Dear Katie: Survivor Stories

This week, walk through the inner workings of the mind with therapist Rachel Stanton. She shares how she works with clients to process traumatic memories and creates emotional safety to address difficult feelings. 

Rachel Stanton is a psychotherapist with a practice in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood. She specializes in helping people heal after traumas like sexual assault, and offers EMDR intensives that help people get better in d...

'That's how they evade justice ... they drop out of school and that Title IX case goes away.' 

'No record is ever made.' 

Tracy DeTomasi is a licensed clinical social worker and has worked in the field of gender based violence for nearly 25 years. As the CEO of Callisto, she is bringing innovative technology as a solution to addressing sexual assault. Callisto is a national nonprofit organization leveraging cutting-edge technology ...

Valarie Clark Miller seemed to live a picture-perfect life, but her flawless facade masked a haunting past. Suffering a lifetime of abuse that eventually takes her life, her fight for justice continues with a newly released book, Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country, featuring the perspectives of her family. John R. Miller shares his experience navigating the cultures that protect sexual p...

Today, we're joined by Reneé Rodriguez, founder of Best Foot Forward Consulting and creator of The Custody Blueprint®, who empowers parents navigating custody battles with narcissistic co-parents.  Drawing from her own experience and a diverse background in education, coaching, and strategic planning, Reneé provides a proven framework for presenting evidence effectively in court.  She helps parents, often victims of psychological a...

'My father would beat my mother, and my mother would blame me. 

Speaking about her experience growing up in a turbulent home, Sabrina Osso sheds light on the patterns of abuse and violence that encompassed her childhood. Fueled by the journey out of her early traumatic life, she dedicates herself to improving families and creating safe homes through her business, Osso Safe. 

Host: Katie Koestner

Editor: Evan Mader

Producers: Catrin...

Soraya Chemaly is an award-winning author and activist. As a cultural critic, she writes and speaks frequently about gender norms, politics, and technology and their relationship to violence, risk, and social justice. She is the former Executive Director of The Representation Project and Director and co-founder of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project, both dedicated to protecting and expanding women's civic and political partici...

Sit back and enjoy fantastic insights from our phenomenal guest Gordon Braxton. 

Gordon Braxton joins Katie and Claire to discuss how his work as an activist and educator has shaped his upcoming book, which focuses on violence prevention and specifically addresses black boys. Braxton talks about challenging stereotypes, changing narratives, and the hope he sees in the next generation. 

Braxton is a graduate of the University of Vir...

'There was something just... sitting there.'

Jess Michaels is a 3x founder, TEDx speaker, and dance industry professional with 30 years of experience as a performer, educator, and entrepreneur. She is also a 1991 survivor of sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein who has lived with PTSD for over 30 years. Today, she's the founder, CEO, and driving force behind 3Joannes Sexual Assault First Aid. Through her work, Jess equips communities ...

'I had been spending my entire career encouraging victims to report and I had never reported mine, I had never told anybody.'

This week, Dave Markel shares his incredible journey from advocate to survivor. Initially working tirelessly with the justice system and advocacy network to serve victims of sexual assault, his work eventually frees him to share his own survivor story. Today, Dave shares his voice with thousands, hoping to c...

Bringing attention to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, Dr. Annita Lucchesi sheds light on the populations at risk, how trafficking happens, and what we can do to help. Her personal journey mirrors the geographies of her community's struggles, resulting in her interest in mapping. Today, she researches Indigenous cartography, land-based violence, and earth sciences, merging her passion for geography with her Chey...

Find new insights from our incredible guest, Rachael Denhollander. 

"How much is a little girl worth?"

Guided by a strong sense of justice since she was young, Rachael decided at ten that she wanted to be an attorney. However, her experience reporting abuse in her church comes with a terrible lesson: don't report unless you can prove it. Taking this to heart, when her gymnastics coach Larry Nassar sexually assaults her, she stays s...

'I knew in this moment, this happened to me.' 

Emily Dinova is constantly curious and always looking to empower others through her art. She has spent years learning to find, forgive, and love herself. Bringing her journey to the page, her latest novel, The Antagonist, is a cathartic release from her childhood trauma. She is deeply passionate about connecting with others and helping them find a voice amongst the chaotic waves of lif...

Sharing her journey through learning and teaching, Kim Shively brings light to insights that storytelling in professional acting can provide. She reveals how navigating the personal can help us understand how to better set boundaries and tell stories in ways that honor ourselves and others. 

Kim Shively is a typical 21st-century multi-hyphenate: an actor, director, Intimacy Choreographer/Coordinator/Consultant, professor, and resea...

'The workplace is more often about are you willing to do X, Y, and Z.'

Bringing consent-informed practices to Hollywood, Amanda Blumenthal shares her experiences coordinating intimate scenes to protect the safety of performers and crew while channeling an artistic vision for viewers. Examining the nuances of workplace and interpersonal consent, she sheds light on ways the industry sets standards for consent to navigate differences ...

This week, Helene Weiss and Grant Boyd share their experiences advocating for survivors and working tirelessly to protect their rights in the courtroom. They share visions of hope and victory, bringing to light brave survivors who have pushed to make their voices heard and fight for themselves and their community. 

Helene Weiss is a partner at Marsh Law Firm and works on a wide range of cases representing survivors of sexual abuse....

Find new insights with this classic episode of the Dear Katie Podcast, featuring Laura Davis. 

Laura Davis has helped survivors world over with her book The Courage To Heal, co-authored by Laura Bass. She has now written a memoir of her fraught relationship with her mother. The Shining Light of Two Stars is a riveting story of the love and anger that drew them together and pulled them apart in the decades since Laura told her mothe...

'We all have had a very different journey and therefore have different wounds or scars and different needs and abilities and strengths and weaknesses.'

This week, Mandeep Rai, the author of The Values Compass: What 101 Countries Teach Us About Purpose, Life and Leadership, tells us about cultural humility and what is necessary to listen to and understand others. She shares the considerations that individuals and institutions must m...

'I didn't get the chance to know what my life would have been like if I hadn't been assaulted.'

New to campus and excited about college, Mary Simmerling starts her life in Los Angeles at a party, where she is assaulted while trying to rest. Initially faced with harsh denial of her experiences, she is pushed back into herself and continues to live in fear. Mary shares with us her journey from the throes of an eating disorder and dro...

Sheila Wood, an Intuitive Healing Coach with a PhD in Clinical Pathology, holds a distinct space in trauma healing. Her unique fusion of energy healing, mediumship, and Akashic Record insights with her academic alignment create prolific healing environments. Rooted in a mission to heal the generational echoes and lifetime impacts of sexual assault trauma, Sheila's method locates and liberates deeply ingrained, often physically expr...