As the holidays approach, family gatherings can stir up old wounds as easily as warm memories. In this episode, Elly and Isa explore how to heal holiday relationships by identifying emotional triggers and protecting your peace.

Licensed Professional Counselor and Central Texas trauma therapist Eleanor L. Brown shares faith-based insights and practical therapy tools for navigating family dynamics through the lens of Christian counseling. Together with co-host Isamary Nieves Banks, she blends Scripture and psychology to help you create emotional safety, regulate your nervous system, and reconnect with others in healthy ways.

Drawing from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, they focus on love and belonging—why connection matters and how to build it during the holidays without losing yourself in the process. Whether you struggle with family tension, old pain, or holiday stress, this conversation will give you tools to respond instead of react.

✨ In this episode:
• Awareness of emotional triggers and stress responses
• Understanding fight, flight, freeze, and fawn in family gatherings
• Setting boundaries that protect peace without creating walls
• Inviting God into your emotional healing process
• Blending faith and therapy for whole-person healing
• Finding grace for yourself and others this holiday season

🕊️ A Better Way to Heal: Where Faith Meets Therapy is hosted by Eleanor L. Brown, LPC, a Central Texas trauma therapist, author, and speaker helping individuals move from simply surviving to thriving through faith and therapy.

📘 Learn more or find Elly’s book A Better Way: Integrating Faith and Psychology to Heal Inner Wounds at www.eleanorbrowncounseling.com.

Looking for a faith-based path toward emotional healing?
Download Elly’s free A Better Way Guide, a 6-step BETTER Framework that blends faith and therapy to help you recognize emotional triggers, build resilience, and start healing from the inside out.
Start your journey today at eleanorbrowncounseling.com/a-better-way-guide-freebie.

Connect with us on Social Media or Visit our website!

Website: eleanorbrowncounseling.com/

Facebook URL: facebook.com/EleanorBrownCounseling/

Instagram URL: instagram.com/eleanorbrowncounseling/

Bookstore: eleanorbrowncounseling.com/store

Holidays can renew a family or reopen old wounds. We’re choosing renewal.

In this heart-level conversation, trauma therapist Eleanor Brown, LPC, based in Central Texas, and co-host Isamary Nieves Banks trade chaos for connection with three simple traditions you can start right away:

• A gratitude-and-story night that invites reflection without rehashing trauma
• Create-together rituals that turn crafts and games into easy bonding
• Memory-making practices that honor loss, spark laughter, and anchor the season in warmth

You’ll hear practical ways to keep stories safe, reframe negativity before it hijacks the room, and navigate holiday gatherings with grace. From gingerbread contests and candle lighting to board games and collaborative letters, Elly and Isa share flexible ideas that work for busy families with different personalities.

They also discuss boundaries—how to shorten visits, meet one-on-one, or skip triggering events altogether—so your holidays feel peaceful, not pressured. Creativity becomes a form of spiritual practice, reflecting the heart of the Creator, while compassion in the moment repairs trust faster than perfection ever could.

If you’re ready to replace dysfunction with connection and joy, this episode offers a roadmap you can use tonight.

💡 Hosted by Eleanor L. Brown, LPC — a trauma therapist offering faith-integrated online counseling across Texas and Florida. Learn more or explore her book A Better Way: Integrating Faith and Psychology to Heal Inner Wounds at eleanorbrowncounseling.com
.

Connect with us on Social Media or Visit our website!

Website: eleanorbrowncounseling.com/

Facebook URL: facebook.com/EleanorBrownCounseling/

Instagram URL: instagram.com/eleanorbrowncounseling/

Bookstore: eleanorbrowncounseling.com/store

What if the feelings you’re hiding aren’t proof you’re broken—but clues pointing you toward care?

In this episode of Shame Free Sunday, we sit down with Harmony (our shame-free bear) to explore Mental Health Awareness Week through a grounded, faith-informed lens. We talk about how anxiety, depression, and grief are not flaws to hide but signals to understand—and how shame often twists struggle into identity. Naming what hurts is the beginning of relief.

You’ll hear about simple nervous system tools—like slow exhale breathing and even bubble-blowing—alongside deeper practices of awareness, pattern-tracking, and finding safe people. We unpack when anxiety and grief become maladaptive, what it means to feel stuck in fight/flight/freeze, and how to gently widen your window of tolerance. We also look at biblical stories like Elijah and David, where rest, nourishment, and honest prayer came before solutions—offering a compassionate model of healing that honors both faith and therapy.

As a trauma therapist in Central Texas and Miami, Florida, I also share practical ways to seek support: understanding the difference between coaching and counseling, finding a provider who aligns with your values, and reframing help-seeking as strength—not weakness.

Our refrain throughout: shadows mean light is nearby. If you’ve been feeling ashamed or stuck, this is your invitation to take one small step—name it to tame it, feel it to heal it, and remember you’re not alone.

✨ If this episode speaks to you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one baby step you’ll take today?

Connect with us on Social Media or Visit our website!

Website: eleanorbrowncounseling.com/

Facebook URL: facebook.com/EleanorBrownCounseling/

Instagram URL: instagram.com/eleanorbrowncounseling/

Bookstore: eleanorbrowncounseling.com/store