Deborah Vinall, PsyD
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD
@dvinall.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.1K following 350 posts
Author, psychotherapist, lover, fighter, survivor Books: - Gaslighting: A Step-by-Step Recovery Guide to Heal from Emotional Abuse - Trauma Recovery Guide for Teens
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Feb 4
To all my fellow misfits, rebels, resisters, and black sheep: join me on Substack for long-form mental health related content in this new era. ✍️ Dvinall.substack.com Let's connect!
Mental Health Musings | Dr Deborah Vinall | Substack
on loving ourselves enough to become free. Click to read Mental Health Musings, by Dr Deborah Vinall, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
Dvinall.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · 4d
Join me for a discussion of how gaslighters use charm, deceip, and lies to manipulate and control - and how you can reclaim your power.
open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
Reclaiming Reality
Recognizing gaslighting, breaking free from confusion, and trusting yourself again
open.substack.com
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · 6d
On 9/11 terrorists aimed a plane at the White House to reduce it to rubble, but brave Americans took the plane down in a field, sacrificing their lives. This week, the president accomplished what Al Qaïda failed to do. Utter devastation.
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · 11d
What's at stake in Chiles v Salazar, and why freedom of speech protections don't cover the clinical encounter.
#conversiontherapy

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
Freedom of Speech Doesn't Mean Freedom to Harm
the pseudoscience of conversion therapy and the dangerous push to revive it
open.substack.com
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · 18d
Shorter stretches of sunlight and accumulating clouds bring the threat not only of stormy skies but stormy hearts, of heightened depression risk and the return, for many, of Seasonal Affective Disorder (aptly SAD in shorthand).

For more on SAD & how you can cope:

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
Through the Gathering Dark
Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder and finding light in the darker months
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Sep 7
It is no small thing to speak publicly.
There is little to be gained; only fear, danger, and shame await. To speak up is to sew on one’s own scarlet letter, to cast aside dignity for the cause of justice. When survivors speak, listen.
open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
Believe Them
Why listening to survivors of sex trafficking is an act of justice
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jul 13
Having returned to their nests after arduous migrations, the swallows symbolize hope, endurance, and the return of sons from war. A Serbian saying holds promise: “When the swallow returns, new life follows.”

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
When the Swallows Return
on collective trauma, shared narratives, and the healing power of community
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jul 6
This is not the way the USA was designed to operate.
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
While California burns, it has to beg Trump for its own troops
It’s tough to believe it has been almost a month since President Donald Trump illegally commandeered thousands of California National Guard troops to help with his nativist assault on Los Angeles. Now...
www.dailykos.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jul 6
Hm. It's almost as though these violent criminals shouldn't have been pardoned? 🤔
www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...
Pardoned Capitol rioter sentenced to life for assassination plots
A military veteran who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and was pardoned by President Donald Trump, has now been sentenced to life in prison—this time, ...
www.dailykos.com
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jun 30
On Vicarious and Collective Trauma in the wake of ICE raids, and how to take care of yourself and others.

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...

#vicarioustrauma
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jun 22
What happens when a baby's first experience is separation, not safety?

What impact on a child when their family is punished for pursuing the scraps of opportunity?

And how can we support the vulnerable in our communities?

Please read & share.

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...

#attachmenttrauma
Torn
The Science and Soul of Attachment Trauma in the Shadow of ICE
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jun 15
If they're taking “our” jobs, why haven't there been turf wars in the Home Depot parking lot? 🤔
#abolishICE
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Jun 9
I'm not willing to sit scared when homophobia exhales its odious breath, calling out impotent protests. I won't wait while trauma is instilled, so to pick up the pieces in an avoidable aftermath. I stand proud and defiant in allyship.
SHARE if you’re an ally too.
open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · May 24
Join me for a discussion of:

The ripple effect of childhood trauma

Why we minimize trauma—& how this delays healing

The transformational power of self-compassion

Re-creating a sense of safety after trauma

EMDR & Brainspotting for deep healing

#traumahealing

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3acN...
What No One Tells You About Healing from Trauma & Gaslighting
YouTube video by Jill Hart
www.youtube.com
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · May 18
You don’t need to be a therapist to reduce stigma.
You just need to be a person willing to say:
“I’ve been there too.”
#mentalhealthawareness

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
When Shame Begins to Melt
What one child's authenticity taught me about getting help for mental health
open.substack.com
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · May 10
Mother’s Day was founded in intention not to call every birthing woman the “Best Mother Ever” or promote the conservative trad-wife ideal of barefoot and pregnant make-me-a-sandwich subservient kitchen maids, but in social justice.

#mothersday

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
For Every Woman Left Out of the Frame
why Mother's Day belongs to all of us: childless, motherless, and moms
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · May 4
It's the truth of the pain that underscores its minimization.
#traumarecovery

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
Downward Social Comparison
how comparing trauma blocks healing
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 29
We did it! 🇨🇦 Canadian election called for the Liberal party! 🥳🤸‍♂️❤️ Democracy lives on in the developed world.

Never give up hope. The darkness cannot snuff out all light. And just a little bit of light dispells the darkness around it. 🕯️
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 28
When women are reduced to breeders, our wisdom, intelligence, talent, insight, and ingenuity is repressed. Society regresses for lack of female leadership. Women lose self-esteem, self-worth, self-love. We lose influence. Respect. Freedom.

This is what they want.

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
An Outsized Burden
Reflections on the mental health toll of large families and government pressure to build them
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 20
What we need is not stigma, not judgment, not marginalization and certainly not eugenics-oriented witch hunts in search of a pre-determined but repeatedly disproven source of blame.

Support, not eradication. Solutions, not misplaced blame.

#neurodiversitysupport

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
The Beauty of Neurodivergence
embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion over blame, shame, and exclusion
open.substack.com
dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 17
Beautiful
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Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 17
I'm glad you've found ways to cope. 🩵
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Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 17
Thank you! That's so kind.
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Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 17
💯
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 14
Death and destruction of our natural environment has a profound impact on our mental health, with effects experienced to varying degrees based on age, proximity, and exposure.
open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
Eco-Anxiety: Source and Solutions
what is it, and what can we do to mitigate this challenge to mental health?
open.substack.com
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dvinall.bsky.social
Deborah Vinall, PsyD @dvinall.bsky.social · Apr 6
Why does what feels inadequate matter more than what feels right?
What is one part of your body you are willing to claim that you LIKE? We feel so free to decry what we dislike. I challenge you to share some self-love “out loud” in the comments below!

open.substack.com/pub/dvinall/...
A Metaphorical Kiss
on learning to love our bodies as allies, lovers, and friends
open.substack.com
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