Awe in Trauma

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What if healing is not about fixing what is broken, but about making space for every part of who we are—the light and the shadow, the body and the soul, and even the stories carried through generations? Welcome to Awe in Trauma. In this deeply nourishing episode, I’m joined by Nancy Tung, an international Brainspotting trainer and consultant, wellness coach, and practitioner whose remarkable career spans more than 40 years across medicine, public health, mental health and holistic wellbeing.

Nancy’s journey—from Taiwan to Canada and the United States, and through nursing, acupuncture, energy medicine, family systems and Brainspotting—has shaped a distinctive multicultural approach to healing. She calls this integration of body and soul “soulmatic” work: a way of listening beyond words and meeting human experience with curiosity, compassion and respect for the wisdom already within us.

Together, we explore Nancy’s powerful image of “holding the universe” for a client, how Yin and Yang can help us welcome our proud, critical, vulnerable and resilient parts, and how safety may begin with something as small as a remembered pet, a familiar object, a movement or a piece of music. Nancy also reveals how ancestral mapping can honour inherited pain while reconnecting us with the strength and resources of generations further back.

This is a warm, expansive conversation about culture, relationship and the courage to become whole. If you are a therapist, practitioner, or simply curious about a gentler and more deeply embodied path through trauma, this episode offers a fresh way to understand healing—and an invitation to discover the wisdom your body and soul may already remember.

For more information on Nancy's work go to:

https://www.nancytung.com/neurosoulmatic-alchemy-workshop.html

https://www.brainspottingireland.com/from-mirage-to-manifesting-specialty-workshop-nancy-tung-29-31-january-2027-online/

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Dr Alessia Bruno is a Clinical and Sport Psychologist, EMDR Europe and Brainspotting Consultant, Trainer, and Performance Coach. She speaks at major international and European congresses, lectures at national sport events, and leads accredited courses. An expert in trauma and performance, Dr Alessia Bruno works internationally with young people and adults.

Today’s episode is one I’m excited about because our guest isn’t just an accomplished clinical psychologist, but also a close friend whose work always sparks new ideas. Fresh from presenting at the Hong Kong Performance and Sport Psychology World Congress, Alessia brings a unique blend of expertise and creativity to our conversation. 

We’ll dive into innovative ways of understanding ourselves, exploring how stories shape both mind and body, and why all of life can be seen as performance—not just the big moments, but the everyday ones too. Our guest encourages us to expand our sense of self, connecting with others, our ancestors, and embracing the interconnectivity of all things. 

We’ll also unpack Brainspotting—a fascinating technique for unlocking deep issues, rooted in neurobiology and designed to help us grow and heal. If you’re curious about these approaches to performance or interested in training, our guest is happy to connect and share more. 

For more information on Alessia's work go to:

https://eng.performanceexpansion.com

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There’s a gentle magic that unfolds when you encounter someone who embodies a rare harmony—deep knowledge, ancestral wisdom, and an effortless grace in sharing their insights. This is the gift you receive in the presence of Mariya Javed-Payne, whose story invites us to move beyond simply looking, to truly seeing.

Mariya Javed-Payne is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and International Brainspotting Trainer and Consultant. As a somatic psychotherapist and owner of Awaken Consulting Services, she provides Brainspotting therapy, training, and consultation in trauma treatment, somatic psychotherapies, psychedelic-assisted therapy, anti-racism, and ancestral healing. Her practice integrates psychedelic medicines and non-ordinary states—such as ketamine, cannabis, and breathwork—with somatic therapy and Brainspotting. Bridging the mystical and scientific, she has trained thousands of therapists and healers to offer attuned, trauma-responsive care through a post-colonial, earth-honouring lens.

Listening to her story is more than an experience; it’s an enrichment. She navigates the delicate dance between traditional Eastern healing and contemporary Western scientific approaches, illuminating the necessity of difference and the wisdom found in our moments of pain and division. These inflection points become our teachers, guiding us gently towards deeper consciousness.

In a world that often feels distorted and troubled—a society that can harm the earth and its creatures—Mariya offers hope. Through altered states of consciousness and awareness, she reminds us that from plant medicine to Brainspotting, there is immense potential in remembering our heritage and reconnecting with the essence of ourselves, our communities, and our planet.

Her story is a gentle, loving invitation to return home—to see with the heart, to embrace the wisdom that lies beneath the surface, and to honour the journey of learning and healing. It is a call to cherish the beauty of true seeing, and to let it transform the way we live, love, and grow.

For more information on Mariya's work go to:

www.awakenconsultingservices.com/trainings

www.awakened-roots.com

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Glenda Z. Villamarín, MA, LCP, is a clinical psychologist, Brainspotting Trainer , and PhD candidate whose work gently weaves together neuroscience, ancestral wisdom, and cultural reflection to support individual and collective healing.  She is the author of Cultural Critique and Psychology: Attachment Theory in Ecuador and co-author of Tunkawan: The Path of Wisdom—an invitation to walk with reverence through ancestral teachings and inner transformation.

This episode will take the curious, erudite and noetic listener on quite a journey.   Glenda brings a balanced measure of great experience with a touching, gentle humility.  In doing so she covers here one of the most powerful insights into how ancestral healing and Andean medicine integrate such respect for the wisdom of the plants and the planet, in human healing.  She goes well beyond many modern misconceptions of indigenous knowledge to identify the importance of epistemology in the framing of, and engaging in, the field of healing.  An incredible example of how the Andean indigenous people understand the master plant, tobacco, gives a fascinating developmental insight into the integrative and spiritual power of such plants through ritual and ceremony.  This is incredible when one extrapolates it's meaning to our relationships with other plants too and the life force on which we depend.  In addition, the flow of this conversation leaves the listener with an unmistakable insight into the power of humility in taking a well educated yet non-expert position of uncertainty, when this is applied to attuned investigation, curiosity and spiritual awareness.  

For more information on Glenda’s work go to:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SerendipitaEcuador/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serendipita_ec?igsh=MWdpc2VjN3F5OXh1dg==
Website: www.serendipitaecuador.org    

WhatsApp: https://wa.me/message/IAAADOMKYZ7EO1

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For more information on Brainspotting and to train with Dr Mark Grixti go to:

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Una Archer is the founder of Help Your Child Thrive, where she supports parents using an attachment- and trauma-informed approach. “Attachment" can feel like an abstract and complex concept, and she’s passionate about making it accessible, turning theory and research into simple, everyday steps that help parents feel more confident and connected with their children. 

In this episode, you can hear Una describe her attuned approach in establishing a framework with the child and family in a deep and respectful way.  The listener will get an insight into the connection and patience that is so helpful in building trust and attachment bonds with the therapist, and the foundations for trauma work.  It is really an essential learning point to hear how Una holds the power of 'uncertainty' in order to drop any predetermined agenda and cerate the space to really open up to the experience of her people, thus empowering them.  This approach facilitates deeper healing of attachment wounds, intergenerational healing and most importantly, scaffolds the bonds and behaviours that can maximise the love moving within each family system.  

For more information about Una’s work, go to:

https://www.helpyourchildthrive.co.uk/

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For more information on Brainspotting and to train with Dr Mark Grixti go to:

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This short episode is an important message in our time.  It is taken from a recent production that is core to his trainings, writing and healing retreats. Mark speaks from the heart about the essence of healing and in this brief snapshot,  covers key concepts that have been subjugated and marginalised in so much therapy and healing work.  Through this narration, we can remind ourselves of the relationship between the person and the psyche, the importance of ritual and ceremony, the power of the collective or the tribe, and the power of meeting our pain within and well beyond psychology.  

This piece then invites listeners and seekers to explore the retreat opportunity, Brainspotting: From Source.   Mark will co-host this alongside esteemed trainer Dr Roby Ables and the remarkable musician, yoga teacher and sound healing trainer, Siobhan Swider.  

It is time to receive...  join us

Brainspotting: From Source

 A Shared, Unifying Journey

May 13 - 18, 2025

Banff, Alberta Canada

https://www.cpimt.ca/

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Welcome to a captivating special edition of the Awe in Trauma podcast!
In this episode, fittingly titled "Question Mark," we unlock powerful insights through a thought-provoking Q&A session with leading experts. As breakthroughs in neurobiology, neuropsychology, spirituality, and healing reshape our understanding of trauma and human suffering, the need for a fresh, holistic framework has never been greater.

Contributors in this episode include top professionals (links below) from the fields of psychotherapy, psychology, and bodywork. We’re excited to feature a special guest appearance by regular Awe in Trauma contributor and Brainspotting founder, Dr. David Grand.

Join us as we explore emerging concepts brimming with hope, innovation, and the promise of transformation. Tune in to discover new possibilities that blend historic and ancestral wisdom with fresh approaches to healing and growth. 

We can’t wait to share this journey with you!

Links to episode contributors:
David Grand    https://brainspotting.com
Alessia Bruno  https://eng.performaceexpansion.com
Cynthia Swartzberg  https://cynthasis.com/
Eppie Wells  https://eppiewellscounselling.co.uk/
Malachy Coleman https://www.malachycoleman.com/en/home/
Una Archer  https://www.helpyourchildthrive.co.uk/

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For more information on Brainspotting and to train with Dr Mark Grixti go to:

https://bspuk.co.uk/trainings-and-events/

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Dr. Adam O'Brien is an Approved Brainspotting Consultant and special topics trainer. He is a specialist in trauma, dissociation, addiction, recovery, and trauma or memory resolution. His passion is educating on healing through Addiction as Dissociation Model and research, helping others walk the Path of the Wounded Healer, Recovery research, advocating for psychedelic medicine and psychedelic research, and freeing the hearts and minds of audiences by activating states of healing together with his Addiction Re-Educational Program at the Wounded Healers Institute.

This powerful episode takes the listener through a journey into the power of history and insight into developing a relationship with parts of oneself that may be hidden away and dissociated off through trauma and overwhelm.  Adam takes us through his fascinating doctoral research into the multidimensional nature of the human experience, spirit and soul as well as the incredible impact of drug use on the body, the psyche and the personality.  Within a culture of dissociation and isolation, Adam sets out the importance of a fresh and revolutionary approach which serves to honour the connectivity of all things across time and space, so that we can access the abundance of this planet to reconnect with our pasts and our many modalities of experiencing the world, thus facilitating powerful processing and integration to safely transcend and to heal.

For more information on Dr Adam O'Brien's work go to:
woundedhealersinstitute.org

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For more information on Brainspotting and to train with Dr Mark Grixti go to:

https://bspuk.co.uk/trainings-and-events/

https://www.facebook.com/brainspottinguk

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/awe-in-trauma/id1580294433?i=1000543054793

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A fascinating episode with Hamaima who is a Shamanic Practitioner, Musician, Sound Healer and New Earth Guide with many years of experience in holding space for ceremonies and retreats world wide. In her work she combines ancient practices from different spiritual traditions to guide and empower. 

In this episode Hamiama approaches healing from ma both a more traditional approach through her earlier years in Social Work to her more recent developments in working with indigenous tribes, plant medicine, and her project named “Mission on Earth”.   The listener will get some insight into what it means to engage in a dieta and work with tribes with their ancient and sacred approaches to healing.  Here you’ll see the power of the tribe in human wellness which raises interesting questions as to the way that western civilisation now perceives community and the impact that this can have on health and happiness.  Hamaima is open and expressive in framing how her losses and suffering became vehicles for change and how she has worked for many years to process this and to explore alternative ways to heal, work and relate.  In the final section of the podcast, we hear of her new project and how she hopes to support children and their families from the position that the new generation are highly spiritual and celestial beings that may not fully resonate with more traditional ways of doing things.  Yet some of the traditional values of love, support, acceptance, diversity and respect are central to facilitating child development and wellness, which she is keen to support in her approaches to deep healing.

More information about Hamaima's work please go to https://hamaima.com

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Dr Melanie Young is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Boulder, Colorado.   Melanie is a senior Brainspotting (BSP) trainer, consultant and certified Brainspotting therapist.  She assists individuals and couples with relationships, losses, and grief. Melanie helps navigate the challenges around brain injuries, ADD, pain, illness, and phobias. Specialties also include working with seniors, their families, and caregivers. She uses BSP as a tool to help heal trauma, increase effective coping strategies, strengthen internal resources, and enhance performance.
This wonderful episode takes the listener behind the scenes of what it's like to be a therapist/healer.  Melanie calls upon her wealth of personal experience as a Licenced Psychologist, as well as from those of a plethora of healers to explore the levels of protection that they utilise in working with so much pain and trauma.  We hear about how the healer can experience a range of symptoms that can result in burn-out, or compassion fatigue,  compromising their ability to thrive, work and be there for their people.  Whether you are supporting others in a formal psychiatric setting, a health institution or in the community, this episode provides insightful thoughts and practical ideas to be able to develop your own range of rituals and ceremonies to stay well in a demanding environment. Let the healers be healed.

For more information on Melanie's work go to:
https://melanieyoungpsyd.com/

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For more information on Brainspotting and to train with Dr Mark Grixti go to:

https://bspuk.co.uk/trainings-and-events/

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