Conversations With a Wounded Healer

"You've got to set up the dynamic, which is, we can talk about absolutely anything here. I'm not going to judge you. I'm not going to shame you. I can take it." ~Tristan Taormino Sex episode! Sexpisode? You decide. Either way, educator, author, and media-maker Tristan Taormino talks about the joys of her DIY career and what she wishes therapists knew about sex.  From her first book, The Ultimate G...

"I hope that my work speaks from the scars and not the wounds." ~Roberto Che Espinoza, PhD Revolutions take work. The movement to dismantle supremacy culture rightly demands that much of the work be done off-camera, by those who benefit most from its proliferation. Roberto Che Espinoza, PhD engages those willing to do the requisite heavy lifting through stories (and, sometimes, food).  As a queer...

~We decided to re-release this episode because we couldn't think of a better voice to lead during this time. We have chosen to mute ourselves and support #amplifymelanatedvoices through June 7th.  "We have inherited a system and there's nothing we can do about it except acknowledge that and dismantle it. But if we don't acknowledge it, then we are actually maintaining [it]." ~Derrick Dawson A conv...

"I think the most transformative practice that I've come across is this ability to see that in all of our responses and reactivity and whatever it is we're all, deep down, these beautiful animals who wish that they could live in a world in which everyone's needs were met and everyone loved each other. And we all have that wish. And that's not the world we live in." ~Tim Desmond This is exactly wha...

I'm happy to share with you an amazing podcast called Back From the Abyss! Our latest conversation was with Dr. Craig Heacock where we spoke a bit about his experiences working with psychedelics in psychotherapy. This episode " MDMA and the Inner Healer " showcases the story of a client and his experience with the MDMA-assisted therapy sessions. It's incredible! I'm sure you'll be as touched by th...

"I've had a lot of losses and vicarious trauma in my practice and, I think, starting Back From The Abyss was also a way for me to put out just balloons of hope into the world and to remind myself that people do get better and people heal and people do the hard work of therapy." ~Dr. Craig Heacock For every harrowing loss with which Dr. Craig Heacock has had to come to terms, his practice is also p...

"Well, that could've gone better…" Ever leave a therapy session wondering where things went off the rails or what you might've done differently?  Meet your new best friends Carrie Wiita and Ben Fineman, co-hosts of Very Bad Therapy ! They dropped by to discuss their show and managed to turn the tables on yours truly with questions of their own! VBT teases out the woulda, coulda, shoulda moments fr...

"We have inherited a system and there's nothing we can do about it except acknowledge that and dismantle it. But if we don't acknowledge it, then we are actually maintaining [it]." ~Derrick Dawson A conversation that eloquently connects the dots between capitalism and systemic racism? Straight talk about our American way of life and the foundation of white supremacy upon which it was built? Yes, p...

"Forgiveness is not a tool to heal trauma." ~Nate Postlethwait Here's the thing about my conversation with Nate Postlethwait: his story made this Wounded Healer all sorts of mad - in the best possible way!  Buckle in because Nate's journey from confused and closeted to out and authentic is a white-knuckle ride on the complex trauma rollercoaster. There are enviable highs - travel, career success....

"The whole system was created to keep you distracted onto a battlefield. You could not have been put on this wonderful journey called life to fight. That could not be what we are here to do." ~Monika Black  What do you get when a leadership maximizer and the Wounded Healer get together to discuss light and shadow, happiness and shame? A roadmap to joy and an invitation to claim your agency, natura...

"You do your personal work. We really believe that we're the change agents and we can't take our clients anywhere we haven't gone." ~Adena Bank Lees Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LISAC, BCETS, CP is an accomplished speaker, author, experiential trainer, and consultant working in traumatic stress and addiction. She's a leading authority on, and advocate for, psychodrama, a modality that employs guided rol...

"I look at it kind of like "ally", right? I would prefer that other people would call me a healer rather than me calling me a healer. Just like I would prefer people calling me an ally rather than me calling myself an ally" ~Chris Hoff Where to begin with Chris Hoff, PhD, LMFT ? Do I start by introducing you to The Radical Therapist, his highly binge-able podcast in which he interviews like-minded...

I've tried meditation but...eff that!  Sound familiar? If meditation's super-precious, über-enlightened rep has put you off in the past, Sarah's guest Liza Kindred is here to reintroduce you to the practice - using language that this wounded healer is down with! Liza is a wearable tech consultant, a trauma-informed meditation instructor in training, and the author of Eff This! Meditation: 108 Tips...

"I'm very grateful for the wounds that I have acquired in my life. And I see now how those wounds were openings to something greater." ~Gregory Koufacos The patriarchy, amiright?! They're an easy (and rightfully) targeted group. However, there's an entire generation growing up under the influence of our current system. What are we - therapists and society in general - doing to help them heal from...

"Each person is uniquely designed and each person is part of a big, giant puzzle of humanity." ~Robin Winn This episode is like...your brain on pure, vibrational energy. Robin Winn , veteran therapist, Human Design specialist, and the best-selling author of Understanding Your Clients Through Human Design , chats with Sarah about how this relatively new system of awareness can radically alter the w...

"I've been freaking out about this lately, and I saw on The Today Show yesterday, one of their medical experts said, "we have to remember that this is temporary." And as soon as I heard that, there was something in me that took a breath and was able to pause and stop freaking out for just a moment." ~Sarah Buino Sarah offers insights and practices for leaning into confidence and flexibility as too...

"It's hard to ask people to be comfortable with confusion. To let people sit in that a little is a challenge for most of us but vitally important. I see growth happening in discomfort." ~Chuck Bernsohn Pronouns are powerful. And comfort is overrated. In this episode, Sarah chats with Chuck Bernsohn , advocate for LGBTQ+ and chronic illness communities, about the profound - and provoking - conversa...

How do you show up when you're a therapist (or therapist-in-training)? It's this existential question that formed the foundation for The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide , a podcast created by Katie Vernoy and Curt Widhalm.  If you've ever struggled with the prevailing wisdom that therapists should exist in session only as blank slates, you're not alone. "I was taught to be beige," says Katie of...

"Sometimes, we need permission to be as awesome as we are." ~Sarah Prager You know that old saying about strangers being friends you just haven't met yet? This episode is exactly that.  Sarah Prager LPC, LAC, is the clinical manager of co-occurring treatment at AllHealth Network Colorado as well as an EMDR practitioner and a Daring Way facilitator. So, that's TWO Sarahs in conversation about codep...

A flight attendant and a music teacher walk into a podcast… But not just any podcast, mind you. This is CWH's 100th episode! To celebrate, OG listeners Rachel and Margaret join the show to get giggly and get deep.  They bond over their favorite episode (10!), and turn the tables on Sarah with a few questions of their own. Tons of fun, loads of a-ha! moments, and a couple dozen swears (naturally)....

There are thousands of online personality tests, all designed to help you uncover your type -- or, at least provide an inventory of adjectives that probably, maybe, sort of describe you. The Enneagram is not a modern survey or sliding scale of attributes. Nor is it a superficial list of words. It's a system with ancient roots based in sacred geometry.  "To know the Enneagram," says energy healer R...

"I feel like the Millennial generation...we're very into breaking the generational curses." ~Lauren McBride Behind the strong black woman archetype are millions of women seeking balance; safe spaces in which they can let down their guard without shame, fear, or judgement. Lauren McBride, LCPC, is poised to d estigmatize mental health self-care in her community and, in the process, allow POC--espec...

 "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars." - Kahil Gibran  Taking care of others? That's the easy part: shining a light so others can find their own way. But taking care of ourselves? Well… when the self is shrouded in shadows, the wounded healer can get lost in the dark.  **Trigger warning for those with spiritual or religious wounding...

"I use the same thing with offering mindfulness to people: you don't need to go right in to look at Medusa's eyes, you know, grab a shield... feel your feet on the floor and look around the room. Have a guide. Don't go into that bad neighborhood alone." ~Joe Clements Joe Clements is a sought after mindfulness meditation teacher and host of the hit podcast Spiritual AF…or Whatever. He has spent mor...

"Wounded healer points back to something that we both hold really sacred, which is like, we're all human beings here. And we're never not human beings as long as we're in one of these things called the human body." ~Brooke Thomas  Vanessa Scotto is a Counselor, meditation teacher, and Chinese Medicine practitioner whose work integrates spirituality and psychology. In her early 20's, Vanessa's own...