How We Can Heal

When the world feels heavy and full of noise, how do we make space for breath, truth, and light? We invited mezzo soprano Molly Mahoney to share how singing— anything from opera to jazz to cabaret—became both her art and her way of meeting hard days with honest hope.

Molly’s new recording of Over the Rainbow with Grammy-winning pianist John Wilson anchors our conversation: not as a sugar-coated escape, but as a grounded a...

What happens when compassion meets competence—and lived experience leads the way? We invited Anne Nicely and Lexi M., co-founders of Beauty After Bruises, to share how a homegrown effort to help one survivor of dissociative identity disorder expanded into a nationwide bridge for people living with complex trauma and dissociation. From funding care to educating clinicians, their mission is simple and urgent: make healing possible, p...

This episode is sponsored by the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD).

The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is an international, non-profit, professional association organized to develop and promote comprehensive, clinically effective and empirically based resources and responses to trauma and dissociation and to address its relevance to other theoretical cons...

Are you a therapist looking to organize your business? Try SimplePractice! Start with a seven-day free trial, then get 50% off your first three months. 

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Curiosity heals faster than control. That’s the thread we follow with Lynette Danylchuk, PhD—trailblazing psychologist, past ISSTD president, and coauthor of Treating Complex Trauma and Dissociation. We talk ...

Are you a therapist looking to organize your business? Try SimplePractice! Start with a seven-day free trial, then get 50% off your first three months.

Just go to https://www.simplepractice.com/ to claim the offer!

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What happens when accessibility stops being an afterthought and becomes the starting line? That question drives our conversation with journalist, podcast host, and disability rights advocate Laszlo Jacksai, w...

Are you a therapist looking to organize your business? Try SimplePractice! Start with a seven-day free trial, then get 50% off your first three months. 

Go to https://www.simplepractice.com/ to claim the offer!

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What happens when we stop treating child sexual abuse as isolated “bad apples” and start seeing it as organized crime shaped by networks, money flows, and technology? We sit down with Dr. Michael Salter—crimi...

A quiet shift in one enzyme may be steering how we age—and how strong we stay. Dr. Helen Blau, trailblazing Stanford scientist and 2025 National Medal of Science honoree, joins us to unpack a breakthrough decades in the making: prostaglandin E2 is essential for muscle stem cell repair, yet a degrading enzyme creeps up with age, draining that signal and eroding strength. Her team calls it a “gerozyme,” and blocking it with a targete...

What if the presence you practice in mindfulness is the same wiring that makes secure attachment possible? That question drives our conversation with clinician, author, and teacher Christine Forner, who introduces Securefulness—a relational state where an attuned nervous system helps another human co‑regulate. Christine explains why care isn’t sentimental; it’s a biologically essential force that organizes safety, regulation, and h...

What does it really take to endure when the air thins, the quads burn, and doubt gets loud? We sit down with ultrarunner Katharina Hartmuth—Hardrock and UTMB podium finisher and winner of the 330 km Tor des Géants—to unpack the mental game of mountain ultras and the deeper work that fuels lasting resilience. From long stretches above 12,000 feet to the rare quiet of a small, devoted race community, Katharina explains why Hardrock f...

When slowing down feels dangerous, your body might be living in Global High-Intensity Activation(GHIA): always on, always braced, always moving. Today we sit down with licensed marriage and family therapist and Somatic Experiencing faculty member Mahshid Hager to name that pattern, trace where it comes from, and chart a humane path back to rhythm. 

Mahshid explains why a body wired for survival often resists rest, and how to work wi...

What if the most powerful medicine starts with warmth, rhythm, and trust in your own body? Today we sit down  down with licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, and yoga teacher Tara Tonini to trace how trauma-informed Chinese medicine can steady the nervous system, smooth cycles, and support conception, pregnancy, birth prep, and postpartum in a way that fits into real life. From liver qi and kidney jing to the heart-mind connec...

Mothers are asked to offer the critical early childhood care that shapes people and impacts communities, while systems fail to offer them the basic care they need to thrive. 

We invited Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, health psychologist and IBCLC, to map the real drivers of maternal mental health and the surprisingly simple supports that change everything: responsive care, consistent follow‑through after screening, and communities de...

What if the moment you stop trying to fix yourself is the moment real relief begins? That’s the surprising turn in our conversation with meditation teacher and parent Cara Lai—authorized in the Theravada lineage (IMS, Spirit Rock) and known for an approach that’s honest, funny, and deeply humane. Cara traces her path from art school and a “soul-sucking” office to early retreats that opened a brighter world, then a year-long retreat...

Yoga doesn't have to be perfect to be powerful. That's the refreshing message from Melanie Salvatore August, who brings her background as a classically trained actor, writer, and veteran yoga teacher into a conversation that strips away pretense and gets to the heart of what makes practice sustainable.

Melanie's journey began with meditation books discovered as a preteen and evolved through her years in New ...

What if the key to living more fully isn’t thinking harder, but reconnecting with your body? In this week’s episode of How We Can Heal, Lisa sits down with actor and teacher Josh Pais to explore what it really means to “lose your mind” and why that might be the best thing you can do.

Josh shares how his father's work as a theoretical physicist alongside Einstein sparked a profound insight: emotions are simply atomic vibrations....

Ever feel like polarization makes meaningful conversation nearly impossible? Dr. Donna Hicks returns with transformative insights on navigating our divided world through dignity consciousness. 

At Harvard's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Hicks witnesses dignity violations daily yet remains steadfastly committed to her groundbreaking work. She reveals why these violations feel so viscerally painful – our...

Lucy Bartholomew brings Australian sunshine to this captivating conversation about finding purpose on mountain trails and wisdom in difficult moments. When Lucy was just 15, she discovered her passion for ultra running alongside her father, embarking on a journey that would take her from weekend camping trips to world championship podiums.

What began as quality time with her dad evolved into a career marked by remarkable a...

What does it truly mean to show up whole and authentic in a world that encourages fragmentation? Dr. Thema Bryant doesn't just talk about integration—she embodies it as a psychologist, author, professor, sacred artist, and minister leading transformative work in trauma healing and relationship building.

Dr. Bryant shares her excitement about merging different aspects of her identity and work, challenging the notion th...