A flight attendant and a music teacher walk into a podcast… But not just any podcast, mind you. This is CWH’s 100th episode! To celebrate, OG listeners Rachel and Margaret join the show to get giggly and get deep.  They bond over their favorite episode (10!), and turn the tables on Sarah with a few questions of their own. Tons of fun, loads of a-ha! moments, and a couple dozen swears (naturally). Plus, the scoop on how Charlie the pyrite skull became the show’s mascot.    “You can be in service to others and still be on your own journey yourself,” That’s Margaret, a multitasking mother, musician, teacher, freelancer, and Patreon of this podcast, describing a CWH truth she’s come to rely on while pursuing her own degree in social work. “I had this illusion that people who are therapists and people who help others have to have all their shit together already before doing that. I always felt like, well, I don’t have my shit together so how can I help anybody else?” This podcast isn’t called Conversations With A Wounded Healer for nothing!    For superfan and flight attendant Rachel, the emotional stakes of her day-job couldn’t be higher (pun intended). She’s paid to literally help passengers keep their sh*t together! Beyond that though, she credits CWH showing her how to just be after resurfacing from an emotionally raw 2019. “Listening to your podcast, it was the first time that I realized ‘Oh, no, like, therapists can be human beings and they can be flawed and complicated and that’s ok!’ That’s been the main part of my journey and realizing that I actually do want to go back to school to be a therapist.” Low life moments lead to higher lessons, everybody! 100 episodes in, this supportive community of wounded healers continues to grow and amaze with their insight and energy. Whether you’re starting out here or have listened forever, thank you! Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

There are thousands of online personality tests, all designed to help you uncover your type -- or, at least provide an inventory of adjectives that probably, maybe, sort of describe you. The Enneagram is not a modern survey or sliding scale of attributes. Nor is it a superficial list of words. It’s a system with ancient roots based in sacred geometry.  “To know the Enneagram,” says energy healer Rachel Alexandria, “is to have access to information about yourself that makes you feel like you’re not broken, you’re not wrong, and you’re not alone.”  Rachel is a former psychotherapist who found herself dissatisfied with the limits inherent to office-bound therapy. She wanted to support her clients in the spaces between their visits: where they lived, how they worked, the projects they needed to complete. With the Enneagram’s personality model as her foundation, she created a healing practice dedicated to accessing energies and guiding clients through their radical transformations. “I work with people to mainly help them create what they’ve really been aching to build.”  If you’re new to the Enneagram model, Rachel shares some common principles in the episode using herself and Sarah as examples (types 8 and 3, respectively). In addition to her Enneagram work, Rachel is an author and a practitioner of tapping therapy. The practice is yet another way she promotes healing and wellbeing without limits. “I really want people to suffer less, have better lives.” Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“I feel like the Millennial generation...we’re very into breaking the generational curses.” ~Lauren McBride Behind the strong black woman archetype are millions of women seeking balance; safe spaces in which they can let down their guard without shame, fear, or judgement. Lauren McBride, LCPC, is poised to destigmatize mental health self-care in her community and, in the process, allow POC--especially women--the right to claim a more nuanced, authentic expression of self. Lauren’s desire to concentrate on the black community, a portion of the population historically underserved by therapists and counselors of color, sprung from a childhood spent in foster care. As a black woman working with clients who’ve experienced past trauma, relational issues, depression, or anxiety, she understands the cultural implications around seeking assistance. For the strong black woman, asking for help can be tantamount to tearing down generations of defences. Ironically, that’s exactly what Lauren aims to do: support POC in their quest to initiate profound conversations and bring about an end to traumatic family cycles.  Says Lauren, “I’m going to be your coach and your cheerleader at the same time. And when you’re out there in the field, I want to make sure that I provide you with the tools necessary to bring forth the change that you want to see because, clearly, you came here for a purpose.”  For full show notes including resources discussed and how to reach Lauren, visit http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast. Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

 “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars.” - Kahil Gibran  Taking care of others? That’s the easy part: shining a light so others can find their own way. But taking care of ourselves? Well… when the self is shrouded in shadows, the wounded healer can get lost in the dark.  **Trigger warning for those with spiritual or religious wounding.** A dark night of the soul, a phrase based on the 16th-century poem of the same name by St. John of the Cross, is, essentially, the suffering one endures as they travel toward spiritual growth and ultimate union with the Divine (in St. John’s case, God). I t’s a kind of existential road trip in which the first leg of the journey is difficult and the second absolutely horrible. In the deep end of this crisis, the wounded healer abandons agency; sinking while waiting to be saved. But, by reclaiming the ability to make choices, we can reconnect with our Divine (however that being manifests for you). When we do the work of breaking down so we can align with our essential nature, our Divine helps us tap into our inner knowing -- even when the outside world has gone to hell. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“I use the same thing with offering mindfulness to people: you don't need to go right in to look at Medusa's eyes, you know, grab a shield... feel your feet on the floor and look around the room. Have a guide. Don't go into that bad neighborhood alone.” ~Joe Clements Joe Clements is a sought after mindfulness meditation teacher and host of the hit podcast Spiritual AF…or Whatever. He has spent more than two decades applying the teachings of “Sit, Feel, Heal” to bring more awareness, compassion and presence into both his own life and that of his students’. Joe has dedicated himself to teaching mindfulness to the most at-risk populations because he believes that the simple, yet transformative practice can assist anyone in radically improving their lives. He believes that mindfulness may start on a meditation cushion but focuses his teachings on how these skills can be applied to our daily lives to become more resilient, compassionate, and more authentically ourselves. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“Wounded healer points back to something that we both hold really sacred, which is like, we're all human beings here. And we're never not human beings as long as we're in one of these things called the human body.” ~Brooke Thomas  Vanessa Scotto is a Counselor, meditation teacher, and Chinese Medicine practitioner whose work integrates spirituality and psychology. In her early 20's, Vanessa's own struggle with depression and anxiety catapulted her on an academic and personal journey. Along the way she earned two Master’s degrees and logged over 20 years of clinical practice.  Brooke Thomas has been in practice as a manual therapist (Rolfing practitioner) and movement educator since 2000. She is also the creator of the Liberated Body podcast. Her work is devoted to uncovering and celebrating how truly wondrous our bodies are; These gorgeous organisms that connect us to our deepest clarity, our world, and each other.  Together, they host the podcast Bliss and Grit: conversations about being on a spiritual path in the modern world. Vanessa, Brooke and Sarah discuss their personal calls to attend to their own healing process, the identity deconstruction that comes with trauma work, and the many paths to healing. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“My role in this program is to create fertile ground. That's it. And then what I'm going to do is rely on the fertile ground to do the work of growing the plants. And so rather than being the guy that's growing the plants, I'm just creating the framework for that to happen.” ~Jeremy French Jeremy French is a maker. He's made lots of cool things - a sober life worth living, a marriage, some really great kids, time to spend outside, some furniture, and a business --Making Whole-- that teaches addicts how to make these things for themselves. He's really excited to figure out how to help make more things that make life better for more people. Sarah and Jeremy discuss the unique ways his business helps people in early recovery learn about radical compassion, tolerating uncertainty, and solve problems. Conversations with a Wounded Healer is a proud member of @mhnrnetwork Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

"That’s our humanity: our capacity to feel things that much.” ~James McDonald What happens to someone with an opioid addiction? Popular debate currently limits their recovery to two outcomes: a lifetime of fruitless struggle or death.  Why don’t we hear more and talk more about addicts getting better? Of addicts living meaningful lives?  Those are the questions at the heart of James McDonald’s work. He wants to change the public discourse so that conversations centered around addiction and recovery include positive narratives of hope and healing. Such shifts in perspective could positively impact the way addicts are supported and greatly improve recovery outcomes. In this final episode of 2020, James and Sarah discuss addiction and recovery in terms not often expressed in the mainstream dialogue. They also share their insights on a myriad of other topics -- personal trauma work, imposter syndrome -- and get to the heart of why wounded healers love the work they do. Originally hailing from Seattle, James is a Milwaukee transplant and current Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student at Marquette University. He is an aspiring psychologist and researcher passionate about whole-person healing. If you or someone you know qualifies for James’ study, please contact him at: james.mcdonald@marquette.edu Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

Sarah discusses the heartbreak, the gratitude, and the deep learning that comes from trauma work and difficult life circumstances. Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi

“When you create change in your body, you create change in your mind. Your perspective changes.” ~Erica Hornthal, Chicago Dance Therapy Erica Hornthal is a licensed clinical professional counselor and board-certified dance/movement therapist based in Chicago. Erica is the CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy and in addition to private practice, she is dedicated to advocating and educating on the use of movement for mental health. Unsatisfied with her limited post-graduate options of either performer or dance studio owner, Erica forged her career in the space where her twin passions of movement and therapy met. Dance had long been Erica’s mode of expression; movement allowed her to navigate the challenges she faced in her own life. At college, psychology fascinated her so the prospect of helping others physically move through their difficult situations and experiences was a natural fit. In Erica’s practice, movement is the catalyst for change; her tool is the body itself. Even the tiniest alteration to the way a client uses their body improves their resilience and reinforces the possibility that change is possible -- from a deep cellular level outward. But the techniques used in dance and movement therapy are often misunderstood.Erica joins Sarah to dispels some common misconceptions surrounding dance therapy and, of course, they examine what it means to be a wounded healer, discussing how that empathy informs Erica’s therapeutic modality.   #healer #healing #woundedhealer #therapy #therapist #mentalhealth #mentalwellness #dancetherapy #dancetherapist #somatictherapy #dancemovementtherapy   Let’s be friends! You can find me in the following places... Website: www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoundedHealr/ https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartTherapy/ Instagram:  @headhearttherapy Twitter: @WoundedHealr @HeadHeart_Chi