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September 12, 2025 31 mins

I am happy to share this week’s enlightening and engaging guest, Dr. MaryCatherine (MC) McDonald. Please join us as we discuss:

  • the philosophy of psychology and trauma
  • her insights on critical stances and lived experience
  • her philosophies on the history of trauma – hysteria, shell shock, PTSD
  • what she means by gratitude bliss – joy as a needed healing modality
  • practice – tiny little joys
  • and so much more!

Welcome to The Healing Place Podcast! I am your host, Teri Wellbrock. You can listen in on Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Amazon Music, and more, or directly on my website at www.teriwellbrock.com/podcasts/. You can also catch our insightful interview on YouTube.

Bio:

MaryCatherine (MC) McDonald

MaryCatherine (MC) McDonald, PhD, is a research professor and life coach who specializes in the psychology and philosophy of trauma. Since beginning her doctorate in 2009, she has been researching, lecturing, and publishing on the neuroscience, psychology, and lived experience of trauma. Her work focuses on thinking critically about how we understand, define, and heal from traumatic experiences. She is passionate about destigmatizing trauma and mental health issues in general, as well as reframing our understanding of trauma in order to better understand and treat it.

After receiving her master’s degree at The New School, where she researched traumatic loss and mourning from both philosophical and psychological perspectives, she went on to complete her PhD at Boston University. She has published several research articles and book chapters, as well as two books on trauma, Merleau-Ponty and a Phenomenology of PTSD: The Hidden Ghosts of Traumatic Memory and American and NATO Veteran Reintegration: The Trauma of Social Isolation & Cultural Chasms.

In addition to her academic work, McDonald has a thriving life-coaching business. She has coached individual clients and corporate employees since 2010 and created trauma-b

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