42 | Healing Trauma through Expressive Writing with Author and Neuroscientist Dr. Stacey Hettes, PhD

No matter how much we cognitively “know” about how trauma works, none of us are immune from the grip it can have on our capacity to deal with life. Thankfully, there are ways out, and writing is one of them.

Dr. Stacey Hettes knows this firsthand. In spite of her PhD in neuroscience and decades of teaching it to undergraduate students, a tense campus event in 2019 triggered a debilitating post-traumatic stress response tracing all the way back to her childhood experiences of sexual abuse. With the help of her therapist (and eventually a coach), Stacey was able to write her way out of the pit via a gorgeous, heartbreaking, and riveting memoir that was just published this month.

In this lovely conversation, Stacey and I talk about her experiences of writing her way to healing, the neuroscience of trauma, and the value of finding meaning and purpose on the other side of surviving terrible shit.

Read the transcript at: https://settlingisbullshit.com/

Connect with Stacey:

Buy her book! Dispatches from the Couch: A Neuroscientist and Her Therapist Conspire to Reboot Her Brain https://bookshop.org/a/109472/9781627205672

Visit her website: https://www.staceyhettes.com/

Follow her on Instagram @staceyhetteswrites

Resources, References, and Links

Note: book recommendations include affiliate links. If you buy a copy, I’ll get a tiny commission, and that would be super cool.

Book a free chemistry call with me! https://www.joywalking.life/services

Questions Stacey offers as reflection prompts for reflecting on therapy sessions:

• What were the emotions I was feeling?
• What were the reasons behind those emotions?
• What are the experiences? What are the memories?
• What do I think this is all about?

Excellent book on expressive writing and the science of its benefits: Opening Up by Writing It Down by James W. Pennebaker and Joshua M. Smyth https://bookshop.org/a/109472/9781462524921

Melissa Walker – Heydey Coaching. https://www.heydaycoaching.com/

Julie Day, spiritual counselor and podcast guest on episode #33. https://settlingisbullshit.com/2025/02/13/practical-mysticism-and-trusting-the-divine-with-julie-day/

Julie Valentine Center for sexual assault and child abuse recovery in Greenville, SC. https://www.julievalentinecenter.org/

CPTSD – Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Here is a great episode about it on Trauma Rewired: https://illuminatedwithjennifer.libsyn.com/what-is-cptsd