Stan Steindl

Ever wonder how to get motivated to change something? That was the question I wanted to explore with Stan Steindl. As a Compassion Focused Therapy psychologist he gave us some incredible questions that our Compassionate Self could ask vulnerable parts, especially with regard to a practice CFT calls "compassionate letter writing."  

If you'd like to try the Compassionate Letter Writing, here's a link to the Compassion Focused Therapy website.  


Rick Hanson

Rick Hanson brings the change process into easy to do steps. He does it here as we talked about his upcoming book Resilient. You can pre-order the book through March 27, 2018 and get some fantastic gifts. I talk about one in the video. It's well worth the pre-order! Here's the pre-order link:  


Cheryl Richardson

Take Time for Your Life was my first experience of Cheryl many years ago as I was adapting to life after having lived for six years in an ashram. What an amazing opportunity to talk with Cheryl Richardson for an hour! It's all recorded so I can share it with you. Her latest book, Waking up in Winter is her "Search for What Really Matters at Midlife." There are so many insightful nuggets in the conversation as Cheryl urges us to live an examined life. Let me know what you think as you have a chance to listen. #ExaminedLife


Russell Kolts, PhD

Faculty, Eastern Washington University; author, The Compassionate Mind Guide to Managing Your Anger, An Open-Hearted life: Transformative Lessons for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun, CFT Made Simple, and coming in April: Experiencing Compassion-Focused Therapy From the Inside Out

Getting Triggered, Anger, and Compassion Focused Therapy


Bob Silverstein, MSW 

Therapist and business coach in New York who uses breath and Qi Gong to transform frustration into transformation and self-development. His playground for exploration: POKER! 

Not something one would immediately consider a transformational playground. What I love about it is it shows us we can learn and grow through whatever we are engaged in. 

Recently I heard him talk about his experience with himself and how he uses this working with others. I was so intrigued I asked him if he would share his wisdom with you all. I’m grateful he agreed! If you want to dig in further, his website is Bob Silverstein and Mindful Poker.



Christopher Germer, PhD Faculty, Harvard Medical School; author, The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion, and co-editor, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy We're lucky to have Chris with us, not just for one video but for a series of three. I had initially asked Chris for his thoughts on why people struggle so much with self-compassion. In response he got together with me and we taped the three videos. What a gift! Fears of Self-Compassion


Susan Aposhyan

founder Body-Mind Psychotherapy, Susan is one of the earliest explorers of somatic psychotherapy 


Susan spoke with Deirdre about how we can contact the nervous system, sensing it's functioning underneath the sensations of our bodies. Her lyrical descriptions opens an avenue to feel what Susan called the "nesting rhythms in the body." 


Ready for more Safely Embodied Podcasts?

Hear from other experts in the field

Sara Willerson: Equine Therapy

A number of years ago I met Sara in Belfast where she was presenting her equine therapy work at an international conference. Her gentle, caring way of being completely drew me to her. I’ve been longing to go down to her ranch and see what she does. I’ll still do it! In the meantime, though, Sara made some videos for us to join her there. A private practice therapist Sara has a ranch in Pilot Point, TX, where she incorporates equine facilitated psychotherapy into her work with clients. Together with her equine partners, they invite all ages to come and experience the healing power of the horse outside of the traditional office setting. For more information please visit their website: http://www.horsesheartandsoul.com


Michael Robbins 

Our conversation was about energy, and particularly the way the Taoists talk about energy as chi. Michael elegantly describes chi as the electricity that runs through our house. It connects all things and is a basic life force that we can cultivate. Michael talked with us about the three levels of chi and how you can experience these currents inside your body. His descriptions were lovely and point us to a place of presence and resonance which his guided meditation then elaborated on.


Mona Barbera: Talking about Affairs

Mona is a marvel of a couples therapist, the author of Bring Yourself to Love: How Couples Can Turn Disconnection into Intimacy leading workshops and seeing couples in private practice in Rhode Island. Mona’s genuineness and kindness is combined with a strength and commitment for couples to live a life of love. In addition to all the couples she sees in her practice, she leads workshops for couples to help them reconnect. Mona draws on her work as an Assistant Trainer with Internal Family Systems, her certification in Imago Relationship Therapy and experience as past board member and committee chairperson for the New England Association for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. She’s also an Assistant Director and Shambhala Guide for Shambhala Buddhism. More information on her award winning book and her workshops (there’s one coming up soon in November, 2013) can be found on her website MonaBarbera.com.


Mary Holscher, Ph.D. and Paul Finley, M.A: Daily Life is the Powerful School for Relationships

Mary Holscher, Ph.D. and Paul Finley, M.A. have been learning about married life from the inside out for 30 years. Mary, apsychologist who specializes in couples therapy and teaches Leadership and Personal Development at Bainbridge Graduate School has led retreats and workshops for couples since 1974, Couples Therapy Intensives, and private practice. Paul is a licensed mental health counselor working with couples and individuals, leading retreats and workshops for couples since 2006. More information at www.creativecommitment.com. Mary’s website is www.maryholscher.com and Paul’s website is www.paulfinleytherapy.com.


Ann Friendenheim: LifeForce Yoga Breathing 

Ann has been practicing as a psychotherapist and group facilitator in Allentown, PA since 1986 when she acquired her master’s degree in counseling psychology. Ann currently is the clinical supervisor at Confront, Inc., the outpatient program of Treatment Trends, Inc. In addition to supervising the counseling staff at this agency, Ann provides therapeutic services to children, adolescents and adults who are affected by addiction, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Since obtaining her 200 hour yoga teacher training at Kripalu, Ann has been incorporating LifeForce Yoga into her work as a clinician, providing a safe container for recovery. She shares LifeForce Yoga individually, in group classes and in co-occurring group therapy. For more information on LifeForce Yoga developed by Amy Weintraub see the www.yogafordepression.com website.


Ken Benau: Healing Shame, Building Pride

We have all had the horrible experience of suffering from moments of shame and unfortunately, sometimes those moments extend for a long collection of moments! With that in mind, I wanted to talk with Ken Benau, Ph.D. about his extensive experience helping people heal shame. I knew Ken would draw upon his private psychotherapy practice, consultation, and training in Kensington, CA outside of Berkeley where he is an Associate Clinical Professor at U.C. Berkeley in the Graduate Program in Clinical Science. Ken also works a lot with people with learning challenges including LD, ADHD, and those on the Autism spectrum. To add to all of that Ken is also a certified AEDP supervisor. In the talk, Ken walked us through distinctions between various kinds of shame and pride, explored the importance of pride, and gave us ways of healing shame cognitively, somatically, and through using parts of self. I took extensive notes and I’m sure you will too!


Alice Rosen: Bringing the Body Back to the Table

Alice Rosen has been helping many of my clients over the past 15 years that I’ve known her, working with people who have disconnected with the natural flow of their body’s hunger. Alice leads workshops and groups designed to instill a healthy and satisfying relationship with food. Her publication credits include her column, “BODY INTELLIGENCE REPORT” which appeared for three years in the journal-letter, FOOD ISSUES, profiled in both Glamour and Self Magazine, and in the 2011 book by Jean Fain, THE SELF-COMPASSION DIET.


Chas DiCapua: Equanimity

Chas was invited to be Resident Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society where he continues in that role. Chas has been practicing mindfulness and Buddhist meditation, primarily in the Theravada school, for over 20 years, including over 2 years in silent, intensive retreat. He trained with Burmese meditation masters, western monastics of the Thai Forest tradition and senior western Vipassana teachers. Chas is a graduate of the four year Insight Meditation Society /Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program led by Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein and others. He is interested in how the basic material of our everyday lives, including relationships, can be used as a vehicle for awakening. Chas teaches retreats at IMS, at various centers and sanghas throughout the country, and offers Spiritual Counseling for individuals.


Andrea Gundersen: Embodiment Through Movement

Having trained widely in body oriented therapies I was thrilled when Andrea Gundersen started leading Becoming Safely Embodied groups in the Chicgo area. Andrea has written, presented, and provided training in body-centered trauma treatment and body-based attunement skills for professionals in the mental health field both nationally and internationally. Andrea shares her integration of the work of Susan Aposhyan who is a somatic psychotherapist out of Naropa University whose work, mind-body psychotherapy is movement based. Her experiential with us will invite listeners to experiment with mindfully witnessing their own experience of five fundamental developmental movements: yielding / pushing / reaching / pulling / grasping.


Kimberly Schneider, JD, MSW, Author, Poet

I have been graced to be showered with Kimberly’s generous, kind way of being for many years. In addition to being a motivational, inspiring presence, she’s also a trained therapist, a lawyer, poet and author. In the last couple years she’s been leading transformational groups to Ireland. Her poetry will both move you and cause you to pause and reflect as it comes out of the well of her heart. Luckily it’s available to us as a new CD Terrible Beauty: Poetry and Reflections for Precarious Times. Her book is Everything You Need: Five Steps to Manifesting Magic and Miracles. Visit her website www.kimberlyschneider.com. Out of the wealth of her being I wanted Kimberly to share whatever she felt we could use for our own development. Her response was to suggest she share the five illusions their connections to the five directions in Celtic Cosmology. 


Elizabeth Lehmann: Resilient You (TM) Bending with Strong Winds

I’ve invited Elizabeth, a New York City based psychotherapist, to come talk with us about resilience, the essential ingredient for healing from any kind of difficulty. The founder of “Resilient-You” Elizabeth is a warm companion and guide. She’ll be offering simple, powerful ways to regulate stress and overwhelm. She’ll be sharing experiences from her audio program to give you a practice you can use when life gets stressful. Her work fosters affect regulation, somatic mindfulness, playfulness, curiosity, nonjudgmental self-observation, nervous system awareness and secure self-to-self attachment.


Gary Whited: Having Listened

Gary Whited is a poet, philosopher and psychotherapist. He grew up on the plains of eastern Montana, and a strong sense of place pervades his poems, whether that place is the prairie, the city or the inner spaces we inhabit. His manuscript titled, Having Listened, was selected as the winner of the 2013 Homebound Publications Poetry Contest. Having Listened offers a collection of poems that speak from the confluence of a childhood on the prairie remembered and an encounter with the haunting voice of Parmenides echoing across 2500 years. His poems have appeared in several journals, including Salamander, Plainsongs, The Aurorean, Atlanta Review, and Comstock Rewiew. He is also a contributing author to a collection of essays in honor of his philosophy teacher, Henry Bugbee, titled Wilderness and the Heart, Henry Bugbee’s Philosophy of Place, Presence, and Memory. He is currently working on a new translation of the entire poem of the 5th century BCE greek thinker, Parmenides.



Deirdre Fay, LICSW, is the author of Attachment-Based Yoga & Meditation for Trauma Recovery (Norton, 2017), co-author of Attachment Disturbances in Adults (Norton, 2016), and The Becoming Safely Embodied Skills Manual. Deirdre integrates traditional trauma and attachment therapy with yoga and meditation grounded in her practice of over 30 years. A former supervisor at The Trauma Center, former trainer for Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute trainer, certified Internal Family Systems, and qualified trainer in Mindful Self-Compassion, Deirdre is the originator of the Becoming Safely Embodied skills used throughout the world.

Embodied Podcasts are designed to give you an experience of living inside your skin. For many people in our day and edge that's a foreign concept. When there's been trauma and attachment wounding it is even more complicated. 

If there's someone you would love to learn from, let us know. If there's a topic you want to know more about it's another reason to let us know!