Podcasts about woundedhealr

The last 2.5 years (and counting) have opened floodgates of reckoning, especially within therapeutic spaces, and I'm so here for it! So, too, is Asher Panjiris, who rightfully points out that our profession is overdue for an overhaul. Yasss! Asher claims a lot of different identities: psychotherapist, queer parent, human to two dogs, and the host of Living in This Queer Body. They're also co-founder and co-director of Kintsugi Therapist Collective, a community space dedicated to helping therapists build embodied and liberatory care practices. The Japanese art of kintsugi, or golden mending, is a perfect metaphor for the reparative work needed: more grace for therapists as we embrace our flaws and imperfections and heal our wounds––in full view of our clients. Sound scary? Freeing? Asher says it's a bit of both. And that's ok. GUEST BIO Asher Pandjiris is a chronically ill, white, non-binary psychotherapist, clinical consultant, podcaster, and co-founder of Kintsugi Therapist Collective. They are a queer parent to a super-rad human and two dogs and reside on stolen Nipmuc and Pocumtuc lands. Join Onyx and Asher March 3-5, 2023, for a virtual weekend intensive, during which you will experience a concentrated and highly personalized curriculum designed to support care workers.  We hope to challenge the unrealistic expectations of the care work industrial complex, nurture pathways for reconnecting with pleasure, and develop enlivening professional practices/strategies. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Happy anniversary! You and I have gone through a lot over the last five years. Progress! Stagnation! Rage! Exhilaration! And, would you believe, 200 conversations with wounded healers? A line-up of humans so generous of spirit that their insights echo throughout my body long after the recording session ends. There's something to this idea of embodied wisdom, the way we physically understand what our minds can't (or refuse to) comprehend. Somatic Experience Practitioner Sarah Wolfman (one of my first guests ever) calls it the power of our bones. So what do these old bones know now? Sarah returns to help me sift through the transformative lessons of the last five years.  GUEST BIO Sarah Wolfman is passionate about embodiment as a tool for transformation. By attuning to the body's natural rhythms and sensations, her clients master their nervous system's ups and downs, creating space for empowerment, resilience, and vitality. Sarah specializes in transforming trauma and chronic pain through Somatic Experience Practice, functional & dynamic movement, somatic touch, cranial-sacral techniques, and mindfulness. NEW: Virtual community for group practice owners Starting in January 2023, I offer a new support/working collective for group therapy practice owners who want to lead from the heart while building a thriving, ethical business. Join us at Wounded Healers as Leaders.  CONNECT: Support for mental health workers If you work in the mental health field and are looking for support from like-minded people, check out our third installment of the Wounded Healers Virtual Group. It's a juicy, sweet, and really cool place to connect.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

College. If your origins story includes a collegiate stint, the word either ushers in a flood of autumnal-toned nostalgia or overwhelming anxiety. Which camp you occupy depends, in part, on the support you received from professors and administrators while attending school. Wouldn't it be great if all guidance counselors approached their task as Carrie Young did when she occupied the office, full of heart and candid intel on career paths?  Luckily for millions of students, Carrie has traded in one-to-one academic advising for guidance on a grander scale. As host of the Paths In Progress podcast, she presents a more transparent take on life as a working adult, highlighting rather than downplaying all of its roadblocks, u-turns, and serendipitous detours. Carrie invites her guests (yours truly included), who pursued various majors, to reveal how they navigated all the twisty post-collegiate turns they took to become who they are today. GUEST BIO Carrie Young is a classically trained musician and experienced higher education administrator and educator. Throughout her work with students, she prioritizes mentorship and relationship-building. With her new podcast Paths in Progress, she wants to help students and recent graduates learn about the education and career paths of professionals across various fields who had challenges, pivots, and roadblocks along their path. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Are you now, or have you ever been disabled? That's not a trick question. Artist, art therapist, and disability activist Bri Beck asserts that disability exists along a complex spectrum –– visible, hidden, physical, developmental, temporary, persistent, evident at birth, resulting from trauma –– rather than a simple binary. And yet… Even with close proximity to it, so much uneasiness surrounds disability and those for whom it is a fact of life. So, what's up with our everyday ableism, especially in therapeutic spaces? "There's always a very strange weirdness, and I find, at least in my experience, that it's like, people are trying to show you, 'I'm cool with this. I'm gonna make sure you know I'm fine!'" says Bri, who lives with pseudoachondroplasia, a form of dwarfism.  Bri navigates a world where well-meaning folks can quickly cross the line. "As somebody that's apparently, outwardly, disabled, I have people touch me all the time, strangers that just don't know me, and that's so much, like, boundary-crossing." Bri's experiences don't end with touching. They often include a blatant disregard for her agency. Out-maneuvering such ableism is exhausting, says Bri, and puts me in mind of the tiresome intent of "good white people." Both broadcast their opposition to -isms through actions or language so beyond what is necessary that their efforts* become caricatures of authentic human interaction. *Insert face-palm here because we can all recall a situation (or many) in which we've overcompensated for our discomfort in exactly the same cringe-worthy manner. GUEST BIO Bri Beck is a disabled art therapist and disability arts and culture maker. Bri sees individuals in private practice and also works part-time with Access Living of Metro Chicago, where she facilitates the peer wellness program. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Dropping this convo alongside recent pop culture reminders (hello, little mermaids and Emmy Award-winners!) that representation matters because it heals. Rico Ricketson created an entire platform around that idea. He's the founder and CEO of MH3, a subscription-based resource that partners with corporations to provide mental health education featuring the voices and experiences of diverse health and wellness experts. “We provide credible mental health education so that employees can learn how to catch changes in mood, energy levels, and sleeping patterns before they become something more serious,” Rico says of the company he founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While Rico's professional credentials are massively impressive, it's his personal motivations for creating MH3 that I find so profoundly moving. As a minority, a survivor of domestic violence, and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, finding credible mental health information from experts with whom he shares similar lived experiences isn't easy. He designed MH3 to deliver that vital life-saving mental wellness support through engaging interviews featuring voices not often represented in corporate wellness programs. “The only thing capitalistic about MH3 is that I hope millions and billions of people get to heal from stories.” GUEST BIO Rico Ricketson is the Founder & CEO of MH3, Mental Health Education for the Mind, Body, and Spirit. When Rico learned of Covid-19's spread throughout Italy in March of 2020, he used his passion and desire to help and save lives. Rico took his 20 years of healthcare advertising experience and combined it with his expertise in human-centered design and his Master's in Biology/Neuroscience to create MH3 so he could do something to help. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of amazing folks. Believe me when I say there's something special about the frequency from which Rusia Mohiuddin operates. She's tapped into a universal rhythm that, in simplest terms, is the deep understanding that people are the source of all power. If that level of embodiment comes across as too lofty for the "average" person to access, allow Rusia to share another vital facet of her being: "I have a potty mouth like a true New Yorker as well." That's what showing up as your whole self is all about. As founder and principal of Universal Partnership (UP), Rusia combines her vast experience as a master trainer, facilitator, and somatic coach with generational wisdom––the lived understanding that social movements require holistic foundations to achieve healthy momentum. Rusia centers on the cooperative rather than the singular: "If everything, all the ecosystems on earth, are reliant––our bodies and the ecosystems within them are reliant––why would all this reliancy then create societal systems that are unaligned and not reliant on each other, that's actually reliant on the suffering and the oppression of most of us?" Hell if I know, but here we are, in the wake of every -ism coming before us. There IS one -ism that can save us: collectivism. Us. The people with the power. It's a lesson handed down to Rusia through her elders, and we all have access to similar wisdom––if we commit to relearning its language.  GUEST BIO Rusia N. Mohiuddin is a master trainer, facilitator, & somatic coach who pioneered the integration of somatics into an organizing framework. Her current mission, through Universal Partnership, has been developing a holistic model for social justice change work that places in its center the necessary transformation of social change agents. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

The longest, most important, and, let's be honest, most frustrating relationship of our lives is the one we have with ourselves. How amazing, then, to connect with someone who gets the struggle and sits alongside us in that space. Mia Park is one of those people for me. For a lot of folks. A talented, multidimensional artist based in Chicago, she's fueled by a boundless enthusiasm for community engagement through acting, producing events, teaching yoga, and more. Through these myriad pursuits, Mia cultivates kinship with others while deepening her relationship with herself.  “I work hard on relationships because they're fearful for me in many ways.” The admission acts as a preface to Mia's challenging backstory. Perhaps it's because of her difficult childhood that she's so committed to making connections across different communities in multifaceted ways. Mia's definition of wholeness is nothing like the commercialized ideal of completeness. “The body is never balanced. We're never gonna be whole, and that's part of the struggle and the acceptance of the struggle––and I think that's okay.”  She pauses to offer an addendum. “I believe we are 100% whole.” Even amid our failures, redirects, and mulligans. Even when we opt not to forgive those who've caused us harm. “The ability to make peace with and accept yourself, forgive yourself, I think that's a byproduct of becoming whole.” Wherever we go, there we are, already in our wholeness. GUEST BIO Mia Park is a multi-dimensional artist based in Chicago. Boundless enthusiasm fuels her community engagement through acting, producing events, teaching yoga, and more. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

I do not like CBT. Don't worry; I won't break into a salty Dr. Seuss-esque rhyme deriding cognitive behavioral therapy (although I could). But then Charles Small, LCSW, would kindly call me and my objections to CBT in rather than out. I know this because that's how he's handled my grumbling in the past. He's one of those rare souls who can debate without derision, urging folks (like me) to hit pause long enough to trust his professional experience, reconsider the reams of evidence, and assess their (my) personal resistance through a more transparent lens. And you know what? Sometimes* I get it wrong about CBT.   Alright! Let's get ready to rumble! But not really. Our conversation isn't a CBT vs. NARM cage match. In fact (and I would only say this to you because we're friends), there are points along the healing trajectory where these two modalities intersect. "Where our actual locus of control is, for the most part, is in our behaviors,” says Charles. This mindfulness component is just one example. Another is CBT's non-judgemental approach. "It's not that there's this moral right or wrong. Instead, if I'm gonna choose the sort of person I wanna be in the world, what do my behaviors have to look like?"  *I still hate CBT, though. GUEST BIO Charles Small, LCSW, is a social worker providing therapy for adults at Cognitive Behavioral Associates of Chicago. Prior to private group practice, Charles worked with veterans of the US Armed Services at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and the Road Home Program at Rush, where he provided evidence-based psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma, and Moral Injury. Charles is also a lecturer at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago, offering courses on Social Work with Veterans and Evidence-based Therapies for treating PTSD. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Liz Dubé, MA, MS, has one of the best professional introductions on the planet. “I want to heal the world one bedroom at a time.” For the record, Liz is a certified sex therapist, not a sex surrogate. In other words, she gets talky with her clients, not touchy. If visions of the Netflix show “Sex Education” come to mind or Dr. Ruth Westheimer answering embarrassing questions on her weekly radio show with sincerity and smarts, you're on the right path. We live in a world working overtime to cleave us from our innate sexuality. No wonder we disembodied creatures have difficulty connecting, regardless of our trauma histories. Hell, even the most “together” of relationships might struggle with the sexual part of intimacy. “Maybe a part of you thinks I'm not enough, I'm defective, I'm broken, I'm a fraud––all these things that so many of us relate to show up in the bedroom,” says Liz.  You're not broken; intimacy is overwhelming! Addressing trauma and restoring desire doesn't have to be. In addition to her psychotherapy practice, Liz offers a 4-week coaching program to empower women. She also shares adult sex education tips via her YouTube and TikTok channels. “So many people come to me, saying, ‘Liz, can I be healed?' And I'm like, f*ck, yeah, you can!” Drs. Jean Milburn and Ruth Westheimer would be proud. GUEST BIO Liz Dubé (sounds like Doobay), a Certified Sex Therapist, Coach and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, loves working with people who want to better understand themselves sexually and feel sexually empowered. She's helped thousands of men, women, and couples who were feeling stuck sexually and is working her ass off to save the world one bedroom at a time.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“Movement is life.” When Kira Macoun utters that phrase midway through our conversation, she's referencing both our physical and sacred selves. Whether she intended to or not is not up for debate because this woman embodies forward motion in all aspects of her life. Kira, a functional fitness specialist and somatic movement educator, is co-owner of Comfy Fitness, the online group and personal training studio dedicated to challenging what it means to be physically fit. She's also a hella inspiring activist. “One of the things we recognized about the methodology we invented was that we were getting people very consistently and reliably out of pain,” Kira says. Comfy Fitness' body awareness practices turn what is often a disconnected, fast-paced pursuit into a journey of self-discovery. “What we do in somatic education is basically circumvent the brain. We stop, lay down, and allow the brain to catch up with what it didn't know it was doing.” Kira's a passionate organizer and frontline advocate for issues relating to economic inequality. “As above, so below; as within, so without,” she says of her enviable involvement with social causes. She offers real-life encouragement for folks (like me) so overwhelmed by the sheer need that we don't know where to begin. “I invite people to think about the one thing that sets your hair on fire, the thing that keeps you up at night. That's probably the direction you should go in.” GUEST BIO Kira Macoun has been an avid mover and exerciser since the age of 12 and became a self-proclaimed "gym rat" by the age of 15. It seemed a no-brainer when she created a fitness and movement company in 2008 after receiving her personal training certification the year before. Since then, Kira has secured several certifications in the world of fitness and movement, and loves talking about the incredible adaptability of the human body and how we can use our bodies to coach us through life. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Given the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, honest insight into and support for modern-day parents or child caregiving are more necessary than ever. Although recorded weeks before the ruling, this conversation seems incredibly prescient.  Allison Staiger, LCSW, is spiraling. “Have you heard of that term before? Spiral-linear?” she asks. I hadn't but given her definition, it's a concept I'm down with. “It's where you're still moving forward but there's lots of cycles and you kind of cycle back. Things die and then are reborn.”  Makes sense given Allison's current physical and emotional “birthing” process. She's deep in the process of relocating her life and fierce feminist care practice from Metairie, LA, to Chicago. Highwire Therapy supports new, expectant, hopeful, and grieving parents, helping them process perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, loss, birth trauma, caregiver burnout, infertility, and the general OMFG of becoming a parent.  The Matriarchy, her nascent coaching practice, is a shame-free space in which folks can rage against the mom-chine (well-played, Allison!), assisting clients in liberating themselves from the mommy complex. Parent or no, Allison challenges all of us to get in touch with our righteous anger and, honestly, there's no time like the present. Circle back to your Divine Feminine and give the patriarchal system of oppression a big middle finger. GUEST BIO Allison Staiger, LCSW, is the founder of Highwire Therapy, a psychotherapy private practice, and The Matriarchy, a feminist coaching practice. As a licensed clinical social worker certified in perinatal mental health, she works with new, expectant, hopeful, and grieving parents, offering support for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, pregnancy and infant loss, birth trauma, caregiver burnout, infertility, and the general holy shit-ness of becoming a parent. Fed up with the insufficient and oppressive norms and narratives in our current culture of caregiving, she created The Matriarchy to help parents socialized as mothers partner with their radical, rebellious anger, and channel it into fierce feminist care. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

Here's a hot take for you: The teachings of a privileged white dude from the past can help us sort through our modern existential crises. OK, in the world of Jungian psychology, my pithy opening salvo is far from controversial; it's indisputable. One of the folks translating Carl Jung's classic analytical foundation into a contemporary application is Satya Doyle Byock, LPC.  At The Salomé Institute of Jungian Studies, Satya and faculty provide online salons and seminars that delve into the power of Jung's work to heal complex personal and societal issues. In addition to hosting the Institute's podcast, Satya is about to release Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood, a much-needed guide for bridging the gap between adolescence and mid-life.  “There's kind of this whack-a-mole game of social justice where it's like there's a never-ending number of problems and pains and sufferings, and it's so exhausting,” she says. “When I found Jung's psychology, It really spoke to me from a feminist and anti-racist perspective.” Even if you “don't know” Jung, you know Jung. He coined the idea of the “introvert” and “extrovert” personalities, archetypes, and the power of the unconscious––a fundamental aspect Satya wants to rescue from the patriarchy's toxic clutches.  GUEST BIO Satya Doyle Byock, LPC, is a psychotherapist in private practice, the director of and teacher at The Salome Institute of Jungian Studies, and the author of the forthcoming book "Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood," to be published by Random House July 26, 2022 For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

My guest Kerri Kelly landed on the perfect summation for this episode: “It's gonna be juicy y'all!” And it is, since our discussion centers on whiteness. Ha––leave it to whiteness to center itself here, there, everywhere. In this instance, however, whiteness and the cacophony of capitalism that almost always accompanies it, is drowned out by Kerri's challenging, meaningful call-in. And she keeps that volume turned way up. In her new book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri confronts the toxic systems (founded on whiteness) that have commodified wellness and prohibit everyone (including white folks) from enjoying genuine well-being.  What qualifies her to make such a case? Well, Kerri is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that's democratizing well-being for all and a yoga instructor with 20+ years of experience. She's well-known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act. She's dedicated her life to kicking down doors and fighting for justice, traits she's inherited from a long line of first-responder ancestors.  Now that I see the lie of white supremacy everywhere (Perfectionism! Productivity! Individualism!), I recognize how thoroughly indoctrinated I am in the system and the harm caused by my own mistake. That repeated realization is tiresome, by design. White supremacy is engineered to keep us severed from self-discovery and the will to continually question and call out. This is challenging, lifetime work.  GUEST BIO Kerri Kelly is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that is democratizing well-being for all. A descendant of generations of firemen and first responders, Kerri has dedicated her life to kicking down doors and fighting for justice. She's been teaching yoga for over 20 years and is known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act.  A community organizer, wellness activist and author of the forthcoming book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for her inspired work to bridge transformational practice with social justice. She's been instrumental in translating the practices of wellbeing into social and political action, working in collaboration with community organizers, spiritual leaders and policymakers to transform our systems from the inside out. Her leadership has inspired a movement that is actively organizing around issues of racial and economic justice, healthcare as a human right, civic engagement and more. Kerri is a powerful facilitator and TED speaker and is the host of the prominent podcast, CTZN. You can learn more about her work at kerrikelly.co and ctznwell.org.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast GET CONNECTED Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/woundedhealersvg-2 *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

The magic of great photography is that it uncovers emotions on both sides of the lens. But what if subject and audience are the same? That exposure arrives with all sorts of charged, squishy feelings––including a healthy dose of healing. That's what I'm experiencing as I circle back to the beautiful new collection of branding images my guest Meagan Thomas took of me. Meagan is a boudoir photographer specializing in capturing each client's unique beauty, revealing the ravishing soul within so that they can bear witness to it, too.  You might be asking, “Hey Sarah, doesn't boudoir photographer imply spicy shots of nakey folks?” Yes. Yes, it does. And while my branding images aren't nakey (natch), time spent in Meagan's company, whether through a photography session or simply via this conversation, is a reminder of/return to our beauty beyond the physical. She makes women feel strong, assured, and sexy as hell. I say “women”, but Meagan's objective is to create an environment where everyone is free to embrace and embody their enoughness. And confidence comes from unlearning all the conditioning that's force-fed to us by advertising. Even with my clothes on, I had to grapple with capitalism forever expropriating my desirability––as a professional person, a sensual being, and all the complexities in between.  Under Meagan's guidance, I experienced the freedom to pose and play. To experiment in my body. To be seen and see me. “I think my biggest goal is to remove contempt from your psyche,” she says. “If you can go from the contempt of ‘I hate this” to ‘It's not that bad. I've done my job.” Job well done. I cried when I received the final images from Meagan. I like who I see. GET CONNECTED Crave with Mishara D. Winston: www.misharadwinston.com/crave Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/woundedhealersvg-2 GUEST BIO Meagan Thomas is a boudoir photographer who specializes in identifying the unique beauty of each client she engages with. In every image she wants to see evidence of the ravishing soul within, so that her clients can see it too. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

It's not every day that I speak with an animal psychic. Allow me to head off any skepticism by saying this is no “talk to the animals” farce. If you've ever experienced the special bond from loving an animal, you likely shared moments of complete synchronicity, as if you both spoke a common language. When that beloved animal passes, the loss is immense. Overwhelming. I say this as someone who has missed her little Oscar every day since he left this world in 2019. Regardless of species, Linda Roberts says we all have an innate capacity to connect telepathically with our furry (or scaly) companions if we remove self-doubt and balance logic with intuition. Oh, and practice, as is the case with any new-to-us language.  For those not up to the work, Linda is a fantastic intermediary. She's a life-long animal lover who's honored her ability to communicate with creatures great and small through energetic, heartfelt connections. Linda doesn't limit her work to end of life or afterlife communication. She shares several stories of pet-owner impasse and insight into the mind of pandemic pets who find themselves thrust into long periods of loneliness after two years of 24/7 wfh companionship. That pee on your sofa is no joke!  GET CONNECTED Crave with Mishara D. Winston: www.misharadwinston.com/crave Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/woundedhealersvg-2 GUEST BIO Linda Roberts is a lifelong animal lover who enjoys working and living with a variety of animals. Linda feels honored to have the ability to communicate with them. It's through an energetic, heartfelt connection that she is able to acquire an understanding of the animal's thoughts, actions, and feelings.  She has experience working with cats, dogs, horses, birds, and reptiles.  Linda enjoys helping people to solve the mysteries surrounding their animal's behaviors and health concerns. She also enjoys teaching others to tap into this natural ability.   For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

If I had to pick one word to describe this conversation with Dr. Barbara Shabazz, PsyD, my choice is easy: intentionality. And possibility. And community. And… Y'all know by now that I refuse to play nice with arbitrary limits!  I could turn to the 20k folks who follow her over on IG for additional superlatives. Not to mention the clients who seek Barbara's guidance via Intentional Activities, her multi-format personal and professional coaching practice. Add members of Intentional Activities Academy, the inclusive, non-judgemental, anti-oppressive virtual collective. However, as is always the case, it's best to let my guests do the talking.  “What we don't repair, we repeat. Not talking about it, not addressing it, doesn't make it go away.” Are you keen to discover why top-tier talent is leaving managed care in droves to pursue careers in coaching?  Not sure why diversity initiatives continue to fail academia?  Can't understand why we, as a society, haven't yet moved beyond whiteness and supremacy culture?  I humbly submit the quote above for your review. GET CONNECTED Voicemail for 200th episode: https://speak-to.us/convoswithawoundedhealer Waiting List for Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/WoundedHealerWaitlist GUEST BIO Dr. Barbara Shabazz is a clinical psychologist who coaches. She has spent 25+ years helping folks in the therapeutic setting, community, and classroom. Her goal with her company, Intentional Activities, is to tap into the inherent strengths of each client, equipping them with the tools necessary to live a more action-oriented and authentic life. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Podcast App Only Where organized religion goes, the need for therapy often follows. There's no shortage of examples in which Christianity's original pitch––to love and care for one another––has gotten corrupted by those delivering Jesus' message.  But what if you're called to fight for your faith? What if you believe that your generation is the breath of fresh air its stagnant lungs need? Or, what if you want to offer a safe space where other disillusioned faithful can ask WTAF?  What if you're all that. And a Mormon? Caitlin Olsen is a trained therapist and mental health coach who offers expert guidance for the modern Mormon woman. So much of Caitlin's story resonates, especially her struggles with mental health compounded by a global health crisis and a former US president who exploited the pandemic for political gain.  Those four years shook Caitlin's faith, forcing her to question her place within the Mormon Church. Caitlin still believes that there's a place for faith in her life.  Our conversation reminds me that we can celebrate the values of a faith tradition and rejoice in its gospel if we're called to do so. We can also love the promise of religion yet set out to make our spiritual way. Whatever our path, we have agency; we can challenge those that block our way or take a road less traveled. GET CONNECTED Voicemail for 200th episode: https://speak-to.us/convoswithawoundedhealer Waiting List for Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/WoundedHealerWaitlist GUEST BIO Caitlin Olsen is a trained therapist, mental health coach, and lifelong Mormon. She runs group programs, creates self-paced courses, and works 1:1 with incredible coaching clients under her business, Caitlin Olsen Co. Her mission is to destigmatize mental health care, change some family trees for the better, and bring mental health to the forefront of Mormonism. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

What a time to be alive, huh? I say so with tongue firmly planted in my cheek because when crisis cycles like the one we're currently in arise, instinct often overrides my ability to analyze. I rush for the deep end with an overwhelming need to do everything, even as I realize I've stretched myself too thin to do anything. Raise your hand if you've been there; done that. Val Jencks, MS, LMFT, LCPC, gets it. In addition to spending nearly three decades mentoring new therapists and working with couples and families at her Chicago-based group practice, this self-described “serial volunteer” has also dedicated her life to advocating for people impacted by trauma, mental illness, and addiction. Oh, and btw, she's a stand-up legend who co-founded Laughing Matters In Chicago, a nonprofit that produces comedy events supporting young performers in recovery. But wait, there's more. Val's 2015 TEDx Talk “How to Rewrite History” is a message for anyone who has witnessed or survived youth abuse. But the beauty of Val's wisdom isn't in how she keeps all the balls in the air. Instead, those times when she's let the balls fall (because yeah, life) provide the most insight. Multiple crises have taught Val the importance of establishing a new orbit, mindful that her wellbeing (not to mention that of her family, colleagues, and clients) hangs in the balance. However, taking care of oneself is easier said than done, especially for entrepreneurs in the healing space. When crisis crashes into capitalism, a flood of self-serving propaganda follows, pressuring individuals to practice resilience amid the storm.  Post-traumatic growth doesn't come quickly; it reveals itself by inches or less. “I just am much more comfortable with myself. I'm less judgmental of myself.”  And less compelled to dive in head-first without checking her own vitals.  Special Note: For those interested in providing tangible support to LGBTQIA+ communities under threat in Texas and Florida, the following is a small list of vetted resources: Resources for Texas Trans Kids www.txtranskids.org www.transtexas.org/resources www.transequality.org/additional-help www.transhealthconsulting.com/mentalhealth Resources to Oppose Florida Don't Say Gay Bill Take Action via Equality Florida - http://eqfl.org/act Florida Coalition for Trans Liberation - www.fc4tl.org Safe School South Florida - http://safeschoolssouthflorida.org SAVE LGBTQ - www.save.lgbt GET CONNECTED Voicemail for 200th episode: https://speak-to.us/convoswithawoundedhealer Waiting List for Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/WoundedHealerWaitlist GUEST BIO Val Jencks, MS, LMFT, LCPC, has spent nearly three decades working with couples and families in her Chicago practice, Prairie Family Therapy. Often described as a “serial volunteer,” she has a strong penchant for championing the underserved, with decades of advocacy for people impacted by trauma, mental illness and addiction. She also co-founded “Laughing Matters in Chicago,” a nonprofit dedicated to producing comedy events that support young performers in recovery. Her 2015 TEDx talk “How to Rewrite History” is a message for anyone who has witnessed or survived youth abuse.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

I have long wished for one complete website where I could find information about every trauma modality––the who, what, where, why, and how of trauma-informed care if you will––because I want training in all of them!  The truth is, whether we're therapists, specialized healers, or lightworkers, there's a reason why we call what we do practice: we never arrive at a place of absolute knowing.  Shelby Leigh helps practitioners of all sorts examine, without judgment, the situations that arise, teaching them how to best integrate a foundation of trauma awareness into their practice life. When we accompany clients on their healing journeys, we're bound to encounter new conflicts and confront reminders of our past traumas. It's these inevitabilities that Shelby's 1-to-1 coaching sessions and group programs make space to address. Her coaching clients gain a more nuanced understanding of themselves and how trauma impacts the care dynamic. As someone who's constantly urging therapists to do their own work, I hella approve of Shelby's coaching roadmap! I appreciate healers like her, who actively support the rest of us as we push the self-imposed limits of our intrapersonal communication skills and deepen our interpersonal healing.  GET CONNECTED Voicemail for 200th episode: https://speak-to.us/convoswithawoundedhealer Waiting List for Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/WoundedHealerWaitlist GUEST CONTACT BIO Shelby Leigh has nearly 15 years of clinical practice, a Master's degree in Somatic Psychotherapy, two coaching Certificates and numerous trainings in the Somatic treatment of trauma. Between her own journey with complex PTSD and supporting thousands of students and clients, she is ignited by supporting folks across the globe to be able to support themselves and the people they work with to move from simply surviving to truly thriving. A former licensed psychotherapist, now coach and consultant - Shelby teaches trauma awareness to coaches, therapists, healthcare professionals, and organizations worldwide. A great passion is understanding and supporting folks with developmental and complex trauma in a holistic, body-based, integrative way. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

This one has all the hallmarks of those "very special episodes" from TV days gone by. Awesome guest? Check. Witty banter? Check. A lesson on the power of vulnerability? Check. We're talking *chef's kiss* from start to finish, not least because I get to publicly gush over my friend Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC. Knowing Rayell brings me so much joy on the daily. I'm proud to be in her orbit and utterly amazed by her as a counselor, speaker, manager, and human. She's committed her life to holding space for and centering those who identify as BIPOC. Rayell is also Executive Director at Head/Heart Therapy––but not for long. Trumpets, please, as I introduce folks to the next owner of the practice! Say what?!?! I said it. I mean it. I'm doing it! And when you meet Rayell, you'll understand why she's the logical choice to guide Head/Heart Therapy into the future. Had I not brought her on once the pandemic hit in 2020, I genuinely don't think I would've survived.  Here's to the promise of continued emotional evolution for both Rayell and Head/Heart Therapy. Let's bear witness to the future of anti-racist, anti-oppressive, liberatory therapy together. GUEST BIO Rayell Grayson LCPC, CADC, is a licensed clinical professional counselor, certified addictions counselor, and the Executive Director of Head/Heart Therapy. She holds a Master's of Arts degree in clinical counseling psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Rayell specializes in: substance abuse/addiction, complex PTSD, trauma/racial trauma, cultural/racial identity development, life adjustments/transitions, stress management, mood disorders, anxiety, relational complications, domestic and sexual violence, low self-esteem/self-worth struggles, women's issues, and health/wellness concerns. Rayell is currently holding space and centering her work around those who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color). For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

If you look up the word “radical”, you'll find definitions for its noun- and adjective-based usages. Marvin Toliver, MSW, LCSW, embodies both. He's a self-respecting bisexual man of color who refuses to bear the crushing weight of racist, capitalist, heteronormative systems. Instead, Marvin advocates fiercely for marginalized folks and won't accept anything less than complete liberation and revolutionary social change.  Radical Therapy Center is a group practice where folks with marginalized identities are prioritized. The trauma-informed care is focused on liberation not only for their clients but for anyone whose identity is stigmatized (and worse) by the colonial philosophies governing our daily lives––that goes for many therapeutic environments as well. Melanated Social Work, the group Marvin co-founded with three Black and Brown therapists, is yet another way he's bringing radical change directly to marginalized people, bypassing the “wellness” structures that cause them intentional and covert harm.  Radical change takes root when everyone has space to grow into the genuine expression of who they are. Marvin sees his challenges, coupled with his privilege, as a bridge for folks routinely excluded from conversations about self-love and transformative healing.  GUEST BIO Marvin Toliver, MSW, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker born and raised in Oakland, CA. He is a radical therapist, radical educator, consultant, guest lecturer, and dope human. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Oh, nothing, just me and Heidi Savell, LCSW, my new fave polyamory coach, replacing capitalism with divine feminine energy, repairing acute attachment wounds, and returning agency to anyone frustrated by the limits of monogamous relationships.  OK, before we go any further into this convo, let me emphatically state that neither Heidi nor I have anything against monogamy. Furthermore, monogamists still on board with our discussion will learn a lot about emotional intimacy from polyamorous folks, like navigating jealousy and setting clear boundaries. Win-win-win! So how did we arrive at this current wave of poly-popularity? Heidi says we owe much of the spotlight to the pandemic. Two years into various stages of lockdown and social separation have exposed myriad societal issues, not least of which is the unrealistic assumption that a single partner can (or is willing to) fulfill all our needs.  It's helpful to have a professional guide, especially in the early stages of your polyamory growth. Heidi's own journey prompted her to create the coaching practice she wishes she had access to as a poly newbie. With her help, fledgling polyamorists gain the skills necessary to build meaningful connections and address old wounds in the process.  Could widespread post-pandemic polyamory be the antidote to patriarchal power-hoarding and capitalism's doctrine of scarcity? Sign me up for polyamory's brand of emotional abundance! Poly-curious? Sign up for Heidi's “Managing Jealousy” free mini-course and newsletter at She Loves Radically. GUEST BIO Heidi Savell, LCSW, is a polyamory relationship coach and therapist. She believes that polyamory can be an empowering and satisfying relationship model, and is passionate about helping folks find ways to thrive in these relationships.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Moin Subhani is a Toronto-based psychotherapist who practices the Gestalt method. Moin likens the modality to emotional intelligence 101, an awareness of intra- and interpersonal truths. That inward/outward journey is one Moin knows well. ”Growing up in this society, especially as a Brown person, queer, it was hard for me to sit comfortably in my skin and love myself.”  His corporate career made the task doubly difficult. In a setting where the aggressive male stereotype is at best tolerated and at worst celebrated, any show of displeasure or vocalized anger by a person of color is generally deemed a threat to rigid roles and accepted strategies for overpowering challenges to the reigning authority.  Y'all know that when anger is shoved down, it corrupts from the inside out. The emotion continues to simmer until it boils over, often in the gut of subsequent generations––and isn't that what we're experiencing now as the world is made to examine past injustices in order to create a more equitable future for all?  Moin feels that Gestalt fosters a more thorough unlearning and rewiring process. In an age of accelerated global reckoning, where our anger is regularly misunderstood or aggressively disregarded, there's promise in reclaiming our anger as power with rather than power over. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE The Astrology Podcast Astral Realms Crystal Oracle Deck Gestalt Institute of Toronto NARM - NeuroAffective Relational Model GUEST BIO Moin Subhani is a Registered Psychotherapist. As a therapist, Moin is compassionate, creative and playful. He completed his psychotherapy training at the Gestalt Institute of Toronto and is a life-long student of Eastern Spirituality. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Let's settle this once and for all: astrology is a science like quantum physics and theoretical math. Please don't come at me; I've got a former chemical engineer on my side. Actually, my guest Sara Calvarese, the aforementioned former chemical engineer, made that bold proclamation at the top of our chat. Throughout the convo, Sara drops truth bombs supporting astrology's place alongside other analytical pursuits along with quotable gems regarding small business ownership, community, and eroding capitalism.  Astrology, entrepreneurship, and degrowth––a trifecta of healing endeavors that this Wounded Healer is intensely passionate about (cue my inner Chiron monologue!). If you don't know much, or anything, about these topics, let this episode be your gateway.  Let Sara provide deeper insight into the mystic-scientific connection for those well-acquainted with the good stuff. Sara is an anti-capitalist, self-proclaimed science witch and owner of The 8th House ethical modern metaphysical shop in Mount Holly, NJ (on Lenape land). If you want a heads-up on what's coming, a scientific assessment of the stars could provide warning, wisdom, and a way forward.  *** To donate to Sista Afya's Whole Women, Whole Communities campaign, please visit: https://donorbox.org/saccwholewomen/fundraiser/sarah-buino GUEST BIO Sara Calvarese is an anti-capitalist, "science witch" who owns The 8th House - an ethical modern metaphysical shop in Mount Holly, NJ (on Lenape land). She is an astrologer, tarot reader, deck creator, author, and maker. She comes from a long line of small business owners and enjoys advocating for small businesses struggling to exist in late-stage capitalism.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Shout out to all the black sheep! Given the interactions I've had with many of you over on IG, self-declared black sheep make up most of this Wounded Healer's audience. We kindred souls are a misunderstood bunch.  With so many black sheep about town, you'd expect to find volumes written in our honor. Where are the books detailing our experiences or offering keen insight into the unique psyche of black sheep? Fear not! The definitive tome on black sheep is in its research phase, courtesy of my guest Kathi Hennessey, LICSW.  Kathi's black sheep backstory is laden with classic markers: Irish Catholic upbringing, a family history of alcoholism, resentment, denial, divorce. Those compounded traumas don't always add up to black sheep designation. So what does? Kathi aims to find out. She hopes her research will offer guidance on how folks can black sheep better because––families.   Bad and embarrassing? The OED got it wrong. Sure, black sheep unleash Kali energy on that sticky generational trauma loop. But we do so as a means of healing. If smashing the status quo lands us outside a broken family dynamic, bring it on. Black sheep are a breed apart. And we're far from alone.  *** To donate to Sista Afya's Whole Women, Whole Communities campaign, please visit: https://donorbox.org/saccwholewomen/fundraiser/sarah-buino GUEST BIO Kathi Hennessey LICSW is a licensed psychotherapist with a private practice in Massachusetts. I am conducting research on people who are the black sheep of their families. As the black sheep of my family, I was looking for support and validation for my healing journey. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Pardon me while I drop my first ever LIVE episode into this space! And, wouldn't you know it, my guest and I cover all the Conversations With a Wounded Healer favorites: community, connection, spiritual anchors, resiliency, the white-washing of mental wellness spaces, and the importance of therapists engaging in their own work (natch).  What a joy to sit beside Camesha Jones, LCSW, at Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness, her gorgeous social enterprise located in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood. Founded in 2017, Sista Afya is dedicated to providing low- to no-cost mental wellness services that center the experiences of Black women. Let's chat about why centers like it are important––and, believe me, there aren't many places like Sista Afya, sadly. “Sometimes people keep saying this BS that Black people don't want to engage in therapy,” says Camesha. Ah, yes, the narrative about which communities are and aren't receptive to supportive healing, created by those outside the community to stigmatize and keep critical infrastructure like therapy from reaching those who need it. Camesha flatly refutes the trope.  Camesha has built a center that's community focused down to its core. The name, for instance, combines sista, a term of endearment used between Black women, and afya, a Swahili word that means to be healthy, free from psychological and physical illness.  In her own life, Camesha takes continual care to address challenges inherent to living with bi-polar disorder. She offers hope to folks, including fellow therapists, with similar experiences, modelling self-awareness and practicing sustainable self-care while running a successful business. “I go to therapy. I go to my psychiatrist. I take my meds. I do all the things [ ] and that's part of why I call myself a mental illness survivor,” she says, adding, “we're dealing with some of the same things, we're all dealing with some of the same things. It doesn't mean that we can't be effective in this work.” GUEST BIO Camesha Jones, LCSW, is a Social Worker, Entrepreneur, and Community Mental Wellness Advocate who serves at the intersection of culture, community, and social justice. Camesha strongly believes in eliminating barriers in the mental health field that people of diverse cultural backgrounds experience by creating affordable and accessible care that centers on the well-being of the whole person. Camesha is the Founder and Executive Director of Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness.  “WHOLE WOMAN, WHOLE COMMUNITIES” FUNDRAISER INFO To donate to Sista Afya's campaign, please visit: https://donorbox.org/saccwholewomen/fundraiser/sarah-buino I'm excited to support Sista Afya's Fall campaign, “Whole Women. Whole Communities.” This year, Sista Afya Community Care has offered 650 free therapy sessions and over 35 community workshops and classes that have collectively served over 200 women. The goal is to raise $35,000 to continue offering free mental wellness care to Black women in Chicago. They need your support to sustain the progress they've made so far. Sista Afya continues to remove barriers to accessing mental wellness care in their communities. Will you contribute to the annual year-end campaign by giving $50, $100, $250, or whatever amount you can towards our goal of $35,000 to help deepen the impact in providing free mental wellness care for Black women? The campaign will run the entire month of December, but make sure to donate now.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

If you're a baby therapist (or a seasoned pro) looking for a sign, this is it! Lean into moments of extrasensory perception. Take leaps of faith toward alternative career paths. Trust that your current discomfort heralds growth. My longtime friend and one-time coworker Virginia Castillo, LCPC, is a chill, uplifting study in clearing space for all three. Our convo is such a gift for this quiet time of year. It's the season of turning inward, exploring our options, and assuming that our seemingly “out there” choices will have a positive ripple effect. The therapy profession isn't an easy path to tread, especially when you enter the field ready and willing to do your own work. Few therapists-in-training receive that message from their professors or case supervisors. I say it all the time: better support of our clients begins when we acknowledge those parts of ourselves that require deeper exploration or healing.  Virginia has recently taken her intrapersonal work to a deeper level with clairvoyant training. Clairvoyants have a highly developed capacity for receiving the information, then distilling it into a more accessible format.  As her studies progress, Virginia's coming out more as clairvoyant to friends and a few family members. It's a challenging process as some find her pursuit too woo-woo to take seriously. Virginia has come to accept that she might lose some people as she taps further into her abilities. And, that's ok. Her clairvoyance may cause waves in her personal life, but it's the ripples she hopes to extend to her clients. “If you can create that space in the therapy room with people and guide them into learning how to heal themselves, that's the healing.” GUEST BIO Silver Lining Psychotherapy Instagram Facebook Virginia Castillo LCPC is a licensed clinical professional counselor, owner and founder of Silver Lining Psychotherapy, LLC., in Chicago. She is a first-generation Mexican American and proud Latina.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY LISTENERS… Tell us about yourself, win prizes! Complete this short survey by November 30, 2021 to be entered - https://tinyurl.com/cwhsurvey2021 *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

I've lately found myself having conversations about certainty––or uncertainty if you like. When philosophical words fail me, I express my meaning by sharing life experiences from the mundane to the mystical. Reverend Maureen Cotton is good with words. She also happens to be great with stories. So many profoundly moving stories in this one! A few trippy ones, too, as well as a flip-the-script moment when the guest casually questions your host.  “I'm no psychic, but I definitely embrace that uncertainty,” says Maureen, an interspiritual minister serving the spiritual-but-not-religious and non-dogmatic people of faith. She's also a soulful conversationalist who distills “faith” into real life without judgement or authoritarianism.  Ultimately, she defines faith as how we choose to live what we've learned from those traditions (either firsthand or in the abstract), not picking the “right one.”  While she began her ministerial career assisting families and their loved ones in death, Maureen's since shifted her focus to wedding/commitment ceremonies. Still, death is never far removed from her ministry. So even on the happiest day of a couples' life (pause for another side-eye directed at the wedding industrial complex), Maureen counsels participants on integrating their deceased loved ones into the ceremony in whatever way feels right.  All religions and spiritual practices can trace their traditions back to when communities experienced a member's death more intimately. What we've since lost is our ability to speak of love and loss in the same breath. Maureen holds space for all the mysteries. Grief, after all, is the price of love. And understanding it is less about uncovering definitive answers than being present in the unknown, honoring each other's experiences and sharing empathy over merely expressing sympathy.  GUEST BIO Reverend Maureen Cotton is an Interspiritual minister, serving the spiritual-but-not-religious and non-dogmatic people of faith. Her true title is "thresholder.” She helps prepare people for life's transformative times, in particular weddings and death & dying. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY LISTENERS… Tell us about yourself, win prizes! Complete this short survey by November 30, 2021 to be entered - https://tinyurl.com/cwhsurvey2021 HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Grab your fave beverage because my guest Courtney Wells, PhD, and I are about to spill the kombucha on taking down the patriarchy.  Courtney is many things, including a licensed clinical psychologist and executive director at Pivot Psychological Services in Chicago, and tamer of two Pekinese. Additionally, they're simply an amazing human with profound insights into dismantling the systemic oppression that leads to self-doubt and wayward searches for validation. Courtney's path towards genuine self-expression informs their approach to trauma work offers a model for societal healing as well as the creation of non-hierarchical, inclusive systems in therapy and beyond.  Courtney ascribes to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT. “Destroying the patriarchy is part of ACT therapy where you take on the patriarchy, and then you destroy it,” Courtney laughs. Tongue-in-cheek aside, they credit ACT with undermining establishment principles like grind culture or the “right way” of doing and being. The right way of white supremacy, they point out, “is generally where somebody else benefits from all of your work. You get a little bit, but somebody else benefits greatly from all that you do.”  Courtney says that patriarchal forces crush our will under fear of retribution and ostracization, pushing us to favor avoidance at all costs to keep the gears running full steam ahead. ACT can be complicated and requires commitment (as its name implies). The model is “about staying in it with someone long enough to also see what the feeling is that's there or what the internal experience is that's there.” Regardless of model, healing is an evolutionary process, and the more expansive our collective recovery, the stronger our resistance to patriarchal influences. GUEST BIO Dr. Courtney Wells received their BS in Psychology at John Carroll University, their MA in Community Counseling at John Carroll University, and their PhD in Counseling Psychology at Texas Woman's University. They completed their predoctoral internship at the Dallas Veteran's Affairs and their postdoctoral fellowship at the Jesse Brown Veteran's Affairs, specializing in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, chronic pain, and substance use. Courtney was also the creator and Director of the Trauma Program at one of the largest Partial Hospitalization and Outpatient Programs in Chicago. Courtney is a prolific reader of mystery novels and a tamer of two Pekingese. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Sarah Santacroce isn't a therapist. She's an author, podcaster, and successful marketing specialist who helps folks heal from the hustle and still earn a decent living. Through her humane-focused approach, she's created a global movement that encourages people to bring more empathy and kindness to business and marketing.  Sarah knows what she's talking about because she, too, used all the same stale sales and social strategies––and burned out of her thriving, high-stress marketing job. She's since reevaluated her definition of success and challenged the popular seven Ps of marketing model. Sarah traded its static circles and created a more integrated and intuitive mandala version. If you think that marketing isn't my usual line of chat, you're right but also…the personal and professional are always connected. What could be more genuinely healing to our global psyche than a rebuke of the push! grow! results! mentality that capitalism has heaped on generations of would-be humane business owners and freelancers? Sarah's approach gives us the permission to market differently. But, experience has taught her that the answers her clients seek can't come from the same step-by-step formats that marketeers peddle. “For a lot of clients, it actually comes back to doing the groundwork,” she says.  Sounds a lot like therapy. And, as with therapy, truly authentic marketing can only come about when we commit to doing our own work.  GUEST BIO Sarah Santacroce - Over a decade of running a successful LinkedIn Consulting business inspired a yearning in Sarah to create a global movement that encourages people to bring more empathy and kindness to business & marketing. As a ‘Hippie turned Business Coach', Sarah has written two books, hosts the Humane Marketing podcast and works with heart-centered entrepreneurs to question their assumptions when it comes to marketing & give them permission to market their business their way, the gentle way! Sarah shares a fresh perspective and doesn't shy away from calling things out that no longer work for many of us when it comes to the current marketing model. Her clients sometimes refer to her as ‘the female Seth Godin'. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Emily Morris is my friend, fellow NARM practitioner, and colleague in the therapy world. For anyone who's deep into that gray area of life––that nagging “middling” feeling of half-living, the push/pull of a sham existence––this story of sobriety and identity will resonate with you. Her trajectory from weekend partier to sober-curious to four years sober affirms that life needn't fall apart in spectacular fashion before someone ditches alcohol for good. Getting sober often prompts other life changes. For Emily, that meant giving up weed and pursuing NARM therapy for her own healing. The process brought Emily back to her body to the point that she was fully able to realize her lifetime of compulsory heterosexuality, the disconnect she unconsciously engaged in by denying the vital, fundamental parts of herself to the point that she didn't even know she was gay! Since coming out, Emily has broken off a hetero engagement, moved to Nashville with a woman, broken off that relationship, and learned to set boundaries with family members who struggle with the positive growth she's enjoying. Emily's well and truly left the middling ground in favor of a full-on, high-level expression of her most sacred self.   GUEST BIO Emily Morris is a licensed therapist and mental health coach based in Nashville, TN. Emily specializes in complex trauma, relationship issues, addiction recovery, and anxiety. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Do you ever meet someone whose spirit surrounds your own with warmth and light and knowing? Yeah...Ebony Rutko is that spirit in human form. A clinical social worker with her practice in Canada, Ebony applies her advanced clinical training in NeuroAffective Relational Model™ (NARM) to help adults address issues with attachment, relational and developmental traumas.  If you're new around here and have no idea what NARM is, Ebony's heart-centered introduction to the model provides some high-vibe insight. If you're a fan from way back, you know I love talking all things NARM. Ebony's ongoing exploration of healing herself using NARM is a reminder that when we as therapists do our internal work, we build foundations strong enough to provide support for others. Ebony delivers straightforward observations about our search for connection and our desire to let go of the protective strategies that no longer serve us. We get in deep for a pithy episode: NARM, psychedelics, expansive universal truths. If you're at all curious about post-traumatic healing, unconditional love, or using ayahuasca/plant medicines in supportive practice, there's some beautiful abundance here, as Ebony likes to say, about the sacred processes we engage with to heal ourselves and help our clients. GUEST BIO Ebony Rutko is a white, queer, cis-female clinical social worker located in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. She owns a private practice and provides in-person and remote therapy to adults using the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM). Ebony believes in the power of connection, and that true healing happens as we cultivate a greater capacity to hold ourselves with presence and curiosity.  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Spoiler Alert: The Cranky Therapist is not at all cranky. At least, this is the conclusion I came to after our chat. Instead, Jess Sprengle, the meme queen behind a catchy social persona, manages her private practice as well as her popular profiles and keeps herself grounded, in part, because she does her own work.  It's important to highlight for folks that as therapists, we get something out of the therapy and that's part of what motivates us to choose this profession. That said, there's an opposite side of the coin: workaholism.  While empathy is critical in what we do, we can push that resource to its limits, adding more clients to our roster when we just don't have the time, space, or capacity to do so. Jess credits social media, specifically her IG and TikTok accounts, for providing a new outlet through which she can bond. Yes, followers can and do base assumptions about Jess' private life/profession/looks, you name it. She appreciates the privilege of her visibility while also admitting that those assumptions hurt. That's where the lessons she's learned from her own healing journey keep her from spiraling. “I didn't create the account to have followers. I created the account because I wanted to do something particular, which I do feel like I'm doing.”  GUEST BIO Jess Sprengle owns and operates a private practice in Austin, TX specializing in the care and treatment of adolescents, young adults, adults, and families impacted by eating disorders, disordered eating, body image disturbances, and adjacent issues. She is a champion of freedom, justice, and liberation for all people and all bodies and practices from an intersectional, social justice-aligned lens. Jess considers herself to be a “radically genuine” therapist and seeks to embody authenticity and “humanness” with clients. She brings this to the social media world through her instagram account, @thecrankytherapist, and Twitter, @JessSprengleLPC. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Melody Li has built a practice around getting smashy--and I am here for it! This Hong Kong-born, diasporic settler is a queer therapist of Color, mental health liberation activist, and all around badass. Their work focuses on liberating communities long neglected or, worse, harmed outright by whiteness in therapeutic spaces. What I find so magical about Melody is that they knew what they wanted but couldn't find it in the current therapeutic structure so they created it themself. For the community, by the community. Boom. Melody, lays the groundwork for our exploration of decolonization, internalized biases, and land-back movements. If you're new to any of these topics (even if you're not), Melody's personal and professional insights will guide your continued un-doctrination. This conversation is wall-to-wall mic drop moments, y'all, as well as an unveiling of Melody's latest initiative. If you're anything like me (which, duh, you're listening so of course we're like-minds), you'll walk away from this convo inspired af, wondering why we're still applying words like “history” across all narratives, and ready to get smashy within your own limiting environments. GUEST CONTACT INFO & BIO Melody Li is a colony-born migrant and diasporic settler on Turtle Island. They are a queer therapist of Color, mental health liberation activist and keynote speaker. They founded Inclusive Therapists: a mental health directory and community that celebrates and centers people with marginalized identities (especially QTBIPOC). Melody offers collective care and education focusing on decolonizing mental health and healing racialized trauma. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Cédric Lebigre, an NLP practitioner, hypnotist, and musician living and working in France, scores his truth bombs with beats. If you're binaural beat curious, fascinated by music and science, or want to cultivate a better understanding of what Shamanism is (and isn't), welcome to a conversation with its own soundtrack. I've been listening to Cédric's work via Insight Timer for a while now. There's a science as to why this “brainwave entertainment” makes my mind happy: it's feel-good music, elevated. He employs specific structures in his compositions, creating patterns that allow listeners to settle in deep enough that they experience a trance-like state (been there!). Binaural beats are potent allies in reducing gamma waves (faster) and increasing alpha waves (slower), but you don't have to geek out on the science behind the sounds to benefit. Some of Cédric's music has a Shamanistic quality (think rhythmic drumming) thanks to his training in that sacred space. He's quick to rebuff anyone who burdens him with that title, or that of a healer. The language and cultural differences of being French add an interesting dimension to the healer/wounded healer questions. No spoilers! Instead, I'll say that, ultimately, we heal ourselves; It's not about what is done to us. That's a significant shift within me lately, recognizing that nothing outside of me will do the work; I have to do it internally. Of course, a binaural beat soundtrack helps make lighter work of all that healing. EXCLUSIVE OFFER Like what you hear? CWH listeners get 30% off the purchase of Cedric's music on Bandcamp with code headheart2021. GUEST CONTACT BIO Cédric Lebigre is an NLP practitioner, hypnotist, and founder of Alpha8Origin. Initially trained as an engineer, Cédric has been working for 10 years in different companies before an unexpected encounter with an urban shaman. After this life-changing episode he developed a passion for consciousness' explorations and words' magic. Fascinated by sounds since childhood he decided to merge these practices by creating mind-altering music, specifically designed to enhance meditative experiences and assist human beings in their own evolution.
 For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Grief, especially for those experiencing the death of a parent who may have neglected, abused, ignored, or invalidated them, is complex and contradictory. Margo Jacquot, PsyD, agrees. We flip the script on standard responses to loss, explore the gifts and grind associated with addressing our wounds as therapists and discover a mutual fascination for a particular taxicab medium. For those whose childhoods were marked by difficult dynamics or unsafe experiences, there's a lot to unpack after the death of that parent. Emotions like anger, rage, and relief are as valid (if not more so) than the tidier, expected responses like grief and sadness.  Healing early developmental wounds is a lifelong process. As a child, Margo's misattunement expressed itself physically in the form of stomach cramps. Her mother sent her to a therapist and those three sessions, brief as they were, changed the course of Margo's life. Today, she provides others with the same opportunity to feel heard and safely explore resolutions to their challenges. GUEST BIO Dr. Margo Jacquot is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. She is a national lecturer on trauma recovery, behavioral issues, LGBTQ issues, and working with couples. Dr. Jacquot is the founder and Chief Care Officer of The Juniper Center, one of the largest woman-owned counseling and therapy practices across Chicagoland, with over 40 clinicians at 5 locations and via telehealth. Margo also has a new Podcast - Mental Health Business Mentor. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

What happens when two ENFJs come together for a light chat? An illuminating conversation about a life lived in the margins, creating spaces for genuine bodily autonomy, and engaging in revolutionary acts within the confines of the current therapeutic system.  Rahim Thawer, MSW RSW, is a queer Muslim social worker, psychotherapist, consultant, clinical supervisor, sessional lecturer and writer living, working, and organizing in Canada. He's especially interested in supporting communities or agencies that serve LGBTQ folks and people affected by HIV, groups that often overlap with newcomers to Canada.  Rahim is a natural at welcoming others and appreciating the right everyone has to express their individuality. Much of Rahim's work, whether that's in session with clients or alone at his laptop, working on multiple books simultaneously, is dedicated to exploring and centering experiences currently deemed outside the norm.  His desire to lend language to support those experiences extends beyond LGBTQIA+ issues to the complexities surrounding suicidality as it relates to chronic or terminal illness, to people's needs, and how to center their decision-making power around their bodies and their fate. His insight reminds me that if we were all to tune into these frequencies for ourselves - specifically instances where we might have considered suicide - we would be able to hold so much more space for others.  GUEST BIO Rahim Thawer MSW, RSW is a queer Muslim social worker, psychotherapist, consultant, clinical supervisor, sessional lecturer and writer. He is interested in the intersection of mental health and systemic oppression as well as innovation in queer men's relationships. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

"Trauma" exists in many forms. Sara Moskowitz, LCSW, SEP, can trace some of her wounding back generations through the Jewish experience. Beyond that, much of the ongoing personal healing to which she's committed stems from a thoroughly modern - and complex - family dynamic. Donor-conceived humans - those individuals conceived using a third party to supply the sperm, egg (or combination), or embryo - often have additional existential baggage to unpack, especially if the donor in question is anonymous. Sara experienced a lifetime of unsubstantiated inklings that something was amiss. She didn't uncover the truth until her late 20s. Sara's story is an excellent example of failure in the environment, not a failure in the parent. Her journey also speaks to the importance of therapists doing the work on themselves. That's something of a manifesto around here. How can we expect to meet our clients where they are, accompany them on this journey, and provide them with the tools they need to heal if we're not exactly sure how these tools work? Just when you think you've heard every variation of trauma - boom! - someone like Sara comes along to remind us how rich the human experience is.  GUEST BIO Sara Moskowitz, LCSW, SEP is a Chicago-based psychotherapist, mother and artist. She specializes in developmental trauma and anxiety, and guides clients to gain access to the wisdom contained within their bodies. Sara is certified as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and holds Master's degrees in both social work and education. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You're invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“You can speak your truth, and you can be honest, and you don't always need to defend what you did or what you said or how you are. You can just say it.” ~Brenna Guinan All of my favorite things conspired to make this chat with fellow therapist and host of Real Fckn Talk Brenna Guinan MHC-LP, CRC a must-listen (IMHO): Instagram friendship;  Some witchy topics; and NARM™.  That last entry is particularly significant because yours truly leads an impromptu NARM(ish) session on the show for the first time!  Our conversation expanded to include a brief but revealing look at how NARM sessions work. She got to experience firsthand how the process interrupts the old stories we tell ourselves and those we tell others. There’s a self-professed stubbornness about Brenna to which I think many can relate. She splits her time between licensed mental health counseling and rehabilitation counseling. For those who’ve not heard of rehabilitation counseling before, Brenna describes it as advocating for people (in her case, students) with disabilities so that they’re set up for adulthood - whether they choose to go to college, trade school, or enter the workforce.  All this professional level-headedness at twenty-seven and a podcast, too? Yes. This is the part where I get to plug my appearance on Brenna’s show while also telling you that Real Fckn Talk is where guests are invited to go there. GUEST BIO Brenna Guinan is a mental health counselor, certified rehabilitation counselor, and the host of REAL FCKN TALK podcast. As a therapist, Brenna is passionate about normalizing discussions about mental health. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“Healers have to be so close to the wound...in order to actually heal it.” ~Dr. LaNail Plummer Dr. LaNail Plummer, founder and CEO of Onyx Therapy Group, has designed her life around healing her communities. The build process hasn’t been easy. As a Black, bisexual woman, she’s navigated multiple structural impediments. But the racism, homophobia, and religious rigidity that forced her to the margins unwittingly pushed her into her power: to create safe spaces for folks in the LGBTQ+ community.  It’s impossible to speak with a DC-based practitioner - especially one whose professional focus and personal identity align with marginalized folks - and not ask about their welfare as it relates to the insurrection on January 6th. Once again, LaNail’s deep desire to be in community with her people took over. Amid the assault, she offered vital transparent support - something I continually advocate for on both sides of the therapy relationship.  “We're just going to live this experience together,” she told her clients. “I am not going to 100% be your expert in this moment. What we're going to do is have a shared human experience, and we are going to both learn and heal and process together.”  *** Dr. LaNail R. Plummer is the CEO & Founder of Onyx Therapy Group - a DC-based mental health organization dedicated to providing mental health services for individuals and organizations in marginalized groups such as Black and Brown communities and the LGBTQ+. As a leading professional in the mental health field, Dr. LaNail R. Plummer is committed to improving the lifestyles of others through the aspects of mental health and character development. A United States Military Veteran and the CEO of Onyx Therapy Group -- an organization she founded in 2013 -- Dr. Plummer has over 15 years of experience working with a multitude of clients and specializing in the care of young women; the Black community; and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Grounded in the values of integrity and awareness, Dr. Plummer believes that emotional, spiritual, and cultural healing is attainable for all.   For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW   ***   Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“It doesn't matter what your purpose is; it could be a doctor or a dog mom. Doesn't matter. But you're not gonna do it wholeheartedly if you're obsessing about the size of your thighs.” ~Alexa Silvaggio Chocolate and ketamine.  Yes, that would be a fantastic title for a double album! Instead, they’re the ingredients for a vibe-altering conversation with wellness entrepreneur and chocolatier Alexa Silvaggio. As CEO of Savage Chocolates, she helps people cultivate an experience of pleasure and presence through chocolate.  Alexa believes in pleasure done well, pleasure done mindfully. “I don't have any interest in consuming something that leaves me feeling worse than when I started,” she says. That goes as much for people and experiences as it does food.  Alexa’s affinity for pleasure - so often treated as a dirty word and frivolous pursuit in Western culture - was born out of the years she spent restricting herself into an eating disorder. Alexa began internalizing both the conspicuous and covert messages about body shape and size at a young age, essentially disappearing in an attempt to become more valuable. The loop of self-hatred played in Alexa’s head nonstop throughout college until her sister finally helped her hit stop.  There’s a spiritual quality with which Alexa talks about starvation - of the body, of the soul. Likewise, the practices and methods she’s leaned on along her healing journey. Y’all, I had such a soul-satisfying visit with Alexa that we didn’t even get to the healer/wounded healer questions! And I don’t even care because, instead, we unraveled several threads at once, including my decision to begin ketamine treatments, the death of Alexa’s beloved mother, and the myriad paths that reconnect us to our source.  Listeners, use promo code PAUSEBREATHESAVOR25 for 25% off Savage Chocolate! *** Alexa Silvaggio is a wellness entrepreneur based in Los Angeles. She is a yoga instructor, writer, podcast host, retreat leader, and CEO of Savage Chocolates, a mindfulness chocolate brand. She encourages you to cultivate a more loving relationship with your body and self through all she teaches. She would love to connect with you!  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“A lot of the things that we have gone through have taught us a lot of lessons -- have made us stronger in certain ways.” ~Dr. Funnies Heads up: This episode with Dr. Funnies features some conversation around still-birth. If such discussions trigger you in any way, please take care should you choose to listen. From professional gaslighting and personal tragedy to hilarious memes and triumph of the spirit,  this episode covers the entire spectrum of human emotion. If you’ve listened to Conversations With A Wounded Healer for any length of time (say, one episode), you know my love for Instagram is next-level. It’s where I socialize with listeners and where I meet all of my new best friends, including today’s guest, Dr. Funnies.  Dr. Funnies is the brilliant brain behind Mental Health Funnies, the Instagram account she started in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown here in the US. Regardless of which side of the therapist/client relationship you occupy, the memes at Mental Health Funnies will make you snort out loud.  Dr. Funnies has a knack for distilling everyday absurdities into a single frame while displaying complete empathy for her audience as well as herself. Dr. Funnies’s journey from stellar student at a historically Black college to roadblocked post-grad intern to autonomous practitioner is harrowing at times, made so by the racism and white supremacy embedded in the very marrow of this country. A true wounded healer, she knew that one day, her experiences would serve to help others. Whether one-on-one with clients or by the thousands through her memes, Dr. Funnies is absolutely right about that. *** Dr. Funnies. I am a mental health therapist trying my best to help heal others! I have been in the field for over 17yrs. I believe laughter can sometimes be the best medicine! For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“It has to be your flag [...]. So, being able to do that internal work and say, ‘Oh, what is it that I want to be? What is it that I want to look like? And how do I want to present myself?’ and letting that be okay, keeping your flag the one that's flying rather than trying to be somebody else, no matter what it is.” ~Brian Thompson In the right hands, financial planning is a healing art. Wait, don’t tune out! I go cross-eyed, too, thinking about indexes and funds and allocations! Just hang with me a sec. I promise you’ll fall in love with my amazing guest Brian Thompson, tax attorney, certified financial planner™, registered life planner™, Forbes features writer, and podcaster. He’s also a super friend and my Al-Anon pal.  Brian occupies many intersections and all of them inform his approach to socially responsible investing (or ESG). You’ll leave here wiser and psyched about putting your values before your returns. I anticipate some whining. ‘But Sarah, if I put my values before my returns, I won’t have anything to live on!’ Y’all, that’s just capitalism’s vice-like grip. It’s time to integrate conversations about what we want to do with our money into our healing practices.  And I’m over here just trying to imagine a world where all financial planners show up the way Brian does. What a wonderful world that would be. *** Brian E. Thompson. As both a tax attorney and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Brian provides comprehensive financial planning to LGBTQ entrepreneurs who run mission-driven businesses. Entrepreneurs hold a special place in his heart. He spent a decade defending them against the IRS as a tax attorney and has become one himself as an advisor.   For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW   *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“I recognize within myself that there were huge cycles that needed to be broken. And, with having two girls, it was so important for me for those cycles to be broken.” ~Nellie D. This show, like life itself, is an exercise in connect-the-dots. From listeners linked around the globe (shout out, Saudi Arabia!), to friends met over on IG, to acquaintances made through other guests, we Wounded Healers vibe on levels that run deep.  Today’s guest is no exception. I met Nellie D. through Jim Martin of Unusual Buddha. She’s a self-described Mother extraordinaire and lifelong learner whose spiritual journey has led her about as far from her traditional evangelical Christian upbringing as one can venture: to a point where Buddhism and Wiccan philosophy intersect. Now let’s get witchy! I say that with complete respect and admiration. Of her hybrid Wiccan practice, Nellie says it’s all about education and healing.  As the mother of two daughters, she knows firsthand the “unlearning” that women require to maintain healthy mental wellbeing. In healing her wounds, Nellie’s healing her daughters’ futures as well as her ancestral past, tattooing over the scars and making them beautiful. “It is a connection with the energies around you and exploring those energies,” explains Nellie, “and also honoring those energies.”  Witches truly are our better angels.  Nellie D is a Mother extraordinaire with an Earth-loving flair, always seeking new adventures, and excited for lifelong learning!  For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“I really thought, like, if people have the choice to choose what they pay, they're going to undervalue me, and I was so sure that everybody would pick the lower fees. I'm making more money than I've ever made!” ~ Celeste Meyer Celeste Meyer has created something folks on this planet need to see more examples of - a pretty yummy, juicy life for herself and those with whom she’s in alliance. From friends to clients to partners, this fat-bodied, South Asian queer woman has molded her professional and personal spaces into shapes that defy confinement. She rejects the rigidity of white supremacy’s boxes - and she’s doing very well outside of them, thankyouverymuch. Predominately centered on BIPOC, queer, trans, and fat clients, Celeste’s practice is where intersectionality - and the wounds so often heaped on top of those instances of confluence - is given its proper due. You’ll recognize the phrase liberation-focused therapy from previous episodes. At a macro level, it’s a framework that offers empowerment and healing in aid of communities most neglected by mainstream mental health services.  We even had time to unpack the healer and wounded healer questions - diving into issues of appropriation, the divine feminine, the seasonality of life, the Farmers Almanac (true story!). Celeste said it best: “I get to have cycles within me of blooming and conserving energy, being, you know, blossoming and ready to connect with all the plants around me - or being the one with one little leaf. I get to be all of them!” *** Celeste Meyer is a self-identified Brown Fat Femme who lives, loves, and works on unceded Muskoke/Creek territory known as Atlanta, Georgia. In her private practice, she predominantly sees BIPOC, queer, trans, and fat clients as they heal from trauma and focus on liberation through connection and somatic-based therapy. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“It's just so important to know that we're so interdependent, and we thrive through the ability to connect, and that's the bigger picture.” ~ Shiralee Patel I’m honored and a little bit giddy to be the first podcast on which Shiralee Patel, PT, DPT, has ever appeared. I mean E-V-E-R! So crazy to me because this wise woman isn’t “just” a physical therapist; she’s my PT.  Shiralee is a skilled professional whose niche in craniosacral therapy and visceral mobilization encompasses more than “just” adjustments or realignments. She’s an expert in these feeling arts - light touches and manipulations informed by the body’s systems. When providers like her pause and tune in to what the body has to say, they hear the infinite wisdom of organs and emotions; they then translate that information to support better overall health and wellbeing. Her work aims to bridge Western and Eastern healing philosophies, bringing both into balance. She does this through touch, palpating organs, and identifying where in the body certain feelings or experiences have settled. Then, she applies techniques to help release those emotions, thus liberating the affected organ or muscle from pain or inflammation.  Does Shiralee consider herself a healer? Let’s just say you must listen in to hear her beautifully enlightened answer. For now, I’ll let it slip that she believes in the curative spark residing within each of us. “I like to kind of connect with [that].” *** Shiralee Patel, DPT, is a physical therapist who works with both adults and children specializing in craniosacral therapy and visceral mobilization. She is passionate about utilizing a holistic approach to determining the underlying factors that cause dysfunction and imbalance. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

"Aren't you tired of endlessly reading about white men who can't help but murder people of color in our communities? Aren't you tired of being made to feel helpless because of apparent untreatable mental illness problems that apparently lead to mass violence?" ~Sarah Suzuki I recorded this on March 23rd, 2021. March 22nd, there was a shooting in Boulder, Colorado, and on March 16th, there was a shooting in Atlanta, Georgia. I woke up today and cried because this is ridiculous. And I don't even know what to say about it, but luckily I have brilliant friends who say brilliant things. My friend and former podcast guest, Sarah Suzuki has written an article called Stop Psychoanalyzing Mass Shooters: How in-depth psychological profiles perpetuate white supremacy. So I wanted to read this to you on the show. *** Sarah Suzuki is the founder of Chicago Compass Counseling, a group practice dedicated to serving the family system through inclusive, evidence-based behavior change counseling. She offers a self-paced online training for therapists on Psychotherapy and Cannabis. As a speaker, Sarah enjoys presenting ideas that ignite and inspire. She grounds her approach to both counseling in an antiracist analysis, sharing a vision of a multicultural and transformed society. In 2018, her talk on facing fear went viral – with over 2 million views and counting. Sarah has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2010 and participated in the certification process in 2017. To date, she has worked with more than 50 organizations across the country as a trainer and consultant.  Sarah was featured waaay back on episode 19. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“As we can release things that we're holding, we get to be more of ourselves and more of our own energy and more of our own essence and power. ” ~Dr. Sonali Deepika Of all the excellent words spoken in this conversation between Dr. Sonali Deepika and I, the one that stands out is pretty simple: shift. As in shift the male-dominated, white-centric, evidence-based paradigm that currently governs our Western approach to physical and mental wellbeing. OK, our discussion isn't nearly as heavy as all that sounds, thanks to Sonali's grounded nature and conviction in an alternate way forward, a luscious, magical path that reconnects people to their sacred ground.  Tired of the Western focus on verifiable symptoms and rigid diagnosis codes, Sonali ditched her psychiatry practice several years ago to search for a more holistic way to apply her knowledge and curiosity. The journey led her to her ancestral home of Sri Lanka and the pursuit of sensuality as a gateway to better health.   Sonali's affinity for this transformational work comes from a deeply personal tragedy that she and her family suffered. Luckily for her clients, Sonali's journey continues. She's creating new offerings for her sensuality coaching practice. This field melds her solid Western experience with an intuitive, feminine philosophy, helping people reclaim agency in their own healing and return to a more sacred flow.  *** Dr. Sonali Deepika is a lifelong learner who after practicing psychiatry for many years decided to pursue her passion for holistic healing in support of the embodiment of the soul's purpose. She discovered this work while living across the globe and found the greatest journey to be that of truly coming home to her body. Her heart-centered calling is to guide others on this luscious, magical path to connect to their sacred ground. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“It is my goal to own me, to own myself.” ~Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield, Ph.D. If you measure life along a linear trajectory, then yeah, Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield, Ph.D., and I have known each other for about a minute. But when it comes to anti-racism and healing wounds caused by white supremacy? Oh…we’re firing on a deeper, symbiotic wavelength! This is a chat between old friends who’ve just met. For a topic that’s so heavy, however, our conversation is buoyant and joyful. It’s also filled with enough snap-worthy points that you’ll want to take notes. Or bookmark this episode. Or have t-shirts printed. Dr. Davia is a cultural researcher as well as the co-creator and co-founder of BL&CK (pronounced “and Black”), an online community that celebrates the diversity of Blackness. At the top of the show, I asked Davia to describe Bl&ck. She painted a picture of an online space (for now) that ushers in positivity, wholeness, and wellness.  And she brought that same energy to this space. She calls our chat an “us” conversation, a sharing of ideas that flows from mutual respect for each other’s right to live authentically. “It’s important,” Davia says, “for people to realize, like, those are the stakes. This is everything. This is what’s at stake.” *** Dr. Davia J. Crutchfield, Ph. D. is the creator and co-founder of BL&CK (pronounced “and Black”). As a cultural researcher she presents (through Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics) how secular rap music serves as a cultural and spiritually empowering tool in the Black community. She incorporates cultural and personal experiences of race, sex, gender, spirituality and love through storytelling, written poetry, and spoken word. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast   HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“Let's get this very clear: therapists are humans; humans are human. And, therefore, we experience the same things as our clients.” ~Bianca Hughes Perfectionism, professional pivots, and the privilege of creating space for healing. So many bases covered in this conversation with Bianca K. Hughes, LPC! Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the cultural exchange insights - Bianca’s a British ex-pat residing in Atlanta (shout out OTP and ITP!) - or the book recommendation...or the NARM chitchat.  If there’s a single overarching theme to this discussion, it’s sacred vulnerability. Bianca makes a case for living and practicing in the glory of our imperfections. As a first-gen Brit born to Caribbean parents, Bianca brings a multi-directional perspective to her Atlanta practice. Her style is less linear, outcome-driven. For her, healing is a circuitous journey she shares with her clients. She’s quick to let them know she’s not the ultimate oracle or guide.  There’s a truism about therapists specializing in the areas where they need the work or have experienced the most growth. Bianca’s focus on perfectionism - and women, in particular, who struggle with its weight - is no accident. “Going back to that privilege,” she says, “...I think that specializing in perfectionism because of my own stuff, and I'm continuing to do my own work, helps me a lot easier with the clients that I work with.”  Doing our work and sharing that knowledge is how therapists hold space for healing. *** Bianca is a lover of authenticity. She specializes in perfectionism, helping people embrace their imperfections and authentically be themselves. Bianca is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia, podcast host, speaker and authenticity coach. For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast HEY THERAPISTS... You’re invited to Head/Heart Conversations, our webinar series designed for psychotherapists who want to invite their inner healer to the forefront of both work life and personal life. In this four-part series, we will invite participants to learn about themselves as well as enhance their clinical skills. Details & Registration: http://tinyurl.com/hhconvos Promo Code for $20 off: podcast Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT Friday, November 19, 2021 - Queering our Conversations by Benji Marton, LCSW *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram: @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi