For the Haitian population, douz janvye, January 12th, isn't just a date on a calendar. It's the day the ground opened under an entire country and changed the course of countless families, including mine. Even those of us who weren't standing on that soil felt it happen in real time. It's a day Haiti carries collectively, the way you carry something that touched everyone you know, even if it touched each of them differently. I want to use this collective trauma to depict how

Understanding Fawn: the trauma response that looks like complacency Inherited Strength Series, Post 2 (Fawn) Today I want to focus on one of the more complex trauma responses to understand, because of how it manifests: fawn. It can be hard to recognize because the behavior, to those on the outside, can look like acceptance of the circumstance. Before starting, I want to express that none of the examples presented here can fully capture or encompass everyone's experience with

You ever have a taste for something specific? You can already taste it, already smell it, you get that big smile on your face just thinking about how you're about to tear this meal up. You get yourself all hyped up. Okay, today's the day, I'm making this. You get to the kitchen, start pulling out ingredients, and then, damn. I'm missing this one thing. These days, I'll just Instacart the missing item and keep it moving. But there was a time that would've taken a lot more effo

What happens when the box doesn't fit? Do you suffer through it, give up on the idea altogether, or circle back with more intention? Let's take some time to discuss the power of representation and the critical role it plays in the therapeutic relationship. Consider a young Haitian American man, the son of two immigrant parents, who comes to therapy years after his parents' divorce, a split that had ended his relationship with his father almost entirely. In session, he starts

I want to start by saying that strength in Caribbean culture is not small. It is not quiet. It is not the kind of strength that gets celebrated in a LinkedIn post or acknowledged in a performance review. It is the kind of strength that moves across oceans. I remember the day I moved from New Jersey to Georgia. I was born in this country, raised in this country, and educated in this country. I spoke the language fluently. I had the world at my fingertips with just a flick of a