In Conversation with Janina Fisher: Wisdom Between Colleagues; Insights For Us All

In this fascinating episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher , Janina Fisher sits down with psychiatrist and neuroscientist Fredric Schiffer to explore a provocative question: can trauma be understood as a dialogue between two distinct “minds” within the same brain? Drawing from decades of clinical work and neuroscience research, Schiffer shares how his pioneering “dual-brain psychology” emer...

In this timely and thought-provoking conversation, Janina Fisher sits down with somatic therapist, activist, author, and social change leader Staci Haines to explore the profound relationship between personal healing and collective transformation. Drawing on more than three decades of work at the intersection of trauma recovery and social justice, Staci challenges the idea that trauma exists only...

In this heartfelt episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher , Janina sits down with longtime colleague and dear friend Deirdre Fay, a pioneering voice in somatic and attachment-based trauma treatment. Reflecting on nearly three decades of shared work, they revisit the early days of trauma therapy—when integrating the body, creativity, and relational healing into psychotherapy was still conside...

In this episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher , Janina sits down with clinical psychologist Paul Gilbert , the founder of Compassion-Focused Therapy, for a rich and reflective dialogue on shame, compassion, and the evolutionary roots of suffering. Drawing on over four decades of clinical work and research, Gilbert explores how shame is not simply a personal failing but a deeply embedded, b...

In this illuminating conversation, Janina Fisher sits down with Bruce Ecker, co-developer of Coherence Therapy and co-author of Unlocking the Emotional Brain , to explore the powerful role of implicit memory in shaping trauma and human behavior. Together, they challenge the long-standing focus on traumatic events themselves, shifting attention instead to what was learned from those experiences—and...

In this deeply personal and illuminating conversation, Janina Fisher sits down with therapist, researcher, and founder of Black Therapists Rock, Deran Young, to explore the profound ways trauma, culture, and lived experience shape the nervous system—and the healing journey. Deran shares her story of growing up in survival mode, serving in the military, and later discovering that she had been livin...

In this thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation, Janina Fisher, PhD, sits down with David Grand, developer of Brainspotting, to explore how healing happens when therapists learn to trust the client’s nervous system rather than trying to direct it. Together, they reflect on the origins of Brainspotting, the role of observation and curiosity in clinical work, and the importance of what Grand calls...

In this episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher , Janina Fisher welcomes therapist, educator, and estrangement specialist Matthias Barker for a thoughtful exploration of family estrangement, attachment wounds, and the possibilities for healing across painful divides. Drawing on his work with thousands of parents and adult children through Estrangement.com, Barker shares what he has learned a...

In this episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher , Janina sits down with clinician, author, and attachment specialist Dafna Lender, LCSW , to explore the power of relationships in healing trauma—especially for children and families. Known for her work with TheraPlay and her book Integrative Attachment Family Therapy , Dafna shares the personal and professional journey that shaped her approach...

In this episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher , Janina sits down with psychologist and EMDR pioneer Deborah Korn for a rich conversation about the evolution of trauma treatment and the delicate art of working with traumatic memory. Known for her thoughtful and compassionate approach to EMDR therapy and for her book Every Memory Deserves Respect, Debbie reflects on the clinical lessons that...

In this moving conversation, trauma therapist Janina Fisher speaks with grief expert David Kessler about the evolving understanding of grief and its deep connection to trauma. Reflecting on his work with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and his own personal loss, Kessler shares how the concept of a sixth stage of grief—meaning—emerged. Together, they explore why grief is never linear, how compassion supports...

In this tender, wise, and delightfully expansive conversation, Janina Fisher reunites with longtime colleague, author, hypnotherapist, and teacher Nancy J. Napier —whose book Getting Through the Day shaped a generation of trauma clinicians and clients. Together, they explore the evolution of their work across four decades: implicit states, parts, SE, hypnosis, spirituality, multidimensionality, an...

In this intimate, wide-ranging conversation, Janina Fisher and therapist, educator, and former child refugee Linda Thai explore what it means to live, work, and speak from a body shaped by war, displacement, and structural oppression—while also becoming a “celebrity” in the mental health world. Together they name the “mental health speaker celebrity industrial complex,” the imposter parts that nev...

In this heartfelt and insightful conversation, Janina Fisher, PhD sits down with Licia Sky, somatic educator and co-founder of the Trauma Research Foundation, to explore the living wisdom of the body and what it truly means to “listen within.”Together, they trace how Western culture’s disconnection from embodiment has shaped therapy — and how reclaiming a felt relationship with our bodies changes...

In this rich, relational conversation, Janina Fisher sits down with somatic psychologist, yoga teacher, and trauma expert Dr. Arielle Schwartz to explore how embodiment can transform the treatment of complex PTSD and dissociation. They trace Arielle’s path from early work with adjudicated youth and community mental health into somatic psychotherapy, EMDR, and private practice—and how Janina’s work...

In this warm, candid, and deeply human conversation, Janina Fisher sits down with her longtime colleague and friend Deb Dana , the clinician who has brought polyvagal theory to therapists around the world. Together, they explore how understanding the nervous system transforms clinical practice, therapeutic presence, and even how we move through our own lives. Spanning more than two decades of shar...

Janina Fisher PhD talks with psychologist Robert Schwarz about energy psychology, EFT tapping, and how curiosity and compassion can guide trauma recovery. Together they explore stabilization, implicit memory, and the healing power of presence in therapy. Robert Schwarz, PsyD, DCEP, ACAP-EFT, is a licensed psychologist with more than 40 years of clinical experience and a leading voice in the fields...

Internationally renowned clinician-researcher Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD joins Janina to trace their shared roots at Bessel van der Kolk’s Trauma Center and explore how brain science can—and should—change what we do in the therapy room. They dig into why grounding must precede mindfulness for highly dissociative clients, the promise of Deep Brain Reorienting, adapting SMART for adults, and how real-worl...

In this engaging and heartfelt conversation, Janina Fisher, PhD is joined by Tiff Kopp and Clayre Sessoms, senior facilitators of Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) in Vancouver. Together, they explore what it really means to meet trauma with curiosity instead of control — and how TIST helps clients build safety, connection, and self-compassion without retraumatization. From their root...

In this lively and deeply reflective conversation, Janina Fisher, PhD and Bessel van der Kolk, MD revisit their decades-long friendship and parallel journeys through the emergence of modern trauma therapy. From their early research days in Boston to the global impact of The Body Keeps the Score, they explore how far the field has come—and how much there still is to learn. Together, they trace the...

In this rich and deeply personal episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher: Wisdom Between Colleagues—Insights for Us All , Dr. Janina Fisher is joined by Rui Cang, LMFT , a Los Angeles–based psychotherapist, TIST facilitator, and Sensory Motor Psychotherapy practitioner whose clinical expertise is grounded in her own lived experience as a Chinese-born immigrant and bicultural therapist. Toget...

In this thoughtful and provocative episode, Janina Fisher, PhD, sits down with Wendy D’Andrea, PhD —research psychologist, clinician, and Chief Scientific Officer of the Trauma Research Foundation—to explore a timely and often misunderstood question in the world of psychotherapy: Who gets to define what healing looks like—and who is left out of the conversation? Wendy and Janina unpack the persist...

In this tender and richly insightful episode of In Conversation with Janina Fisher: Wisdom Between Colleagues—Insights for Us All , Janina Fisher, PhD, welcomes friend, longtime collaborator, and trauma expert Lana Epstein, MSW, MA, LICSW. Together, they reflect on their 30-year journey as clinicians, supervisors, teachers—and kindred spirits working to understand the nuances of healing trauma. Fr...

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Janina Fisher, PhD, sits down with longtime friend and colleague Benjamin Fry , founder of the internationally renowned Khiron Clinics in the UK. What unfolds is a moving reflection on Fry’s descent into despair, his search for healing, and how his lived experience ultimately gave birth to a trauma treatment model that has helped countless others...

In this profoundly moving and deeply relevant episode of I n Conversation with Janina Fisher: Wisdom Between Colleagues—Insights for Us All , Janina Fisher, PhD, welcomes trauma therapist, TIST facilitator, and activist Jon Lee, LMFT (they/them), for an honest and layered conversation about working with trans and autistic clients—especially in a world where the threats they face are not just histo...