Why Emotional Expansion Matters in Trauma-Informed Healing
Many of us are familiar with “regulation” (calming down, slowing our breath, or grounding our bodies), but fewer people talk about the other side of healing: expansion.
In my recent Substack essay, “Why Expansion Matters: An Ode to Expansion Brainspotting,” I explore how true healing isn’t only about reducing distress, but also about increasing capacity for joy, connection, pleasure, and vitality. From a trauma-informed perspective, our nervous systems don’t just need to learn how to settle… they also need to learn how to safely open, soften, and grow.
This idea is central to my work at Crescent Counseling in Dallas, Texas. Using modalities like Brainspotting, Polyvagal-informed practices, and somatic approaches such as Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), I help clients not only downshift out of fight-or-flight, but also gently build tolerance for positive emotions and embodied aliveness. Many people who have experienced stress or relational trauma are more comfortable with anxiety than with calm and more familiar with contraction than expansion.
In session, this might look like slowing down around moments of ease, noticing what happens in the body when something feels good, or tracking subtle shifts toward safety and connection. Over time, clients often discover that healing isn’t just about “feeling less bad,” but about feeling more fully alive.
If you’d like to read my more personal reflections on this topic, you can find the full essay here!
This piece is part of my ongoing writing about trauma, relationships, and embodied healing. If you’re curious about how I integrate these principles into therapy, connect with me!
