Therapy Chat

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. T...

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...

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. Li...

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 ha...

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...

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 approa...

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 a...

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...

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 wa...

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 hel...

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 Agg...

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...

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...

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...

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...

This week on Therapy Chat you'll hear the first of 5 conversations recorded live at Psychotherapy Networker in March! My guest this week is the delightful Courtney Armstrong, LPC, an expert in trauma-informed clinical hypnosis. Listen in as Courtney demystifies this topic and explains how trauma informed clinical hypnosis can support therapists in practicing more authentically for better thera...

Therapists - are you in a toxic business relationship? This week I'm covering why many therapy practices are struggling to stay afloat. Kelly Higdon, LMFT and Miranda Palmer, LMFT are two therapists and business coaches who co-own ZynnyMe and lead Business School for Therapists. They've been keeping up with the factors affecting therapist wellbeing for years! In our conversation we discuss...

This week I interviewed Antonieta Contreras about trauma therapy and the importance of a systemic approach to healing. We discussed misconceptions around trauma therapy, the importance of understanding the connection between trauma and the loss of internal equilibrium, and the role of nature, nurture, and consciousness in healing. Antonieta speaks about how she approaches therapy and how therapist...

Therapists - there's so much important information in this conversation that you need to hear! In this conversation I spoke with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, who is an expert in PANS, PANDAS, and tick-borne illnesses as well as Autoimmune Encephalopathy (AE). Roseann shares about the symptoms, diagnosis, and holistic as well as allopathic treatment options for these conditions, emphasizing the i...

I named this episode "The Eyes Have It" to honor the fascinating connection my guest, Monique Hoving-Smeets, MFT describes between right and left eyes and awareness among parts of self in trauma work. Monique, a therapist based in Canada who specializes in complex trauma and dissociation, is the developer of the Trauma Regulation and Integration Model (TRIP). Among so many things, Monique...

In this week's episode my guests are Dr. Ann Kelley and Sue Marriott, LCSW, hosts of Therapist Uncensored podcast and authors of the upcoming book, Secure Relating: Holding Your Own In An Insecure World. They discuss the importance of spreading secure relating and changing society through understanding attachment. They describe how their book challenges traditional views of attachment and prop...

Today's Therapy Chat guest is Dr. Peter Levine, the developer of Somatic Experiencing, who speaks about his journey as a wounded healer. He shares that by being open about our experiences healing, our authenticity allows others to know they're not alone. None of us in the helping professions have been immune to suffering, it's a part of the universal experience of being human; and ther...

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! Betrayal comes in many forms. One of the most common ways we think of it is when a partner has a hidden life or a side relationship they're keeping secret from their partner. Secrecy and shame can lead to broken trust and overwhelming feelings of betrayal that are not easy to recover from. If you've ever experienced the pain of betrayal, you'll want to hea...

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! If you've ever thought, "I know I need to set a boundary, but I don't know how to do it," or "I know what I should do/say, but why can't I seem to make myself do it?" then you'll love this episode. This week's guest, Juliane Taylor Shore, wrote the book, "Setting Boundaries That Stick: How Neurobiology Can Help You Rewire Your B...

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this episode, the last for now in the series on women's wellness in midlife, I spoke with Dr. Erin Kinney, a naturopathic doctor in Annapolis Maryland, to discuss the connection between chronic stress and women's wellness. Dr. Kinney explained the impact of chronic stress - like developmental/childhood trauma - on our endocrine systems, affecting our hormon...