About Dr. Traci Arends
Raised by my loving but chronically ill single mother, who battled depression, I learned early on the importance of movement, nutrition, community, and faith. It wasn’t until adulthood, when I faced a personal crisis marked by profound grief and disconnection, that I realized I needed to re-examine my own patterns and beliefs.
At the height of that difficult season, I began searching for real, sustainable healing. It became clear that no single solution would suffice—I needed to address every part of my being. The Four Pillars weren’t just concepts; they became essential for my wholeness.
While Social and Physical Health helped me stay active and connected to others, the Mental and Spiritual Health Pillars required me to go inward—to engage in deep inner work to be transformed from the inside out. This journey led me through new territory: exploring my childhood through the lens of Internal Family Systems, uncovering the legacy of generational trauma through epigenetics, and understanding how our brains can both hold and heal pain.
From Personal
Healing to Shared
Purpose
Over a decade later, and with more than 20 years in the field of adult education, I saw the same struggles in others. That realization led me to pursue a certificate in Spiritual Direction and a PhD in Education, focused on transformational learning. Through both lived experience and research, I discovered something powerful: transformation is possible—but only when we engage the full person and address the conditions that support real, sustainable change.
A Framework for
Whole-Person
Wellness
The SHE. FULLY ALIVE framework doesn’t promise a life free from pain. But it does offer tools, practices, and perspectives that help reduce unnecessary suffering—and open the door to greater clarity, compassion, and vitality.
Unresolved trauma, unexamined beliefs, and unaddressed habits often fuel the very suffering we hope to escape. But by cultivating awareness and embracing integrated care across all Four Pillars, we can rewrite those patterns—and support healing not just for ourselves, but for those around us.
I encourage you to explore this site with openness. Consider how the Four Pillars are showing up—or calling out—in your own life. Healing is possible. Transformation is real. And it is never too late to begin again.
In peace and gratitude,
Traci Arends, PhD
Founder, SHE. FULLY ALIVE.
