Register for the 2025 Miles for Mental Health 5K Run & 1-Mile Walk on April 27, 2025! Proceeds support CFR’s Operation Home & Healing program.
Search for a therapist, a psychiatrist or other content:
Category » Trauma
Trauma Informed Therapist Reid Cilley Helps Clients Heal and Grow
Meet Reid Cilley, MFT: A Trauma Informed Therapist Centered on You When you’re searching for a trauma informed therapist, you deserve someone who listens without judgment and adapts to your individual pace. At Council for Relationships, Marriage and Family Therapist Reid Cilley (he/they) brings compassion, curiosity, and professionalism to their work with individuals, couples, teens,…
Read More
Trauma Responses & Community Violence: Why the Brain Reacts the Way It Does
Davina Scott, a Clinical Intern at Council for Relationships and a student at the University of Pennsylvania, explores the profound effects of community violence on mental health. In this blog, she examines how trauma responses influence the behavior, decision-making, and coping skills of those who have experienced violence. By understanding these responses, communities can develop…
Read More
International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025
International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. This day serves as a reminder of the terrible events that took place during the Holocaust. This year’s theme, “For a Better Future,” encourages us to reflect and take action. We honor the memory of Holocaust victims and face…
Read More
CFR Awarded $657,827 Grant for Trauma Care Expansion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Council for Relationships Receives $657,827 Grant from Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for Trauma-Informed Mental Health Care and Violence Prevention Philadelphia, PA – 01/10/2025 – Council for Relationships (CFR) is proud to announce the approval of a $657,827 grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for Violence Intervention…
Read More
CFR Launches New Community Trauma Response Program to Support Philadelphia Communities Affected by Trauma
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 7, 2024 Contact: Michael Fasano-McCarron Director of Communications & Development Council for Relationships Phone: 215.382.6680 ext. 3160 Email: mmccarron@councilforrelationships.org Council for Relationships Launches New Community Trauma Response (CTR) Program to Support Philadelphia Communities Affected by Trauma Philadelphia, PA — Council for Relationships (CFR) is proud to announce the launch of…
Read More
EMDR Therapy for PTSD: What You Need to Know
Amy Jones, a therapist at the Council for Relationships, first trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) in 2021. She quickly fell in love with EMDR therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to its effectiveness in shifting traumatic memories for both herself and her clients. This blog outlines the signs of PTSD…
Read More
PTSD Awareness & Emerging Ideas on Trauma
As we mark the 15th Annual PTSD Awareness Day, it’s essential to reflect on the evolving understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its impact on diverse communities. In this insightful blog, CFR Staff Therapist Andy Phạm, MFT, delves into the emerging ideas of trauma and the significance of precision in PTSD diagnosis. With a…
Read More
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024 – Yom HaShoah
Holocaust Remembrance Day 2024 calls us to reflect deeply on the echoes of the past and the reverberations they cause in our present world. This year, the day takes on a poignant significance, juxtaposed against the October 7th attack, the largest on Jewish lives since World War II. This convergence of historical and recent events…
Read More
Psychedelics and Trauma Healing in 2023
Humans have been using psychedelic drugs since the dawn of human civilization. However, only recently has Western culture and science begun to understand the potential mental health benefits of psychedelics for trauma healing. This is the first of a two-part series on psychedelics and trauma. The discussion will focus on changing how the West thinks…
Read More
Am I a Unicorn? A Therapist & Child of Holocaust Survivors On the Israel-Hamas War
On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on innocent Israeli citizens and even took hostages. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, and The Israel Defense Force vowed to “destroy Hamas.” Like everyone else, CFR Clinicians were horrified by Hamas’s brutality and have been processing the recent events like most people….
Read More
Advocating for Humanity During War
Many of us have been overwhelmed by the tragic, unspeakable events that have resulted in the escalating Israel-Hamas War. We may experience a variety of emotions and hold our own narratives as we are exposed to horrific images and news stories. Undoubtedly some of Council for Relationships’ clients, along with our colleagues and family members…
Read More
Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2023
Many believe that the effects of domestic violence are limited to the abuser and the victim, but as the U.S. Department of Justice’s own Office on Violence Against Women states, “domestic violence not only affects those who are abused, but also has a substantial effect on family members, friends, co-workers, other witnesses, and the community…
Read More
Therapy That Can Teach You Forgiveness
We all know that the ability to forgive someone is a valued human trait. But dang is it hard to do. If you’re a human, then you’ve experienced a situation where you’ve been wronged by someone else (and vice versa). Most people want to be known as “forgiving,” but there are few manuals on how…
Read More
3 Alarming Takeaways for Parents of Teens in Age Discrepant Relationships
Age-discrepant relationships are relationships where partners have a sizeable gap between the ages of those in the relationship. While there is no hard and fast number to define what is considered “sizeable,” when it comes to relationships between teenagers and adults, laws define the age of consent. Mainstream pop stars like Demi Lovato are driving…
Read More
TBI: Meaning, Importance, and Hope
The Philadelphia Phillies‘ partnership with Team Foster and Warrior Canine Connection to bring a new service pup to the Phillies for training reminds us of the importance of learning about and addressing treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI) in Veterans. TBI was the signature war wound of the Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan (OEF) and Operation…
Read More
Neurodivergent: Navigating the Mental Health Issues
What it means to be neurodivergent is often misunderstood. The term describes individuals whose brain processes, learns, or behaves differently from what is typical. This term covers many conditions, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, and Tourette’s Syndrome. Although the term is becoming more common, many people still misunderstand…
Read More
Notes from the 2023 Drexel MCH Symposium
On June 1, 2023, Drexel University held the 2023 Drexel Maternal and Child Health Symposium: Gun Violence: Impacts & Solutions from an MCH Perspective. The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) conference, “highlight[ed] the work of communities and programs seeking to reduce the impact of gun violence on maternal and child health populations, including women, children,…
Read More
Racial Justice Through Tragic Optimism
The time between the conclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month) and the celebration of Juneteenth is a great opportunity to reflect on the complexities of racial justice. CFR Staff Psychiatrist Dr. Maura Dunfey shares how her experience raising biracial children, having a grandfather who fought the Japanese in World…
Read More
Understanding Trauma: Poland & the Holocaust
Holocaust Remembrance Day, colloquially called Yom HaShoah in Israel, is an annual day of reflection and commemoration marking the date of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Bea Hollander-Goldfein, PhD, LMFT, is a Co-Director of CFR’s Transcending Trauma Project and a Staff Therapist. Here, Dr. Hollander-Goldfein, the child of a Holocaust survivor, shares her story of visiting…
Read More
Combatting Rising Antisemitism & Racism this International Holocaust Memorial Day
Commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day January 27, 2023, is International Holocaust Memorial Day, commemorating the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. The Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp is a stark symbol of a 14-year campaign by the Nazis and their collaborators to murder all the Jews in Europe. The day also commemorates…
Read More