Conversations With a Wounded Healer

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

"Humor is how I handle the world." ~Jim Martin This one's for the pun lovers, the meme-generators, and...the meditation-curious. Jim Martin is all of these things and a potato. As founder of The Unusual Buddha, a multi-platform community that explores meditation, spirituality, and metaphysics through an irreverent, contemporary lens - and that lens often has a potato filter over it. Jim says the goal of his mini meditation "empire" (seriously, he's everywhere) is to provide practical, accessible meditation resources. That's not to say that Jim's funny memes and quick meditations aren't rooted in an expansive knowledge of and devotion to his practice. Instead, he's a modern-day student of Buddhism with a fresh way of alternating belly laughs with poignant truths. Jim believes that the tools for creating inner peace shouldn't be so difficult to gather or understand. Nor should the practice itself feel so weighty. His rationale is, if you've got eight seconds to take a full breath, congratulations! You've just meditated. "I mean, something as simple as one in breath, one out breath, you can absolutely do it!" No bells, no whistles, no fancy cushion. A fun potato filter might help tho… *** I'm Jim Martin founder of Theunusualbuddha.com. In our community, we cover meditation, spirituality, and metaphysics in a fun and contemporary way. Meditation resources that are practical and in plain language are our goal. 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 #1: Conversations with a Wounded Healer by Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, March 5, 2021 – 9:30am – 12:30pm CST In this field, we are encouraged to practice self-care, but not often encouraged to take a deeper look at what comprises "wellness" and what gets in the way. This is not a fluffy self-care seminar, but rather a call to action designed to challenge participants to step into their own healing with courage. In order to thrive in this field, it's crucial we shine a light on what really matters when it comes to caring for ourselves and the barriers that get in the way of being our best selves. #2: Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF #3: Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT #4: 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

"So, here's the thing: liberation work is about imagination." ~Shawna Murray-Browne What a treat this episode is (IMHO), and what a gift Shawna Murray-Browne is! That exclamation point is not hyperbole, as you'll soon hear. As founder and executive director of Kindred Community Healing, Shawna is a liberation-focused practitioner whose forward-thinking mental health care has the power to restore generations past, present, and future. I first came to know Shawna through her brilliant class Decolonizing Therapy for Black Folks, a program so influential that I took it a second time alongside my entire staff. Liberation is the work of reconnection, a reweaving of generational threads so that the holes left by trauma are finally, wholly addressed. "I do think that connecting to our pre-colonial history helps us to understand some of our karmic sort of energy," Shawna says, holding space for my inquiry about white expressions of pre-colonial wholeness as well. She ends our mind-bending, heart-opening discussion with this gem: "Our only way forward is together." Remember how I said that I'd taken Shawna's course twice now? Yeah, well, this is one of those episodes that I'm going to return to again and again. The gift is so good. Listen in, you'll see. Shawna Murray-Browne, LCSW-C, is an award-winning community healer, national speaker, and Liberation-Focused, Mind-Body Medicine Practitioner. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Kindred Community Healing and the Principal Consultant at Kindred Wellness LLC. Trained as an integrative psychotherapist, Shawna has created life-changing, community-based sacred spaces, honoring culture, to equip Black women, youth, and change-makers with the tools to heal themselves. 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 #1: Conversations with a Wounded Healer by Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, March 5, 2021 – 9:30am – 12:30pm CST In this field, we are encouraged to practice self-care, but not often encouraged to take a deeper look at what comprises "wellness" and what gets in the way. This is not a fluffy self-care seminar, but rather a call to action designed to challenge participants to step into their own healing with courage. In order to thrive in this field, it's crucial we shine a light on what really matters when it comes to caring for ourselves and the barriers that get in the way of being our best selves. #2: Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF #3: Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT #4: 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's the point of getting better if everyone you know and love is still sick?" ~Mishara Winston Mishara Winston, LCSW, believes that healing is the byproduct of communal joy. A hundred episodes ago, this Black queer woman redefined for us what it meant to be an adventure therapist. Three years later, she's back to share her leveled-up vision. Mishara's one of my most favorite people and most favorite interviews. It's exciting to catch up with this genius spirit as she continues her professional and personal transformation. To reverse-engineer her evolution, Mishara dug into the bone-deep knowledge of her ancestors. She pulled back layers of formal education, returning to ancestral muscle memory. What did the village elders know, the medicine women, the spiritual guides? Mishara wants everyone to return to their campfires, to reclaim their latent talent as a healer. But how to extend that ancient healing outward in modern times, to folks who have neither the money to seek out trauma care for themselves nor the trust to extend to well-credentialed strangers? Mishara aims to expand the experience of and access to wellness through her model for quality communal care. To that end, she's calling foolishness on the harmful practice of forcing people who are not white to conform to institutional whiteness even though BIPOC folks have their own rich traditions of mental health healing. This Euro-centric psychology model has also fueled the mental health industrial complex's relentless prioritization of profit over people on both sides of the therapeutic equation. It's yet another throughline that connects colonialism to capitalism and one that begs the question if health is about restoring, to what standard are we returning non-white, non-CIS, non-straight individuals? Good question, right? Mishara agrees; that's why she's asking - and returning all people to the healing wisdom and communal joy of modern campfires. GUEST BIO Mishara Winston, LCSW. As Black Queer Woman, Mishara reminds BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ people and folks of faith our ancestors were already mental health experts- before colonial trauma. Collaboratively she creates whole hood, whole city, whole society healing models as sustainable and affordable alternatives to individual only therapy. Playfully & creatively Mishara stewards communal mental wellness, education and support groups with gifted healing expert folk like 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 #1: Conversations with a Wounded Healer by Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, March 5, 2021 – 9:30am – 12:30pm CST In this field, we are encouraged to practice self-care, but not often encouraged to take a deeper look at what comprises "wellness" and what gets in the way. This is not a fluffy self-care seminar, but rather a call to action designed to challenge participants to step into their own healing with courage. In order to thrive in this field, it's crucial we shine a light on what really matters when it comes to caring for ourselves and the barriers that get in the way of being our best selves. #2: Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF #3: Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT #4: 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

"My relationship with power and control has evolved. One thing I am not afraid to say anymore is that I'm on a mission to get more power so I can redistribute it." ~Kim Young Let's get into some trouble, shall we? Good trouble. The kind that shifts paradigms, creates opportunities, and leaves plenty of room for rest. For that we're going to need a dope accomplice. Kim Young, aka Dope Black Social Worker, is a revolutionary who has liberated herself from the idea that she had to be a therapist. Instead, she opted to forge her own career path as a self-described good troublemaker. The good trouble that Kim hopes to stir up is fueled by two core beliefs. First, that humans are interconnected and we need each other. Second, that racism and white supremacy are permanent fixtures in the United States. Here's the thing though, by accepting this with certainty, Kim says she's more realistic about the changes that can be accomplished. Combating anti-Blackness in all its forms is her focus. As such, she doesn't take answers steeped in systemic racism at face value, not when she's got deeper follow-up questions that demand attention. Still. Even the most comprehensive, compassionate responses leave room for improvement - and Kim may have landed on the perfect solution: the next, better iteration of service-oriented organizations. "Y'all we don't need no more non-profits right now. 501c3s and nonprofits are not going to save us. They will not fund the revolution." What will fund her healing revolution? A car wash. Yup. That's right. She said it; I agree with it. Want to know how Kim's vision is going to save the world? Yeah, you do! So give this conversation a listen. You won't be disappointed. Register for Kim's upcoming workshop: Social Work 101, Feb 25, 2021 https://www.eventbrite.com/o/dope-black-social-worker-llc-30154155808 Guest Bio Kim Young is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the Commonwealth of Virginia with over a decade of experience working alongside at promise youth, families, and communities. Kim is deeply committed to cross-sector collaboration that utilizes an asset-based approach to develop strategies which promote community-driven solutions to system-created problems. 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 #1: Conversations with a Wounded Healer by Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, March 5, 2021 – 9:30am – 12:30pm CST In this field, we are encouraged to practice self-care, but not often encouraged to take a deeper look at what comprises "wellness" and what gets in the way. This is not a fluffy self-care seminar, but rather a call to action designed to challenge participants to step into their own healing with courage. In order to thrive in this field, it's crucial we shine a light on what really matters when it comes to caring for ourselves and the barriers that get in the way of being our best selves. #2: Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF #3: Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT #4: 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

"Compassion and relationships create all opportunities." ~Dr. Nzinga Harrison Revolutions need revolutionaries. What's true for the social justice movement is true in the drive to create more equitable mental health opportunities; after all, these threads have been entwined throughout this country's history. Meet my new favorite person in the whole wide world, psychiatrist, podcast host, and amazing human Dr. Nzinga Harrison! As co-founder and chief medical officer of Eleanor Health, Dr. Harrison has flipped the addiction care script by centering the client in a holistic, whole-person, whole-life embrace. Eleanor Health's model is a radical departure from prevailing intervention methods, so much so that I got choked up about it during this convo. That's partly in response to Dr. Harrison's common-sense compassion, and partly due to my seething frustration at our current (broken) system of care. Her experiences have shaped her answers to the healer and wounded healer questions - answers I have never heard before in all the times I've asked. The dynamics of addiction care are changing. Dr. Harrison and Eleanor Health are proof that holistic support is sustainable, profitable, and humane. GUEST BIO A well-respected physician and educator, Dr. Nzinga Harrison is the Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder of Eleanor Health, a value-based provider of compassionate, comprehensive, outpatient addiction treatment. Approachable and energetic, she has been known to explain medical concepts with an ease and humor that results in her audiences developing understanding of difficult material while having a good time doing it! She has written and presented several articles and workshops on the medical aspects of addiction and other psychiatric disorders, and has consulted on the same topics both nationally and internationally. 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 #1: Conversations with a Wounded Healer by Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF Friday, March 5, 2021 – 9:30am – 12:30pm CST In this field, we are encouraged to practice self-care, but not often encouraged to take a deeper look at what comprises "wellness" and what gets in the way. This is not a fluffy self-care seminar, but rather a call to action designed to challenge participants to step into their own healing with courage. In order to thrive in this field, it's crucial we shine a light on what really matters when it comes to caring for ourselves and the barriers that get in the way of being our best selves. #2: Friday, May 7, 2021 - Trauma from the Individual to the Collective by Rayell Grayson, LCPC, CADC and Sarah Buino, LCSW, RDDP, CADC, CDWF #3: Friday, September 17, 2021 - Body Language by Joanna Taubeneck, LCPC, R-DMT, GL-CMA, E-RYT #4: 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 do want to help people build something big and awesome and impossible and that's of a very high value and that is client-centered." ~Annie Schuessler How much do I adore Annie Schuessler? Let me count the ways so you, too, can fall hard for this business coach who helps therapists make an impact beyond a traditional private practice. She's also the host of two podcasts: Rebel Therapist™ and Listening To Adoptees. However, the real juice of this episode is about leveling up your professional therapy or healing aspirations and still being intentional about how you make, share, and spend your money. It's not a contradiction to be client-centred, well-compensated, fulfilled, and successful! Annie explains it all. Annie understands the mental gymnastics that therapists and healers get into aligning their desire to serve with capitalism's myriad abuses. As a therapist herself, she's tackled personal questions of shame and worthiness that often percolate below the surface and get in the way of success. Throughout our conversation, Annie's zone of genius shines through. She aims that powerful light on yours truly. I'm grateful to her for sharing some of that smart, focused insight for creating a well-balanced professional existence with us. Annie's vibe will have you ready to fully embrace your brilliance, and step into your professional worthiness in a healthy, sustainable way. Annie Schuessler is a business coach and the host of the Rebel Therapist® Podcast. With her Rebel Therapist® Programs, she helps therapists, healers and coaches make an impact beyond a traditional private practice. You can find her resources at rebeltherapist.me. 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 think as therapists, there is no such thing as true neutrality, right?...The importance is knowing and owning your bias so that we can prevent it from doing harm." ~Jessica Fern Polyamory. Well, now that I have your attention…let's get into it, shall we? Ohhh, y'all, this episode is meaty with material courtesy of the brilliant Jessica Fern, psychotherapist, coach, public speaker, relationship expert, and author. Her new book Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma and Consensual Nonmonogamy* explores healthy attachments through a refreshingly non-traditional lens. But hold up, monogamy-minded folks! You'll want to pay close attention as insecure attachment styles can sabotage any relationship; we either feel safe and secure within them, within ourselves, or we don't. We can, however, foster securely functioning relationships - no matter the number of participants. Still, too many therapists disregard the validity of monogamy, incorrectly citing it as a byproduct of childhood misattunement rather than a healthy way of being. Jessica points out that "people who are nonmonogamous are not doing nonmonogamy because they're insecurely attached." Instead, they're committed to working at their relationships often with a therapist, a practice that many monogamous couples could learn from. There's plenty more to my conversation with Jessica including definitions! acronyms! NARM talk! Awesome links! and everyone's favorite healer questions! Give this one a listen no matter your preferred relationship style. Jessica Fern is a psychotherapist, public speaker and trauma and relationship expert. In her international private practice, Jessica works with individuals, couples and people in multiple-partner relationships who no longer want to be limited by their reactive patterns, cultural conditioning, insecure attachment styles and past traumas, helping them to embody new possibilities in life and love. Jessica is the author of the book Polysecure: Attachment Trauma and NonMonogmamy and you can learn more about Jessica and her work at JessicaFern.com. *Affiliate link: Thank you for supporting Bookshop.org! 10% of your purchase supports Conversations With a Wounded Healer and 10% supports independent bookstores across the US. 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 takes serious dedication to kind of chip away at rules and the contracts that we've picked up over our life that we didn't get to choose." ~Ryan Herrick Healer, humanitarian, and homebuilder Ryan Herrick wears many hats. But the topper that compliments every aspect of his life best is the one labeled musician. The ongoing pandemic has forced Ryan to explore alternate methods of delivering his sonic magic and his interdisciplinary approach to healing. He recently produced Of Sea, a collection of new music dropping February 12, out of a desire to connect through difficult times. In this episode, Ryan shares his music with us, as well as the pandemic-prompted lessons reminding him of what it means to be fully human. "As therapists-slash-healers, we are often the perceiver and the perceived. We're kind of going through this process of, like, self-work which is never-ending." Ryan's words echo the spirit fostered in every Wounded Healer episode: leaning into the dynamic joys (and, often, pain) of healing self while healing others. When lockdown prevented him from live gigging, Ryan recorded Of Sea in response. He also began a weekly morning practice via Facebook. There, he invites listeners to log on as they are and experience sound as they choose - for meditation, for yoga, for background, for healing. "As performers, as artists, we're often wounded, people… Music has such a unique way of permeating a mental, emotional, spiritual experience. That's the potential of music." His simple acknowledgement of that power wrecked me a bit, y'all. Listen in for a sample of Ryan's beautiful, vibrational medicine. Ryan Herrick is a musician, humanitarian, spiritual activist, teacher, healer and homebuilder. Based in North Chicagoland by way of New England, Ryan sojourned to the Midwest to deepen his work as a healer and clairvoyant with Judi Hendricks in 2015. No matter the task, Ryan seeks Spirit in all things, and his expanded perspective helps him create, teach, and heal from a cleaner, more neutral space of compassion. He loves dogs, the outdoors, psychology, and carries a deep passion for Native American rights and advocacy. Ryan's new EP, Of Sea, will be available everywhere on Friday, Feb 12th. 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 would it look like if I stopped trying to contort myself to fit other people's ideas about how I should be?" ~Christina Watkins A new year...and breathe! Let's get into it. But first, we need to get honest at the micro and the macro. Who are we, personally and professionally? What do we want for ourselves and our careers? What are we no longer willing to tolerate in others or ourselves? What are we prepared to expose to ensure our mental health? What does all that honestly look like? Ask Christina Watkins LCSW. Over the last few years, this thoughtful, funny, Black, queer ciswoman has crafted a practice of sustainability in all things: career, personal life, public persona. She's learned truths about honesty, both brutal and beautiful. After so much mental and physical exertion just to stay afloat, Christina's now better equipped to advocate for her body and her spirit. Call it equity of the ask, a soul-centered space from which Christina now lives. From here, she simultaneously confronts and protects herself from the micro-aggressions perpetrated against BIPOC as well as the objectification therapists often endure. Our conversation covers new territory framed by familiar ...Wounded Healer themes: the decolonization of therapy; the reclaiming of agency for ourselves and as an example for our clients; the nurturing of reciprocity and repair in the workplace. Let's get candid about what we need and how we're going to achieve it! Let's begin this new year with our continued awakening. About Christina: Christina Watkins (She/Her), LCSW. Black, queer, mystic, healer, connector, writer, and change maker. She lives in Oakland, California and maintains a private practice that centers Blackfolx and queer 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

"Ultimately, I think for anybody who is struggling, just find that tiny bit of spark, that little bit of hope, and hold onto it." ~Natalie LeSueur There's no better way to end this ____(insert your fave adjective here)___ year than hanging with Natalie LeSueur and me for Part II of our conversation. If you've not yet listened to Part I, go back! Get acquainted with this luminous lady and then join us for our high-vibin' finale! "I think for most of my life, I didn't want to be here. I didn't have a place. I didn't feel safe," Natalie explains, retracing her journey from abused child to breathwork, embodiment, and yoga teacher - a healer born from multiple complex hurts. The aching familiarity of her story affirms one of my favorite NARM truisms: we instinctively want to move toward healing. And we keep trudging onward until we find our beacon. Natalie knows what it's like to bob alone on rough seas. These days she shines her light so others can find their way, holding safe space online, a format that's offered some unexpected benefits in terms of quieting and creating. Natalie invites everyone to develop a daily sacred practice that we can live with, shedding preconceived notions of how one "should" approach such things. Move, breathe, sit in silence; the mechanics are unimportant. What matters, says Natalie, is the intention: rooting down into yourself and integrating the majestic and the mess residing inside all of us. If you recognize that invitation as a return to the divine feminine, you're right! This is a balancing balm for the overwhelming masculinity that's ruled these last few years. It's time we course-corrected to calmer waters. May we all take Natalie's suggestion and cultivate a more integrated approach to our healing in the New Year. May we all follow her example and project our gifts outward. Thank you for your love, your support, and your spirit this last twelve months! About Natalie: I am an adoptee. A survivor of acute, chronic, complex and sexual trauma. She/HER/Mother. TRAUMA informed breath work, embodiment and meditation teacher. I am a Business mentor and an INTUITIVE. I am also the Prez of The LIGHT Collective an online yoga community and school with a deep feminine resonance. I advocate for body agency, mental health, social justice and action. I wish to see people not only survive but thrive by cultivating a more heart-centred, sacred life through the practice of trust, humour and loving-kindness towards yourself and others. I am an embodiment, somatic, neuroscientific and all things mind/body geek. I love the work of and have studied with Sian Pascale, Judith Blackstone, Sarah Peyton, Dr. Scott Lyons, Zabie Yamasaki, Christopher Wallis and Thomas Huebl. A question I like to ask is ...HOW DO YOU SHOW UP IN THE WORLD? For full show notes, resources, and information about 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 really feel like I not only deserve love, but I am love. I really am." ~Natalie LeSueur The brilliant, wise-hearted Natalie LeSueur of The Light Collective is many things: mother, breathwork teacher, intuitive… the list is extensive. Natalie's also a survivor of complex psychological and sexual trauma. I'm grateful for her honesty and willingness to share her multi-layered experience. To that end, for listeners who are feeling fragile with this type of content, please take care of yourself first. Bookmark this episode for a later date; we'll be here when you're ready. In this first of our two-part conversation, Natalie and I discuss her adolescent traumas and how she finally found support on her journey to becoming a source of light for others. Her healing is centered on the belief that inner work evolves rather than finishes. It's a lesson which circles back to the connectedness in all things: science and survival; client and therapist; podcaster and listener. "I just really liked listening to how people arrive where they are, I suppose, and then there is this really lovely honesty about it because I think we just all need to get a little real." About Natalie: I am an adoptee. A survivor of acute, chronic, complex and sexual trauma. She/HER/Mother. TRAUMA informed breath work, embodiment and meditation teacher. I am a Business mentor and an INTUITIVE. I am also the Prez of The LIGHT Collective an online yoga community and school with a deep feminine resonance. I advocate for body agency, mental health, social justice and action. I wish to see people not only survive but thrive by cultivating a more heart-centred, sacred life through the practice of trust, humour and loving-kindness towards yourself and others. I am an embodiment, somatic, neuroscientific and all things mind/body geek. I love the work of and have studied with Sian Pascale, Judith Blackstone, Sarah Peyton, Dr. Scott Lyons, Zabie Yamasaki, Christopher Wallis and Thomas Huebl. A question I like to ask is ...HOW DO YOU SHOW UP IN THE WORLD? For full show notes, resources, and information about 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

"Every time I've helped someone with their grief, my own grief diminishes" ~Mark Sanders My chat with Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, is more than just a conversation; it's a full-blown appreciation situation. If you're in the field of addiction in Chicago, you know Mark as an inspiring speaker and thoughtful mentor. I envy those of you "meeting" him for the first time here, on the pod; Mark makes memorable first impressions. He's got stories to tell, naturally, as an author who's contributed pieces to the famed Chicken Soup for the Soul series. He has ideas to share about social justice, policing, and community connection, as befits someone who's spent his entire career at the intersection of addiction and mental health. Beyond all of the above reasons to love Mark, he's also a bona fine wounded healer. He survived intense generational trauma in addition to the nationwide strife that rocked the 1960s. Now he wants to heal on the macro level, with his brilliantly designed plan to reduce police shootings at the hiring stage. By proactively incorporating unconscious bias and ACEs testing, Mark thinks policing could be revolutionized, not further weaponized. He's just the guy to do it, too. Listen in; you'll see. Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC is an international speaker in the behavioral health field. He is the author of 5 books and has had two stories published in the New York Times Best Selling Book Series Chicken Soup for the Soul. We've compiled a few links to resources specifically supporting the BIPOC community: Support Black healers (and former CWH guests): Mishara Winston - https://www.patreon.com/toindywithlove Da'Jonese Turner - https://checkout.square.site/buy/VLE4766FDVMHBYABXZPZ6QOS VersAnnette Blackman - https://www.mysoulrevival.com/about Coronavirus fund for Black and Indigenous Women Black Lives Matter Chicago For MORE, along with full show notes and information about 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

"In complicated grief, what happens is, you haven't just lost the person, you've lost your identity." ~Dr. Mark Rider Mark Rider, PhD, has developed a language for understanding the lyrical relationship between body and brain. "We learned how to use music improvisation to mirror a person's pain, to mirror a person's imagery of their cancer. And then we would change that music [so] it went in a healing direction." His work might best be described as a chemical connect-the-dots. Dopamine. Endorphins. Serotonin. There's a reason your favorite piece of music makes you feel good - the brain produces all three of these chemicals in response. Mark has adapted that mirroring further, creating a revolutionary treatment option called revisioning. In practice, the psychotherapy technique "activates" the same neurotransmitters of the brain when a client sits across from and communicates with a mirror image of their loved one (in the instance of grief) or themselves (in cases of trauma, depression, PTSD, etc). As someone who's experienced the power of revisioning in my own healing work, I am deeply grateful that this modality exists. I'm fascinated by revisioning as a stand alone treatment and how it can be employed in tandem with other modalities for addressing complex trauma. You can hear a firsthand account of my personal revisioning experience on CWH episode 134. *** Dr. Mark Rider has been a licensed psychologist in Southlake, TX, for over 20 years. He has post-doctoral training in Neurotherapy, EMDR, Cognitive Hypnotherapy, and Psychopharmacology. His first book, The Rhythmic Language of Health and Disease (1997), demonstrated that neuroplastic shifts in the brain can be created by music and imagery, and were essential for health. His next book, Revisioning: Mirror Therapy for Unresolved Grief (2014) revolutionized the treatment of complicated grief. This technique has been shown to be 99% effective with this condition. Together with Lynn Heselton, their latest book, Revisioning: Rapid Mirror Neuron Psychotherapy for Grief and Trauma, has created groundbreaking treatments for PTSD, Personality Disorders, and Dissociative Disorders without the client having to relive the traumas. For full show notes, guest information, and resources, 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 wish somebody would have told that to me: it's okay to struggle. We're supposed to struggle; we're humans. We're complicated; we're messy." ~Patricia Young One of my greatest joys in life is connecting with a fellow outcast and truth-teller. All the better if said person comes equipped with a nickname like Mad Lady-Balls. Patricia Young, LCSW, the person behind the stern, brass-plated moniker is everything you'd expect her to be: hilarious, whip-smart, and dishy. She's also unapologetically sensitive, a trait she's built into both a successful career and a popular podcast. Highly sensitive. If you've ever had that phrase leveled against you, then you know the sting of those words. You're also acquainted with the shame-spiral that accompanies all that over-thinking and over-feeling. But it's precisely these traits, the intensity and the emotionality, that Patricia says any highly sensitive person (or HSP) should reclaim and celebrate. Her podcast, Unapologetically Sensitive, gives HSPs the space to come as they are. I could talk to Patricia for hours; she extends the same authenticity on display in her podcast to this show. She does the same in her therapy and coaching practice. "It doesn't matter if we're therapists or not. We're still human beings that have human struggles on a daily basis. And I really want to pull the curtain back on that because we're just humans." *** Patricia Young is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Coach. She knows what it's like to feel like an outcast, misfit, and truth teller. Learning about the trait of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), helped Patricia rewrite her history with a deeper understanding, appreciation, and a sense of self-compassion. She created the podcast Unapologetically Sensitive to help other HSPs know that they aren't alone and that being an HSP has amazing gifts and some challenges. Patricia works online globally working individually with people, and she teaches Online Courses for HSPs that focus on understanding what it means to be an HSP, self-care, self-compassion, boundaries, perfectionism, mindfulness, communication and creating a lifestyle that honors us. For full show notes, guest information, and resources, 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

"Happiness is not a room. Compassion is not a place. Mercy is not a state. It passes, like anger, like hunger, like horniness...These are all emotions, and you have to observe them." ~Rabbi Iggy Gurin Oh my, it's been a week, hasn't it?! The windows are open and fresh air is pouring in. While that big picture feels a whole lot brighter today, there's still hella personal work to do. For anyone challenged by addiction, the world still feels awash in shadow. But Rabbi Igael Gurin-Malous says connection is the light in the darkness and everyone has access if they keep walking. Iggy is absolute sunshine in human form, a self-proclaimed wise-ass and walking contradiction. He's the f-bomb-dropping spiritual counselor, the rabbi with tattoos and the podcast, Tattoos and Torah. Professionally, Iggy's a renowned Talmud teacher and founder of T'shuvah Center in Brooklyn, NY, a space that offers those in recovery a community to which they can genuinely belong rather than simply fit in. Here, authenticity plays a vital role in the healing process, as does spirituality. Culturally-speaking, as Americans, we're programmed to focus only on our higher Self, to goal-set, to achieve, at the expense of better understanding our lower self. What lessons do we miss out on learning when we shy away from the uncomfortable feelings that reside in all of us? What could we gain by sitting with that otherness? "Life is about struggle...not in a depressing way, but life is about the journey, and life is about the struggle to balance all these different forces within us." *** Rabbi Igael "Iggy" Gurin-Malous is a renowned Talmud teacher, spiritual counselor, artist, and educator. He grew up between Belgium, Israel (so expect him to be well dressed and blunt) and the United States in a traditional Jewish Orthodox home. He is a frequent author, speaker, teacher and contributor on subjects ranging from Talmud, Jewish text, spirituality, addiction, recovery, fatherhood and LGBTQI+ issues. Today He is the founding rabbi and CEO of T'shuvah Center, a new long term Jewish recovery community in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. He was formerly the Director of Spiritual counseling at Beit T'Shuvah in Los Angeles. He is also Temple Israel of Hollywood Talmud Scholar in Residence, teaching weekly classes on Interpreting Talmud. Igael also serves on the board and faculty at the Academy of Jewish Religion of California. For full show notes, guest information, and resources, 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

"There's a lot going on for the election; we know that we are not dealing with business as usual. It's a huge turning point in the chart of the United States." ~Dawn Silver My past and future selves got together two weeks ago to record this episode addressing this singular moment in history. The election is technically over, all votes cast but possibly not counted; all tensions less inclined to boil over but the pot remains on the fire. In times like these, when terra firma still feels shaky, I've found it incredibly helpful to consult the wisdom of the stars, like a landlocked sailor. I take comfort in the points where psychology and astrology converge. Who better to help sift through the cosmic election detritus than Dawn Silver? Chicagoans might remember Dawn best as owner of Healing Earth Resources, the bookstore, organic cafe and healing center that shone like a metaphysical beacon in West Lakeview for 19 years. Dr. Silver is a naprapath, astrologer, herbalist, crystal healer and aromatherapist. She's also an educator, international lecturer, and an award-winning author. Dawn knows things. She grasps information written in lightyears and deciphers the ancient data for our modern world. Her naprapathic training provides a solid scientific foundation upon which her keen observations rest. That's not to say that I've invited Dawn here to predict the winner of this critical election (but, really, I did!). Instead, she's here to tease out the lessons and, yes, possible outcomes woven into the sky's patterns. So what will the stars serve up today? Take a deep breath and hit play. *** Dawn Silver is the author of the book and card deck Jewels of the Lotus Tibetan Gemstone Oracle, a recipient of the Coalition of Arts Award. She offers a series called Jewels of the Lotus Crystal Healing certification program. Dr. Silver is a Naprapath, Astrologer, Herbalist, Crystal Healer and Aromatherapist. She has lectured internationally on Crystal Healing, Astrology, Holistic Nutrition and Consciousness at a variety of conferences including the SpiritHeart and SeaAngels cruises, The Lightworkers, Golden Pyramid and Global Consciousness Conferences and SOTA and NCGR Astrological Conferences. Dawn Silver with her husband, Michael Wisniewski, founded and operated Healing Earth Resources, a metaphysical book and gift store, organic cafe and healing center in Chicago for 19 years. Her passions have encompassed significant work on numerous fundraisers including The Save the Earth Walk-a-Thon, which she founded in the 89 after the infamous Alaskan oil spill. For full show notes, guest information, and resources, 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

"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. *** 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 *** 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