The Touchstone Institute
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Empowering perinatal practitioners through holistic trainings and consultations.
What if what we call “codependency” in our perinatal clients isn’t a personal failing, but a deeply learned survival strategy?
For those socialized as women, the perinatal period often brings long-held patterns into sharp relief: tracking a partner’s moods, coaching through distress, anticipating needs - all while disconnecting from their own body and needs. The shame clients carry around these behaviors isn’t theirs to hold. It’s rooted in a history that weaponized caretaking and then blamed them for it.
In Healing from Codependency: HerStory, Monica O’Connell, LMFT, and Meghan Kane, LMFT, offer a feminist, trauma-informed reframe. You’ll learn to depathologize what’s often labeled “enabling,” help clients reconnect with their bodies, and build boundaries that are self-preserving, not punitive.
📖 Healing from Codependency: HerStory
🗓️ July 14, 2026
🔗 Register today at https://bit.ly/herstory-live
06/17/2026
Our June newsletter is here!
Read on for course updates, mental health insights, and more.
https://bit.ly/jun-26-news
06/16/2026
For those socialized as women, what gets named as codependency is frequently a set of deeply learned, socially reinforced patterns.
Reexamining codependency through a trauma-informed, feminist lens allows clinicians to depathologize these patterns, reduce self-blame, and guide clients toward genuine embodiment and self-honoring boundaries.
Beyond Pathologizing Codependency: A Trauma-Informed Feminist Approach for Clinicians Explore a trauma-informed feminist approach to codependency in perinatal clients. Move beyond pathologizing and help clients reconnect with their bodies.
06/10/2026
Meet Monica O'Connell!
With over a decade of experience and a specialization in trauma recovery, complex PTSD, women’s issues, and LGBTQIA+ support, Monica brings a rich, holistic perspective to her trainings.
Join Monica on July 14 for her upcoming workshop with Meghan Kane, Healing from Codependency: HerStory!
Together we'll:
✅ unpack the societal stories and expectations imposed on women at an early age
✅ deconstruct codependency as a pathology and address the shame of "enabling"
✅ learn strategies for helping women become embodied and center pleasure in their lives
Now enrolling at https://bit.ly/herstory-live
Inclusive perinatal mental health education is central to the work we do at The Touchstone Institute.
We work to create a supportive environment for learning and professional growth that honors how lived experiences shape us as clinicians and the families we serve.
Learn more about the values that guide us and our holistic approach to professional development at touchstoneinstitute.org.
06/08/2026
At Touchstone, our support for LGBTQIA2S+ communities isn’t seasonal. It’s built into our language, our trainings, and our commitment to anti-oppression every single day.
Learn why we don’t “go rainbow” in June, and what authentic solidarity looks like in our work and values.
Why We Don’t “Go Rainbow” for Pride Month Read our Pride Month reflection on why we don’t change our logo - and how we practice LGBTQIA2S+ inclusion, equity, and anti-oppression all year long at Touchstone Institute.
06/05/2026
You are allowed to feel the weight of what you hold.
You are also allowed to set it down, to learn, to consult, and to rest.
As EMDR clinicians, we have been trained to treat trauma that happens to our clients, but what about when the source of our client's trauma is systemic oppression and harm experienced because of who they are?
Join Mark Nickerson for his upcoming workshop to learn how to address culturally-based trauma into your EMDR practice:
📖 Addressing Social Identity, Cultural Trauma, and Current Societal Adversity within EMDR Therapy: Experiential Learning
🗓️ June 23 & 30
🔗 https://f.mtr.cool/vvoybrlhny
06/02/2026
We're excited to announce that Touchstone Founder & Director, Mara Tesler Stein, will be offering her course, "EMDR Approaches to Perinatal Experiences" as a guest instructor at EMDR Training & Distance Learning on June 22 and 29!
Learn more at https://f.mtr.cool/dhpghoxnts
06/01/2026
Client's don't arrive to therapy sessions as blank slates.
They come with a history of how their culture has been seen, named, or erased.
Learn EMDR methods (including G-TEP) to explore social identity, reprocess societal adversity, and dismantle prejudice in Mark Nickerson's two-part experiential workshop:
📖 Addressing Social Identity, Cultural Trauma, & Current Societal Adversity within EMDR Therapy
🗓️ Part 1: June 23 | Part 2: June 30
🔗 Register today at https://bit.ly/EMDR-ID-Live
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