The Trauma Therapist

I'm thrilled to have the Kavanagh sisters back. These three women are an inspiring and powerful voice of hope, compassion and resilience. And they have an incredible sense of humor! I love them!In their own words:"We are three sisters born into a large family of ten children in the late-1950’s early 1960’s in a disadvantaged area of Dublin, where our father sexually abused us daily from age three or four right up to our late teens. In 1989, we made the decision to bring charges against our father and, in 1990; the Irish State took a successful case against him. He was convicted and sentenced to a term of seven years and was released having served five.In 1992 we took part in a ground-breaking RTE documentary series entitled Tuesday File, Silent Scream (produced by Moya Doherty). Up to that point, RTE programs on child abuse always had the interviewee’s face hidden and voices distorted, but we openly volunteered to share our story and despite the attempted injunction by our imprisoned father, the documentary was aired on RTE in October 1992. The program won a Jacobs Award in 1992 and early the next year we were nominated for the Harvey’s/ Sunday Independent Irish Women of the Year. This program also went on to be used as a training tool for professionals dealing with abuse victims and won the US National Women’s Studies Association Award in 1994.In September 2011 the book of our childhood experience entitled ‘Click, Click’ was published by the Hachette Book Group and went straight to number one in the Irish non-fiction bestseller list. In 2020 it was re-published under a new title ‘Our Father’s Secret’ in the UK by the Orion Publishing Group. The book has been described as “a powerful, emotional and sometimes harrowing story of childhood sexual abuse.”I'm thrilled to have the Kavanagh sisters back. These three women are an inspiring and powerful voice of hope, compassion and resilience. And they have an incredible sense of humor! I love them!In This EpisodeThe Kavanagh Sisters' WebsiteWhy Go Back?, Paula Kavanagh, Joyce Kavanagh, June KavanaghClick, Click, Paula Kavanagh, Joyce Kavanagh, June KavanaghThe Kavanagh Sisters’ PodcastThe Kavanagh Sisters on FacebookNeale Diamond WalshGary ZukovOprahBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Shanta N. Kanukollu (a.k.a “Dr. K”) has over a decade of clinical experience working with clients of diverse backgrounds in the forensic and medical settings. She attended the University of Michigan for graduate school, where she received her dual doctorate in Clinical Psychology and Women's Studies. She currently has her own private practice in downtown Chicago where she provides psychotherapy to adults from diverse backgrounds. Dr. K also provides education and outreach regarding mental health outcomes in ethnic minority communities, with a particular focus on the South Asian population, through her writing and professional speaking engagements across the country.In This EpisodeDr. Kanukollu’s WebsiteShanta on Instagram: snk_therapyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Anne DePrince is a psychologist, distinguished university professor, and expert in intimate violence who believes change is possible. She invites you to discover your self-interest in working together to end violence against women and girls.Anne has worked closely with victim service providers, police, prosecutors, and policy makers over more than two decades of research. An internationally recognized expert in violence against women, Anne studies the impact of multiple forms of violence against women – sexual assault, domestic violence, sex trafficking, adolescent dating violence – on a range of outcomes, from health and economic wellbeing to education and safety. The U.S. Department of Justice recognized her contributions to the nation’s understanding of crime victims with the Vision 21 Crime Victims Research Award.A clinical psychologist and community-engaged researcher, Anne is a champion for the importance of community-university collaboration for public problem solving. She directed the University of Denver’s Center for Community Engagement to advance Scholarship and Learning for 10 years. Today, she serves as Associate Vice Provost of Public Good Strategy and Research.In This EpisodeAnne’s websiteEvery 90 SecondsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Get ready for this episode! Lauren Dollie Duke is a force within the yoga, trauma and healing community. She’s a writer, educator, entrepreneur, and community activist. She’s taught thousands of yoga students over the last 15 years, led dozens of international retreats, and continues to push the edge between yoga, mental health, and trauma.She founded a one-of-a-kind community center and yoga studio in Encinitas, California. In a sea of corporate yoga, where most independent studios don't survive, she created a thriving community, teaching and hosting a variety of sold-out yoga classes, educational seminars, and writing workshops. She devotes her time to helping educate people on the anatomy of trauma and how those experiences are woven into the tapestry of our lives. She has studied with the world’s leading traumatologists: Bessel van der Kolk, Peter A. Levine, Gabor Mate, and Stephen Porges. Lauren's book, Sh!thouse: A Memoir, was published in January, 2022! You can purchase it through any major book retailer.In This EpisodeSh!thouse: A MemoirLauren’s websiteLauren on Instagram: dollieduke83Gather EncinatesWaking The Tiger, Peter Levine, PhDKimerly Ann JohnsonBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Shari Botwin, LCSW, has been counseling survivors in recovery from all types of trauma in her Cherry Hill, New Jersey private practice for over twenty-five years.Her second book, “Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing, Rowman & Littlefield,” (Rowman & Littlefield, November 8, 2019) deals with overcoming trauma including physical and sexual abuse, war-related injury, loss due to tragedy or illness and natural disasters.Real stories and practical tools shed light on how to let go of the shame, guilt, anger, and despair after a traumatic experience.An updated paperback of Thriving After Trauma released worldwide in October of 2021.Botwin has conducted Keynote presentations for Advanced Recovery Systems, Stockton University, Rutgers University, Monte Nido Eating Disorders Center, International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Organization, Hoftstra University, Advanced Recovery Systems, Stockton University and Bay Path University. Botwin has given expert on-air commentary on breaking stories related to trauma (Covid-19) on a variety of international media outlets; including, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning NBC News Now with Dr. John Torres, NBC Stay Tuned, ABC News, CBS News, MSNBC Live, CTV News, CP-24 News, CNN, Newsy, Sports Illustrated, Prevention Magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, Bored Panda, Parade Magazine, Parents Magazine, Newsbreak, Greatist, The Associated Press, Philadelphia Magazine and Radio Europe. Botwin is a featured blogger trauma and Covid fallout for Psychology Today Magazine.She co-hosts the podcast Warrior Women Speak with Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. She has also published feature articles in Thrive Global, Medium, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Toronto Star. Botwin has dedicated her life’s work to helping survivors after living through years of childhood abuse and multiple traumas in her early adulthood.In This EpisodeShari’s websiteThriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and HealingBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Raymond Rodriguez is a Clinical Social Worker with over twenty years of experience in clinical practice. He received his social work degree from Columbia University School of Social Work where he now teaches as a part of their adjunct faculty. His clinical interests include family therapy, trauma-informed care, immigration, anti-oppression and diversity, LGBTQ empowerment, spirituality, working with marginalized communities, and community-based mental health.In the last ten years Raymond has specialized in trauma therapy, assisting clients with complex psychological trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) and has extensive training and practice in psychodynamic psychotherapy, family systems therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Family Therapy, and Theraplay. He is currently on faculty with the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. In addition to clinical social work he is an interfaith minister and spirituality is an integral part of his life and my work.“I formerly served as a counselor faculty at Hostos Community College of the City University of New York and worked in several community-based mental health clinics around New York City. I am currently on faculty with the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute; The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in the Trauma Studies Program and the Families and Couples Treatment Services (FACTS); and the Integrative Trauma Certificate Program of the National Institute for the Psychotherapies. I am also an Adjunct Lecturer at Columbia University School of Social Work and at Smith College School of Social Work. I formerly served on the Executive Committee of The Trauma Studies Program of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, on the Board of the National Association of Puertorrican and Hispanic Social Workers and on the Board of the No More Fear Foundation. I live in the Bronx with my partner and our son.”In This EpisodeRaymond’s websiteSensorimotor Psychotherapy InstituteBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Nick Arnett, author of the Stress Management and Crisis Response pocket guide and his most recent book, Stress into Strength: Resilience Routines for Warriors, Wimps and Everyone in Between(HarperCollins Leadership, 2021), is a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and resilience leader and instructor, fire chaplain, wildland firefighter/EMT with Spring Valley Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service, and former paramedic with experience in domestic and international disaster response in medical, communications, crisis intervention and chaplain roles.This is not another “how to lower your stress” site. It is not about avoiding stress or how to “get over” or “move on” from trauma or grief. It is about performing your best while challenged. It is an invitation to seek balance and connections rather than one-dimensional fixes. If we grimly regard an experience as a horror to be buried and forgotten, we’ll never find or make meaning. If we ignore trauma and pretend that life is all unicorns and sunshine, we’ll discover, sooner or later, that our brains, bodies and souls are holding onto the pain anyway.He has led hundreds of crisis intervention responses with the Bay Area CISM Team for schools, the public and first responder agencies, including as a contractor for CAL FIRE. He is a member of the California Fire Chaplain Association, the executive board of the California Peer Support Association, the leadership of CADRE and the Contra Costa County Public Safety Support Association. He received a Volunteer of the Year award from the Santa Clara County Emergency Managers Association in 2012 and the Crystal Bowl Award for community service from the Junior League of San Jose in 2019.In This EpisodeNick’s websiteBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Emily Bernath has a passion for reaching out to women and guiding them to living out an identity rooted in truth. After being a rape survivor, Emily found her life quickly turn away from having everything she thought she wanted and towards feelings of both hopelessness and worthlessness. It was during that time, and being open about her experience, that it became apparent to her just how many other people experience those same feelings and so easily allow things that aren’t true about them define them.Her writing career began from a passion of wanting to shift the culture in how we view other people. There is no one on this earth who God doesn’t love and value dearly, and he calls us to see them in the same way. Emily rediscovered a relationship with God because someone made the effort to value her and lead her back to Christ and his love for us. She has since made it a commitment to do the same for as many people as possible.In This EpisodeEmily’s books Emily on InstagramBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

Lou Lebentz has spent nearly twenty years of her life as a therapist and has done a lot of work in the areas of addiction, eating disorders and trauma. She is currently in the process of writing an online program for people who have experienced trauma, mostly because, as she says “I don’t believe there are enough affordable options out there and trauma is an area that’s all too apparent in today’s society.”Lou wants to help in this area because after much training and development, she believes she has some valuable insights both personally and professionally to share, and her long term hope is that some of them may be helpful on a wider scale.My passion has always been to give some of the tools I’ve learnt during my near two decades as a clinician and self explorer to other people to help them on their path. My own journey of recovery from mental health issues, addiction and childhood trauma was character building and has given me a fair bit of knowledge and personal experience to impart.Having been there myself, my joy is in helping others to release their “old stuff” and dissolve the blocks and limiting beliefs, often taken on during their childhood or teenage years that are holding them back.In This EpisodeLou’s websiteTrauma ThriversNLPThe Invisible Lion: Flatpack Instructions For Life, Benjamin FrySolutions To Trauma ebook, Lou LebentzBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.

I believe…that 80% of mental health issues are the result of unresolved trauma trapped in the body. I believe that everyone has the potential to heal. I believe that when an individual can find safety in themselves, they develop a more meaningful relationship with themselves and with others.A world with less trauma…is a world with more connection. It is a world in which each interaction is more meaningful and vital. A world with less trauma is a world with more freedom.Ilene is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) and completed a 3-year training with the Somatic Experiencing Institute founded by Peter Levine. She is a Certified Professional Coach (CPC) through the GROW Training Institute, Inc. and holds a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology. Ilene has passed the National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE) qualifying her for licensure in Arizona.Ilene’s work is rooted in the principles of Somatic Experiencing (SE) and attachment theory. Her training in trauma healing provides the foundation to help clients resolve trauma symptoms and relieve chronic stress and pain in the body.In This EpisodeIlene’s websiteMoving Beyond Trauma, Ilene SmithIn An Unspoken Voice, Peter LevineThe Body Keeps The Score, Bessel van der KolkBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.