Shows
How We Can HealBeauty After Bruises: Healing Complex Trauma Together with Lexi & AnneWhat happens when compassion meets competence—and lived experience leads the way? We invited Anne Nicely and Lexi M., co-founders of Beauty After Bruises, to share how a homegrown effort to help one survivor of dissociative identity disorder expanded into a nationwide bridge for people living with complex trauma and dissociation. From funding care to educating clinicians, their mission is simple and urgent: make healing possible, practical, and grounded in research.We unpack the real differences between trauma informed and trauma competent care, why the best therapists’ rosters are often full, and how short trainings can’t substi...
2026-02-181h 12How We Can HealAnti-Oppressive Trauma Care & Collective Healing with David ArcherThis episode is sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD).The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is an international, non-profit, professional association organized to develop and promote comprehensive, clinically effective and empirically based resources and responses to trauma and dissociation and to address its relevance to other theoretical constructs.To learn more and become a member, visit: https://www.isst-d.org/Visit https://cfas.isst-d.org/ to access educational offerings for both professionals and non-professionals---What if therapy could feel...
2026-02-121h 06How We Can HealAnti-Oppressive Trauma Care & Collective Healing with David ArcherThis episode is sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD).The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is an international, non-profit, professional association organized to develop and promote comprehensive, clinically effective and empirically based resources and responses to trauma and dissociation and to address its relevance to other theoretical constructs.To learn more and become a member, visit: https://www.isst-d.org/Visit https://cfas.isst-d.org/ to access educational offerings for both professionals and non-professionals---What if therapy could feel...
2026-02-121h 06How We Can HealGenerations of Resilience: Healing Beyond Individual Trauma with Lynette Danylchuk PhDAre you a therapist looking to organize your business? Try SimplePractice! Start with a seven-day free trial, then get 50% off your first three months. Just go to https://www.simplepractice.com/ to claim the offer!---Curiosity heals faster than control. That’s the thread we follow with Lynette Danylchuk, PhD—trailblazing psychologist, past ISSTD president, and coauthor of Treating Complex Trauma and Dissociation. We talk about why the field has exploded with research and lived-experience leadership, and how the best therapy now balances sturdy containers with deep listening. Tools matter, but timing, conse...
2026-02-0459 minHow We Can HealDisabled And Proud: Laszlo Jajczay’s JourneyAre you a therapist looking to organize your business? Try SimplePractice! Start with a seven-day free trial, then get 50% off your first three months. Just go to https://www.simplepractice.com/ to claim the offer!---What happens when accessibility stops being an afterthought and becomes the starting line? That question drives our conversation with journalist, podcast host, and disability rights advocate Laszlo Jacksai, whose work blends reporting, storytelling, and community care to challenge the subtle and not-so-subtle ways ableism shows up in daily life.We trace Laszlo’s pa...
2026-01-2737 minHow We Can HealHow Organized Child Sexual Abuse Persists and How We Can Disrupt It with Dr. Michael SalterAre you a therapist looking to organize your business? Try SimplePractice! Start with a seven-day free trial, then get 50% off your first three months. Go to https://www.simplepractice.com/ to claim the offer!---What happens when we stop treating child sexual abuse as isolated “bad apples” and start seeing it as organized crime shaped by networks, money flows, and technology? We sit down with Dr. Michael Salter—criminologist, author, and global leader in child protection—to map the hidden systems that enable abuse and the practical steps that can disru...
2026-01-2259 min2026-01-2001 minHow We Can HealFrom Stem Cells To Strength: Dr. Helen Blau On Healing Muscles & the Future of Regenerative MedicineA quiet shift in one enzyme may be steering how we age—and how strong we stay. Dr. Helen Blau, trailblazing Stanford scientist and 2025 National Medal of Science honoree, joins us to unpack a breakthrough decades in the making: prostaglandin E2 is essential for muscle stem cell repair, yet a degrading enzyme creeps up with age, draining that signal and eroding strength. Her team calls it a “gerozyme,” and blocking it with a targeted small molecule restored muscle size, power, and endurance in aged mice. The first human safety trial is complete, and a Phase 2 study in sarcopenia is on dec...
2025-12-171h 02How We Can HealHow Therapeutic Nurturing Can Help Us Heal from Patriarchy & MisogynyWhat if the presence you practice in mindfulness is the same wiring that makes secure attachment possible? That question drives our conversation with clinician, author, and teacher Christine Forner, who introduces Securefulness—a relational state where an attuned nervous system helps another human co‑regulate. Christine explains why care isn’t sentimental; it’s a biologically essential force that organizes safety, regulation, and health. When true care arrives, dissociated pain often surfaces, which can feel like getting worse. She reframes this as healing beginning and uses a powerful “care isn’t the bucket” story, plus a re-feeding analogy, to show how to pa...
2025-11-171h 03
Friends with wheelsLisa DanylchukA chat with Lisa Danylchuk about her work as a mental health professional, her work in yoga, and her podcast, How We Can Heal.
2025-11-1022 minHow We Can HealWhen Running Isn’t Therapy: Katharina Hartmuth on Healing from Trauma & Finding Joy in the MountainsWhat does it really take to endure when the air thins, the quads burn, and doubt gets loud? We sit down with ultrarunner Katharina Hartmuth—Hardrock and UTMB podium finisher and winner of the 330 km Tor des Géants—to unpack the mental game of mountain ultras and the deeper work that fuels lasting resilience. From long stretches above 12,000 feet to the rare quiet of a small, devoted race community, Katharina explains why Hardrock feels both brutal and beautiful—and why she keeps coming back.Katharina is candid about the lows: altitude-driven vision issues, bonks that won’t quit, a...
2025-11-101h 30How We Can HealGlobal High-Intensity Activation, Rhythmicity & Healing with Mahshid HagerWhen slowing down feels dangerous, your body might be living in Global High-Intensity Activation(GHIA): always on, always braced, always moving. Today we sit down with licensed marriage and family therapist and Somatic Experiencing faculty member Mahshid Hager to name that pattern, trace where it comes from, and chart a humane path back to rhythm. Mahshid explains why a body wired for survival often resists rest, and how to work with that reality using micro-rests that your system will actually allow. We unpack the gas-and-brake reciprocity between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, the difference between hyperarousal and global h...
2025-10-271h 13How We Can HealHow Trauma-Informed Traditional Chinese Medicine Can Nurture Fertility, Birth & Postpartum HealingWhat if the most powerful medicine starts with warmth, rhythm, and trust in your own body? Today we sit down down with licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, and yoga teacher Tara Tonini to trace how trauma-informed Chinese medicine can steady the nervous system, smooth cycles, and support conception, pregnancy, birth prep, and postpartum in a way that fits into real life. From liver qi and kidney jing to the heart-mind connection, Tara translates complex ideas into simple choices you can make today.We dig into why many people are “acu-curious” yet needle-averse, and how energy work, qigong, and gentl...
2025-10-2056 min
Create Magic At Work®Finding Treasures in the Trash: Leaning Into the Pain with Lisa DanylchukWhat if the parts of yourself you've tried to hide are actually the keys to your healing? 🌱Cari sits down with her longtime friend and trauma therapist Lisa Danylchuk, founder of the Center for Yoga and Trauma Recovery and author of "Yoga for Trauma Recovery." Together, they dive deep into the messy, magical process of turning life's pain into purpose.Lisa opens up about her experience with grief and how yoga became her lifeline, sparking a lifelong mission to help others heal through self-awareness and compassion. The two explore how even the so-called "trash," grief, sha...
2025-10-1645 minHow We Can HealThe Power of Secure Attachment: Supporting Maternal Well-being for Stronger Families & CommunitiesMothers are asked to offer the critical early childhood care that shapes people and impacts communities, while systems fail to offer them the basic care they need to thrive. We invited Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, health psychologist and IBCLC, to map the real drivers of maternal mental health and the surprisingly simple supports that change everything: responsive care, consistent follow‑through after screening, and communities designed to include mothers instead of isolating them.We trace the chain from attachment to lifelong outcomes—why secure bonds in the first thousand days predict resilience, school success, and adult healt...
2025-10-141h 07How We Can HealNurturing Softness through Meditation with Cara LaiWhat if the moment you stop trying to fix yourself is the moment real relief begins? That’s the surprising turn in our conversation with meditation teacher and parent Cara Lai—authorized in the Theravada lineage (IMS, Spirit Rock) and known for an approach that’s honest, funny, and deeply humane. Cara traces her path from art school and a “soul-sucking” office to early retreats that opened a brighter world, then a year-long retreat that didn’t go to plan. Living with Lyme disease, she discovered that discipline without tenderness can harden into harm, and that the path must be larger th...
2025-10-061h 08How We Can HealYoga for Real Life: Kitchen Yoga, Fierce Kindness and MoreYoga doesn't have to be perfect to be powerful. That's the refreshing message from Melanie Salvatore August, who brings her background as a classically trained actor, writer, and veteran yoga teacher into a conversation that strips away pretense and gets to the heart of what makes practice sustainable.Melanie's journey began with meditation books discovered as a preteen and evolved through her years in New York and Los Angeles before motherhood completely transformed her approach. With disarming honesty, she shares how having three children forced her to reimagine what yoga could look like - leading to her...
2025-09-291h 02How We Can HealLose Your Mind – The Path to Creative Invincibility with Josh PaisWhat if the key to living more fully isn’t thinking harder, but reconnecting with your body? In this week’s episode of How We Can Heal, Lisa sits down with actor and teacher Josh Pais to explore what it really means to “lose your mind” and why that might be the best thing you can do.Josh shares how his father's work as a theoretical physicist alongside Einstein sparked a profound insight: emotions are simply atomic vibrations. This perspective forms the foundation of his groundbreaking approach to acting and authentic living. Rather than labeling sensations as "good" or...
2025-09-221h 24How We Can HealWhen Dignity Meets Conflict: Tools for Healing Our Divided WorldEver feel like polarization makes meaningful conversation nearly impossible? Dr. Donna Hicks returns with transformative insights on navigating our divided world through dignity consciousness. At Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Hicks witnesses dignity violations daily yet remains steadfastly committed to her groundbreaking work. She reveals why these violations feel so viscerally painful – our brains process them identically to physical wounds – and offers practical tools for interrupting our instinctive reactions. Forget counting to ten; taking ten deep breaths actually changes your neurochemistry, creating space for thoughtful response rather than reflexive reaction.The conversation explores what Hicks...
2025-09-1555 minHow We Can HealFrom Teen Ultra Runner to Global Athlete: Lucy Bartholomew's Journey back to UTMBLucy Bartholomew brings Australian sunshine to this captivating conversation about finding purpose on mountain trails and wisdom in difficult moments. When Lucy was just 15, she discovered her passion for ultra running alongside her father, embarking on a journey that would take her from weekend camping trips to world championship podiums.What began as quality time with her dad evolved into a career marked by remarkable achievements—winning Ultra Trail Cape Town 100K, placing third at Western States, and becoming one of only two women to complete both UTMB and the Ironman World Championships in a single year. Ye...
2025-08-2754 minHow We Can HealDecolonial & Liberation Psychology with Dr. Thema BryantWhat does it truly mean to show up whole and authentic in a world that encourages fragmentation? Dr. Thema Bryant doesn't just talk about integration—she embodies it as a psychologist, author, professor, sacred artist, and minister leading transformative work in trauma healing and relationship building.Dr. Bryant shares her excitement about merging different aspects of her identity and work, challenging the notion that we must compartmentalize ourselves based on context. "I'm excited about not being segregated within myself and with other people, but to be inviting for us to engage with our whole selves," she explains. Th...
2025-08-2559 minHow We Can HealTruth and Repair with Dr. Judith HermanDr. Judith Herman, a towering figure in trauma studies and author of the landmark books "Trauma and Recovery" and "Truth and Repair," takes us on a journey through the evolution of trauma understanding from the 1970s—when we didn't even have terminology for what victims experienced—to today's complex landscape of healing and justice.Drawing from decades of clinical work and research with survivors, Dr. Herman reveals how trauma exists within frameworks of dominance and subordination that permeate every level of human organization. "Whenever you have a dominant group and a subordinate group, especially when that dominance is d...
2025-08-1858 minHow We Can HealSeason 6 is Coming August 18th!Ready to transform your healing journey? Season six of the award-winning How We Can Heal podcast brings fresh perspectives and powerful insights every Monday. We've assembled an extraordinary lineup of powerhouse healers, teachers, athletes, researchers, and even actors who will share their unique approaches to personal and collective healing.This season dives deep into transformative concepts like liberation psychology and tyranny while exploring how moments of courage—whether small daily choices or life-altering decisions like embarking on year-long meditation retreats—can reshape our lives. Our conversations will challenge conventional thinking about healing while offering practical wisdom you can...
2025-08-1102 minHow We Can HealTrauma, Dissociation & Hypnosis with Dr. David SpiegelDr. David Spiegel, Wilson Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, brings over 40 years of expertise in trauma, hypnosis, and mind-body medicine to this fascinating conversation. Drawing from decades of scientific research, Dr. Spiegel reveals how hypnosis serves as "controlled dissociation," offering a powerful pathway for trauma recovery by allowing people to revisit difficult experiences while maintaining physical comfort.The conversation takes us deep into the neuroscience of trauma and healing. Dr. Spiegel shares remarkable findings from brain imaging studies showing how hypnosis actually turns down activity in the brain's alarm system and reduces self-judgment, creating space...
2025-06-301h 04How We Can HealDecolonizing Trauma Healing with Dr. Laura BrownSeason 5 of the How We Can Heal Podcast is sponsored by SimplePractice.If you want to simplify the business side of your work, I highly recommend Simple Practice! Right now they’re offering a special 7-day free trial with 70% off your first 4 months for How We Can Heal listeners.Go to https://www.simplepractice.com/howwecanheal to take advantage of this offer today!-----This episode is also sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). The International Soci...
2025-06-231h 12How We Can HealAttachment, Avoidance and the Path to Healing with Dr. Robert MullerSeason 5 of the How We Can Heal Podcast is sponsored by SimplePractice.If you want to simplify the business side of your work, I highly recommend Simple Practice! Right now they’re offering a special 7-day free trial with 70% off your first 4 months for How We Can Heal listeners.Go to https://www.simplepractice.com/howwecanheal to take advantage of this offer today!-----This episode is also sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). The International Society for the...
2025-06-161h 05How We Can HealFinding Connection & Joy After Losing a Child with Anna Ratnathicam Diab – in Memory of Carolina DiabFacing the unimaginable pain of losing a child, Anna Ratnathicam Diab opens her heart to share the story of her daughter Carolina, who passed away suddenly at age 11 during a family trip to Uganda in 2019. What unfolds is a raw, honest conversation about navigating grief's unpredictable terrain and finding meaningful ways to honor a child's memory.Anna vividly recalls Carolina's vibrant personality—her love of bright colors, her notorious sweet tooth, and her habit of wearing "pattern on pattern on pattern" that made her mother chuckle. When describing the day Carolina died after complaining of a headache, An...
2025-06-0954 minHow We Can HealThe Yoga of Parenting: Caring for Yourself While Caring for OthersAward-winning author of "The Yoga of Parenting," Sarah Ezrin shares how yoga philosophy provides a framework for navigating parenthood's chaos with grace and self-compassion. The yoga practice she once knew - with its hours on the mat and meditation cushion - has transformed into what she calls "yoga snacks": micro-moments of mindfulness chosen throughout her day. These might look like lighting a favorite candle amid dinner preparation madness, taking five deep breaths during an argument between her sons, or remaining calm enough to give herself the Heimlich maneuver while the kids continue playing, oblivious to her distress.
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