and that's not just okay, it's expected.

When Trauma and Grief Collide

0 Comments

1/5/2026 0 Comments

Creating Safety to Feel Again: How Trauma-Informed Self-Care Rebuilds Confidence from the Inside Out

Picture of woman on sofa. mental health counseling online therapy California telehealth therapy services virtual therapist online counseling for adults online counseling for teens mental health support

Divorce recovery is tough terrain to navigate. I've been working with trauma survivors for years, and I can tell you that rebuilding confidence after a marriage ends isn't just about positive thinking or "moving on." It's about creating safety in your nervous system so you can actually feel again, without panic, without that constant knot in your stomach, without your mind racing through worst-case scenarios.

The truth is, divorce often triggers our deepest attachment wounds. Your nervous system doesn't distinguish between physical danger and emotional threat. When your primary relationship dissolves, your brain interprets this as a survival crisis. That's why you might feel like you're losing your mind, even when you know logically that you're going to be okay.

What Happens to Your Nervous System During Divorce

0 Comments

1/1/2026 0 Comments

Part-Time Jobs for Therapists: 10 Things You Should Know Before You Apply (2026 Edition)

Looking for part-time therapy work can feel overwhelming. Trust me, I get it. As someone who's navigated both sides of the hiring equation in mental health, I've seen how the landscape has shifted dramatically: especially post-pandemic. The good news? Part-time opportunities for therapists are more abundant than ever in 2026. The challenging news? There are some crucial things you need to know before you apply that could save you from frustration, financial stress, or career missteps.

Let me walk you through the ten most important considerations I wish every therapist knew before pursuing part-time work.

0 Comments

12/29/2025 0 Comments

The Letdown After the Big Plan: What Happens When the Excitement is Over

Picture of woman in window. emdr, trauma, smart goals, disappointment, overwhelm, ptsd, anxiety, perfectionism, high functioning depression, counseling, therapy, northern california, redding, chico, sacramento, telehealth, online therapy

The post-achievement crash is a tough topic to talk about because it catches us so off-guard. You've just accomplished something meaningful, maybe you graduated, got married, finished a big project, or survived a challenging life transition, and instead of feeling triumphant, you feel... empty. Deflated. Like the air has been let out of your balloon.

As a therapist, I see this pattern constantly in my office. Clients come in confused and sometimes ashamed, wondering what's wrong with them that they can't just enjoy their success. "I should be happy," they tell me. "I worked so hard for this, so why do I feel so low?"
Let me start by saying this: there is nothing wrong with you. What you're experiencing is not only normal but actually shows your nervous system is working exactly as it should.

Your Brain on Achievement: The Neuroscience of Letdown

0 Comments

12/17/2025 0 Comments

Part-Time AMFT Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Finding Flexible Therapy Work in 2026

Picture of woman in telehealth therapy session, amft, apcc, asw, acsw, associate therapist, therapy, counselor, counseling, job, jobs, hiring, new job, part time, full time, online, in person, Redding, Chico

Finding meaningful part-time work as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist can feel overwhelming. I get it: you're trying to balance your need for flexibility with your desire to do impactful work, all while navigating licensing requirements and building your clinical hours. The job market has changed dramatically, especially post-pandemic, and figuring out where you fit can be tough.

As someone who's worked in this field for years and employs associate therapists, I've watched countless AMFTs struggle to find positions that honor both their professional goals and their personal needs. The good news? The landscape for part-time therapy work has never been more promising. Let me walk you through what I've learned about finding flexible, meaningful positions in 2026.

0 Comments

12/8/2025 0 Comments

A How-To Guide if Your Loved One Is in the Hospital for Long-Term Care

Picture of a couple on a couch. EMDR, EFT, Trauma Informed Therapy, Attachment Focused Therapy, Grief, Couples, Bereavement, Chronic Illness, Hospice, Palliative Care, depression counseling

Long-term hospitalization is one of those life experiences that nobody prepares you for. As a therapist who has walked alongside families through these challenging seasons, I've witnessed firsthand how overwhelming it can feel when someone you love requires extended medical care. The uncertainty, the disrupted routines, the financial stress, the emotional roller coaster, it's a lot to navigate, and it's completely normal to feel lost.

In my practice, I've learned that families often focus so intensely on the medical aspects of their loved one's care that they forget to tend to their own emotional well-being and the relationship dynamics that inevitably shift during these times. Today, I want to share what I've discovered about supporting both your loved one and yourself through this journey, drawing from attachment theory, trauma-informed care, and the wisdom of caring for the caregiver.

0 Comments

10/9/2025 0 Comments

Tips to Move Toward Secure Attachment: Practical Strategies

Picture o couple, couples counseling, marriage therapy, anxious attahment, avoidant attachment

Changing your attachment style as an adult is challenging work. I won't sugarcoat that. The patterns we developed in childhood run deep, and they've been our go-to strategies for navigating relationships for years, maybe decades. But here's what I want you to know: it's absolutely possible to move toward more secure attachment, no matter where you're starting from.
Whether you tend toward anxious attachment (constantly seeking reassurance), avoidant attachment (keeping people at arm's length), or disorganized attachment (swinging between the two), you can develop the skills that securely attached people seem to naturally have. It just takes intentional practice and a lot of self-compassion along the way.

0 Comments

7/21/2025 0 Comments

Changing Your Body Image After Weight Loss: Building Lasting Confidence

Changing your body image after significant weight loss is one of those topics that sounds like it should be simple – you lost weight, you should feel great, right? But if you're reading this, you already know it's not that straightforward. The relationship between your physical transformation and how you see yourself in the mirror is complex, often surprising, and sometimes downright confusing.

As a therapist, I've worked with many clients who've achieved their weight loss goals only to discover that their mental image hasn't caught up with their physical reality. You're not broken if this resonates with you. You're human, navigating a very real psychological process that deserves compassion and understanding.

The Mind-Body Disconnect is Real

0 Comments

7/14/2025 0 Comments

How to Build Self-Confidence After Going Through a Divorce

Picture of a woman with outstretched arms on a path

Divorce is one of life's most challenging experiences. Beyond the legal paperwork and logistics, there's something deeper that gets shaken – your confidence in yourself. You might find yourself questioning everything: your judgment, your worth, your ability to make good decisions. If this sounds familiar, know that you're not alone, and more importantly, rebuilding your self-confidence is absolutely possible.

As someone who has worked with countless individuals navigating this difficult transition, I've seen people emerge from divorce stronger and more confident than they ever imagined. The key is understanding that confidence isn't something that magically returns overnight – it's something you actively rebuild, one small step at a time.

0 Comments

5/27/2025 0 Comments

Handling Family Questions in College: How to Keep Your Journey Yours

Picture of six young adults sitting and drinking coffee in a room that looks like the lounge area of a library. Two young women have blue hair.

College is exciting, overwhelming, and full of growth: but sometimes the hardest part isn't your coursework or making new friends. It's navigating those well-meaning family questions that feel more like interrogations: "What's your major going to be?" "Are you eating enough?" "Why haven't you called?" "What are you doing with your life?"

If you're feeling suffocated by family curiosity or struggling to maintain your independence while staying connected, you're not alone. This tension is actually a normal part of healthy development, and understanding the science behind it can help you navigate these conversations with more confidence and less stress.

The Neuroscience of Separation and Connection

0 Comments

4/7/2025 0 Comments

Redefining Success: What Does It Really Mean to You?

Illustration of four people sitting on sofas around a coffee table.

Let's be honest, success in America has been pretty narrowly defined for a long time. Big house, fancy car, impressive job title, fat bank account. If you've got those boxes checked, you're "successful," right? But here's the thing: I've worked with plenty of people who had all those markers of traditional success and still felt completely empty inside.

Something's shifting in our culture, and it's about time.

0 Comments

2/27/2025 0 Comments

The Subtle Shifts of EMDR: Confidence, Patience, and Life Beyond Trauma Recovery

Picture of a hand holding a stone with a sapling growing from the stone. There is a puzzle game on the table beneath the hands.

EMDR therapy is fascinating: not just for what it heals, but for the unexpected ways it changes your entire relationship with yourself and the world around you. While most people know EMDR helps process traumatic memories, the ripple effects often surprise both clients and therapists alike. You might find yourself feeling more confident in job interviews, having more patience with your kids, or noticing that situations that used to trigger anxiety now feel manageable.

These aren't just nice side effects. They're profound shifts that happen when your brain stops running old, outdated programs and starts operating from a place of healing and integration.

The Science Behind These Surprising Changes

0 Comments

12/23/2024 0 Comments

Stop Wasting Time on Surface Arguments: Try These 7 EFT Techniques for Deeper Connection

Picture of a couple, sitting on the floor facing each other, cross-legged, and engaging in a meditation exercise.

You know that feeling when you and your partner are arguing about who forgot to take out the trash... again? But fifteen minutes in, you realize you're not really fighting about garbage at all. You're fighting about feeling unheard, unappreciated, or disconnected. Sound familiar?

Here's the thing: most relationship arguments aren't actually about the surface issue that started them. As a therapist, I see this pattern constantly. Couples get stuck in these endless loops, rehashing the same complaints without ever addressing what's really going on underneath.

That's where Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) comes in. EFT doesn't focus on teaching better communication skills or problem-solving techniques. Instead, it helps couples understand the deeper emotional needs and attachment fears driving their conflicts. When we address those underlying feelings, the surface arguments often resolve themselves.

0 Comments

11/17/2024 0 Comments

Surviving the Holidays: Your First Christmas After Divorce

Picture of a woman and child sitting on a sofa, drinking coffee, with a christmas tree in the foreground

Your first Christmas after divorce is going to be tough. Let's just get that out of the way right up front. There's no sugarcoating it, no pretending it's going to be like any other holiday season. But here's what I want you to know as someone who's walked alongside countless people through this exact situation: you're going to get through this, and it might even surprise you in some good ways.

The holidays after divorce feel different because everything is different. The traditions you built, the routines you counted on, even the way you decorated your tree, it all feels foreign now. And that's completely normal.

0 Comments

11/20/2023 0 Comments

Setting Healthy Boundaries with Toxic Family Members During the Holidays

Picture of two women having a conversation in front of a fireplace

Setting boundaries with toxic family members during the holidays is one of the most emotionally challenging situations many of us face each year. The pressure to "keep the peace" or maintain family traditions can make it feel impossible to protect your mental health while still showing up for the people you love.

As someone who's worked with countless clients navigating these exact situations, I want you to know that prioritizing your wellbeing isn't selfish, it's necessary. You can love your family and still recognize when certain relationships require clear limits to keep you emotionally safe.

0 Comments

9/20/2023 0 Comments

How to Overcome Fear When Life Feels Like It's Falling Apart (And Actually Come Out Stronger)

When everything in your life feels like it's crumbling, fear becomes this overwhelming presence that seems to take over everything. I get it – that feeling when you wake up with your heart racing, when every decision feels impossible, when you're not even sure which way is up anymore.

Here's what I want you to know: this scary, falling-apart feeling? It's actually information. And more importantly, it can become the foundation for building something stronger than what you had before.

Your Fear Is Trying to Protect You (But It's Overreacting)

0 Comments

7/22/2023 0 Comments

Why Does Talking About it Help?

by Emily Emmerman, MSW, ASW

Picture of therapist helping client reorganize thoughts and fears

People come to therapy for a variety of reasons - to talk about and processes traumatic events, to better understand themselves and the way they process the world, to learn new skills to be more emotionally flexible, and even to just vent about life and get some clarification. No matter which way you spin it, you come to therapy to process, and processing means talking. But what happens when we feel like talking about the past might open up Pandoras Box?

All too often I have clients come to their session who say something along the lines of, "I want to feel better, but talking about what happened won't fix it, so I don't want to talk about it."

0 Comments

7/13/2023 0 Comments

How to: Healthy Mental Health

by Marti Tourville, AMFT

Today, I want to dive deep into a topic that lies at the very core of our being: mental health. It's a
subject close to my heart, and I firmly believe that nurturing our mental well-being is vital for leading a wholehearted and authentic life.

In a world that often values productivity over self-care, we must recognize the intrinsic worth of our mental health. Just as we prioritize physical health, it's equally essential to devote time and energy to our emotional and psychological well-being. Let's explore why embracing our mental health is so crucial:

0 Comments

5/1/2023 0 Comments

The Fear of Therapy

By Jessica Darling Wilkerson, LMFT

I have a tendency to dig right in.

I have to force myself to remember to engage in the expected pleasantries of hello, how are you, how has your day been so far? This is because by the time my client has shown up to my office I've already been thinking about them - how about I just say "you".

I've been thinking about you.

I get up in the morning, take my shower, drink my coffee, drop my children off to their respective places, and drive into work. I listen to the radio while I drive in, but that's mostly background noise. I think about the people I get to see today. Their stories come back to me and I start wondering how they've been this week based on how they left my office the previous week.

By the time you arrive, I've already started our conversation hours ago, and I'm ready to jump right in. But quite often, I'll catch myself, and I'll try to remember to say the hello first...

0 Comments

11/22/2021 0 Comments

A Thankful Heart Can Be Harder Said Than Done

by Jessica Wilkerson, LMFT 104464

Studies have shown that the main driver toward joy is gratitude. In surveying people who describe themselves as happy these studies also see a correlation with thankfulness. But when it feels like life has been throwing you curveballs and like you're out of alignment with where you want to be in life right now, finding that grateful heart can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack and gratitude feels like a generic cliche.

0 Comments

<<Previous

(530) 809-1702

[email protected]

Locations:

1025 Village Lane, Chico CA 95926

1610 West Street, Ste 4, Redding CA 96001

Inspired Life Counseling is NOT a crisis center and is not equipped with the necessary tools to help in an emergency. Please click below for more information if you or your loved one is in crisis: Crisis Information.

Crisis Information

By texting Inspired Life Counseling at ( 530) 809-1702, you agree to receive conversations (external) messages from Inspired Life Counseling. We are NOT a crisis response. If you are in a mental health crisis or feel you are a danger to yourself or someone else, please contact 911. If you would like to no longer receive SMS correspondence Reply STOP to opt-out; Reply HELP for support; Message & data rates may apply; Messaging frequency may vary. Visit https://www.inspiredlifechico.com/contact to see our privacy policy and our Terms of Service.

MISSION: To provide a tranquil and healing space in which people in our community can find calmness internally through the relaxing atmosphere, along with respectful and engaging therapy conversations. To contribute to happier and more secure families by helping individuals, couples, and teens heal within and thereby creating different ways of engaging with themselves, the world, and those they love.

VISION: Creating a new kind of therapy experience in the Chico and Redding areas in which therapists have smaller caseloads, giving them the flexibility to spend more time with clients as needed - longer sessions, phone calls, client-centered advocacy. Creating a space in our community where clients can go between sessions to sit, linger, and re-center themselves when they're having difficult days. A place to belong while they heal their hearts and relationships. A therapy office that embodies the unconditional love of Christ, no matter what a person's gender identity, romantic disposition, or previous life hardships, experiences, or actions might have been. To be a safe place.

Inspired Life Counseling
Inspired Life Counseling is owned and directed by Jessica Darling, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist #104464.
Office Hours: By Appointment Contact us!

YOUR CART

How to Grieve Well: Healing After Loss (A Therapist's Guide for Trauma Survivors)

Creating Safety to Feel Again: How Trauma-Informed Self-Care Rebuilds Confidence from the Inside Out

Part-Time Jobs for Therapists: 10 Things You Should Know Before You Apply (2026 Edition)

The Letdown After the Big Plan: What Happens When the Excitement is Over

Part-Time AMFT Jobs: Your Complete Guide to Finding Flexible Therapy Work in 2026

A How-To Guide if Your Loved One Is in the Hospital for Long-Term Care

Tips to Move Toward Secure Attachment: Practical Strategies

Changing Your Body Image After Weight Loss: Building Lasting Confidence

How to Build Self-Confidence After Going Through a Divorce

Handling Family Questions in College: How to Keep Your Journey Yours

Redefining Success: What Does It Really Mean to You?

The Subtle Shifts of EMDR: Confidence, Patience, and Life Beyond Trauma Recovery

Stop Wasting Time on Surface Arguments: Try These 7 EFT Techniques for Deeper Connection

Surviving the Holidays: Your First Christmas After Divorce

Setting Healthy Boundaries with Toxic Family Members During the Holidays

How to Overcome Fear When Life Feels Like It's Falling Apart (And Actually Come Out Stronger)

Why Does Talking About it Help?

How to: Healthy Mental Health

The Fear of Therapy

A Thankful Heart Can Be Harder Said Than Done

Author

Archives

Categories