Conversations With a Wounded Healer

"Every time I've helped someone with their grief, my own grief diminishes" ~Mark Sanders My chat with Mark Sanders, LCSW, CADC, is more than just a conversation; it's a full-blown appreciation situation. If you're in the field of addiction in Chicago, you know Mark as an inspiring speaker and thoughtful mentor.  I envy those of you "meeting" him for the first time here, on the pod; Mark makes memo...

"In complicated grief, what happens is, you haven't just lost the person , you've lost your identity." ~Dr. Mark Rider Mark Rider, PhD, has developed a language for understanding the lyrical relationship between body and brain. "We learned how to use music improvisation to mirror a person's pain, to mirror a person's imagery of their cancer. And then we would change that music [so] it went in a he...

"I wish somebody would have told that to me: it's okay to struggle. We're supposed to struggle; we're humans. We're complicated; we're messy." ~Patricia Young One of my greatest joys in life is connecting with a fellow outcast and truth-teller. All the better if said person comes equipped with a nickname like Mad Lady-Balls. Patricia Young, LCSW, the person behind the stern, brass-plated moniker i...

"Happiness is not a room. Compassion is not a place. Mercy is not a state. It passes, like anger, like hunger, like horniness...These are all emotions, and you have to observe them." ~Rabbi Iggy Gurin Oh my, it's been a week, hasn't it?! The windows are open and fresh air is pouring in. While that big picture feels a whole lot brighter today, there's still hella personal work to do. For anyone cha...

"There's a lot going on for the election; we know that we are not dealing with business as usual. It's a huge turning point in the chart of the United States." ~Dawn Silver My past and future selves got together two weeks ago to record this episode addressing this singular moment in history. The election is technically over, all votes cast but possibly not counted; all tensions less inclined to bo...

"Post-traumatic growth is a privilege and…  we need some way to detail and describe [it] without glorifying or idealizing this idea of growth while still experiencing trauma" ~Cassie Walker Bookmark this episode as the one with the Dungeons and Dragons reference and a Porterhouse steak metaphor. Seriously. No other guest has their way with tangents - or the status quo - quite like my good friend C...

"We store so much stuff in our body. So, sometimes that's trauma, sometimes it's joy or whatever, and to be able to recognize, be aware and, like, feel what's happening and name it sounds like you're on your way to, you know, being connected to your body." ~Nicoletta Heidegger  Healing is what happens to you while you're busy recording a podcast. This is the second in a series of deeply personal c...

"There's definitely a deep, there's a deep fear of...annihilation isn't the right word but there's something about, like, going beyond the ego because it's unanchored, right? ~Sarah Buino "...as we move towards freedom, there's always madness… ~Livia Budrys  Radical transparency is overwhelming, messy, scary. It's also empowering. In a year marked by long-overdue exposure of the myriad illnesses a...

"This might be the last chance we have at saving our democracy." ~Jennifer Contarino  This year, the personal is political. In service to your emotional wellbeing and the health of our democracy, my guest Jennifer Conterino, Psy. D and I are going there. Yup, we're exposing the damaging effects that an egregiously dangerous personality has had on our collective psyche not to mention the will of a...

"It's a weird place to be when you're in the midst of your own work." ~Ashley Solomon First of all, you know I love getting to know new friends on air. Secondly, if you've listened to this show for a while (and why wouldn't you?!), you know I'm all in when the topic du jour is either NARM-adjacent or Enneagram-related. But when the conversation contains all the things? Oh, my!  Ashley Solomon, PSY...

"We have to be able to have these uncomfortable conversations and put in some uncomfortable strategies for people to move forward." ~Brandon Jones What, exactly, is intergenerational trauma? How does structural racism even work? For Brandon Jones, the answers are balled up in the same knot of his origins story. As a psychotherapist, a professor with dual Masters degrees, and a 2013 Bush Foundation...

"I feel like there's so many different aspects of being a hairdresser. It's like, you're an artist, you're a counselor, a psychologist." ~Shimi Shiba If only someone could take the easy intimacy that hairstylists enjoy with their longtime clients and translate the magic into a formal therapeutic setting… Oh, wait! I've met such a person.  In this episode, professional hairdresser Shimi Shiba share...

"Maybe it's not about healing. Maybe it's just about being with people who are wounded too. It's maybe like wounded is we're alive together." ~Claude Cayemitte Hello friends! This is the episode in which Claude Cayemitte, LCSW blows my mind -- by answering the wounded healer question in a way I've never heard before.  So, who is Claude Cayemitte? He's a NARM-certified, award-winning psychotherapis...

"Shame is the thing that keeps us from even admitting that there's an issue and that we might be complicit in it." ~Erin Law I'm back from a brief summer respite with a total buzzkill for some of my listeners: healing from supremacy culture sucks!  There's no rest for the (white) weary while our Black brothers and sisters continue to fight for their lives. More bad news: not only is our path pot-h...

As part of our "Archival August," we are re-releasing episodes from the past that have held specific significance for me recently, as I take some time for personal healing. This episode with David Clinton was really moving for me personally. David is from my same hometown and I don't know about you guys, but during the pandemic and everything that's been going on, there's been a lot of reflecting...

As part of our "Archival August," we are re-releasing episodes from the past that have held specific significance for me recently, as I take some time for personal healing. Lisa Lackey, is one of the premier therapists in Chicago. And it's funny, I knew Lisa from afar for a really long time and kind of had put her on a pedestal. Early on, when we were starting to talk, I remember feeling honored t...

As part of our "Archival August," we are re-releasing episodes from the past that have held specific significance for me recently, as I take some time for personal healing. This episode with Tanya Markul felt right to share right now because the world is going through a major transformation and all the shadows are coming to light so we can transmute them. Tanya's latest book is The She Book v.2. *...

As part of our "Archival August," we are re-releasing episodes from the past that have held specific significance for me recently, as I take some time for personal healing. This episode was recorded in the very beginning of my anti-racism journey, a touching conversation at a pivotal moment. *** Mishara D. Winston, LCSW is a Black, queer, creative adventure therapist and the owner of an uncommon s...

A quick note to let you know that I'm taking a break in August, and why. Never fear, I'll be back in September and in the meantime, we are revisiting some friends from previous episodes. *** Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wo...

"Having those wounds shapes you, but also lets the next person know that they can heal from their wounds." ~Da'Jonese Turner Empathy + Empowerment = Resilience. That's a standard formula for wellbeing, but without access, whole communities never receive the attention they deserve. That leaves generations of traumas and day-to-day anxieties unidentified and unaddressed.  Lean in to what Da'Jonese T...

"I feel like everybody has healing qualities in one way or another. We all have gifts, right, and blessings and so I believe everybody... no matter who you are, has that." ~Ryanne Bright With friends like Ryanne Bright MA, LCPC, CADC, it's a wonder we haven't yet solved ALL of the world's problems. But we're working on it! Ryanne is the co-founder, co-owner and Chief Clinical Officer of The Family...

"I think it's just really trying to take time to just sit. You don't even have to close your eyes.  Just sit in your home and just look around. What do you hear? What do you feel in your body?" ~Jay Taylor Heads up, beautiful people: My conversation with Sound Meditation Facilitator Jay Taylor was recorded waaaay back in the spring, the earliest days of regional pandemic precautions and well befor...

"We're all just trying to figure out a way through it and praying and hoping beyond hope that this hurt and anxiety we feel in these moments are actual birth pains that are about to birth for us something new and beautiful that we haven't yet imagined, or that we've imagined and have never, ever thought possible." ~Anna Golladay Anna Golladay is a balm for anyone who doesn't exactly vibe with Chri...

"The 12 steps are a return to the internal world...If you just do the cogs in a wheel, they will create an emotional rearrangement in you." ~Veronica Valli Hundreds of people take shaky steps toward sobriety every day. Veronica Valli began her journey 20 years ago this past May. Like many, she credits Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) with helping her stay joyfully sober. But the author, podcast host, psy...

" If you're not talking about power, then you're really not doing racial equity work or inclusive work." ~Brit Holmberg Brit Holmberg, MSW, LCSW , is a staff therapist at The Wellness Center of Loyola University and a longtime friend. He's also the co-creator, alongside his colleague Marion Malcome MSW, LCSW , of "Becoming An Anti-Racist Social Worker".  Use of that hyphenate is critical to this c...