**Name:** Cristina Deneve **Role/Title:** Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist & Founder of Empower U **Instagram:** @empoweruemdr As a bicultural immigrant who left engineering to become a therapist, I felt constantly torn between worlds—never fully belonging anywhere. My mother's quiet strength during our immigration journey planted seeds of resilience I didn't recognize until decades later. The transformative moment came during my own therapy while transitioning careers. My therapist, also an immigrant woman, reflected back something profound: "You're not broken for feeling between two worlds—you're whole because you carry both." Her words didn't just validate my experience; they reframed my entire identity from fragmented to beautifully complete. That love and recognition from someone who truly understood my bicultural struggle gave me permission to stop trying to choose between my heritage and my American life. It awakened my purpose to help other first and second-generation Americans heal from that same cultural guilt and self-doubt. Now when my clients tell me "I hardly recognize this person who is assertive, confident, knows who they are," I see how that therapist's loving validation continues rippling forward. Sometimes the most powerful love is someone seeing your wholeness when you can only see your cracks.
**Taralynn Robinson** **EMDR Therapist & Trauma Specialist** **@truemindtherapy** I'll never forget the moment a client told me, "You're the first person who made me feel like my trauma wasn't my fault." She had carried shame from childhood sexual abuse for decades, convinced she was somehow responsible. That session changed how I approach every client interaction. I realized the transformative power isn't just in the EMDR techniques or bilateral stimulation—it's in creating that initial moment where someone feels truly seen without judgment. Now I lead every first session by teaching clients about their nervous system and trauma responses. When they understand the science behind their reactions, something shifts immediately. They stop fighting themselves and start healing. This approach has become the foundation of my practice at True Mind Therapy. Love in therapeutic work means holding space for someone's wholeness while they can't see it themselves, then giving them the tools to reclaim their own power.
I was working in an Indigenous community early in my career when I met Sarah, a grandmother who had survived residential school trauma. Despite everything she'd endured, she looked at me during our first session and said, "You have healing hands, but first you need to heal the part of you that doesn't believe it." That moment completely shifted my path from general community mental health to specializing in trauma therapy. Sarah saw something in me that I couldn't see in myself—my own capacity for change alongside my clients. Her love wasn't just accepting my help; it was believing in my potential to do deeper work. Because of that connection, I pursued advanced training in EMDR and Accelerated Resolution Therapy. Now I work exclusively with women healing from trauma, and I approach every session knowing that love—seeing and believing in someone's innate ability to heal—is often the most powerful intervention I can offer. That relationship taught me the reciprocal nature of healing work. When we truly see someone and hold space for their wholeness, it transforms both people in the room.
I'm Jennifer Kruse, LPC-S, and I've spent years helping women steer the complex journey of motherhood and identity. Through my practice at The Well House in Southlake, I've witnessed countless changes when love—especially self-love—enters the picture. The moment that changed everything for me happened during my own transition into motherhood with my three children. I was drowning in the perfectionist expectations of being a "southern mom" while trying to maintain my professional identity. My husband looked at me one exhausted evening and said, "You're trying to be everyone else's version of perfect instead of your own version of whole." That simple act of loving honesty made me realize I was abandoning myself in the process of caring for everyone else. It sparked my specialization in helping mothers reclaim their authentic identity beyond just being a caregiver. Now I guide women through what I call "soul-mind-body integration"—helping them find compassion for their younger selves while finding who they truly are underneath all the roles they play. This personal change completely reshaped my therapeutic approach. About 75% of my clients are mothers struggling with similar identity loss, and I now help them recognize that honoring their own needs isn't selfish—it's essential for showing up fully for their families.