A Mental Health Educator Inspiring Growth, Belonging, and Social Change
I’m Dr. Cynthia Garner, mindful leadership coach, somatic therapist, podcast host, author, speaker, adoptee, survivor, and solo mom
I speak and write about boundaries, nervous system health, single parenting, mindful leadership, stopping emotional violence, and the courage to live fiercely in challenging times.
With a background in trauma-sensitive mindfulness, education, somatic therapy, and narrative medicine, I believe in our capacity and human nature to belong—to our bodies, to our hearts, to each other, and to the earth.
My soul-offerings as a therapeutic guide and mental health educator are shaped by adoption, motherhood, divorce, addiction recovery, and an ongoing generational trauma healing journey.
Whether on stage, on the page, or in community, I invite people into a deeper conversation with their own truth—one rooted in presence, integrity, and radical compassion.
I give people the skills they need to…
Interrupt
Interrupt cycles of burnout, anxiety, toxic stress, and emotional violence so they can connect with what truly matters
Investigate
Identify self-limiting beliefs, habits of mind, core patterns, and protective strategies that are keeping them stuck
Restore
Build self-trust, embodied confidence, attentional control, agency, and equanimity so they can rewrite their stories of belonging
Repair
Create boundaries, skills, and practices that enhance wellbeing, improve relationships, impact communities, and ripple healing across generations.
I Work With People, Schools, Media & Mission-Driven Organizations
I partner with those committed to healing, teaching, and leading with integrity—from classrooms to boardrooms, and from media platforms to grassroots spaces. Whether you're building a culture of care or breaking generational cycles, I bring presence, clarity, and soul to the work of embodied change.
Through speaking, storytelling, workplace wellness consulting, and custom workshops, I help individuals and teams regulate stress, restore boundaries, and reconnect with purpose. My work is especially attuned to those breaking cycles—in their families, schools, and systems—and is rooted in the belief that when we reclaim our energy, we become agents of healing and change.
Let’s do it together.
Emotional abuse is relational trauma.
Voice notes, emails, and text messages don’t leave purple marks that can be covered up with makeup or disguised with sunglasses. But when you are in a power-under relationship with a family member, friend, or co-worker, episodes of emotional violence can leave you trembling, hyper-vigilant, rattled, and afraid, just like a physical attack.
The damage may be hidden, but the trauma is real. There may not be eyewitnesses, video footage that would stand up in court, or a single, identifiable incident of acute threat, but ongoing psychological maltreatment is a legitimate cause of complex post-traumatic stress disorder that can leave deep scars.
Order my new book!
Whether you're recovering from burnout, breaking free from toxic dynamics, or simply ready to make more space for yourself— Fierce Boundaries offers a pathway to reclaim your life and restore your heart.
