Michelle Cru Psychotherapy

Terrific advice to be able to double down on compassion when it is the hardest (and most essential).

The magic of relationships is that there is no "wrong way" to start to address issues (within the healthy/caring realm), as long as you carefully attune and then pivot your approach accordingly

Managing all our own helper parts, our empathy, and our caregiver responses is so important (and sometimes so hard)

💜 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻.

When we can pause, breathe, and connect with a little Self-energy, we might discover that just being with is enough. A hug, a look, or a quiet presence can sometimes mean more than words.

✨ What parts of you show up when someone you care about is hurting? Do you notice a comforter, a fixer, or maybe a part that feels overwhelmed? We’d love to hear your experiences below.

𝙄𝙁𝙎 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 - it lives in our everyday connections. That’s why we created 𝗜𝗙𝗦 𝗜𝗥𝗟 (𝗜𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲): to show the many ways our parts dance with us in daily life.

A terrific article about accountability! We can always improve ourselves, as any stage of our development or journey.

Accountability 101 How We Heal and Create Peace in Our Homes and In The World

A terrific somatic practice! I have used this many times, and it is an effective way to start addressing people-pleasing, boundaries, and re-attuning to our body's signals! Full credit The Holistic Psychologist or Nicole Lepera

Super cool article about writing through anger, with prompts to help you understand, befriend, and channel this emotion!

Writing Through Anger – Writing Through Life Writing Through Anger 18 by Amber Lea Starfire Anger is a negative emotion—that’s what we’ve been taught and what our culture believes. But is it true? Is anger “bad”? Years ago, in the midst of divorce, I came to the surprising realization that I had been angry for a very, very long time....

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (2024) provides an emotional, profound, and inspiring glimpse into how gaming (World of Warcraft) can foster healthy relationships, healing, and community. Any tool carries such potential for incredibly positive and negative applications - it's a breath of fresh air to delve into how humanity can use technology to better themselves as well as the world.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | Rotten Tomatoes Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.

There is such a thing as productive guilt (to be differentiated from unproductive guilt and shame)! All emotions have a function. All emotions are valid. All emotions can be explored and worked with.

A terrific article about the pitfalls of being overly nice in close and/or romantic relationships!

5 "Nice" Things Partners Do That Don't Work in the Long-Term "Nice" seems like a desirable quality in a romantic partner. But over time it tends to come at the expense of more valuable attributes.

Fantastic review of somatization-based conditions in kids/youth, and somatization in general.

Somatization: Signs and symptoms ​​Somatization is the expression of distress through physical symptoms and results from the mind-body or brain-body connection. Find out how it affects your child's health.

Canadian Red Cross published this fantastic resource about giving yourself and others psychological first aid. Check it out!

www.redcross.ca

Mindfully engaging with our shadows: a cheat sheet!