Transforming Trauma

Is psychotherapy becoming too focused on safety at the expense of growth? Healing happens in environments that support growth and resilience. Yet many clinicians hesitate to challenge a client's survival strategies for fear of creating tension or conflict in the therapeutic relationship.  On this episode of Transforming Trauma , host Emily Ruth welcomes Louis Cozolino, Ph. D., an esteemed author a...

CTTC faculty Stefanie Klein and Lisa Gillispie explore what it really takes to embody what you learn, trust yourself in the therapy room, and grow through relational learning and professional community. How do you teach a trauma-informed model that emphasizes presence, authenticity, and curiosity? By creating a learning experience that invites therapists to embody these very qualities through thei...

Understanding subjugation trauma, coercive control, dissociation, self-blame, and the clinical work of helping survivors reclaim trust in themselves. Social media platforms are filled with attention-grabbing posts on how to spot, leave, or recover from someone who displays narcissistic characteristics. While those 90-second efforts offer an interesting overview, they rarely provide us with a meani...

How trauma therapists can apply polyvagal theory to recognize physiological cues, understand survival responses, and use co-regulation to support safety, connection, and re-embodiment. If psychotherapy is about reconnecting to a genuine expression of self, how do we support connection and embodiment in clients who've experienced complex trauma?  One noted clinician believes that polyvagal theory o...

A trauma-informed conversation about asking difficult questions, understanding family patterns, creating safer communication, and changing what gets passed to the next generation by finding the courage to "say out loud what is necessary." Sometimes silence creates space for reflection. But what happens when silence holds unspoken pain, and difficult conversations are increasingly avoided or abando...

Dr. Paul Conti challenges us to look beyond "What's wrong with me?" and explores how curiosity, agency, gratitude, and the generative drive can transform our relationship with trauma and mental health. Emily Ruth welcomes Dr. Paul Conti, psychiatrist and author of "Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic." to explore how unresolved trauma shapes our inner world, interpersonal relationships, and society at...

A conversation on complex trauma, ADHD, autism, masking, therapist curiosity, and providing therapy that supports authenticity instead of conformity. Comparison is often cited as the thief of joy. For neurodivergent people, comparison is also a source of shame. Imagine receiving constant reminders that your brain doesn't respond well to, or "fit" with, the dominant societal structure. The messagin...

How do we reconnect to ourselves after trauma, grief, and life's many transitions? We begin with curiosity and compassion. On this episode of Transforming Trauma , host Emily Ruth speaks with Dr. Annecy Báez, a Dominican American writer, psychotherapist, educator, and artist, about the profound impact NARM® has had on her personal and professional life. Together, they explore how curiosity, creati...

How do you parent a neurodivergent family without constantly feeling like you're failing? You create your own supportive network. One therapist wasn't content with simply curating reviews of sensory-friendly playgroups and neighborhood events. Instead, she sought out somatic knowledge and a heart-centered way of being. What she found was a trauma-informed modality and a community of like-minded pr...

Attachment styles aren't your identity. Dr. Ann Kelley explains secure relating, modern attachment theory, trauma healing, nervous system regulation, relationship repair, shame reduction, and why emotional security is something we actively practice—not something we permanently achieve. How can we, as therapists, help people better understand themselves, improve their relationships, and reduce the...

How can therapists avoid the "diagnosis-as-identity" trap with neurodivergent clients?  Working with autistic clients can feel incomplete at times. Newer clinicians or those who aren't neurodivergent may struggle with the dynamics of this unique client/therapist alliance, even as they collaborate on issues related to relationships and empathy. But one autistic psychotherapist and Mayo Clinic resea...

How do therapists and survivors live alongside grief that never fully ends?  Some grief doesn't resolve. It doesn't end when a relationship does, when someone gets sober, or when you finally set the boundary you'd been avoiding. Instead, we can learn to live alongside grief in ways that lead to healthier relationships and genuine intimacy. On this episode of Transforming Trauma , host Emily Ruth w...

Dr. Mark Ettensohn explains why narcissistic personality disorder is often misunderstood online—and how complex trauma, shame, attachment wounds, and identity shape pathological narcissism. Narcissism has become a buzz word on social media. It has moved from a psychological understanding to a term that is used for blaming, scapegoating, and other emotionally charged narratives. This polarization h...

Why shame isn't an emotion—but an adaptive survival process. Dr. Laurence Heller unpacks how the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) reframes shame, identity, and developmental trauma for more effective clinical work. How do you define shame? Would you describe shame as an unproductive emotion or self-reproach? Or, would you dive headlong into examples, chronicling instances when you felt des...

From altered states to embodied presence: Tracy Rae Clark on healing, music, and therapist development. We share stories to inform, inspire, and connect. They also serve as maps, helping people commemorate life experiences that have shaped their journeys. One NARM® practitioner inspires others by putting her stories into poems and lyrics, helping guide others in their own path to healing. Host Emi...

Have you ever slipped so far into a daydream that you felt detached from reality, your emotions, or your sense of self? Brief moments of dissociation are understandable and can even preserve our mental well-being in times of intense stress. Persistent dissociation, however, is something else entirely. It's a maladaptation that often hints at layers of complex trauma—and that can intimidate therapi...

Today's clinicians have access to more advanced theories, protocols, and clinical models than at any other time in our profession's history. Yet, despite all that learning, something essential is often missing: our own humanity. Many therapists enter this field wanting to grow and heal alongside others. But most of the training focuses almost entirely on the client. The result? A profession suffer...

"I'm so concerned about that being a fracturing of our psyche, in which we only allow empowerment... Can we just have someone to stand with us in that space? So that the process, no matter what we choose, is a process of self connection." - Sarah Champie   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Sarah Champie (LCSW), a licensed trauma therapist and NeuroAffective Relationa...

"NARM® opened a whole new world to me... it's not just something you put on. NARM is, for me, a way of life. It's not just something you throw at somebody." - Elizabeth Remic Simonian   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Elizabeth Remic Simonian, an integrative and somatic therapist based in Rotterdam, Somatic Experiencing practitioner, and trained jazz vocalist, for...

"Whatever your trauma is, just know that somehow, some way it could be used to help another human being."   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Frank Meeink, former white supremacist turned peer support specialist and recovery advocate, for a candid conversation about how honesty, humility, and service transformed his relationship with himself and others. Frank shares...

"Healing is not about improvement of daily functionalities or reduction of symptoms. Healing is deeply relational, cultural, and it's a political act." - Yukako Sortino   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Yukako Sortino, Manager of the Refugee Behavioral Wellness Program at Heartland Alliance Health, for a profoundly moving dialogue on trauma, resilience, and relatio...

"It's simple, not always easy—but movement, writing, and a little fresh air changed my life." – Lawrence Chrystopher Harris   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth sits down with Lawrence Chrystopher Harris, a youth empowerment speaker who transforms his lived experience of childhood trauma into practical hope for young people and their supporters. Lawrence reflects on growing up...

"Hip hop culture is a fuel for life… an organic healing culture with roots that empower both individuals and communities." – Dr. Raphael Travis On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Dr. Raphael Travis, an educator, researcher, and social worker who has devoted his life to understanding how hip hop culture serves as a powerful tool for individual and collective healing. D...

"We heal not through perfection, but through presence." – Lisa Gillispie, as reflected by Emily Ruth   On this special year-end episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes Brad Kammer, LMFT, LPCC, Training Director of the Complex Trauma Training Center, for an intimate conversation on the evolving landscape of trauma therapy practice and community. Together, they look back on a year f...

"[SPACE] is really a dynamic, alive experience… One person even said, "I could keep doing this for the rest of my life." – Marcia Black   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth reunites with Brad Kammer, Stefanie Klein, and Marcia Black for a heartfelt group reflection on the inaugural year of the SPACE Inner Development Program at the Complex Trauma Training Center (CTTC). Togeth...