I hate the word “healing”

I kind of hate the word “healing”.

Funny right? My whole website and being the founder of Oak Tree Counseling and Wellness, the word repeats the word often here, doesn’t it?

I hate the word healing, but I love the healing power of connection and community.

Thus, a more accurate way to express what we do at Oak Tree is “helping people feel less alone”.

There are cognitive elements to ‘healing’ (there i go again), and behavioral elements, but I think the most profound element in healing (for lack of better word) journeys is feeling less alone.

One of the things I hear most often after group therapy, a retreat, or yoga class, is, "I finally felt like I belonged."

Honestly, that's one of the greatest compliments I can receive.

If you've never been part of a group experience, I understand why it can feel intimidating. Being vulnerable around other people isn't easy. Most of us worry about saying the wrong thing, crying in front of strangers, or wondering if everyone else has their life together more than we do.

The interesting thing is that almost everyone is thinking the exact same thing.

As a therapist, I've seen how isolating our thoughts can become. We convince ourselves we're the only person who feels anxious, overwhelmed, or unsure of ourselves. We assume everyone else has it figured out while we're struggling to keep up.

Then someone else shares an experience that sounds almost exactly like your own.

Or they find the words you've been trying to say but couldn't quite put together.

There's something incredibly powerful about that.

Not because your problems disappear, but because you realize you're not alone.

It's one of the reasons I believe so strongly in the power of community. Whether it's a therapy group, a yoga class, or one of our retreats, healing doesn't always happen in isolation. Sometimes it happens because we're willing to let other people witness our experience, and we're willing to witness theirs.

That doesn't mean everyone shares their deepest story. In fact, many people don't.

I have witnessed strangers reach their hands out to another when we have been on a group hike. I have witnessed one attendee at a retreat I hosted offer to alter (and ship) a dress for another attendee who was thinking of buying a specific dress. I have seen people just emerge from a shocking ice bath encouraging the next person through it-while reminding themselves and now others that you can do hard things too.

Those moments create connection in ways we don't always expect.

Over the years, I've been told again and again that our retreats feel welcoming, accepting, and different from what people expected. That means everything to me because it's intentional.

I've never wanted people to feel like they had to perform, be the best at yoga, or have all the answers before they arrived.

I want people to feel like they can show up exactly as they are.

Connection has always been one of the biggest parts of healing for me, both personally and professionally. We are wired for relationships. Feeling seen, understood, and accepted helps calm our nervous systems in ways that are difficult to create by ourselves.

That doesn't mean healing only happens in groups. Individual therapy is incredibly valuable, and so is spending time reflecting on your own.

But there is something unique about sitting in a room and realizing that someone else has walked a similar path. It reminds us that being human is something we all have in common.

Whether it's a yoga class, a therapy group, or one of our retreats, my hope is always the same. I want people to leave feeling a little less alone than when they arrived.

Because sometimes that's where healing begins.