Posts by Victoria Whisman, LMFT
The Fawn Response: A Kinder Understanding of Codependency
There’s a new way of thinking about codependency that feels both refreshing and compassionate. For a long time, “codependency” has carried a heavy stigma — as if caring deeply or wanting harmony means something is wrong with us. But recently, many therapists and trauma-informed practitioners have begun using the term “the fawn response.” Most of…
Read MoreGrowing Up With a Parent Who Struggled: How Your Childhood Still Shapes You Today
Maybe your parent drank too much. Maybe they didn’t drink at all, but they were emotionally checked out, unpredictable, or just never quite there in the ways you needed them to be. Maybe the word “dysfunction” feels too dramatic for what your family was, and yet — something wasn’t right, and you knew it, even…
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