Therapy Chat | Psychotherapy | Mindfulness | Trauma | Attachment | Worthiness | Self Care | Parenting

What if our understanding of human connection is missing the very ground beneath our feet? This week I welcomed back my friend and colleague Linda Thai as she challenges Western psychology and offers a decolonized lens on attachment theory, moving beyond individual dynamics to explore how intergenerational trauma is inextricably linked to our displacement from land and culture. Linda is a former child refugee from Vietnam who, with her family, took refuge in Australia during the Vietnam War and is now based in Alaska. From the indigenous wisdom of Alaska to the historical echoes of the Great Irish Migration, Linda illustrates how "grief is the great metabolizer" and why true secure attachment requires reclaiming the ancestral rituals and land-based practices that modernity has stripped away. Join us for an essential conversation on rediscovering our place within the larger metabolistic web of life to foster collective healing and authentic cultural reclamation.Linda Thai, LMSW is an internationally-re

This week, we are talking about a topic which is coming up a lot lately as people are considering the pervasiveness of sexual violence in patriarchal cultures. My guest, highly respected colleague and friend Susan Pease Banitt, author of several books including "The Trauma Toolkit," and "Wisdom, Attachment + Love in Trauma Therapy: Beyond evidence based practice." Recently Susan contributed an essay to, and edited the new book, "Women Therapists on Healing: 11 personal essays about overcoming trauma." This book covers many topics related to healing from trauma and this week we're focusing on Susan's contribution, entitled "Did That Really Happen to Me?" In our conversation we'll talk about trauma, memory and how dissociation both protects us during traumatic experiences while also confusing ourselves and those we disclose our traumatic experiences to later. Susan shares how this book can be used to help trauma survivors understand what the healing process can look l

This week on Therapy Chat, we have a returning guest, Dr. Vincentia Schroeter. Vin, a Bioenergetic psychotherapist, and trainer, author of four books, and a painter, has recently published a memoir entitled "Babymaking", telling the story of her quest to have a baby. The book follows her journey through infertility, loss, and adoption.In our conversation, we discussed themes around the traumatic and spiritual wounding which show up in the process of navigating infertility and baby loss. So much of the identity of being a woman is connected to motherhood, and much of our culture is focused upon women's bodies, reproductive choices, and sexuality. Vin shares her experience of miscarrying during a therapy session and finding a path to motherhood that fit her life. There is so much in this episode that people don't often talk about, but women carry in their hearts. Please be gentle with yourself and pause to tend to whatever comes up during the emotionally intense portions of this episode, or skip

With Mother's Day approaching, this week we are revisiting one of my favorite conversations of 2025. My guest is Vanessa Bennett, LMFT, author of "The Motherhood Myth: A Depth Therapist's Guide to Redefine Parenting, Reimagine Intimacy, and Reclaim the Self." So many of us who were socialized as women are considering what it means to exist in a female body, and expectations around womanhood and mothering in a colonized culture - Vanessa and I discuss the shadow and light aspects of this identity, and our experiences, in this soulful conversation. Through the lens of depth psychology, Vanessa Bennett explores themes of motherhood, including the archetypal wounds that women carry. You may be familiar with the mother wound, and we also talk about how we carry sister wounds, witch wounds, father wounds and more. We discuss societal myths surrounding motherhood and the importance of reclaiming one's self and intuition after becoming a parent. Vanessa Bennett, LMFT, is a licensed depth psychothe

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's episode, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C revisits her interview from 2022 with Zahabiya "Zabie" Yamasaki, who is a survivor, an advocate and a teacher who is deeply passionate about helping survivors find healing after experiencing sexual violence.  Zabie Yamasaki, M.Ed., RYT is the Founder of Transcending Sexual Trauma through Yoga. Zabie has trained thousands of yoga instructors and mental health professionals and her trauma-informed yoga program and curriculum for survivors is now being implemented at over 25 colleges campuses and agencies including the University of California (UC) system, Stanford, USC, University of Notre Dame, and Johns Hopkins University. Zabie received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Social Behavior and Education at the UC Irvine and completed her graduate degree in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs at The George Washington University. Her work has been highlighted on CNN, NBC, KTLA 5, and The Huffington Post

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week I'm replaying my interview from 2021 with teacher and author Zulma Reyo, creator of the Zulma Reyo School of Consciousness. Zulma wrote the book "Inner Alchemy," which is now available for FREE in e-book format via her website. Zulma teaches us about consciousness and inner alchemy, and connecting with the "still, small voice" within.When we first met I really didn't know what a "Consciousness School" was, and now, five years later, many of us are awakening what is beyond ordinary states of consciousness. If you need to find your way back to connection with your inner knowing, settle in with a cup of tea and listen to my conversation with Zulma Reyo. Wherever you are along that path, you are likely to find something in this conversation that will get you thinking! Zulma Reyo is a native of Puerto Rico educated in the U.S.A. She holds an M.A. in Education from New York University. She has lived in the U.K. and spent a decade of research in

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week I'm welcoming back a guest who was first on Therapy Chat a few years ago - Akilah Riley Richardson, MSW, CCTP.Akilah is a therapist specializing in relationships who is the author of the new book, "Marginalized Couples in Therapy: Interventions for Healing From Systemic Trauma" with WW Norton Mental Health publishing. Akilah shares that those who carry marginalized identities often face systemic trauma from various societal structures, including education, judicial, and religious systems.She emphasizes the need for therapists to understand the complexities of identity and systemic oppression in order to better support their clients. She offers resources to support therapists in this important work. If you're a therapist, even if you work with individuals, responsiveness to the experiences of those who are marginalized by the dominant culture is imperative to ethical practice. Resources Mentioned:Akilah Riley Richardson's Website: https://akilahrileyr

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week I’m sharing my conversation with attachment expert and author Dafna Lender about how she works with parents to help their children. As a family therapist, Dafna explains she spends at least 50% of the work with the parents, learning about what they experience physiologically and emotionally during stressful interactions with their kids. She talks about how some of the perfectionistic modern ideas about parenting make things more difficult for families, and how she uses EMDR and Somatic Experiencing in her work with parents.Dafna, the author of “Integrative Attachment Family Therapy: A Clinical Guide to Heal and Strengthen the Parent-Child Relationship through Play, Co-regulation, and Meaning-Making” shares about her Integrative Attachment Family Therapy (IAFT) model and her “Anti-Perfect Parent” program.  Dafna Lender, LCSW, is an international speaker, trainer, and author with over 30 years of experience working with children and families. She is a certified trainer an

This week I'm sharing my recent interview with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi, a leader in the trauma, expressive arts and art therapy fields. In our conversation Cathy explores the transformative power of expressive arts therapy in healing from traumatic experiences.She discusses the evolution of arts-based approaches, the importance of movement and sensory processing, and the distinctions between art therapy and expressive arts therapy. Cathy Malchiodi emphasizes the need for therapists to create safe environments and engage in expressive practices themselves. She discusses the Circle of Capacity, a concept she created in response to the Window of Tolerance concept from Dr. Daniel Siegel's work. The discussion also touches on the role of mindfulness and the significance of small moments of safety in therapeutic settings.An internationally known psychotherapist and expressive arts therapist, Dr. Cathy Malchiodi has helped shape the field of traumatic stress through her decades of work with children, adults, fam

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week I interviewed Cynthia Schwartzberg about her innovative approach to therapy known as Harmonic Brain Healing™. Cynthia, the author of The Curious Voyage to Authenticity: A Rule-Breaking Guide for Personal Growth," is a Brainspotting trainer with whom I took my Phase 2 training. We talked about the impact of trauma on memory and the importance of rhythm in healing. Cynthia discusses how Harmonic Brain Healingcan help clients who feel stuck in their trauma and emphasizes the role of imagination in creating new possibilities for healing. She shared insights on memory reconsolidation and practical applications for therapists in this fascinating conversation. Cynthia Schwartzberg, LCSW, is a psychotherapist, trainer, and speaker with a passion for making deep healing practical, experiential, and human. She is the creator of Harmonic Brain Healing™—an integrative approach that blends focused attention, imagery, and nervous-system support to help people shift stuck patterns

As Black History month ends and Women's History month begins, this week's episode is a conversation with Dr. LaNail R. Plummer, author of The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women. Dr. Plummer, the Counseling Department Chair at Trinity University, explains that while many Black women seek therapists who look like them, with only 4% of the mental health workforce made up of Black women, there was a need for a book for white clinicians and others who are not Black to learn how best to serve this group. As Dr. Plummer points out, Black women are not a monolithic group, and rather than the burden being on them to educate their therapists about culturally competent therapy, clinicians can pick up this book and learn for themselves the best ways to support Black women. Dr. Plummer adds that she hopes Black women will also find her book to be a valuable resource in their healing journeys.Dr. LaNail R. Plummer is a visionary mental health expert, educator, speaker, and author dedicated to redefining how

Therapists and other helping professionals are being stretched to our limits during these stressful times, and this episode is intended to support us, so we can maintain our capacity to support our clients. This week I'm replaying my previous conversation with Dr. Rebecca Eldredge about why rather than being self-indulgent, self care is an ethical imperative for all of us in the helping professions. My guest, Dr. Rebecca Eldredge is a licensed psychologist who guides fellow therapists, healthcare professionals, and socially conscious leaders on how to support social justice, navigate courageous conversations, and expand emotional well-being to create compassionate, just spaces for themselves, their teams, and the clients they support. She and I spoke about the importance of standing up for one's values, and the imperative for social justice advocates to focus on self-care in order to sustain their capacity to continue in the work. In addition to offering culturally sensitive therapy, Rebecca emphasize

This week's episode is a replay of a previous conversation with Dr. Gail Gazelle, a former hospice physician, part-time Harvard Medical School Assistant Professor, and a Master Certified Coach for physicians. Gail discusses her own experiences with burnout and how all exhausted and burned out physicians, healthcare professionals and other leaders can cultivate resilience for long, fulfilling careers. After working in the field of end-of-life care for most of her professional career, Dr. Gazelle shifted her focus to another vulnerable population: physicians in the modern American healthcare system.\Whether you are there, or wanting to prevent getting to that point, you will find hope and resources for healing in this episode. And if you are a therapist seeking support, learn about Trauma Therapist Network and find all the resources from this episode below. Resources for this episode:Visit Dr. Gail Gazelle's website: https://gailgazelle.com/More Resources:Therapists - if you're ready to allow yourse

This week's episode is a replay of my previous conversation with Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, author of Trauma Stewardship and founder of the Trauma Stewardship Institute. We discussed the problem of burnout among helping professionals, and how it is possible to recover. Laura is a funny and wise guest, and if you're feeling overwhelmed, you may appreciate this episode. We discussed trauma exposure, an occupational hazard for those in the helping professions, and something that has affected many of us who are caregivers, whether or not that's what we do for work. You'll hear about how to come back from secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma and burnout. Laura van Dernoot Lipsky shares what helped her when she reached the point of knowing she needed a break from trauma work. Whether you are there, or wanting to prevent getting to that point, you will find hope and resources for healing in this episode. And if you are a therapist seeking support, learn about Trauma Therapist Network and find

Happy New Year! This week, I'm reflecting on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026, with some inspiration from some of 2025's wonderful podcast guests. It was a year! I hope you will find some ideas about how you can go forward with hope in 2026 through the wisdom shared by these guests. ResourcesFrancis Weller’s newest book, In the Absence of the Ordinary: Soul Work for Uncertain TimesDr. Sabrina N’Diaye’s podcast, Soul Speak: Conversations for Your Healing JourneyLearn about the Mind, Body + Soul Healing Retreat for Therapists in Tulum, Mexico here.Additional ResourcesTherapists - if you're ready to allow yourself to be held in nature with a community of like-minded therapists, my Mind, Body + Soul Healing Retreat for Therapists in Tulum, Mexico is here. Space is still available for our April retreat and our November dates will be announced soon!Also, new members are being accepted in the Trauma Therapist Network membership community. Learn more here.Are you a helping professional who wants to learn mo

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week, as a follow-up to last week's episode on Family Estrangement, I'm speaking with Marriage and Family Therapist Dr. Tracy Dalgleish about the complexity of in-law and extended family relationships. We discussed how "good girl" conditioning and other cultural expectations contribute to tension when families join together through marriage. I talked about my experiences as a young wife integrating into a new family dynamic and what I wish I had known back then. Dr. Dalgleish describes some of the factors that contribute to healthy relationships and her VAULT Method that she developed to help couples and families navigate these challenges. If you found last week's episode to be interesting, this will provide more food for thought! Resources from this episode:Find Dr. Tracy Dalgleish's newest book, You, Your Husband and His Mother here.Dr. Tracy's podcast, membership and much more can be found here. Therapists - if you're ready to allow yoursel

Welcome back to Therapy Chat + Happy New Year! This week's guest is Dr. Sharon Martin, LCSW, who specializes in family estrangement in her practice in San Jose, California. Sharon, a TTN member, is the author of the Better Boundaries Workbook as well as her newest book, Cutting Ties WIth Your Parents. Sharon and I got together on Instagram Live to share our thoughts on family estrangement after Oprah posted a podcast episode about this "new trend." In our conversation you'll hear me share about my own experiences of family estrangement as an adult child, and as a parent of adult children. We delve into the complexities of family estrangement, exploring the emotional and psychological impacts of cutting ties with family members. We discussed the commonality of family ruptures, the role of childhood experiences in shaping adult relationships, and the guilt that often accompanies estrangement. We talked about the fears parents have about letting go of their adult children, and simple changes pare

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's episode, I'm bringing you a replay of my conversation with with Kristen D. Boice, LMFT, an EMDR and Brainspotting therapist who is the owner of a trauma-focused group practice called Pathways to Healing in Noblesville, Indiana.Kristen D. Boice is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 20 years experience and owner of a group private counseling practice, Pathways to Healing Counseling. She’s also the host of the Close the Chapter Podcast and a sought-after international speaker. Kristen is an EMDR-trained psychotherapist, which, as she mentions in the interview, is one of the most effective, researched-based trauma treatment modalities along with Brainspotting.She specializes in improving self-worth, helping couples and families resolve conflicts and develop powerful communication skills, effective parenting strategies, making life transitions, grief and loss, reducing anxiety and working through trauma. Most importantly, she instils hope, helps peop

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's episode, I'm bringing you a replay of two of my conversations with Rotem Brayer, talking all about EMDR and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy. If you're an EMDR therapist or a therapist who is interested in learning about psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, this episode is for you! And if you're someone who is interested in learning about how EMDR and psychedelic-assisted therapy can be combined, you're in the right place!Rotem Brayer, M.Ed., LPC, is a certified EMDR therapist, EMDR consultant, and advanced EMDR trainer. He's the founder of the EMDR Learning Community, a community that brings EMDR therapists together and provides education on EMDR therapy and the integration of this modality with other treatment approaches.Find Rotem's book, The Art & Science of EMDR, on Amazon here.Join Rotem's free learning community for EMDR therapists here: EMDR Learning Community.Rotem's website is here: https://emdartnscience.com/Additiona

This week's Therapy Chat features two leaders in our field, Thomas Hubl, PhD and Dick Schwartz, PhD speaking about the importance of including a collective lens in trauma work. In this conversation, we explored the interdependence of individual and collective healing, the distinction between spirituality and religion, and the importance of addressing legacy burdens and cultural trauma. We talk about the popular culture's view of healing and how our culture promotes spiritual bypass through "quick fix" approaches to wellness. Listen in to this inspiring conversation with these two leaders.Key Takeaways from this Episode:Individual and collective healing are interdependent.Spirituality is distinct from religion and can be healing.Healing can occur more rapidly in group settings.Legacy burdens from ancestors can impact current generations.Cultural trauma needs to be addressed for healing to occur.Time alone does not heal wounds; action is required.We must both confront experiences of victimizatio