Fourth of July in the USA is the kind of holiday that is memorable. 
People take the week off to travel; brands have big sales all week; the word FREEDOM is on billboards and ads everywhere you turn; and to top it all off with some data, The American Pyrotechnics Association reported that in 2023, Americans spent a staggering $2.3 billion on fireworks. This is a lot of money burnt, literally, on the celebration of freedom, which for most individuals, doesn’t really exist. 

You are not free, neither am I. Nobody is really free, unless one does the work of breaking out of “jail”. Now, guess where the jail is, and who holds the key to it? 

You guessed it! The jail is your own mind, and you (unknowingly) hold the key. The majority of people walking on this planet today will never do the work, and that’s OK. If you marry one, that’s on you to wake up. If you fall in love with one, that’s on you to wake up. If you work for one, that’s on you to wake up. 

If you are still a skeptic as you’re reading this, take a look at your life as it is today, in this very moment, and assess your: 

• BODY: health, vitality, strength, movement, weight, biological age, food habits, drinking habits, sleeping habits, the state of your body as you’re aging; 
• MIND: stress levels, chronic exhaustion, over-doing, lack of mindfulness practices, being still, capacity for presence, orientation towards Self versus Others (inward versus outward), mindless talking, mindless scrolling, mindless TV watching, mindless activities, chaotic decision making, reactivity, self- defensiveness, lack of PURPOSE and long- term vision; 
• RELATIONSHIPS: intimate, parenting/ co-parenting, close family, extended family, friends, co-workers, community, society. What’s the  quality of your relationships? How present are you in each? How do you show up for the people you say they matter in your life? 
• FINANCES, WEALTH AND GIVING BACK: income versus cost of living, savings, investments, and capacity to give back and help others. 

If you find yourself justifying why some of these are not “so good” in your life, stop justifying and start being honest. Freeing ourselves from unconscious patterns of behaviors takes a lot of courage because we don’t know if we can handle the TRUTH (the pain). 

The pain of: 

• inheriting our family of origin’s faults, models and limiting beliefs 
• succumbing to social pressure 
• giving in to people pleasing 
• giving up our dreams 
• unprocessed trauma 
• not having clarity, direction and meaning/ a personal legacy/ something bigger than ourselves. 

I wish you a weekend of honest reflection on what FREEDOM means to you! 
What would your life be like / feel like if you were really free? 
Join my program From Victim to Victory to get the help you need today. 

Dear Mihaela,

You have been more effective for me than any other therapist I have ever worked with. Your methodology mirrors that of the Clinical Supervisor at a mental health program, where I received intensive therapy for a short period of time. 

Your approach of utilizing experiential, psychodrama, and Internal Family Systems therapy modalities for trauma in both individual and group settings has been transformative. My healing has flourished not only during our sessions but also through the self-reflection and journaling you have encouraged. As I have learned, healing truly happens in the community.

My journey to your office began after 16 years of emotional abuse and threats from my husband, a covert narcissist. This abuse was compounded by my upbringing in a narcissistic family and by my mother-in-law, who has both borderline personality disorder and malignant narcissistic traits.

In just six months of working with you, I have transformed from a weak, traumatized, caged bird into an empowered woman with the strength to stand up for myself and hold my ground. I’ve learned to establish and uphold boundaries that protect my wellbeing. While the fight for timesharing of our child has been challenging, I face it with newfound resilience. I am confident that in a few months, I will feel like a phoenix who has emerged from the ashes.
Thank You feels inadequate for what you have given me. (Mother of minor child, USA)