Invisible Scars: Understanding the Psychological Impact of Coercive Control
Walking on eggshells. Second-guessing yourself. Unable to explain why you feel trapped when no one has ever hit you. There is a name for this pattern, and it is not your imagination. Each individual incident might seem minor or even justifiable, but together they create a comprehensive system of domination that leaves the victim feeling powerless and confused. Bren M. Chasse, LMFT unpacks coercive control — how it takes hold, why others cannot see it, and how survivors reclaim themselves.
The Weight of What If: Understanding the Role of Guilt in Suicide Bereavement
What if I had answered that call. What if I had visited that weekend. After a suicide, the mind replays the same moments endlessly, searching for the version where it ended differently. Bren M. Chasse, LMFT breaks down why guilt is nearly universal after suicide loss, what it protects survivors from, and how it can be carried rather than overcome. Bren reminds readers that the pain you feel is a testament to your deep love for them.
The Psychological Toll of Active Shooter Drills: Why Schools Need Trauma-Informed Care
Emerging clinical research shows that realistic school-based active shooter drills—such as using simulated gunfire—can trigger clinical anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and school avoidance in children with no prior risk factors. In this article, Bren M. Chasse, LMFT highlights how uncoordinated campus drills induce hypervigilance and affect academic performance, contrasting high-stress preparation with effective trauma-informed training.
Why It's So Hard to Leave: The Psychology of the Cycle of Violence
You know it isn't safe. You may have known for a long time. And still, leaving feels impossible in a way that is difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't lived it. Bren M. Chasse, LMFT explains the cycle of violence, how trauma bonds form, and why the pattern is so much harder to break than it looks from the outside.
Do You Have to Forgive to Heal From Trauma? Debunking the Forgiveness Myth
The proposition that forgiveness is necessary for recovery from trauma remains contested among clinicians, yet it persists in both popular and therapeutic discourse as an expected milestone of healing. Bren M. Chasse, LMFT argues that treating forgiveness as universally required is clinically unsound and, for some survivors, actively harmful. Bren notes that the measure of recovery is not whether a survivor forgives, but whether they reclaim safety, agency, and wholeness on terms they define.