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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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Emotions

Profiles in Mental Health and Courage

October 2, 2020 by ssradmin

Profiles in Mental Health and Courage

Courage is the choice to act even when we feel afraid. It forces us to confront fear, shame, and stigma—and to feel our own strength. This hour-long show is about how accessing our own courage also supports our mental health and well-being, exploring the experience of living with mental illness—such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder—as  a kind of “courage boot camp.” …read more »

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Filed Under: Anxiety & Fear, Autism, Childhood Abuse, Depression, Depression at Work, Domestic Violence, Emotions, Hidden Emotions, Mental Health, Mental Illness in the Family, Mental Illness Series, Podcasts, Racism, Shame, Suicide, Telling Difficult Stories, Therapy, Trauma and Recovery

Yoga For Trauma with Matthew Sanford

December 26, 2016 by ssradmin

Matthew Sanford is a yoga teacher focused on trauma recovery. Matthew was paralyzed from the chest down at age 13 in a car accident that killed his father and sister. As a teen, he was encouraged to “overcome the silence” of his paralyzed body. He learned that he could listen to his body instead, and …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: disability, Recovery, Trauma, Yoga

Prisoners and Hospice with Bobby Payzant

December 5, 2016 by ssradmin

This episode revisits Safe Space Radio’s 2014 interview with Bobby Payzant, an inmate at the Maine State Prison. He discusses the crime for which he is serving time, and his work as a hospice volunteer, giving care to inmates dying in prison.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: death and dying, Hospice, Incarceration, Maine State Prison, Prison

Navigating Grief with Poetry with Catharine Murray

October 24, 2016 by ssradmin

Poet Catharine Murray describes how writing helped her heal from unspeakable loss—the death of her 6 year old son. She shares three poems that illustrate the evolution of her grief and her ongoing healing.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: creativity, death, death of a child, grief, healing, poetry, writing

Adoption and Return with Sandy White Hawk

October 9, 2016 by ssradmin

Sandy White Hawk is Sicangu Lakota and a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe who was separated as a child from her family and heritage when she was adopted at 18 months old by a white family. She is also one of five commissioners of Maine’s historic Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Sandy discusses the trauma …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, indigenous, native, Restorative Justice

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

Shame Between Doctors and Patients with Aaron Lazare

September 19, 2016 by ssradmin

Psychiatrist Aaron Lazare talks about the impact of shame and humiliation, and how to repair the damage they cause. He also discusses how shame can complicate the relationship between doctors and patients, and what can be done to reduce it.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: medical encounter, Medical Trauma, medicine, Shame

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

The Scars of Silence with Nubar Alexanian

April 17, 2016 by ssradmin

This episode features Armenian-American photographer and filmmaker Nubar Alexanian. He discusses making a film with his daughter about their journey to their ancestors’ homeland, the site of the Armenian genocide which began in 1915, the silence that surrounds the genocide and how it has impacted his sense of self and his place in the world. …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health, Social Justice Tagged With: Family, geneology, genocide, history, identity, Parenting

Recovering Ourselves through Dreams with Don Kalsched

April 11, 2016 by ssradmin

Jungian analyst Don Kalsched helps people work through trauma by exploring the feelings of the characters in their dreams. He explains that because these characters represent the ways our minds have compartmentalized feelings that have been too painful to acknowledge consciously, they can be clues that point us toward healing.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health

Coping with Depression at Work with Clare Miller

March 14, 2016 by ssradmin

Clare Miller is the director of the American Psychiatric Association’s Partnership for Workplace Mental Health. She works with employers to help them do everything they can to identify and treat depression among their employees. We discuss how to reduce the stigma of depression, and the value of people coming forward with their own stories. Clare …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: coworkers, depression, management, mental health, stigma, workplace

Hiding Depression at Work with Susie Melnick

February 29, 2016 by ssradmin

Therapist and former orchestra conductor Susie Melnick talks about how depression has affected her work in both professions. She remembers living through her first episode of major depression, one that she struggled with on and off for decades, and discusses how coping eventually led her to change careers. She talks about treating her patients while …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: coworkers, depression, employer, mental health, work, workplace, workplace health

Supporting Employee Mental Health with Geoff Smith

February 22, 2016 by ssradmin

Geoff Smith heads L.L. Bean’s Employee Assistance Program, or EAP. He talks about what an EAP can do to destigmatize depression within a company, and why it’s in every employer’s best interest to identify and help workers who are struggling.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: counseling, coworkers, employer, workplace

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

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

The Challenge of Seeking Asylum with Alice B

November 30, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Alice B, an asylum-seeker from Burundi who now lives in Portland, Maine. She talks about her work to support and empower women who have faced cultural silencing and endured trauma in both Burundi and the U.S. Alice and Anne explore ways that refugees might be connected with therapists …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health, Sexuality, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Legal System, mental health, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, Sexual assault, Therapy, 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

Adoption and Identity with George

September 23, 2015 by ssradmin

George’s biological parents are Passamaquoddy, but he was adopted at birth and raised by white parents in southern Maine. George describes how it felt to visit the reservation for the first time and meet his biological relatives. He talks about how he has grappled throughout his life with the question of whether he really is …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Adoption, Forced adoption, forced removal, indigenous, maine, native

Hidden Emotions

May 18, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode concludes Safe Space Radio’s series on loneliness, guilt, humiliation, and jealousy with a story that combines all four. We also revisit an earlier interview with Dr. Aaron Lazare about shame and humiliation and how these self-conscious emotions intersect with the feelings we hide.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: difficult conversations, difficult feelings, Hidden Emotions, Shame, stigma, talking

Childhood Humiliation

May 11, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio looks at the ways children are humiliated in school, both intentionally and inadvertently, and how it can significantly impact the way they feel about themselves well into adulthood.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: childhood, childhood trauma, education, mental health, school culture, school system, Shame, stigma, teacher, teaching, Teens

Sudden Humiliation

May 4, 2015 by ssradmin

Humiliation: that moment when you feel like dirt in someone else’s eyes, which is often so hard to bear that we bury it without ever really putting it to rest. This week Safe Space Radio features two stories from people who felt suddenly exposed and humiliated, and we’ll talk about where things went from there.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Amy, barista, classmates, embarrassment, expectation, Family, hospital, Humiliation, internal family systems, job, mortification, phone call, professional, Sara, Secrets, Shame, silence, stigma, story, storytelling, work, workplace

Working with Jealousy

April 27, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features two stories from people who have experienced jealousy in their professional lives—from the kind of jealousy that makes you feel inferior, to the kind that makes you want to disappear. We explore where it comes from and how to change our relationship to it.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: coworkers, difficult conversations, Friendship, Hidden Emotions, Humiliation, ideal, imposter syndrome, internal family systems, Jealousy, ministers, professional life, psychiatric practice, Secrets, Shame, spirituality, stigma, workplace

Guilt When You Hurt Someone

April 20, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features two stories about common types of guilt, often an emotion that nobody wants to admit to. One story is from childhood, the other from adulthood, and in both the teller hurt someone close to them, and has struggled to repair the damage to that person and to themselves.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Bullying, childhood, emotional pain, Friendship, intimacy, meanness, Pain, relationships, romance, sex, Shame, stigma, Teens

Guilt When a Parent Dies

April 13, 2015 by ssradmin

Part of Safe Space Radio’s series on hidden feelings, this episode features two stories about guilt we might feel when we believe we didn’t do enough at the end of a parent’s life. We hear from people who were troubled by the way they failed to show up for their parents, and discuss the process …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: confusion, death, dying, end of life, father, Guilt, mother, Parenting, Parents, relief, secret, Shame, stigma

The Bite of Conscience with Herant Katchadourian

April 6, 2015 by ssradmin

In this episode, Safe Space Radio interviews Stanford professor of psychiatry and human biology Herant Katchadourian, author of the book Guilt: The Bite of Conscience, about the urge to confess our guilt, how it can be used as a weapon, and how we can know whether we feel too much of it or too little. …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: buddhism, emotions, Guilt, hidden, manipulation, Shame, stigma

The Persistence of Guilt

March 30, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features stories from two people who carried guilt for decades before finally deciding to confess.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: burden, confession, emotions, expose, Guilt, hidden, secret

Loneliness and Your Brain with Amy Banks

March 23, 2015 by ssradmin

How hard is it to feel lonely when everyone around you seems to be part of a happy couple? Safe Space Radio talks to psychiatrist Amy Banks to find out what social isolation does to our brains, and some concrete things we can do to strengthen our ability to connect.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: brain, connection, depression, interpersonal neurobiology, isolation, Loneliness, neuroscience, psychology, withdraw

Intergenerational Loneliness with David

March 16, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features David talking about how he came to understand the origins of a persistent and puzzling loneliness that he’d felt since childhood.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: alone, caregiving, childhood, comforting, Holocaust, inherited emotion, internal family systems, Loneliness, Parents, son, survivor guilt, survivors

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

Waking Up White (Part 1) with Debby Irving

December 22, 2014 by ssradmin

Debby Irving is a racial justice educator and author of the book Waking Up White. She talks about the way her world was shaken when she began understanding the extent to which her whiteness has been crucial to her success in life. She also details the ways in which her new ability to engage in …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: blackness, difficult conversations, education, interracial relationships, race, racial justice, Racism, waking up white, White Privilege, Whiteness

Childhood Phobia with Maiya

October 8, 2014 by ssradmin

Ten-year-old Maiya takes us into the world of childhood phobias, describing what it was like to live with overwhelming anxiety about sickness, and how she found help. Now she is creating a website of fear-reducing games to help other kids who suffer with anxiety.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Anxiety & Fear, childhood, childhood trauma, children, fear, germaphobia, health, illness, Parenting, phobia

Parenting on the Spectrum

June 2, 2014 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features multiple stories from the lives of parents of children on the autism spectrum.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Aspergers, Autism, autism spectrum, childhood, children, father, mothering, Parenting, story, storytelling

Creating Connection with a Child with Autism with Susan Levin

May 12, 2014 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features a conversation with Susan Levin about her son Ben, who is now 11. She tells the story of discovering his autism, and talks about the ways she blamed herself for his difficulties. She explains the techniques she used to develop a stronger bond with Ben, and how he …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Autism, childhood, Parenting, parenting on the spectrum, Parents, son, spectrum

Transitioning with Aiden

March 3, 2014 by ssradmin

Transgender teen Aiden talks about how he entered high school as a girl, gradually came to understand that he had always been a boy, and how he made that transformation real.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health, Sexuality Tagged With: education, gay straight alliance, gay straight trans alliance, Gender, GSA, High School, LGBTQ, queer, School, Teachers, teenagers, Transgender teens, transitioning

Keeping Incarceration a Secret with Sonia

January 27, 2014 by ssradmin

This episode features a conversation with psychotherapist Sonia about her experience of arrest and imprisonment for possession of firearms and explosives as an anti-Vietnam War activist. In order to get professional licensure, Sonia waited years to get her record sealed, requiring her to keep her past a secret. She talks about what it has been …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions Tagged With: activism, arrest, Incarceration, judicial system, psychotherapy, record, Secrets, Shame, work

Helping Former Prisoners Tell Their Stories with Lani Peterson

December 2, 2013 by ssradmin

Lani Peterson, of the Public Voice Project, talks about her work with formerly incarcerated men and women to help them tell their stories in a way that helps them to make peace with their past and move forward in their lives. She explains the importance of telling a story that is bigger than a narrow focus …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: conversation, criminal justice reform, criminal justice system, Incarceration, prison system, release

Your Untold Stories of Dementia

November 25, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features multiple stories of dementia from you, our listeners. This collection of ten stories reflects the wide range of experiences and emotions that result from having a loved one with dementia—including frustration and poignant loss, but also warmth, connection, and surprising moments of sweetness. You can watch Scott Kirschenbaum’s …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Alzheimers, ambiguous loss, audience, caregiving, Dementia, elder care, elderly, Family, Fronto-Temporal Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, listeners

Life in the Early Stages with Bill Verrill

November 11, 2013 by ssradmin

Bill Verrill, a former banker, now suffers from early Alzheimer’s disease. Bill describes his deep trust in his wife Shirley’s ability to take care of him—and his deepest fears about the toll his illness will take on her life. He remembers letting go of his driver’s license and learning to be more dependent while striving …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Alzheimers, ambiguous loss, death and dying, Dementia, dependency, illness, intimacy, marriage

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

Living With a Parent With Dementia with Liz Havu

September 30, 2013 by ssradmin

A conversation with Liz Havu about the experience of caring for her mother, who has both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. She talks about her promise never to put her mother in a nursing home, and how this decision has brought her family together in more ways than one.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Alzheimers, Caregivers, caregiving, memory loss, mothers, nursing homes, Parents, vascular dementia

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

Dementia as Ambiguous Loss with Pauline Boss

September 2, 2013 by ssradmin

Dr. Pauline Boss discusses the experience of ambiguous loss. Dementia often creates a situation in which a person’s body is present, but the mind is absent. For caregivers, this can generate feelings of ambivalence toward the person with dementia, including wishing for this person’s death as a way to resolve the ambiguity. Dr. Boss says that …read more »

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

Abuse Survivors as Caregivers with Julie Colpitts

May 27, 2013 by ssradmin

Julie Colpitts is the Executive Director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. In this episode of Safe Space Radio, she discusses how survivors of abuse are often drawn to social service and first responder jobs, and how these roles are connected to the process of recovery. Julie, herself a survivor, discusses choices she …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, Domestic Violence, jobs, resiliency, Trauma, work, workplace, workplace health

Recovery Through Music with Michael Skinner

May 20, 2013 by ssradmin

Songwriter Michael Skinner used music as a way to heal from the abuse he suffered as a child. Michael talks about his adult experiences with PTSD, his often-frustrating encounters with the mental health system, and his efforts to resist the stigmatizing label of “mental illness.” He also explores songwriting as an important healing tool in …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: art, childhood trauma, healing, mental health, mental illness, music, PTSD, surviving trauma, survivors, 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

Restorative Yoga for Mental Health with bo Forbes

January 30, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features psychologist, yoga teacher and author bo Forbes talking about how restorative yoga and breathing exercises can restore balance to the nervous system. Coming to yoga from a solid background in clinical psychology, and work as a talk therapist, bo describes the way that moving away from verbal processing …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body work, clincial psychology, healing, meditation, pranayama, Therapy, Yoga, yoga for depression

Yoga for Returning Vets with Richard Miller

January 23, 2013 by ssradmin

Richard Miller is a yoga teacher, researcher, and author who has adapted yoga nidra—or deep relaxation practices—for use with vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Richard describes studies done by the Department of Defense showing that yoga nidra can be effective at reducing the symptoms of PTSD, allowing vets to sleep through the night, to …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: emotional regulation, Iraq War, meditation, pranayama, PTSD, restorative yoga, veterans, Yoga, yoga for depression, yoga nidra

Using Yoga to Create Safe Space with Deb Cook

January 16, 2013 by ssradmin

Yoga teacher Deb Cook discusses how a daily practice of yoga can build a sense of safety inside. Deb describes how turning the attention inward on a regular basis creates a feeling of a home inside that one can always return to, and remembers how yoga supported her while grieving her father’s death.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body work, death and dying, grief, loss, meditation, Yoga

Yoga for Survivors with Deirdre Fay

January 2, 2013 by ssradmin

Yoga teacher and therapist Deirdre Fay talks about her experience of discovering her own trauma history through yoga, which softened her defenses to the point that her body began to relive previously forgotten memories of trauma. She narrates the journey of using yoga to navigate PTSD and how she advocates for and supports survivors now.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: advocacy, body memory, childhood trauma, healing, internal family systems, meditation, PTSD, survivors, Trauma, Yoga, yoga for depression, yoga for PTSD, yoga for sexual abuse, Yoga therapy

Yoga for Trauma Survivors with Dave Emerson

December 19, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode with Safe Space Radio features yoga teacher and author Dave Emerson, who co-wrote Overcoming Trauma through Yoga about the development of “trauma-sensitive yoga.” Dave discusses how trauma is held in the body, and can be addressed through the body, often in conjunction with talk therapy.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, meditation, Therapy, Trauma, trauma sensitive yoga, yoga for trauma, Yoga therapy

Yoga Therapy with Michael Lee

December 12, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features the founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Michael Lee, talking about how yoga therapy can help people to heal lifelong wounds and bring balance to patterns that hold them back in life. Michael suggests that when we experience emotional tension associated with difficult life events, we also experience …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, meditation, phoenix rising, PTSD, trauma in the body, yoga for trauma, Yoga therapy

Yoga for Depression with Amy Weintraub

December 5, 2012 by ssradmin

Yoga teacher and author Amy Weintraub talks about her own experience of depression and how yoga helped her with depression on all levels—biologically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Amy also leads listeners through several breathing exercises to help give energy, reduce anxiety and lift mood. You can learn more about her work at www.yogafordepression.com

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Anxiety & Fear, depression, pranayama, Yoga, yoga for depression, Yoga therapy

Parenting Life-Threatening Depression with Rachel

October 31, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Rachel talking about her son’s severe depression and multiple suicide attempts. Rachel names the sense of ambiguous loss she feels now that her son lives in a state mental hospital, and how her daily visits to him can bring their own sense of shame and self-doubt. She offers …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: ambiguous loss, depression, healing, mental hospitals, mental illness, mothering, NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Parenting, psychiatric care, psychiatric institution, Shame, son, Suicide, Trauma

Having a Child with Schizophrenia with Cheryl Ramsay

September 26, 2012 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio interviews Cheryl Ramsay about her two sons, one with schizophrenia who is in treatment and one with an undiagnosed mental illness and addiction who avoids the mental health system. Cheryl describes the deep self-doubt she feels about whether she somehow could have made a difference at each step of the way. She …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Addiction & Recovery, community, doubt, Family, mental hospitals, mental illness, Parenting, psychiatric care, schizophrenia, Shame, sons

Aging with Neil McKenty

May 30, 2012 by ssradmin

Neil McKenty is a broadcast, author, and former Jesuit priest. He talks about how his expectations about aging have matched up with his experiences now, in his 85th year of life. Neil has been a consultant and constant inspiration to Safe Space Radio since its inception in 2008, and this show was aired in tribute …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Sexuality Tagged With: Aging, death and dying, expectations, jesuit preist, spirituality, theology, work

PTSD in the Intensive Care Unit with Nancy Andrews

May 2, 2012 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio interviews film-maker Nancy Andrews about her experience as a patient in the surgical ICU. Upon her release from the hospital, Nancy noticed that she kept having “weird experiences,” which her doctor recognized as post-traumatic stress disorder. Nancy’s film, On a Phantom Limb, explores the horror and disorientation of being an ICU patient. …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: control, hospitalization, ICU, intensive care unit, Medical Trauma, mental health, PTSD, surgery, the ICU and PTSD, Therapy, Trauma

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

Reducing Interpersonal Violence with Drew Wing

March 21, 2012 by ssradmin

Drew Wing is Executive Director of Boys To Men, an organization devoted to reducing interpersonal violence by fostering the healthy development of boys. Drew describes their Reducing Sexism and Violence Program (RSVP), which supports teenagers developing empathy for the experience of others, and helps them clarify their potential roles as bystanders who can intervene in …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Sexuality Tagged With: bystander intervention, empathy, masculinity, men, mental health, misogyny, Rape Culture, sexism, sexual violence, teenagers, Teens, youth

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

Parenting Siblings with Adele Faber

February 22, 2012 by ssradmin

Parenting expert Adele Faber is co-author of the best-selling Siblings Without Rivalry and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen.  Adele speaks about the importance of listening to and validating kids feelings, especially around their siblings. She uses the analogy of how you would feel if your spouse brought home another spouse you were expected …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: brothers, competition, empathy, listening, Parenting, psychology, sibling relationships, sibling rivalry, sisters

Step-Families and Step-Parenting with Patricia Papernow

January 4, 2012 by ssradmin

Psychologist and author Dr. Patricia Papernow talks about the challenges of step-family living, including insider/outsider dynamics and the complicated set of losses and loyalty that step-parents can represent for a child. Patricia talks about her book, Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t. 

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: children, Divorce, family dynamics, internal family systems, Parenting, re-marriage, remarriage, Siblings, step parents, step-families, step-parenting

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

Giving Up a Child For Adoption with Marilyn Bronzi

November 30, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode features clinical social worker and birth mother Marilyn Bronzi, who had a child “out of wedlock” in 1966. She remembers the shame of her choice and how she’s made peace with it in different ways over the years. She also describes the experience of reunification with her daughter Lisa, and the ways that …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Adoption, birth mother, family dynamics, Parenting, Shame, teen pregnancy

Adoption and Parenting with Joyce Maguire Pavao

November 16, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features author, adoptee and clinician Joyce Maguire Pavao as she talks about parenting an adopted child. Joyce describes the changing demographics of adopted children, and how adopted children are increasingly older and may have experienced trauma as well as the loss of their birth family. Joyce asserts that “adoption …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Adoption, biological parents, birth family, birth parents, childhood trauma, children, family dynamics, identity, loss, Parenting, parenting adopted children, youth

Telling Secrets with Evan Imber-Black

October 19, 2011 by ssradmin

Family therapist and author Evan Imber-Black talks about how to tell a family secret thoughtfully and well. She tells stories from her work about the impact of secrets on family members, creating ever widening circles of silence and distance in relationships.  Children may not know a secret, but their behavior is nonetheless deeply affected by …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: children, family dynamics, Parenting, Parents, Secrets, Therapy, trust

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

Illness Stories with Art Frank

October 5, 2011 by ssradmin

Author Art Frank describes his own experience with an early heart attack and later cancer. He describes the way the medical world can be oblivious to the patient’s needs and subjective experience, and the importance of finding your own voice after your body has been colonized by treatment. He offered examples of the ways that …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, cancer, doctors, heart attack, illness, medical encounter, medical providers, Medical Trauma, medicine, patient experience, Sickness, treatment

Secrets, Confiding, and Health with Jamie Pennebaker

September 28, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode features an interview with author and social psychologist Jamie Pennebaker about his research into the benefits of confiding painful experiences. Jamie suggests that one of the reasons that childhood sexual abuse may be so destructive is because it is so often kept secret. He describes experiments where people are invited to write for …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: childhood trauma, communication, confession, difficult conversations, healing, Secrets, Sexual Abuse, Trauma, writing

Telling Difficult Stories with Laura Simms

September 21, 2011 by ssradmin

Storyteller Laura Simms worked as a narrative therapist in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. She talks about the power of stories to remind us of what is good inside us.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: difficult conversations, earthquake, Haiti, narrative therapy, natural disaster, PTSD, storytelling, Trauma

Parenting and Cancer with Susan Conley

September 7, 2011 by ssradmin

Susan Conley is author of The Foremost Good Fortune and co-founder of The Telling Room in Portland, Maine. In this interview she talks about coping with breast cancer in China while parenting two young boys, and how writing helped her survive. Susan describes her decision to write as honestly as possible, exposing less-than-ideal parenting or …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: art, body, breast cancer, cancer, china, coping techniques, difficult conversations, health, identity, illness, isolation, journaling, living abroad, Parenting, physical health, relationships, Sickness, storytelling, teenagers, Teens, Therapy, treatment, writing, youth

On Being a Psychiatrist with David Moltz

June 1, 2011 by ssradmin

David Moltz is a psychiatrist in Portland, ME. In this episode, David talked about his reasons for going into psychiatry and the things he finds most difficult about the profession and the things he loves. He speaks about the use of power, the difficulty of deciding whether to commit someone to a hospital, how he …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Addiction & Recovery, addiction treatment, doctors, health, job, medical provider, mental health, mental hospital, mental illness, patient doctor relationship, patient experience, patients, psychiatric care, psychiatric hospital, psychiatrists, Sickness, substance use, Suicide, treatment, work

Trans Couples with Helen Boyd

March 23, 2011 by ssradmin

Author and gender studies professor Helen Boyd is married to a trans woman. She remembers her early courtship with a man who “occasionally cross-dressed” and how this evolved into loving her partner through her transition. Helen explores what it is like to be perceived now as a lesbian because she is married to a woman, …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Sexuality Tagged With: cross dressing, Gender, gender reassignment, husbands, identity, intimacy, Lesbian, LGBTQ, long term relationships, love, male to female transition, marraige, marriage, mtf, relationships, same sex marriage, sex, sex in marriage, trans, Transgender, transition, transwoman, transwomen, wife, wives, women, writer

Camp for Transgender and Gender-Variant Youth with Nick Teich

March 16, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features the founder and president of the first camp for trans youth, Nick Teich. Nick describes many challenges that trans youth face as they grow up, particularly as they enter puberty and begin to develop secondary sex characteristics of the sex that feels wrong to them. Camp Aranu’tiq is …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health, Sexuality Tagged With: community, Friendship, Gender Fluid, gender variant, LGBTQ, nonbinary, puberty, summer camp, teenagers, Teens, trans, Transgender, youth

Trauma, Fear and Denial with Jessica Stern

February 16, 2011 by ssradmin

Research professor Jessica Stern is an expert in the connection between trauma and terrorism. In this interview she talks about her experience following a rape at age 15, and how her story was not believed by the police—resulting in more than 40 other children being targeted. Jessica describes living with PTSD, and experiencing a confusing …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Anxiety & Fear, childhood trauma, healing, Loneliness, mental illness, police, PTSD, Rape, Rape Culture, Sexual assault, sexual violence, survivors, teenagers, terrorism, Therapy, Trauma, triggering, triggers, Violence

Tantra and Sexual Healing with Betta de Boer van der Kolk

February 9, 2011 by ssradmin

This interview features body psychotherapist Betta de Boer van der Kolk about Tantra as a way to heal from sexual abuse. Betta describes Tantra as an exchange of energy that brings presence, connection, safety and play into sexuality.  She leads the listener in a technique for couples to harmonize their breathing in order to give …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Sexuality Tagged With: body memory, body work, ejaculation, healing, internal family systems, massage, orgasm, Recovery, Sexual Abuse, sexual violence, survivors, tantra, tantric sex, Therapy, Trauma

Trauma and the Body with Pat Ogden

December 15, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with Dr. Pat Ogden about working with the body in healing from trauma. Pat uses several clinical examples to describe how she works with the body to help people re-engage the physical defenses that got overwhelmed and shut down during trauma. She describes the process of allowing people to move and tremble and …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, body work, clinical research, healing, PTSD, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body, trauma response

Trauma, Attachment and The Body with Deirdre Fay

December 8, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with psychotherapist Deirdre Fay about the deep relational disruption that is a hallmark of trauma. Deirdre recounts how, as an adult she only became aware of her own trauma in the context of safe relationship.  She describes the use of meditation techniques to help a person become aware of traumatic memories, to stay …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, coping techniques, healing, meditation, relational disruption, relationships, Trauma, trauma in the body, triggers

Trauma and Dissociation with Janina Fisher

November 24, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with psychologist Janina Fisher about dissociation in the face of trauma. Janina describes “structural dissociation” as the process where parts of our Self respond to traumatic experience not only with Fight or Flight, but also by terrified freezing, calling for help, and desperately seeking to attach out of fear of abandonment, and total …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, dissociation, psychology, surviving trauma, survivors, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body, trauma response, triggering, triggers

Trauma and EMDR Therapy with Celia Grand

November 17, 2010 by ssradmin

Therapist Celia Grand is an EMDR facilitator and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy trainer with trauma survivors and their partners. Celia blends her expertise in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) with her extensive experience working with the body in trauma.  She describes three phases of trauma recovery and how EMDR in particular can change the way …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: EMDR therapy, healing, identity, internal family systems, patient experience, psychotherapy, Recovery, relationships, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body

The Ingredients of Recovery with Mary Auslander

November 10, 2010 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features therapist, advocate and trauma survivor, Mary Auslander. She discusses the nature of trauma, the ingredients of recovery and what a person can realistically hope for as they heal from trauma. Mary describes giving up her child to adoption after a history of childhood sexual abuse, and the painful …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: advocacy, Child Abuse, childhood trauma, healing, healthcare system, psychiatric care, psychiatric system, psychiatric trauma, Recovery, Sexual Abuse, survivors, Trauma, trauma in the body

Understanding Anorexia and Eating Disorders with Lori Galperin

October 13, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with therapist Lori Galperin about how to have a non-judgmental relationship to an eating disorder. Lori describes the many roles that eating disorders serve in the life of a young person, and the importance of not getting into power struggles to try to remove it. She highlights anorexia as an attempt to turn …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: anorexia, body image, bulemia, bulimia, diet culture, Eating Disorders, food, internal family systems, mental illness, non judgement, Parenting, teenagers, Teens, Therapy, trauma in the body

The Inner Feelings of Bulimia with Julia Jarvis

September 29, 2010 by ssradmin

Julia Jarvis talks about her struggle with bulimia and her recovery. Julia describes her profound experience with feeling she was bad, and keeping a journal of her daily sins. She credits her recovery with the loosening of a rigid and punitive theology, prozac, and the community she found in Adult Children of Alcoholics.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: adult children of alcoholics, body image, bulemia, bulimia, community, diet culture, Eating Disorders, food, healing, medication, mental illness, Recovery, Shame, theology, Therapy

Mindfulness and Compulsive Eating with Alice Rosen

September 22, 2010 by ssradmin

This interview is with therapist Alice Rosen about compulsive eating. Alice describes her own struggle with food, and of experiencing satisfaction for the first time through mindful eating. She speaks about the possibility of trusting our bodies to give us clear messages about what we want to eat.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: bodies, body awareness, compulsive eating, diet culture, food, internal family systems, nutrition, trust

Self-Worth and Food with Toni Herbine-Blank

September 15, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with therapist and trainer Toni Herbine-Blank about her own struggle with food and body image. Toni outlines the process by which she was able to listen to herself, and get clear that inner beliefs about unworthiness were false.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body image, compulsive eating, diet culture, eating disorder, internal family systems, overeating, self esteem, self worth

The Care of Eating Disorders with Patrice Lockhart

September 8, 2010 by ssradmin

Dr. Patrice Lockhart describes her work at the New England Eating Disorders Center at Mercy Hospital. She emphasizes how she tries to help her patients distance their sense of self from the eating disorder, she also describes the key role of family support.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: anorexia, bulemia, bulimia, diet culture, Eating Disorders, family dynamics, food, identity, mental illness, psychiatric care, psychiatric treatment, Recovery, Therapy

Privacy and Shame with Janna Smith

June 23, 2010 by ssradmin

Janna Smith is an author and social worker. In this episode of Safe Space Radio, she discusses the relationship between privacy and shame. She describes her own struggle over how much to reveal about her father Bernard Malamud, and how to respect both his and her privacy while also confronting her shame about being compared …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: daughter, family dynamics, father, internal family systems, isolation, Parents, privacy, Shame, writer

Shame and Resilience with Brene Brown

June 9, 2010 by ssradmin

Brene Brown is the author of Daring Greatly and chair of the graduate college of social work at University of Houston. In this episode of Safe Spcae Radio, Brene talks about shame resilience, and how we can learn to embrace our vulnerability. Brene describes the consequences of denying our vulnerability including clinging to false certainties and …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: difficult emotions, Hidden Emotions, resiliency, Shame, social work, vulnerability

Shame & Humiliation with Aaron Lazare

June 2, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with psychiatrist Aaron Lazare about his work with humiliation and apology. Aaron says that you know you’ve been humiliated when you find yourself rehearsing better and better comebacks that you wish you had said at the time. He states the importance of not acting then when filled with righteous, and often vengeful rage. …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions Tagged With: apologies, dignity, Hidden Emotions, Humiliation, revenge, Shame, vulnerability

Suicide, Depression, and Zen Meditation with Cheri Huber

May 26, 2010 by ssradmin

Zen teacher Cheri Huber became a student of Zen after her suicide attempt. She describes how Zen led her to awareness of her own self-destructive patterns and allowed her to break from the ruthless voice of self-criticism inside her head.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: death and dying, depression, healing, mental illness, Recovery, suicidality, Suicide, suicide attempt, zen meditation

Suicide Among Gay Youth with Charles Robins

May 5, 2010 by ssradmin

Charles Robbins is CEO of the Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to preventing suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth. Charles describes the vulnerable time in a young person’s life after they realize they are queer, but before they have found accepting others to share it with. Charles describes his own story of …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health, Sexuality Tagged With: coming out, death and dying, difficult conversations, family dynamics, gay teens, LGBTQ, LGBTQ teens, queer teens, queer youth, Shame, Suicide, teenagers, Teens, trevor project, vulnerability

The Suicide of a Close Friend with Mary Clare

April 28, 2010 by ssradmin

Therapist Mary Clare talks about the anxiety, depression and suicide of a close friend. Mary Clare describes how difficult it was to stay close to her friend as she became more depressed, and how helpless and angry parts of her felt that her friend would not stay in treatment. She discusses the agonizing decision about …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: anger, death and dying, depression, difficult conversations, Friendship, internal family systems, intervention, patients, psychiatric treatment, Suicide, Therapy, Trauma

The Suicide of a Child with Patricia Ellen

April 21, 2010 by ssradmin

Patricia Ellen’s son killed himself when he was fourteen. Patricia describes the process of trying to understand what led up to it, and the signs that were and were not there. She describes the bullying incident at school that she believes led her son to suicide. Patricia movingly describes the many years long process of …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: blame, Bullying, children, death and dying, death of a child, grief, grieving, loss of a child, Parenting, Parents, Shame, sons, Suicide, teenagers, Teens, Trauma

The Legacy of Suicide with David Treadway

April 14, 2010 by ssradmin

Family therapist David Treadway talks about his mother’s suicide, which happened when David was 20.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: adult children, death and dying, grief, grieving, loss of a parent, mothers, sons, Suicide, Trauma

Hospice Chaplaincy with Ellie Mercer

March 31, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with hospice chaplain Ellie Mercer about caring for patients at the end of life. She describes her own childhood in a Christian Science family where illness and death were not talked about, or even treated medically, and the relief of working in hospice, where death can be acknowledged and fears can be addressed.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: communication, death and dying, difficult conversations, end of life, fear, Hospice, illness, Sickness, spirituality

The Impact of Cancer on Families with David Treadway

March 24, 2010 by ssradmin

Family therapist David Treadway talks about his struggle with advanced lymphoma. He and his wife and two grown sons wrote a book together, Home Before Dark, about their experiences of dealing with his illness and the possibility he might die. They take an honest look at the differences in their coping styles and some of the …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: cancer, cancer treatment, coping techniques, death and dying, family dynamics, lymphoma, physical health, Sickness, terminal illness, Therapy, writers, writing

Cancer and the Tri for a Cure with Julie Marchese

March 10, 2010 by ssradmin

Julie Marchese is the founder of the Tri-for-a Cure, the all women’s triathlon to raise money for women’s cancer. She describes her experiences taking care of her mother when she had cancer, and how that shaped her ability to take charge of her own treatment when she was diagnosed years later.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: cancer, cancer treatment, Caregivers, coping techniques, daughters, diagnosis, health, illness, mothers, physical health, Recovery, Sickness, tri for a cure

Surviving Cancer with Humor with Cathy Kidman

March 3, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with Cathy Kidman about her diagnosis and treatment for ovarian cancer. Cathy tells the story of how she became a stand up comedian while in treatment, and the ways she has used humor to cope with difficult situations.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: cancer, cancer treatment, coping techniques, Humor, illness, ovarian cancer, physical health, Recovery, Sickness, survivors

Living with Multiple Sclerosis with Pam Mullens

February 24, 2010 by ssradmin

Pam Mullens talks about living with Multiple Sclerosis. Pam describes the long period of uncertainty until she was definitively diagnosed, and how her symptoms effect her day to day life. Pam describes the paradoxical way in which her illness has invited her to live more in the present in a way that has made her …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: chronic illness, degenerative, depression, diagnosis, health, MS, multiple sclerosis, physical health, Sickness, wellness

Surviving Breast Cancer with Sheila Cassidy

February 17, 2010 by ssradmin

Sheila Cassidy ran a support group for women with breast cancer, and was then diagnosed with breast cancer herself. She talks about the fear of dying and the ways that emotional support makes a difference.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: breast cancer, cancer, community, death and dying, diagnosis, illness, physical health, Sickness, support group, Therapy, wellness

Working with Bereaved Children with Joanne Anning

February 10, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with Joanne Anning about working with bereaved children in England. She describes the incredible resilience of children going through loss and the importance of including children in processes around death, explaining what to expect, and helping them cry.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Bereavement, childhood, childhood trauma, children, community, death and dying, emotions, greiving, grief, loss, loss of a parent, resiliency, Therapy

Dream Work with Chris Beach

February 3, 2010 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Chris Beach discussing the nuts and bolts of remembering and working with your dreams. Chris describes the power of exploring your first childhood dream, and the possibility of using active imagination with a therapist to have a dialogue with a key figure from your dream.

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Filed Under: Emotions Tagged With: dream work, Dreams, identity, imagination, subconscious, Therapy

Nightmares and Recurring Dreams with Jeanne Safer

January 27, 2010 by ssradmin

Jeanne Safer, Ph.D talks about nightmares and recurring dreams. Jeanne describes the 40 year long relationship she has with a recurring, intensely anxiety-provoking dream. She talks about how disturbing dreams can be a gift, demanding we pay attention to an unknown part of our selves.

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Filed Under: Emotions Tagged With: Anxiety & Fear, dream work, Dreams, dreamwork, identity, nightmares, recurring dreams, subconscious, Therapy

Dreams and Grief with Laura Mazikowski

January 20, 2010 by ssradmin

Professional counselor Laura Mazikowski talks about dreams and grieving. Laura tells the story of the death of her brother Roger and two powerful dreams that shaped her experience of his loss.

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Filed Under: Emotions Tagged With: brothers, counseling, death and dying, dream work, Dreams, grief, grieving, loss of a sibling, recurring dreams, sibling relationships, sisters

Creating a Relationship with Dreams with Bob Childs

January 13, 2010 by ssradmin

Psychologist Bob Childs talks about developing a relationship with your dreams. Bob describes a pivotal dream and how it shaped his understanding of himself and his professional direction.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Adoption, birth family, dream work, Dreams, identity, subconscious

Celibacy and Failure with Neil McKenty

October 21, 2009 by ssradmin

Neil McKenty talks with Safe Space about his experience with celibacy as a Jesuit Priest. Neil says that priests in training were not talked to or helped in coping with the demands of celibacy. Ultimately he was unable to remain celibate and left the priesthood. Neil has now been happily married for the past 27 …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Sexuality Tagged With: celibacy, Failure, Hidden Emotions, intimacy, jesuit, marriage, preists, Sexuality, spirituality

The Limits of Therapy with Jeanne Safer

October 14, 2009 by ssradmin

Psychotherapist Dr. Jeanne Safer about her experience struggling with her own wounds that did not heal in therapy. She discusses the impact this had on her sense of self as a therapist.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: difficult conversations, doubt, feelings of failure, healing, identity, psychotherapy, Therapy, Trauma

Divorce with Richard Schwartz

September 30, 2009 by ssradmin

Richard Schwartz is the developer of Internal Family Systems Therapy. He talks about his decision to get divorced and the process of healing that followed.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: breakups, Divorce, family dynamics, feelings of failure, healing, internal family systems, internal family systems therapy, intimacy, marriage

Choosing Not to Have Children with Jeanne Safer

September 2, 2009 by ssradmin

Dr. Jeanne Safer discusses her decision not to have children. Jeanne describes the intense internal and external pressure she felt to have kids, and the sense that choosing not to meant she was somehow deficient in her ability to love. She talks about how she came to her decision and affirm that having kids was …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: children, expectations, love, motherhood, mothering, no kids, Parenting, preganancy, raising children, social expectation

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

Childbirth and Self-Judgment with Martha Tole

August 19, 2009 by ssradmin

Medical assistant and doula Martha Tole talks about bad mother anxiety and childbirth. Martha affirms that bad mother anxiety can begin before birth and may continue indefinitely. She describes how so many mothers’ tendency to compare themselves to others and to judge themselves in other spheres of life is especially painful when it comes to …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Bad Mother Anxiety, childbirth, comparison, motherhood, mothering, mothers, Parenting, raising children, self esteem

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

Intergenerational Mothering Struggles with Raye Tibbetts

August 5, 2009 by ssradmin

Raye Tibbetts is author of The Bad Mother Chronicles and a new blog called Good Enough. In this episode she speaks about intergenerational patterns of painful mothering. She describes the legacy of her mother having given away a child to adoption and the impact that had on her ability to bond with Raye, followed by …read more »

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

Mothering as Hero’s Journey with Nicole Chaison

July 15, 2009 by ssradmin

Nicole Chaison is author of The Passion of the Hausfrau about the experience of motherhood as a form of the mythic hero’s journey. She speaks about the courage it took to write honestly about her experiences as a mother and her struggles with both shame and loyalty in deciding to go public with her stories.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Bad Mother Anxiety, hero's journey, Hidden Emotions, motherhood, mothering, mothers, myth, Parenting, personal narrative, raising children, Shame, vulnerability

Bad Mother Anxiety with Ayelet Waldman

July 8, 2009 by ssradmin

Writer Ayelet Waldman is author of Bad Mother. In this episode of Safe Space Radio, Ayelet talks about the differences between her and her mother’s generation, and the difficulties of living up to the impossible expectations that fit our ideal of a “good mother.” Ayelet argues that being honest with your children about maternal ambivalence helps …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle Tagged With: Bad Mother Anxiety, intergenerational difference, motherhood, mothering, mothers, Parenting, raising children

Incontinence and Pelvic Floor Strength with Susan Ramsey

March 11, 2009 by ssradmin

Susan Ramsey is the owner of Holistic Physical Therapy Services. In this episode of Safe Space Radio, Susan describes who is at risk for leakage and why. She leads the listener through a kegel exercise, talks about the health of peeing, and affirms the value of the pelvic floor.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Sexuality

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

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

Vision Quest and Fear with Anne Yeomans

January 14, 2009 by ssradmin

Therapist Anne Yeomans talks about going on a vision quest, a four night journey into the wilderness alone without food. Anne describes her encounters with fear and how her sense of connection to the stars and love ones sustained her.

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Filed Under: Emotions

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

Premature Delivery with Julia Jarvis

August 5, 2008 by ssradmin

An interview with the Reverend Julia Jarvis on her experiences delivering one and a half pound baby girls at 26 weeks gestation. She discusses her struggle with worrying that somehow it was her fault, and also her struggle with the medical profession over who would make the decisions that would affect her daughters’ lives.

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Filed Under: 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

Talking About Dying with Loring Conant

July 15, 2008 by ssradmin

Hospice doctor Loring Conant describes his personal and professional experiences broaching the subject of someone’s impending death.  He reflects on his own experience with dying family members and the forces that make it hard to bring up the subject.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle

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