The Therapeutic Poet: Recent Episodes
Jacky Power
I’m Jacky Power, addiction psychologist and poet and host of The Therapeutic Poet. Each week I use a poem I have written to introduce a therapeutic theme as I talk with my guests about the trickiness of being human.
Understanding Addiction, Recovery, and Transformation
In this powerful episode, we sit down with Thomas Delaney, who shares his deeply personal journey from ketamine addiction to recovery and advocacy. During his recovery, Thomas has spoken to audiences in the thousands and reached an online global audience of over 20 million people. He has spoken at some of the UK’s most significant wellbeing events and the world’s largest performance arts festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Thomas's story offers a raw and honest look into the complexities of addiction, the challenges of recovery, and the potential for profound personal transformation.
Key topics discussed:
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The interplay between childhood trauma, intergenerational patterns, and addiction
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Hierarchies within addiction and their impact on treatment and societal perceptions
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The realities of residential treatment and the recovery process
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Power dynamics and stigma surrounding addiction
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Controversies of ketamine therapy for mental health treatment
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The importance of addressing underlying causes rather than just symptoms
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Finding purpose and meaning in life after addiction
Highlights:
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Thomas's courageous sharing of his personal experiences with addiction and recovery
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Insights into the nuanced nature of addiction and the challenges of seeking help
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Discussion on the use of substances to treat addiction and mental health issues
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Emphasis on holistic approaches to healing and recovery
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The power of finding purpose and meaning in recovery
Takeaways:
This episode underscores that recovery is not just about abstaining from substances, but about rebuilding a life filled with connection, purpose, and self-understanding. Thomas's journey offers hope and inspiration for anyone struggling with addiction or supporting someone on their recovery path.
Remember, healing is possible, and every step towards recovery is a victory worth celebrating.
Join addiction psychologist and poet Jacky Power and her guest Thomas Delaney for this enlightening and thought-provoking conversation that aims to destigmatise addiction and help those affected feel less alone in their struggles.
EFT practitioners Aga Kehinde, who is originally from that town and and Jessica Mór, who until February 2022 had been living in Ukraine due to her spouse’s work, join me today to talk about their experience of co-creating ‘Support for Slupsk’ The project has now delivered training to more than 800 people working for the services of the town of Slupsk, Poland who are coming into direct contact with the Ukrainian refugee population. The training has involved participants learning tapping and somatic trauma relief tools, the neurobiology of how they work, and the confidence and skills to use and share this knowledge and tools as they move through this challenging time.
As many of us have watched on as the war in Ukraine has unfolded, my guests today stepped forward, travelling to Poland to bring tools of trauma relief, resilience, and stabilisation to aid workers, communities, and refugees in a small town called Slupsk through using EFT.
EFT practitioners Aga Kehinde, who is originally from that town and and Jessica Mór, who until February 2022 had been living in Ukraine due to her spouse’s work, join me today to talk about their experience of co-creating ‘Support for Slupsk’
The project has now delivered training to more than 800 people working for the services of the town of Slupsk, Poland who are coming into direct contact with the Ukrainian refugee population. The training has involved participants learning tapping and somatic trauma relief tools, the neurobiology of how they work, and the confidence and skills to use and share this knowledge and tools as they move through this challenging time.
Aga's experience of having worked in the NHS gave her an ideal insight into what was needed to support those who were supporting the refugees and Jess's experience of living in Ukraine was invaluable in helping them strategise where they gave help and how.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Thought field therapy
Dr. Feinstein's papers on using EFT in natural disasters.
Peaceful heart network organisation
ACEP
Lori Leyden
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
Childhood trauma can have a devastating long term impact on a person, having a detrimental effect on their mental and physical wellbeing. Evidence suggests that ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) are a major factor in criminal behaviour and addiction.
Sharon Osterfield and Aga Kehinde have created The Arukah Project to raise awareness of trauma associated with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress and how it impacts the lives of those who are in contact with the Justice System.
In this episode Aga and Sharon talk about how the project came about, why they are so passionate about it and what you can do to help.
They mention the ACE study and The Compassion Prison Project.
Photo of Aga courtesy of The Synthesis Clinic
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
In this episode we chat about what sustainable fashion is; how to get off the trend treadmill; Sophia's experiment in which she is not buying any new or preloved clothes (except for vital undies and socks!) and how 'sober dressing' can be creative, empowering and fun.
Sophia's mission is to help you restyle and rework your wardrobe using what you already have. She makes up "new to you" outfits from clothes that you may have forgotten about, discarded, or loved... but never been sure what to put it with. She creates outfits that are true to your sense of style and the woman you want to show up as in the world.
Sophia has't bought anything new from a shop in 5 years, favouring pre-loved clothes instead. She's now taking this a step further...
You can find out more about Sophia at https://www.finetunedwardrobe.com/
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
This podcast episode started off about divorce, speaking to Samantha about her own experience about divorce and her reasons for setting up the award winning podcast The Divorce Social. That's how it began... but Samantha is also an author and activist championing the deaf community and as someone who is a fellow hearing aid wearer, I was keen to mine her experience and knowledge; all of which is in her most recent book Living with Hearing Loss and Deafness. Samantha also mentioned the RNID and Signature as helpful resource for hearing loss and deafness. You can find out more about Samantha at www.samanthabaines.com. The link to buy her new book is here
Samantha's bio:
Samantha Baines is a multi award-winning author, actress and broadcaster. She hosts the smash hit podcast The Divorce Social and as a hearing aid wearer herself, she is the author of critically acclaimed children's books with deaf main characters. You may recognise her from appearances on ITV's Loose Women, Sky News and Andrew Neil's This Week or acting roles in Netflix’s The Crown, Call the Midwife, Silent Witness and Magic Mike Live (directed by Channing Tatum). She is a regular on BBC radio stations.
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
Michael grew up with an alcoholic, drug addicted mother who cut Michael’s finger off at 4 years old and an abusive stepfather. This lead him to living with 30 separate families before he was a teenager. There is much more to his story, so let’s welcome him to share some of that and also to create hope and inspiration with sharing how he moved through such severe intergenerational trauma and adverse childhood experiences to be the inspirational coach he is today; from trauma to triumph. As he says, ‘The trauma may be our foundation, but it is not our future.’
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
Joining me today is Dr. Debi Silber and we are talking about betrayal Dr. Debi Silber is the founder of the PBT (Post Betrayal Transformation) Institute and is a holistic psychologist, a health, mindset and personal development expert, the author of Trust Again, and is a 2-time #1 International bestselling author of: The Unshakable Woman AND From Hardened to Healed.
Her podcast: From Betrayal to Breakthrough is also globally ranked within the top 1.5% of podcasts. Her recent PhD study on how we experience betrayal made 3 groundbreaking discoveries that changes how long it takes to heal. In addition to being on FOX, CBS, The Dr. Oz Show, TEDx (twice) and more, she’s an award-winning speaker and coach dedicated to helping people move past their betrayals as well as any other blocks preventing them from the health, work, relationships, confidence, and happiness they want most.
We talked about her 3 discoveries with the research that she has done, how betrayal is a different kind of trauma because of how it feels so intentional and personal and therefore relates to trust, how it affects one physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally - and she shared some really sobering statistics around that and how it is possible to move through from betrayal to breakthrough with her five stage process.
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
This episode is different! Unfortunately my recording for this week with my guest ran into difficulties, so I had a think about what I could offer you instead.
I write a weekly newsletter for my paid subscribers on Substack so I thought that I would give you an insight into what I write about.
I have always said that what I am trying to do is 'rehumanise, one poem at a time'. Whilst it's tempting to focus on one key thing such as addiction or trauma or even poetry, I want to help remind us that being human is a whole merry mix of things and so is our experience of being human. Whilst we may have a bunch of experiences which cause us to react or behave in a certain way, such reactions are not 'disorders'. I believe that we need to de-medicalise emotions.
So I have developed a weekly newsletter called 'Permission to feel' for my paid subscribers on Subtack which focuses on one emotion at a time. I bring in various different psychological insights, poems that I have written and tools that you can use straight away, in my hope to educate, empower and entertain.
I have a bit of fun with a short story in this episode, along with sound effects. It was a lot of fun to do!
Have a listen and find out more on my Substack page.
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
I met Dan when we were at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2022 and I went to his show 'Patience Zero'. The description of his show was:
'Dan's always wanted to be a father. But now he and his wife are going through constant loss and IVF, he starts to ask the question: is he good enough? But in a year with a serious accident, an NHS-induced bad K-trip, a letter warning of impending death and, oh, aliens, he begins to wonder - is the universe telling him no? It's a comedy. Somewhere between stand-up and theatre, this show explores how far you will go for family.' and was given a 4/5 star review by Chortle who said, 'I love this genre of thoughtful, emotionally truthful shows that come from unexpected directions. They always deserve a bigger audiences, and punters lucky enough to find these little gems will remember them long after the bigger, later, louder balls-out comedy shows have blurred into one.'
I was interested in having Dan speak on the podcast because it is rare to find places where men share about this experience. In this episode I speak to Dan about writing his story as a comedy show; how he and his wife dealt with miscarriage and loss and what impact his show had on other people.
Helpful resources;
www.tommys.org
www.sands.org.uk
https://babyloss-awareness.org/organisations/
https://themuttonclub.com/childless-not-by-choice-through-grief-to-acceptance/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uufXWTHT60Y
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
Redefining what it means to be emotionally resilient, Josh in an ambassador for NACOA, the National Association for Children of Alcoholics. He works with individuals and corporation to help people improve their emotional resilience. His down to earth, highly informed videos on social media have attracted hundred of thousands of followers.
In this episode we talk about:
Addiction recovery
Trauma
Dysfunctional families
Breathwork
Classism within the mental health world
The importance of supportive community
How listening like a labrador is so important!
You can find out more about Josh at his website, on Instagram and Twitter and on Youtube.
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
Dr. Ingrid Clayton is well known for her informative and entertaining reels on Instagram about healing childhood trauma from narcissistic abuse.
In this episode we discuss the impact of abuse that happened to her as a child and adolescent; the impact of not being believed by her mother; how, even as a therapist it took her time to understand that she was enduring complex trauma.
Such trauma has a long lasting effect and we discuss the different ways it impacted her adult life and how she has recovered and is still recovering.
Ingrid is an entertaining expert and although this episode deals with difficult issues, I'm sure you'll finish listening to it feeling inspired and hopeful.
We cover:
- Trauma Bonding
- Being on the receiving end of the silent treatment
- Emotional abuse
- Narcissistic abuse
- Covert sexual abuse
- Addiction
- Complex trauma
- Trauma responses
- Toxic shame
- Going from not having a voice, to reclaiming it
- Parenting
- The healing power of writing.
You can find out more about Dr. Ingrid Clayton at www.ingridclayton.com. Ingrid regularly contribute to Psychology Today and her book Believing Me: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse and Complex Trauma is out now.
You may also find the following useful:
For incest survivors : https://siawso.org/
This book for childhood sexual abuse survivors.
This book for trauma bonding.
Information on Internal Family Systems
Music accompanying the poem is 'Drop it' by Coma-Media.
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
I kept on promising to get around to do an update about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, but never did...but now I have. The inside track on performing at Edinburgh Fringe. How badly the preparation went before hand, why I ended up crying in Wagamamas, how budgie smugglers were my wake up call, why my flyers were pointless and what I thought about my review.
Support the showClick here to go to my Substack page. Click here to buy my book
Click here to buy my a coffeeand show your support
**Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:
Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.
Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’
Or buy me a coffee 🤗.**
In this episode we begin with my poem 'Tell me your story' I wrote it about trauma; how trauma needs to be acknowledged in all its grittiness, not diminished or dressed up as ‘not that bad’ in order to be healed.
As today’s guest Lucinda Gordon Lennox says, we all have some trauma and trauma can be healed. Part of what can hinder that healing is the denial of that trauma. Other people, or even ourselves can try to minimise, justify or rationalise what has happened to us and the impact that it has had.
What if we let our stories out? What if we look its wild wickedness in the eye and start from there? If you are interested in the idea of that then I’m sure you’ll get a lot out of the conversation today.
Encouraging a deeper conversation about our trauma is trauma therapist, writer and lecturer Lucinda Gordon Lennox. She is author of ‘Nobody is broken’ a book which helps to explain what trauma is, how it happens and why it remains hidden for so long.
You can find out more about Lucinda here , buy her book or find out more about EMDR.
We mentioned Dr. Dan Siegel in this episode.
My book is also out for sale now and I have a couple of performances lined up, more details of which at www.jackypower.com
Support the show
This episode is the second part of a conversation that I had with Julia Warren. Julia is a mother, yoga teacher, writer and recovering addict. In September 2021, she lost her husband Doug when he relapsed and died of a drug overdose. In this episode, Julia shares her own writing, documenting her thoughts and feelings as she grieves her husband.
We talk about what's helpful and unhelpful when someone is grieving. What the shittiest things are about grief, and how through fully surrendering to our grief, it's possible to find joy, and hope.
Human connection is about not turning our faces away when the going gets tough. It's about sitting with our own sense of inadequacies that may surface when we are faced with a situation that we don't know how to deal with. Saying 'I don't know, but I'm here and I'm staying here' is a really simple, but profound thing that we can offer to someone, anyone when they are going through a difficult time.
I hope that through talking with Julia today, we have given you courage if you need it to not turn away from the difficulties in life and face them. Yes, maybe with fear and uncertainty but the way to get through is to continue in spite of that fear, because it's the path to human connection.
Resources for the UK:
https://www.ataloss.org/faqs/bereaved-by-an-addiction
https://www.changegrowlive.org/
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
For Punjabi communities: https://www.nomorepretending.co.uk/about
gov.uk/browse/benefits/bereavement
gov.uk/government/publications/ guide-to-coroner-services-and-coroner-investigationsa-short-guide
cruse.org.uk/drugs-and-alcohol
https://www.drugfam.co.uk/
samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/
Samaritans%20Media%20Guidelines%202013%20UK.pdf
For families of addicts:
https://nacoa.org.uk/
https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/
Specifically for children:
childline.org.uk
hopeagain.org.uk
You can find out more abut Julia on Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliainvisions or at her website www.juliawarrenyoga.com
As I mention at the end of the podcast, I have a new book out called 'Stop the world I want to get off'. More details here
Support the show
Today I am talking to Julia Warren. Julia is a mother to her two boys, a trauma informed yoga teacher and a writer. She is also in recovery from drug addiction and recently stepped into the role of widow as in September 2021 her husband Doug overdosed when he relapsed from his own addiction recovery.
In this episode we talk about Julia’s recovery from drug addiction. She talks about how she went from the loneliness and isolation of addiction to recovery with the help of fellowship from other women in recovery. We talk about Doug’s relapse and what that was like for her not only as a wife but also as a recovering addict herself.
We discuss how fear can stop us from connecting to those who can understand but how stepping through that fear can be life saving. We talk about how someone’s presence is what is needed when we are processing grief, not having the right words or right message in a card.
Julia’s story is heartbreaking, but it’s not uncommon. Through her bravery of sharing her story we hope that it helps other people to walk through their fear, open up and share, what is really going on. You may be feeling quite a lot after this conversation. That’s natural and know that it is possible for things to get better. I wanted to have this conversation to lift the lid on some of these issues.
Addiction is full of fear, shame and isolation. If you are dealing with addiction, know that it isn’t your fault, but it is your responsibility. If someone you love is dealing with addiction, fully getting to grips with how powerless you are over that is very hard, but it will help you to gain clarity and set boundaries so that you can manage your own life, which is vitally important.
Resources for the UK:
https://www.ataloss.org/faqs/bereaved-by-an-addiction
https://www.changegrowlive.org/
https://alcoholchange.org.uk/
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
For Punjabi communities: https://www.nomorepretending.co.uk/about
gov.uk/browse/benefits/bereavement
gov.uk/government/publications/ guide-to-coroner-services-and-coroner-investigationsa-short-guide
cruse.org.uk/drugs-and-alcohol
https://www.drugfam.co.uk/
samaritans.org/sites/default/files/kcfinder/files/press/
Samaritans%20Media%20Guidelines%202013%20UK.pdf
For families of addicts:
https://nacoa.org.uk/
https://www.al-anonuk.org.uk/
Specifically for children:
childline.org.uk
hopeagain.org.uk
You can find out more abut Julia on Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliainvisions or at her website www.juliawarrenyoga.com
As I mention at the end of the podcast, I have a new book out called 'Stop the world I want to get off'. More details here
Support the show
So hands up, I didn't manage to record a conversation this week. Not one to let that stop me, I thought I'd share a bit about me and my foray into the world of writing and performance. I share about when I was turned down by literary agents, how I used writing to deal with it and how I managed to turn pride, self righteousness, self pity, and judgement round to modesty, humility, self esteem and gratitude. I mention Brené Brown in this episode and talk about 'The Wilderness' which is something that she describes in her book 'Rising Strong'.
The poems that I share in this episode are 'Bitterness' and 'A wobbly kind of day'.
'Bitterness' features in my soon to be released book (whoop) called 'Stop the World I want to get off'.
Hope you enjoy!
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jackylpower)
In this episode I speak to Lara Doherty, a motivational coach specialising in vision boards and author of the Mighty Book of Motivation Magic. To be honest I’ve been skeptical about vision boards (which you’ll be able to tell from the poem I use in this episode!) but Lara talks about the neuroscience behind them, why they are not a symptom of 'toxic positivity' and how vision boards are in fact a great tool to give us the time to become really aware of what we need and want. Listen in…
You can find out more about Lara Doherty at www.motivationclinic.co.uk or buy her book
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jackylpower)
When faced with an empty nest, Kari Gillespie decided to spread her own wings. She gave up a job that she loved and set off to walk across Spain and then she wrote a book about it called Pilgrim. Her book is more than about just walking, it’s about friendship, gratitude, and learning to take off the layers that life has put on you; the layers of grief and responsibility and uncertainty.
Pilgrim is a contemporary take on an ancient experience, an entertaining and moving memoir of Kari’s 900km walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Battling through sun and snow, mud and mountains, blisters and bedbugs, her real destination turns out to be "deep peace".
I loved the book and am excited to share this conversation with you. In this episode I started with my poem I start from where I am today. You can find out more about Kari on Instagram , on Twitter, on Facebook or on her website www.carolyngillespie.co.uk
Many times she had to trust the mantra ‘The Camino provides’ and she is here today to tell us about her experience and what she gained from it.
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jackylpower)
Is there anyone in Western society who hasn’t told themselves that they are too something? Too fat, too thin, thighs too wobbly, boobs too small? With increasingly sophisticated filters on our phones, people are reaching for quick fix solutions to attain an unrealistic ideal.
Almost 70 % of people have said that they are concerned about their weight, yet for over 95% of people diets don’t work. Factors like genes, our resting metabolic rate and our leptin levels are just a few things that can affect our weight.
Whilst changing our weight or shape can be incredibly tricky, what we can change is our behaviour and our relationships with our body and with food.
My guest today, Leslie Davies, author of ‘You can’t eat love: learning to love yourself can change your relationship with food’ is here to talk about just that. When Leslie examined her relationship with food she realised that the emptiness that she was feeling inside and trying to fill with food was to do with her relationship with herself and she is with us to talk about how she used her relationship with food as a signpost for changes that she needed to make in relationship to herself, healing the wounds that she had encountered through emotional neglect in her childhood.In this episode I started with my poem 'I love my long legs' We spoke about what happens when you get emotionally shut down and the lasting impact that this can have on our lives. Lesley shared her favourite tips from her book and her experience of the 12 step group ACA or Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families. You can find out more about Lesley at www.youcanteatlove.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/youcanteatlove/
You can buy her book here.
Information about ACA can be found here: https://adultchildren.org/
You can find the transcript of the show at www.jackypower.com
Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jackylpower)
Joining me today on the Therapeutic Poet podcast to talk about addiction is John Giordano.
John was the son of a heroin dealer, and he himself ended up falling into drugs and alcohol and became homeless. In 2012 he sold his own drug treatment facility for $45 million dollars and he has helped 1000s of people in their own addiction recovery.
In this episode, we discuss addiction and the story behind the label of being an addict. John shares how he turned his life around from growing up amongst a family that seemed like it had come straight out of an episode of The Sopranos to now being an international speaker on science based holistic treatments in addiction, recovery, and mental health. In this episode, we discuss violence, childhood sexual abuse, drug taking, but this story is about more it's about resilience, tenacity, service, surrendering to the what is and creating from there. This is a story of the psychological, social and biological contributors to addiction and to recovery. We also talk about John's most recent book, The kid from the South Bronx, who never gave up, details of which are in the show notes and we start with my poem Labels.
John is an expert in the treatment of addiction, mental health, and the founder of The National Institute For Holistic Addiction Studies (NIFHAS). He is the author of “Proven Holistic Treatment For Addiction & Chronic Relapse”, “How To Beat Your Addictions And Live A Quality Life”, and his most recent book is the acclaimed: “The Kid From The South Bronx Who Never Gave Up,” and is the co-author of “Molecular Neurobiology of Addiction Recovery: The 12 Steps Program and Fellowship.” Over twenty years ago Giordano founded the prestigious G & G Holistic Addiction Treatment Center in North Miami Beach, Florida — a 62 bed in-patient/out-patient JCAHO accredited addiction treatment facility.
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Joining me on The Therapeutic Poet podcast today is Vanessa Belleau, founder of High Fifteen. Vanessa is a storyteller of social truths. Vanessa’s credentials are impressive with an MSc in European Business Administration and an MA in Business Management. She is also a qualified executive coach and mentor and works with the likes of British Fashion Council, Gym shark and Walt Disney Studios. She works with companies on their business strategies, leadership, diversity and belonging.
In this episode on belonging we discuss the evolution of diversity and inclusion as buzz words to the necessary action that is needed in order to belong. Vanessa shares her own personal experience of the importance of representation from a random man on the street to her own mum and how that can be life changing. I certainly learned a lot from Vanessa about how we need to strive for unity, but also the importance of celebration of each other. So listen in, I think she is a bubble of joy to listen to and I hope you do too!
You can find out more about Vanessa at www.highfifteen.com,
on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessabelleau/
or on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessabsmiles and https://www.instagram.com/highfifteen.
Vanessa spoke about the Cultural Iceberg. This is based upon the work of Edward T Hall and an example of it can be found with this link: https://uca.edu/training/files/2019/09/Culture-as-an-Iceberg.pdf
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People talk about creativity being fun and playful, where we can express our childlike selves, like with this poem, but putting our creativity out into the world can be vulnerable and leave us filled with self doubt. Will people like it? Will people get it? Will I appear silly? Does it even matter in a world that seems to be hell bent on making money - whatever the cost elsewhere?
Someone I have been following for a while is Caro Gomez. Caro seems to emanate creativity from every pore and is a real advocate for creating, but her story has been one of things not turning out as planned, which, in truth, is part of anyone’s creative journey. It’s just that not many people seem to talk about it.
She uses her roots from El Salvador to inspire her creative work and now creates powerful vulva adorned clothes. I can’t possibly encapsulate everything that she is, so listen in!
Show notes:
You can find out more about Caro Gomez at www.carogomez.com and her Facebook group can be found here
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We all feel shame. Shame in and of itself can have a healthy function, to alert us to the threat of disconnection with others.* When a small child gets told off for a mild social indiscretion they will feel some shame, it’s how social norms are created. An attuned parent will follow up the correction with a repair, a reconnection, a ‘you’re ok, it’s just that behaviour is not ok’.
When this doesn’t happen though, shame can build up. Toxic shame is a result of repeated rejection, scorn or empathic failure which can mean that the last thing we want to do is share how we are feeling or what we need**.
Where shame resides vulnerability hides.
So in this episode we bring it out in the open and I can think of no one better to do that with than my guest today, Marc Pimsler. Marc is an award winning therapist, certified as a national master addictions counselor, clinical supervisor, and yoga and meditation teacher, and co-host with Courtney Leak of The Magic Well podcast. To be honest, that’s just a small selection of his CV.
I met him as a tutor at Onsite workshops when he trained me in experiential therapy. Marc is passionate about recovery, both his own as well as his clients’, believing that sometimes all we need is a helping hand and a fresh perspective. Grounded in the belief system that everyone has the capacity to recover, Marc brings humour, spirituality, and creativity to everything he is involved in.
In this episode I started with my poem ‘I hulp’, a poem I wrote about shame. Marc and I both shared different stories that we had about when our shame was triggered. Marc described how the only way to receive empathy, which can help us through our shame, is through exposure; exposing those parts of ourselves that we would rather deny or hide in order to try and belong.
Marc shared his 3 stage process to recovering from shame:
Stage 1 is recovery, owning our self and our story wholly, removing medicators so that we can feel in order to heal.
Stage 2 - the uncovering of ourselves from our story, identifying those experiences which gave us limiting messages and how those messages inform our behaviour today
And finally stage 3 - discovering who we’ve been all along. Because ultimately, we are all lanterns who need to be clean and clear so that our own individual, unique light can shine.
There were so many gems in this conversation, I think its probably worth listening to a couple of times. You can find out more about Marc at www.marcpimsler.com vp-consulting.net www.onsiteworkshops.com or on Instagram where his handle is @mpimsler.
In this podcast Marc mentions Patricia De-Young's definition of shame and we also touch upon the work of shame and vulnerability researcher Brené Brown.
From Working with shame in individual psychodrama psychotherapy by Anna Napier in One to One psychodrama psychotherapy* (ed. Anna Chesner, 2019)
From Shame and Jealousy by Phil Mollon (2002).
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The 'Ditch the Label' Annual Survey into bullying in 2020 reported that bullying had increased by 25% year on year.
Many factors are said to contribute to this from the way in which our politicians behave towards one another to the prevalence of social media.
Whilst we are more connected than ever in practical terms, levels of loneliness have gone through the roof.
30% of children bullied at school are bullied at least once a week.
Bullying has lasting impact on anyone, well into adulthood.
People feel anxious, depressed and can have suicidal thoughts or self harm as a result of bullying.
Joining me on The Therapeutic Poet podcast today is Jenny Alexander.
Jenny is a prolific author and some of the books that she has written about tackle the subject of bullying. Some of these are for children, like her book '70 ways to bully proof yourself’, and others for adults, such as ‘When you child is bullied: an essential guide for parents’.
Jenny explains why she wrote a book about bullying, the impacts of psychological (as well as physical) bullying and what can be done to build resilience, even when bullying is going on.
You can find out more about Jenny at www.jennyalexander.com. Jenny is a member of Lapidus, the writing for wellbeing community.
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Today on The Therapeutic Poet podcast I am joined by neuroscientist, science communicator and storyteller Dr. Paula Croxson. Paula is also an open water swimmer regularly swimming marathons, a flautist with the band Marlowe Grey, senior producer of the science based storytelling platform Storycollider and, she is also my cousin!
We started with my poem ‘As I stood on the shore of my memories.’ We spoke about how memory are changes that happen in our brains based on our experiences. Paula explained how memory can be explicit and implicit, supported by different parts of the brain, but all parts of the brain are interconnected.
Memories go through a complex process to be formed and reformed. I think it’s a fascinating area to understand as it clearly influences our daily behaviour, whether we are aware of it or not. Paula also shared how memory is malleable and can be changed through storytelling. You can find out more about Paula at www.paulacroxson or at www.storycollider.org
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None of us want to feel pain, and yet it is a core part of the human experience. We can distract ourselves in many ways to try and avoid it, but in this podcast with therapist Susan McGrath we explore the possibility of staying with the pain. Susan describes suffering as a two part process: the original cause of pain and then the resistance to the pain, which can show up as the ‘Why me?’ and ‘I don’t deserve this’ thoughts.
Within this podcast Susan offers two practical short exercises that can help you suffer more skilfully. She also explains how this may open up the opportunity for emotional and spiritual growth.
Susan has written a book on Skilful Suffering which will be out in 2022.
The first was a surrender practice in which one welcomes all of the feelings and experiences that one is going through. The second was a Tonglen practice. Tonglen is a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice. On the inhale, you take in the pain and suffering of yourself and others and on the exhale you give space, compassion and healing to yourself and others. As Susan mentioned, please be mindful of when you take on these practices.
I also mentioned Eckhart Tolle and you can read more about his perspective in his book ‘Stillness speaks.’
For more information about Susan, please visit her website www.susanmcgraththerapy.com
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In this episode we began with my poem ‘An iron bar sits on her chest.’
I spoke with Megan Febuary, founder of For Women who Roar and Your Book Year.
Megan recalls how writing a poem to reconcile her silence of rage and grief created a movement to help other women tell their stories. We spoke of the importance of the healing process through writing, rather than focussing on the finished piece; how we can let our writing write us and shedding our defences to get to the truth, which is a complicated disorganised process.
We touched on how the secret to transition is acceptance of what is and not abandoning our voice and our story.
We spoke about why sharing our story is so healing; but how we may have to break through our own shame to get there, but the antidote to that is our curiosity.
Show notes:
We refer to a few books in this episode:
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
Bird by Bird by Anne Lammot
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
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In this podcast I chatted with author and yoga teacher Kari Kwinn about her book ‘Better Boundaries: You don’t have to be broken to be better.’ We begin with my poem ‘Postively Negative’. We discussed the many tools that Kari introduces in her book that could be helpful to any of us when it comes to boundaries.
I like Kari’s perspective on this, that our yes can help us with our boundaries more than our no’s; that knowing what we want and being able to communicate that can lead to improved intimacy. Although we didn’t really get into it, this book is interlaced with Kari’s own personal examples. I think that makes boundaries all the more digestible, hearing how someone else has struggled and dealt with them; on the subject of digestion, don’t mention sushi!
You can find out more about Kari Kwinn and her book Better Boundaries at www.karikwinn.com
You can find out more about Kari and her book Better Boundaries at www.karikwinn.com
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Have you succumbed to chucking things out because they don’t spark joy? Marie Kondo’s book ‘The life-changing magic of tidying up’ was bought by millions.
But one person’s clutter may be another person’s treasure or anchor. A study at Yale university used brain scans and found that, for people who hoard, throwing out objects activates a part of the brain that is also responsible for processing pain.
Untidy spaces can reduce our willpower and our ability to focus on a task .
One study by psychologists Rena Repetti and Darby Saxby at University of California, Los Angeles, found mothers living in messy houses had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Clutter can also make it harder to fall asleep and can even make us more likely to reach for junk food, according to one study, which found participants using a “chaotic kitchen” ate twice as many cookies as those in an organised kitchen.*
So how can we decipher between a place that is calm, and clutter free but hold onto memories and meaningful memorabilia?
Joining me today is professional declutterer Belinda Knox Spinks. On her website Home of Hidden Treasures Belinda says ‘I help people find the hidden treasures of space, time and happiness.
*https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190515-can-decluttering-your-house-really-spark-joy
Clutter image rating scale: https://hoardingdisordersuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/clutter-image-ratings.pdf
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Today I am joined by Susan Earlam. Susan has been a very successful blogger in the past and her short fiction has appeared in publications and anthologies including Pure Slush, Feminist Surrealism Journal, The Debutante, Mslexia, Reflex Function and Cabinet of Heed.
This year she released her debut novel Earthly Bodies, a dystopian eco horror story that spans the ages, where strangers reveal their contribution to an extraordinary act of survival.
‘Joy as an act of resistance’, as mentioned by Susan, is a quote from the poet Toi Deritcotte. You can read more about her here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/toi-derricotte
The artist that I mentioned is on Instagram is Shamsia Hassani and you can see more about her here: https://www.shamsiahassani.net/
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In this episode we talk about what trauma is. Rather than it being as the result of a particular event it is a nervous system response that gets held in the body, rather than being discharged.
This helps us to reframe mental health and understand that if we work in relationship with others to discharge our nervous system then a more consistently regulated state is possible.
Lou’s work with Trauma thrivers is to not only help people regulate themselves after trauma, but to get to a place of thriving through affordable approaches.
Show notes:
We covered a lot of terms in this episode.
You can buy Lou’s 50 solutions to trauma here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SOLUTIONS-TRAUMA-Methods-Heal-Trauma/dp/B08XLGFFR1. Or sign up on her website for a free download Check her out at www.traumathrivers.com or the Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221929004660869/
Lou referred to the ‘Trauma Egg’, a tool for treating emotional trauma by Marilyn Murray. You can find out more about that here: https://gentlepathmeadows.com/the-murray-method-trauma-eggs-and-the-30-task-model/
Deb Dana and the story of protection and disconnection was mentioned by Lou and you can find out more here:https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/
Details of Professor Stephen Porges, who created the Polyvagal theory can be found here: https://www.stephenporges.com/
Show notes:
We covered a lot of terms in this episode.
You can buy Lou’s 50 solutions to trauma here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SOLUTIONS-TRAUMA-Methods-Heal-Trauma/dp/B08XLGFFR1. Or sign up on her website for a free download Check her out at www.traumathrivers.com or the Facebook community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1221929004660869/
Lou referred to the ‘Trauma Egg’, a tool for treating emotional trauma by Marilyn Murray. You can find out more about that here: https://gentlepathmeadows.com/the-murray-method-trauma-eggs-and-the-30-task-model/
Deb Dana and the story of protection and disconnection was mentioned by Lou and you can find out more here:https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/
Details of Professor Stephen Porges, who created the Polyvagal theory can be found here: https://www.stephenporges.com/
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I wanted to have a conversation about grief with someone whose resilience through their own grief has helped to inspire us to feel more deeply, in all the feelings that grief brings up, and to know that that is ok. I think I have the perfect person! Joining me on The Therapeutic Poet podcast to talk about grief is Clover Stroud.
Clover’s first book, The Wild Other, was shortlisted for The Wainwright Prize. Her critically acclaimed second book, My Wild & Sleepless Nights: A Mother's Story was rated one of the 'best books of the year, 2020' by the Observer and the Telegraph and the Sunday Times.
We talk about grief, something that Clover is very familiar with. Her mum was brain damaged in a horse accident when Clover was 16 and her mum died 22 years later. Clover has also lost her dear sister Nell to breast cancer. We look grief in the face in this episode and I hope that it gives you some encouragement to allow yourself to grieve in the way you need to, or to help support someone else who may be grieving right now. Clover is a generous conversationalist and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed speaking to her.
In this episode we spoke about the many faces of grief, not just when someone has died but when there is a physical or psychological absence as in the case of ambiguous loss. We talked about how grief is not linear and can raise up or subside unexpectedly. We also spoke about the grief of motherhood - of the constant letting go that motherhood requires.
In this podcast I want to really normalise grief as one of our human tricky things.
In 2022 Clover has another book coming out called ‘The Red of my Blood: A Death and Life Story’ about her sister Nell.
You can buy it here https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-red-of-my-blood/clover-stroud/9780857527738
Reviews of the book so far:
Clover Stroud is a fearless explorer of the human heart, and a writer of incomparable grace and passion. She also understands more about loss, sorrow, grief, and resilience than most people will ever have to learn. She is a gift, and so is her work. - Elizabeth Gilbert.
'A miracle of a book. A hope of a book. An absolute gutting masterpiece of a book so that it transcends book and becomes a record of life, a symphony of love and all the pain that must be endured to hear that kind of glittering gorgeous love. A must read for anyone with a soul. - Lisa Taddeo.
Show notes:
The poem that I recite is called ‘The Unbroken’ by Rashai Réa. You can find out more about them here: https://www.rashani.com/about/rashani-rea-bio.
Clover references Elisabeth Kübler Ross and the stages of dying. You can find out more about that here: https://www.ekrfoundation.org/
I referenced Leucine Enkephelin, the hormone released during emotional crying. You can find out more about that here: https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/all-about-emotional-tears
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The effect that weak social connections can have on physical health is equivalent to the risk of smoking 15 cigarettes per day!
(Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience 2010).
This podcast is a different format to the others. The guest this week is...you! Loneliness can be such a taboo subject, but not here. I invite you to get familiar with your loneliness through a meditation and the suggestion of some writing exercises.
Show notes:
The poem I reference is 'how to be alone' by Pádraig Ó'Tuama.
Books I reference:
'Together' by Vivek H Murthy
Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton
Articles:
Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience 2010: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation by RS Weiss
Information on G. Rizzolatti and mirror neurons: https://www.dialoghisulluomo.it/en/rizzolatti-sinigaglia/are-we-social-beings-a-dialogue-between-neuroscience-and-philosophy
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Judy Apps is a professional voice and communication coach and has spent many years unravelling the secrets of how great leaders inspire others, and now teaches these skills to people from all walks of life – from executives on the board of major international corporations to media people, politicians, and individuals just wanting to find the best of themselves. She is the author of several books and in 2019 did a Ted Talk on 'How your voice touches others: The True Meaning of what you say.'
Findn out more about Judy at:
www.judyapps.co.uk
Watch Judy's Ted Talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hW89Ytljic
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This is a meaty episode!
I speak to clinical psychologist Anne Darcy (bio below) who works in a personality disorder unit. We talk about what is problematic about a mental health diagnosis; labelling people with ‘disorders’.
Anne has been using an alternative approach called The Power Threat Meaning Framework.
A group of senior psychologists (Lucy Johnstone, Mary Boyle, John Cromby, David Harper, Peter Kinderman, David Pilgrim and John Read) and high profile service user campaigners (Jacqui Dillon and Eleanor Longden) spent five years developing the Power Threat Meaning Framework as an alternative to more traditional models based on psychiatric diagnosis.
Anne leads us through how this works so that instead of asking ‘what is wrong with you’ we start from a place of ‘what has happened to you and how has power operated and affected you in your life and how did you respond.’
We talk about the cultural influence of ‘disorders’; that ‘disorders’ are responses to stress and that all stress is culture-bound.
We challenge the biological approach of ‘mental health’ (that depression is hereditary and mental illness caused by chemical imbalances in the brain), discuss how the diagnosis of schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder are very often given to highly oppressed or marginalised individuals in the community.
We look at trauma, and how using the word ‘adversity’ may be more useful.
This is truly a podcast which will help to rehumanise our human experience.
Jargon Buster:
DSM is the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association - the handbook used to diagnose mental health disorders
ICD is the International Classification of Diseases - the global standard for diagnostic health information.
Show notes:
For more information on The Power Threat Meaning Framework and resources:
https://www.bps.org.uk/power-threat-meaning-framework
To buy the book (which informed much of this discussion):
https://www.pccs-books.co.uk/products/a-straight-talking-introduction-to-the-power-threat-meaning-framework-an-alternative-to-psychiatric-diagnosis
A recent article by Dr Lucy Johnstone, co author of the framework:
https://iai.tv/articles/beyond-the-mental-health-paradigm-the-power-threat-meaning-framework-auid-1803?_auid=2020
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Jude is the definition of a thriver. Having been in recovery for substance abuse and eating disorders they then realised that part of their 'dis-ease' was about their gender identity.
This is an important conversation that will leave you rethinking the way in which we view 'mental health' and gender identity.
This podcast is about recognising that we all have our 'human tricky things', but the key is that, underneath it all, we are all human and each unique self is beautiful, inspirational and has something to offer the world.
I'm so delighted to be able to help Jude share their story and de-'other' our humanness.
You can find out more about them:
Instagram @becomingjude
www.becomingjude.com
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Learning to love our horrible rotten selves as humans and as parents.
Dr. Brad Reedy is co-founder of Evoke Therapy Programs and author to two books: The Journey of the Heroic Parent and The audacity to be you: learning to love our horrible rotten selves.'
Evoke Therapy Programs provide innovative treatment solutions that foster lasting change utilizing Wilderness Therapy, Intensives and Adventure Trips for adolescents, young adults and families.
Imagine losing your temper with your kid, writing a poem about it and then picking it apart with an expert in child and family therapy. Well, that's what I did in this podcast.
Starting with my poem ‘Screaming like a Banshee’, which is a poem about the trials of parenting, we talked about the benefits of Wilderness Therapy - how it provides a unique and impactful therapeutic experience.
We both shared our experiences of not only being parents, but also being our horrible rotten selves, of being overwhelmed and feeling out of control. Brad shared his widsom on how to deal with our mistakes, the importance of saying sorry, and how healing our histories helps us to be more present in any relationship.
I’m grateful to Brad for the way he shares his personal experiences in relationships, not just his experience as a therapist.
Being in a therapeutic relationship is not about being given answers, but about creating a safe and brave space so that we can discover the answers that are already within us.
This conversation is full of Brad's wisdom so get your notebook ready!
www.bradreedy.com
www.evoketherapy.com
Books mentioned:
The Journey of the Heroic Parent and The audacity to be you: learning to love our horrible rotten selves.' by Dr. Brad Reedy
The drama of the gifted child by Alice Miller
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Do you or someone you know have dyslexia? Then listen up!
In this podcast I speak to Michelle Catterson. Michelle is not only executive head at the Moonhall schools in Surrey, she is also a board trustee of the dyslexia association. Moonhall school specialises in teaching children with dyslexia.
Dyslexia is often seen as a specific learning disorder, but what if we looked at it differently? In this podcast we explore what it is, the challenges dyslexic children have with accessing education and the far reaching consequences that this can have.
This podcast is about seeing the child, not the condition.
For more information visit:
www.moonhallschoolreigate.co.uk
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
www.madebydyslexia.org
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I speak to Harriet Brown about her book 'Shadow Daughter: a memoir of estrangement' which details Harriet’s own account of the destructive relationship with her mother and how this led to their estrangement.
Estrangement is often the stuff of Disney films, in which we rejoice with our hero as they struggle - and triumph - in finding their sense of belonging, having rejected their dysfunctional family.
In the real world though, estrangement is often shrouded in shame, blame, secrecy and silence. Divorce, religious, or political differences, racism, homophobia, trauma, abuse and addiction can all be contributory factors to family alienation. It is painful for all involved and never comes as a knee-jerk reaction, but from a place where it just doesn’t appear that there is any other safe option.
In this podcast we discuss Harriet's book and her insights into this difficult situation.
For more information visit:
www.harrietbrown.com
www.standalone.org.uk
www.adultchildren.org.
There are also support groups on Facebook.
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In this episode I talk to Miles Adcox, proprietor of Onsite Workshops. At Onsite you can rediscover you through their life changing workshops and personal growth and emotional wellness retreats in Tennessee, Nashville. I have been visiting Onsite for the past 10 years and in this episode I speak to Miles about my experiences there. We also discuss how he brings his philosophy of empathy over action, love over agenda and grace over advice into the space he curates at Onsite. We start with a poem that I wrote about Onsite called The Desert.
For more information about Miles and Onsite visit:
www.milesadcox.com
www.onsiteworkshops.com
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In this podcast I talk to award winning poet Terrell Lewis. Terrell only started writing poetry a few years ago as a way to handle his feelings during an isolating time. Inspired by his writer mum he soon found that he had a talent for expression through poetry. A chance encounter with a local cop at a birthday party led to his first open mic a few weeks later. That was the beginning of Terrell's journey that has lead to him winning awards, performing at the MOBO awards, setting up his own show DaPoetry Jam and inspiring school children and CEOS alike. Terrell performs a poem he is currently working on along with one of his favourites, 'Brave' and the poem 'Black Women' which went viral.
Find Terrell at:
https://www.dapoetryjam.com
https://www.youtube.com/c/dapoetryjam
https://www.instagram.com/dapoetryjam
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What do you get if you cross poetry with psychology?
The Therapeutic Poet podcast!
I’m on a mission to rehumanise us one poem at a time.
Somewhere along the way I think we have forgotten what it’s like to be fully human! We all have our human tricky things, but we can forget that when we are having difficult moments and that can feel incredibly lonely and isolating.
Writing poetry has helped me to be more…me. In this podcast I’ll use one of my poems each week to springboard a discussion about our human tricky things with a selection of inspiring guests so that you can be encouraged to be more you.
Mental health is often spoken about as if it is compartmentalised away into this 'thing' that happens to us, but I believe that what gets labelled as 'disorders' are really natural responses to the challenge of being human.
We all have our 'human tricky things', the stories behind the labels, and I want to use this podcast to explore those stories to help reduce stigma and normalise the struggle.
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