Articles & Resources
Written by Maria Sarina — counsellor, social psychologist, and social researcher — these articles offer practical, compassionate reading on children's wellbeing, healing from toxic relationships, and professional practice.
Relationships
What happens when a person has considerable power but little capacity—or willingness—to consider the effects of their actions? The image of the giant baby points to something serious about responsibility in relationships.
Faith
There comes a point in life when you realise that you cannot keep rebuilding the same thing in the same way. The story of Nehemiah has given me language for this season.
Faith
There is a question I never thought I would be able to ask again: If I were a wife again, what kind of wife would I be? After everything I have experienced, the answer surprises me.
Faith
God did not create the wife to be a man's audience, his admirer, or the protector of his ego. He created her as an ezer kenegdo. And that is a very different picture.
Faith
There were years when no one believed me. When I was told I was too sensitive, too dramatic, too much. But there was one truth I held onto in the dark: God sees what he did. And that was enough.
Toxic Relationships
For years, I asked myself why my husband didn't love me. I searched for the answer in myself. And then one morning, another possibility became clear — perhaps he simply did not know how to love me. That distinction changed everything.
Toxic Relationships
There is a particular kind of anger that can be difficult to understand from the outside. The event that triggers it may appear small — yet the response can be extraordinarily intense. Psychologist Helen Block Lewis called it humiliated fury.
Lived Experience
There are approximately 10,000 texts. Ten thousand messages that can be taken out of context, placed in a folder, printed on paper, counted, highlighted and presented as evidence of my instability. For a long time, I was ashamed of them.
Lived Experience
There is a particular kind of confusion that comes from being abandoned emotionally while still being expected to remain physically and intimately available.
Lived Experience
Since choosing no contact, I have finally been able to come up for air. I can breathe deeply. I can take care of myself.
Lived Experience
There is a terrible danger hidden in the way some people use the words respect and disrespect, particularly within families and relationships where abuse is present.
Lived Experience
I don't know whether you will ever read this. I don't know whether you will ever want to hear from me. So I am writing it down. Not to change your mind. Not to defend myself. Simply because there is something I need you to know.
Lived Experience
I didn't ignore the warning signs. I felt them. I just didn't have the language. At thirty, I knew something was wrong. At fifty, I can finally describe some of what I was experiencing.
Relationships
Liking and loving are not psychologically equivalent. One is an emotion, the other a relational orientation — and confusing the two can quietly unravel even the most committed relationships.
Narcissistic Abuse
Many people who have experienced narcissistic abuse don't realise what happened to them until long after it's over. Understanding what it is — and that healing is possible — is the first step.
Narcissistic Abuse
You cannot navigate a highly toxic relationship in the same way you navigate an ordinary relationship breakdown. When children are involved, the rules of the game are different — and you have to become much more intentional.
Narcissistic Abuse
No Contact wasn't revenge. It wasn't punishment. It wasn't about winning. It was about breathing. For the first time in a long time, I finally came up for air.
Narcissistic Abuse
There are some moments in a marriage that you remember because they were beautiful. And there are moments you remember because, looking back, you realise they were telling you the truth. For me, one of those moments happened on my wedding day.
Narcissistic Abuse
One of the most confusing things about a toxic relationship is how good it can look at the beginning. Sometimes, it looks exceptional. The attention is intense. The affection is constant. And you naturally think: this must be love.
Post-Separation Parenting
In my years of professional practice, I have sat across from many parents and children navigating the complex aftermath of separation. But recently, in a deeply personal moment with my own son, I was reminded just how crucial — and healing — honest conversations can be.
Post-Separation Parenting
As a social psychologist and counsellor, I have spent many years helping families navigate the emotional complexities of separation. But every so often, a personal conversation with my own children teaches me something that theory alone never could.
Domestic Violence
Two years ago he walked out the door after the police were called. It wasn't a single argument that ended everything — it was the moment he was finally held to account for behaviour that had haunted her for years.
Parenting
Parental alienation occurs when a parent influences a child to reject the other parent. But what happens when children say no on their own terms — clearly, consistently, and with reason? This is her story. You be the judge.
Narcissistic Abuse
For many years in my marriage, whenever something went wrong, the response was never conversation — it was punishment, rage, and withdrawal. I never knew what had happened, how to fix it, or even if it was safe to bring up my feelings.
Self-Care
Today began with a meltdown. But after the chaos, I did something different. I sat in a café with a real cup — and for the length of that coffee, I visited the woman I have long abandoned. She was still there.
Narcissistic Abuse
Sometimes I imagine what would happen if everything aligned, and in a single moment, the scales fell from his eyes. That distorted version of me would dissolve — and suddenly, there I would be. Not the caricature. Not the invention. But me.
Narcissistic Abuse
Somewhere early in the relationship, he began to mentally recast me. I ceased to exist in his eyes — not the real me, but a shadow version. A distorted copy. A scapegoat he had constructed so he could justify his withdrawal, his cruelty, and his betrayal.
Trauma
Our bodies often know something is wrong before our minds catch up. This article explores the concept of somatic dread — the primal warning signals our nervous system sends — and what they mean for healing.
Children's Counselling
As a parent, it can be hard to know when your child is just going through a phase — and when they might benefit from some extra support. Here are some gentle signs to look for.
Narcissistic Abuse
We use the words Alpha and Beta not as labels for worth, but as descriptions of behaviour patterns. Real alpha strength is rare — it protects, it does not dominate. Understanding the difference is the first step toward healing.
Reach out today and Maria will be in touch within 1–2 business days to discuss how she can help.
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