The Healing Moment Is Always Now

“Healing doesn’t wait. It happens in the now. That’s why presence matters.” – Mary Coughlin

In our clinical lives, we're trained to assess, plan, intervene, and evaluate—always moving forward, always managing time.

But healing? Healing has its own clock.
It doesn’t care about shift change or documentation deadlines.
It doesn't wait for the ideal conditions or a perfect plan.
Healing arrives in moments.
Moments we often miss because we’re too busy chasing the next one.

Presence isn’t about perfect timing. It’s about being willing to show up now.

TIDC: The Power of Micro-Moments

In Trauma-Informed Developmental Care, we talk about cumulative protection—the idea that small, attuned, safe interactions add up.

Every time you:

• Hold a baby skin-to-skin for just 90 seconds before a procedure,

• Validate a parent’s tearful “I don’t know if I can do this,”

• Pause to ask your colleague, “Are you okay?”—

You are building healing into the nervous system.

These aren’t throwaway gestures. They are trauma-healing interventions in disguise.

Caring Science: The Sacred Ordinary

Jean Watson speaks of transpersonal caring moments—the space between two people where healing energy flows.

It’s not something you schedule.

It’s something you recognize when you’re present enough to feel it.

That moment when the baby opens their eyes and finds yours.
That moment when the room goes quiet and all that’s left is breath.
That moment when you soften… instead of bracing.

BUFFER: Healing Doesn’t Wait for Perfect Conditions

The BUFFER framework teaches us that the conditions for healing—belonging, understanding, forgiveness, frameworks, equanimity, and respect—don’t just live in policies. They live in the now.

You don’t need more time. You need more presence in the time you have.

That’s where the healing moment lives. And it’s always available.

A Reflection to Carry With You

💭 Think back on today—where did a healing moment try to find you?
💭 Did you miss it? Did you catch it? Did it change something?

One More Moment to Say Yes

If this resonates, there’s still time to join us for
🗓️ The Presence: Reclaiming the Healing Moment in a Fractured World
🌀 Friday, June 6 | 11am–3pm ET | 4 CE credits

This is your invitation to slow down, reconnect, and remember the power of showing up—fully, fiercely, now.

🔗 Register here + explore the workshop

Holding space for your now,
Mary