Category: Transforming Trauma Podcast

In this episode of Transforming Trauma, Emily is joined by Philip Tedeschi, clinical professor and Founder of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection where he studies and teaches about the intricate relationship between people, domestic and wild animals, and the natural world. His focus in bio-affiliation – our connection to the living world – has led Philip to be globally recognized for expertise in the clinical methods of animal-assisted interventions, as well as human-animal interaction and conflict. 

When reflecting on how he got into this niche field, Philip shares how his path originally started in the veterinary field with a passion for animals. There was a unique opportunity where he was asked to teach a group of schizophrenic people to ride horses. His observations of the impact the horses were having on the group and vice versa created a lightbulb moment where he realized he was more interested in the dynamic relationship between an animal and human, rather than strictly animal medicine. Philip is grateful to his alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for the opportunity to create a self-designed major that focused on bio-affiliation, which eventually led him to the field of social work and the work he’s doing today.

Through his research on the human-animal connection, Philip has been able to make some incredible discoveries on how that connection happens and what happens (both positively and negatively) as that connection develops. He shares about the non-verbal relationship humans have with animals, particularly their companion animals. He also shares an important takeaway from his book, Transforming Trauma: Resilience and Healing Through Our Connection with Animals, which is that the well-being of the animal in our immediate environment has impact on our own personal neurobiology – it changes our brain chemistry and improves our ability to get well. Philips research also takes this further by considering animals that are not in our immediate environments – everything from wildlife, to farm animals, to animals that humans never see – and how we are still intricately connected through our environment.

At the Institute for Human-Animal Connection, he focuses on applying his research by teaching helping professionals about human-animal-environment interactions as well as how to incorporate animals in a safe, ethical, and humane way to the clinical space.

We are grateful to Philip for sharing about the contributions that animals make to our health and well-being. We invite you to listen to the full episode to learn more about this unique connection.

About:

Philip Tedeschi is the Director Emeritus and Founder of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection and a clinical professor at the Graduate School of Social Work and an affiliated faculty with the University of Denver’s Animal Law Program. He teaches in the Human- Animal-Environmental Interaction Certificate for Master of Social Work students, examining the intricate relationship between people, domestic and wild animals, and the natural world. Tedeschi’s research, scholarship, teaching and community practice work have focused on issues of social and interspecies justice, global perspectives of human-animal interactions, conservation social work and human ecology.

Learn More:

Book – Transforming Trauma: Resilience and Healing Through Our Connections with Animals

Website – Institute for Human-Animal Connection

Facebook – Institute for Human-Animal Connection

In this episode of Transforming Trauma, Emily is joined by NARM Senior Trainer and Training Director, Brad Kammer, who shares about the updated Level 3 NARM Master Therapist Training that starts in March 2023. This is a major event in the growth of the NARM Training Institute and as Brad says, “This is also a big moment for me personally as Larry passes this training on to me after over 20 years of studying with and mentoring under him, and working together to evolve NARM. I am honored and so excited!”

As Brad reflects on the origins of this Level 3 training, he recalls being in the first NARM Training that Dr. Laurence Heller taught, and realizing that there was no way to cover the depth of this model in the span of a one-year training. Brad and his cohort requested that Larry continue in their training which spurred the creation of the first NARM Masters Training. Since then, Larry has taught this training in the U.S. and Europe, and Brad has been supporting him along the way.

Recently, Brad began redesigning the Masters curriculum, focused on creating an advanced training that embodies the humanity and heartfulness of NARM. By focusing on the relational, somatic and spiritual foundations of NARM, Brad hopes to bring awareness of and a pathway for reconnecting to the full human experience.

The Level 3 NARM Master Therapist Training is all about the transformative process of intersubjectivity and how relationships are the vehicle for deep healing and transformation. As Brad states, “When moving deeper into the intersubjective field, differences between biology, psychology and spirituality become blurred. The integration of body, mind and soul becomes the catalyst for a client’s awakening of their authentic sense of Self. On this level, the healing of complex trauma and personality patterns supports deepening connection between human beings. With NARM, we are learning what it means to support each other to become more fully human.”

We are grateful to Brad for his continued work and passion in evolving the NeuroAffective Relational Model, and presenting the depths of this sophisticated model to those working to heal complex trauma. We invite you to listen to the full episode for more on NARM’s intentionality and some evocative reflective exercises.

About:

Brad Kammer is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Professional Clinical Counselor and has worked in the field of trauma for over 20 years. As a NARM Senior Trainer and Training Director, Brad is passionate about contributing to the growing trauma-informed movement. Brad has been busy updating and redesigning the Level 3 Masters curriculum and has created a dynamic, robust, and transformative new training that takes participants deeper into the theoretical and clinical foundations of NARM.

Learn More:

NARM Trainings – All Levels

Level 3 NARM Master Therapist Training

Book – The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma

In this episode of Transforming Trauma, NARM Senior Trainer Brad Kammer, is joined by Tina Sacks, PhD. an associate professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. Her fields of interest include racial inequities in health, social determinants of health, and poverty and inequality; in other words, how people’s experience of being othered affects their well-being overall. Tina’s professional work emerges from her own experience of being othered as a mixed-raced person and member of the Black and Jewish community. At the core of her work is the idea that love is really what matters and that we must care for one another as humans.

As Tina reflects on her familial history and experience, she remembers having a heightened sense that her family was different. However, it wasn’t until recently that she came to understand the history and the differences as complex trauma. In her studies of ancestral trauma, Tina has found that beyond psychological and relational loss, there is also a material loss that can leave individuals and families vulnerable to further harm. When looking at families in the context of intergenerational trauma, the past often plays out in the present.

Tina shares that her focus on racial and gender inequities in healthcare settings is rooted in her experience growing up as she witnessed the different ways her Black mother and Jewish father were treated, and the ways that both sides of her family experienced being different, marginalized and othered. As Tina became more aware of the American context around race and gender, this led her to focus on how ethno-racial minorities have different, and often unequal, experiences in healthcare settings.

When asked how holding two identities that are consistently targeted lives within her as an individual, Tina proudly shares her sense of survivorship. She acknowledges her powerful ancestors – both physically and spiritually – who survived horrific and persistent trauma in order to allow her to survive. And she hopes she can be a powerful ancestor for the future generations to come. 

We are grateful to Tina for the amazing work and awareness she is bringing to the world of healthcare. We invite you to listen to the full episode to learn more about Tina’s lived experience and how she plans to use that experience to promote human connection as a way to create more equality and supportive care for minorities in the American healthcare system.

About:

Tina K. Sacks, PhD, is an associate professor in the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley. She studies racial and gender inequities in healthcare settings, social determinants of health, and poverty and inequality. Professor Sacks' work has been published in Race and Social Problems, Health Affairs, and MSNBC News. Professor Sacks also frequently collaborates with the photographer and filmmaker Carlos Javier Ortiz on documentary film projects about issues affecting Black and Latino communities in the US and abroad. Their films have appeared in the Tribeca, AFI, and LA International Film Festivals, among others. Their work has also been published in The New Yorker and The Atlantic. Her recent book Invisible Visits, Black Middle-Class Women in the American Healthcare System, published by Oxford University Press is now available. 

Learn More:

Website – Tina K. Sacks, PhD 

Book – Invisible Visits, Black Middle-Class Women in the American Healthcare System

Other News & Publications

In this episode of Transforming Trauma, NARM Senior Trainer Brad Kammer is joined by his old friend and long-time colleague, Anthony “Twig” Wheeler.  Twig is a Trauma Specialist, Environmentalist, Performance Artist, Applied Human Ecologist, Consultant, Educator, and so much more. His interest in how to resolve the conflicts within society, and being introduced to Peter Levine’s work of Somatic Experiencing, led him to branch out into different areas of trauma. While Twig’s interests led him to a variety of studies – such as evolutionary, somatic and ecological psychology, and environmental and cultural anthropology – it was his own therapy that created his focus for advocacy and translating the work for the world as best he can.  

Twig and Brad recollect on their early experiences learning about somatic psychology and specifically connecting to Somatic Experiencing. From the beginning, Twig knew that he wasn’t destined to be a clinician. He learned trauma healing skills, and while we provided direct service to clients, he was focused on finding other avenues through which he could share and explain the work of Somatic Experiencing in a larger way. He realized that he could make trauma work more accessible by taking clinical information and making it colloquial. He found great interest and hunger from people for more down-to-earth, direct application of trauma healing theory and skills.

Twig describes what being a Cultural Animator is all about. He shares how he learned about this societal role during his time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and that he has been seeking ways to implement this into American society. He has created and presented his work in various formats, including online, on stage, and in professional trainings, and he is currently looking forward to creating a show to take on the road this year where he can do street performances focused on knowing and appreciating the stress response.

Twig and Brad also reflect on the evolving understanding of complex trauma and the various ways to relate to this new understanding. They reflect on their years of being on this learning and healing journey together and appreciate their connection and friendship.

We are grateful to Twig for his dynamic appreciation of the modern human condition and his unique approach to healing. We invite you to listen to the full episode to hear more about Twig’s experience.

About:

Anthony “Twig” Wheeler specializes in the restoration of a participatory relationship between humans and their nature – as in, how to enjoy our biology rather than hate it. As a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and trauma expert, Twig works with individuals, groups and helping care professionals. As an Applied Human Ecologist, he works toward an articulation of the evolutionarily established needs of our species. As a Performance Artist and Cultural Animator, Twig translates his social observation and research for general public audiences with humor, grace and care with the intention to enliven, inspire and catalyze action for good living, respect of self and others and engagement with biodiversity. With his studies and a strong background in social change and ecological preservation efforts, widespread travel and years spent mastering the wilderness living arts, Twig has developed an unusual appreciation of the human species and modern human condition.

Learn More:

Liberation is Possible Website

Twig’s Public Projects

StressLess Guide

Twig’s SE Reflections for Practitioners

In this special episode of Transforming Trauma, the NARM Training Institute presents a gift to Transforming Trauma listeners: a special topic webinar from the NARM Inner Circle online program. This webinar provides a window into the Inner Circle learning community where helping professionals from around the world come together to learn more about the NARM approach to resolving Complex Trauma.  

In this webinar, NARM and Heartfulness, NARM creator Dr. Laurence Heller and NARM Senior Trainer Brad Kammer, explore the importance of integrating the heart with the mind during the healing process. More specifically, they reflect on the survival functions of disconnecting from and shutting down the heart based on early loss, heartbreak, and the impact of developmental trauma.

Larry and Brad touch on such areas as: 

• Why reconnecting to the heart is essential to the healing process.
• Why the concept of heartfulness is important in working with complex trauma.
• How to differentiate between mindfulness and heartfulness in clinical practice.
• How developmental trauma affects a child’s relationship to their heart.
• How closing one’s heart in an adult intimate relationship affects the capacity for intimacy.
• The role that grieving plays in supporting increased heartfulness and the resolution of complex trauma.

Throughout the episode, they also introduce several self-reflective exercises to support listeners’ learning process on the theme of heartfulness.

If you enjoy this episode, we invite you to explore the NARM Inner Circle online learning program, where we host NARM Topic Webinars like this one every month. An example of webinar topics from the Inner Circle are: Differentiating Shock and Developmental Trauma; Working with Shame, Self-Hatred and Self-Sabotage; Differentiating Depression and Grief; Complex Trauma and Addictions; Relational Trauma, Intimacy and Sexuality; Addressing Burnout in Helping Professionals; and the NARM Approach for Supporting Personal and Spiritual Growth.  

About Dr. Laurence Heller and Brad Kammer:

Dr. Laurence Heller is the creator of the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), Senior Faculty member, International Trainer, and co-author of Healing Developmental Trauma.

Brad Kammer, LMFT, LPCC, is a somatic psychotherapist, consultant, professor, NARM Senior Trainer and NARM Training Director. He has worked in the field of trauma for over 20 years, specializing in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD). Brad is the co-author of The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma.

Learn More:

We invite you to explore the NARM Inner Circle online learning program, where we host NARM Topic Webinars like this every month. For further information and to sign up for a free two-week trial visit: 

www.narmtraining.com/freetrial