Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Dr. Rachel Altvater, a therapist, author and human, on the complexities of grieving, being human and how understanding perspective relates to being our most authentic selves. Laura and Rachel came together while both are grieving recent losses as well. Additionally, Rachel explains the concept of perspective, which is the focus of her new book, "Perspective: Contemplating the Complexities of Our Realities."

Dr. Rachel Altvater (Psy.D., RPT-S™) is an award-winning, pioneering expert, leader, researcher, international trainer, author, and supervisor in the field of play therapy. She is a Licensed Psychologist in Maryland, Washington, DC, and Virginia, and she holds national certifications as a Registered Play Therapist–Supervisor™ and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. 

She is the owner of Creative Psychological Health Services, co-owner of North Star Creations, past president of the Maryland/DC Association for Play Therapy, editorial advisory board member for the International Journal of Play Therapy®, advisory board member for Digital Play Therapy™ and AscendantVR, clinical consultant and content creator for Cognitive Leap, and instructor for Hopscotch. Dr. Altvater authored the book Perspective: Contemplating the Complexities of Our Realities, published her research in the International Journal of Play Therapy on technology use in play therapy, and is a contributing author in numerous scholarly texts on implementing digital technologies in play therapy practice.

Find everything Rachel is doing via her Beacon page here: https://beacons.ai/docvater

Purchase Rachel's book, Perspective: Contemplating the Complexities of Our Realities, on Amazon here .

Additional resources: 

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Follow Laura on TikTok (@therapychatpod) where video clips from Therapy Chat episodes are being posted, along with other short form video content.

In partnership with the Academy of Therapy Wisdom, I invite you to a FREE live webinar presented by my colleague, Akilah Riley-Richardson. In this webinar, she will examine how systemic trauma and relational privilege play out in couples therapy. And she’ll show how we can empower couples to develop healthy intimacy nonetheless. Register here for free and learn about her upcoming course that she talked about on last week's Therapy Chat episode which you can hear at this link. I'm in this course now and I think it's excellent!

Janina Fisher has a new FREE webinar about healing the shame which is a common reaction to trauma. Register here to learn how to address this difficult emotion in therapy with trauma survivors!

Therapists, join the waiting list for Trauma Therapist Network membership. We now have new membership levels and options for Group Practice Owners and Canadian therapists! Get the details and join the waiting list to receive first access when membership reopens here: https://go.traumatherapistnetwork.com/join ! What is TTN? Go here to check it out! Registration opens again in June 2023!

Find Laura's most frequently recommended resources for learning about trauma here - includes recommended books and trainings.

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Thank you to TherapyNotes for sponsoring this week's episode! TherapyNotes makes billing, scheduling, notetaking, and telehealth incredibly easy. And now, for all you prescribers out there, TherapyNotes is proudly introducing E-prescribe! Try it today with no strings attached, and see why everyone is switching to TherapyNotes, now featuring E-prescribe! Use promo code "chat" at www.therapynotes.com to receive 2 FREE months of TherapyNotes!!

Find a trauma therapist near you at Trauma Therapist Network's trauma therapist directory. www.traumatherapistnetwork.com Trauma is real, healing is possible and help is available. 

Podcast produced by Pete Bailey - https://petebailey.net/audio

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