The Trauma Therapist

Cassandra Solano, a first-generation Latinx queer therapist and coach, specializes in trauma-informed somatic and ancestral healing. They discuss the importance of healing intergenerational trauma through shadow work and ritual. Cassandra emphasizes serving cycle breakers and navigating cultural expectations. The conversation also touches on the healing power of community connections, balancing activism with nervous system regulation, and the vital steps of radical self-compassion. Their insights inspire listeners to embrace their healing journeys.

In this engaging conversation, Karen C.L. Anderson, a master-certified life coach and author devoted to helping women navigate shame and generational trauma, shares her personal journey. She opens up about her challenging relationship with her mother, early family dynamics, and the impact of childhood trauma. Karen discusses the transformative insights from her work on shame frameworks and nervous system regulation. With practical advice, she emphasizes the healing power of effective therapies like IFS and EMDR, offering inspiration for others on their path to liberation.

Arkadiy Volkov is a Registered Psychotherapist and the founder of Feel Your Way Therapy, a private practice in Toronto specializing in trauma-informed care. After a decade-long career as a lawyer, Arkadiy made a personal and professional transformation, shifting into psychotherapy to help people heal from anxiety, trauma, and relationship challenges.At Feel Your Way Therapy, Arkadiy leads a team of therapists who work with individuals, couples, children, and families using approaches such as Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), EMDR, CBT, DBT, and somatic-based practices. His work is rooted in attachment theory and the belief that healing happens through safe, attuned connection.Arkadiy is especially passionate about helping people move beyond protective strategies like emotional shutdown or perfectionism, and into deeper self-acceptance and secure connection.In This EpisodeArkadiy’s websiteArkadiy on IGBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Tomilyn (“Tomi”) Ward, LPC, is the founder of My Wellness Center and My Wellness Retreats in Pittsburgh whose goal is to help individuals and families heal from past events and navigate life’s challenges. She counsels clients through milestones such as pregnancy and adoption, supports veterans living with PTSD, and guides young adults exploring their sexual identity.In This EpisodeMy Wellness CenterBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Dr. Robert Rhoton is the Chief Clinical Officer of the Arizona Trauma Institute and President of the Trauma Institute International. A Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, he has spent decades advancing the understanding and treatment of developmental and family trauma. Dr. Rhoton has supervised outpatient clinics, juvenile justice and substance abuse programs, day treatment centers, and child and family therapeutic services. Formerly a professor at Ottawa University, he trained counselors to work with traumagenic family dynamics using non-egoic, compassionate models of care. Today, he consults with agencies and organizations across the globe, helping them strengthen trauma-informed systems and improve therapeutic outcomes for both individuals and families.In This EpisodeArizona Trauma InstituteBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Andrea Leeb is the author of Such a Pretty Picture, a debut memoir about childhood trauma, dissociation, and the long road to healing. Abused before the age of five and raised in a home of denial and silence, Andrea grew up to look “fine”—a successful attorney, wife, and high-functioning perfectionist. But when she was assaulted in her 30s, the façade cracked, and repressed memories, panic, and PTSD surfaced, forcing her into a profound journey of recovery.Through inpatient trauma therapy, EMDR, yoga, journaling, and boundary work, Andrea experienced what she calls a psychological rebirth. She now speaks with raw honesty about the hidden impact of childhood abuse, the myth of “I’m fine,” and why healing, though nonlinear, is always possible.Andrea brings a gentle yet unflinching presence, offering audiences validation, hope, and the reminder that it’s never too late to tell the truth—or to reclaim who you were meant to be before the pain.In This EpisodeAndrea’s websiteSuch a Pretty PictureRAINAndrea on IGBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Melissa Williams is the creator of the YouTube channel Lostat50Something and the originator of the “Backwards Confession,” a powerful practice of entering a confessional not to seek absolution, but to name the harm caused by certain church doctrines and actions — and then to offer forgiveness as an act of reclaiming personal power and peace. This deeply personal ritual has become the foundation for a budding movement and online community, r/BackwardsConfession, where individuals are encouraged to engage in similar acts of active forgiveness and liberation from institutional harm.Through this work, Melissa offers a unique perspective on healing from religious trauma, challenging institutional power dynamics, reclaiming agency in the face of patriarchal structures, and transforming pain into empowerment. By sharing her own story and guiding others in this practice, she hopes to open new pathways for those navigating religious deconstruction and seeking healing beyond traditional frameworks.In This EpisodeMelissa’s websiteBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Calvin Armerding is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor based in South Carolina, specializing in Adlerian psychology. He regularly leads workshops, offers retreats, and gives keynotes on topics such as grief, couples counseling, and trauma. His recent work explores trauma as what Alfred Adler described as an “exogenous factor” — an external event that collides with an individual’s internal narrative, purpose, and movement.Calvin teaches a model that integrates trauma with Adlerian lifestyle investigation, framing trauma not as a fixed, defining event but as a disruption that can reveal or amplify a client’s core convictions, compensations, and private logic. This approach helps both clinicians and clients reconnect with agency, courage, and belonging without minimizing pain or pathologizing symptoms.  In This EpisodeCalvin’s websiteBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Gabriela Rosa is the founder and CEO of The Rosa Institute, the world’s first entirely virtual and holistic fertility clinic. She is a Harvard-trained fertility specialist who has spent decades not only treating the biological side of reproductive health but also holding space for the psychological pain that comes with it. Her clinical insights are matched by her deep empathy for what her patients go through and her belief that we need to start calling this what it is: a trauma that deserves to be witnessed and treated with compassion. In This EpisodeGabriella’s websiteFertility BreakthroughBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Dennis Church, 76, has been a photographer for 50 years and has used the quiet act of photographing the world around him to navigate childhood trauma, addiction, and shame. His forthcoming book, DIRT FRESH (Fall Line Press, Atlanta), is part visual memoir and part emotional x-ray—a project rooted in finding light, humor, and color in the mundane. Having survived much, Dennis has made pictures through it all, using photography as a kind of recovery hymn. He speaks on art as healing, vision as survival, and the long arc of becoming whole.In This EpisodeDennis’ websiteBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you’d like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/