Trauma, Training & Transformation with Dr James Alder Exploring how movement heals the mind.

Pressure does not simply test you. It reveals you. In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation , Dr James Alder sits down with Kingsley Jones to explore the psychology of elite sport, identity under pressure, and what high-performance environments truly demand from leaders and athletes. Elite sport is not just about winning. It is about identity, resilience, leadership, emotional cont...

The Pressure of the Whistle | Grassroots Rugby, Respect & Player Safety with Keith Lewis In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation , Dr James Alder speaks with Keith Lewis, Hampshire referee and founder of RugbyReferee.net , about the growing mental health pressures facing grassroots rugby, match officials, and community sport. Rugby union is built on discipline, resilience, and...

In this powerful episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation , we explore trauma recovery, mental health, movement as medicine, burnout, resilience, and human-centred healthcare. This conversation bridges psychology, embodied healing, identity, and modern medicine. Your engagement genuinely matters. Every follow, share, comment, or message helps this community grow and supports honest convers...

From the Pitch to Purpose: Cindy Tye on Football, Identity, and Leadership Across the Women’s Game What happens when performance meets purpose—and identity becomes the real legacy? In this powerful episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation , Dr. James Alder sits down with Cindy Tye , a respected leader in women’s soccer, to explore the lived realities of leadership, identity, and mental res...

What does it really take to lead humans, not just athletes, under Olympic pressure? In this powerful episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation, Dr. James Alder sits down with Jack Hanratty, the Irish-born rugby coach who crossed the Atlantic to Nova Scotia and helped shape the Canada Women’s Sevens Olympic Silver Medal–winning team. This is not a highlight reel. This is a deep conversation...

Movement Is Medicine. Healing Is a Skill. Strength Begins with Showing Up. What if pain is not something to fight, but something trying to teach you how to live differently in your body? In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation , I sit down with Tom Morrison for a raw and honest conversation about how movement becomes a pathway through stress, anxiety, injury, and the quiet weight...

This Is Not Just a Military Story. It’s a Human One. In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation, I sit down with military veteran Rick Clement to explore what happens after the uniform comes off, when service, injury, and identity after military life collide, and the real work of rebuilding, recovery, and purpose after service begins. Rick reflects on joining the UK Armed Forces, the...

This isn’t just a rugby league conversation. It’s a story about identity, pain, resilience, and the fight that never leaves you. In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation , Dr James Alder sits down with rugby league legend Micky Mcilorum for a raw, powerful, and deeply human conversation about life inside elite professional sport, and the cost of surviving it. From his upbringing and...

In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation , host James Alder sits down with Emma Taylor , a former Canadian international rugby player from Nova Scotia , now competing in professional women’s rugby with Ealing Trail Finders . Emma shares her journey through rugby, from her early influences and development pathways to the challenge of transitioning into the national team environment. S...

In this episode of Trauma, Training & Transformation , Dr. James Alder sits down with Jamin Hodgkins for a conversation that goes far beyond rugby. This is not a highlight reel. It is a reckoning. From Bermuda to Canada to the UK, Jamin’s journey exposes the hidden cost of chasing performance across borders, systems, and expectations. What happens when your body keeps moving forward, but your...

In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation , I sit down with Matt Gallant, an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach in English Premiership rugby, to explore what it truly means to build stronger humans rather than just stronger athletes. We move beyond the weight room and into the real demands of high performance sport. Pressure. Identity. Emotional load. And the psychological resi...

In this episode, I sit down with rugby coach Stuart Edwards for an honest and timely conversation about coaching, vulnerability, and mental health. We explore what it really means to support coaches in high pressure environments and why connection, not invincibility, is the foundation of effective leadership and wellbeing. Stuart challenges the long held belief that coaches must carry everything a...

In high-performance sport, resilience isn’t optional, it’s the foundation. In this episode, we sit down with the incredible Emma Delory, a coach whose leadership, clarity, and compassion redefine what true athlete support looks like. Emma opens up about navigating selection and deselection with integrity, building strong coaching relationships, and setting expectations that help athletes grow, eve...

In this episode I sit down with Sabeeha Somani to explore the deeper meaning of yoga and why it has become such an important practice for mental health. Sabeeha shares her journey from competitive gymnastics to finding yoga as a space where she could breathe again, release pressure, and reconnect with herself. We talk about how breath control can calm the mind, how movement can unlock emotions tha...

In this episode of Trauma Training and Transformation, Dr. James Alder and performance coach Charlie Blaxland discuss the evolution of fitness from a purely physical endeavor to a mindful practice that promotes mental well-being. They explore the importance of motivation, discipline, and community in fitness, the impact of social media, and the significance of nutrition and breathing in achieving...

In this episode of Trauma, Training and Transformation, Dr. James Alder and Mark Mulcahy discuss the profound journey of rebuilding oneself after injury. They explore how injuries not only affect physical capabilities but also deeply impact identity and mental resilience. Mark shares his personal experiences with a life-altering heart condition that led to partial blindness and how he transformed...

The conversation delves into the serious implications of brain damage in combat sports, emphasizing how even minor impacts can accumulate and lead to significant health risks. It highlights the inadequacies of current head injury assessments and the potential dangers of returning athletes to play too soon. Keywords Mental health, Movement, combat sports, brain damage, head injuries, traumatic brai...

endurance, resilience, identity, military transition, mental health, veterans, swimming, charity, personal growth, sports In this conversation, Dr. James Alder and Adam Diver @Adam Diver, discuss the themes of endurance, resilience, and identity, particularly in the context of military veterans transitioning to civilian life. Adam shares his personal journey from military service to becoming an en...

In this powerful conversation, Dr James Alder sits down with Professor Eric Anderson, a leading scholar of masculinity in sport, to ask a simple question with complex answers: what happens when silence hurts more than speaking up? Together they trace the cultural shift from old models of toughness to more inclusive, emotionally honest forms of masculinity. They explore bromance and male friendship...

In this episode of Trauma Training and Transformation, James Alder shares his personal journey from a young boy in Wigan to a soldier battling PTSD after serving in Iraq. He discusses the profound impact of movement, particularly through CrossFit, in his recovery process. James emphasizes the importance of community, structure, and routine in healing from trauma, and encourages listeners to find t...

Trauma, Training &Transformation: Exploring how movement heals the Mind. Trauma, Training &Transformation is a powerful new podcast hosted by James Alder, a militaryveteran, chartered psychologist, academic, and coach living with PTSD. This series explores howphysical movement, exercise, sport, CrossFit, yoga, and mindfulness, can unlockmental health healing and resilience. Each episode fe...