Movement and Community
The book is here! Grateful for your support and sharing the power of movement and connection.
In Two Words
Newsletters In Two Words Carol Odell April 14, 2025 Welcome Back! Thank you for being here and for your continued support as we count down to the launch of my book, Girl, Groomed: A Therapist’s Memoir of Trauma, coming April 22— just around the corner! As I mentioned in my first newsletter, I’ll continue to share behind-the-scenes […]
From Frustration to Breakthrough
Uncategorized Elementor #4364 Alice Shen June 10, 2025 Welcome Back! In my last newsletter, I shared the crushing moment when my friend told me to throw away my first draft and start over. I was too frustrated to touch the manuscript for months. But one day, something changed. From Frustration to Breakthrough By Carol Odell, […]
My First Draft? “Throw it Away.”
Newsletters My First Draft? “Throw it Away.” Carol Odell June 10, 2025 Welcome to my journey. Hi friends, Thank you so much for being here. Your support means the world to me as we count down to the launch of my book, Girl, Groomed: A Therapist’s Memoir of Trauma, coming April 22. In the weeks […]
Prologue of Girl, Groomed, Part 2: Shifting the Narrative
Uncategorized Prologue of Girl, Groomed, Part 2: Shifting the Narrative Alice Shen June 9, 2025 Welcome back! In my last email, I shared the first part of Girl, Groomed‘s prologue. Now, as promised, here’s Part 2—where I reveal the deeper layers of my story and what I couldn’t see back then. Excerpt – Girl, Groomed: A Therapist’s […]
Sneak Peek: Prologue of Girl, Groomed
Get an exclusive look at the prologue of Girl, Groomed, my upcoming memoir about healing, resilience, and rewriting our stories.
What is True Compassion?
Compassion is usually associated with making someone feel better, helping them to stop hurting, empathizing with their feelings in a gentle way. I would argue that this is not true compassion if it comes at the cost of the truth. In fact, people can use this familiar definition as a reason to withhold the truth. “I […]
Conflict is Inevitable: Will it Destroy or Transform?
Relationships inevitably experience conflict. Two people bring inherent differences which can make bridging the space between challenging. Conflict can become a deal breaker for relationships. But conflict, when addressed openly, directly, responsibly can create a new depth of understanding, a new emphathy for seeing the world through other eyes. It can be a catalyst for discovering a new layer of intimacy. In other words, […]
Following Through With Agreements
No matter how seemingly small or trivial, the lack of follow through is one of the more destructive dynamics in an on-ongoing relationship. Whether you agreed to pick up the kids at 4:00, walk the dog before work, pick up a cluttered area in the house, return a phone call or show up at a […]
What is a True Apology?
The willingness to genuinely apologize is a key ingredient in any relationship, for we are all fallible, all human, all a work in progress. To recognize the pain one has caused in another – even unintentionally – is at the heart of a thoughtful apology. But what does it mean to offer a full apology and why can this […]
The Importance of Agreements
This is the traditional time of year for the making of New Year’s resolutions – as well as the typical time of year for the breaking of them. Rather than discuss these personal agreements we make with ourselves that we often have a difficult time keeping, I want to address the importance of agreements made between two […]
The Call to Surrender
This article was published in the Winter 2016 issue of “The Forum” published by Northwest Alliance for Psychoanalytic Study. Hiroo Onoda refused to surrender. He was a WWII lieutenant in the Japanese army, stationed on a small island in the Philippines. When Japan surrendered, Onoda refused to capitulate. He doggedly held to his belief that […]
Holiday Obligation vs. Choice
A client made an apt alteration to Thoreau’s infamous quote this week by reflecting on how many people seem to “lead lives of quiet obligation”.Holidays with their traditions, “shoulds”, and “suppose tos” can be particularly laden with this form of ‘duty’. Give yourself permission to ask, “What do I really want to do?” “And who do I […]
Kitchen Wars
Marital warfare often manifests in the kitchen. Take the dishwasher for instance. Who fills it and how, who empties it and when…can all become the battleground fodder highlighting the larger unresolved relational issues. The refrain, “I always have to empty the dishwasher” can become code for a pervasive feeling that things are not “fair” in […]
Weeds of One’s Mind
The “weeds” of the mind require regular extraction. Distorted thoughts can have a way of seeding and re-seeding themselves not unlike the invasive quality of ivy or dandelions. This weed I refer to, by another name, can also be called projection or transference. Distorted thoughts, like weeds, are difficult to pull up by the roots […]
