Trish Kruger is a professional counselor and therapist currently working at Blue Ridge Treks, a community of mental health therapists in Asheville, North Carolina. She is dual-licensed as a counselor and addiction therapist trained in trauma-informed care and motivational interviewing. With a diverse background in yoga, art, and entrepreneurship, Trish values mindfulness, expressive art, and talk therapy in her practice.

In this episode, Trish and I discuss the role of rituals and ceremonies in transforming relationships. We share some of our personal experiences with bringing rituals into the transition periods of our lives and how they help us honor those processes. We illustrate how we work with clients and help them create rituals for divorce, coming of age, and others. We also discuss how meaningful rituals can help us heal in times of grief and difficulty and describe rituals from the perspective of neuroscience.

 

“There’s so much ritual hidden in our culture. If we can consciously bring ritual in times of transition, it can help people start the next phase in an opened, renewed way.” - Trish Kruger

 

This week on Relationships! Let’s Talk About It:

• How rituals can give us a sense of purpose
• The loss of rituals and ceremonies in our culture
• Why my wife and I decided to perform our own marriage ceremony
• How a divorce ritual helped Trish and her former husband transition into friendship
• The shame that comes with divorce and how rituals can help heal it
• Rituals and ceremony from the perspective of neuroscience
• How rituals can create new neural pathways
• The different ways men and women relate to rituals
• The importance of intent and personal meaning when creating rituals
• The medicine wheel and the different transition periods during the day
• Why our culture needs transformational rituals for men
• How rituals can empower us in times of grief

 

Resources Mentioned:

• The Power and Effect of Words
• Letting Go of Family Relationships: Whether Toxic or Not

  

Connect with Trish Kruger:

• Blue Ridge Treks
• Blue Ridge Treks on Twitter
• Blue Ridge Treks on Facebook
• Blue Ridge Treks on LinkedIn
• Trish Kruger on Facebook

 

 

Let’s Talk About It!

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Theme music “These Streets” provided by Adi the Monk