The Gifts of Trauma

Afleveringen

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  No Contact: The Ultimate Act of Self-Compassion, with Dr Wen Harper Harris 08.10.2026 1u 9min

  Hosted by Kevin Young and J'aime Rothbard. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. In the 18 months since her last interview, Wen has a new name, a new memoir, and a new outlook on life that she finds incredibly freeing and joyful. In this conversation, she unpacks institutionalized self-abandonment—the pattern of trading one's own needs and boundaries for belonging—that shows up as much inside universities and workplaces as it does within cults. Wen also tells us how she applied everything she'd learned about walking away, when she was asked to leave a healing community after witnessing and reporting another member's physical assault. She candidly shares: - What happened when a 2020 tell-all memoir exposed decades of abuse inside the Kundalini yoga community she'd devoted her twenties and thirties to supporting - Why her renaming tracks back to the day she legally severed all contact with her mother - The isolation associated with rejecting the abusers' stories and believing the people who were harmed. - That her soon-to-be-published memoir, No Contact: The Ultimate Act of Self-Compassion, draws its rich story archive from 35 years of handwritten journals If you've ever stayed quiet to keep the peace, handed your own authority to a teacher, boss, or institution, or wondered what it actually costs to finally say no, in this episode, Wen offers a hard-won, unflinching look at what it takes to come back to your Self, and the gifts that journey can deliver. About Dr Wen Harper Harris Addiction and Trauma Specialist Passionate about creating safe and welcoming spaces for deep healing and connection, Wen supports students and clients on their learning and healing journeys by integrating the Compassionate Inquiry psychotherapeutic approach with yoga, meditation, and evidence-based practices (DBT). ​ Holding a doctorate in clinical psychology, Wen published Beyond Addiction: Kundalini Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation for Recovery from Opioid Dependence (2015) prior to completing her two-year post-doctoral internship in Dialectical Behavior Therapy.  A core faculty member at Antioch University, Los Angeles, Wen created and directs the Addiction and Recovery Specialization and is deeply committed to training future therapists in compassionate, trauma-informed approaches. ​ She also facilitates Compassionate Inquiry training groups, leads Beyond Addiction retreats, and leans into the teachings of Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur for inspiration in her work as a Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner.    ​Promotional Messages Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link to learn more.   Resources: Websites: Professional Site Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner Profile Beyond Addiction Instructor Profile Antioch University Profile Related Links Addicted to Speed & Busyness with Wen Harper Harris (Podcast) Premka: White Bird in a Golden Cage (Book) Eternal Echoes (Book) Social Media Instagram LinkedIn Facebook  
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  Executive Burnout: When the Body Sends the Invoice, with John Cummins 01.10.2026 44min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard. John Cummins built his entire career on learning to see what's beneath the surface, first tissue samples under a microscope, then investment portfolios, then the executives running them. Describing the onset of burnout as 'the body sending an invoice,' he shares that the invoice he received included a divorce and arrived in the middle of an outwardly thriving career. It also demanded that he reexamine every inherited belief he'd ever carried about who a successful husband, father, and professional was supposed to be. In this episode, John also explains: - Why a newly promoted executive's boss sent them straight into coaching - How his own external success co-existed with a complete internal self-disconnection - Why he walked away from a top role in European finance - What can happen when a lifelong fixer, people-pleaser, or entertainer, finally removes their mask Now based in Switzerland, trained in Compassionate Inquiry, Internal Family Systems, and polyvagal-informed somatic work, John spends his days helping high-powered executives find their way back to themselves, often using their familiar language of negotiation and deal-making. About John Cummins  Somatic Therapist and Executive Coach John works with people who look fine from the outside: Leaders, founders and high performers who have insight, language, self-awareness, and bodies that keep telling a different story. He came to this work by an unusual route, beginning his career in clinical histopathology, reading illness in cells under a microscope. He moved on to spend more than two decades in investment banking and financial market infrastructure, including nine years as a chief executive within a major European stock exchange group. Both worlds taught him the same lesson from opposite ends: The body holds what the mind cannot say. Today, John is a somatic therapist and executive coach based in Switzerland, working with clients worldwide. He trained in Compassionate Inquiry with Dr Gabor Maté, then integrated Internal Family Systems (IFS), Polyvagal Theory, EMDR, the Safe and Sound Protocol and breathwork. An International Coaching Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach, John holds a Master's in Business Psychology. His practice sits where somatic therapy and corporate leadership meet. The conversation about burnout and executive wellbeing is growing louder, but remains largely surface-level. Leaders are told to meditate, to manage their time better, or build resilience. What's rarely said is that a nervous system can hold a survival state for decades, and that time management will not address what lives in the body. John's conviction is simple: Nearly everyone carries trauma—and—nobody is broken. The habits that limit a leader today were once intelligent survival responses: over-preparing, over- delivering, holding control. They soften when they are met with compassion. In John's experience, the pattern that built their success is usually the same as the pattern that drains the person. Recognising that is where the shift begins. Promotional Messages Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, Compassionate Inquiry Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow these links to access full details and express your interest.  Spotlight Episodes  |  Sponsorships Resources: Websites:  John's Professional Site John's Substack John's Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner Profile Related Links: Compassionate Inquiry Training  Internal Family Systems (IFS) Polyvagal Theory Dr Gabor Maté  No bad parts. No bad leaders (Article) Social Media: John's Instagram John's LinkedIn  
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  Toxic Shame & the Long Way Home to Self, with Dagmara Ziniewicz 24.09.2026 53min

  Hosted by Kevin Young.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard Dagmara grew up in communist Poland, where feelings weren't discussed, and disappointment was carried quietly. She moved to the US at twenty, where she worked at odd jobs, drank, partied hard and led a very colourful life. She continued moving from country to country, searching for the one place where her life would start working. It took her mother's illness, and a conversation at a spiritual retreat, to uncover that she'd actually been running from what she'd been searching for.  In this conversation Dagmara shares her transformational journey and explains: - What toxic shame can actually feel like, in the body - How a single conversation at a spiritual retreat became the doorway into her own childhood - Why when the phrase, "my life doesn't work" comes up, it is worth taking seriously - What happens when someone starts questioning whether they were ever the problem This episode ends with Dagmara passing on something beautiful and brilliant that she wished someone had told her when she was travelling the world, looking for answers. "if you feel lost, or have problems with yourself, or in relationships, with dissatisfaction, or perfectionism, or workaholism or addictions, you may need some healing."  About Dagmara K. Ziniewicz Psychosomatic Practitioner | Founder of Metamorfosis Therapy  The founder of Metamorfosis Therapy, a space dedicated to profound inner transformation and changing the paradigm through which we relate to ourselves, others and reality, Dagmara is also a Certified Compassionate Inquiry® Practitioner, Educator and Mentor, with two years of training and internship in Dr. Gabor Maté's approach. She holds a MA in Pedagogy, is trained in Internal Family Systems (IFS Level 1 & Groups), Non-Dual Therapy, Somatic Meditation, Psychodrama, Therapeutic Theatre, Conscious Sexuality and Relating, and is a certified facilitator of Contact Beyond Contact, a therapeutic dance and movement practice exploring embodiment, connection, boundaries and relational patterns. Dagmara integrates different modalities to meet the complexity of each person's experience. Her work explores not only what we think and feel, but also how our experiences are held in the body, shaped by the nervous system and expressed through our relationships. At the core of her work is the exploration of toxic shame—the deeply rooted sense that something is fundamentally wrong with us. Through awareness and embodiment she supports people in loosening shame's grip and developing a more conscious, compassionate and authentic way of relating. Since 2020, Dagmara has created and facilitated experiential workshops and transformational programmes in Poland, Bali and internationally, while cultivating an online community. The education and mentoring she provides for therapists and practitioners, share an experiential approach to trauma-informed, somatic and relational work. At the heart of her work is a simple belief: You don't need to fix yourself. You need to understand and integrate what led you to believe that something is wrong with you.  Promotional Messages Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Compassionate Inquiry® Experience If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the transformative power of Compassionate Inquiry®, join us on Sep 26 for a 6-hour online experiential introduction to the Compassionate Inquiry approach and community. This link takes you to a web page where you can get information and, if you choose, register for the CI Experience.  Resources Websites: Dagmara's Metamorfosis Site Dagmara's Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner Profile Dagmara's Compassionate Inquiry Private Mento Profile Related Links: Happiness is a Choice (Book) From Self Judgement To Self Love (Video) Understanding Trauma - Interview (Video) How to Overcome Toxic Shame, Peter A. Levine, PhD (Video) The Five Levels of Compassion, Dr Gabor Maté (Video) Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training  Social Media: Dagmara's Facebook Dagmara's Instagram Dagmara's YouTube Channel  
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  From Controlling to Cancer to Choosing Herself, with Urszula Radzińska 17.09.2026 50min

  Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. Five years ago, during the COVID lockdown, Urszula received an email that informed her that she had cancer. No doctor called first to walk her through it, so she assumed it was a mistake, but her doctor's call the next morning confirmed the diagnosis. Up until that point, Urszula had been the person who managed everything and everyone, a role she first took on as a child.  She carried that same instinct into music school, journalism, and her own business (a communications agency built entirely on her own terms where she answered to no one). It took a cancer diagnosis and one blunt sentence from a Chinese medicine practitioner, to show her what all of that managing had actually cost her. In this conversation Urszula also shares: - The unexpected gift buried inside a diagnosis nobody would have asked for - Why it took her so long to understand a Chinese medicine practitioner's assessment - What redefining 'being good' actually means became the hardest part of her recovery - What she built in Warsaw to share what she learned, and why she refuses to push it on anyone This isn't a conversation about cancer, it's about a woman who spent decades making sure everyone around her was fine, and learning—the hard way—how to notice when she wasn't fine herself. Today that same instinct to manage everything has shifted into an invitation: "Come find your body at 7am or 8pm, in Polish or English, and no one will try to convince you to stay." About Urszula Radzińska: Founder, MyMeditation.Space | Meditation Teacher  & Mindfulness Coach After discovering meditation as a university student, Urszula's life path led her to build and run a successful communications agency. For 20 years, she was effective, responsible, always 'on.' Then in 2016, while still running her agency, she began sharing meditation with others. In the 2020 pandemic lockdown, she built MyMeditation.Space, a project that has since become her life's work. The real tipping point came in 2021, when a cancer diagnosis forced her to stop controlling everything and start listening to her body, not as a tool to optimize, but as a source of wisdom in its own right. That shift changed her life. In the years that followed, Urszula became an internationally certified OSHO Active Meditations facilitator, she completed EMCC-accredited* training in mindfulness-based coaching and recently finished the year-long training in Compassionate Inquiry—the approach at the heart of this podcast—which she is now integrating into her coaching and teaching. Ula also lives with ADHD, which shapes how she supports clients in finding steadiness without forcing themselves into constant action. Since 2022, she has focused on growing MyMeditation.Space, teaching active meditation classes, training future OSHO facilitators, and offering individual sessions and workshops in Warsaw and online. In these few years, she also founded The Mindful Living Foundation, a non-profit she now chairs, and launched and hosts OBECNA, a Polish language podcast that explores mindfulness, meditation, and coming back to oneself. Contact with oneself, Urszula believes, isn't a luxury, it's the foundation everything else is built on. Curious listeners can start with a free 20-minute consultation via her website. *EMCC: The European Mentoring and Coaching Council Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Circles If you're not a therapist or healer, but you've heard our guests describe the personal transformations they experienced during their Compassionate Inquiry® journeys, and wonder what that would be like for you... Circles is a 10-week small group experience offered to anyone who wants to experience the power of Gabor Maté's approach to trauma healing. Use this link to find out if this program is for you. The Portal If you've been listening to our podcast, you may have heard guests connect their birth experiences with enduring subconscious behavioural and emotional patterns. To help break this cycle, Compassionate Inquiry® offers The Portal, a 28-week trauma-informed training for perinatal health professionals; such as midwives, obstetricians, nurses and doulas, who want to empower their patients to trust their innate ability to birth, bond and nurture their child. Use this link to learn more Resources Websites: Ureszula's Professional Website  MyMeditation.Space Website Mindful Living Foundation Website Related Links: OBECNA podcast  Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training  OSHO Trainings Social Media: Instagram: @urszula.radzinska Facebook: @urszula.radzinska LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/urszularadzinska YouTube: @urszula.radzinska Spotify: @urszula.radzinska  
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  A 9/11 Firefighter's Daughter Turns Grief Into Service, with Caitlin Leavey 10.09.2026 54min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. FDNY Lieutenant Joseph Leavey's voice on the radio tapes from that morning was calm, steady and in command as he led his men into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.  His daughter, Caitlin was just ten, and it took her some time to understand why he never came home, and what had happened to the outgoing larger-than-life father she adored. Twenty-five years later, on the anniversary of 9/11, Cait joins us to talk about her clinical work as a therapist to first responders, military veterans and their families. She also shares: - The gift that emerged from the ashes of that disaster - How it felt when the initial wave of community support faded, and her lifelong mission to keep it alive - What Camp America did for kids who lost family on 9/11 - Where the Spirit of 9/12 shares its messages of hope This isn't a conversation about what was lost on September 11th, but about what one person refused to let fade. Every year, Cait returns to her father's firehouse on 9/11 to be embraced by her father's memory and the second family she's known all her life. Then, every 9/12, she runs a local event that inspires the next generation to keep the compassionate spirit of that dark time alive. About Caitlin Leavey, LMHC A licensed mental health counselor, trauma-informed therapist, and advocate whose personal and professional work is rooted in grief, healing, and service, Caitlin is the daughter of FDNY Lieutenant Joseph Leavey, whom she lost on September 11, 2001. In the years since, she has carried her dad's legacy forward by helping individuals and communities transform grief into meaningful connection and action. Cait specializes in supporting people affected by trauma, loss, anxiety, and depression, with a particular commitment to first responders, military, Gold Star families, and others whose experiences of grief and service are often carried quietly. She is the co-founder of The Holding Frames, a nonprofit that uses art, storytelling, and compassionate connection to help people feel seen and supported during times of hardship. Cait also co-founded the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Visionary Network and founded The Spirit of 9/12, an annual youth-led day of service that honors the September 11 National Day of Service (9/11 Day). She is also a 9/11 Day Ambassador. Through her work as a clinician, storyteller, and community leader, Cait invites others to recognize that healing does not mean leaving loss behind—it means finding ways to carry love, purpose, and connection forward. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry 3rd CI Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Compassionate Inquiry Suicide Attention The Compassionate Inquiry Suicide Attention Training is for therapists, health professionals and others working in therapeutic, healing, educational, medical, or coaching roles. If you're seeking sensitive training to help you recognize and support people in your communities who may be experiencing suicidal distress, tap this link to access a web page where you can learn more about this training, and decide if it's a good fit for you.  Websites: Cait's Psychology Today Profile The Holding Frames  The Spirit of 9/12 Points of Light Related Links: 9/11 Memorial & Museum Article The Spirit of 9/12 Event Info America's Camp  Tunnel to Towers Gold Star Families Smart Home Recipients A Paradise Built in Hell (Book) Feathers of the Phoenix (Art Project) Social Media Cait's Instagram The Holding Frames Instagram  Cait's Facebook The Holding Frames Facebook Cait's LinkedIn   
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  Prehab + Rehab: Preparing First Responders From the Inside Out, with Brandon Evans 03.09.2026 56min

  Hosted by Kevin Young and J'aime Rothbard. Produced by J'aime Rothbard  Most people experience one or two truly traumatic events in their lifetimes. Most first responders live through a hundred. In this final episode of our First Responders Series, Brandon returns to integrate everything this series has explored and uncovered. In this reflective conversation he challenges and embraces the word we use most often to describe people like him, and almost never ask them about. Brandon also shares: - Why calling first responders "heroes" might be doing them more harm than good - How the "hero" label reflects both first responders' 'superpowers' and desire to be 'regular people' - What a sports psychologist taught a team of competitive firefighters about winning - Why the first call Brandon made after his own crisis was to a therapist, and why for most first responders, that's usually the last call they make This isn't just a wrap-up episode. It's the conversation this whole series has been building toward; what it actually means to be human first, and a hero second, if at all. About Brandon Evans Executive Director, Fire to Light Foundation, Founder & CEO, Fire to Light  Brandon Evans is a retired firefighter and the Founder of Fire to Light, an organisation dedicated to advancing preventative Mental Fitness training inside the fire service. Drawing on lived experience and independent global research involving over 104 fire chiefs and leaders across 13 countries and 5 continents, Brandon developed the Fire to Light Mental Fitness Training System, a practical operationalised approach to training Mental Fitness the same way fire departments train every other critical skill. Through the Fire to Light Foundation, a registered Canadian charity of which Brandon serves as Executive Director, the goal is to make Mental Fitness training accessible to every fire department, removing barriers so that Mental Fitness is systemised and embedded into fire service operations worldwide. not treated as a clinical afterthought, but trained, reinforced, and owned at every level of the organisation. Brandon's mission is to help reduce rates of suicide and psychological injury in the fire service through an upstream approach of Mental Fitness Training, Fitness before Therapy. Promotional Messages: The Compassionate Inquiry® Experience If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the transformative power of Compassionate Inquiry®, join us on Feb 22 for a 6-hour online experiential introduction to the Compassionate Inquiry approach and community. This link takes you to a web page where you can get information and, if you choose, register for the CI Experience event. Compassionate Inquiry® Circles If you're not a therapist or healer, but you've heard our guests describe the personal transformations they experienced during their Compassionate Inquiry® journeys, and wonder what that would be like for you... Circles is a 10-week small group experience offered to anyone who wants to experience the power of Gabor Maté's approach to trauma healing. Use this link to find out if this program is for you. Resources: Websites: Fire to Light Foundation  Fire to Light Website Support Fire to Light — Zeffy Fire to Light Research Study Related Links: Crackyl Magazine International Association of Fire Chiefs FireFit Championships Book: Divine Beauty Articles: Firefighters and Mental Health: The Fear of Raising Your Hand But There Is Nothing Wrong With Me Trauma: Who, What, Where, When and Why Podcasts:  Upgrade Your Self Love (2025) Heroes are Also Human (2025) Transforming Challenges into Opportunities (2025) Videos: The Case Against Cosby (2023) Firefighting and Mental Fitness (2025) Real Leadership Comes from Courage (2024) Social Media: Facebook: Fire to Light Instagram: @firetolight_firefighters LinkedIn: Fire to Light Foundation  
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  Unpacking the Invisible Burdens Paramedics & Firefighters Carry, with Rachael Staebell & Brandon Evans 27.08.2026 1u 2min

  Hosted by J'aime Rothbard & Rosemary Davies Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard  Rachael Staebell spent two decades being the first person on the scene on the worst day of people's lives, but no one ever trained her for the part of the job that came after the sirens stopped. In this episode, Rachael, retired fire service paramedic and president of Women in Fire, joins returning guest Brandon Evans to talk about what it actually means to carry the not-knowing, the grief, and the weight of the ones who didn't make it. In this episode, Rachael and Brandon explain: - What it's like to be the one who tells a stranger their loved one is dead - A reframe of the First Responders' suicide epidemic as a need to "make it all stop" - What mountain biking, waterskiing and pulling weeds have to do with surviving the job - What they want from the public, instead of being thanked for their service This conversation doesn't flinch in taking on hard subjects. Our guests are two people who've done this work, honestly sharing what the job takes, what it can cost, and what can help. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a first responder, this episode will change how you see the people who show up when they're needed, save the lives that they can, and leave with burdens that need to be carefully unpacked. About Rachael Staebell, Lieutenant, Colorado Springs Fire Department (Retired) President, Women In Fire As the first paid, full‑time female firefighter in Fountain, Colorado, Rachael spent over two decades  advancing through the ranks at Colorado Springs Fire Department before retiring as a Lieutenant, and dedicating her efforts to advancing the Women in Fire organization.​  What kept her engaged as a fire services paramedic was the team. Having grown up on a soccer field, the fire service felt like a new kind of team where her size, strength and drive finally made sense. That sense of belonging is what Rachael works to create for others, especially women who don't see  themselves reflected in the "classic" firefighter image.​ As President of Women in Fire, Rachael's focus is simple: Support and empower firefighters so they can succeed and stay. She leads hands-on training at conferences to help shape mission driven programs in training, advocacy, and networking. She also works with partners like FEMA/USFA, Science to the Station and national fire organizations to advocate for the tools, equipment, mentorship, and visibility all firefighters need to grow. ​ Rachael cares deeply about the practical side of inclusion: gear that fits, stations with facilities for everyone, policies that support caregivers, and cultures that treat people with dignity and respect. Those "details" change who can show up, who can stay, and who can lead. Today only a small percentage of firefighters are women. Changing that is about building stronger, safer, more resilient organizations.​ About Brandon Evans Executive Director, Fire to Light Foundation, Founder & CEO, Fire to Light  Brandon Evans is a retired firefighter and the Founder of Fire to Light, an organisation dedicated to advancing preventative Mental Fitness training inside the fire service. Drawing on lived experience and independent global research involving over 104 fire chiefs and leaders across 13 countries and 5 continents, Brandon developed the Fire to Light Mental Fitness Training System, a practical operationalised approach to training Mental Fitness the same way fire departments train every other critical skill. Through the Fire to Light Foundation, a registered Canadian charity of which Brandon serves as Executive Director, the goal is to make Mental Fitness training accessible to every fire department, removing barriers so that Mental Fitness is systemised and embedded into fire service operations worldwide. not treated as a clinical afterthought, but trained, reinforced, and owned at every level of the organisation. Brandon's mission is to help reduce rates of suicide and psychological injury in the fire service through an upstream approach of Mental Fitness Training, Fitness before Therapy.About Brandon Evans Promotional Messages The Compassionate Inquiry® Experience If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the transformative power of Compassionate Inquiry, join us on Sep 26 for a 6-hour online experiential introduction to the Compassionate Inquiry approach and community. This link takes you to a web page where you can get information and, if you choose, register for the CI Experience event. Compassionate Inquiry® Suicide Attention Training The Compassionate Inquiry Suicide Attention Training is for therapists, health professionals and others working in therapeutic, healing, educational, medical, or coaching roles. If you're seeking sensitive training to help you recognize and support people in your communities who may be experiencing suicidal distress, tap this link to access a web page where you can learn more about this training, and decide if it's a good fit for you.  Resources Websites: Women in Fire Support Women in Fire Colorado Springs Fire Department  Fire to Light Support Fire to Light Related Links: Women in Fire Conference Fire Camps Reproductive Health Big Interview Podcasts: Fire Engineering (Women in Fire Podcast) The Chief Exchange A Duty to Act Social Media: Facebook: Women in Fire Fire to Light YouTube:  Women in Fire Instagram: Women in Fire Fire to Light LinkedIn:  Women in Fire Fire to Light Foundation  
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  Presence in Policing vs. Institutionalized Isolation, with Brett Key and Brandon Evans 20.08.2026 1u 7min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard. In this episode, a retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lieutenant (and co-founder of Warriors Rest) joins a retired firefighter (and founder of Fire to Light) to discuss the similarities and differences of the challenges each profession faces. They also explain how their organizations meet similar needs from different places; one intervening when there's a crisis, the other going to work upstream, before the crisis happens. Brett and Brandon take turns sharing: - The moment a counselor's simple question finally broke through Brett's resistance to getting help - Why the phrase, "Take a minute to make a minute," stayed with Brandon - What his partner's death, hours after his own son's birth, taught Brett about cumulative trauma - The question Warriors Rest trains people to ask when someone may be suicidal - The weight ever-increasing public scrutiny adds to policing that firefighters and EMS don't experience - Why a net under the Golden Gate Bridge is proof that small interventions save lives Brett remembers the pounding of his heart during his very first highway pursuit, and how over time, even the most adrenaline-charged calls stopped registering as stressful. This conversation is about what it takes for first responders to stay present to stay well. Because if you have to call for help on the worst day of your life, you want those first responders to be mentally, emotionally and physically fit. About Brett Key, OHP Lieutenant (Retired)  A retired Lieutenant with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP), Brett is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Warriors Rest Foundation, an Oklahoma City-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the mental health and wellness of first responders—law enforcement, fire and EMS. After 26 years with OHP, Brett brings a depth of experience that few can match. During his career he served as a K-9 handler and supervisor in the Criminal Interdiction Division, developed curriculum for OHP's Leadership Development and Law Enforcement Driver Training programs, and served as Commandant and Assistant Commandant for three OHP Academies. He also served on OHP's Tactical Team as an operator, sniper, Team Leader, and rising to the position of Assistant Commander before retiring in 2021. For over a decade, Brett served as a peer counselor in OHP's Officer Assistance Program, work that planted the seed for everything Warriors Rest Foundation has become. He is trained in Critical Incident Stress Management through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, has helped build and train peer support teams across Oklahoma, and has served as a peer counselor at Post Critical Incident Seminars and with C.O.P.S. at National Police Week in Washington D.C. Brett is an experienced presenter and instructor in leadership, peer support, and first responder wellness—speaking to command staff, agencies and conferences across the US. He founded Warriors Rest because he believes mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health should be the number one priority for every first responder, their family, and their department. About Brandon Evans Executive Director, Fire to Light Foundation, Founder & CEO, Fire to Light  Brandon Evans is a retired firefighter and the Founder of Fire to Light, an organisation dedicated to advancing preventative Mental Fitness training inside the fire service. Drawing on lived experience and independent global research involving over 104 fire chiefs and leaders across 13 countries and 5 continents, Brandon developed the Fire to Light Mental Fitness Training System, a practical operationalised approach to training Mental Fitness the same way fire departments train every other critical skill. Through the Fire to Light Foundation, a registered Canadian charity of which Brandon serves as Executive Director, the goal is to make Mental Fitness training accessible to every fire department, removing barriers so that Mental Fitness is systemised and embedded into fire service operations worldwide. not treated as a clinical afterthought, but trained, reinforced, and owned at every level of the organisation. Brandon's mission is to help reduce rates of suicide and psychological injury in the fire service through an upstream approach of Mental Fitness Training, Fitness before Therapy. Promotional Messages Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, look for the link in the show notes.   Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap the link in the show notes to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Resources: Websites: Warrior's Rest Support Warrior's Rest Fire to Light Support Fire to Light Related Links: "Clinicians for Warriors" Conference 2025 ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training Peer Support Teams Law Enforcement Suicides & Riska Study Police Trauma Syndrome Research 2020 Dallas Police Study Golden Gate Bridge Net Social Media: Facebook: Warrior's Rest Fire to Light Instagram: Warrior's Rest @firetolight_firefighters X Warrior's Rest TikTok Warrior's Rest LinkedIn: Warrior's Rest Fire to Light Foundation  
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  Firefighter Burnout, Fraternity, and Retiring Whole, with Kory Pearn and Brandon Evans 13.08.2026 1u 4min

  Hosted by J'aime Rothbard & Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. Twenty-three years into a firefighting career he loved, despite his enviable strategic foresight, what Kory never saw coming was a heart issue that led to a walk-in clinic and a hospital bed. The Captain of his fire company, he was also running a side business, raising a family and saying yes to every request.  In this episode, two firefighters unpack what almost broke them, and what it actually takes to build careers and lives that don't quietly erode them from the inside. In this episode, they explain: - Why firefighters are "overbuilt, not integrated" - What heart failure taught Kory about denial - Why "farming out health and wellness" works well for fire service crews - What binds the global firefighting fraternity - What "retiring whole" can look like Kory and Brandon share hard-won truths about what it costs firefighters to keep showing up, and what it takes to keep doing it well. If you've ever wondered what happens when someone finally stops outrunning their own body, this conversation offers many insights to ponder. About Kory Pearn, Fire Captain / Founder, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of CRACKYL Magazine / Author and Speaker A 23-year veteran of the fire service, currently serving as a Captain and Company Officer, Kory's frontline and leadership service gives him a rare perspective on what drives firefighters to succeed—and what erodes them over time. As the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of CRACKYL Magazine, he has built a groundbreaking platform that connects science, culture, and lived experience in a way the fire service has never seen before. A respected speaker, author and educator, Kory shares hard-earned lessons and practical strategies with firefighters, leaders, and organizations across North America and beyond. About Brandon Evans Executive Director, Fire to Light Foundation, Founder & CEO, Fire to Light  Brandon Evans is a retired firefighter and the Founder of Fire to Light, an organisation dedicated to advancing preventative Mental Fitness training inside the fire service. Drawing on lived experience and independent global research, Brandon developed the Fire to Light Mental Fitness Training System, a practical operationalised approach to training Mental Fitness the same way fire departments train every other critical skill. The goal of the Fire to Light Foundation, a registered Canadian charity, is to make Mental Fitness training, not a clinical afterthought, but accessible within every fire department. By removing barriers Mental Fitness can be embedded into fire service operations worldwide; systemised, trained, reinforced, and owned at every level of the organisation. Brandon's personal mission is to help reduce rates of suicide and psychological injury in the fire service through an upstream approach of Mental Fitness Training, Fitness before Therapy. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please tap this link to learn more.   Compassionate Inquiry® Circles If you're not a therapist or healer, but you've heard our guests describe the personal transformations they experienced during their Compassionate Inquiry® journeys, and wonder what that would be like for you... Circles is a 10-week small group experience offered to anyone who wants to experience the power of Gabor Maté's approach to trauma healing. Use this link to find out if this program is for you. Resources: Websites: Crackyl Website Fire to Light Foundation  Fire to Light Website Support Fire to Light — Zeffy Fire to Light Research Study Crackyl Articles: The Entry Point: Why the Same Approach Won't Ever Reach Every Firefighter Finding My Way Back: A firefighter reclaims her health, purpose, and identity after facing the impact of trauma and alcohol Your brain is built to suppress emotion in a crisis, but staying healthy means knowing when, and where, to unpack what you've been carrying OCD or PTSD? One Firefighter's Journey for Answers Killing Rage, Directed Inward The Suffering We Choose Podcasts:  Kory Pearn: The Man with a Method (2025) It Became a Necessity': Kory Pearn on CRACKYL's Personal Impact (2024) Igniting Wellness: The Story of Kory Pearn and CRACKYL Magazine (2024) Firefighter Wellness, Resilience and CRACKYL Magazine (2024) Upgrade Your Self Love (2025) Heroes are Also Human (2025) Videos: CRACKYL's Crusader for Firefighter Wellness (2024) Firefighter Health (2024) Social Media: Facebook: Kory Pearn Crackyl Magazine Fire to Light Instagram: @pearn.kory @crackylmag @firetolight_firefighters X: @CrackylM LinkedIn:  CRACKYL Magazine       Kory Pearn       Fire to Light Foundation  
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  What Running into the Fire Can Cost Firefighters, with Brandon Evans 06.08.2026 1u 2min

  Hosted by Kevin Young and J'aime Rothbard. Produced by J'aime Rothbard  More than 15 years spent running into burning buildings taught him that the hardest fires to face are the ones that follow you home. In the first of our five-part First Responders Series, Kevin and J'aime sit down with Brandon, a retired Canadian Firefighter, to explore what it really costs to be the one who shows up for others on the worst days of their lives. Brandon explains: - Why 'mental fitness' is a more useful frame than 'mental health' for firefighters - What his international research (104 fire chiefs across five continents) revealed about the gap between how firefighters train for fire and how they train for their own mental health - How the firehouse storytelling tradition could become the fire service's most powerful teaching tool - The five pillars of Fire to Light, and what 'operationalizing wellness' actually looks like Brandon shares a raw and unflinching perspective on what it costs to be the one who runs toward the fire, and why "We're not broken, we just need to train differently" might be the most important reframe first responders need to hear. Join us to hear what can change when a firefighter stops surviving their career and starts training for it. About Brandon Evans Executive Director, Fire to Light Foundation, Founder & CEO, Fire to Light  Brandon Evans is a retired firefighter and the Founder of Fire to Light, an organisation dedicated to advancing preventative Mental Fitness training inside the fire service. Drawing on lived experience and independent global research involving over 104 fire chiefs and leaders across 13 countries and 5 continents, Brandon developed the Fire to Light Mental Fitness Training System, a practical operationalised approach to training Mental Fitness the same way fire departments train every other critical skill. Through the Fire to Light Foundation, a registered Canadian charity of which Brandon serves as Executive Director, the goal is to make Mental Fitness training accessible to every fire department, removing barriers so that Mental Fitness is systemised and embedded into fire service operations worldwide. not treated as a clinical afterthought, but trained, reinforced, and owned at every level of the organisation. Brandon's mission is to help reduce rates of suicide and psychological injury in the fire service through an upstream approach of Mental Fitness Training, Fitness before Therapy. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please tap this link to learn more.   Suicide Attention Training The Compassionate Inquiry Suicide Attention Training is for therapists, health professionals and others working in therapeutic, healing, educational, medical, or coaching roles. If you're seeking sensitive training to help you recognize and support people in your communities who may be experiencing suicidal distress, please tap this link. It will take you to a web page where you can learn more about this training, and decide if it's a good fit for you.  Resources: Websites: Fire to Light Foundation  Fire to Light Website Support Fire to Light — Zeffy Fire to Light Research Study Crackyl Magazine Website Articles: Defining Resilience for Firefighters Firefighters and Mental Health: The Fear of Raising Your Hand The Current State of Mental Health in the Fire Service But There Is Nothing Wrong With Me Trauma: Who, What, Where, When and Why Podcasts:  Upgrade Your Self Love (2025) Heroes are Also Human (2025) Transforming Challenges into Opportunities (2025) Brandon Evans - Fire to Light (2024) Discovering The Energy Of Love (2022) Videos: Firefighting and Mental Fitness (2025) Understanding Mental Health in the Fire Service  (2024) Real Leadership Comes from Courage (2024) Don't Judge a Book (2024) Fire To Light with Brandon Evans  (2024) How to Improve Your Mental Fitness (2023) Social Media: Facebook: Fire to Light Instagram: @firetolight_firefighters LinkedIn: Fire to Light Foundation  
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  From Colitis to Liver Transplant: Balancing on Shifting Ground, with Lizzie Reumont 30.07.2026 57min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard Diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at three, Lizzie grew up not feeling safe within her own body. A volatile home meant she didn't feel safe outside it either. This candid conversation traces a decades long journey from a childhood marked by chronic illness and family instability, through disordered eating and compulsive exercise to a liver transplant at 31, the long work of making a stranger's organ her own, and what it takes to keep finding, again and again, a small enough foothold to trust she can balance. Lizzie shares: - How a psyche and body under siege shaped a pattern of control through eating and exercise - What it took to wait for, survive, and recover from transplant surgery - What her transplanted 80-year-old liver is teaching her about time, aging and her own body - What drew her, a 20-year veteran of structural bodywork, to Compassionate Inquiry® Join us to hear how three decades in the treatment room, five decades of living with chronic illness, and one organ transplant brought Lizzie to a practice built on trust, patience and staying gently curious about what her body is still holding. About Lizzie Reumont Yoga Teacher, Rolfer and Rolf Movement Practitioner, Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, Private Mentor and Somatic Therapist Lizzie's interest in what it means to be in the body originated from an early age, as a young child living with an active auto-immune illness in an environment where her body never truly felt safe. After spending her teenage years doing everything possible to disconnect from her body, in her early twenties Lizzie attended her first yoga class. This became an entry point for what continues to unfold as a lifelong practice of uncovering new layers of understanding about what it means to be herself, and what it means to be human. Lizzie has been teaching yoga and working as a Rolfer, Rolf Movement practitioner and craniosacral therapist for over 20 years. During this time, she has also moved through an arc of personal circumstances that include a liver transplant, a cancer diagnosis and a colectomy. Whilst her body has changed form, her inner landscape has found clarity and depth. Her scope of work has also shifted, adding Compassionate Inquiry and Somatic Experiencing to the tools she uses as a multidisciplinary Somatic Therapist.  Alongside her curiosity about what shapes the experience of being human, Lizzie is also an avid nature enthusiast, bird watcher, piano player and mother, which are all sources of inspiration and joy.   Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link for more information.   Resources: Websites: Professional Website Books: (Auto-Immune Illness, Chronic Pain, Female Studies) Between Two Kingdoms Unwell Woman The Invisible Kingdom Bodies of Truth Body Horror The Body Keeps The Score When The Body Says No (Authenticity) The Secret to Superhuman Strength Dying To Be Me A Matter of Death and Life The Roles We Play What It Means To Be Human Far From The Tree Daring Greatly (Trauma) Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents The Drama of Being a Child Meeting the Shadow The Myth of Normal Waking the Tiger In An Unspoken Voice An Autobiography of Trauma Anchored Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/lizzie.reumont/  
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  Birth, Grief and the Threshold Moments of Life, with Anouk Wehli 23.07.2026 53min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. What do birth and grief have in common? For Anouk, they are different sides of the same coin; threshold moments where our bodies already know what to do, if our minds allow us to trust the process. Anouk's life has so many facets, layers, and redirects that it would have been easy for her to overlook the consistent theme, which is simply: "Everything was meant to happen." In this warm and wide-ranging conversation, Anouk explores: - What shifts grief from a natural and healthy human experience into pathology - What seeing birth and death as different sides of the same coin, taught her about life - How becoming a parent can activate unprocessed transgenerational wounds - What it means to grow up as a "third culture kid" - How her multicultural inheritance, Korean, Swiss and Taiwanese, shapes her perspectives Throughout this interview Anouk shares many of her beautiful facets: Two decades running a children's forest school. A lifetime of crossing cultural and emotional thresholds. Her work in 'The Portal.' A concept she calls Essence Recovery. And at the end, the gift she offers to anyone hesitating at a life threshold is simple and steadying: "You're not alone in this." About Anouk Wehli:  ⁠Traumatologist Anouk brings a unique synthesis of clinical expertise and lived experience to the fields of growth and development. As a psychotherapist, trained midwife, grief specialist, massage therapist, outdoor educator and mother, her work is rooted in the belief that our personal histories and professional lives are fundamentally interconnected.  She joined Compassionate Inquiry in 2020 and today works as a Portal Facilitator, Circle Leader and behind the scenes in administration. The trauma lens Compassionate Inquiry offers has deepened her work as a grief counsellor, birth worker, communications trainer and bodyworker.  Having survived cultural and generational trauma, she knows first-hand the powerful effects of compassionately being with pain so suffering eases and life becomes more bearable… even enjoyable.  Growing up in Taiwan and Hong Kong with a Korean mother and Swiss father endowed Anouk with an invaluable set of multicultural competencies. Her melting pot upbringing and education in international schools instilled open-mindedness which she embodies when working with clients from all around the world. Working virtually has opened up a cosmopolitan online practice which she invites you to step into, if you're drawn to start your recovery journey with a Compassionate Inquiry session.  Promotional Messages The Portal Training If you've been listening to our podcast, you may have heard guests connect their birth experiences with enduring subconscious behavioural and emotional patterns. To help break this cycle, Compassionate Inquiry® offers The Portal, a 28-week trauma-informed training for perinatal health professionals; such as midwives, obstetricians, nurses and doulas, who want to empower their patients to trust their innate ability to birth, bond & nurture their child. Tap this link to learn more Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships Resources: Websites: Professional Website Compassionate Inquiry Profile Related Links: Grief Recovery Method  The Grief Recovery Handbook Cruse Bereavement (UK) National Bereavement Alliance (UK) What's your Grief? Grief School   The Beyond Addiction Program The Portal Training Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training Compassionate Inquiry Circles Science and Nonduality (SAND) The NVCI Circle Cat McCarthy's Interview Social Media Instagram @anoukwehli  
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  From 'Difficult Child' To Healing Difficult Clients, with Anouk Bindels 16.07.2026 59min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. Some healing journeys begin with a single crisis. This deeply moving conversation tracks a healing journey that spans more than 5 decades; from infant medical trauma, to being sent to a children's home, to losing her first husband to cancer, the sudden suicide of her second husband, myelitis-induced paralysis and incontinence, the esophageal cancer that followed years of dexamethasone treatment, and a near-death experience during chemotherapy. Anouk's life is one where extraordinary trauma coexists with luminous aliveness, intelligence and impeccable care. She shares: - How being 'fixated' as an infant wired her nervous system for survival, dissociation and a lifelong resistance to touch - What finally forced her body to say no, and the crack of light that initiated her return - How psychedelics, approached within a carefully held therapeutic container, opened childhood layers that nothing else had reached - What it means to build a healing model from the inside out, and why the safety of the container is everything For anyone considering legal psychedelic work, Anouk's retreat model, with its rigorous preparation, trauma-trained support team, and structured integration program, represents something rare and genuinely trustworthy in a landscape where harm is all too possible. Join us to hear how one woman's most shattering experiences seeded her most profound gifts. About Anouk Bindels A psychologist, systems therapist, coach and trainer, with a private practice based in the Netherlands, Anouk's work focuses on understanding the deep roots of trauma and the protective patterns people develop in order to survive difficult experiences. Having spent 40 years helping people heal from trauma, her Heart & Brain healing approach springs from firsthand experience, deep training, and a desire to offer something better.. Over the years, Anouk has continued to deepen her knowledge and professional skills through various international refresher courses and studying the works of: Jan Foudrenne, Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, Joe Dispenza, Kelly Turner, Bruce Lipton, James Fadiman, Stephen Porges, Dan Siegel, Gabor Maté, Janina Fisher and Frank Anderson. Anouk has also completed the Compassionate Inquiry® professional training and participated in the Kiyumi trauma-informed, psychedelic-assisted therapy, preparation, and integration programs developed in collaboration with Gabor Maté. By combining her versatile, international orientation with her professional insights and personal life experiences, Anouk developed the Heart & Brain healing process, which skilfully bridges the gaps between modern neuroscience and traditional Eastern philosophy, and between cognitive psychology and spirituality.  Anouk's learnings gained through her personal experiences with loss, trauma and illness are woven throughout her book, Wisdom of Trauma. It is currently available in Dutch and German. However, English and Spanish translations are underway.  In addition to her book, Anouk offers various forms of therapy, coaching, small groups and Heart and Brain Healing Camps (4.5 or 7 day psychedelic retreats with full preparation and integration elements). On her website, she offers an online trauma course (9 modules) and numerous meditations. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please tap this link.   Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships Resources: Website: Professional Website Related Links: Therapy Offerings Coaching Offerings Meditations Free Meditation Journal Events Trauma-Sensitive Training (with New Mind Institute) Heart & Brain Healcamp (Retreats) Wisdom of Trauma (Podcast - 2025) Wisdom of Trauma (Book - 2021) When the Body Says No (Book) The Myth of Normal (Book) Radical Remission (Book) Radical Hope (Book) Gabor Mate, MD  (YouTube) Howard Schubiner, MD (YouTube) Social Media: Facebook Instagram YouTube LinkedIn  
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  Your Nervous System Path to Intimacy and Aliveness, with Charon Normand-Widmer 09.07.2026 59min

  Hosted by Kevin Young.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard. What if the part of yourself you've been taught to suppress is actually the doorway to being fully alive? Charon has spent a lifetime exploring that question, as a somatic therapist, a shamanic bodyworker, through her training in Compassionate Inquiry® and her new book, Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy. (2026) In this Spotlight Episode, Kevin engages Charon in a wide-ranging conversation that flows from the body's quiet intelligence to the life force that animates everything, including our capacity to tolerate, connect, create and engage fully with the world around us. Charon shares: - How her life's work springs from reading bodily signals as a child, and watching her mother grieve - What it means to "drop into the body;" through a live demonstration - Why sexual energy is about life force, not intercourse, and why a healthy relationship with sexuality doesn't require a partner - How shame around sexuality can shrink our capacity for presence, connection and aliveness - What it means to be sovereign in love… and why pleasure is not a luxury but our birthright This episode offers both a map and a permission slip to anyone who has ever felt disconnected from their own intimacy and aliveness. Charon invites us to consider what we've been taught to suppress, and what might become possible if we free it. About Charon Normand-Widmer LMSW, Relationship Therapist A Licensed Master Social Worker and somatic psychotherapist, Charon is the founder of Luminous Ground, a body of work at the intersection of nervous system science, intimacy, and embodiment. For over a decade, she has worked with individuals and couples in the territory where most healing actually happens: the body. Her approach is trauma-informed, somatic, and deeply relational, drawing on attachment theory, polyvagal theory, and the practices of erotic embodiment. Charon believes that people are not broken, they are carrying nervous systems that learned, often very young, how to survive. The work, in her hands, is helping the body feel safe enough to come back online. Her practice offers a range of doorways into this work: 1:1 sessions, written therapy by letter, group containers including Embodied Tantra, live ceremonies and circles, and Empower Your Pathways, her ongoing WhatsApp community for those committed to longer-term integration.  She also teaches and writes at the intersections of nervous system, intimacy, desire, and sovereignty, with essays appearing on her Substack and across her social platforms. Charon's first book, Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy, released on June 1, 2026 from Sovereign Press. It is available on Amazon and IngramSpark. Promotional Messages 3rd Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please follow this link.   Resources Professional Website Related Links Free 'Intimacy Without Armour' Masterclass Embodied Intimacy (Small-group sessions) Private 1:1 & Group Work Muse Codes 1-Month Audio Experience Empower Your Pathways WhatsApp Broadcast:  Books Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy (Amazon) Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy (IngramSpark) The Power of Divine Eros: The Illuminating Force of Love in Everyday Life  Articles Relationship Alchemy (Substack) Compassionate Inquiry Blog Library Social Media Facebook Instagram Tiktok  
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  25 Stops On the Line: Celebrating 2 Years and 100 Episodes 02.07.2026 1u 2min

  Hosted by J'aime Rothbard, Kevin Young & Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. What happens when you look back at a hundred conversations, a hundred faces, and a hundred stories? We're celebrating two years of The Gifts of Trauma with a taster menu; twenty-five small bites pulled froPlem our most listened to episodes. An astonishing range of topics have been covered; from math anxiety to menopause, to addiction and neurodiversity, war and racism to colonization/invasion, grief and wounds to diseases, relationships, masculinity and fatherhood, to adoption and childhood trauma, and so much more. We'd also like to acknowledge Diana Gharib for participating in an interview from the frontlines in Beirut, while drones were flying overhead. [Episode 87] In this special compilation episode, Rosemary, Kevin and J'aime reflect on: - Why each episodes focuses on the gifts trauma reveals, not just the trauma itself - Two beloved guests who passed shortly after their episodes published - The deep wisdom being shared in Spotlight Episodes by community members We all agree that the glory belongs to our guests: the people who showed up and shared their work, their compassion and their humanity. And as Sat Dharam says when this episode opens, sometimes arriving at the destination simply means one person, somewhere, realising they're not alone. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link to learn more. Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships Resources: Compassionate Inquiry® Podcast, All Episodes Our Taster Menu: In Order of Appearance Episode 1: Gabor Maté, MD "There's nothing fundamentally wrong with anybody... the wounds that you carry can be healed." Episode 10: Sat Dharam Kaur, ND "I'm allowing something bigger to carry this whole ship... to make the impossible possible." Episode 2: Rhonda Nelson "I had this ability to drop the cane when I was around my family." Episode 5: Stephen Brown "I knew I was in the wrong place," on walking into a Protestant enclave in Belfast as a teenager during the Troubles. Episode 86: Rosemary Wanganeen "I had to empty my physical body of all that grief energy for my spirit to feel safe enough to come home. And between my physical body and my spirit, we've been able to sustain that connection."  Episode 55: Reggie Hubbard "I grew up in a land that saw me as a threat when all I wanted to do was be a blessing."  Episode 63: Juliano Innocenti "Most of humanity is our tribe. We just are taught to see difference and separate. We're not different. We've just been pulled apart."  Episode 18: ⁠Vimalasara Mason-John "When did you lose your play? When did you lose your aliveness? When did you stop being enchanted by your own story?" Episode 25: Sat Dharam Kaur "What happened to you... what happened to your ancestors... you're not what happened to you." Episode 3: Luke Sniewski "I didn't even know what an emotion was until I turned 30." Episode 73: Silva Neves, Diana Safta "There are so many things about sex that people believe to be true [that] are just constructs that have [their] origins in religion."  Episode 36: Wen Harper Harris While sitting at a stoplight in LA, scrolling, "There was no time to stop and pause and do nothing and be." Episode 11: Jordan Decker "Shame is a shortcut to change with long-term consequences, whereas love is a long road that ends in resilience." Episode 28: Dr. Louise Taylor "That would have possibly been quite handy to know prior." [On being diagnosed dyslexic in the final stretch of her PhD.] Episode 13: Sara Easterly "We live in a culture that tells us adoption is beautiful. ​And yes, it can be. ​But I also have a lot of really hard parts of my story. There's grief, there's loss that don't get acknowledged." Episode 29: Gordon Neufeld "We've never had more books... and we've never been so dumbed down." Episode 22: Matthew Green "The real edge of this is asking what role journalists can play in recognizing the role of trauma underneath the crises that we see in the news." Episode 85: Dr Kenneth Doka, Maria Estrada, Ellie Davis "Acknowledge life even with grief. There's lots to live for, lots to learn, lots to know."  Episode 96: Efu Nyaki, Rennet Wong Gates "I'm not going to fix you. I'm sitting here with you so that you can learn something from me as I learn something from you." - Efu Nyaki Episode 16: Allison Creech "I have a visceral, felt sense awareness of that presence... I love that space." Episode 77: Zach Bush, MD, Eva Dalak "More so than the victim or the perpetrator, the savior is actually the one going in to poison the system and see who can survive."  Episode 50: Inés Zabalaga "We've got you, honey bunny, we've got you... you don't have to do it alone." Episode 66: Kate Hazlitt, Inés Zabalaga "I'm pruning not just for myself, but for everyone that is coming up before me and after me." Episode 35: Fredrick Wretman A client, mid-session said: "You are a copy of my abuser." And six months later: "Being able to feel safe with you has made my relationship to men in general much better." Episode 89: Joe Baldock, Bret Hunt, MD "There are no 'others.' These violent or traumatized men aren't 'other' from us. And that is not a very popular line of thought."  And… We're Just Getting Started  
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  Weeds, Weevils and the Cultivation of Authenticity, with Sat Dharam Kaur 25.06.2026 55min

  Hosted by Kevin Young and Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. Authenticity isn't something we build, but something we've always carried and spend our lifetimes learning to trust. Sat Dharam defines authenticity as fidelity to one's own personality, spirit and character, and traces hers back to early childhood where she showed up as; the leader, the organiser, the person who 'got things done'. But her path to trusting led her on a healing journey through shame and the fear of rejection. That healing, she says, is what Compassionate Inquiry offers at its core. In this wide-ranging and delightful conversation, Sat Dharam explores: - What it means to be true to one's personality, spirit and character, across a lifetime - Why shame is so corrosive, and how being accepted and received can loosen its grip - How safety, confidence and repetition build the capacity to act with authenticity - The balance between masculine boundary-setting and feminine collaborative trust. This is a conversation about gardens, weevils, bumblebees and Yellowstone wolves… all of which takes us back to what it takes to become fully ourselves. About Sat Dharam Kaur, ND Compassionate Inquiry® Co-Director, Training Facilitator, Circle Leader, Certified Practitioner A practicing naturopathic doctor (since 1989) with a focus on women's health, cancer and mind-body approaches to healing, since 2012, Sat Dharam has been studying, working and teaching with Dr. Gabor Maté. She structured his work in the Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Online Training, and since 2019, she has incorporated it into her naturopathic practice.  Sat Dharam holds a BA (Psychology & English Literature) and a BSc (Biology). She completed her postgraduate studies at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine where she also taught stress management and women's health for 10 years.  The author of multiple *books on women's health, Sat Dharam also presents at global events, including Oxford 2025, Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference. An expert instructor in Kundalini Yoga, which she has practiced and taught for over 45 years, Sat Dharam has developed yoga-based curricula in addiction recovery, trauma, and breast health; specialties in which she offers training to teachers around the world. Sat Dharam and her husband live in an off-grid home on 105 acres of beautiful land where she nurtures fruit trees and a large garden. She enjoys hiking, cycling, and communing with plants. She has three adult children and two grandchildren. Promotional Messages: 3rd Compassionate Inquiry® Conference, Vancouver, 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link  Websites: Professional Site Compassionate Inquiry Profile Related Links: Wolf Reintroduction in Yellowstone Courses: Beyond Addiction Compassionate Inquiry Presentations: Oxford 2025 Books: *The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Women's Health *A Call to Women: The Healthy Breast Program & Workbook *A Naturopathic Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer *The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Breast Cancer Podcasts: Sat Dharam, Your Addiction Reveals Your Hidden Pain Sat Dharam, Compassionate Inquiry Training: The Origin Story Sat Dharam, Healing Addiction and Codependence in Community Sat Dharam, I'm All I Wanted to Be, Now What? Sat Dharam, Technology & AI: Benefits & Hazards Sat Dharam, Bridging the Gap Diana Gharib & James Gordon, MD, When Survival Usurps Grief Quotes: "Shame can only be reduced when we're accepted, we're received, we're understood, we're loved." - Sat Dharam Kaur "Confidence comes from safety, repetition, positive feedback and the support of peers. The greater the confidence, the greater the authenticity. So they work together, don't they?" - Sat Dharam Kaur 'With our mind we create the world.'- Buddhist Philosophy "Before we can create the world, the world creates our minds." - Gabor Maté "When we can feel safe, authenticity is allowed to blossom and bloom. Diversity is allowed to blossom and bloom. People who have a natural inclination to work in small or big teams, to be creative in different ways, all of that is supported, encouraged, and allowed, naturally/". - Kavin Young [Global regeneration] "It's not only possible, but I see it happening. Diana Gharib is practicing Compassionate Inquiry on the front lines in Beirut. We're taking calm, we're taking kindness, we're taking compassion into areas of chaos and unimaginable cruelty, horror and destruction. So it's already happening". - Rosemary Davies-Janes As A Man Thinketh Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes, And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills, Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:— He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass: Environment is but his looking-glass.  - James Allen. Social Media:  Instagram  
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  "So Many Ways to Come Home" In the Journey to Belonging, with Stephanie Sheng 18.06.2026 52min

  For those of us who have never quite fit in the environments where we found ourselves, the search for home can extend beyond geography. Stephanie Sheng knows this intimately. Born in the US to a father from China and mother from Hong Kong, she belonged fully to neither culture. At age 10, when her father was diagnosed with stage four cancer, big questions arrived and never really left.  A Compassionate Inquiry® Practitioner, Yoga Guide and Psychedelic Integration Specialist, Stephanie has spent years supporting others in finding their way back 'home' to themselves. Drawing on her own path which was shaped by displacement, loss, grief, and a decades-long inquiry into what it means to truly belong, in this thoughtful conversation, she reflects on: - How growing up between cultures, and her father's last 10 years, seeded her life's work - The moment in a Colombian Maloka that transformed her understanding of 'home' - Why homecoming is less a destination than a practice of returning to what we already are - How it can look and feel when we're  longing for home, but don't know it If you have ever felt like a stranger in your own life, this episode shares gently profound wisdom. It often turns out that the way back home is not as far as it seems. About Stephanie Sheng, Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, Psychedelic Preparation & Integration Coach, Nondual Tantra Yoga and Somatic Movement Facilitator  Stephanie's work explores the intersections of somatics, Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed and trauma-informed therapeutic support, expanded states of consciousness, spirituality, and the wisdom and practices of indigenous and earth-based cultures. Currently based between Germany and Mexico, of Chinese and Cantonese ancestry, she was born in the US and primarily raised there, while also spending several years in Hong Kong.  When she was 10, Stephanie's father was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. He navigated this for ten years before passing away. Accompanying her father through his process of embracing death opened her to a spiritual path and nudged her to begin learning, at an early age, how pain can be transformed into wisdom and healing. These formative experiences also laid the foundation for her lifelong exploration of home, belonging, death, life, and beyond. Through these explorations, she came to understand home as something far deeper than just a physical place. Inspired by her own path of homecoming, Stephanie's work offered through The Way Back Home, is devoted to accompanying others on their journey back home—home to what it means to be fully alive as a human on this earth; home to our fully felt, expressed, soulful, and authentic selves; and home to the essential depth of who and what we are beneath it all.  Promotional Messages:  Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry® approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link. Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry® into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes | Sponsorships Resources: Website: Stephanie's Professional Website  Stephanie's Compassionate Inquiry Profile Books: Women Who Run With the Wolves (Chapter 9: Homing)  Braiding Sweetgrass To Bless the Space Between Us The Wayfinders I Am That The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi  Podcasts: On Being Episode with John O'Donohue On Being Episode with David Whyte For The Wild Poems: By David Wagoner (audio reading) Lost  By John O'Donohue Belonging For Presence By David Whyte Everything Is Waiting for YouThe House of Belonging Sweet Darkness By Mary Oliver Wild GeeseWhy I Wake Early By Rumi There is a Candle In Your Heart  Meditation: With Tara Brach, Realizing Our True Nature with Tara Brach  Trainings, Retreats & Programs:  Authentic Flow with Satu Tuomela  Acer Integration Compassionate Inquiry Hridaya Silent Meditation Retreats and Yoga Modules Quotes: "Home is where we can come back to being fully ourselves, remembering, recognizing the fullness of who and what we are." - Stephanie Sheng "Safety is such a big aspect of why we turn away from ourselves, cut off parts of ourselves, don't allow our full expression, or don't allow ourselves to choose authenticity."  - Stephanie Sheng "Things are good, life is good, but it feels like I'm not in connection with something that's just under the surface, that's wanting to be explored, to be seen, to be touched upon."  - Stephanie Sheng "We're here to be in connection, to bring out the fullness of life."  - Stephanie Sheng "Your deepest longing has already been fulfilled. And you were the last to know. Everything you have ever longed for is already present here and now. Which is the last place you'd ever look. The miracle to end all miracles is happening. And it is this moment, exactly as it is… You've only been seeking yourself." - Jeff Foster Social Media: IG: @theway.backhome Telegram group communitySubstack  
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  Tending to Our Wounds: Where Science Meets Spirit, with Solea Anani & Dr Aimie Apigian 11.06.2026 55min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. What is the body actually holding, and how does it release it? While every Wounded Healer episode has touched on this inquiry, this final conversation brings it firmly into focus. Solea Anani, who opened this series with myth, prayer and an invocation to the wound's own intelligence, returns to close the circle. She's joined by Dr Aimie Apigian, a double board certified physician whose Biology of Trauma framework maps what happens at the cellular level when the body stores survival. Coming from two very different perspectives, they hold aligned understandings on: - What blocks our bodies from their innate ability to recover fully from injuries or illness - How to unravel the legacies of epigenetics and its spiritual counterpart, the karmic bundle - Why the nervous system 'braces', and why healing cannot begin until the brace is released - What home feels like in the body, and why arriving there, in yourself, is what healing actually is - What Chiron says about the moment the wound has finished its teaching Solea opens and closes this conversation ceremonially, holding the container she created in Episode 1. Her closing, an invocation for everyone who is creating new antidotes in a world being birthed anew, brings the series to a quietly luminous end. About Dr Aimie Aipigian, MD, MS, MPH A double board-certified physician in Preventive and Addiction Medicine, with advanced training in biochemistry, public health, and functional medicine, Dr. Aimie is known for making trauma healing both precise and deeply human—bridging functional medicine, attachment science, and trauma therapy to show how the body stores survival patterns and what it specifically needs to heal. Through her Biology of Trauma® framework, she integrates somatic work, parts work, and targeted biology to identify where the system is blocked and restore its capacity for healing through a structured, measurable sequence. The founder of Trauma Healing AcceleratedTM Dr. Aimie trains individuals and practitioners worldwide to move beyond insight into real, lasting change. She also hosts the Biology of Trauma® Podcast [linked below] and authored the multiple-aware winning book, The Biology of Trauma (foreword by Gabor Maté), a national bestseller featured on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Book list.   About Solea Anani, Spiritual Mentor  Solea Anani is the founder and guide of ANAM, a living sanctuary devoted to supporting the emerging human in deep relationship with the intelligence of the Soul. Her work is rooted in the interwoven lineages of Animism, Depth Psychology, and Mysticism, offering a path that bridges the inner and outer worlds through embodied awareness and relational attunement. Born of Taíno, West African, Chinese, and Spanish ancestry, Solea's work is informed by a reverence for ancestral wisdom and the living world. She walks as a practitioner of Animism, perceiving life as a field of relationship with both human and other-than-human beings—earth, elements, ancestors, and unseen realms. Through ANAM, Solea offers mentorship, somatic attunement practices, ancestral reverence work, and evolutionary astrology as pathways into deeper coherence, relational intelligence, and embodied wholeness. She accompanies individuals and groups in the sacred process of becoming—where soul, body, and cosmos meet in living co-creation. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link to learn more   Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships Resources: Websites: Solea's ANAM Website  Dr Aimie's Biology of Trauma Website Related Links: Ancestral Reverence Somatic Attunement Evolutionary Astrology Solea's Free Somatic Attunement Meditation Classes Solea's Core Resonance Mentorship Introduction What is Collective Healing? (Podcast)  Biology of Trauma Professional Training The Essential Trauma Release Sequence Guide The Attachment Trauma Roadmap Biology of Trauma Podcast The Biology of Trauma Book Dr Aimie's YouTube Channel Quotes: "It really is an illusion to separate anything, mind from body or emotions from physiology. It is so interconnected that more repair can be made much faster than in any form of siloed approach."  - Dr Aimie Apigian "The immune system is in an environment and its response is very normal for the environment it is in."  - Dr Aimie Apigian "Bracing will block the feelings that we need to feel to be able to move through them and heal."  - Dr Aimie Apigian "The healing process actually is arriving in ourselves, in a way that we feel safe and at home."  - Dr Aimie Apigian "For me, home is rhythm and being in contact with that rhythm, the unique, essential cadence we were born into… Every human has their own movement and jazz and rhythm…" - Solea Anani "We're not just dropped into this chaotic existence. We are born with the tools and the skills to unravel it." - Solea Anani "Healing doesn't fully complete. It has radiuses of information and wisdom that it's continuously bringing into our life form." - Solea Anani "To proudly carry our wounds and to be with our grief and to be with the places in life that are messy is allowing ourselves to be fully human."  - Solea Anani Social Media: Dr Aimie's Facebook Dr Aimie's Instagram Dr Aimie's LinkedIn Solea's Instagram Solea's LinkedIn  
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  The Teacher's Wound: Beyond the Therapy Room, with Allison Creech, Rachèl Hughes & Dr Mays Imad 04.06.2026 58min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard. This fourth episode of the Wounded Healer Series welcomes three educators whose wounds shaped not just how, but why, they teach. Mays, a Palestinian-Iraqi neuroscientist and educator, lost her home and homeland. She has carried that wound into every classroom ever since. Allison, a teacher and naturopathic doctor worked through her shadows and learned, in her graduate classrooms, what it means to teach from a place of security. Rachèl Hughes, a trauma-informed educator, came to teaching through personal tragedy and found that the most meaningful lessons she offers her students have nothing to do with their curriculums. Together our three guests discuss: - The nature of the teacher's wound - Why the classroom, at its best, is a sanctuary, and what the costs is when it isn't - What the brain does differently when a student feels seen, through the neuroscience lens - Why resiliency is a double-edged sword - The difference between delivering content and being present to who is in the room What does it mean to teach from a wounded place? And what becomes possible when a teacher stops delivering content and starts presencing themselves? Join us, if these questions resonate with you. About Allison Creech M.ED, ND As a licensed naturopathic doctor with 20 years of experience, Allison's work focuses on empowering people to establish healthy mind-body patterns that support whole-being wellness. She is a professor at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and a Certified Compassionate Inquiry® Practitioner with advanced training in somatic, relational, and psychedelic therapies. Allison is also a member of the Compassionate Inquiry educational team supporting the work of Gabor Maté, MD. She facilitates the year-long Compassionate Inquiry professional program and provides mentorship for practitioners looking to deepen their practice.    About Rachèl Hughes, BA Psyc, B.Ed, OCT, CT. Rachèl works with students at secondary and post-secondary levels, drawn to the places where trauma, identity, belonging and human development intersect and open opportunities for genuine learning and healing.  A Certified Compassionate Inquiry (CI) Practitioner, CI Circle Leader, Mindfulness Facilitator and Counselling Therapist (practising under the ACTA framework)  Rachèl offers private sessions and mentorship to individuals seeking meaningful support. She also contributes to curriculum development and educator support initiatives aimed at bringing trauma-informed practices into schools and learning communities, both in person and online. Over the years Rachèl has come to believe that our tender places, when we stop hiding them, can become our most generous gifts—to the students we teach, the people we mentor, and the wider circles we are privileged to hold. The conviction that sits at the heart of her work: Feeling truly seen is not a luxury in learning or healing, but the very ground from which both become possible.  About Mays Imad, PhD, Associate Professor and Neuroscience Program Director, Connecticut College An educator who deeply believes in and is committed to education as a path for healing, liberation, and transformation, Mays is interested in understanding the social determinants of student well-being and success. She conducts research on biofeedback, stress and burnout, and trauma-informed care.  With fervor, she advocates for institutions to tend to intergenerational trauma and to prioritize repair, healing, and intergenerational well-being.  An Associate Professor in the biology department and the Neuroscience Program Director at Connecticut College, Mays serves as the Association of American Colleges & University Senior STEM Fellow, as a scholar in residence at the Red House at Georgetown University and a research fellow with the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest at Stellenbosch University.    Promotional Messages: 3rd Biennial CI Conference—Vancouver 2026 If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry® training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing.  Spotlight Episodes Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships Websites: Allison's Professional Site Rachèl's Professional Site       Mays' Professional Site Mays' Personal Site Related Links: Compassionate Inquiry Dr Bea Bleile's Interview  Bell Hooks Mays on Witnessing & Wonder; Moral Wounds in Higher Education Mays on Higher Education Mays on Teaching & Learning Mays on Trauma & Repair Quotes: "You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop." - Rumi "I can track my movement through different layers of shadow to a place that feels like security in myself and much more permission to be authentic." - Allison Creech "Resiliency means there's a chronic presence of adversity. Thriving is a different kind of energy." - Allison Creech "Teaching is a relational field, not just a knowledge delivery system." - Rachèl Hughes "'Having a teacher who cared about my feelings, and knowing tears did not diminish your view of me, made me feel comfortable.' When I have doubts, that sentence is all that matters. That's why we do it." - Rachèl Hughes "I am an agent of the system and I fully believe in its power to liberate us, them and the world." - Dr Mays Imad "Sometimes it's been a stranger's nod that realigns me, helps me remember where I come from. These are glorious glimmers." - Dr Mays Imad Social Media:  Allison's LinkedIn Allison's Instagram Allison's Facebook Rachèl's LinkedIn Rachèl's Facebook Mays' LinkedIn Mays' X  
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  The Therapist's Wound: Healing Through Shared Humanity, with Efu Nyaki and Rennet Wong-Gates 28.05.2026 53min

  Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. The therapist's wound is rarely just one thing. Our guests today shared that for them, it's been a mix of childhood, educational, religious, ancestral, racial, colonial, cultural and systemic wounds, seeded through a lifetime. What turned these wounded humans into wounded healers is how they related to their wounds. This third episode of the Wounded Healer Series is profoundly relational. Born in Guyana, Rennet Wong arrived in Canada at 17, carrying Russian, Japanese, Chinese, West African, Irish, Portuguese and Aboriginal ancestry into a country that didn't know how to see her. Born in Tanzania and raised as a natural healer, Efu Nyaki carried her ancestral traditions into institutions that had little room for them. Undeterred, she travelled to Brazil, founded a holistic healing centre, and today travels the world to share her gifts of healing.  Their discussion of shared humanity in the therapeutic relationship explores: - Why the wound alone doesn't make a healer, and their relationship to it does - What it means to sit in front of someone, and simultaneously, their 4,000 ancestors - The difference between being resilient and being allowed to rest - How colonial and racial wounds live in the body - Humility, humanity and the healing power of presence This episode closes with a poem written by Rennet for this conversation.Her words precisely capture what it actually means to tend a wound—our own, or another's. About Rennet Wong-Gates,  MSW, RSW, RP, SEP A Trauma Therapist, Registered Clinical Social Worker, Registered Psychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner, and Organizational Consultant, she has spent over 20 years supporting individuals, families, groups, and frontline organizations through complex trauma, relational wounds, grief, burnout, emotional eating, binge eating, and nervous-system dysregulation. Rennet's clinical work integrates EMDR, Somatic Experiencing®, Brainspotting, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment, IFS-informed parts work, Compassionate Inquiry®, Polyvagal-informed practice, mindfulness, and anti-oppressive approaches. She helps clients understand the protective wisdom beneath symptoms, reduce shame, reconnect with the body, build greater safety, choice, dignity, and self-trust. In addition to her clinical practice, Rennet provides trauma-informed consultation, supervision, and resilience training for organizations supporting survivors, frontline workers, and communities impacted by systemic stress and trauma. About Euphrasia (Efu) Nyaki, MEd, Therapist & Professor of Trauma Healing  Born in Tanzania, and raised as a natural healer, Efu is a Somatic Experiencing® faculty member and a Professor of Family Constellation System Therapy.  For the past 3 decades, she has been living in Brazil, facilitating trauma healing therapy and training, both in-person and online.  In 1998, she co-founded AFYA, a Holistic Healing Center in northeast Brazil that provides holistic healing methodologies to people from the local community and international individuals who come seeking support.  Efu also travels to India, Egypt, South Korea, China, Bolivia, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, Tanzania, Philippines, Hong Kong, USA, Poland, Kenya and Sweden to facilitate trainings, workshops, summits, webinars, podcasts, conferences, individual therapy sessions and case consults.  In 2023 Efu authored, Healing Trauma through Family Constellations and Somatic Experiencing. The foreword was written by Dr Peter Levine. Promotional Messages: Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link. Compassionate Inquiry® Blog Library Did you know that Compassionate Inquiry offers a free public blog library with over a thousand short posts written by our practitioners and facilitators?  Each is only a 5 or 6 minute read, and topics range from connecting with authenticity to overcoming food addictions to understanding epigenetics, rethinking drug use, CI & Psychedelics, and much, much more. You can also read excerpts from podcast guests' interviews. Tap this link  to access our helpful, enlightening and inspiring blog library. Resources: Websites: Efu's Professional Website Efu's AFYA Site Rennet's Professional Website Related Links: Compassionate Inquiryy® Somatic Experiencingy® Family Constellations Healing Asthma in Adults (Podcast)  Somatic Experiencing and Family Constellation Healing (Podcast) Branches of Wisdom (Podcast) Rennet's 2024 Interview (Podcast) Books: Healing Trauma through Family Constellations and Somatic Experiencing Quotes: "My wounds didn't make me a healer… my relationship to my wounds did." - Rennet Wong-Gates "Oppression is not a gift. The gift is what we reclaim from it." - Rennet Wong-Gates "I do not come untouched. I come with places in me that have known silence, loss, and the ache of becoming." - Rennet Wong-Gates "The wound is not the gift; the tending is, the compassion is, the humility is. And perhaps this is healing, not arriving whole, but arriving honest."  - Rennet Wong-Gates "When I meet the other person, as I sit in front of them, holding the space for them, I'm able to see what they are bringing up. I know they have touched my wound and it helps me to become more compassionate because I know what they are talking about, not just from my cortical brain, but with my whole being and my soul. Then we both come up with the intuitive way of finding healing together. So the word I would like the public to hear is humility." - Efu Nyaki "I'm not going to fix you. I'm sitting here with you so that you can learn something from me as I learn something from you." - Efu Nyaki "You heal one, you heal all." - Efu Nyaki "Humanity, humility, and the healing power of presence." - Rosemary Davies-Janes Social Media: Efu's Instagram: @afyaorg  Efu's Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/efu.nyaki/ Rennet's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rennetwonggates/ Rennet's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RennetWongGatesPsychotherapy Rennet's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rennetwonggates