Re-Creation Podcast

How do we respond to trauma that happens on a community level? I (Eleni) was deeply inspired by this conversation with Fr. Paul Abernathy about trauma as a collective experience, and how community itself is a transformational element in the healing process. Fr. Paul is the pastor of St. Moses the Black Orthodox Church, an author, a husband, a father, a veteran, and the founding CEO of the Neighbor...

Today we sit down with Dr. Pia Chaudhari Cameron about the place of the unconscious in the life of faith and healing. We also discuss the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver. Pia holds a doctorate in theology from the department of Psychiatry & Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She is the author of Dynamis of Healing; Patristic Theology and the Psyche (Fordham University Press 2019)...

Heads up: this episode discusses sexual abuse and spiritual abuse within the Church. Please be kind to yourself. Today we sit down with neuroscientist Dr. Hermina Nedelescu for a wide-ranging and deeply important conversation about clergy sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, institutional complicity, and what healing and accountability might look like within the Orthodox Church. We discuss the neurologi...

What can we learn from veterinary science about healing the fragmentation between humanity and creation? In the second installment of this two-part episode (Part 1 here ), we sit down with Jesse Alexis Blum Vallecillo, a veterinary doctor based in Arizona, to discuss how her work gives her a unique vantage point on the broken and blessed interrelationships between humanity, creation, and all the c...

What can we learn from veterinary science about healing the fragmentation between humanity and creation? In this two-part episode, we sit down with Jesse Alexis Blum Vallecillo, a veterinary doctor based in Arizona, to discuss how her work gives her a unique vantage point on the broken and blessed interrelationships between humanity, creation, and all the creatures God has made to play therein. Re...

Unseasonable weather patterns, natural disasters, and accelerating climate shifts are increasingly common. Alongside these changes, more people are experiencing environmental anxiety and even ecological trauma. Contemporary environmental discourses can sometimes frame human beings as little more than a parasite on the planet. One notorious bumper even put it bluntly: “Care for the earth—commit sui...

In this episode, Eleni takes us on a late winter’s journey through one of her favourite poems, “Nous,” by Scott Cairns ( Scott Cairns ) and the post-traumatic experience. What is a nous? How is learning to re-inhabit our ensouled body holy work? Why does it matter? Re-Creation is a podcast about trauma, faith, and mental health from an Orthodox Christian perspective. Hosts Nicole Roccas, a trauma-...

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Vladimir Miskovic—neuroscientist, Orthodox Christian thinker, and co-author of Dreaming Reality —for a wide-ranging conversation on the nature of the human person. Together we explore how contemporary neuroscience and ancient Christian tradition converge in their understanding of consciousness, attention, and the layered or “nested” self, and what this might re...

In this episode, we sit down with Fr. Stephen Freeman to explore the complex and often misunderstood emotion of shame, drawing from his book Face to Face . Together we examine the crucial distinction between toxic and healthy shame, its relationship to humility and communion, and why the capacity to “bear a little shame” may be essential to becoming fully human. From the Genesis story to the Cross...

After deeply wounding experiences, the language of sin and repentance can feel fraught—or even harmful. How can we relate to our “sinner status” in a way that’s freeing rather than self-destructive? What does humility look like when it supports wholeness instead of self-erasure, and how do we discern what we are truly responsible for versus what belongs to others? In this episode, we explore these...

In this first episode of season 2, we reconnect after some restorative recreational time to talk about what we have been up to during our break and what we have in store for Season 2. Each of us share our favorite memories from this past Christmas season, and a couple good books that stuck with us. We also name some of our upcoming guests on the podcast, and together we look ahead to some edifying...

Welcome to our extra special “Ask Us Anything” Season 1 Finale episode! We received so many questions that we were unable to answer them in one episode, so we hope to feature a more regular “listener question” segment in future episodes to answer them all—and any others you may have in the meantime! Thank you to everyone who shared their questions and who have supported us in our first season of T...

**(12/16/2025) ETA: Audio file corrected at 8:15AM ET** Wrapping up our miniseries on Genesis 1-3 and the origins of trauma! When humanity fell, it sent ripples of fragmentation through the world. What was once whole and interconnected became fractured, scarce, and out of tune. In this episode, we continue tracing the lines of fragmentation that flow from the Fall by taking a closer look at the br...

When humanity fell, it sent ripples of fragmentation through the world. What was once whole and interconnected became fractured, scarce, and out of tune. In this episode, we continue tracing the origins of trauma in Genesis 1–3 by introducing the four kinds of fragmentation that flow from the Fall. We take a closer look at the first two—intra-personal and inter-personal fragmentation—exploring how...

Our AMA episode airs on December 23! You have until Dec 13 to as anything—just fill out the handy form HERE . It’s quick, easy, and anonymous. About Re-Creation is a podcast about trauma, faith, and mental health from an Orthodox Christian perspective. Hosts Nicole Roccas, a trauma-informed coach and author, and Eleni Opperwall, a registered therapist, explore what it means to be human after traum...

What’s up with those nice fur coats God gives Adam and Eve before they’re exiled from the Garden? Who was really cursed in the so-called curses He dishes out after the Fall? This week we’re back to the Genesis narrative, exploring what it means in the light of trauma, healing, and what it means to be human in a broken world. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get p...

In today’s episode, we’re still in the Garden—reflecting on the role shame and blame play after trauma, loss, and other rupture experiences in our lives. Ask us anything HERE and we may answer your questions in the last episode of this season, airing December 23, 2025! Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get podcasts. In this episode, we talk about: * Adam and Eve’s...

Back to humanity’s Ground Zero. How do we understand Adam and Eve’s human nature before the Fall, and how does that shape the way we view both humanity and God? In this episode, we revisit this ancient story through the lens of human development and the parental love of God. Join us as we explore the deeper meanings of the Fall – not merely a story of sin, but also a story of growth, maturity, rup...

We return to Eden, our original home, and explore the world for which human beings were created. Coming back to the three elements of safety (protection, connection, and freedom), we talk about how the last two—connection and freedom—are crucial elements of our original human nature. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get podcasts. In this episode, we talk about: *...

If trauma has shaped our world, what did the world look like before trauma? Join us as we begin our Genesis 1–3 series and discover how creation itself might be a blueprint for healing—one built on safety, connection, and freedom. Maybe the story of “the before times” can help us better understand how to reclaim what’s been broken. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever yo...

Going in circles? Maybe that’s a good thing. Find out why as we talk about how time and healing play out in Eugene Vodolazkin’s 2012 historical novel, Laurus. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get podcasts. In this episode, we talk about: * Laurus , by Eugene Vodolazkin * Interesting side-quests: premodern notions of healing, homeopathy, and how Eleni’s grandmothe...

A friendly shoutout to the skeptics, curious, and those who are hesitant to attach labels like “trauma” to people’s core identity. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get podcasts. In this episode, we talk about: * Valid and less valid reasons why people may be skeptical of the entire concept of trauma * How Christian communities may be particularly prone to minimiz...

A reflection on Rilke’s poem “I am praying again, You Awesome One,” which paints a powerful picture of brokenness and the sacred work of becoming whole. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get podcasts. In this episode, we talk about: * Read Nicole’s translation of “I am praying again, You Awesome One” here * The rhythms of gathering and scattering our fragmented se...

Following up on last week’s episode, we discuss two more lenses for understanding what trauma is and offer some hope for those healing. Listen on Substack , Spotify , Apple Podcasts , or RSS wherever you get podcasts. In this episode, we talk about: * Trauma as lasting imprint * Why trauma memories just feel and act differently * Trauma as fragmentation of the self * What Internal Family Systems (...

Join Eleni and Nicole for an webinar and Q&A hosted by Axia Women on the ways we find healing and transformation through our wounds. Together, we’ll explore what it means to be human after trauma through honest, hopeful conversations. If you’re a woman who enjoys listening to the Re-Creation Podcast, you’ll love this webinar. Registration and more information on the Axia Women website: https://www...