Anne Cleary Counseling

11/29/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BrpyfGyku/

So very grateful. 🩷🩷🩷🩷

11/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/17V4vxMWoy/

I ran this group a couple times in my WCJ era (2009-2014). Is a fantastic resource for CSA survivors and does not come around often enough.

Healing childhood wounds in adulthood takes courage—and community. 🌼
Our Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Violence Support Group offers a safe and compassionate space to process your story, reconnect with yourself, and move toward restoration.

🗓️ November 11th
⏰ 6–7:30 PM
📍 In-person, every other week

For more information:
📧 THale@thewcj.org

📞 904-722-3000 x219

Your past does not define your future. Healing is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone.

10/31/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1AWfiJLaQw/

We all start here, I believe.⁠
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"I don't know if it was that bad..."⁠
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That question bridges our inner feelings of knowing something was up, but we tend to confuse ourselves for not having the following factors to guide us:⁠
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We don't have a frame of reference about a healthy family system - only hints.⁠
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We don't have specific help to guide us through figuring out what is abuse.⁠
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We don't have the family we grew up being real or honest about what the family is really like.⁠
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We don't have the support to go through the dark period of admitting to ourselves that we weren't safe as children.⁠
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But you can ask yourself, would you put a child through what you went through? Your answer may be what you need to start your recovery.⁠
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What do you think?

06/26/2025

https://www.facebook.com/100063785227347/posts/1261284172674412/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

***LIVE workshop: “From cPTSD to Peace” this Saturday.

Online group registration opening soon.

Linktree.ee/natepost for both.

Im so glad you’re here! 🫶💞✨

05/06/2025

https://www.facebook.com/100063684401339/posts/1223691396430329/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

The cruelest part of childhood trauma isn’t the pain—it’s the expectation to perform normalcy while your world burns. You could spend the night dodging verbal landmines, swallowing tears into your pillow, or playing therapist to a narcissistic mother’s rage… only to stand at the bus stop the next morning, carrying invisible wounds no one sees.

Imagine sitting through math class while your mind replays the sound of slammed doors. Forcing laughter in the cafeteria with friends who don’t know the battles you fight inside. Writing essays about “What I Did This Weekend” while hiding the exhaustion of emotional survival. This isn’t resilience. It’s soul surgery without anaesthetic —a masterclass in compartmentalisation no child should ever take.

But here’s what that kid couldn’t see- Every step taken in those too-big shoes, every smile faked through numbness, every A+ earned to prove “I’m worth keeping”—it was all building a spine of steel beneath the surface.

To the adult who was once that child; your survival wasn’t “just part of growing up.” It was a Herculean feat. The way you learnt to code-switch between home and school, to map exit routes in every room, to parent yourself when no one else would—that’s your superpower.

Healing now means tending to the child who still lives in your nervous system. Let them sob. Let them rage. Let them finally drop the backpack of bricks they’ve carried for decades.

03/05/2025

Black and white vs full spectrum. How does this apply to therapy and healing from trauma? Our natural birthright for the vast majority of humans is to have a more flexible full spectrum cognitive mindset. This includes an ability to see both sides of an issue or feel two strong feelings (that may be in opposition to each other like sad and happy or scared and excited) at the same time. Our flexible mind does not struggle with this and is able to acknowledge many colors can exist at the same time. On the contrary, once a person experiences either a chronic trauma or even a single event trauma their mind will shift into what is called black and white thinking. Things now have to be either this or that nothing on between (eg. all relationships are unsafe vs some relationships may prove to be unsafe, my political beliefs are 100% right and yours are 100% wrong, I only feel sad I can’t see anything positive about this situation). As you can imagine, this rigidity will affect a person’s relationship to themselves (I’m all bad if I’m not all good), to others (they hurt my feelings so they are all bad), to the world (this type of person is all bad) and so forth. It is crucial in trauma recovery that a person pays attention to and starts to challenge this automatic narrative and be willing to consider a more full spectrum assessment. Some people refer to it as thinking in shades of gray but I like full spectrum color! Are there instances where truth may be black or white? Of course, there is nuance to this idea. Also a note to say that black and white thinking is coming from a protective part of you that is simply trying to keep you safe, we can thank that part of us for their service and offer compassion to that part.

01/09/2025

For many, January is a hard, cold month…

When everyone is setting new goals, laying down righteous ground rules and striving to become a better version of themselves, some of us are fighting to find our feet each day...

You see, December is a month of giving, and some of us, come January, are completely and utterly spent.

A month of remembering everyone, and remembering absolutely everything.

A month of including everyone and of reaching out to each and every person we have ever known.

A month of reaching breaking point every day trying to have fun, to be the ultimate hostess, to be the perfect guest.

A month of stretching ourselves financially, emotionally and of letting our boundaries be breached by many... in the spirit of the season.

And then January hits and bam... before we can even begin the arduous task of clearing away the festivities, we are expected to jump on the ‘new year, new you’ bandwagon and transform ourselves entirely.

For some of us this is just too much.

January is the darkest and most depressing month of the year and for many sensitive souls, the barrage of ‘advice’ on how we ‘should’ be living, is just too much.

So perhaps this is a safe place to say that maybe it’s okay to take a week or two to recover and to just be kind to ourselves before demanding better.

And for those of us who really do fall low in the darkest month of the year. For those of us who have given too much and to whom the future looks bleak - perhaps this is the right place to say - you are absolutely fine the way you are. Just stay.

Take some time to breathe.

Take some time to not think about anything much at all except breathing in and breathing out.

Take some time to build back up, not tear your yourself down.

For many, this month is a mountain that looks unclimbable.

Be kind, my friends. Always.

Donna Ashworth

Art by

01/06/2025

12/21/2024

https://geediting.com/10-phrases-people-use-when-they-lack-empathy-and-emotional-intelligence-according-to-psychology/

Empathy and emotional intelligence aren’t just buzz words – they’re the bedrock of meaningful connections. But not everyone’s got a firm grip on them. Sometimes, people drop phrases that reveal a real shortage of these qualities. It’s like their words are broadcasting a “low EQ” alert!...

11/13/2024

This message is for all Veterans looking for mental health services in our area. I want you to meet Ross Wise, who is working at our Amelia Park, MAPS Integrated Wellness office, working on a post-grad certification to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) along with Dr. Dtuchak and Dr. Soleh at MAPS. Recently, he retired from the Army after almost 26 years of military service. Having been on multiple mobilizations and deployments himself, Ross is interested in helping other Veterans in our community. So, Ross Wise and I (Dr. Barreto, Clinical Psychologist) will be running a free support group for Veterans struggling with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. If someone you know could benefit from this group, please alert them this post. Let them know it is free. You can call or text 904-310-9652 and let us know you are interested. time is TBD based on the availability of those interested. If you are a Veteran reading this, please know we are here for you. To learn more about us go to the website of our clinic @ www.mapsintegratedwellness.com