Best The Complex Trauma Training Center Podcasts (2025)

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The Cost of Silence: When Asking for Help Feels Like a Burden 30:51

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3d ago30:51

30:51

Ana Mael explores why trauma teaches us to stay silent, and how reclaiming your voice becomes the first act of healing. What happens when your body believes that asking for help will hurt someone else? In this episode of Exiled & Rising, somatic experiencing therapist Ana Mael unpacks one of the most devastating trauma responses — the fear of being…

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Helping Children and Teens Reconnect to their Hearts through NARM® with Kelly Cook 54:41

8d ago54:41

54:41

"Sometimes children have to disconnect from their hearts just to survive." - Kelly Cook On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth welcomes school social worker Kelly Cook for an open-hearted exploration of healing and connection with children, teens, and families facing adversity. Kelly shares how her lifelong sensitivity to those on …

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The Burden of Being the "Strong One": The Avoidance And The Insult Behind the Praise 45:43

11d ago45:43

45:43

The Insult That Silences Your Truth. In this episode of Exiled and Rising, Ana Mael delivers a rare, political critique of the “strong archytpe” narrative that dominates Western psychology and social media. Speaking as both a trauma therapist and a survivor of the Balkan wars and genocide of the 1990s, Ana exposes how the language of resilience oft…

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Are You The Trauma James Bond? The Vigilant PTSD Spy Who Always Scans the Exits 34:45

18d ago34:45

34:45

Some people enter a room and look for the best seat. Others enter and look for the exits. If you know where every door, window, and fire escape is before you even sit down—this piece is for you. I call it being a Trauma James Bond: the body that survived danger so long, it still thinks the mission isn’t over. It’s a love letter and a gentle tease f…

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Harnessing Implicit Memory for Trauma Healing with Dr. Abi Blakeslee 1:01:17

22d ago1:01:17

1:01:17

"Trauma can be a gateway for transformation, and it's one of the things that I am passionate about." – Abi Blakeslee On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth sits down with Dr. Abi Blakeslee, a leader in the field of trauma recovery and somatic psychology recognized for her clinical research and teaching. Dr. Blakeslee shares her dee…

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The Pandemic of Resignation Syndrome: Not Wanting To Live. Not Wanting To Die. Explained By War Expert Therapist 28:26

25d ago28:26

28:26

In this pivotal episode, Ana Mael — trauma therapist, nervous-system specialist, and survivor of the Balkan wars — takes listeners into one of the most misunderstood trauma states: Resignation Syndrome. Ana Mael names what few have dared to: Resignation Syndrome — the global epidemic of nervous-system collapse that hides behind resilience culture. …

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Celebrating Agency, Therapist Self-Care, and the new NARM Workbook with Brad Kammer, CTTC Training Director 34:25

30d ago34:25

34:25

"Our greatest hope is that NARM® can lead to increasing opportunities for connection, healing, and transformation." - Brad Kammer On this episode of Transforming Trauma, Stephanie Klein is joined by Brad Kammer, Training Director at the Complex Trauma Training Center, to discuss the newly released workbook for healing developmental trauma—an access…

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Pleasure Is Shame: How Trauma Teaches You to Fear Joy 39:04

1M ago39:04

39:04

Ana teaches that shame around pleasure is not morality — it’s trauma. Reclaiming joy is not betrayal of your past but devotion to your life. Ana Mael’s “Pleasure Is Shame” — one of her most layered and psychologically rich pieces, combining trauma theory, embodiment, and intergenerational survival dynamics. ANA TEACHINGS & PROGRAMS https://exiledan…

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PTSD and the Conflict Inside: The Fight Between Rest and Survival 33:45

1M ago33:45

33:45

A survivor’s nervous system toggles between collapse and compulsion; healing begins by honoring both protectors and learning to pause in micro-doses. _______________________ Get the Book: The Trauma We Don't Talk About https://amzn.to/41SjKKL ❤️ Please donate . This podcast is independently run. No production teams. Fancy edits. Only a somatic ther…

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Beyond Disorder: Redefining Identity, Meaning, and Healing with Dr. David Puder 1:37:25

1M ago1:37:25

1:37:25

"The work we do is meaningful, sometimes difficult, but it's the best work to do." - Dr. David Puder On this episode of Transforming Trauma, Emily Ruth welcomes psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr. David Puder to explore the clinical realities of complex trauma and the slow, often gritty path toward healing. Drawing on decades of hospital and outpa…

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How to Explain to Others What You Need to Heal from Trauma 2:50

2M ago2:50

2:50

Ana’s new Exiled & Rising episode — one of her most intimate and practical teachings on relational healing. Ana teaches that true healing begins when others stop denying your reality and simply stay — seeing, listening, and acknowledging without defense or blame. Core Teaching Healing requires acknowledgment, not fixing. Ana distills trauma-infor…

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Growing Up Feeling Like a Burden: Hidden Trauma of Being ‘Too Much' 29:15

2M ago29:15

29:15

The burden wound begins in childhood. Being treated as “too much” or “a burden” by parents creates a deep, embodied wound. The imprint becomes identity. This is not just a passing experience but attaches to the child’s developing sense of self, carried into adulthood. The body remembers. Shame and burden are felt in the soma, even when never spoken…

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Honoring Resistance: The Wisdom of Defenses in Somatic & Hakomi-Informed Trauma Healing with Shai Lavie, LMFT 53:13

2M ago53:13

53:13

Trauma isn't just an event—it's a complex, living pattern woven through our bodies, minds, and relationships. What if the path to healing isn't about breaking down defenses or pushing past resistance, but about honoring those very protections as parts of our whole self? Shai Lavie's journey illuminates this radical shift. As a Hakomi and Somatic Ex…

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Shamed for Being Different: For Those Othered, Silenced, and Made Small: BIPOC, Undocumented, Minorities, Exiled 26:04

2M ago26:04

26:04

Ana dismantles the myth that shame is self-generated. She frames shame as something imposed from the outside—by abusers, toxic environments, and systems of oppression—and then internalized by the survivor. Buy Book: The Trauma We Don't Talk About https://amzn.to/41SjKKL Want to go deeper? Check the link below for Ana’s somatic course on healing int…

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Fascism Starts With Your Self-Care (and You Don’t Even Know It) 1:27

2M ago1:27

1:27

“Fascism begins not with violence but with silence — and if self-care replaces collective care, healing becomes complicity.” Ana Mael Fascism starts in the ordinary, not the violent. Ana reframes fascism not as sudden authoritarianism with guns, but as a slow erosion of empathy: disinterest, detachment, and normalized silence. Spiritual bypass as c…

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Tired Eyes: PTSD, Trauma Recovery & Somatic Therapy Tools for Healing Hypervigilance 4:41

2M ago4:41

4:41

From scanning to sanctuary: A guided re-meeting with your own eyes as the first safe place after exile. Somatic Healing. Somatic Programs for Trauma Recovery: https://exiledandrising.mykajabi.com/ Buy Book: The Trauma We Don't Talk About https://amzn.to/41SjKKL ✨ Please donate and support podcast continuation: https://exiledandrising.castos.com/don…

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PTSP, Emotivna Trauma i Ubrzanje Terapije: Terapeut dijeli praktične savjete 20:56

2M ago20:56

20:56

Da li tražiš način da olakšaš teret traume bez godina terapije? Ana Mael, somatska terapeutkinja za PTSP, deli jednostavne i praktične alate koje možeš primeniti odmah. Nauči kako da izgradiš kapacitet svog tela za otpuštanje, poverenje i otpornost. U ovoj epizodi Exiled and Rising, Ana Mael, somatska terapeutkinja specijalizirana za PTSP i oporava…

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Thrown Off & Overpowered in a Meeting? STOP Anxiety & Panic Attacks at Work, 2 Effective THERAPIST Tools 8:20

2M ago8:20

8:20

Practical grounding tools for acute panic – She offers listeners two simple, repeatable practices to interrupt spirals of panic in high-stakes moments: Naming the external disruption (“It is okay if the mad one disengages or leaves”). Asking, “Who is doing my job right now?” to anchor in the adult self. Parts work meets somatic awareness – Ana brid…

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How Activism Helps Us Recover From Trauma With Dr. Judith Herman 35:17

2M ago35:17

35:17

Chances are, you may be familiar with Dr. Judith Lewis Herman, the legendary psychiatrist, researcher, teacher, and author. Five decades into her esteemed career, Dr. Herman continues to produce innovative work in sexual trauma and Complex PTSD. But you might not know Judith Herman, the daughter, mother, grandmother, and activist. On this episode o…

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Panic Attacks & Anxiety for " NO Reason"? Explained By War Expert Somatic Therapist 10:44

2M ago10:44

10:44

Anxiety and Panic Attacks are not weakness — it is the body’s way of remembering. Trembling, shaking, racing heart, panic attacks — these are survival responses held in the nervous system, resurfacing when something reminds your body of old fear. Wind, a suitcase, even an innocent comment can awaken memories of exile, neglect, abuse, or violence. -…

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Heal Your Deepest Wounds: A Guide for Trauma Survivors 19:43

3M ago19:43

19:43

Book: The Trauma We Don't Talk About https://amzn.to/41SjKKL Key Takeaways Your roots may be wounded, but you are not only your wounds. Naming what has been done is an act of truth-telling, not shame. You carry both beauty and sorrow — both are true and both are yours. Belonging is not limited to family: you are from survivors, from humanity itself…

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The inner battle inside the survivor’s body. Trauma PTSD Recovery 2:17

3M ago2:17

2:17

Ana personifies the internal battle of trauma survival: one part of the self is exhausted and wants to collapse, while another part — fueled by inherited trauma — screams for vigilance and relentless productivity. The piece exposes how trauma fragments the self and turns survival into a conflict between shutting down and never stopping. Book: The T…

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Integrating Jungian Psychology and NARM with Megan Holm, LMFT 40:33

3M ago40:33

40:33

At the core of Jungian psychology lies the concept of individuation, a lifelong journey of growing into one's whole self. It's a process of self-discovery that can feel both inspiring and challenging as each layer of inauthenticity or protective strategy surfaces, then sloughs away. One therapist combines her Jungian background with NARM's spirit o…

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Impossible To Receive Love and Joy. The Trauma Behind “How Dare You Want More” 7:42

3M ago7:42

7:42

Book: The Trauma We Don't Talk About https://amzn.to/41SjKKL Why is it so easy to give — but so hard to receive? If you struggle to accept love, help, compliments, or even pleasure, it’s not because you’re broken. It’s because trauma wires the body to equate receiving with danger. In this episode of Exiled & Rising, Ana Mael — Somatic Experiencing …

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Get Your Revenge. For ALL Abuse Victims 6:37

3M ago6:37

6:37

This piece is for every survivor of abuse, including those whose pain is resurfacing now with the release of the Epstein files. ❤️PLEASE: share it on your own platforms — socials, Substack, WhatsApp, group chats. There are survivors who may never find me directly, but they can find this through you. Every share helps someone remember they are not a…

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How Trauma From Injustice Shapes Our Inner Healing, Part 1 6:27

3M ago6:27

6:27

We live in pandemic of injustic and injustice doesn’t disappear when ignored. It embeds itself in the body — in exhaustion, in sickness, in silence. Ana Mael wrote "With Smirk, Injustice Spoke Back" to give Injustice a voice. Not an abstract idea, but a force that grows when denied, minimized, or dismissed. Injustice speaks through our nervous syst…

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How to Actually Talk With God (A Therapist's Guide) 5:29

3M ago5:29

5:29

When Hugs Feel Awkward, Intimacy Feels Impossible. Why does intimacy feel so hard — even with someone you love? Why do hugs feel stiff, awkward, or unsafe? Why do some couples avoid touch altogether? It’s not weakness. It’s not that you’re “broken.” It’s your trauma body remembering. In this episode of Exiled & Rising, Ana Mael — Somatic Experienci…

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When Intimacy Hurts: A Somatic Path to Healing 33:54

3M ago33:54

33:54

When Hugs Feel Awkward, Intimacy Feels Impossible. Why does intimacy feel so hard — even with someone you love? Why do hugs feel stiff, awkward, or unsafe? Why do some couples avoid touch altogether? It’s not weakness. It’s not that you’re “broken.” It’s your trauma body remembering. In this episode of Exiled & Rising, Ana Mael — Somatic Experienci…

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Viktor Frankl's Legacy of Self-Transcendence with Alexander Vesely 51:47

3M ago51:47

51:47

On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth invites Alexander Vesely, award-winning documentary filmmaker, psychotherapist, and the grandson of Dr. Viktor Frankl, to share anecdotes about his grandfather and the evolution of Logotherapy. The pair recalls Viktor's deportation to a Nazi concentration camp and his heartbreaking experiences…

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Warning Signs of Abuse Most Somatic Therapists Look For 5:48

3M ago5:48

5:48

Your body remembers what your mind tries to forget. Posture, voice, and eyes all carry the hidden signs of abuse — and once you know how to read them, you’ll never miss them again. Ana Mael, Somatic therapist, delivers embodied truth-telling — showing how trauma is carved into the body, validating survivors, and teaching others to read the signs so…

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From Silent to Powerful: Your Journey Into Activism 9:43

3M ago9:43

9:43

An activist is not defined by having a megaphone, a protest sign, or a nonprofit behind them. An activist is defined by what they choose to do with their awareness of harm. full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHKJ-6KHOH0&t=2s ------------------------------------------------------------ PRE SALE FOR ANA TEACHINGS STARTS: How to Become An Act…

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How To Become An Activist: From Silent Observer to Finding Your Voice and Inner Power in Public 58:33

3M ago58:33

58:33

An activist is not defined by having a megaphone, a protest sign, or a nonprofit behind them. An activist is defined by what they choose to do with their awareness of harm. ------------------------------------------------------------ PRE SALE FOR ANA TEACHINGS STARTS: How to Become An Activist https://exiledandrising.mykajabi.com/offers/d2UK9ZdH/ch…

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When Love Makes You Sick: The Face of Exhausted Woman. Emotional Abuse & Trauma Recovery 22:27

4M ago22:27

22:27

What if the love you’re waiting for is making you sick? In this episode, somatic therapist Ana Mael exposes how emotional abuse carves exhaustion into your body, your face, and your soul. This isn’t aging — it’s trauma written on your skin. When Ana Mael, a somatic experiencing therapist for PTSD and trauma recovery, read her poem Face of Exhausted…

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Therapist Origin Story Series with Brad Kammer, CTTC Training Director & Faculty 57:19

4M ago57:19

57:19

In this special Transforming Trauma series, we will be exploring the "origin stories" of influential therapists. These episodes offer a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtain and understand what inspired these therapists to pursue healing work, and how they have brought their life experiences into their professional work, impacting and inspiri…

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Pedestals Are Dangerous.Question Me. Question Everyone: What Is Real Teaching? 1:11

4M ago1:11

1:11

How to Stop Outsourcing Your Critical Thinking? If you’ve ever caught yourself following a leader, teacher, or influencer without question — this is your wake-up call. In a world of AI feeds, propaganda, and digital manipulation, your greatest protection is not someone else’s wisdom… it’s your own. War trauma therapist Ana Mael reveals why critical…

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Changing Your Mind Isn’t Betrayal: It’s Your Freedom And Your Rights 10:03

4M ago10:03

10:03

When You’ve Been Trained to Survive, Not to Think” By a War Trauma Therapist & Founder of Somatic Trauma Recovery Center Core Teaching: Ana Mael delivers a profound and urgent call to reclaim critical thinking as a somatic, embodied skill, especially in a time of rising authoritarianism, digital manipulation, and inherited cultural obedience. Her c…

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Why Self-Care INDUSTRY Is Now a THREAT to Democracy and Your Freedom. Breathe. Meditate. Obey. 11:32

4M ago11:32

11:32

Ana Mael’s piece is a fierce, urgent call to consciousness, exposing how the wellness industry, spiritual bypassing, and self-care culture are being co-opted to depoliticize, numb, and pacify people in the face of rising authoritarianism, fascism, and societal collapse. Self-care without critical thinking is not healing — it’s complicity. Key Takea…

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Critical Thinking in the Age of Tyranny: A Survival Skill You Must Have Now: War, Fascism, AI 1:00:14

4M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

Stop Obeying. Start Thinking. At a time when professors are being silenced, protests are criminalized, and AI-generated propaganda floods our feeds, Ana gives us the ultimate counterculture message: “If you don’t practice critical thinking, someone else will do your thinking for you. And if you don’t anchor your moral compass, the algorithm will re…

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Therapist Origin Story Series with Marcia Black, CTTC Faculty 50:27

4M ago50:27

50:27

In this special Transforming Trauma series, we are exploring the "origin stories" of influential therapists. These episodes offer a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtain and understand what inspired these therapists to pursue healing work - and how they have brought their life experiences into their professional work, impacting and inspiring …

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No Ease, Just Survival: Hard Truth About PTSD by War Trauma Therapist 33:07

4M ago33:07

33:07

Distilled Lesson: Ease is a privilege. Hypervigilance is the default of the trauma body. If peace feels impossible—it’s not your fault. Your body is still trying to keep you alive. Ana is dismantling the myth that everyday tasks should feel simple or light once you're “on a healing journey.” She’s teaching that for those living with PTSD, “ease” is…

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PTSD Living: That Cruel Voice In Your Head. Leading Therapist on War Trauma & Complex PTSD Recovery 18:19

5M ago18:19

18:19

Ana’s piece, “That Cruel Voice In Your Head,” is one of her most intimate and clinically profound offerings yet. Through the metaphor of the Captain, Ana doesn’t just describe hypervigilance—she reframes it as sacred, powerful, and worthy of respect. This isn’t a poem. It’s a clinical reorientation of inner survival structures, delivered through po…

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Therapist Origin Story Series with Stefanie Klein, CTTC Faculty 40:31

5M ago40:31

40:31

In this special Transforming Trauma series, we will be exploring the "origin stories" of influential therapists. These episodes offer a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtain and understand what inspired these therapists to pursue healing work - and how they have brought their life experiences into their professional work, impacting and inspir…

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You’re Not Healing Because You’re Fleeing: Somatic PTSD & Trauma Recovery Truth Telling 20:51

5M ago20:51

20:51

Ana is fierce, compassionate, and unyieldingly grounded in truth-telling. She speaks directly to those living with trauma and PTSD—not with pity, not with patronizing wellness clichés—but with deep integrity, lived experience, and clinical authority. Here's what she's saying at a deeper level: Core Message “There is no running toward” encapsulates …

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Fascism Doesn’t Start with Guns - It Starts with Obsession of Self Healing & Passive Liberalism 1:27

5M ago1:27

1:27

Ana is sounding the alarm: fascism doesn’t begin with violence—it begins with apathy. It creeps in through: disinterest, detachment masked as spirituality, normalized silence, the overemphasis on self-care as a form of avoidance. She is not dismissing self-care, but calling out how it’s been commodified into an escape hatch—a way for people to say,…

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When Your Day Is Hard to Move Through – Somatic Tools for Trauma Healing 7:06

5M ago7:06

7:06

Ana Mael’s episode is a quiet revolution in how we meet ourselves during trauma. It may seem gentle and simple on the surface, but it is a deeply layered, somatic teaching rooted in the psychobiology of complex PTSD, reparenting, and trauma-informed self-compassion. New. Micro Lesson by Ana : https://exiledandrising.mykajabi.com/signup ❤️ Please do…

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You Were Silenced. Now You Lead. Rise From Trauma Of Being Invisible 21:31

5M ago21:31

21:31

Ana Mael’s episode “Wound of Non-Existence” is unapologetically radical excavation of one of the most overlooked traumas in the world: the trauma of being made invisible. In Ana’s signature voice—tender but piercing, embodied yet political—she names what so many have lived but never had language for. ❤️ Please donate . This podcast is independently…

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Integrating NARM Into Meditation Spaces with Alli Malnik 45:22

5M ago45:22

45:22

Meditation is a practice that intimidates many people. Silence, coupled with the act of observing rather than acting, often evokes emotions such as despair and loneliness. But what if we applied the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM©) to the experience of meditative silence? On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth is in conversa…

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"We Are Hiring Emotional Abused!": A Satirical Exposé on How Capitalism Preys on Emotional Abuse 2:56

5M ago2:56

2:56

Praise, Obedience, Burnout: The Real Job Description for Trauma Survivors. Ana satirical monologue exposing how workplaces—especially those rooted in hierarchical, exploitative systems—capitalize on the trauma responses of emotionally abused individuals. Through a faux job advertisement, she uncovers how survivors of emotional abuse often become id…

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Bridging Graduate School and Depth Oriented Therapy with Caleb McNaughton 46:51

6M ago46:51

46:51

Many graduate students in psychology, counseling, and social work struggle to find their theoretical and clinical footing. As graduate students get closer to graduation, many feel under-prepared and ill-equipped to provide effective therapy to clients. Despite the differences between training in a depth-oriented model like NARM and studying traditi…

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How Self-Care Became a Tool of Tyranny and Fascism — And You Didn’t Even Notice. You Got Played and Lost Moral Clarity! 25:01

6M ago25:01

25:01

“Fascism doesn’t begin with guns. It begins with people whispering affirmations while their neighbors are deported.” "Tyranny doesn’t begin with guns. It begins with disinterest." "Self-care without moral clarity is just another form of self-abandonment." What if the obsession with self-care is no longer care—but emotional neglect, disguised as hea…