Author: Amanda Brindle
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Have We Lost the Plot with Trauma-Informed Care?
Somewhere along the way, “trauma-informed” became a branding strategy. It appears in mission statements, conference presentations, Instagram bios, and job descriptions. The phrase signals compassion. It signals awareness. It signals that we understand something about the impact of trauma. But I keep finding myself wondering whether we are actually practicing trauma-informed care, or whether we…
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When Caring Starts to Hurt: Systems, Burnout, and Staying Whole in Helping Work
There’s a conversation that happens quietly in helping professions. It happens in hallways after hard meetings. In texts between colleagues late at night. In that moment when you sit in your car after work a little longer than usual because you are not ready to bring the day inside your house yet. It usually starts…
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Continuing Bonds: How Love Persists After Loss
One of the most common worries I hear from grieving people is this quiet, uneasy question: Am I supposed to still feel this connected? Many people carry an unspoken belief that healing requires letting go. That at some point, love should loosen, the connection should fade, and grief should become something smaller and more distant.…
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Continuing Bonds: Staying Connected After Loss
For many years, grief was often described as a process of letting go. The message, sometimes spoken and sometimes implied, was that healing meant detaching from the person who died in order to move forward. For many grieving people, that idea never quite fit. The love did not disappear, and neither did the relationship. Continuing…
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When the Season of Joy Feels Harder Than Expected
This time of year arrives with a familiar script. Lights appear. Calendars fill. Traditions return, often without asking whether we are ready for them. For many people, this season is meant to feel warm and meaningful. And yet, for many others, it feels complicated, heavy, or quietly exhausting. That does not mean something is wrong.…
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Worden’s Tasks of Mourning:
A framework for understanding the work of grief Many people worry about whether they are “grieving correctly.” They wonder if they are stuck, behind, or doing something wrong because the pain hasn’t eased the way they expected. John Worden’s Tasks of Mourning offers a helpful reframe. Instead of seeing grief as a set of stages…
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National Grief Awareness Week: What It Means To Me
National Grief Awareness Week arrives each year as a reminder of something most people walk through quietly. For many, grief lives underneath everyday life, shaping how they move, what they notice, and how they connect with others. In my work with families who have lost a child suddenly and without warning, grief is not an…
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Understanding the Kübler-Ross Model in Real Life
The five stages of grief are something most of us hear about long before we ever experience a loss that cracks us open. The words float around in conversations, books, movies, and social media posts. Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. They sound so tidy that you can almost imagine grief unfolding like a staircase you…
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Gratitude During Thanksgiving
As Thanksgiving approaches, many people focus on being thankful. We hear it in conversations, around the table, and throughout the season. There is another idea that reaches deeper: gratitude. While the two sound similar, understanding the difference can support emotional wellbeing during a time of year that can feel both meaningful and heavy. Thankfulness vs.…
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Understanding Grief: A Gentle Introduction to the Theories That Shape How We Heal
Grief is a deeply personal experience, yet it is something every human will encounter. When someone important to us dies, the world changes in ways that often feel disorienting, emotional, and sometimes impossible to put into words. Many people search for something that helps them understand what they are feeling. Over the years, several grief…
Amanda Brindle, LCSW 