Embodied Healing

11/11/2025

This post honors all of the survivors who continue to show up for themselves when the work gets tough. Healing is a journey, an evolution. It’s never black & white- we cannot go from wounded to healed like it’s a switch. Noticing the shifts, gains & progress as you go can strengthen the internal resources that take a lot of hard work to achieve. When you notice positive, healing changes you can strengthen these adaptive networks by connecting to where you feel this shifts in the body when you bring them into your awareness. Let that connection feel solid. The more awareness we bring to these shifts, the stronger the connections get. Perhaps you can place a hand on your heart to drop into yourself more deeply & with compassion.

In EMDR therapy, these connections are part of building internal resources. Strengthening adaptive responses & experiences that align with your wise self is just as important as clearing out the wounds & triggers. Resources can be leaned on & internalized to stay with you on your journey. In EMDR, we use bilateral stimulation (eye movements, tapping, or audio sounds) to reinforce these adaptive resources. Because that’s how important they are.

Take some time to notice, appreciate & cherish the signs of your healing every time you notice it. It was hard won! And it will strengthen these resources for the next time you need them.

With peace & faith in the human spirit,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
www.embodiedhealingli.com

10/31/2025

A scary truth & a chuckle in the spirit of Halloween 😂

10/26/2025

October Newsletter- New Offerings at Embodied Healing! We look forward to practicing with you on the mat!

October 2025 Let's start by getting the greatest debate of the Fall season out of the way: Pumpkin Spice- yay or nay? LOL. Now that we have that outta the way.... I have been reflecting on what we need to infuse into yoga practices to support trauma recovery, mental health & resiliency. This has gui...

10/24/2025

Let’s change the rhythm of the world together!

Kindness Challenge: Sometime today, do something kind for a person, an animal or our Earth with intention. When we are present in the world with good intention, our energy reverberates outward & inward. We are all united as humans, which is getting lost in a world so full of divisiveness, and we are all responsible for the energy around us.

Kindness is simply always a good look 😊✌🏻

Sending loving kindness to you all,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
embodiedhealingli.com

09/26/2025

Do you ever feel like this by Friday? 🤯 you are not alone! Most folks I speak with these days express feeling stressed, like they have too much to think & worry about & are constantly multitasking. This results in physical symptoms caused by too many stress hormones in the body. If you are also struggling with trauma related symptoms or an anxiety disorder in addition to stress, it may feel like a full time job just to get through a day. Embodiment practices like yoga can bring us back to our body in the present, where we can take a breathe & ground ourselves. It has had a true therapeutic benefits to regulate the nervous system & lower our cortisol levels. We can make a significant shift in how we feel just by doing a few yoga postures, whether it be some sun breaths, a forward fold to let go, a cat cow or a powerful warrior. Take a minute to sit back in your chair & just breathe. If you need a reset, allow the space. If your heart, mind & body is telling you that it’s time to ask for help, then it’s time to seek the support you need.

If you or a loved one are struggling & are in need of treatment for PTSD, CPTSD, an anxiety disorder or feeling overwhelmed by a difficult life transition or stressor, learn more about the benefits of EMDR or contact me on my website at embodiedhealingli.com.

Hope you can have some peaceful moments this weekend,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT

09/19/2025

Let’s together take a moment to mindfully reflect on our self talk today. The words we speak to ourselves have a very significant impact. Some internalized beliefs are lessons learned in childhood & reinforced throughout life, further creating habitual patterns of self talk (these can be positive or negative). We are the gatekeepers of our self talk- notice what your internal dialogue sounds like. Simply noticing a thought as a judgement, or a worry thought can help us create distance from our thoughts rather than subscribe to them as facts. EMDR can also help shift beliefs that became problematic because they were branded into the mind living through traumatic experiences. For example, a thought like “I don’t feel safe” can be mindfully translated into “I am afraid right now” which then offers an opportunity to check the facts & help self soothe. EMDR can help the nervous system realize it is safe now. Our body is our home so let’s tend to it ❤️🙏🏼

08/25/2025

I hope you all can enjoy the end of summer days mindfully! 😎♥️✌🏼

08/19/2025

SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE IN MONDAYS DBT INTERPERSONAL SKILLS INTENSIVE!! JOIN US IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LEARNING SOME NEW & EFFECTIVE WAYS TO APPROACH COMMUNICATION!

08/13/2025

Hi! If you or your clients can benefit from learning the essential DBT Interpersonal skills but don’t necessarily need comprehensive DBT or cannot commit to an ongoing skills group, please join us or share. We created these one time commitment DBT Skills learning opportunities that fit into most people’s busy lives. It’s also more affordable than a 6-9 month group commitment. We received great feedback from clients who attended our previous Distress Tolerance & Emotion Regulation DBT Group Intensives.

We happily collaborate with other professionals!

Any questions or to refer a client, please email me at Annmarie.hardgrove@gmail.com.
Thanks,
Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT
Hedy Montalvo, LCSW-R
* we are both intensively trained in DBT through Behavioral Tech, LLC & have extensive experience running DBT skills groups so your clients are in good hands.

08/07/2025

When I first started out as a therapist, ghosting was not yet a thing. Over the years it has evolved into a common topic. Many of the clients I work with experience insecure or frightening relationships (aka attachments) to their caregivers as children. This can then lead to attachment difficulties in their relationships as adults, commonly manifesing in anxious, avoidant or disorganized styles of connecting to people close to them. Sharing this article that looks at this understudied phenomenon of ghosting. As i read it, i couldnt help seeing it through the lens of a trauma therapist. I wonder if ghosters tends to be those who struggle with an avoidant style of attachment while those most effected by being ghosted have anxious or disorganized styles. I hope to see future studies so we can support individuals coping with these experiences.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-at-any-age/202302/the-bad-things-ghosting-does-to-your-emotionsrtdrtet

If you’ve been ghosted, you know that the experience can be painful, but you may not know why. New research goes within the ghosting experience to uncover its true dimensions.

07/30/2025

When trauma happens in childhood, parts of an individual get trapped in the experience as if it was frozen in time. Trauma interrupts the normal developmental stages & child parts that hold the wounds of the past can exist within an individual. When triggered, survivors often describe feeling younger because this part comes forward. This is a protective mechanism called dissociation. Dissociation occurs when experiences become too overwhelming to the nervous system & the brain disconnects from the experience. Disssociation occurs on a continuum. Disconnected child parts are one way this can manifest. In childhood & attachment trauma work, “parts work” refers to a type of therapy that directly intervenes with these different parts & addresses the internal conflict that parts experience as a direct side effect of trauma. Parts work + EMDR paired together can bring healing on a deeper level. Child parts can be rescued from being trapped in the past & invited into the present where they can now be safe.

If you or someone you know may benefit from this type of trauma work, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at Annmarie.hardgrove@gmail.com. My colleague & I happily collaborate with other professionals because it takes a community to heal from trauma.

A community is both the world we live in as well as the parts within us.

Annmarie Hardgrove, LCSW-R, CYT