Transforming Trauma

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...

High control religion is rarely one big wound. It is closer to death by a thousand paper cuts that add up to complex trauma for many people."- Laura Anderson   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, Emily Ruth welcomes Dr. Laura Anderson for a compassionate exploration of religious trauma, its impacts, and the nuanced paths toward healing. Drawing from her personal journey and clinical experience...

"Sometimes children have to disconnect from their hearts just to survive." - Kelly Cook   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes school social worker Kelly Cook for an open-hearted exploration of healing and connection with children, teens, and families facing adversity. Kelly shares how her lifelong sensitivity to those on the margins, shaped by early experiences of comp...

"Trauma can be a gateway for transformation, and it's one of the things that I am passionate about." – Abi Blakeslee On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth sits down with Dr. Abi Blakeslee, a leader in the field of trauma recovery and somatic psychology recognized for her clinical research and teaching. Dr. Blakeslee shares her deep exploration of implicit memory—the non-conscious...

"Our greatest hope is that NARM® can lead to increasing opportunities for connection, healing, and transformation." - Brad Kammer   On this episode of Transforming Trauma, Stephanie Klein is joined by Brad Kammer, Training Director at the Complex Trauma Training Center, to discuss the newly released workbook for healing developmental trauma—an accessible resource distilling the core principles and...

"The work we do is meaningful, sometimes difficult, but it's the best work to do." - Dr. David Puder On this episode of Transforming Trauma, Emily Ruth welcomes psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr. David Puder to explore the clinical realities of complex trauma and the slow, often gritty path toward healing. Drawing on decades of hospital and outpatient experience, Dr. Puder offers candor and prac...

Trauma isn't just an event—it's a complex, living pattern woven through our bodies, minds, and relationships. What if the path to healing isn't about breaking down defenses or pushing past resistance, but about honoring those very protections as parts of our whole self?   Shai Lavie's journey illuminates this radical shift. As a Hakomi and Somatic Experiencing therapist, Shai learned that trauma w...

Chances are, you may be familiar with Dr. Judith Lewis Herman, the legendary psychiatrist, researcher, teacher, and author. Five decades into her esteemed career, Dr. Herman continues to produce innovative work in sexual trauma and Complex PTSD. But you might not know Judith Herman, the daughter, mother, grandmother, and activist. On this episode of Transforming Trauma , Emily Ruth is honored to w...

At the core of Jungian psychology lies the concept of individuation, a lifelong journey of growing into one's whole self. It's a process of self-discovery that can feel both inspiring and challenging as each layer of inauthenticity or protective strategy surfaces, then sloughs away. One therapist combines her Jungian background with NARM's spirit of inquiry to help her clients embrace the nature o...

On this episode of Transforming Trauma , host Emily Ruth invites Alexander Vesely, award-winning documentary filmmaker, psychotherapist, and the grandson of Dr. Viktor Frankl, to share anecdotes about his grandfather and the evolution of Logotherapy.  The pair recalls Viktor's deportation to a Nazi concentration camp and his heartbreaking experiences there. The devastation eventually informed Vikt...