Welcome to our extra special “Ask Us Anything” Season 1 Finale episode! We received so many questions that we were unable to answer them in one episode, so we hope to feature a more regular “listener question” segment in future episodes to answer them all—and any others you may have in the meantime! Thank you to everyone who shared their questions and who have supported us in our first season of The Re-Creation Podcast. Have a merry Christmas and see you back here in mid to late January 2026!
Please also check out our follow up resource to the last question in this episode: “Beyond Trauma as Social Currency: A Guide to Talking about Trauma for Survivors and Helping Professionals.”
Listen on Substack, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or RSS wherever you get podcasts.
Question topics we respond to in this episode:
* How inter-generational trauma relates to the ongoing work of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and histories
* Saints we look to as a source of comfort in our personal experiences and professional work surrounding trauma
* Approaching questions around donor-conceived IVF sensitively and with grief in mind, while also trying to understand the human-centered concerns behind the Church’s stance it on this issue
* How to approach vicarious trauma/secondary traumatic stress as parents and spouses, including birth trauma, in a life-giving way
* How useful is the concept of trauma when it’s frequently generalized—or even exploited—as social currency?
Resources and links mentioned:
* Fr. Michael Oleksa, Orthodox Alaska: A Theology of Mission (2002)
* Nicole’s posts on saints: https://nicoleroccas.substack.com/t/saints
* Mary Undoer of Knots - Byzantine Catholic Akathist and Catholic Novena
* Gayle E. Woloschak, “In Vitro Fertilization and the Beginning of Human Life” (The Wheel, 2017)
* You Look Like Me podcast series, a journalist explores the issues surrounding donor conceived people while trying to find the man who, presumably, looks like her
* Nicole’s Winter 2026 weekly writer meetups start January 8 (learn more here)
* Book rec from Nicole: Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others, by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky
* Our follow up resource to the last question in this episode: “Beyond Trauma as Social Currency: A Guide to Talking about Trauma for Survivors and Helping Professionals.”
* All music featured on this podcast is used in accordance with Creative Commons licenses. For a full list of the tracks we use, visit https://recreationpodcast.substack.com/p/music-featured-in-our-episodes
Let’s Connect:
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More about Eleni:
https://www.eleniopperwallcounselling.com/
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Disclaimer:This podcast is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional mental health care.
