Thanks for Sharing

In this episode Jackie asked two of her colleagues, Rachel Allen and Amy Smith, both previous guests on the podcast to join her talking about Christmas songs through the therapy lens.  Therapy can put things into perspective or make us questions things we previously haven't questioned, whether you are a client of therapy or a therapist.  We had some fun talking about Christmas songs whose time has...

This week Jackie talks about her experience as both a participant and a facilitator in GLI (group leadership intensive).  So many of us live our lives in our own bodies without giving ourselves the opportunity to actually see ourselves and to know how others experience us.  It is a gift, that we typically will shy away from, to be present with others and ourselves in the struggle...and yet there i...

We all make choices every single day—some big, some small. Some are choices related to time and money. Others are related to the life roles we each prioritize. There are a billion things we could do, but we must make choices with our limited time. Is there a difference between making a decision and a choice? How does trauma impact the ability to make "good" choices?   

In this episode Jackie wraps up the series on the Twelve Principles by Dr. Patrick Carnes.  Generativity is principle twelve.   Generativity refers to "making your mark" on the world by caring for others as well as creating and accomplishing things that make the world a better place. It’s leaving the community, culture, and world better than you found it. This principle aligns with step twelve, wh...

Life is messy.  It has always been messy.  Life is full of loose ends, uncertainty, confusion, and frustration.  Yet nothing is wasted or random or pointless.  Everything that happens is nourishing compost for our spiritual and emotional growth. It is in the midst of the messiness of life that we often find meaning or, sometimes, that meaning finds us.   

Recovery teaches us, and sometimes forces us to trust.  We learn to trust others. We learn to trust ourselves.  We learn to trust an ongoing process of renewal.  We give ourselves over to uncertainty, free fall and the care of a Higher Power. Trust is active, not passive.  It emboldens us to speak up, to take a stand, to make decisions, and to move forward into a future we can neither foresee nor...

Merriam Webster defines responsiveness like this: reacting in a desired or positive way; quick to respond. We all probably think about speed when we think about responsiveness, too, but how many of us take the time to make sure our responses are positive? That we are responding in a timely and reliable way? Responsiveness is more than just a way to communicate.  It becomes a way of being with ours...

In this episode Jackie talks about how commitment plays a role in our recovery as well as in our relationships.  When we make a commitment, we are saying that we will do all we can to make it happen.  There are factors that get in the way of us keeping our commitments.  As we work to deepen our recovery, our ability to make commitments becomes an important part of our recovery.  How we commit to o...

There is no courage without risk. When we act courageously, we put ourselves on the line for a greater good and make ourselves vulnerable to loss.  In recovery, our approach to risk changes completely.  We learn to consider our risks instead of following our impulses. We consult our inner observer, then consciously choose which risks to take. One day at a time, we become both more courageous and m...

We all know the importance of telling the truth.  Generally, we have been told how important honesty is from a young age.  It is usually stated in a direct, simple way that makes it seem like being honest is easy. We aren’t always told how to live an honest life or that it is harder than it sounds. In this episode, Jackie talks about how to practice living a life of honesty and why it is such an i...

In this episode, Jackie assembles her fellow female colleagues at Healing Paths for a book club.  They are talking about the book Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski.  This will be a 3 part series talking about each of the three sections of the book and how it is important information and applicable if you are a woman or if you know a woman.    

Before we began recovery, many of us had little experience of being part of a healthy family, of fitting into a functional community, or of living in a climate of trust. Often, from a very young age, we were denied the opportunity to bond with other people. These experiences carry with us into our adult relationships and cause us to close off or isolate.  The process of opening and bonding is a po...

In this episode, Jackie talks about the important role that responsibility plays in recovery and in our personal healing journey.  In recovery, we stop hiding from ourselves.  We understand the importance of examining our life, and we accept responsibility for everything in it.  We realize that a deeply painful past does not let u off the hook.  Nothing lets us off the hook.  We are always respons...

Across world religions and throughout the history of human experience with the Divine, we find certain universally recognized strategies to nourishing spirituality.  While each person experience is unique, there are ways of approaching life that maximize our availability to spiritual presence. In this episode Jackie talks about some of the things we can do to increase our spiritual practice and to...

Each of us has the capacity to pay attention to our senses, emotions, impulses, thoughts, and actions.  We also have the capacity to observe the world around us: its beauty, its danger, its design. When we make an internal commitment to reality, we naturally want to become more aware.  Change can come about dramatically by paying attention and having the awareness of what goes on inside and outsid...

In this episode, Jackie talks about principle one which is acceptance. A common struggle felt by most individuals who enter a recovery program or start a process of personal healing is learning how to reframe their life and give it harmony and balance. We have to learn how to dialogue with ourselves about past and present events in a way that brings freedom and meaning.  We have to wrestle with wh...

In this episode Jackie introduces a twelve-part series focused on working The Twelve Principles as introduced by Dr. Patrick Carnes.  The principles are connected to the steps and prompt a question for us to consider.  Of course, these questions cannot be answered by asking a wise old sage, or an oracle or even a sponsor.  These answers are revealed to us as we live each day, work the steps and li...

In this first episode of 2021, Jackie talks about the liminal space of ending and beginning.  She reads writings from the poet and author David Whyte about nostalgia and being close.  Are we in a better space when we have accomplished our goals or when we are close to what we set out to accomplish?  Close to tears, close to success, close to leaving or close to happiness?  And what is the role tha...

In this episode Jackie takes a minute to reflect on lessons learned from one of the most collectively dark years in our recent history.  2020 was dark and hard in many personal ways as well as being difficult collectively as we all struggled with the challenges brought by COVID-19.  Many families are celebrating the holidays with an empty seat at the table and dealing with other losses brought by...

In this episode Jackie talks about reclaiming what we have lost from life and from hurt. Can we remember the parts of ourselves that are untarnished?  Who we were before you were being asked to be anything other than you? 

The holidays can be a very difficult time for people. We can try to put on a smile and try to pretend like everything is ok, when really we are only pretending.  For those, going through a difficult time or a "dark night of the soul", this time of year can be especially heavy.  This episode is for those who are facing a challenge, asking tough questions, facing difficult truths and making hard cha...

In this episode Jackie talks about healing what haunts us.  Our country is facing a dark and difficult time with so many of us opposed and protesting the other.  Jackie offers a different perspective coming from a mental health professional's prospective and one who sees patterns and processes.    

In this episode, Jackie interviews Michelle Mays about healing from betrayal trauma.  Michelle founded the Center for Relational Recovery, a counseling and training center focused on providing leading-edge treatment to sex addicts, partners of sex addicts, trauma survivors, and those struggling with relationship issues.  Michelle's work is grounded in the work that all change happens in relationsh...

In this episode Jackie responds to a listener's questions related to trauma responses.  Knowing and understanding what yours are is an important step in managing them when they get triggered. 

In this episode Jackie talks about the line from Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karinnana "Happy Families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."  What does this mean?  And how can we learn to be happy, be relational and have connection and vulnerability in our relationships?