Therapy Chat

Today, I did something hard. Have you heard Glennon Doyle Melton say "We can do hard things"? Well, we can. I can. I think. It's not always something huge - for me, today, it was trying something new and very challenging.Fulfilling a promise I made to myself and to listeners of Therapy Chat (talk about accountability!), I took my 45 year old body which has not been on the back of a horse for 32 years - and even then, at age 13, my experience was limited to two or three times I rode a horse while someone held on and walked it - and had my first horseback riding lesson. My first lesson, ever. It was clear that the people at the barn and at the shop where I bought my helmet today expected I had SOME kind of experience on a horse when they were talking to me. They kept saying "so you're coming back to riding?" I was like, "no, I'm an absolute beginner. I've never done it at all."I like knowing.I'll be honest, I hated how it felt to admit that I didn't know ANYTHING about horsemanship. I am realizing more and more - I LIKE KNOWING! Not knowing is totally uncomfortable! At this stage of my life I feel like I KNOW in most situations. Maybe it's because I'm a parent and I've become comfortable in that "bossy know it all" role. Maybe I don't push myself out of my comfort zone often enough. Yet I do challenge myself fairly often! In fact, when discussing this with my husband he noted that it seems easy for me to do new things. Not really! Recent experiences of stepping into unfamiliar territory have reminded me (i.e. I've reluctantly accepted) that it's okay to be a beginner. But I am not going to lie, I strongly dislike that feeling.It seems like a metaphor for what it must be like for my clients to come to therapy. And what it has been like for me to go to therapy. It's vulnerable!!! Vulnerable is an understatement. Vulnerability makes my skin crawl.In fact, the more I know as a therapist, the harder it is to be the one on the couch. Yet I also know that I will be my best self as a therapist when I continue exploring the parts of myself that I don't really enjoy looking into. For all of us, those parts are there and they are either in the shadows, where we don't see them as they are calling all the shots, or they are in our conscious awareness and we can manage them more effectively. [Listen to previous Therapy Chat episodes on the Shadow here, here, here and here].So today I was struggling with not knowing, being a beginner. Pretending I don't feel that way - or avoiding noticing this overwhelming sense of wanting to know - might seem easier. I certainly don't need to write about it here! I'd rather play it cool. I could just have this private experience and not say anything about it publicly. I am sharing it here because I hope it will help you sit with that discomfort when it comes up in your life. You can turn toward the discomfort - feel it - or turn away from it - avoidance.It's much more fun and interesting, from my perspective, for me to sit back and tell you how much I know about what you might want to try doing differently so you can feel better in your life. But what I really know all comes from my own experiences of struggling and figuring stuff out the hard way. Yes, I have a lot of training and experience but if I couldn't apply these lessons to my own life something would be missing. So showing you that I struggle too is a way I hope to help.How did I get here?How did I end up on the back of a very large horse today? I've been talking about wanting to learn horsemanship. I've been talking about it for more than 10 years. I talked about it in a previous blog and Therapy Chat episode. I've told myself that all I need to do is sign up and get started. True. So this year I signed up. I got started today. And this is what happened:Spoiler: it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies.I was scared. I was nervous. I struggled with not knowing. I found myself using self-deprecation while purchasing a helmet at the Saddlery and while learning how to groom and tack at the Equestrian Center. I probably won't remember how to groom and tack and will have to re-learn next time. I judged myself - fairly harshly. I told myself my body isn't able to do this - even while knowing that my body is strong. I kept telling myself I am too big for this - too tall, not slim enough. Maybe the people who ride are slim because it's great exercise. Maybe I will become slimmer too. Maybe I won't. Maybe they aren't all slim. Maybe it doesn't matter.A horse weighs over 1,000 pounds. The horse did not seem troubled or disturbed to have me sitting on his back. He wasn't groaning at holding me up. I watched myself in the mirror, thinking, "ugh, do I look like that?" even while knowing my body is strong. Knowing I've never done this. I don't have muscle memory for this. I will learn this. I am strong! But I was judging myself. Judging my appearance. Judging myself for judging myself. Yes, I'm serious.Getting up on that horse was HARD. It was SCARY. It was really high up! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to mount the horse. I literally felt like I felt when I went skiing at age 13 and I fell, and I didn't think I would be able to get up. It is not easy to follow verbal directions in that kind of situation when the animal you are trying to climb onto is moving and you can't really see where to place yourself. By the way, getting down was even harder and I almost fell. But I didn't. And even if I did. so what? Even if I got hurt?! I will be okay.There is an element of trust to this. I'm working on it. Do I need to trust the horse or trust myself? Maybe - probably - both. As my daughter said to me today when I was telling her how hard it was, "Not everything is a therapeutic experience, Mom." Well, true. But I am convinced that this can be. And I am struggling - so apparently it already is.When my hourlong lesson was over today, I wanted to be like "this was so amazing!" But I didn't feel like it was amazing. I had about 5 seconds during the whole experience when I was like "Wow, I'm doing this!" I also thought "Does this horse like me? I'm grateful he hasn't tried to throw me off of his back. Am I doing this correctly?" That last thought occurred at least 20 times. I said it maybe 5 times to the instructor. I wanted to say it like 100 times, at least. I judged myself for feeling scared and unsure. I wondered how the horse and the instructor were judging me.Judging, judging, judgingWhen I got in my car, I felt like maybe I wanted to quit. Maybe I can't do it. And I was judging myself for feeling that way. Are you confused yet? Me too! I hated feeling like this vulnerable kid who doesn't know how to do things and doesn't believe in herself. But I allowed myself to feel that way instead of pretending it was different. I was telling anyone who would listen - my friend Anne, who I talked to after the lesson; my husband; my daughter; the saleswoman at the Saddlery; the riding instructor - how hard it was, and how discouraged I feel. As I was telling them my feelings I was judging myself for feeling that way. At home I felt exhausted. Bone tired. Emotionally worn out and physically worn out. An Epsom salt bath is in my future.Has this ever happened to you in any situation? How often do you push yourself outside of your comfort zone? Do you like it? Hint: NO.So why don't I just quit this silly horsemanship idea? Well, I actually believe that I will get better at this. I believe that I will have the experience of learning how to do something new, overcoming my doubts, and it will result in not only a sense of mastery - eventually - but also it will remind me that I can do hard things. I am strong. I'm stronger than I think I am. Emotionally and physically. Cognitively, in my logical brain, I know this. The part of me that is a scared little girl is just one of my parts. There are also other parts of me that are confident. Somewhere in there a part of me knows that this will be FUN! One day! If I keep at it. I am giggling to myself as I write that. Somewhere inside I know that's true.No Mud No Lotus Thich Nhat HahnAgain, it's like therapy. You go through the hard parts because you know something better is on the other side. Or you believe it is. You hope it is. And it is. Something good will come from it. I realize therapy isn't all fun and games. But it's better than staying where you are and what comes from the hard work is so beautiful, indescribably so. And you're permanently changed - you can never go back to who you were. As Thich Nhat Hahn says, "No mud, no lotus." That is true of large and small experiences of discomfort over our lifetimes. And what's the alternative?Embracing what is (?)So I'm going to treasure this experience of being so new at horsemanship. I'm going to try to enjoy this feeling of being a beginner. I'll remember that once I didn't know how to do this at all. One day I'll be on the back of a horse, galloping through a field, maybe even jumping. Who knows? The sky's the limit. I have a long life ahead of me and I am going to do hard things, even when I'm scared. I mean, I don't actually know how long my life will be. Of course, no one does. But in this moment, I did this hard thing. And I am embracing that feeling, in all of its glory. The good and the bad.I hope this will inspire you to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, too. That is where the magic happens. That is where we grow. And that is really what life is all about - a journey toward self-actualization, whatever that means for each of us. It's going to be okay.My next lesson is on Thursday of this week. Wish me luck.If you want to read more of what I write, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. You can also visit iTunes to subscribe to Therapy Chat. There you'll hear me talking about what I talk about and interviewing other people about what I'm interested to discuss. Or you can listen to Therapy Chat on my website, or on iHeartRadio, Stitcher or Google Play.If you're in Maryland, and you want therapy to explore the vulnerable parts of yourself that are in need of healing, check out my website. You can also call me at 443-510-1048 or e-mail me at laura@laurareaganlcswc.com. I look forward to connecting! In the meantime, take care!Warmly, Laura Reagan, LCSW-C Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome to episode 62 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. This is the third episode in the trauma and attachment series featuring Stuart Fensterheim, LCSW. Stuart is a clinical social worker in Scottsdale, Arizona, practicing with couples using Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) which is an attachment-based couples therapy method. In the episode, Stuart talks about how he works on making connections with couples and how our childhood attachment affects the way we show up in relationships as adults. He also touches upon John Bowlby's Attachment Theory, which focuses on your relationship with your primary caretaker and how it influences everything through your life. To make sense of this theory, he talks further about the relationship young babies have with their caretaker, avoiding failure to thrive and how the needs of a young baby to experience touch and closeness, continue with us throughout our adult life. Resourceshttp://www.thecouplesexpertscottsdale.comhttp://www.thecouplesexpertscottsdale.com/podcastshttp://www.iceeft.comhttp://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know! Also, if you’d like to share a tip that helps you get through the holidays, record a message and your comment may be included in the December holiday episode! Here’s the link to find out about clinical supervision and consultation with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C and the Trauma Therapist Community: http://www.laurareaganlcswc.com/for-professionals/ Thank you for listening to Therapy Chat! Please be sure to go to iTunes and leave a rating and review, subscribe and download episodes.           Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome back! In Episode 61 Therapy Chat host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C asked 11 therapists to contribute their best tips for using self care to manage holiday stress. With Thanksgiving Day tomorrow in the US, hopefully you will find something useful here. Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat. Please get in touch and let host Laura Reagan know what you thought of this episode! Thanks to the eleven therapists who participated! See below for their names and links to their websites!  Elizabeth Cush, MA, LGPCProgressioncounseling.comRobert Cox, MA, PLPC, NCChttp://www.liferecoveryconsulting.comCharlotte Hiler Easley LCSW ESMHLwww.charlotteeasley.comDaniela Paolone LMFTwestlakevillage-counseling.comElizabeth Burke, LCSWwww.empoweredtherapy.orgGina Della Penna, LMHCwww.ginadellapenna.comJackie Flynn EdS | LMHC | RPTwww.counselinginbrevard.comMelvin Varghese, PhDmelvinvarghese.comEllis Edmunds, Licensed Psychologistwww.drellisedmunds.comRebecca Wong, LCSWwww.connectfulness.comMichelle Lewis, LCSWwww.slweightcounseling.com  Resources mentioned in this episode: Here’s the link to find out about clinical supervision and consultation with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C and the Trauma Therapist Community: http://www.laurareaganlcswc.com/for-professionals/ Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know! Also, if you’d like to share a tip that helps you get through the holidays, record a message and your comment may be included in the December holiday episode! Thank you for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome back! In Episode 60, the first in the series on Integrative Mental Health, Therapy Chat host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews James Lake, MD, an integrative psychiatrist in California who has authored four books, including 2009’s Integrative Mental Health: A Therapist’s Handbook. Dr. Lake is a leader in the field of integrative mental health, as you will hear in this interview. Dr. Lake discusses how he uses complementary and alternative medicine (“CAM”) in his clinical practice, and how Master’s-level therapists can use integrative methods in their practices, within their scope of practice. He discusses use of supplements in psychotherapy practice, collaboration with alternative and complementary practitioners as well as allopathic medicine physicians as well. He shares information on his E-book series on integrative mental health and how practitioners can use it. This is the Episode 1 of the series on integrative mental health, which will continue on alternating weeks through the next few months. On the opposite weeks you will hear the series on trauma and attachment, with one exception. The next episode will be a special holiday episode focused on self care. Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat. Please get in touch and let host Laura Reagan know what you thought of this episode! Resources mentioned in this episode: American Psychiatric Association Caucus on Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medicine website: http://www.intpsychiatry.com/ International Network for Integrative Mental Health website: https://inimh.org/ Find Dr. Lake’s e-book series here: http://theintegrativementalhealthsolution.com Dr. Lake’s website: http://progressivepsychiatry.com Here’s the link to find out about clinical supervision and consultation with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C and the Trauma Therapist Community: http://www.laurareaganlcswc.com/for-professionals/ Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know! Thank you for listening!  Welcome back! In Episode 60, the first in the series on Integrative Mental Health, Therapy Chat host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews James Lake, MD, an integrative psychiatrist in California who has authored four books, including 2009’s Integrative Mental Health: A Therapist’s Handbook. Dr. Lake is a leader in the field of integrative mental health, as you will hear in this interview. Dr. Lake discusses how he uses complementary and alternative medicine (“CAM”) in his clinical practice, and how Master’s-level therapists can use integrative methods in their practices, within their scope of practice. He discusses use of supplements in psychotherapy practice, collaboration with alternative and complementary practitioners as well as allopathic medicine physicians as well. He shares information on his E-book series on integrative mental health and how practitioners can use it. This is the Episode 1 of the series on integrative mental health, which will continue on alternating weeks through the next few months. On the opposite weeks you will hear the series on trauma and attachment, with one exception. The next episode will be a special holiday episode focused on self care. Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat. Please get in touch and let host Laura Reagan know what you thought of this episode! Resources mentioned in this episode: American Psychiatric Association Caucus on Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medicine website: http://www.intpsychiatry.com/ International Network for Integrative Mental Health website: https://inimh.org/ Find Dr. Lake’s e-book series here: http://theintegrativementalhealthsolution.com Dr. Lake’s website: http://progressivepsychiatry.com Here’s the link to find out about clinical supervision and consultation with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C and the Trauma Therapist Community: http://www.laurareaganlcswc.com/for-professionals/ Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know! Thank you for listening!  Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome back! In Episode 59, # 2 in the series on Trauma and Attachment, Therapy Chat host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Rebecca Wong, LCSW-R, a relationship therapist in New Paltz, NY, the creator of Connectfulness, and co-host of the upcoming Practice Of Being Seen podcast. Rebecca talks about using play in her couples work, as well as how our attachment relates to our ability to trust our partners. Rebecca explains that needing attention is not a bad thing – it’s normal. She talks about the concept of being seen, in relationships and in our work with clients. She and Laura discuss getting out of our heads and into our bodies to connect with our partners, other people in our lives and as therapists, how we can connect with our clients. Rebecca explains how using animal-assisted therapy with dogs and horses helps us understand our emotions as shown in our bodies. Rebecca describes her five-step process of Connectfulness, a research based practice she developed and uses with her couples therapy clients. She talks about all the things we do to avoid uncomfortable feelings and how those things interfere with connection. She offers a free download from her website, the link is below. This is the Episode 2 of the series on trauma and attachment, which will now continue on alternating weeks through the next few months. On the opposite weeks you will hear the series on integrative mental health! Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat. Please get in touch and let host Laura Reagan know what you thought of this episode! Resources mentioned in this episode: Rebecca’s website for everything she’s doing: http://connectfulness.com Please visit this to get Rebecca’s free list of 5 magical relational steps for your relationship: http://connectfulness.com/therapychat Here’s the link to find out about clinical supervision and consultation with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C and the Trauma Therapist Community: http://www.laurareaganlcswc.com/for-professionals/ Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know! Thank you for listening!   Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! Episode 58 is the first in the series on Trauma and Attachment. In today’s episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Amy Sugeno, LCSW. Amy is a clinical social worker in private practice who specializes in working with survivors of trauma related to attachment, particularly related to adoption. Amy explains how attachment trauma can affect children who were adopted, even if the adoption went as smoothly as it possibly could. She describes how children who have been adopted may act out behaviorally to tell their parents how they feel. Amy also talks about a surprising way adoptive parents (and others parenting traumatized children) may experience trauma themselves and how to recognize the symptoms. She and Laura discuss how prior difficulty with conceiving a child can contribute to the experience for parents, how the parent’s own attachment style and trauma history is “churned up” through the process of adoption. She describes how adoption can change relationships within a family and between the family and their community. She explains some of the non-verbal ways of processing trauma that she uses with her clients. Amy describes Nature as her “co-therapist.” She tells listeners how to get on her mailing list and offers opportunities to hear her speak around the country. This is the first of the series on trauma and attachment, which will continue on alternating weeks through the next few months. And on the opposite weeks you will hear the series on integrative mental health! Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat. Please get in touch and let host Laura Reagan know what you thought of this episode! Resources mentioned in this episode: Amy Sugeno’s website: http://www.amysugenocounseling.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

How Children Are Like Horses (And Why You Should Care) If you have been listening to Therapy Chat podcast lately, you know that I have been talking about using equine assisted psychotherapy and education methods to get in touch with our emotional experiences. In Episode 55 I described my own experience of making a deep soul connection in a barn when I spent a Saturday morning at an equine learning workshop with four other women and two horses. That changed me and I am still feeling it, weeks later. I can’t wait to do more – and I will in a couple weeks when I trek to the Hudson Valley for a beautiful Equine Retreat for Therapists and Healers offered by my friends and colleagues Rebecca Wong and Marisa Goudy. Then in Episode 56 I interviewed Charlotte Hiler Easley, an LCSW and Equine Specialist in Lexington, Kentucky who developed a model called Equine Assisted Survivors of Trauma Therapy that is being used with survivors of sexual assault to experientially teach safety in our bodies, to see what it feels like to set and hold boundaries, and to take care of ourselves in relationship – as well as allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and risk trusting another who may hurt us. This experiential work with survivors of trauma sounds very powerful to me, as someone who has worked for years with trauma survivors; and as someone who has recently had a life-changing experience with horses. In hearing about Charlotte’s work and after my own experience I realized there are some similarities between children and horses which are very relevant to the therapy work I do with my clients. It might seem like a strange connection, but stay with me. I’m going to tell you about three ways that children are like horses and why you should care. As I explained in episode 55 and the blog post that went with it – this information comes from the EAGALA website - equine-assisted psychotherapy and learning works for these reasons: “Because horses are prey animals, they rely on non-verbal cues to stay alive. Their lives depend on accurately reading these cues.” Horses learn from their interactions with us whether or not we are safe, which lets them know if they are safe. Children do the same thing. They read our body language more than our words. “Like humans, horses are social creatures who live in herds.”We humans are wired for connection, as Brené Brown frequently says. It goes back to attachment. Children need protection and care from the adults they depend on for survival. When a baby is born that child is completely helpless and dependent upon their caregivers for protection. Safety to a newborn baby means being given food, sheltered from the elements and being held and soothed. Physical safety is being protected from harm; emotional safety is “will you be there when I need you? Do you care about what I need?” “Horses know when what we are saying and doing don't match what we are feeling and sensing, even though we might not know. They reflect back to us what we are feeling and sensing, or the incongruence between our feelings, sensations, words and actions, even (especially) when it's outside of our conscious awareness." Children also notice incongruence between our words and our non-verbal cues. Children know when a parent says they are not mad but they really are. They know when a parent is crying, but says nothing is wrong, that it isn’t true. Why do they pay attention to this? It’s part of how they make sure they are safe. If their primary caregiver isn’t okay, then they aren’t okay, because who will take care of them if something happens to the primary caregiver? Okay, so I’ve made my case for children being like horses in three ways, but why should you care? Well, you should care if you are a parent because it’s important to understand what your children need in order to thrive. (Click here to listen to Episode 21 on raising well-adjusted children). And you should care even if you aren’t a parent because you were once a child! Yeah, but that was in the past, right? Not so fast! Attachment affects us throughout the lifespan. It shows up in our peer relationships, intimate partner relationships, in our interactions with our coworkers, supervisors and supervisees and it affects how we feel about ourselves in general. The attachment that develops between a child and their primary caregiver begins immediately at birth. It continues to develop, with the most intense period of attachment development happening between birth and age 3. As I mentioned, children depend upon the attachment with their primary caregivers for survival. However, attachment repair can happen throughout the lifespan, so even if there was a disruption to secure attachment between the child and the primary caregiver, in most cases it is not too late to change this. In the worst cases of child neglect, in which children are deprived of touch and verbal interaction with their primary caregivers, brain development can be severely impacted. Studies have found a connection between severe child neglect and reduced brain size and changes to structures of the brain using brain scans for side-by-side comparison. You can learn more about this at Dr. Bruce Perry’s Child Trauma Academy, which is found at www.childtrauma.org. In Episode 46 of Therapy Chat I talked with Julie Hanks about how assertiveness is influenced by attachment. In future episodes you’re going to hear a lot more about attachment and trauma. Our next episode will kick off the series on attachment and trauma with an interview with Amy Sugeno, LCSW. Amy is in private practice in Texas, where she specializes in helping people who have experienced childhood trauma, including adoption. Later in the series you’ll hear from Stuart Fensterheim, LCSW; Rebecca Wong, LCSW-R; Brittainy Wagner, LPC; Katie K. May, NCC; David Emerson of the Trauma Center at JRI; David Shannahoff-Khalsa of the UCSD Center for Integrative Medicine; Robert Cox, PLPC and many others. I hope you’ll enjoy this series on a subject which I personally find fascinating. The more I learn, the more I realize the way we show up in our lives is all about attachment. I can’t wait to share these episodes with you over the coming months. Thank you for listening to Therapy Chat today! I hope you have heard something useful. I’d love to hear your feedback! What do you like, what do you not like? Is there a topic you would like to hear discussed on Therapy Chat? Get in touch with me! Visit http://therapychatpodcast.com and leave a message for me using the green button you’ll see there. And please visit iTunes to leave a rating and review and subscribe to receive all the latest episodes of Therapy Chat! You can find all episodes on the website, and Therapy Chat is also on iHeartRadio, Google Play, Stitcher and YouTube.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today’s episode, as a follow up to Episode 55 about falling in love in a barn, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Charlotte Hiler Easley, LCSW. Charlotte is a psychotherapist in private practice who specializes in working with survivors of trauma using equine-assisted psychotherapy (EAP). Charlotte discusses her work using Equine Assisted Survivors of Trauma Therapy, a method she developed in collaboration with a rape crisis center when she was in grad school. Charlotte talks about how horses are able to read our body language and react to our emotional experience. She explains what equine assisted psychotherapy is – hint: you don’t have to touch a saddle. She describes how survivors of trauma working with horses are able to learn and practice new ways of being in relationship; setting boundaries; making a mind-body connection; feeling what safety feels like – because the work is all experiential. Finally, Charlotte shares about her work helping therapists create practices using equine assisted psychotherapy, and describes an upcoming retreat she is offering for trauma therapists. This episode is a must for therapists and anyone who has experienced trauma. Charlotte shares so much knowledge! Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat. Please get in touch and let host Laura Reagan know what you thought of this episode! Resources mentioned in this episode: EAGALA: http://www.eagala.org/about PATH: http://www.pathintl.org/ Charlotte’s website: https://charlotteeasley.com/ Charlotte’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/charlottehilereasleyLCSW/?fref=ts Central Kentucky Riding for Hope’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CKyRH/ Visit Therapy Chat website at Http://therapychatpodcast.com and send host Laura Reagan a voice message letting her know what you think of Therapy Chat! Did you like this episode? Did you dislike it? Let her know! Thank you for listening!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

I found my heart and soul connection in a barn.I had a new experience which was a game-changer for me. I've been saying for at least 10 years that I want to take horseback riding lessons. I talked about it on an episode of Therapy Chat earlier this year, vowing that I would make it happen. I've ridden a horse maybe 5 times in my whole life, all between the ages of 10-13 years old. For a time I was obsessed with them, as many children are. I grew up in the city but close enough to rural areas that there was one horse farm many of us knew to visit. Recently as I've learned more about equine-assisted therapy and the benefits of spending times with horses, I've become determined to increase the amount of time I spend with horses. I'm now 44 years old and my body has changed quite a bit since I was 13. I think it's safe to say that my heart hasn't changed much, if at all, though, as I learned through this experience. Before I tell you what happened, let me give you some information from Equine Assisted Growth And Learning Association, also known as EAGALA. From their website, www.eagala.org: How Does Equine-Assisted Learning and Growth Work?Horses are bigger and stronger than us. They are powerful creatures, and being around them can feel intimidating, which creates an opportunity to get up close and personal with our fears.Like humans, horses are social creatures who live in herds. They have a social hierarchy in terms of how they relate to one another in the herd. Working on how we relate to horses is a way to work on how we relate to other humans and ourselves.Because horses are prey animals, they rely on non-verbal cues to stay alive. Their lives depend on accurately reading these cues. Humans are predators. Yet for some reason horses are willing to interact with us anyway, if we let them know we are safe.Horses know when what we are saying and doing don't match what we are feeling and sensing, even though we might not know. They reflect back to us what we are feeling and sensing, or the incongruence between our feelings, sensations, words and actions, even (especially) when it's outside of our conscious awareness.The Shadow...Again?Horses can bring our Shadow to our awareness. Yes, the Shadow again. As a wise person told me, once the Shadow is out in the light you can't ignore it anymore. I am finding this to be true again and again.If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out these episodes of Therapy Chat podcast: Episode 53; Episode 38 with Renee Beck, LMFT; Episode 40 with Lourdes Viado, MFT, PhD; Episode 42 with Keri Nola.So this is what happened. I went to a workshop on learning with horses. I gathered in a barn with a group of two other women, the instructor and the horse trainer. I really didn't know what to expect, because I haven't done anything like this before, although I have heard about it from fellow therapists. The whole experience was on the ground, not on the horses. We were introduced to two horses, a darker colored one and a lighter colored one. I felt super vulnerable and nervous. I wanted to know what to do and not to do, and how, and what was going to happen. I told myself to sit with the discomfort, knowing that this is where growth happens. Part of me wanted to relax, be in the moment, let go and see what happened. Part of me wanted to know, to check whether or not I was doing it right, if I was okay, to understand, to know why. These parts of myself battled for that entire two hour period. When we walked up to each horse I had lots of thoughts. I wondered how to touch the horse, if it was okay to touch him, and whether he would hurt me. I was acutely aware of how large and heavy he was, and that he could kick me, bite me or step on me if he felt like it. Then, I went a little deeper into my emotions. I suspected that he didn't like me. I felt self-conscious about being uncomfortable and worried who could tell. I was pretty sure he could tell, though he didn't say anything. I felt his soft, velvety coat and tangled mane. I noticed that he was beautiful and he looked like he had been through some things. I decided maybe he wasn't judging me as harshly as I was judging myself. This all happened in a span of maybe 2 minutes. Feeling a little softer toward myself, I approached the other horse.One of the other women was standing with the horse, and I felt protective toward her time with him. I held my hand out to him, wondering if he was okay with me petting his nose. He gently nuzzled my hand. I didn't know if this was what they always do, or if he liked my touch. I awkwardly stood there for a few seconds, continuing to let him smell my hand and nuzzle it.Then something surprising happened. He tilted his head toward me and sort of snuggled up to my neck. I don't even know what to call it. Immediately, tears sprang to my eyes. I felt seen and understood, probably better understood by the horse than I was understanding myself, at least in that moment. I had the strange experience of a felt sense - when you just know something that is coming from within. Your inner wisdom, your soul, your wisest self, whatever you want to call it, it tells you something from within yourself. It's more than just a thought. The felt sense told me "he knows I'm sad." One of the reasons it was weird is because I hadn't known I was sad until that moment. I felt apologetic toward the other woman standing there, because the horse was giving me more attention, and because I was fighting back tears, which is pretty uncomfortable any time, but especially in front of a stranger. At the same time, I was incredibly grateful to the horse. As Brené Brown says, "Vulnerability is courage."All of that happened in the first 30 minutes of this experience. After that we alternated between activities with the horses and seated in chairs. But more strange things happened. During the time we were seated in our chairs as a group, the horses were free to roam this indoor space. We were talking and I was continuing my struggle between the parts of myself that wanted to avoid the discomfort of this new experience and the parts that were trying to be open and let it unfold. I'll point out that while this experience was new, that struggle is not. In fact, it is quite familiar, if I'm honest.I practice mindfulness by checking in with myself many times throughout a given day. I notice what I am thinking, what I am feeling, what my body is holding. I frequently ask myself what I need, or what my body wants me to know. There is always an answer, if I listen. What I often notice is this struggle to know, to have the answers. It is something that pops up when I am in situations where I feel unsure. It is an attempt to avoid discomfort. I don't do it consciously, it is a defense that I'm sure developed quite early. I know I was always praised for being smart. This quality is one that I never doubted I had, and I received much attention, love and acceptance around being smart when I was a child. I felt very uncomfortable quite a lot of the time during childhood, so this defense (it's called intellectualization) served me very well back then and it has helped me many times since. But it does get in the way. I'm grateful for my intelligence, yet I need to ask the part of myself that wants to know to step aside quite frequently so I can stay in the moment. It's okay to be curious, as long it doesn't take me away from the current moment. The Most Powerful MomentSo now I'll get back to the most powerful part of the experience in the barn. After the horse snuggled up against me, while we were sitting in the chairs as a group, the horses moved around the barn. Slowly they moved toward us. Eventually, both horses came to stand behind me. While we talked, one by one they slowly crept forward until both horses were standing with their heads over me. I wish I had a picture, because to the others in the group I must have looked funny with one horse's head coming over one shoulder and the other horses's head coming over my other shoulder. They kind of crossed their heads in front of me.It was so strange, with a result that I couldn't see the other group participants. The group leader noted that the horses could have stood anywhere they wanted, and for some reason they chose to stand over me that way. They remained that way until we stood to do another activity, and then when we returned to sitting, they did it again, just as gradually as the first time. I can't really say what happened, other than the horses knew I needed something. But that can't be all because I'm sure the other group members were having their own emotional experiences in their seats. Yet the horses gravitated to me.I think the leader was suggesting that they knew I needed either comfort, protection or something. She didn't come right out and say it (I think she wanted me to figure it out myself). All I know is I was in love with these horses. I felt like they got me. I felt like we had a connection. I am laughing as I write these words, but I really mean it, and I still feel that way, even though more than 24 hours have passed. In fact, I've had more experiences of self discovery (what I like to call shifts) since doing that. I am eager to do more work with horses and see what happens. It was truly a magical experience.Why Am I Sharing This? You might be wondering why I'm sharing this. There are a few reasons. First, I want to document this magical experience for myself. Also, I want people to know that spending time with horses can be incredibly powerful, almost unbelievably so. Some things you just have to experience for yourself, and I hope this article will encourage some of you who are reading to try Equine Assisted Learning and Growth. Lastly, I'm sharing this because it's important as a therapist that I live the way I encourage my clients to do. I've been on a journey of personal growth - intentionally only for the past two years, but probably for my whole life.  I believe we never stop growing and learning (unless we refuse to try), and that we must continue pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones, because that is where growth happens.I can't take my clients anywhere that I haven't been. The more I allow myself to be vulnerable and expose myself to new experiences allowing me a deeper connection with myself, the more capable I become of walking alongside my clients as they are on that journey. I have seen this to be true, and I know as my connection with myself deepens my skill as a therapist will deepen as well. Next week I'm taking time to venture deeply inward as I spend time with an intuitive coach in California to reflect on the direction of my business in the year ahead and do more Shadow work (gulp!). This will also be a reunion with some beautiful souls who live across the country and I am so honored that I will be spending time with them there. More is ahead, as I head to the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York in November for a retreat with horses and fellow therapists and other healers. I can't freakin' wait. Honestly, I have been bitten by the horse bug now and I can't wait for my next opportunity to spend time among these amazing creatures. And yes, I am still planning to take horseback riding lessons. It will happen! I'm currently exploring various locations to learn with horses in a different way. That will be a new arena (literally!) for me. I know what Brené Brown means when she talks about Daring Greatly. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out her book by that name.So that is the story of how I found my heart and soul connection, with two horses and with myself in a barn. I hope it somehow inspired you to get more connected with yourself. Let me know in the comments!If you're interested in walking together on your journey of personal growth, and you live near Baltimore, Maryland, get in touch with me. You can also follow my musings on social media. You'll find me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram andFacebook. And don't forget my podcast, Therapy Chat. Wholeheartedly,Laura Reagan, LCSW-CIn Mind Body Spirit, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, Holistic Health, Wellness Tags equine assisted therapy, magic,Mindfulness, mind body connection, Mind Body Spirit, parts work, Psychotherapy, counseling, walking my talk, felt sense,inner wisdom, soul connection, self compassion, relationships, trust, connectionAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome to Therapy Chat! In today’s episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C discusses the AMC drama “Mad Men.” If you are a fan of the show, you’ll want to listen and if you haven’t watched it before, maybe you will be intrigued to check it out. Just a warning, though, this episode contains some spoilers so if you don’t want to know some of the important plot points, maybe you should watch the show first and come back to this episode later. Laura is a trauma therapist, and she talks about how the main character of Mad Men, Don Draper, exhibits characteristics common in survivors of childhood abuse trauma. Actor Jon Hamm and show creator Matthew Weiner masterfully characterize a man who is tormented by his inner demons. Laura describes how the traumatic experiences of Don Draper’s childhood could have led to him becoming the adult we meet in the first episode of the series, and what someone who has these symptoms now can do to get help. Laura explains some of the symptoms commonly experienced by survivors of childhood abuse and neglect and lists some of the therapeutic techniques which can be effective in healing childhood trauma. Laura also references past episode of Therapy Chat with more information on the subjects of childhood abuse and the long term emotional and physical effects of childhood trauma.  Resources mentioned in this episode: Therapy Chat Episode 19 on the Epidemic of Childhood Trauma Therapy Chat Episode 30 on Childhood Sexual Abuse Therapy Chat Episode 26 on Using the Body to Heal Trauma with Lisa Ferentz, LCSW-C, DAPA Find out more about Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Find a Practitioner Find out more about EMDR and Find a Practitioner  We want to hear from you! Go to Therapy Chat Podcast website and share what you like or don’t like about the podcast. www.therapychatpodcast.com - click on the green button and let host Laura Reagan know if it’s okay to share your feedback on the podcast! You may be included in a future episode! Thanks for listening to Therapy Chat! Please be sure to go to iTunes and leave a rating and review, subscribe and download episodes!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands