Send us Fan Mail

No contact gets talked about like a single decision, but we’ve seen it unfold as a long process of loneliness, repeated repair attempts, and a growing need for safety. Therapist Cecily Davis joins me to take a clear, compassionate look at parent-child estrangement between parents and adult children and what’s actually happening underneath the labels people argue about online.

We dig into differentiation, the developmental work of becoming your own person outside the family system, and why “outgrowing” a role can create major conflict at home. We talk about how parents often experience their adult child’s boundaries as rejection or an attack, how culture and generational expectations shape that reaction, and why intergenerational trauma can keep families stuck until someone decides to feel the pain instead of passing it on.

We also address the stigma aimed at therapy and therapists. Ethical trauma-informed therapy and attachment-based therapy aren’t about pushing someone to cut ties. They’re about building agency, helping clients identify needs and values, and supporting healthier relationships when possible. We explore why boundaries are often protection rather than punishment, what repair can look like when a parent does their own work, and why healing doesn’t have to mean all-or-nothing closeness or distance.

If you’re an adult child considering limited contact, a parent trying to understand what went wrong, or a clinician supporting families through high emotion, this conversation offers language that’s practical and human. Subscribe, share this with someone navigating estrangement, and leave a review so more people can find support.

To learn more about Cecily and the works she does, you can find her at the following:

LinkedIn: Cecily Davis, LPC

Facebook: Cecily Davis, LPC

Psychology Today: Psychology Today Profile

Online @: Cecily Davis, LPC - DavisMentalHealth

Thank you for tuning into And Still WE Rise! If you would like to learn more about me or the work our practice is doing, feel free to follow us on Instagram at:

@atltherapygirl and @risetherapycenter

Or check us out at www.risetherapycenter.com

Disclaimer: And Still We Rise is meant to provide perspective and meaningful conversations around mental health topics. It is not meant to provide specific therapeutic advise to individuals. If anything in these podcasts resonates, ASWR recommends consulting with your individual therapist or seeking a referral from your primary care physician.

Send us Fan Mail

Silence can feel like a threat when you have trained yourself to move fast, stay busy, and never stop thinking. We sit down with Sara Kassam, a DBT-certified therapist and group fitness leader, to unpack why “being present with yourself” is so often uncomfortable, and why that discomfort is not proof you are doing it wrong. A lot of us are not afraid of being alone, we are afraid of what our thoughts will say when the noise finally drops.

We dig into how hustle culture, constant productivity, and even popular self-help habits can become subtle avoidance. Sara shares how perfectionism and low self-worth can turn self-improvement into a reassurance loop that keeps you chasing “better” instead of practicing self-acceptance. We also talk about the real role of decompression and dissociation after mentally demanding days, especially for therapists and other helping professionals, and how to tell when scrolling is a short reset versus something that starts disrupting sleep, work, and daily functioning.

Then we get practical: mindfulness does not have to mean sitting still with your eyes closed. We explore everyday mindfulness skills you can use right away, including nature walks, breath awareness during workouts, and small “science experiment” practices that build tolerance for presence without forcing your mind to stop. We also separate solitude from loneliness, and why learning to be with yourself can strengthen relationships and even help kids develop creativity through boredom and imaginative play.

Subscribe, share this with someone who is tired of overthinking, and leave a review if the conversation helps you build a calmer relationship with your own mind.

Want to learn more about Sara? You can find her at:

https://www.risetherapycenter.com/sara

IG: seenbysarak and Email: sara@risetherapycenter.com

Thank you for tuning into And Still WE Rise! If you would like to learn more about me or the work our practice is doing, feel free to follow us on Instagram at:

@atltherapygirl and @risetherapycenter

Or check us out at www.risetherapycenter.com

Disclaimer: And Still We Rise is meant to provide perspective and meaningful conversations around mental health topics. It is not meant to provide specific therapeutic advise to individuals. If anything in these podcasts resonates, ASWR recommends consulting with your individual therapist or seeking a referral from your primary care physician.

Send us Fan Mail

Picking a therapist can feel like a high-stakes decision, especially when it is your child and you are handing them off behind a closed door. We sit down with Becca Buice, a therapist at Rise Therapy Center who works with children, teens, and adults, to talk about what “therapist fit” really means and why the therapeutic relationship is often the biggest predictor of change. If you have ever thought, “therapy didn’t work for us,” this conversation offers a different possibility: maybe the match was wrong.

We walk through how to get clear on your goals before you schedule, how a therapist’s specialties and modalities matter (CBT, trauma-focused CBT, play therapy, and creative approaches), and why developmental fit is crucial when you are seeking child therapy for anxiety or emotional regulation. We also share concrete ways to research providers using websites, Psychology Today profiles, videos, and even social media so you can hear a therapist’s voice and get a feel for their style. For kids, previewing the office and seeing a friendly face ahead of time can lower anxiety and make the first visit feel less intimidating.

We also name the real-world barriers that shape access to counseling, including transportation, scheduling, affordability, and not knowing what options exist. You will hear why it is okay to ask questions, request flexibility like virtual therapy when appropriate, and even ask for referrals if a provider is not the best fit. If you want therapy to feel safer, more effective, and more sustainable for your family, this is your roadmap.

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share this episode with someone searching for a therapist, and leave a review if it helps. What is the number one thing you need to feel confident before booking a first session?

To learn more about Becca, you can find her here:

becca@risetherapycenter.com

Thank you for tuning into And Still WE Rise! If you would like to learn more about me or the work our practice is doing, feel free to follow us on Instagram at:

@atltherapygirl and @risetherapycenter

Or check us out at www.risetherapycenter.com

Disclaimer: And Still We Rise is meant to provide perspective and meaningful conversations around mental health topics. It is not meant to provide specific therapeutic advise to individuals. If anything in these podcasts resonates, ASWR recommends consulting with your individual therapist or seeking a referral from your primary care physician.