System Speak: Complex Trauma and Dissociative Disorders Guest: Dr. Chuck Benincasa (Part 3 of 3)
Sep 8, 2025
In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Chuck Benincasa, a clinician and educator focused on trauma, discusses the significance of consent and boundaries in therapy. He stresses the importance of clients' wisdom, encouraging therapists to respect their autonomy and avoid voyeuristic curiosity about trauma. Dr. Chuck also contrasts oppressive power dynamics with liberating community approaches and reassures listeners that it's healthy when members leave groups. His insights on embracing uniqueness empower those with dissociative abilities to find belonging.
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Choosing Safety In Public Interactions
- Dr. Chuck describes choosing to mask queer identity at a rural Tennessee gas station to protect safety.
- He framed that decision as discerning who to invite into his fullness, not betraying himself.
Disclosure Is A Personal Boundary
- Dr. Chuck rejects the idea of 'lies of omission' by asserting no one is entitled to access your internal knowledge.
- He says discernment about disclosure is dignity and clinicians must honor clients' limits.
Respond To Withholding By Building Safety
- If a client withholds truth, clinicians should examine their consistency and how they show safety, not play detective.
- Build consistent, nonjudgmental presence so clients feel truth is safe to share.