Rooted Survivors Therapy Blog

Does October feel a little "louder" to you than it does to everyone else? Maybe you’ve noticed your heart racing just a bit faster when you walk past a neighbor’s lawn filled with animatronic ghouls. Maybe you’ve found yourself scanning the grocery store aisle for exits while everyone else is busy picking out bags of fun-sized Snickers. Or perhaps the mere thought of a "jump scare" in a movie trailer makes you want to crawl under your covers and stay there until November. Whe

If you’re searching for PTSD therapy online, you may be wondering what virtual support actually looks like. Perhaps you’re exhausted from feeling on edge. Perhaps sleep has become unpredictable, memories arrive without warning, or you keep avoiding places, conversations, and relationships that once felt ordinary. Maybe you’re also thinking, Can therapy really help through a screen? What if I become overwhelmed? What if I don’t know where to begin? Reaching out for trauma supp

We’ve all been there. You’re standing in the hallway, and the door slams so hard the pictures rattle on the walls. Or maybe it’s the silence, that heavy, suffocating quiet that follows an eye-roll or a sharp, "I don’t care." It feels personal. It feels like a rejection of everything you’ve tried to build for them. If you are feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, or like you’re constantly tiptoeing around in your own home, we want you to understand that yes, this is a normal part o

At Rooted Survivors Therapy, we believe the right therapeutic relationship can make room for the parts of you that have been carrying too much for too long. Today, we are honored to introduce Nikita Tracy, LCSW, our new Clinical Therapist and Oklahoma Clinician. Nikita provides virtual, trauma-informed therapy to clients throughout Oklahoma. Her work supports children, adolescents, and adults navigating anxiety, PTSD, grief, relationship challenges, burnout, depression, and t

We know exactly what you’re feeling right now. You’re standing in the middle of your life, looking around, and realizing that the person you used to be, the one who made decisions with confidence and trusted their own gut, feels like a stranger. Maybe you find yourself second-guessing every choice, from what to eat for dinner to whether you can handle a new job. Maybe you’re constantly looking over your shoulder, even when things are quiet. When you’ve spent months or years i

You finally found them. The partner who listens. The one who doesn’t call you names when they’re frustrated, who respects your "no," and who actually shows up when they say they will. By all accounts, you should be happy. You should be exhaling. But instead, you find yourself picking apart the way they load the dishwasher. Or you’re "randomly" picking a fight about something that happened three weeks ago. Or you’re sitting across from them at dinner, heart racing, convinced t

This blog was written by Antonio Romero, APCC#20189, Clinical Associate Therapist at Rooted Survivors Therapy. Antonio provides trauma-informed telehealth therapy to adults in California under the direct supervision of Kelley Amick, LPCC. “Why do I pull away when I actually want connection?” The desire for connection is one that is inherent and practically engrained within human nature. However, the tendency to want closeness, friendship, or intimacy while simultaneously wi

If you’ve noticed your teen’s light staying on until 2 AM, or if you’ve seen that specific look of "frozen" panic when they open their laptop to check grades, you're not the only parent going through this. At Rooted Survivors Therapy, we are seeing a shift. The "normal" stress of being a teenager has morphed into something much heavier. Whether you are a parent in the suburbs of California or a student in a rural community in Oklahoma, the pressure is palpable. We can almost

This piece was written by Antonio Romero, APCC#20189, Clinical Associate Therapist at Rooted Survivors Therapy, who provides trauma-informed telehealth therapy to adults in California under the direct supervision of Kelley Amick, LPCC. Does Therapy Have to Have an End Date? When scheduling a first therapy session, it’s common to wonder how long the process might take, or whether your needs will be addressed within a certain timeframe. It can feel stressful to assess whether

"Is it just me, or does August feel suffocatingly heavy this year?" If you have been noticing your heart pounding, your chest tightening, and a low-humming panic settling into your bones as the late-summer heat wave collides with the sudden crunch of back-to-school schedules, take a deep breath and hear us clearly: Relief is on the way! Here at Rooted Survivors Therapy, we talk every day with individuals across California and Oklahoma who are wondering why their hard-earned e

The idea of setting boundaries can feel terrifying. You may have learned that saying "no" leads to conflict, rejection, or punishment. If you grew up in a home where your needs were secondary to others, or if you’ve recently walked away from a toxic relationship, the very thought of drawing a line in the sand can make your heart race and your stomach flip. Your fear isn't a sign of weakness; it’s a sign that your nervous system is doing exactly what it was trained to do, kee

We can hear you thinking out loud right now: What does a blog post about group practice growth have to do with my healing journey from a toxic relationship or trauma event? Here at Rooted Survivors Therapy, everything we do: every step we take, every clinician we welcome, and every milestone we reach: is entirely about you. When we started as a solo vision dedicated to helping survivors navigate the heavy aftermath of intimate partner violence, childhood abuse, and complex PT

"I just don't know who to trust anymore: not even myself." Maybe you’re scrolling through this because you recently left a toxic relationship, grew up with neglectful or abusive parents or are sick of being surrounded by people who cut you down and devalue you. Maybe you’re even years out from leaving these situations but still find yourself paralyzed by the simplest decisions. Whether it’s choosing a new partner or just choosing what to have for dinner, that "gut feeling" e

Here at Rooted Survivors Therapy, we believe that finding the right space to heal is one of the most courageous steps you can take. Whether you are navigating the heavy echoes of difficult past experiences, untangling the knots of anxiety and depression, or simply trying to find solid ground during a major life transition, having a trusted partner by your side changes everything. Today, we are beyond thrilled to introduce the newest addition to our clinical team: Antonio Rome

"I finally left the toxic relationship, I moved out, or I survived that impossibly hard chapter... so why do I still feel like I'm wading through wet concrete every single day?" If you have been expecting relief to wash over you the moment your external circumstances changed, only to find yourself sinking into a profound, bone-deep heaviness, we want to gently remind you of something essential: You survived what you had to, and today, you deserve to move through the world wit

When you are navigating the heavy, often tangled path of trauma recovery, the people who walk alongside you matter more than words can say. At Rooted Survivors Therapy, we believe that healing isn't just about the techniques we use: though we are deeply committed to the gold standards of EMDR, DBT, and CBT: it’s about the soul-centered connection and the clinical wisdom that holds the space for your transformation. That is why we are so incredibly honored to introduce a vital

If you are reading this, I’m willing to bet you’ve been told you’re "doing great." To the outside world, you are the one who has it all together. You meet your deadlines, you’re there for your friends, and you manage your household with a precision that others admire. But inside? Inside, you feel like you’re running a marathon with no finish line in sight. Your heart races, your mind won’t stop spinning, and you’ve likely labeled this as "just anxiety." I want to pause right

Trying to navigate the teenage years can often feel like you’re trying to read a map written in a language you only half-understand. One minute, your child is the sweet, open book they’ve always been; the next, the door is slammed, the headphones are on, and you’re left standing in the hallway wondering what you said wrong. At Rooted Survivors, we hear this from parents in California and Oklahoma every single day. We can hear you thinking out loud right now: "Is this just wha

We can hear you thinking it right now: "I’ve tried everything. I’ve done the talk therapy, I’ve taken the meds, I’ve read the self-help books, and I still feel like I’m living behind a thick pane of glass." It’s exhausting, isn't it? That feeling of being "stuck" in a body that refuses to cooperate. You might have been told for years that you’re dealing with clinical depression. And while that might be part of the picture, there’s a distinct possibility that what you’re actua

If you’ve spent any time scouring the internet for answers to why you feel "on edge" or why your relationships always seem to mirror the same painful patterns, you’ve likely stumbled across two acronyms that feel like heavy weights: PTSD and CPTSD. At Rooted Survivors Therapy, we see you. We see the hours you’ve spent trying to diagnose yourself, the late nights wondering why you can’t just "get over it," and the exhausting effort it takes just to keep your head above water.