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

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week's episode is the third part of our series with guest Dr. Sharon Martin, LCSW. This week in a replay episode you'll hear Sharon talk about setting boundaries with families that are enmeshed, and which prevent members from individuating.You'll hear Sharon talk about her Boundaries workbook, The Better Boundaries Workbook. There's a companion guided journal now available as well. And her latest book, "Cutting Ties With Your Parents: A workbook to help adults make peace with their decision, heal emotional wounds, and move forward with their lives," is now available. Order Sharon's new book now and find other great resources via her website: https://livewellwithsharonmartin.com 

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! As a follow up to last week's episode in which guest Dr. Sharon Martin described the communication dynamics and boundaries of families that could be described as unhealthy, toxic, dysfunctional, abusive, emotionally immature, Sharon is back with a new discussion. We talked about the challenges of accepting one's family of origin as it really is - and what that means. Sharon explained that a tremendous amount of grief can arise when we see that our family is not open to changing, and how those who decide to cut ties with their families can come out on the other side and move forward with their lives. My guest for this replay episode from 2021 is Dr. Sharon Martin. Sharon has been working with adults whose parents were emotionally immature, emotionally neglectful, emotionally unavailable, substance abusing, or otherwise unable to meet their children's attachment needs for 20 years, and she has written several books about healing from difficult childhoods. Her latest boo

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week we're talking about the communication dynamics and boundaries of families that could be described as unhealthy, toxic, dysfunctional, abusive, or emotionally immature. My guest for this replay episode from 2021 is Dr. Sharon Martin. Sharon has been working with adults whose parents were emotionally immature, emotionally neglectful, emotionally unavailable, substance abusing, or otherwise unable to meet their children's attachment needs for 20 years, and she has written several books about healing from difficult childhoods. Her latest book, "Cutting Ties With Your Parents: A workbook to help adults make peace with their decision, heal emotional wounds, and move forward with their lives," comes out in mid-October, 2024. Next week I'll share a new interview with Sharon about this book, so this week I wanted to give some context about these relational patterns. Pre-order Sharon's new book now and find other great resources via her website: https://li

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! The typical approach to trauma therapy has been to go down deep and excavate the trauma. While I love doing deep trauma therapy work as much as anyone else (likely more than some), if a client's nervous system doesn't have the capacity to tolerate "going there," it can be too much.That's why I was really curious to talk to Libby Murdoch, LPC, CCTP about her Resilience-Focused EMDR therapy training! The concept of building resilience is gaining traction in our field, and it makes sense! Listen in to our conversation as Libby and I discuss her EMDR Basic Training offerings and what's different about her Resilience-Focused approach.I met Libby last year in London at a conference where she was a speaker and I loved her enthusiasm for the work and her way of clearly explaining the neuroscience, making it accessible for more people to understand.  Libby Murdoch is a licensed professional counselor and certified clinical trauma professional who is an EMDRIA-appro

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! I recently connected with Amber Trejo, LMFT, who I've been following on Instagram (The Integrative Trauma Therapist) for a while. I really appreciate how she creates content for social media that educates people with accurate information about complex trauma in a compassionate and authentic way. We got together to talk about being trauma survivors and showing up authentically to help trauma survivors with the content we create. We ran out of time to go deeper in our conversation so we decided we'd follow up with another talk live on Instagram sometime later this month. I'm so happy I got the chance to meet Amber (virtually) and start this conversation about what it feels like to be a therapist with complex trauma creating content to educate people with complex trauma, and why this is so important to both of us. Check out Amber's website to find all of the resources she's created to help survivors of childhood trauma heal!More about Amber Trejo, LMFT: Amber is

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! I've been eager to find residential treatment programs that are truly trauma sensitive and even better if they actually include bottom up healing methods. This has not been easy to find, but this summer I visited my colleague and friend Benjamin Fry's Khiron Clinic in Oxfordshire, UK. I was able to see the beautiful grounds and meet the highly skilled staff. They generously answered my questions about their work and I learned about the investment Khiron Clinics have made in bringing in leaders in the trauma field to provide training, supervision and consultation to the clinicians and staff. It's pretty amazing, and I was honored to interview Benjamin about why he started Khiron and how the programs serve trauma survivors through communal living and bottom up therapies in a beautiful setting in the English countryside. He shared his healing journey and what he learned from his nervous breakdown. I encourage you to watch this episode on YouTube where you can see images

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week I was honored to interview Sivan Perdue, LCPC, ATR-BC, an art therapist who specializes in working with individuals and families impacted by dementia. We had a beautiful conversation that was thought provoking in terms of how our society treats individuals with dementia. I'm so appreciative of Sivan and the work she does. Sivan Perdue, an art therapist located in Salisbury, MD, is dedicated to advancing mental health care for older adults, with a particular focus on those living with dementia. Sivan earned her bachelor's degree in studio art from Nazareth College of Rochester and continued her education at Nazareth, obtaining a master's degree in art therapy.Through her private practice, Perdue Art Therapy, Sivan seamlessly blends creativity with therapeutic support. She specializes in assisting individuals coping with dementia and leads a tailored support program designed for people navigating the complexities of caring for their partners during this challe

This week's episode of Therapy Chat features Trauma Therapist Network member Dr. Julia Knach. Julia has worked for years with survivors of child abuse and is now the owner of a group practice North of Baltimore, Maryland as well as a training institute. In our conversation, Julia shares how she uses Brainspotting with sand tray therapy and play to help her clients work through their trauma. Listen to our conversation and be inspired to use some new ways of working with clients! Julia Knach is the owner and founder of My Crossing Paths Counseling Center and My Crossing Paths Training Center. Julia was previously the Manager of Clinical Services at Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC) and before that she was the Clinical Supervisor with Family and Children’s Services (FCS), supervising both Baltimore City and County. She works with all populations dealing with trauma and abuse. She is currently an adjunct professor at the Community College of Baltimore County, teaching in the human service counseling departm

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week's guest is Jeremy Mohler a licensed therapist, men's coach, and writer. We talked about how he facilitates men's groups and works with individual clients to help men connect with their emotions using IFS. Jeremy shares from his own experience of connecting with his vulnerable younger parts. I really appreciate what Jeremy is doing to help men have healthy relationships with the important people in their lives. Jeremy is the author of Make Men Emotional Again, an email newsletter helping men and couples have better relationships. He sees therapy clients in Baltimore and Silver Spring, Maryland. Follow Jeremy on Instagram Subscribe to his Substack here.Find Jeremy's website here.The Institute for Creative Mindfulness is an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Therapy training institute created by Dr. Jamie Marich, a clinician and author who is on a mission to confront stigma around mental health, trauma, and dissociation.They’re offering a special discount to Therapy Chat

This week on Therapy Chat, my guest is Dr. Thomas Hübl. We talked about his work over more than 2 decades working with groups of survivors of war, oppression, genocide and other collective traumas about how healing happens. This episode is particularly timely at this point in history - with violence, including war and political violence; oppression and the impact of a worldwide pandemic affecting millions of people, so many of us feel powerless and hopeless about the future. This episode is meant to inspire hope that healing is possible, even after the unthinkable occurs in communities.Thomas Hübl, PhD, is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change, integrating the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since the early 2000s, he has led large-scale events and courses on the healing of collective trauma. He is the author of Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma—and

This week on Therapy Chat, my guest is Theresa Soltzberg, LMFT, MBA, a Certified IFS therapist who uses expressive arts and specializes in complex trauma. Theresa and I had a fascinating conversation about her work. She described how she uses the Enneagram with Expressive Arts and IFS to help survivors of complex/developmental trauma to reconnect with their inner worlds. She combines these approaches to support healing through deep parts work and creativity, offering a playful, colorful and enjoyable journey of self-discovery, transformation and authenticity. She offers coaching and therapy groups as well as individual counseling sessions. She is currently working on a book that captures the steps of this journey focused on mixed media visual arts journaling. Find Theresa Soltzberg's website hereFind Theresa on social media; Instagram and LinkedInThe Institute for Creative Mindfulness is an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Therapy training institute created by Dr. Jamie Marich, a clinician and author who is on a miss

This week's Therapy Chat episode features Dr. Judy Ho, a triple board certified and licensed Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychologist, a tenured Associate Professor at Pepperdine University, and author of three books, including most recently, The New Rules of Attachment, which was published in March 2024. Despite her impressive academic credentials, Judy presents complicated information about attachment in a way that is relatable and easy to understand, even for those who are not mental health professionals.Find Dr. Judy Ho's website here: https://drjudyho.com/Find Dr. Judy Ho on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.Buy Dr. Judy Ho's newest book, "The New Rules of Attachment: how to heal your relationships, reparent your inner child, and secure your life vision" on Amazon here.The Institute for Creative Mindfulness is an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Therapy training institute created by Dr. Jamie Marich, a clinician and author who is on a mission to confront stigma around mental health, trauma,

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week’s guest is someone I really respect and admire, Dr. Arielle Schwartz! This time we talked about her newest book, Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga: therapeutic practices for Emotional Health. When I was recently in the UK, I attended a two-day workshop with Arielle where she taught some of the material from the book - it was wonderful! I highly recommend any of her offerings!Find Dr. Arielle Schwartz ‘s website with all of her offerings at: https://drarielleschwartz.com Find Dr. Arielle Schwartz’s newest book, Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga: therapeutic practices for emotional health, on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3WhYoF4The Institute for Creative Mindfulness is an EMDRIA-approved EMDR Therapy training institute created by Dr. Jamie Marich, a clinician and author who is on a mission to confront stigma around mental health, trauma, and dissociation.They’re offering a special discount to Therapy Chat listeners! Save 15% on any of their courses or CE programs including

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week’s episode features a beloved returning guest and a first time guest speaking about practical uses of Polyvagal Theory for therapists and anyone who wants to benefit from this valuable work. My guests today are Deb Dana, LCSW and Courtney Rolfe, LCPC, who co-authored the new book, Polyvagal Prompts: finding connection and joy through guided explorations. I was together with these 2 wonderful teachers just recently in Germany and England. By chance, Courtney and I were invited to the same dinner and a relationship that began with a podcast interview has become a friendship, luckily for me! I’m so grateful for the work that Deb and Courtney are doing to make Polyvagal Theory available for everyone’s use on our healing journeys!Find Deb Dana’s website with all of her offerings at: https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/Visit Courtney Rolfe’s website to keep up with everything she’s doing at: https://www.modernmindandheart.com/Find their book, Polyvagal Prompts: finding connecti

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week, just in time for the Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, my guest is Paula Scatoloni, LCSW. Paula Scatoloni is a Licensed Social Worker and a Healing Arts Practitioner in NC blending transpersonal psychology, somatics, and sound with the principles of traditional wisdom and earth-based spirituality. Paula created Transformative Harmonics as a bridge to help individuals shift their frequency into safety, connection, and empowerment so they can begin live a more purpose-driven life. We talked about how psychoacoustics can help with nervous system regulation and other transformative experiences, and my time in her Transformative Harmonics group earlier this year. It was amazing! Find Paula's website with all of her offerings at: www.paulascatoloni.comHere are the resources Paula mentioned in this week's episode:Somatic Experiencing International, https://traumahealing.org/Unyte-ILS, Safe and Sound, https://integratedlistening.com/products/ssp-safe-sound-protocol/

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week's interview features Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S. Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S, is an international teacher, creator of Synergetic Play Therapy, founder and President of the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute, co-founder of the Synergetic Education Institute, creator of the Business of Therapy and host of the Lessons from the Playroom podcast. She is the author of Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach for Integrating Intensity and is the 2015 recipient of the Association for Play Therapy’s Professional Education and Training Award of Excellence.I heard Lisa speak last year in London and really appreciated her vibrant, interesting way of speaking about neuroscience and nervous system regulation; the developing brain, and trauma and attachment. That's what we talked about in this week's episode. Hope you'll find it thought-provoking!Follow Lisa Dion on Instagram at: @synergeticplaytherapy @Synergeticplaytherapyinstitute @lisadionWatch this episode in vi

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In the last of the interviews from Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in March 2024, I was fortunate to have a deep conversation with my friend and colleague Dr. Leslie Korn. Leslie has been a guest on Therapy Chat previously and I've learned so much from her about integrative nutrition and trauma. This time we talked about the intersection between childhood trauma, "dis-ease," "dis-orders," autoimmune responses, integrative nutrition and overall health and wellbeing. I talked about my own journey with a health crisis between 2015 and 2019 and what I've learned since then. We touched on attachment, developmental trauma, hormones, autoimmune responses, integrative nutrition and mental health, among many other things, in this fascinating conversation!Work with Leslie via her website here. Check out Dr. Leslie Korn's trainings and other offerings related to trauma and integrative nutrition via the PESI/Psychotherapy Networker partner page and get special d

This week's episode is the fourth of five live interviews recorded live at Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in March. This week's guest is someone I have admired and learned from for years, Dr. Janina Fisher! Janina Fisher was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Networker this year. I was so honored to be able to sit down with her face to face to discuss a topic she spoke about at the conference, the challenge of how shame shows up in our lives and can present obstacles along our healing paths. I shared some of my observations from my own lived experience of the insidious way shame can creep in without us even realizing its impact, and Janina spoke about shame as a somatic adaptation, and how trauma therapists can work with shame effectively to help clients who are unconsciously operating and responding from that space. I was so grateful to speak with this amazing teacher who has done so much for the field of trauma therapy over more than 30 years! Because of some tech issues, this is a short

This week's episode, recorded live at Psychotherapy Networker in March, features a very special guest: Dr. Shawna Murray Browne, LCSW-C. I was so fortunate to spend time with Shawna as she spoke about what the process of decolonization and reconnecting to the land can look like. Her course, Decolonizing Therapy for Black Folks, was so deeply impactful for me, and I barely scratched the surface of it beginning four years ago. In our conversation we both shared about our personal experiences during our journeys toward decolonization, touching on many meaningful milestones along the way. I deeply admire Dr. Shawna Murray Browne, LCSW-C and I hope you will be equally inspired when you listen to or watch this episode of Therapy Chat. Listen to our conversation to learn about Shawna's training program in her Liberatory framework teaching therapists to recognize how our field is influenced by colonization and what we can do to begin working from a decolonization perspective. She speaks about how trauma can b

This week's episode is the second in the live episodes recorded at Psychotherapy Networker back in March - my guest today is Dr. Arielle Schwartz! We talked about our own healing journeys, how yoga can help trauma survivors with embodiment, integrative therapies, and much more. Be sure to check out the link in the show notes for special partner discounts on Arielle's many offerings through PESI! Dr. Arielle Schwartz is a clinical psychologist and leading voice in the healing of trauma. She is an internationally sought-out teacher and author of seven books including The Complex PTSD Workbook, The Post-Traumatic Growth Guidebook, EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology, and Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga. As the founder of the Center for Resilience Informed Therapy, she offers a mind-body approach to therapy for trauma and informational mental health and wellness updates through her writing, public speaking, social media presence, and blog. She believes that the journey of trauma recovery is an awakening