Suzi Landolphi: Healing Trauma and the Gifts of Spirit

On episode twenty-three of Mindful Warrior Radio, I am joined by Suzi Landolphi, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with extensive experience working with veterans. Most recently, Suzi worked as a Senior PATHH Guide at Boulder Crest Retreat (BCR) in Bluemont, Virginia, a privately funded retreat for combat veterans, their families, and first responders. Suzi is one of the co-creators of BCR’s signature program: Progressive and Alternative Training for Healing Heroes (PATHH). PATHH is the nation’s first curriculum-based retreat with eighteen months of follow-up support based on the science of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG). Suzi’s understanding of and expertise in childhood trauma and it effects on adult development is a cornerstone of the success of the PATHH program. In addition to BCR, Suzi has consulted for The Wounded Warrior Project, Save A Warrior, Veterans 360, The EOD Warrior Foundation, Operation Mend, and Team Rubicon. She is also on the Advisory Board of Merging Vets and Players (MVP), an organization dedicated to connecting and supporting elite athletes and veterans. In 2007, Suzi founded BIG Heart Ranch and Farm (BHR) in Malibu, California she works with clients of all ages to form deep connections with animals to facilitate healing from the effects of trauma. While managing BHR, Suzi also developed an equine therapy model called Horse Inspired Growth and Healing (HIGH) which includes both ground and mounted activities to nurture healing through trauma and to support holistic wellness. In addition, Suzi was the first Clinical Director of Alo House Recovery Centers, a progressive strengths-based, dual-diagnosis treatment community with facilities in Malibu and Los Angeles. Alo and Suzi continue to support veterans and first responders by creating new treatment programs housed at a working horse ranch.Before becoming a licensed therapist, Suzi received a BA in Theater from Middlebury College and worked as a theater, video, and film producer/director. She hosted her own television and radio programs in Los Angeles and is a frequent guest on national talk shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show.Suzi and I talked about managing life transitions, the connection between self-confidence and self-value, how our childhood impacts every part of our adult lives, how to mitigate triggers and emotions, the role that animals–and horses, in particular–play in healing, the importance of trusting your spirit rather than your thoughts and feelings, and the power of sharing your spirit with others.Suzi talks about the power of self-value: “Confidence comes from value. If your value is about winning, if your value is about the uniform, if your value is about your title and the people you hang out with and then all of that is gone, then most of your value is what you do and not who you are.”Suzi reflects on the human spirit: “Spirit is the basis of our principles. It shouldn’t be our thoughts. It shouldn’t be our feelings. I may be the only therapist who says I don’t give a shit about your thoughts, and I don’t give a shit about your feelings. I care what you do! And spirit is ‘do.’ It’s what you do! It’s how you walk the surface. It’s what you say. It’s who you are with. It’s how you are with yourself and others. That is spirit.”To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com