Lifestyle

A Safe Space for Healing: How Sherry Lou Canino Uses Art to Help Survivors Recover

Published

5 months ago

March 13, 2026

Healing from trauma isn’t just about talking, it’s about finding ways to express what feels impossible to say. Sherry Lou Canino has dedicated her life to helping survivors of trauma find their way back to themselves. As a holistic trauma healer, coach, and artist, she believes that healing isn’t just about talking through pain, it’s about finding new ways to process and release it. Through creative expression, she empowers survivors to rebuild their confidence, reconnect with their emotions, and take back control of their lives.

For many, art is just a hobby. But for Sherry, it’s a lifeline, one that allows people to process pain, break destructive cycles, and rediscover themselves in a way that feels safe. Through art therapy, journaling, and creative self-expression, she guides survivors toward self-trust and emotional freedom. Now, she’s expanding her work, bringing these healing techniques to even more people through retreats, workshops, and creative tools.

A Life-Changing Moment in Art Therapy

Sherry’s connection to art therapy became deeply personal during her time leading group sessions for individuals with eating disorders. She often shared parts of her own life to create a sense of trust and openness. But one day, a young woman looked at her and said, “What you just described is an eating disorder.”

The words stopped her in her tracks. She had spent years helping others recognize their unhealthy coping mechanisms but had overlooked her own. That moment forced her to reflect, she realized she had been so focused on guiding others that she hadn’t been fully honest about her own healing.

That experience changed everything. It reinforced what she now teaches: healing isn’t about fixing someone, it’s about giving them the space and tools to heal themselves.

Art as a Tool for Emotional Release

Many survivors hesitate to explore art therapy, believing they aren’t creative. But Sherry removes the pressure to make “good” art. Her approach isn’t about skill, it’s about self-expression.

Trauma can make people feel disconnected from their emotions, afraid to express pain, or fear of being judged. Art offers a safe way to release emotions without needing to find the right words. Whether through painting, drawing, or journaling, survivors can put their feelings onto paper, allowing them to process what they may not even realize they’re holding inside.

In her sessions, she introduces art journaling, encouraging participants to create freely. Many find that it becomes a tool they return to on their own, a healthier way to cope with overwhelming emotions instead of falling back into destructive patterns.

Breaking the Cycle and Rebuilding Self-Trust

One of the biggest struggles trauma survivors face is relearning how to trust themselves. Years of gaslighting and manipulation can make them question their own instincts, making decisions feel overwhelming.

Through creative exercises, Canino helps survivors reconnect with their inner voice. By giving them a space to express their emotions freely, she teaches them that their feelings are valid and that they deserve to take up space.

She also reminds survivors that healing is not linear. Just like art, there’s no perfect way to do it. Some days will feel like progress; others will feel like setbacks. The key is to keep showing up for yourself, no matter how messy the process feels.

Expanding the Reach of Creative Healing

Sherry’s mission is growing. She’s currently working on two oracle decks designed specifically for survivors of narcissistic abuse. These decks will provide survivors with daily inspiration and self-reflection prompts, helping them connect with their emotions and intuition.

She’s also developing a “Healing the Inner Child” workshop, which will help survivors address deep-seated wounds that may have made them more vulnerable to toxic relationships in the first place. By healing those early experiences, they can finally break free from harmful patterns and step into a life of self-worth.

Her long-term vision includes in-person retreats and immersive experiences where survivors can gather in a supportive and safe environment to heal together. These retreats will combine art therapy, movement, and emotional processing, helping participants walk away with not just insights, but a renewed sense of self.

Your Healing Journey Starts Here

Healing isn’t just about leaving the past behind, it’s about choosing to create something new. Sherry’s work reminds survivors that they are not broken, they are evolving.

Sherry Lou Canino believes that everyone deserves a safe space to heal, to create, and to grow. Whether through art, journaling, or self-reflection, the journey begins with one small step. If you’re ready to rediscover your strength and reconnect with yourself, explore her programs, workshops, and upcoming retreats at Soulfully Wild.

Lifestyle

Why Toba Ogunremi Believes High-Performing Teams Start with Belonging, Not Pressure

Published

3 days ago

July 23, 2026

Michelle Langton

Most teams don’t fall apart all at once. It happens slowly, missed conversations, quiet disengagement, people doing what’s required but nothing more.

Toba Ogunremi has spent years working inside care environments where that kind of shift is easy to miss until it starts affecting everything. Leading operations at Samorem Care in the UK, he has seen how systems can appear stable on the surface while teams underneath struggle to stay connected to their work.

One experience early in his career changed how he looks at leadership entirely.

He had taken over a team that wasn’t in crisis, but it wasn’t working well either. The people receiving care were safe, but they weren’t thriving. The same was true for the staff. There was no urgency, no energy, just routine.

The usual solution would have been to tighten control by setting new targets, increasing supervision, and creating performance plans. He didn’t do any of that.

“I started with conversations,” he says. “Real ones. Not rushed, not formal.”

One by one, he spoke to each team member. What came out wasn’t frustration with the job itself, but something quieter and harder to spot.

“They weren’t disengaged because they didn’t care,” he explains. “They were disengaged because they felt unseen.”

No one had asked what they thought. No one had taken the time to understand how they were coping. Over time, that absence had turned into distance. That moment stayed with him. It shaped how he leads today.

His approach is simple, but not always easy to apply: people perform better when they feel they belong.

He believes high performance usually comes when people feel like they genuinely belong and know that what they do actually matters.

In healthcare, where pressure is constant and expectations are high, this idea can sound secondary. The focus is often on outcomes, compliance, and efficiency. Toba doesn’t dismiss those things, but he questions what happens when they become the only focus.

Even when all the processes are in place, if the people delivering the care feel disconnected, it eventually reflects in the quality of the work.

At Samorem Care, this thinking shows up in small but consistent ways. Recruitment is not just about experience. It’s about how someone responds to people, how they handle pressure, and how they communicate. Once they are in, the focus shifts to keeping teams stable and supported, rather than constantly rotating staff or reacting only when something goes wrong. He also pays attention to how leaders show up day to day.

According to him, leadership is not just about giving direction; it’s about being present enough to understand what your team actually needs.

That presence matters more in care than in most industries. The work is demanding, often emotional, and not always recognised for what it takes. When teams feel stretched or overlooked, it affects how they interact with the people they support.

For Toba, resilience is less about constant pressure and more about creating a work environment where people can do their jobs well without burning out. In his view, strong teams are not just coping; they are supported enough to stay clear-headed and consistent in their work.

His background outside healthcare still shapes how he leads. Having worked in sales and communications, he understands how important it is to read people and build trust. In healthcare, though, the impact is far more direct, as decisions affect someone’s everyday life, not just an outcome on paper.

That shift makes leadership more personal. Teams need more than instructions; they need stability, clarity, and a sense that they are understood. What defines Toba Ogunremi’s approach is its simplicity. He focuses on being consistent, listening carefully, and addressing issues early rather than reacting late.

In the end, his belief is straightforward: teams perform better not because they are pushed harder, but because they feel valued and part of something that works.