Featured

Who We Are, and Why We’re Here

“We can build a world in which we feel connected to ourselves, each other, and the institutions we build and operate. We can live in a world of our own making.”

-Dr. Lorie Hood

Welcome to the Under the Hood blog! This is the official blog of The Hood Group, LLC., an organization dedicated to the study, understanding, and prevention of trauma, as well as human potential and performance. We’ll take this post to lay out who we are, why we do what we do, and what we hope to create here in this space.

What is The Hood Group?

The Hood Group began as a way to fill a frustrating gap between current research and current practice. We noticed that although all the fields with which we consulted, coached, and interacted had dedicated research literature, none of the current research was being consistently applied. At best, the research we saw being used to support practice was five or more years old, interpreted by non-researchers or was “adapted” to fit a “new model.” At worst, we saw research being used to assess individuals with “new” instruments and/or instruments that had not been appropriately tested for reliability and validity.

Thus, The Hood Group was started with the understanding that solid theoretical underpinnings, practical application of current research and thoughtful human collaboration are all necessary for individual, team, and corporate high performance.

What sets us apart?

We stand at the forefront of our field because we keep our core values and intentions at the heart of everything we do at The Hood Group.

  • We understand people because our approach is playful, curious, and fun. We understand our clients and customize our work around their needs and goals.
  • We’re connected and current. The world and its challenges are changing fast; we stay one step ahead to ensure we’re ready to rise to the occasion each and every time.
  • We are consummate researchers and learners. We use tried and true, validated, and reliable research to support our work, and we’re constantly learning new approaches to adapt our current methods.
  • We are experienced. Our team brings decades of clinical, research, and practical experience to our work, and we understand how to tailor our solutions to both our clients and the systems they interact with.
Why start the Under the Hood blog?

Over and over again, our clients tell us they wish they could access the research and knowledge that help us change the world. As researchers, we know firsthand how difficult it can be for everyday people to not only access scientific research, but also understand the academic jargon of the work that’s supposed to be helping them!

The Under the Hood blog, therefore, is designed to help translate and sift through the dense research literature and provide everyday people with the knowledge and tools to change their circumstances, one step at a time. We hope this information helps you learn more about yourself and the world around you, connect more deeply with yourself and those you love, and think more critically about the vast amounts of information available to you today.

In the words of our founder, Dr. Lorie Hood, we can live in a world of our own making. We hope you’ll come along with us on our journey to help make a more connected, joyful, and curious world.

I’m Doing Great, but I Feel Like Sh*t!

In my early 20s, as I began my master’s degree in counseling psychology, I was interested in learning about the human mind in any way possible. To learn more about a current relationship with a man I was seeing at the time, I started seeing a therapist.  One day, as I sat down, he asked me the following question; “How are you doing?”

Pretty benign, right?

Apparently not.

Here was my reply. “I’m doing great, but I feel like sh*t!”

Several years, and several degrees later, I’ve realized the validity of that statement still stands. And I still use it with my clients. You can be doing very deep, very personal work, and still feel terrible. Changes don’t happen overnight. It takes a while for your mind and body to catch up with new ways of being in the world. You might feel anxious, restless, nauseous, fatigued, or just a little “off.”

So, if you feel bad, how do you know when your self-work is, well, working?  You don’t. At least you won’t for some time. You have to TRUST. ”Trust what,” you say?

The process? Your coach? Your therapist?

THIS is where you get the real benefit from therapy and coaching. THIS is why therapy and coaching are so powerful. They don’t just work at one level; they work at multiple levels. Yes, you have to trust your therapist, or coach, and the process to a certain extent. However, the real work comes from trusting yourself.

Can you feel uncomfortable and still trust that you can take care of yourself? Can you trust in the knowledge that you will know when enough is enough? Can you trust yourself to know that perhaps it’s not working for you and, then can you trust yourself to stop the process?

All of these things promote a deeper understanding of who you are, and where your boundaries lie. Is feeling uncomfortable fun? Of course not. Is it sometimes necessary for self-growth? My answer is undeniably yes!