Conversations With a Wounded Healer

Let's tug on the thread woven through much of the world's established (ahem, accepted) architectural design. Yep, it's racism. I'll be honest: before Anne's fantastic conversation with Wandile Mthiyane, an Obama leader, TedX fellow, founder and CEO of Ubuntu Architecture Group, and social entrepreneur, I hadn't given this aspect of institutional racism much thought. Nor had I considered the healing characteristics that culturally competent architects might incorporate into future designs. To be fair, Wandile says architecture isn't inherently racist. Still, the biases imposed on designs by those in power are, and the discipline is ripe for revolution: "My work now centers around using architecture as a vehicle to restore folk's dignity by building homes." GUEST BIO Wandile Mthiyane is an Obama Leader, TedxFellow, architectural designer, social entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of Ubuntu Design Group (UDG). This architectural organization focuses on social impact design projects ranging from individual housing to urban design scale. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website:www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Our Bookshop.org page! https://bookshop.org/shop/HeadHeartBizTherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

Witchcraft has always been a radical act, and I am never more in my element than when I'm playing with tarot, crystals, and even my houseplants. This tracks since witches often work with the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and spirit to enact personal or societal transformation. Elena Rego isn't "just" a witch; she's the force behind The Holy Witch and The School of Holy Witchery, and our conversation isn't "just" about the much-maligned tradition of witchcraft. Instead, we explore rituals that reconnect us to our inherent wholeness, we reclaim honest, inclusive dialogue, and we revel in the juiciness that is Lilith: the original witch. GUEST BIO Elena Rego. A practicing Witch for close to 30 years, I have woven together my experience as a Social Worker, Body Worker, and artist to inform my Priestess work as a ritualist and teacher. My spiritual path has been rooted in deep shamanism, animism, feminism, and magic, with studies and initiations in Dianic Witchcraft, Sri Vidya Tantra, and Core Shamanism. The core of my work is to be in deep service to our collective unfoldment as spiritually rooted, connected, and potent Witches. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website:www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Our Bookshop.org page! https://bookshop.org/shop/HeadHeartBizTherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

Whatcha hungry for? It's a cheeky question with answers that reveal more than our immediate desire for something salty or sour, crunchy or creamy. As Anne discovers in conversation with UK-based chef and social justice change-maker Neha Patel Hampton, food can heal literally and figuratively, bringing us back to ourselves and each other. Neha sprinkles tales of personal reclamation with lessons in world history and views on current events. Her stories remind me that none of us exists in a vacuum; our choices are informed by who and what came before us. For Neha, that's her parents and the colonialism that forced them to carve out lives far from their home state of Gujarat, India, enduring unbearable pressures to assimilate as "obedient migrants." But her narrative is also flavored by boxes of rare, fragrant mangoes, the ultimate expression of life's sweetness. GUEST BIO Neha Patel Hampton is so many things. With over 20 years of experience in corporate, hospitality, and charity settings, she now fights for social justice through her work with organizations that help improve the lives of those who migrate and fight racial and gender inequality. Topped off with a heartfelt sprinkling of food and yoga as her way of bringing people together. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website:www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Our Bookshop.org page! https://bookshop.org/shop/HeadHeartBizTherapy NEW: Check out our cute merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

This episode contains a conversation about suicide & suicidal ideation. Do you struggle to complete basic tasks and have tactile sensitivities? Do you overshare in conversation or perpetually interrupt others? You might be neurodivergent. Or not. ADHD––attention deficit hyperactivity disorder––is one possibility that often goes underdiagnosed. While greater awareness could lead to vastly better ADHD treatment options, self-diagnosis via TikTok is NOT the answer! Alyse Ruriani, a queer femme registered art therapist and licensed professional counselor, is a recipient of a late ADHD diagnosis. As someone with vast personal and professional lived experience, Alyse is uniquely qualified to help folks leave the agony behind in favor of reclaiming agency. GUEST BIO Alyse Ruriani (she/they), MA, ATR, LPC, is a queer femme registered art therapist, licensed professional counselor, illustrator, and person with lived experience. Their work aims to communicate information, provide tangible tools, and validate the human experience through engaging illustrations and designs. When Alyse is not working, you can likely find her swimming in some body of water, making art with friends, or hyper fixating on some new idea. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website:www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Our Bookshop.org page! https://bookshop.org/shop/HeadHeartBizTherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

The more I learn about indigenous and traditional approaches to well-being, the more I understand that humans ARE nature, not something outside or above it. Shay Grant, an herbalist and yoga teacher who relocated to the UK from Canada, operates from a similar POV. As Anne discovers, the land around us has the power to enhance our mental and physical well-being. All we have to do is stop and smell the roses. Or the gorse. And here's the great thing: your locale doesn't matter. Urban, suburban, or rural, you're never more than ten steps from experiencing the emotional and physical support that plants provide. Shay believes in creating an empowering relationship between our bodies and the world around us, and her training perfectly combines ancient wisdom and modern scientific discovery. "I would not choose a world without modern medicine. I would not choose to live in that world," Shay asserts. GUEST BIO Shay Grant (she/her) is a Canadian yoga teacher and Medical Herbalist living in the UK. She's been teaching yoga for 8 years and practicing as a herbalist for 2. Shay believes in creating an empowering relationship with our bodies and the land. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website:www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Our Bookshop.org page!https://bookshop.org/shop/HeadHeartBizTherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

Christine Leone, LCSW, has experience shining a light on realities folks would rather leave in the dark. As a child, she and her family left liberal NYC for Portland, OR, the little-big city advertised as a cultural and political utopia. In actuality, life in that PNW paradise was anything but. Christine and her family discovered that the city's progressive patina obscured a very different––and dangerous––reality. "Under the guise of liberalism, there's definite, blatant racism," she says, adding, "but I've discovered also that that's kind of everywhere." Christine argues that it's the less blatant, passive-aggressive racism embedded in well-meaning care systems that takes a more insidious toll. GUEST BIO Christine Leone has been a social worker and therapist since 2008. She was born in New York City, lived in Portland, OR, and has been settled in the Chicago area for over 20 years. For the last several years, she has been focused on creating a sense of home after divorce and seeking balance between self-care and community care while providing healing spaces for others. She currently lives with her eight-year-old son and partner of five years. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

When I say there's a palpable spiritual quality running through Anne's chat with Dr. Isha McKenzie-Mavinga, it's not me getting all woo-woo as I'm wont to do. Dr. Isha is an integrative transcultural psychotherapist, trainer, and supervisor in the UK with over three decades of professional experience. She's a lecturer, writer, and Reiki master as well as a published author, poet, editor, and, as Anne puts it so well, an amazing human. The profoundly intimate cadence of this conversation no doubt stems from Dr. Isha's role as Anne's mentor. But the mentee has to meet the mentor halfway; they have to pick up what the mentor is putting down. GUEST BIO Dr. Isha McKenzie-Mavinga has thirty-three years experience as a Transcultural Psychotherapist, Supervisor, Lecturer, Writer, and Reiki Master. As a published writer & poet, she is the author of 'Black Issues in the Therapeutic Process' (2009) and 'The Challenge of Racism in Therapeutic Practice' (2016). She also co-authored an autobiography, contributed papers and poetry to several anthologies, and most recently co-edited and presented in 'Therapy in Colour' (2023). Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

How's your nervous system these days? Oof. I don't ask to provoke. Still, I understand that the question can stir up immediate and unpleasant vibrations deep in the marrow, feelings that cannot be put into words. And that's okay. In fact, it's evolutionary. Courtney Rolfe is a psychotherapist, trainer, and speaker who has spent much of her professional career translating the language of Polyvagal Theory, those adaptive behavioral strategies that all mammals access to varying degrees. While the theory behind our vagus nerve's role in emotional, relational, and fight-or-flight responses is a modern field of study, that bone-deep knowledge is ancient wisdom, according to Courtney, and has always guided our lived experience. She's here to help us put language to that spine-tingly, unconscious knowing and become more aware of our agency in the process. GUEST BIO Courtney Rolfe is a psychotherapist, trainer, and speaker who uses the wisdom of the nervous system to guide and inform her clinical work. Courtney is passionate about teaching other healing professionals about the nervous system through the lens of the Polyvagal Theory. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items!https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

We're in it now, folks: the first episode of the rest of our lives. And, oh my, does Anne bring the sauce. Even better, her first guest delivers the spice! Dee Albert is a UK-based psychotherapist and trainee supervisor offering both long and short-term therapy plus group and individual supervision focused on navigating the impact of racism, the challenges of personal and cultural identity, and empowering women. Dee is also a shamanic student who weaves massage techniques, yoni steaming, cacao ceremonies, and other spiritual practices into her psychotherapy. This conversation is a vibrant reminder to all practitioners (regardless of modality) that showing up as our authentic selves is a therapeutic salve. Sprinkle your spice into every space. Without apology. GUEST BIO Dee Albert is an England-based psychotherapist who incorporates the personal navigation of her internal world in the work she does with her clients, culminating in a unique therapeutic approach. She is inspired by shamanism and spirituality. Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items! https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch

Change is effing hard! And also… change is what's needed so that we can fully embody our wildest dreams. Keen fans of the podcast will note that I've hinted at changes coming here, too. Well, today's the day I forgo cryptic signals in favor of the big reveal: Introducing my new co-host Anne Remy! Wait, what?! Who? Why? Maybe I should say, "Re-introducing Anne Remy" because you met her earlier this year (go listen now, if you haven't). Judging by the response to that episode, y'all love her as much as I do, so this change won't be as hard as you might imagine. To refresh: Anne is a fellow Ohio native, a humanist therapist, TCTSY trauma-sensitive yoga facilitator, a breathwork facilitator, and a yoga teacher living and working in the UK. The timing feels right, and Anne's presence, doubly so. She shares my desire to connect with a global community of radical visionaries––therapists, light workers, and healers who are revolutionizing their chosen modalities. That wasn't so hard, was it? Let's be friends! You can find me in the following places… Website: www.headheartbiztherapy.com/podcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadHeartBizTherapy/ Instagram: @headheartbiztherapy NEW: Check out our cute new merch items! https://tinyurl.com/CWHmerch