Therapist Uncensored Podcast

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Secure Relating, Not the Same as Secure Attachment with Ann & Sue (190)

Secure Relating, Not the Same as Secure Attachment with Ann & Sue (190)

You don't have to be totally healed from years of therapy under your belt or a history of secure attachment to develop skills for increased intimacy and secure relating. This is something that anybody, no matter their history, can begin to learn. Channeling your inner awareness to recognize a heightened state of arousal or using visualizations to help stay in a regulated place helps tap into your right brain to connect with yourself and your humanity. Ann and Sue navigate their personal examples, self-regulating tips, breaking out of their defensive “competitive head”, and many more useful strategies to explore the ways we can move in the direction of secure connections.

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Healing Body-Focused Repetitive Behavioral Disorders with Stacy Nakell (189)

Healing Body-Focused Repetitive Behavioral Disorders with Stacy Nakell (189)

Hair-pulling, skin picking, and cheek, lip, & cuticle biting are self-soothing strategies that depending on the degree can become body-focused repetitive behavioral disorders. Learn about a new attachment-informed psychodynamic model for treating these painful, shame-associated behaviors in our conversation today with Sue Marriott and Stacy Nakell.

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Mistaken Assumptions to Re-Examine for Relational Connection w Ann and Sue (188)

Mistaken Assumptions to Re-Examine for Relational Connection w Ann and Sue (188)

Assumptions block our view of seeing the whole perspective and equip us with a bias that can make our relationships difficult to navigate. Not asking people personal questions or receiving feedback might be underlined unexamined bias. Whether your “moral compass” may get in the way, your assumptions form from cultural influence, or you even feel avoidant of those tougher conversations and just assume the other person is on the same page – this episode is for you. This is a follow up to the defense series as Ann and Sue help us continue to get real and question what we think we just know.

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Connecting with Your Unconscious to Understand Your Defenses Session 5 of 5 – (187)

Connecting with Your Unconscious to Understand Your Defenses Session 5 of 5 – (187)

Whether it's projection, appearing to be a “know it all”, power dynamics, ceding, or even being forgetful – we express our subconscious and conscious defenses in multiple ways. Follow along to connect with your own defenses and learn how to healthily disarm your patterns for emotional regulation.

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Harnessing Healthy Aggression with Jeanne Bunker, Session 4 of 5 (186)

Harnessing Healthy Aggression with Jeanne Bunker, Session 4 of 5 (186)

Aggression is not a feeling, it can be positive or negative goal-directed life energy. Learn to use this energy to propel us forward in conversation with guest expert Jeanne Bunker and co-host, Sue Marriott. What is healthy aggression? It can be a resource to help us navigate our personal goals, increase intimacy within our relationships, and to act as a catalyst for change when paired with desire. Follow along as Jeanne Bunker and Sue Marriott break down the negative connotations and provide perspective to harness this resource and help reclaim healthy aggression. Shownotes at www.therapistuncensored.com/186. Join our Neuronerd community at www.therapistuncensored.com/join.

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Navigating Power Dynamics, Disarming Human Defenses with Ann & Sue: Session 3 of 5 (185)

Navigating Power Dynamics, Disarming Human Defenses with Ann & Sue: Session 3 of 5 (185)

When you unconsciously deem “power” as what keeps you “safe” in vulnerable situations, reflecting and rewiring on this dynamic can transform your connections.
Human defenses are quite necessary to protect our nervous system and sense of self. The goal isn't to eliminate defenses – but to learn how to regulate them, especially in relationships. Defenses can often feel triggered when there is an uneven power dynamic expressed in a relationship and can be influenced by outside factors like gender socialization, culture, or personal history.

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Our Friend the Hippocampus: Disarming Human Defenses with Ann & Sue, Session 2 of 5 (184)

Our Friend the Hippocampus: Disarming Human Defenses with Ann & Sue, Session 2 of 5 (184)

Learn more about autobiographical memory and the hippocampus in managing stress. By blending neuroscience and a 3 R Spiral of change strategy, we can begin to sort through our defenses, rewire how we navigate our world, and move towards healing our relationships. Shownotes at www.therapistuncensored.com/184. Join our Neuronerd private community for an ad-free feed at www.therapistuncensored.com/join.

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Disarming Human Defenses, a Series with Ann & Sue: Session 1 of 5 (183)

Disarming Human Defenses, a Series with Ann & Sue: Session 1 of 5 (183)

Ann and Sue get into the nitty gritty of exploring normal human defenses. Using the full body of work from translated relational neuroscience, modern attachment, and depth psychology they break down their professional and personal experience moving from armor back to more connected relationality. Show notes at www.therapistuncensored.com/183 and more episodes at www.therapistuncensored.com/episodes.

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Internal Family Systems (IFS), Neuroplasticity and Attachment with Dr. Frank Anderson (182)

Internal Family Systems (IFS), Neuroplasticity and Attachment with Dr. Frank Anderson (182)

We aren't one thing and getting to know our different parts is an effective technique to deepen healing. These “parts” are metaphorical “little beings” that live in our minds and manifest into physical or emotional reactions from traumatic events. Dr. Frank Anderson has spent decades of his life studying these parts and sharing his findings to help others utilize built-in resources like their “self-energy” to navigate their own traumas. Join us as Sue Marriott and Dr. Anderson weave together psycho-pharmacology, trauma, neuroscience, attachment, and internal family systems. More at www.therapistuncensored.com/episodes

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Managing Traumatic Stress as it Occurs (Peritraumatic Growth) with Dr. Arielle Schwartz (181)

Managing Traumatic Stress as it Occurs (Peritraumatic Growth) with Dr. Arielle Schwartz (181)

We've heard of post-traumatic growth, but what about coping while the trauma is actually happening? Co-host Sue Marriott LCSW CGP and trauma expert Arielle Schwartz, Ph.D. take a deep dive into post-traumatic and peri-traumatic growth. This compassionate conversation is full of excellent resources for enduring when overwhelmed. Learn more about yoga for trauma, somatic therapy and EMDR with these resources. More episodes on modern attachment on neuroscience at www.therapistuncensored.com/episodes

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The Science of Trust and Attachment with Dr. Steve Finn (180)

The Science of Trust and Attachment with Dr. Steve Finn (180)

The science of trust is key. Deciding who to trust in today's world is especially hard – fake news, political polarization and societal strife amplifies our already on guard nervous system. When our trust has been broken, whether early in childhood or in our adult relationships, learning who to trust can prove even more challenging. In today's episode, Dr. Steve Finn and Dr. Ann Kelley discuss the science behind epistemic trust and why many of us may have broken trust meters. They discuss how trust issues can create a mess in our relationship, whether we are the constant skeptic who resists taking in new information or we tend to trust blindly, without testing or holding healthy doubts. Together they provide deep and compassionate insights into these struggles and how they relate to internal working models. A fan favorite, Dr. Finn returns to bring his years of expertise to our listeners about ways to build curiosity and tools of mentalization, including our ability to handle healthy skepticism. Shownotest at www.therapistuncensored.com/180

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From Toxic Individualism to Relational Security with Terry Real (179)

From Toxic Individualism to Relational Security with Terry Real (179)

This episode explores individualistic thinking and will support you doing the tough internal work to give up power in favor of connection. Utilizing neurobiology, years of research, and professional experience, Terry Real and Ann Kelley break down the history of individualism and the toxic patterns it can hold in our society and in our relationships. Episode notes at www.therapistuncensored.com/180.
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It's Not Communication You Need, it's Connection – with Guest John Howard (178)

It's Not Communication You Need, it's Connection – with Guest John Howard (178)

We often focus on being understood through words, but guess what? Words and verbal communication can be mildly irritating to our nervous system. Learn what works and what doesn't when trying to build closeness and connection with those you love. Tune in for this week's episode as co-host Sue Marriott and John Howard discuss the power of mindfulness and spirituality on our minds and body, and the lasting roles they play in all types of relationships.

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Find Your Focus & Own Your Attention with Dr. Amishi Jha (177)

Find Your Focus & Own Your Attention with Dr. Amishi Jha (177)

Many of us struggle with hyper-vigilant minds that overwhelm our nervous systems. Some of us overcompensate by habitually tuning out, causing us to miss important information from our bodies and our relationships. Dr. Amishi Jha summarizes the neural bases of attention and the effects of mindfulness-based training programs on cognition, emotion, resilience, and performance.

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Attachment in Polyamory & Consensual Non-Monogamous Relationships with Jessica Fern (176)

Attachment in Polyamory & Consensual Non-Monogamous Relationships with Jessica Fern (176)

Co-host Sue Marriott and psychotherapist and relationship expert, Jessica Fern, sit down for a deep dive into the science behind attachment in consensually non monogamous relationships. Tune in to help update your model of what makes a healthy, secure-functioning relationship. More here www.therapistuncensored.com/episodes

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The Neurobiology of Threat Impacts Your Relationships, Ann and Sue Update You on the Latest (173)

The Neurobiology of Threat Impacts Your Relationships, Ann and Sue Update You on the Latest (173)

Ann and Sue blend their own personal experiences and knowledge of neuroscience to help improve your relationships and integrate healing change within the body. Follow along as they apply all we know about the fear system and the unconscious defense, and cover the misconceptions about how the amygdala is often perceived as the “fear center” of the body.

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Training Your Brain & Body to Thrive During Stress with Dr. Elizabeth A Stanley (172)

Training Your Brain & Body to Thrive During Stress with Dr. Elizabeth A Stanley (172)

It's easy to ignore or not notice the impact of stress and trauma on your body, but this can have a devastating impact on you physically emotionally and also on your relationships. Guest Dr. Elizabeth Stanley knows stress reduction – she had developed a program used by the US military called Mindfulness-based Mind Fitness Training. Co-host Dr. Ann Kelley and Dr. Stanley discuss practical strategies that will help you build resilience, recover from trauma, heal and thrive. Find show notes and more episodes at www.therapistuncensored.com/episodes.

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Family Reconciliation & Writing to Heal Trauma, an Update with Laura Davis, co-author of the classic Courage to Heal  (171)

Family Reconciliation & Writing to Heal Trauma, an Update with Laura Davis, co-author of the classic Courage to Heal (171)

Writing courageous words can heal deep wounds.  In today's episode with Courage to Heal author Laura Davis, we discuss reading and writing as part of our therapeutic journey aka bibliotherapy, family reconciliation, mother-daughter bonding and we explore the questionable power of memory.  Her new memoire, the Burning Light of 2 Stars, Laura Davis and Sue Marriott have a moving conversation that is surely to bring you the feels.

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Attachment-Focused EMDR – Tools & Techniques to Heal Trauma with Dr. Laurel Parnell (170)

Attachment-Focused EMDR – Tools & Techniques to Heal Trauma with Dr. Laurel Parnell (170)

A theory around trauma is that when it occurs it “gets locked in the nervous system” and the way in which the body stores the trauma – in the form of thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations – can be left fragmented, therefore delaying true healing. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessings, also known as EMDR, is an evolving science that utilizes bilateral stimulation to help connect the left side of the brain to the right in order to form more cohesive, healing thoughts to better support the healing process. Tune in for this episode as co-host Dr. Ann Kelley and Dr. Parnell take a deep dive into the evolution and successes of EMDR.

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featured Guests

We bring you world-reknown guest experts, as well as outside-the-choir voices, so you may have direct access to updated theory and fresh ideas as they come.

Featured guests include the smartest minds in the relational sciences.

Joseph LaDeux
Arielle Schwartz
Jill Bolte-Tayl0r
Terry Real
Laurel Parnell
Bruce Perry
Kristen Neff
Lou Cossolino
Bonnie Badenoch
Pat Crittendon
Dan Siegel
David Elliott
Ellyn Bader
Dan Brown
Pat Ogden
Esther Perel
Bruce Eckert
Alan Srouf
Nancy McWilliams
Peggy Orenstein
Steve Porges
Tina Payne-Bryson
Deb Dana
Stan Tatkin
Lori Gottlieb
And many, many more deep thinkers and fabulous minds that we interview both to bring you their work, and to continuously integrate new and trusted perspectives into our own thinking and theory of what actually works to heal people.
Stan Tatkin

Steve Finn

Alphonso Appleton

Ellyn Bader

Dan Brown

Jules Shore

Liz Plank

Bonnie Badenoch

Sarah Peyton

Aby Blakely

Deb Dana

Doug Braun-Harvey

Tina Atkins

L Brookins

Pam Greenstone

Robyn Gobbel

Linno Rhodes

The Science of Psychotherapy's Becki Mendivil

Susan Ansorge

Bob Schneider

What do you want to learn today?

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