Kaytee Gillis, LCSW, author and psychotherapist kayteegillis

What Punch the Monkey Tells Us About Parent Abandonment An abandoned baby macaque’s story reveals what family rejection does to the brain—and how new attachments can help us heal.

25.02.2026 19:27 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Why You Can’t Heal Your Partner’s Trauma Trying to fix the people you love may come from childhood wounds. Learn how boundaries, not rescuing, create healthier relationships and support your own healing.

15.02.2026 01:05 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

12 Signs of Family Trauma That May Still Affect You Today Are you able to recognize signs of family abuse or dysfunction and how these childhood experiences may be affecting your relationships today?

04.02.2026 00:04 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

How Growing Up in a Traumatic Family Shapes Us Personal Perspective: Childhood trauma within the family system can shape attachment, coping, and relationships well into adulthood. Insight alone doesn’t lead to healing.

26.01.2026 00:58 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

How Shame and Self-Blame Impact Relationships Ever wonder how childhood trauma follows us into adult relationships? Shame and self-blame can shape behaviors, and healing requires unlearning them.

22.01.2026 17:58 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Jealousy: A Lesser-Known Result of Abandonment Trauma For many survivors of abandonment, watching others receive support or experience success can be deeply painful, often because those moments reinforce what they did not receive.

03.01.2026 14:46 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Therapist, Heal Thyself: The Role of Self-Work in Therapy Some of the most effective healers are those who have confronted their own pain, done their inner work, and integrated their healing into their practice.

Therapists who have struggled, both socially and emotionally, and then done the work to heal are often better healers.

12.12.2025 15:06 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

5 Common Myths About Family Estrangement Family estrangement isn’t impulsive or trendy. It’s often the only way survivors can break harmful cycles. Here’s what most people get wrong about going no-contact.

Oprah recently hosted a conversation on family estrangement and the choice to go no-contact. Shortly after, the New York Times ran a piece which only amplified the public discussion.
Since then, I’ve noticed a wave of commentary—some helpful, but some unfortunately deeply misinformed.

03.12.2025 17:55 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

When Abusers Hold Power, the Legal System Can Fail Survivors Research shows that systems often fail survivors, especially when abusers hold power. Addressing these failures requires both legal and cultural shifts.

02.12.2025 14:42 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Shutting Down the Diet Talk "Diet talk" is always around, but seems inescapable in certain environments. Here are 3 ways to deal when these uncomfortable topics come up.

02.12.2025 11:43 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Is Tipping Getting Out of Hand? Tipping has expanded immensely, creating pressure to tip where it never used to exist. But research shows people tip mainly due to social expectations, not because of service.

24.11.2025 20:06 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

5 Abuse Red Flags Often Missed by Family Trauma Survivors Growing up with domestic abuse in the home can make survivors more likely to overlook red flags of abuse in adult relationships. Here are five that are commonly overlooked.

I notice that many survivors do not recognize many of the red flags of abuse, often because these were behaviors that may have been excused in their family of origin. For many survivors, including myself, denial becomes a form of survival.

Here are five red flags that many survivors overlook:

20.11.2025 17:49 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

One Major Fear That Can Keep Abuse Survivors in Denial Fear of being different can keep survivors from acknowledging their history of abuse in their family of origin.

10.11.2025 21:37 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I hope it will always be this exciting to find my book in the wild 🧡🧡🥳🥳📚📚

09.11.2025 18:54 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Congratulations to all the Democratic candidates who won tonight. It’s a reminder that when we come together around strong, forward-looking leaders who care about the issues that matter, we can win. We’ve still got plenty of work to do, but the future looks a little bit brighter.

05.11.2025 02:47 — 👍 61788 🔁 11149 💬 1183 📌 516

Gacy Series Highlights Systemic Biases When Reporting Abuse A new show highlights many of the systemic biases that LGBTQ victims of crimes experience when reporting abuse or other violent crimes.

02.11.2025 16:33 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Everyone needs a support system, no matter what kind of life you lead. Someone to call when you're happy, sad, or need help, & someone to be there unconditionally. Having a support system when healing is essential.
'Healing from Parental Abandonment and Neglect': www.newharbinger.com/978164848496...

11.03.2025 15:26 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

From 'Healing from Parental Abandonment and Neglect' by Katylyn Gillis.

Get your copy here: www.newharbinger.com/978164848496...

#parentalabandonment #neglect #attachmenttheory #trauma #triggerwarning #shame #rebuildtrust #depression #selfesteem #selfcare #ACT #DBT #CFT #CBT

13.05.2025 18:29 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

I was loving this cute orange fall shirt all day, and really felt cute 😍 but then I came across my book (okay, I saw a bookstore so I went in to see if they had it in stock) and saw I match the cover perfectly 🧡🧡😅 📖 📕
#booksontrauma #BooksonHealing #therapisthealthyself
@newharbinger.bsky.social

26.10.2025 10:07 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Common Myths About Abuse That Keep Survivors in Denial Early family dynamics can shape our understanding of what abuse looks like. These false beliefs explain why so many people often miss the warning signs.

24.10.2025 17:41 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The Reality of Childhood with an Addicted Parent Living with a caregiver who struggles with substance use can be traumatic for children, leading to long-term mental health challenges and a sense of over-responsibility.

19.10.2025 16:49 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Trevor Project: LGBTQ Youth Show Worsening Mental Health The Trevor Project’s new Project SPARK report offers a look at how LGBTQ+ youth mental health changes over time. While help-seeking has increased, so has suicidal ideation.

Mental health professionals play a key role by creating safe, welcoming spaces and by standing firmly against harmful practices such as conversion therapy.

17.10.2025 00:13 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The Trauma of Having a Parent With Untreated Mental Illness Untreated mental illness in a caregiver can be frightening for children, who often end up with a sense of over-responsibility to “take over” and help in the absence of any support.

Untreated mental illness in a parent can be frightening for kids, especially if they don't know whats going on. I remember feeling scared and confused, and also ashamed - at the same time. Its scary to be young and to not know who to go to for support; or even how to describe what's going on at home

13.10.2025 23:07 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0