Tag: wounded healer

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Spirituality Amidst Chaos

All Network Episodes, Psychonautica

136 – Cassie Walker – Angry and Tender, Intersectional Healing

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“Post-traumatic growth is a privilege and… we need some way to detail and describe [it] without glorifying or idealizing this idea of growth while still experiencing trauma” ~Cassie Walker

Bookmark this episode as the one with the Dungeons and Dragons reference and a Porterhouse steak metaphor. Seriously. No other guest has their way with tangents – or the status quo – quite like my good friend Cassie Walker. Cassie is a Black, queer activist and entrepreneur, and a life-affirming, sex-positive, kink-aware, tabletop role-playing nerd.

Cassie’s impressive cred also includes their recent NARM™ Therapist designation. Who knew? Me. I knew. So, of course, our conversation delves into NARM-specific themes of complex trauma, attachment, and spiritual connection.

Listen, I may be in the driver’s seat of this podcast but Cassie’s taking this episode down roads less traveled, introducing us to the Odu, the sacred text of Ifá, a Yoruba religion from West Africa. As far afield as that may sound, this episode is never in danger of veering off-course, y’all. Instead, the detour leads us back to current events in this country, and the powerful narcissism that too often shapes parent/child relationships…and informs what has come to pass as “presidential” behavior.

To occupy so much intersectional real estate in 2020 is to simultaneously feel tenderness for and anger toward society at large. So, it’s about time someone occupies a space in which intersectional healing can safely and authentically take place.

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Cassie Walker is a Black, queer, activist, entrepreneur, and NARM™ Therapist located in Chicago, Illinois. They are also a table top role playing nerd and general strange human.

Check out Cassie’s own podcast, Woke Mental Wellness, on your favorite podcast platforms.

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

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Path of The Wounded Warrior

All Network Episodes, Psychonautica

Lets dive in and break down the Archetype of the Wounded Warrior/Healer and what it means to us…

135 – Nicoletta Heidegger – Sluts and Scholars, Healing Sexual Trauma

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“We store so much stuff in our body. So, sometimes that’s trauma, sometimes it’s joy or whatever, and to be able to recognize, be aware and, like, feel what’s happening and name it sounds like you’re on your way to, you know, being connected to your body.” ~Nicoletta Heidegger

Healing is what happens to you while you’re busy recording a podcast. This is the second in a series of deeply personal conversations but, unlike the first, I did not expect a landslide of emotion. I did not intend to share my real-time revelations with you.

And yet, here we are. 100+ shows in and I feel as securely held by you, this amazing community, in this process as I did my guests Nicoletta Heidegger, MA, MeD, LMFT, who shepherded me through the spontaneous quake; and Rich Buino, LSW, my husband and post-show co-pilot. My hope is that all my messy vulnerability resonates with you and sheds welcome light on what can feel like a dark, lonely process.

For the sake of mutual safety, this episode is preceded by a trigger warning regarding sexual trauma and minor attracted persons, more commonly labeled as pedophiles. Please take care of yourself, even if that means skipping this conversation.

About Nicoletta. In addition to her work as a therapist and sexoligist, her PhD studies in human sexuality, and hosting duties of the much-lauded podcast Sluts and Scholars, she’s a genuine old soul. Her empathic, careful handling of sexual divergence has led to her focus on preventative practices for minor attracted persons even as she runs counter to our culture’s entrenched, shame-based attitudes toward sexuality.

In the spirit of radical transparency, I knew that my on-air experience with Nicoletta required an equally revealing on-air debrief. Healing can take a long time, and each journey is wildly different. I am forever grateful to Rich for navigating these emotional switchbacks with me. There’s no shame in doing this work out loud and I hope that this episode helps you lean into that space.

Nicoletta Heidegger is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Sexologist currently pursuing her Phd in Human Sexuality. When not seeing clients, she hosts the sex positive, shame free, educational podcast sluts and scholars.

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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134 – Livia Budrys and Sarah Buino – Letting Go and Doing the Work

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“There’s definitely a deep, there’s a deep fear of…annihilation isn’t the right word but there’s something about, like, going beyond the ego because it’s unanchored, right? ~Sarah Buino

“…as we move towards freedom, there’s always madness… ~Livia Budrys

Radical transparency is overwhelming, messy, scary. It’s also empowering. In a year marked by long-overdue exposure of the myriad illnesses affecting our society, I humbly offer up the first of several deeply personal conversations. I’m grateful to my best friend and incredible human Livia Budrys for riding shotgun on this episode. She’s a beautiful presence in my life and an insightful honorary co-host.

If you’re a longtime Conversations… fan – thank you, btw – you know I’ve no problem sharing (to a fault!). And why not? This stigma associated with therapists seeking support is both ridiculous and dangerous – to our own mental health and to how we show up for our clients.

As Livia says, this year has forever changed the impetus for disclosure.

It’s no coincidence that as old ways of existing crumble under the weight of 2020, many folks feel buried under the bricks. I mean, who the hell can continue to carry all the things? Guess who thought she had to. Guess who fought to keep her foundation of complex childhood trauma tucked neatly under the weight of internalized perfectionism and societal expectation.

Unsurprisingly, your girl fell into a crisis.

I pushed through because life, until doing so was no longer an option. In a culture without limits, I’d run headlong towards mine, a cliff’s edge where suicidal ideation eventually supplanted pushing through. But accepting that I needed intensive therapy and disentangling myself from daily life were two points along this healing journey road-blocked by ego and fear.

None of my professional experience could save me from just letting go and doing the work. There’s no therapeutic shorthand on the road to recovery.

Far from a blow-by-blow chronicle of my stay, our discussion is more an exploration of my ongoing emotional transformation. This is me: wounded and healing in the same breath. What does it mean to live and practice in the full expression of that humanity, and why is it profoundly important that we all try to embody this spirit going forward?

Let’s pull back the curtain together.

Livia Budrys is the pioneer of the Yoga-Informed Psychotherapy trainings and is dedicated to the integration of neurobiology, somatics, yoga and psychotherapy practices. She is a licensed Clinical Social Worker holding a Masters of Social Service and Administration from the University of Chicago. Livia is also a Certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP).

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

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133 – Jennifer Contarino – Support the Cause to Help Ourselves, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“This might be the last chance we have at saving our democracy.” ~Jennifer Contarino

This year, the personal is political. In service to your emotional wellbeing and the health of our democracy, my guest Jennifer Conterino, Psy.D and I are going there. Yup, we’re exposing the damaging effects that an egregiously dangerous personality has had on our collective psyche not to mention the will of a nation in desperate need of healing.

From years of petulant tweets to his most recent and most odious debate appearance, Trump anxiety disorder is real, y’all! Jennifer would know; she wrote a chapter on the subject for The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President.

Diagnosing the president is, of course, irresponsible as neither of us is his therapist. But diagnosis for our purposes is irrelevant. We’re more concerned with how you’re doing. It’s no coincidence that being governed by this leader is akin to growing up under a narcissistic parent. Both scenarios leave their victims feeling unmoored and unsafe at best. At worst, these complex traumas repeat themselves, often manifesting as an inability to show outward empathy or inward compassion.

With the current administration’s survival strategies literally killing BIPOC and conditioning white folks to stay forever silent, is 2020 the wake-up call our country needs? Examining the motivation behind a dangerous huckster’s rise to power is one step toward reasserting our agency. Asking ourselves how we want to show up in service to democracy is another.

GUEST BIO:

Jennifer Contarino, PsyD has been a Licensed Clinical Psychologist since 2004 and is the President of Mindful Psychology Associates, a group therapy practice in Evanston, IL. She is the author of the essay “Trump Anxiety Disorder” in the 2017 New York Times best selling book The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Mental Health Experts Assess a President. In addition to her clinical work and managing her practice, she writes, speaks, and presents about psychological topics such as sociopolitical stress and anxiety, coping with uncertainty, and emotional intelligence skills.

Here are some ways you can get involved and take action NOW:

Swing Left Chicago – Swing Left helps you find the most impactful things you can do to help Democrats win the most important elections.

Vote Forward – Participate in letter writing, encouraging US citizens to vote.

WisDems – Wisconsin Democratic organization committed to protecting the integrity of elections in this critical state.

Ohio Democratic Party – Find ways to volunteer in this critical state.

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

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132 – Ashley Solomon – Elevating the Impact of Girls and Women in the World

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“It’s a weird place to be when you’re in the midst of your own work.” ~Ashley Solomon

First of all, you know I love getting to know new friends on air. Secondly, if you’ve listened to this show for a while (and why wouldn’t you?!), you know I’m all in when the topic du jour is either NARM-adjacent or Enneagram-related. But when the conversation contains all the things? Oh, my!

Ashley Solomon, PSY.D, CEDS, is founder of Gelia collaborative in Cincinnati and a new best friend. The collaborative is female-focused, supporting women’s wellbeing and empowerment through behavioral health, leadership, coaching, content creation, and events. Ashley specializes in eating disorders, fertility, anxiety, and career issues. While both of us use different models in practice, our desire to help clients regain agency lost to the relational or developmental traumas experienced in childhood is aligned. “We can alter and change those things,” she says, “through some of that inner child work and reparenting ourselves and kind of shifting things in our present-day relationships.”

Beyond her own inner child work, the Enneagram is the model that has resonated with Ashley the most on a personal and relational level. She describes it as a “cool uncovering” process which has provided her with a complete picture of her authentic nature.

GUEST BIO:

Dr. Ashley Solomon is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder of Galia Collaborative, a behavioral health and empowerment organization dedicated to elevating the impact of purpose-driven girls and women. She blends her love for research, her commitment to social justice, and her hard-earned experience to support women at challenge points in their lives.

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

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131 – Brandon Jones – Trading Cycles of Trauma and Drama for Peace, Balance, and Justice

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“We have to be able to have these uncomfortable conversations and put in some uncomfortable strategies for people to move forward.” ~Brandon Jones

What, exactly, is intergenerational trauma? How does structural racism even work? For Brandon Jones, the answers are balled up in the same knot of his origins story. As a psychotherapist, a professor with dual Masters degrees, and a 2013 Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow, Brandon’s committed to educating people about the intentional cycles of trauma and drama that supremacist culture has fostered within families of color.

For white folks, confronting these life-long, centuries-old systems requires acknowledgement of advantages that most of us have come to rely on, consciously and unconsciously.

Our conversation begins with Brandon’s winding journey of self-discovery and travels through instances of early bias conditioning and “bootstrapping” – the racist myth that hard work is enough to level the playing field for all – in his own life. He sheds light on aspects of everyday, institutional racism, easy to overlook if you’re not intimately acquainted with them. What I call out as ignorance or “blindness” on the part of white folks, Brandon defines as denial, the privilege to avoid confronting what is known – another underhanded tactic from the supremacy playbook.

Listeners, you know how much I love a good chat! Well, Brandon humored yours truly so much that we almost ran out of time for the healer questions. Almost.

GUEST BIO:

Brandon Jones is a Psychotherapist, Professor and currently serves as the Integrated Services Manager at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. He specializes in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Historical and Intergenerational trauma, Social/Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Leadership, and Youth Justice. Born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Brandon has survived living in a home of domestic violence and various other forms of trauma. Brandon holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, a Masters in Community Psychology from Metropolitan State University, and a Masters in Psychotherapy (MFT) from Adler Graduate School. Brandon is also a 2013 Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow. He is also a professor at Metropolitan State University and Century College. He lives by the motto of “Live life with Purpose on Purpose.”

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

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130 – Shimi Shiba – From the Hairdresser’s Chair to the Therapist’s Couch

All Network Episodes, Conversations With A Wounded Healer

“I feel like there’s so many different aspects of being a hairdresser. It’s like, you’re an artist, you’re a counselor, a psychologist.” ~Shimi Shiba

If only someone could take the easy intimacy that hairstylists enjoy with their longtime clients and translate the magic into a formal therapeutic setting… Oh, wait! I’ve met such a person.

In this episode, professional hairdresser Shimi Shiba shares the behind-the-chair insights that have prepared her for a return to school and propelled her toward a degree in counselling.

Few vocations provide access to both a client’s body and brain in quite the same way as hairdressing. Routine visits strengthen the trust established through touch and conversation. It’s precisely this bonding that has prompted Illinois (the state in which Shimi practices) to enact a law requiring licensed stylists complete training to identify victims of domestic violence among their clientele.

Now, as a graduate student, Shimi’s melding structured learning with life experience. The years she’s spent observing client behavior in front of a literal mirror will provide Shimi with a professional POV that’s uniquely her own. “One thing that I’ve learned going to college and working on my bachelor’s as an adult, the best sort of education I’ve had, like its own form of life college, has actually been being a hairdresser.”

Call it tHAIRapy.

Shimi Shiba has been a hairdresser for 25 years (she started super young). She has a strong artistic eye and a true love of hair and makeup. She really loves connecting with people and personalizing a style to fit the individual. She doesn’t believe in the “one size fits all” approach. In addition to her styling talents, Shimi is also quite adept at astrology and is studying to become a counselor.

For full show notes, guest information, and resources, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork.

Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places…

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