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Safe Space Radio

The show about subjects we'd struggle with less if we could talk about them more.

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Conflict

Loving Across Political Divide with Sheila Heen

October 31, 2016 by ssradmin

Sheila Heen is on faculty at the Harvard Negotiation Project. She discusses how she and her husband—who have opposing political beliefs—navigate their relationship and communicate respectfully when they disagree. She suggests that when we listen receptively, we actually become more persuasive.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: communication, difficult conversations, Family, listening, marriage, politics

Male Sexual Violence and Rape Culture with Daryl Fort

October 17, 2016 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio speaks with violence prevention educator Daryl Fort. He explains how our culture teaches men that they are superior and women that they are inferior—and how these messages work to justify and facilitate the mistreatment of women.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Sexuality, Social Justice Tagged With: masculinity, misogyny, sexual violence, violence prevention

Dropping the Front with Neil McKenty

October 3, 2016 by ssradmin

A conversation with Canadian broadcaster Neil McKenty about his struggles with depression and alcohol. He describes his depression as the result of a collision between his negative ideas about himself and the smooth front of success he had constructed for the world to see, and discusses how sharing his vulnerability was the pivotal step to …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Addiction & Recovery, Recovery, self esteem

Recovering and Surviving with Meosha Thomas

June 13, 2016 by ssradmin

Navy veteran Meosha Thomas talks about the injuries she suffered in Iraq when her convoy hit an IED, and how she lost and regained her desire to live in the long recovery period that followed. She also talks more about the concept of moral injury, and how she wrestles with guilt over the choices she …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: healing, military, military trauma, survivor guilt, survivors, Trauma, veterans

Reporting and Retaliation with Kate Weber

May 16, 2016 by ssradmin

Kate Weber was raped by a fellow soldier within her first weeks of deployment overseas in 1993. She discusses the helplessness and isolation she felt when she discovered that no one, from the staff doctor, to her friends and fellow soldiers, would take her seriously.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: military, Military Sexual Trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, sexual violence, Trauma, veterans

Military Sexual Trauma and the VA with Kathy Russin

May 9, 2016 by ssradmin

Kathy Russin is the Military Sexual Trauma Program Coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Maine. In this episode she talks about the prevalence of Military Sexual Trauma among veterans, and explains that it is not limited to rape, and affects both men and women. She explains how MST is different from combat PTSD …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: Military Sexual Trauma, Rape, Rape Culture, Sexual assault, Trauma, veterans

Being Believed with Ruth Moore

May 2, 2016 by ssradmin

Ruth Moore is the namesake of the Ruth Moore Act, a piece of pending legislation which would remove some of the current barriers to treatment and justice for survivors of military sexual trauma. This part of the interview covers Ruth’s path to personal healing after returning from overseas duty, and her choice to share her …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Military Sexual Trauma, politics, PTSD, Sexual assault, survivors, veterans

Alone in the Azores with Ruth Moore

April 25, 2016 by ssradmin

In this episode of Safe Space Radio, Ruth Moore talks about being sexually assaulted by her commanding officer in the Navy, after which she was ostracized and punished for seeking help. Ruth eventually escaped, but as she explains, there are thousands of other young soldiers who are not as fortunate.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Military Sexual Trauma, PTSD, Rape, Sexual assault, veterans

Leaving Iraq with Sara

February 8, 2016 by ssradmin

Sara is an Iraqi citizen who fled to the U.S. after her brother’s work for the American forces in Baghdad put her family in danger. She talks about the opaque process of applying to leave, and her complicated feelings when she learned that she would be allowed to pack only two bags.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions Tagged With: asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Iraq, refugee, refugees and asylum seekers

Women in Wartime with Cynthia Enloe

January 25, 2016 by ssradmin

Feminist scholar Cynthia Enloe discusses about how women are affected by war and militarization. Her work focuses on sexual violence—and its subsequent silencing—as a repressive political tool, and about international efforts by feminist activists to make the United Nations address this issue. You can read UN Security Council Resolution 1325 here.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: feminism, Gender, military, Sexual assault, sexual violence, war

Arriving in High School with Eman

January 11, 2016 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features high school senior Eman, who moved to the U.S. in 2015. She talks about leaving her friends and family behind in Sudan and again in Egypt, where she lived for five years. Eman remembers being at the mercy of resettlement organizations, and being elected as class president only …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, resettlement

Fleeing Persecution with Taysier

January 4, 2016 by ssradmin

Taysier moved to Maine from Sudan in 2015 with three of her children. Because of her volunteer work with humanitarian aid agencies in Darfur, Taysier was detained by the Sudanese government, who accused her of spying. In this episode, she tells her story of her escape, and talks about her life since moving to America, …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, Darfur, Immigration & Refugees, muslim, persecution, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers

Somali Community in Maine with Catherine Bestemen

December 22, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Catherine Bestemen, Francis F. and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College. She is the author of Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery and has worked closely with the Somali community in Portland, Maine. She discusses the extraordinary resilience of this community, the impact …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers

The Roots of Crisis with Catherine Bestemen

December 14, 2015 by ssradmin

This is the second episode of Safe Space Radio to feature Catherine Bestemen, Francis F. and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Anthropology at Colby College and the author of Unraveling Somalia: Race, Class, and the Legacy of Slavery. Catherine has spent her career studying society in both Somalia and Maine, where many Somali refugees have …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, civil war, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers

Navigating the Asylum Process with Phil Mantis

December 7, 2015 by ssradmin

Lawyer Phil Mantis works for the Immigrant Legal Assistance Program, or ILAP, in Portland, Maine. ILAP provides free legal help to people seeking asylum in the United States. Phil explains the difference between a refugee and an asylee, describes the most common reasons asylum cases are denied, and explains how ILAP helps asylees apply successfully.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Legal System, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers

Leaving Syria with Anna

November 23, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Anna, who escaped Syria while 8 months pregnant in 2013 and now lives in Maine. She talks about trading the daily threat of bombings and kidnappings for a life of uncertainty as she and her husband applied and waited for asylum—and how the experience changed her understanding of …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum, asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, Trauma

Escaping from Violence

November 16, 2015 by ssradmin

This is a particularly intense interview about one woman’s narrow escape from Burundi, after she and her mother gave medical aid to an injured protester. She describes their arrest and interrogation prior to coming to the United States, and what it is like to be here, having never planned to leave her life and dreams …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Sexuality, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, escape, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, Sexual assault, Trauma

Somali Women in Maine with Fatuma Hussein

November 9, 2015 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio talks with Fatuma Hussein of United Somali Women of Maine. She describes the challenges of resettlement for refugees fleeing war in their native countries, which she experienced herself as a teenager. She addresses the presumption that refugees have a negative impact on the state’s economy and culture, and explains her vision for …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, community, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, resettlement

Non-Native Allies

October 19, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode highlights the Maine-Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Safe Space Radio speaks with non-native allies who are working on how to best respond to the needs that the TRC brought to light, and why these issues matter to them personally.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: ally, apologies, community, maine, native, Restorative Justice, Trauma

Sovereignty with Jamie Bisonette Lewey

September 29, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode features Jamie Bissonette Lewey of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission (MITSC). She explains her views on Tribal-State politics, and why she believes that the fundamental issue is the difference between how the state and the tribes understand the concept of sovereignty stemming back to the history of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: indigenous, maine, native, Restorative Justice, sovereignty

Tribes and Government with Donna Loring

September 1, 2015 by ssradmin

An interview with former tribal state representative Donna Loring, who is also a former police chief, an author, and a radio host. She talks with Safe Space Radio about the history of relations between the Maine government and the Wabanaki tribes, and the findings of the Maine Wabanaki State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s multi-year …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: indi, indigenous, law enforcement, maine, native, Restorative Justice, Wabanaki, witnesses

Child Welfare and Native Families with Shawn Yardley

June 1, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Department of Health and Human Services worker Shawn Yardley. He talks about the Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission, why children are removed from native families at disproportionate rates, and what it’s been like for him, as a white man, to raise three girls with Native heritage.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, assimilation, daughters, DHHS, father, Forced adoption, indigenous, maine, native, Parenting, parenting adopted children, Restorative Justice, Wabanaki, Whiteness

Disrupting the Vicious Cycle with Sandy White Hawk

March 2, 2015 by ssradmin

Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Sandy White Hawk discusses the ways in which centuries of removing native children from their families have created a pattern of trauma and corresponding struggle that has made ongoing removal of children more likely. She talks about alternative approaches that support families in difficulty and expresses her hopes for …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, childhood trauma, Forced adoption, identity, indigenous, native, Parenting, Restorative Justice, Wabanaki

Intergenerational Trauma with Sandy White Hawk

February 22, 2015 by ssradmin

In Safe Space Radio’s second conversation with Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconcilitation Commissioner Sandy White Hawk, she talks about intergenerational trauma and helping white people better grasp what it means to lose your culture.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: childhood trauma, Forced adoption, identity, indigenous, native, Restorative Justice, TRC, Wabanaki

Being Out Adopted with Sandy White Hawk

February 16, 2015 by ssradmin

Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Sandy White Hawk talks about being taken for adoption by a white missionary family who believed they were saving her from the poverty of the reservation. She describes the power of being reunited with her tribe at 35, and the deep feeling of belonging and safety she felt as …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: Forced adoption, identity, indigenous, maine, native, Parenting, Restorative Justice, TRC, Wabanaki

The Work of Healing with Esther Attean and Stephanie Bailey

February 5, 2015 by ssradmin

Maine Wabanaki REACH staff members Esther Attean and Stephanie Bailey discuss the experience of giving statements to the Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the hopes they had about what may come of it, and the anxiety of making painful stories public.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Social Justice Tagged With: Forced adoption, identity, indigenous, native, Restorative Justice, Wabanaki

Breaking the Silence with Maria Girouard, Esther Attean, and Stephanie Bailey

February 2, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Maria Girouard, Esther Attean, and Stephanie Bailey of Maine Wabanaki REACH. They discuss the process of gathering the untold stories of the many people affected by the longstanding practice of removing native children from their families and their tribes.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, childhood trauma, Forced adoption, identity, indigenous, maine, native, Restorative Justice

Wabanaki History in Maine with Maria Girouard and Esther Attean

January 26, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Maria Girouard and Esther Attean of Maine Wabanaki REACH. They discuss the history of federal and state policies toward Native Americans here in Maine. We focus on the many attempts throughout the years to erase Wabanaki people and their culture, including the practice of removing native children from …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, childhood trauma, community, Forced adoption, identity, indigenous, maine, native, organization, Wabanaki

Waking Up White (Part 2) with Debby Irving

December 29, 2014 by ssradmin

Racial justice educator Debby Irving discusses the interpersonal dynamics of racism—especially in friendships, in “white spaces” like schools and offices, and even around the dinner table. Debby gives concrete suggestions on how to shift these dynamics in useful ways.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: blackness, education, Friendship, inter-racial relationships, interracial relationships, race, racial justice, Racism, waking up white, white fragility, White Privilege, Whiteness

The System of Racism (Part 2) with Paul Marcus

December 15, 2014 by ssradmin

Anti-racism educator Paul Marcus talks about how the history of discrimination by government, banking, business, education, and housing institutions has resulted in enormous disparities in wealth between white and Black communities, and how we can address questions of white guilt and police bias.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: activism, blackness, education, inequality, institutional racism, interracial relationships, law enforcement, police, race, racial justice, Racism, system, teaching, white fragility, White Privilege, Whiteness

The System of Racism (Part 1) with Paul Marcus

December 8, 2014 by ssradmin

Anti-racism educator Paul Marcus discusses how, by studying history, he came to understand racism as a system, and how this understanding shapes his work.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: blackness, inequality, institutional racism, race, racial divide, Racism, systematic racism, white fragility, White Privilege, Whiteness

Unpacking White Privilege (Part 2) with Peggy McIntosh

November 24, 2014 by ssradmin

In the second episode of Safe Space Radio featuring Peggy McIntosh, she talks about the five phases of understanding white privilege, and how white people can use their unearned advantage to work against the system which perpetuates it.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: activism, education, race, racial justice, Racism, White Privilege, Whiteness

Unpacking White Privilege (Part 1) with Peggy McIntosh

November 17, 2014 by ssradmin

Peggy McIntosh is author of the groundbreaking essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” published in 1988. She talks about how encounters with the sexism of well-meaning men helped her see that she too had blind spots about her own racism. She describes how humbling it was for her to grasp the concept of white …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: difficult conversations, race, racial justice, Racism, white fragility, White Privilege, Whiteness

Race and Place (Part 2) with Natasha Wilson

November 10, 2014 by ssradmin

Anthropologist and social work student Natasha Wilson talks about being a black woman in mostly-white schools and workplaces. She remembers feeling shunned and avoided, which made it harder to deal with other adversity in her life. She also talks about how these experiences have inspired her research on Post-Traumatic Growth.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: anthropology, black women, blackness, community, feminism, Loneliness, psychology, race, racial justice, Racism, White Privilege, Whiteness

Race and Place (Part 1) with Natasha Wilson

November 5, 2014 by ssradmin

Natasha Wilson moved to Maine in 2012 following the tragic death of two of her brothers. She talks about how her experience of racism has been shaped by the different places she’s lived, and how she was unprepared for the alienation and hostility she has experienced in overwhelmingly white states like Iowa and Maine. We also discuss the …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: black women, blackness, community, death and dying, Loneliness, race, racial justice, Racism, White Privilege, Whiteness

Getting Beyond Bullying with Kyle

March 10, 2014 by ssradmin

16-year-old Kyle talks about how he went from being bullied in middle school to becoming the face of the Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance in his high school.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Sexuality Tagged With: Bullying, childhood, education, gay straight alliance, GSA, LGBTQ, mental health, middle school, queer, School, teenagers, Teens

Prison Perspectives with Robin Feuer Miller

February 3, 2014 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Dostoevsky scholar Dr. Robin Feuer Miller. She discusses how Crime and Punishment is relevant to the experiences of prisoners today. We also hear stories from listeners about how incarceration, and the stigma it carries, have affected their own lives.  

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Social Justice Tagged With: criminal justice system, Incarceration, Literature, prison system, prisoners, psychology

Restorative Justice with T. Richard Snyder

January 20, 2014 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Dr. T. Richard Snyder on the work of restorative justice. This approach brings together the victim, the offender and the community of people affected by a crime in order to find solutions that not only work to repair the damage, but build healing for all the parties involved. …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: communication, conflict, Conflict Resolution, conversation, Criminal Justice, mediation, Restorative Justice, TRC, Truth and Reconciliation

Prisoners Providing Hospice Care (Part 2) with Bobby Payzant

January 13, 2014 by ssradmin

Bobby Payzant is a hospice volunteer and inmate at the Maine State Prison. In this interview, Bobby talks more about the deep remorse he feels for the man he assaulted, and how he has had to face himself during the many years he has spent in prison.  He describes the decision he made to stop …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Social Justice Tagged With: community, conflict mediation, conversation, criminal justice system, death and dying, healing, Hospice, Incarceration, Maine State Prison, Prison, Restorative Justice

Prisoners Providing Hospice Care (Part 1) with Kandyce Powell and Bobby Payzant

January 6, 2014 by ssradmin

This episode features two conversations with people involved in the hospice program within the state prison in Warren, Maine. First we speak with the program’s founder, Kandyce Powell, executive director of the Maine Hospice Council, who talks about the genesis of the prison’s hospice program, her motivation for starting it, and the difference it has …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Social Justice Tagged With: community, Criminal Justice, death and dying, healing, Hospice, Incarceration, justice system, Maine State Prison, prison system

Imprisonment and Life Transformation (Part 1) with Mike

December 16, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode features Mike, who spent seven years in a federal prison on a drug conviction. He talks about the circumstances which led to his arrest, including an abusive upbringing and a chemical dependency which began in his mid-teen years.  He describes his arrest in a hotel, and the subsequent trial in which the perjury …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Social Justice

On the Experience of Arrest and Imprisonment with Liz

December 9, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Liz, who spoke with us only three days after her release from prison. She discusses her shame at being arrested, and the experience of exposure and intrusion from a public trial. She also describes the surprising support she received from other women in prison, and the experiences she …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health, Social Justice Tagged With: arrest, community, criminal justice reform, criminal justice system, Incarceration, motherhood, Parenting, police, prison system, release, teenagers, Teens

Sibling Conflicts Around Caregiving with Carol Bradley Bursack

November 4, 2013 by ssradmin

An interview with elder-caregiving expert Carol Bradley Bursack about sibling conflict in the care of a parent with Dementia. Carol reports that most adult children caregivers are still women, and that typically the responsibilities of caregiving fall mostly to one child within a family.  This creates the conditions for old resentments, jealousies, and conflicts to …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Aging, Alzheimers, brothers, Caregiver, caregiving, Dementia, eldercare, elders, families, healthcare, Parenting, Siblings, sisters

Frontotemporal Dementia: Complications and Genetics with Melynda

October 28, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode features Melynda, whose husband has frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Unlike Alzheimer’s, FTD is not first characterized by problems with memory, but by poor judgment and inappropriate behavior. Melynda’s husband, a doctor, began to make errors in judgment by over-prescribing pain medications to his patients, and was incarcerated for these mistakes. After his incarceration, the …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: behavioral changes, Caregivers, caregiving, Dementia, eldercare, elders, Fronto-Temporal Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD, healthcare, Parents, Siblings

Caring for a Spouse with Clare Hallward

October 21, 2013 by ssradmin

In this episode of Safe Space Radio our host Anne Hallward talks to her mother, Clare Hallward, about her husband John’s diagnosis with dementia, which lasted for 16 years before his death. Anne and Clare remember some of the exasperating and even downright terrifying challenges of caring for John as his illness progressed. They discuss …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Alzheimers, ambiguous loss, Caregiver, caregiving, death and dying, Dementia, Fathers, healthcare, mothers, Parents

Connecting with People with Dementia with Steven Sabat

October 14, 2013 by ssradmin

In this episode of Safe Space Radio, neuropsychologist Steven Sabat discusses how he’s been able to find ways of communicating with people with advanced dementia by recognizing and honoring their enduring personhood. He talks about the failure of standard tests of mental ability to register the social awareness of people diagnosed with dementia, and the …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Aging, Alzheimers, ambiguous loss, Caregiver, caregiving, caretaker, Dementia, Family, memory loss, mental illness, neuropsychologist

Dementia and Family Secrets with Nancy Sowell

October 7, 2013 by ssradmin

Therapist Nancy Sowell remembers the family secrets that came out as she was caring for her grandmother with dementia, and how the curious distance and even hostility she had always felt from this side of the family began to make sense as her grandmother opened up for the first time. She discusses how dementia can …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, conversation, Dementia, Family, grandparents, memory loss, Secrets, Therapy

Self-preservation for Dementia Caregivers with Frances Randolph

September 23, 2013 by ssradmin

Frances Randolph’s husband had early-onset Alzheimer’s. In this conversation, she remembers the outgoing man she married and how dementia changed him so much that he became someone she barely recognized, someone who ultimately became violent with her. Frances describes the series of losses inherent in his Alzheimer’s, including the loss of her sense of herself …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Abuse, Alzheimers, Caregivers, husbands, marriage, personality

Difficult Parents and Dementia with Julia Jarvis

September 16, 2013 by ssradmin

Julia Jarvis remembers how her relationship with her difficult father has evolved both before and after he got dementia. Julia talks about her struggles to make peace with him, and about the challenges now faced by the caregivers in her father’s life.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: ambiguous loss, Caregivers, Dementia, father, memory loss, Parents

Dementia in a Holocaust Survivor with Marushka Glissen

September 9, 2013 by ssradmin

Psychotherapist Marushka Glissen talks about her mother, a survivor of Auschwitz who now has dementia. Marushka describes how her mother’s experiences complicated her relationships with her own children and husband, and raises the possibility that for some who are haunted by painful memories, dementia may actually provide a bittersweet respite.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, Dementia, intergenerational trauma, internal family systems, judaism, memory loss, Parents, Trauma, world war II

Restraints in Mental Hospitals with Bob Stains

March 18, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Bob Stains of the Public Conversations Project. He talks about the use of restraints on patients in mental hospitals and discusses facilitating a series of conversations in which both the workers who apply restraints and the people to whom restraints have been applied are able to talk about their experiences …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, medical encounter, Medical Trauma, mental health, mental illness, psychiatric care, psychiatric trauma, restraints, Trauma

Talking to the Enemy with Laura Chasin

March 11, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Laura Chasin, the founder of the Public Conversations Project, talking about her work facilitating a dialogue between leaders of the pro-life and pro-choice movements in Boston after the abortion clinic shootings in 1994.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Sexuality Tagged With: Abortion, abortion clinic shootings, Conflict Resolution, debate, difficult conversations, feminism, mediation, political debate, political differences, right to choice, right to life

Fostering Difficult Conversations with Tim Wilson

March 4, 2013 by ssradmin

Tim Wilson is a senior advisor to Seeds of Peace, an organization that brings youth from war-torn countries together for dialogue and mediation at a camp in Maine each summer. Tim describes the way that trust, respect, and communication are practiced at camp to build relationships that can foster peace throughout a lifetime. He remembers …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: apologies, Conflict Resolution, difficult conversations, israel, mediation, middle east conflict, palestine, palestinian israeli conflict, peace efforts, Seeds of Peace, summer camp, teenagers, Teens, youth

Somalis in the Maine Workforce with Hussein Ahmed

February 18, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Hussein Ahmed, a business owner in Lewiston, Maine. He describes his journey from Somalia, the ten years he spent in refugee camps in Kenya, and the challenges of finding work in the U.S. due to language barriers, cultural uncertainties and religious stereotypes. Hussein is optimistic that with modifications …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: asylum seekers, community, Immigration & Refugees, lewiston, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, somalia, work, workplace

High School Friendships with Maria Padian

February 13, 2013 by ssradmin

Maria Padian is author of Out of Nowhere, about friendships between Somali and Franco-Catholic high school students in Maine. Maria talks about her own experience with four immigrant grandparents, and how different it is to come here as an immigrant, eager to build a new life, than to come as a refugee, having had to …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict Tagged With: asylum seekers, difficult conversations, education, Friendship, immigrant, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, School, somalia, students, teenagers

Talking about Difference with Mohammed Dini

February 6, 2013 by ssradmin

Mohammed Dini is Executive Director of the African Diaspora Institute, founder of Portland Forward, and former candidate for state representative. Mohammed talks about his experience moving to Maine at age 13 and learning to identify himself as a Mainer. He also explores the Somali concept of furfurnaan, which means openness, inviting an open-hearted dialogue about …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, difficult conversation, immigrant, Immigration & Refugees, politics, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, somalia

Commitment to a Mentally-Ill Parent with Jeneen Interlandi

October 24, 2012 by ssradmin

Harvard Nieman Fellow Jeneen Interlandi talks about her father’s bi-polar disorder. She describes the painful and extraordinary measures her family had to go through to get him into treatment, including restraining orders, getting him arrested, and hiring a lawyer to broker an agreement to get him to take medicine as a condition of leaving jail. …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: bi polar, biopolar disorder, Caregivers, daughter, families, father, mental illness, Parents, psychiatric care, treatment

Violence and Shame with Jim Gilligan

April 25, 2012 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio interviews psychiatrist Dr. Jim Gilligan, a former mental health director for the prison system in Massachusetts and the author of three books on violence. Dr. Gilligan reports that many of his patients speak about violence as their only means of reclaiming pride or self-esteem. He also observes that punishment tends to generate …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: criminal justice system, education, Incarceration, prison system, psychiatric care, self esteem, Violence

Speaking Up to Sexism and Violence (Part 2) with Daryl Fort

April 11, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Part 2 of Anne’s conversation with Daryl Fort, about ways in which we are all bystanders to social interactions that foster violence against women. Daryl challenges us to see these situations for what they are and to have the courage to intervene.  He describes two everyday social situations …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Sexuality, Social Justice Tagged With: bar culture, bystander intervention, bystanders, cat calling, difficult conversations, Domestic Violence, masculinity, me too, metoo, mysogyny, Rape Culture, sexism, sexual violence, Violence

The Psychology of Abusive Men with Lundy Bancroft

March 14, 2012 by ssradmin

Lundy Bancroft is the former co-leader of Emerge, the first batterers treatment program in the United States, and the author of Why Does He Do That: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men. Lundy debunks common myths about male abusers, explaining that violence happens in a larger context of needing control as a form …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Sexuality Tagged With: emerge, empathy, masculinity, me too, men, metoo, misogyny, Rape Culture, relationships, sexism, Sexual assault, sexual violence, violence against women

A Culture of Domestic Violence with Julia Colpitts

March 7, 2012 by ssradmin

Julia Colpitts is Executive Director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. Julia affirms that Maine has reached a tipping point, and she discusses relevant legislation in Maine and the importance of engaging men to speak out clearly and powerfully about the necessity of treating women with love and respect.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Sexuality Tagged With: advocacy, Domestic Violence, legislation, maine, masculinity, politics, Rape Culture, relationships, respect, survivors, violence against women

Sibling Abuse with Vernon Wiehe

February 15, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features author and professor Dr. Vernon Wiehe. He talks about sibling abuse and how it differs from sibling rivalry in a pattern of frequent victimization of one sibling at the hands of another. Dr. Wiehe points out that sibling abuse is even more common that domestic violence or child …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: brothers, Emotional Abuse, Family, family dynamics, Parenting, sibling abuse, sibling relationships, sibling rivalry, Siblings, sisters

Sibling Ambivalence with Laurie Kramer

February 1, 2012 by ssradmin

Laurie Kramer is a researcher and directs the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers program, which supports kids ages 4-8 getting along with their siblings. Laurie explains that parental attempts at conflict resolution often result in separating the kids. Her program teaches siblings core skills of taking each other’s perspective, managing their own strong emotions, …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: brothers, children, communication, Conflict Resolution, emotional regulation, empathy, family dynamics, mediation, Parenting, play, sibling relationships, Siblings, sisters

Adult Sibling Strife with Jeanne Safer

January 25, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode features an interview with psychotherapist and author Dr. Jeanne Safer, who works on chronic sibling tension and non-communication. Jeanne describes the phenomenon of “sibspeak,” where no real communication takes place except the recitation of grievances, the discharge of obligations, and endless attempts to fix the other person. She encourages siblings to take the …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: adult siblings, brothers, communication, difficult conversations, family dynamics, psychotherapy, sibling relationships, Siblings, sibspeak, sisters, tension

Interracial Adoption with Catherine Anderson

December 14, 2011 by ssradmin

Catherine Anderson is a white public school teacher and writer. In this episode of Safe Space Radio she talks about adopting her son Sam, who is Black. Catherine describes her decision to adopt and how she thought she understood racism before parenting. She describes her experience of those “grocery store moments”  when she has to …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, interracial, interracial relationships, masculinity, Parenting, Racism, White Privilege, Whiteness

International Adoption with Deb Gallagher

December 7, 2011 by ssradmin

Deb Gallagher created her family through “the messy miracle of international adoption.” Deb talks about the homophobia she encountered as a lesbian seeking to adopt a child both domestically and internationally, and the way she had to hide parts of her identity to have any chance at adoption.  She describes her grief at bringing a …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Adoption, childhood trauma, culture, discrimination, gay parents, Homophobia, international adoption, lesbian parents, LGBTQ parents, Racism, White Privilege, Whiteness

Holocaust Survivor Testimonies with Lawrence L. Langer

October 12, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Professor Lawrence L. Langer discussing his book Holocaust Testimonies: The Ruins of Memory. Professor Langer developed courses on the literature of atrocity to try and help people find a way to imagine the Holocaust, using stories from survivors. He remembers hearing stories of such horror that the teller …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: communication, difficult conversations, empathy, Holocaust, intergenerational trauma, oral history, storytelling, survivors, survivors guilt, Trauma

Thinking Through Lesbian and Trans Community with Jen Hodsdon

March 30, 2011 by ssradmin

Social worker, writer, and queer activist Jen Hodsdon talks about the relationship between the lesbian community and the trans community. Jen speaks about how delicate the relationship can be between two oppressed and marginalized groups, and her intention to speak only about her particular experience. A focus on marriage equality can be divisive because it …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Sexuality Tagged With: community, discrimination, division, dyke, feminism, Gender, Homophobia, identity, inclusion, Lesbian, LGBTQ, marriage equality, pride, queer, same sex marriage, trans, trans exclusionary, Transgender, transphobia

The Legacy of Divorce with Mona Barbera

September 16, 2009 by ssradmin

Couples therapist and workshop leader Dr. Mona Barbera talks to Safe Space Radio about the legacy of divorce. Mona talks about her feelings of confusion and failure after her divorce, her continuing desire to have children, and how she’s tried to learn and change her own patterns of behavior in new relationship.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: breakups, Couples, couples therapy, Divorce, ending relationships, family dynamics, feelings of failure, internal family systems, intimacy, long term relationships

Parenting Wounds with Kathryn Black

August 26, 2009 by ssradmin

Kathryn Black is author of Mothering Without a Map: Finding the Good Mother Within. Kathryn talks about her own experience with feeling “under-mothered,” and her fear of passing on a painful legacy to her children. She talks about changing and healing her own behavior, and the pervasive cultural fantasy that childhood is perfectible and of …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Bad Mother Anxiety, intergenerational trauma, motherhood, mothering, mothers, Parenting

Attachment Parenting and Anxiety with Kathryn Landon-Malone

August 12, 2009 by ssradmin

Kathryn Landon-Malone is a pediatric nurse practitioner and early childhood psychologist. She talks with Safe Space Radio about attachment parenting and how it can reflect and generate anxiety in mothers.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: attachment parenting, Bad Mother Anxiety, motherhood, mothers, nursing, raising children

Homophobia in Schools with Betsy Parsons

July 1, 2009 by ssradmin

Educator Betsy Parsons talks about her decision to come out as a teacher in the public school system in Portland, Maine. She talks about the impact of verbal and physical harassment on gay and lesbian students and how powerfully it affects their ability to learn and to feel safe in school. She now co-leads GLSEN, …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Sexuality, Social Justice Tagged With: Bullying, education, gay straight alliance, GLSEN, GSA, harrassment, High School, Homophobia, LGBTQ, public school, queer youth, teenagers, Teens, transphobia

Alcoholism in Families with Louise Zubrod

May 6, 2009 by ssradmin

An interview with Dr. Louise Zubrod on the impact of alcoholism on familes. Dr. Zubrod describes the impact of alcoholism on her own family, especially in terms of what couldn’t get talked about, and how she learned to be prepared for anything.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health

The Fear of Not Being Good with Mike Elkin

February 11, 2009 by ssradmin

Psychotherapist Mike Elkin suggests that many of us experience a fear of not being good as powerful threat. He describes how this fear plays itself out in couples and parenting relationships, and how we tend to express fear as either anger or guilt. He suggests that the most powerful antidote to fear is turning toward …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: internal family systems

Homelessness with Mair Honan

January 28, 2009 by ssradmin

Street minister Pastor Mair Honan talks about her work with the homeless in Portland, Maine. She shares some of the inner struggles she has to confront in herself to do this work.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health

Fear of Being a Bad Parent with MC

January 21, 2009 by ssradmin

An anonymous interview with MC about the many ways she can blame herself for difficulties in parenting.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle

Losing a Child with Katie Murray

August 26, 2008 by ssradmin

Katie Murray talks to Safe Space Radio about losing her 6 year old son Chan to Leukemia. Katie describes her struggle to fight against despair, and the great value of other people asking her to talk about it and not avoid the subject.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions

Surviving Domestic Violence with Sherry Edwards

August 19, 2008 by ssradmin

Sherry Edwards is a community response coordinator at Maine’s York County Domestic Violence Project, Caring Unlimited. She talks about her own experiences and what it takes to ask for help.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Mental Health

Talking to Kids about Adoption with Robert Childs

August 12, 2008 by ssradmin

Psychologist Dr. Robert Childs specializes in the difficulties and shame that adoptees face in talking to their adoptive families about their biological parents. He addresses the myth that love is all an adoptee needs, and discusses the impact of searching for one’s biological parents as a way to address old fears and grief.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle

Torture with Sheila Cassidy

July 29, 2008 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Dr. Sheila Cassidy talking about her experience of being tortured in Chile under Pinochet. She describes the psychological aftermath of torture and how her encounter with her own fear of dying helps her work in patients facing death.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Mental Health

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