The Better Living Collaborative

10/29/2025

We are in this together!

One of the best parts of being a coach for me is that I get to collaborate with amazing individuals and see them unlock their agency, become empowered, and achieve their own unique wellness identity.

A client of mine once described our journey by saying she was walking through a forest path that had been very dark until I came along and provided the flashlight. That's it, exactly.

As your coach, I'm at your side and at your back, ready to provide you with whatever tools you need - but YOU are the leader.

I will always fully disclose my responsibilities, the ethics I'm following, and I always provide my clients with agreements up front for how the 'inside' of our coaching/client relationship works. And, I encourage questions - as many as necessary for my clients to feel seen, heard, and to achieve comfort in understanding the process. You should always - always - feel comfortable asking questions and exploring the process. It's the best way to get where YOU want to go!

If you are looking to improve your inner wellness, to learn to be 'Radically Well' (being okay even when the things around are not), unlock post-traumatic growth, use expressive arts to heal, or balance your own wellness with your role as a caregiver, leader, or advocate, I can help. With online and in-person 1:1 and group coaching programs at very affordable rates, I'm ready to collaborate with you - flashlight 🔦 in hand!

Learn more by reaching out or by visiting my website, betterlivingcollab.com.

10/28/2025

10/27/2025

Did you know you can find me in the Safe Space Alliance directory?

(From their website)
"The Safe Space Alliance (Safespacealliance.com) is a LGBTQI+ led nonprofit organisation that helps people identify, navigate, and create safe spaces for LGBTQI+ communities worldwide. Our two core activities include maintaining an online directory of spaces around the world that welcome and support LGBTQI+ communities, and helping LGBTQI+ people get to safety. Being part of the Safe Space Alliance is being part of a global and collaborative network that welcomes and supports LGBTQI+ communities."

Whether you are part of the LGBTQI+ community or are a supporter of the community, I encourage you to visit the directory, look for businesses and services that align with your values, and support them. It's imperative now, more than ever, that we get behind marginalized communities and stand PROUD for safety and diversity for all of us.

10/26/2025

I've decided to expand my client base while interning - offering $30 in-person or telehealth therapy sessions in South Carolina (no insurance.) With everything going on in the world, being able to offer something that is affordable and accessible is important to me. If I can support you, or someone you know, please reach out. I'd love to accompany you on your healing journey!

10/25/2025

While this post was written about others who want to support survivors of DV/IPV, it's also important for survivors themselves to know and have this information about themselves. It's the first step in healing and embracing who we are.

10/24/2025

That’s right - all of this is normal. And all of this can be part of your growth, inner knowing, and eventual healing.

10/23/2025

Here me out. Not everything we judge - in ourselves or in others - has a moral right or wrong. I was recently revisiting this idea when talking about Major Depressive Disorder and listening again to KC Davis' fabulous Ted Talk. She makes mention of this idea - that many of the standards we hold ourselves to and that we equate with being 'well' or even being 'worthy' of being well are, in fact, morally neutral. They're societal expectations that have been twisted into something we take as morality.

Think: housekeeping/chores, cooking at home, wearing certain clothing, what shows/movies you watch, whether you are being 'productive' enough, what you choose to spend your money on...

This isn't to say that these aren't (mostly) good things - or even good-for-you things, but it is to say they 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 moral things. Why does it matter?

In mental health - and in what I call 'Radical Wellness' - some of the worst things we do to get off course with our own wellbeing are done in the name of these unfounded 'moral' codes.
For example, if your depression requires rest - but you spend that rest shaming yourself for not fixing dinner - it is not, in fact, rest.

We can't improve any mental health issue with shame - not ours or someone else's. And incorrectly attributing a social construct to a moral failing creates that shame. Shame which leads to silence, which leads to isolation, which leads to being unwell.

I encourage you to challenge the construct - and examine where this might be affecting your life, of the life of someone you know. Because you know what is moral? Acting with kindness, seeking to understand another's experiences, and finding compassion - including for ourselves.
And that has nothing to do with whether you made your bed today, or even got out of it.

10/22/2025

It's NOT Mental Health Awareness Month - but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be talking about our mental health!

1. Mental Health isn't about whether or not you have an 'official' mental health diagnosis.

2. Mental Health is inextricably tied to Physical Health.

3. Waiting for a mental health crisis to arrive before you engage in mental health supports is a really flawed plan.

In Radical Wellness, we acknowledge that hard things happen to everyone, that in order to be our best we need to embrace that reality, and that we can proactively work toward healthy responses that can not only help us manage tough stuff, it can also empower us!

You can learn more and start the journey by getting your free download: Seven Days to Radical Self-Compassion here: radicalself.ck.page

10/21/2025

There's a lot of talk about 'trauma-types' - the types and definitions get expanded; the nuances of combinations and settings are discussed a lot too. But I don't see a lot of conversation about the power of trauma-types.

Trauma-types aren't bad; Your trauma-type is an automatic reaction developed by your brain to do one thing - Keep you Safe.

When your brain/body perceive something that might be dangerous/difficult, reminds you of something that was dangerous/difficult, or feels you're getting a lot of input about something dangerous/difficult, your trauma-type kicks in and does its thing: its thing is to keep you safe.

You developed your primary trauma-type around the age of 6-8. You DO have combinations of types, your reaction can be based on setting and also influenced by the perception of others needing you to keep them safe too. But that one, early, response - it's especially powerful. AND, because you've honed it for most of your life, it also comes with additional perks - strengths you and others can rely on.

For those of us with a significantly traumatic background, our work is in learning to calm the response and teach it when it really needs to engage and when it can take a break. That doesn't make the response 'bad,' just extra protective - and for good reason!

Find your trauma type and check out one of the special gifts it gave you...

10/21/2025

Local to the Summerville, SC area? Come out this Sunday for a 2-hr toolkit on cultivating joy as an act of resistance. Learn the importance of joy to over-stressed, trauma-carrying nervous systems and develop your own, unique-to-you, joy actions. Leave with techniques to access your joy even as you honor your struggles. $10/pp, advanced registration required.

10/19/2025

A lot of discussion about connection and relationships refer to romantic partnerships. Those are important, but let's talk for a minute about healing relationships -

Healing relationships are some of the most powerful tools in our healing toolbox. In fact, healing relationships have been known to reduce cellular inflammation and reverse the physical affects of trauma as well as the emotional and psychological.

All that's required for a healing relationship is one that is authentically supportive and non-judgemental.

Having someone who is reliably there for you, offering you unconditional acceptance of wherever you are in the moment is profoundly transformational (so is being that person for someone else!)

The person can be a romantic partner, but it doesn't have to be. It can also be a family member, a 'found family' member, a friend, or even a mentor, spiritual leader, coach, or therapist.

Who are your healing relationships?
Are you the healing relationship for anyone else? (I bet you are! Even if you don't know it.) 😀