Catherine Canning | Catherine Canning
Offering: Energy healing, peer support for inner child work, Inner Family Systems work, moving through the grief process, healing from narcissistic abuse, healing from various types of child abuse, support and insight into trauma healing methods and processes.
Hello! I am your Shadow Work Witness. Who is that exactly? I am a woman who spent her youth in Iowa and then once beyond college, transplanted herself in deep South Texas as a volunteer educator. I had a 40-year teaching career and earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Literature. . . one of our world’s greatest teachers beyond our own experiences. My childhood was less than ideal, as I know will be the case with those who seek to work with me. I was the middle child in a family of 7, 5 siblings, the oldest girl and the scapegoat child of a covert narcissist mother. I was the only one of her children to suffer relentless emotional abuse, severe neglect, and medical neglect (withholding medical care even under dire circumstances). Her utter disengagement from me as a parent, and my father’s denial and enabling behaviors meant that I was vulnerable to other abuses outside my home such as heinous bullying at school and being victimized by sexual abuse in multiple environments. This upbringing left me with some profound wounds that you might also know something about. . . an aching mother wound, an unceasing belief that I was utterly unworthy in every aspect, a hypervigilance with which I met everything in my world, and a constant doubt that I could be loveable. In addition to these was the core belief that I was unsafe while unworthy of protection. Waking up to all of this at 31 began my journey. I sought therapy, and over the course of the next thirty years, I participated in various modalities as they came into existence or came to my awareness. First was the standard talk therapy and participation in group therapy where journaling was center to our work. Later I worked with a therapist in the 90’s who was more educated on trauma from various kinds of abuses and how that affects behaviors and attitudes in our daily lives. She was a most wise and compassionate woman, and she helped me to understand that my experiences were NOT typical and that I in no way earned or deserved them. I made progress. However, no one in these scenarios recognized my mother’s behavior as narcissism, and that left a big piece out of the puzzle for me. In my 40’s I succeeded in adopting my son, so those years were focused on him and cherishing his development. In my mid 50’s, a pivotal experience awakened me to the actual dynamic in my family and why I had been singled out to receive abuse. How I lament that I did not come across this information in my younger years. The abuse I could have spared myself! A Google search literally provided me with a life-long sought after answer. “Why would a mother hate only ONE of her children?” Google response: “Narcissistic Parent Disorder.” There it was. I educated myself on this sickness and understood that there would be no changing her. I choose to cut contact for my own sanity and to spare my son from witnessing any more of the toxic behavior. About 2 years after this choice, I was really struggling with the consequences of my choice to cut contact. It affects one profoundly and affects everyone else in the family as well. I sought guidance from a therapist to help me to deal with the many complex emotions. This therapist specialized in Trauma Therapy and employed the practices of EMDR and Brain Spotting to heal all of the trauma experiences from various sources. These were completely new to me. They proved to be the miracle in my life, that which allowed for healing in mind, heart, and BODY, which had not been addressed in therapy previously. Through my years of therapy and all of the education and reading I did on such a wide range of subjects, I have come to some hard earned insights that help others further behind me on the path to their healing. My experiences have primed me to hear the hard stories and STAY. I can support you through the ups and downs of healing work whether that is with the guidance of a professional, or if you need or choose to do this work on your own. I can sit beside you while you have the courage to look within yourself. If you do not know where to begin, I can help you with that and introduce you to many resources that would support your journey. You would have a judgement free witness to the shadows you choose to explore, because like me, you are hungry for the light. In the past two years of my awakening and exploring, I have come to know that his is my vocation. Every experience in my past has crafted me into the energy healer I am today. I draw on so much experience and on my direct communication with my Spirit Team who have been providing insight and wisdom throughout my entire life. I just know to call it clair cognizance, clairaudience, and clairsentience now. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. I am an asker as well, so I am very patient with that! I look forward to meeting you and seeing if together, we can bring the healing light into your life that you seek!
