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

Welcome to this special Sexual Assault Awareness Month Episode! I'm sharing two episodes from early in Therapy Chat's life on the issue of sexual assault. After the #MeToo movement, founded by Tarana Burke, ignited on social media over the past year, the general public began to understand what most women and many men already knew: sexual violence can affect anyone, and its effects are deep and longlasting. This is a problem in our culture which can be ended, but not without everyone gaining awareness. Statistics indicate that one in four women and one in six men will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a great time to learn more about this important issue. Here's an article from the New York Times about why Tarana Burke started this movement: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/20/us/me-too-movement-tarana-burke.html What you’ll hear in this episode: Two types of sexual assault are Childhood Sexual Abuse (to be covered in a later episode) and Sexual

Welcome to episode 131 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. This week’s guest features Anna Seewald who talks about why parenting is so hard.   Anna Seewald is the founder of Authentic Parenting®. She is a speaker, author and a parent educator. She also has a popular Podcast on iTunes called Authentic Moments. She is a mom to a vibrant 9-year-old who doesn’t approve of her fashion choices. As a child she survived through a severe earthquake. She lost her young mom. She has been through trauma, pain, and a lot suffering. With a strong passion helping children Anna dedicated her life working with abused, neglected, orphaned, institutionalized children and juvenile delinquents. After nearly 20 years she realized that it is through helping parents she can help children. Today she is supporting parents around the world by moving from traditional ways of parenting into more peaceful, conscious ways by making sense of their past life experiences, healing from trauma, building effective communi

Welcome to episode 130 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. This week’s guest features Lanie Smith who talks about spirituality as burnout prevention using eco-art therapy. Lanie Smith, MPS, ATR, a registered art therapist, has worked in a variety of settings for several years. Her work began with the Nat'l Institute of Health, researching the efficacy of art therapy with war-affected youth in N. Uganda, followed by two publications. Lanie developed environmental art therapy for sustainable practice at numerous sites in the Phoenix area. She provides art therapy to others to support the prevention of burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma. Lanie also supervises and trains on the ethical considerations regarding the use of art in therapy. Resources https://www.laniesmithcoaching.com Register now for the next Daring Way™ and Relational Equine Assisted Learning retreat: https://laurareaganlcswc.com/retreat Therapists! Would you like to get a free month of service with Bright

Welcome to episode 129 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. This week’s guest features Xanthia Johnson. She is the founder of Urban Playogoly in Washington, DC. Urban Playology provides psychotherapy services to children, adolescents, individuals, couples and families. During defining transitions, she provides a safe place for you to be who you are. Whether you are 2 years old or 85 years young, you will enjoy a transformative experience. Her clinical areas of specialization and interest include but are not limited to: Women & Women of Color Issues, Urban Play Therapy, Expressive Arts, Sandtray Therapy, Grief & Loss, LGBTIQ Folk, TF-CBT, Broad Spectrum Couples & Family Work At Urban Playology, they utilize an Integrative therapy model with emphasis on advocacy and social justice for all clients. This approach helps them provide optimal support and sustainable nurturing for all clients. They offer professional training, clinical supervision, and clinical consultation on advoc

Welcome to episode 128 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura speaks to David Treleaven, PhD. David's book is Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness. David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional whose work focuses on the intersection of mindfulness, trauma, and social justice. He received his master’s in counseling psychology at the University of British Columbia, and a doctorate in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. This year he'll be offering workshops on trauma-sensitive mindfulness at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School, Omega Institute's Mindfulness and Education Conference, and True North Insight in Montréal, Canada. He is a senior teacher with Strozzi Institute, which helps leaders embody skillful action, and with generative somatics, an organization that integrates personal and social transformation. Resources: https://www.davidtreleaven.com https://www.

Welcome to episode 127 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura speaks to Lynn Fraser about mindfulness & somatic work in healing trauma.   Lynn Fraser is a senior meditation and yoga teacher in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation tradition; and a Senior Facilitator of the Living Inquiries and Natural Rest. She brings the depth and richness of twenty years experience teaching meditation and yoga philosophy to her work. She specializes in holding a safe and trusted space for healing trauma in her private Living Inquiries online sessions with individuals. Lynn lives near family, the ocean and forest in Nova Scotia Canada where she also plays flute in a jazz band. Lynn is a student and teaches within the Himalayan Tradition  of  Swami Rama as taught by Swami Veda Bharati. She is certified through the Association of Himalayan Yoga Meditation Societies (AHYMSIN) and the Yoga Center of Calgary. She was a founding member of the organizing committee for the AHYMSIN teacher training progra

Welcome to episode 126 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura speaks to Dr. Maelisa Hall about how much is too much for a therapist to share in a session? Dr. Maelisa Hall is a licensed clinical psychologist and her passion is to help therapists create rock-solid documentation so they can spend more time with their clients and less time worrying about paperwork.  After eight years working in mental health agencies, she started her own company to help therapists learn how to make documentation flow naturally, decrease their workload and be confident in all their paperwork. She shows clinicians that paperwork is a valuable part of therapy and that it doesn’t have to be slow and painful! You’ll have more time to work with clients because you’ll know you can take on the paperwork no problem. Maelisa consults with psychotherapists in private practice, agencies and group practices to teach them things like how to write great notes, what to consider if insurance is involved, how to d

Welcome to episode 125 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura speaks to Dr. Loretta Pyles about her work and new book “Healing Justice”. Loretta came to mind-body healing practices in 1999, after leaving a difficult long-term relationship and becoming burnt out from her social services and social change work. She found herself anxious, grief-ridden, and disconnected from her body, mind and spirit. Over the years, she has committed herself to a journey toward wholeness, presence, and compassion. The realizations that she later found in meditation and yoga deepened her ability to understand the ways in which oppression and undigested experiences rest in the mind-body continuum.  To learn more about these parts of herself and to experience life more fully, she practices a range of modalities including mindfulness, lovingkindness, breath work, physical poses, devotional mantra, group support, and self-inquiry. Loretta’s sensibility about transformative social change was formed dur

Welcome to episode 124 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura welcomes back Dr. Leslie Korn.   Dr. Leslie Korn has had a bi-lingual (Eng/Span) clinical practice since 1977 and providing over 50,000 hours of integrative health care to people with a diverse range of health problems in both urban and rural settings. She is the author of 4 books; Nutritional Essentials for Mental Health, (Norton, 2015), Cultural Competency Workbook, (Premiere Publishing , 2015) Rhythms of Recovery Trauma Nature and the Body (Routledge, 2013), and Preventing and Treating Diabetes Naturally, The Native Way, (DayKeeper Press, 2009) and her latest book The Good Mood Kitchen will be out in 2017. Dr. Korn consults to clinicians and advises clients who want to people to reduce or eliminate pharmaceutical use and in particular psychotropic medications. She works with people who want to integrate natural approaches to their health care and she has a specialty practice in mental health nutrition and body or

Welcome to episode 123 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura speaks to Julia Alexander, LMSW, M.Ed. For the last decade, Julia has worked to create effective spaces for people to heal. She believes children’s behavior, especially behavior that appears problematic, often meets an important need. Using a compassionate and flexible treatment approach, grounded in the neurobiology of trauma, Julia aims to support children and caregivers in understanding the purpose of current behaviors in order to eventually develop more adaptive coping strategies. She knows that the most effective treatment involves a recognition of children, caregiver and system strengths and needs with a focus on connected, attuned relationships. Julia was trained by leading experts in intergroup dialogue facilitation and social justice curriculum design. She has extensive training in the Attachment, Regulation and Competency Trauma Treatment model and has attended trainings in Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation

Welcome to episode 122 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura has a deeper discussion about intimate partner violence. Resources: 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) National Domestic Violence Hotline https://nnedv.org/ https://www.techsafety.org/resources/ www.ncadv.org I talked about the HBO series “Big Little Lies” https://cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2881 Leave me a message via Speakpipe by going to https://therapychatpodcast.com and clicking on the green Speakpipe button. Thank you for listening to Therapy Chat! Please be sure to go to iTunes and leave a rating and review, subscribe and download episodes. You can also download the Therapy Chat app on iTunes by clicking here. Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Hey all! I'm not releasing a new episode the week of February 1, because I'm busy working on my Q&A episode series which will start next week with Elizabeth's question about my interview with Tamara Hill on Trauma Bonding.  I'll miss you but please join us in the Therapy Chat Facebook group! To join, request to join on FB here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TherapyChat/  and then sign up for the Therapy Chat e-mail list! You'll then be added to the group. Talk to you soon! New episode February 8th!  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome to episode 121 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today Laura speaks about bottom-up processing using sensorimotor psychotherapy with Dr. Pat Ogden. SPI is a professional educational organization that designs and provides the highest-level trainings and services to serve a global network of mental health practitioners, and for the public at large. Seeking to enhance human relationships, our paradigm is substantiated by interpersonal neurobiology and impelled by mindfulness applied in interactive contexts. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy draws from somatic therapies, neuroscience, attachment theory, and cognitive approaches, as well as from the Hakomi Method. Since the first course in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy was offered in the early 1980’s, it has gained international acclaim. The first book on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy®, Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy, published in the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology in 2006 gained international acclai

Welcome to episode 120 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. Today is a solo episode where I’m continuing the conversation on from episode 117 about Parts Work. Resources: IFS website for resources I mentioned: https://selfleadership.org/ifs-store.html Interview with Renee Beck on the Shadow: http://traffic.libsyn.com/baltimoreannapolispsychotherapypodcast/Renee_Beck.mp3 Interview with Lourdes Viado on the Shadow: http://traffic.libsyn.com/baltimoreannapolispsychotherapypodcast/Lourdes_interview.mp3 Interview with Keri Nola on the Shadow: http://traffic.libsyn.com/baltimoreannapolispsychotherapypodcast/Keri_Nola_Shadow.mp3 Poem: The Guest House by Rumi The Ferentz Institute: http://theferentzinstitute.com Leave me a message via Speakpipe by going to https://therapychatpodcast.com and clicking on the green Speakpipe button. Thank you for listening to Therapy Chat! Please be sure to go to iTunes and leave a rating and review, subscribe and download episodes. You can also download the T

Hi all! This week's episode is just a quick hello and a few words about the New Year. Hope you are all enjoying a peaceful return from holiday fun and that you've been able to take it easy. I wanted to share my thoughts on New Year's resolutions. I also gave a little preview of what's coming up over the next few weeks! If you'd like to contribute to the Q&A episodes, e-mail Laura at laura@laurareaganlcswc.com or visit https://therapychatpodcast.com and click on the Speakpipe button to leave a message. If your question is selected, you may hear it on a future episode along with a response from Laura. Listeners to Therapy Chat are welcome to join the Facebook group where you can interact with other listeners and host Laura Reagan, as well as some past guests. Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/TherapyChat/ and follow the instructions. Request to join the Facebook group and go to the link provided to sign up for the Therapy Chat Facebook group e-mail list. Listeners in the group gave f

Feeling holly-jolly? Maybe not so much. In this episode of the Baltimore Annapolis Psychotherapy Podcast host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C discusses three reasons why for some of us the holidays can be the most stressful time of the year. Listen in if you've ever felt stressed during the holidays with all of the emphasis on consumerism and comparing your house to everyone else's. This podcast episode is great for people who have strained relationships with family of origin, childhood trauma, and highly conflictual families.    Thank you for listening to Therapy Chat! Please be sure to go to iTunes and leave a rating and review, subscribe and download episodes. You can also download the Therapy Chat app on iTunes by clicking here. Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome to episode 117 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. I’m delighted to have as my guest today, Dr. Richard Schwartz.   Richard Schwartz earned his Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University, after which he began a long association with the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and more recently at The Family Institute at Northwestern University, attaining the status of Associate Professor at both institutions. He is coauthor, with Michael Nichols, of Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, the most widely used family therapy text in the United States. Dr. Schwartz developed Internal Family Systems in response to clients' descriptions of experiencing various parts–many extreme–within themselves. He noticed that when these parts felt safe and had their concerns addressed, they were less disruptive and would accede to the wise leadership of what Dr. Schwartz came to call the "Self." In developing IFS, he recognized that,

Welcome to episode 116 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. I’m delighted to have as my guest today, Sarah Peyton. Sarah Peyton, international speaker and facilitator, has a passion for weaving together neuroscience knowledge and experiences of healing that unify people with their brains and bodies. Sarah makes Interpersonal Neurobiology research available for our embodied brains to use in living at peace with ourselves. Funny, touching, and filled with personal stories and up-to-date research on our nervous systems and how they interact with each other, her presentations change lives and invite self-acceptance and self-compassion. Sarah offers healing experiences of hearing ourselves and others deeply (using the precision and resonant language that come alive in the long-term study of Nonviolent communication) and 3D body-centered explorations of families over generations (through family constellation work.) Sarah is a CNVC Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication;  an experienced

I’m delighted to welcome back Kyle Davies this week for part two of our conversation on connecting with your true self. Kyle Davies is a wellbeing and mindset coach, author and trainer. He specializes in helping individuals and groups to optimise their energy and wellbeing, combat stress and stress related symptoms, improve mental clarity and performance, and develop inner resilience and flow. Kyle originally qualified as a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and  is the creator of Energy-Flow Coaching™. He spent a chunk of his career pioneering a new approach for treating chronic fatigue and pain, anxiety, depression and other stress related symptoms – which is reflected in the recently published book, The Intelligent Body. Kyle’s work is about developing people from the inside out. He doesn’t try to get people to learn loads of mental techniques that they quickly forget, or to try and fix their environment because situations and environments often can’t be changed. Rather he helps people to gain a better an

Have you ever wondered about Shamanism? Dr. Carmen Roman is a psychologist from Mexico who now practices in California, and she explains how she developed an interest in this work. Dr. Carmen Roman is a psychotherapist with 25 years of experience working in both Mexico and in California the last 5 of those years. She offers you a combination of both cultures and both worlds of psychology. She specializes in trauma, sexual abuse, and immigration issues. Dr. Roman works mainly with couples and families. Some clinical issues she works with are: anxiety, depression, fear, severe trauma, or low self-esteem. Based on Gestalt therapy she helps her clients to live with awareness, responsibility and in the here-and-now. Aided by the transpersonal psychology she addresses issues of spirituality, the use of meditation and shamanic experiences. She is a specialist in creative expression in therapy at master's and PhD levels. Thus, most likely you will work with creative expression tools you already have or will learn