The Best Podcasts for Trauma Therapists All In One Place For You To Listen!
As a trauma therapist and trauma survivor, I’m super passionate about trauma. It is on my mind at least 75% of my waking hours. I am either
- providing therapy to clients
- reading or learning about trauma
- providing supervision
- consultation to my colleagues in helping trauma survivors
- creating content for my blog or podcasts about trauma
- or I’m thinking or having feelings about the trauma of someone I love or my own trauma history.
Maybe you’ve heard a lot about trauma in light of the cultural mood since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social unrest of 2020. If this is something that you want to explore in 2022, listening to podcasts about trauma can be a great way to begin learning.
Here is a list of my favorite podcasts for trauma therapists that I recommend you listen to in 2022:
CLOSE THE CHAPTER – With Kristen D. Boice, LMFT
Close the Chapter podcast is hosted by my friend and colleague Kristen D. Boice, LMFT. While Kristen doesn’t describe Close The Chapter as a trauma-focused podcast, the theme of the podcast, which began in December 2019, is about codependent relational dynamics – or at least that’s how I’m interpreting it!
Kristen D. Boice is a trauma therapist, as evidenced by the fact that she is the owner of a group psychotherapy practice in Noblesville, Indiana where all of the therapists are trained in EMDR and Brainspotting.
Speaking of which, Kristen was a guest on one of my podcasts, Therapy Chat, last year. Listen to our conversation in which she explains the difference between Brainspotting and EMDR here.
On her show, Kristen demonstrates a clear understanding of codependent relational dynamics like people-pleasing and hustling for worthiness, and she gets the shame connection. Shame is about attachment.
Many of us have not experienced being loved and accepted unconditionally by our caregivers. That unconditional acceptance is an attachment need that can often go unmet when parents have their own preoccupations which prevent them from recognizing our needs.
When this happens, it’s not uncommon to operate and interact with everyone in our lives in ways that are designed to earn the approval of others, even if it means we have to abandon our own wants and needs to receive that approval.
Unfortunately, this takes a toll on our self worth.
This reinforces the idea that our wants and needs are TOO MUCH and we should be small and play nice. Unconsciously, we fear that if we ask for what we need we will be rejected, abandoned, or betrayed. This is what is in the background when we are driven by shame, rather than following our own inner guidance and behaving in ways that honor our own wants and needs.
This shame-driven behavior is unconscious – often we don’t realize we are doing it at all. I love how Kristen speaks about codependent relational dynamics in a compassionate and empowering manner and offers so many tips and strategies for coping with trauma/attachment triggers when they arise in relationships. And they always do!
Check out Close The Chapter on Apple Podcasts and subscribe here!
This podcast is a great fit for you if you:
- Struggle with accessing self-love, find yourself putting their your needs last while you take care of everyone else;
- Want to learn about and get better at identifying your own boundaries and setting limits within your relationships;;
- Aren’t good at self-care, and want to get better;
- Grew up in a family with too-rigid or too-loose boundaries or other dysfunctional or abusive patterns;
- Feel guilty or ashamed much or most of the time;
- Are in a transitional phase of your life and feeling adrift;
- Want to have healthier relationships.
THERAPIST UNCENSORED – with Sue Marriott, LCSW, CGP and Dr. Ann Kelley
Therapist Uncensored is another of my favorite podcasts and the hosts, Sue Marriott, LCSW, CGP, and Dr. Ann Kelley, are as passionate about the subject of their show: Attachment from a neuroscience perspective as I am about all things trauma. They’ve had some amazing, big-name guests and they are deeply committed to their work.
Sue and Ann are both psychotherapists in Austin, Texas who started their podcast in August 2016. Since then they’ve published 164 episodes which have been heard in 172 countries around the world. Keep going, Sue and Ann! I’m grateful for your efforts to teach us all about attachment in a relatable way.
Listen and Subscribe to Therapist Uncensored on Apple Podcasts here!
This podcast for trauma therapists is a great fit for you if you:
- Are a “neuroscience nerd” who wants to go deep on the research about attachment and neuroscience;
- Want to learn about attachment and identify your own attachment style;
- Have heard about “earned secure” attachment and want to find it for yourself;
- Want to understand how trauma and attachment affect the brain.
TRAUMA SENSITIVE MINDFULNESS – with Dr. David Treleaven
Mindfulness is the buzzword that we’ve all been hearing about for years. Nowadays many trauma therapists recommend mindfulness for everything. It is a starting point and a way to get grounded. I use it, personally and professionally.
Difficult childhood? Practice mindfulness. In recovery? Practice mindfulness. Experienced trauma? Practice mindfulness.
But it’s not so simple, as Dr. David Treleaven explains in his book, Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, and his newer podcast of the same name. There can be a “dark side” to mindfulness that catches many people by surprise, sometimes with devastating effects.
I’m extremely grateful to Dr. Treleaven (who is also a prior Therapy Chat podcast guest – listen here for our discussion) for raising awareness of how mindfulness practices can bring up trauma reactions at times. Often when this happened, mindfulness practitioners don’t understand what’s happening, and they turn to their teachers. Unfortunately, traditionally trauma was not a recognized aspect of mindfulness training, so many of the teachers do not know how to intervene appropriately when someone is having a trauma reaction during a mindfulness retreat.
I’ve experienced this myself, and it makes sense when you think about it.
Mindfulness helps us reconnect with our emotions and our bodies. Trauma is held in the body. So if we get more in touch with our bodies, we are likely to be more connected with our emotions; and when we have experienced trauma and get grounded, the emotions related to trauma are right there. They can quickly overwhelm us and we can feel lost about how to approach this.
On his podcast, Dr. Treleaven goes into depth about Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness. Listen to Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness with Dr. David Treleaven and subscribe on Apple Podcasts here.
This trauma podcast is a great fit for you if you:
- Are a meditator with a trauma history;
- Maybe, you are a therapist who works with trauma survivors (hint: if you’re a therapist you ARE working with trauma survivors, whether you realize it or not);
- Are a meditation/mindfulness teacher;
- Enjoy meditation.
The Trauma Therapist Podcast
Guy Macpherson, Ph.D. started the Trauma Therapist Project in 2014 with a mission to learn about trauma and teach new trauma therapists how to effectively do this important work. Since then his show has been heard in 160 countries and he has interviewed all (or at least most) of the big names in the trauma therapy and research world.
In addition to the podcast, which provides information about all types of trauma therapy for various trauma-related symptoms and issues, Dr. Macpherson offers an affordable paid monthly membership program for trauma therapists to learn more from his podcast guests.
Additionally, Dr. Macpherson offers a monthly subscription-based newsletter for trauma therapists as well. You can learn more about that here.
Follow The Trauma Therapist Podcast on Apple Podcasts and subscribe here.
This trauma podcast is a great fit for you if:
- You’re starting out as a trauma therapist and hope to identify the areas you want to focus your work in by listening to various perspectives from the greats in the field;
- Or, you’re a trauma survivor hoping to understand more about the process of trauma therapy and the various approaches that are out there.
THERAPY CHAT PODCAST WITH LAURA REAGAN, LCSW-C
Okay, so I know I’m biased but my original show, which started in 2015, is a great podcast about trauma. Why? Because it covers so many of the ways relational trauma shows up in our lives, and what types of therapy can be effective in healing after those experiences.
On Therapy Chat, I, Laura Reagan, LCSW-C, an integrative somatic trauma therapist, consultant, and coach practicing in the Baltimore, Maryland USA greater metropolitan area, interview guests who are researchers, authors, therapists, and other trauma experts.
What is the podcast about?
We talk about complementary and alternative methods for healing following traumatic experiences as well as so many different Bottom-Up psychotherapy methods and approaches. When I speak about trauma, I include attachment injury as a type of trauma so we spend a lot of time discussing Childhood Emotional Neglect, physical, sexual, emotional, and verbal abuse, Self-Compassion, creativity, mindfulness, and anything else related to recovering from trauma.
I admit I have interviewed many of the greats in the trauma field on my show as well. If you would like to listen, you can find it here.
Follow and subscribe to Therapy Chat on Apple Podcasts here.
This trauma podcast is a great fit for you if you’re:
- A trauma survivor who is in therapy (or not) and wanting to add to your understanding about trauma;
- A therapist who wants to expand your knowledge and expertise in working with trauma survivors;
- Anyone who has others in their life who are suffering because of trauma and wants to help.
TRAUMA CHAT PODCAST WITH LAURA REAGAN, LCSW-C
And last, but not least, with the awareness that I’m biased, but I have honestly gotten a ton of good feedback on it…
Trauma Chat! Trauma Chat Podcast is the younger spin-off of Therapy Chat which began in June 2020. It is a season-based, limited podcast that is for anyone who wants to learn about what trauma is, how it shows up in our lives, and how the healing process works. In this show, which has had one season so far, and more are to come, I talk – without guest interviews – about trauma in brief episodes.
The idea for the show is that trauma is extremely overwhelming, and when learning about it we can become flooded with overwhelming emotions. Therefore, Trauma Chat was created as an intentionally brief show to make the information digestible for anyone, even if they have no background in studying trauma. Episodes are 5-20 minutes in length and cover specific topics.
When is the Trauma Chat Podcast Season Two Coming?
Originally I had planned to produce Season 2 beginning in October 2021, but unfortunately, I was set back quite a bit in these goals when I contracted COVID in August. It took me about 3 months to recover and I had to set Trauma Chat on the back burner. However, I have every intention of resuming recording Season 2 in early 2022 so hopefully, you’ll see some new and fresh content soon. You can find all past episodes here.
Listen and subscribe to Trauma Chat Podcast on Apple Podcasts here.
Thank you for reading the list of my favorite trauma podcasts for 2022. What would you add to this list? Is there a trauma podcast you love? Please share in the comments!
And if you are looking for a trauma therapist, or want to learn more about trauma and how it shows up in our lives, please visit my platform for learning about trauma, Trauma Therapist Network! There you will find information and resources about living with trauma and the healing process; as well as a searchable therapist directory exclusively limited to trauma therapy.
If you don’t see anyone who looks like a good fit in your area, please send us a message using the gray Help icon at the bottom right of the website and we will contact our networks to search for a therapist meeting your criteria. The list of trauma therapists is growing but we have a ways to go before it will be what I dream for it to be, a comprehensive resource for clients seeking information about trauma and wanting to link up with a trauma therapist in their area.
Find a Trauma Therapist in Our Directory for More Support!
If you’re ready to find the trauma therapist that is going to help you have a breakthrough then check out our online therapy directory. Know that we are regularly adding therapists to our directory. Therefore, the list will only continue to grow. To get started follow these steps:
- Head to our find a therapist page.
- Begin looking for a therapist in your area and select one that is a good fit.
- Visit their website and learn about our therapists.
- Get in touch and begin finding hope and healing!
*If you’re a trauma therapist who offers support for clients in need of help with trauma, our directory is for you. If you’re looking to be a resource for individuals needing help, learn about our directory. Then, visit our page to get set up as a therapist today!
