There is no cap to the depth and intimacy of our friendships. Yet most of us never learn that we can have this kind of intimacy outside our romantic relationships. In today's episode, you'll hear a vulnerable, real life story of conflict and repair in my friendship with Caitlyn Lune, professional dominatrix and communication nerd, who I have learned so much from when it comes to healing attachment wounds and building trust in friendships.

We also talk about: 

Caitlyn is a professional dominatrix, performer, and sacred touch provider in Portland, Oregon. Coming of age in the wildest city in the world, NYC, parties, kink, and psychedelia became part of her lifestyle with a true north on personal growth and radical self-expression. In 2016, she began throwing parties for swingers and sex curious to have a safe place to explore. Combining her fascination for the erotic with deep emotional embodiment practices, she pursued training in tantric teachings. Caitlyn loves the home she shares with two partners and is connected to broader community through the pulse of the life force that ties us all together. 

Caity's Website : heiresstoeros.com

Links: 

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Resources: 

Conscious Loving - the Journey to Co-Commitment: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235625.Conscious_Loving

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

"What you risk, reveals what you value" - Jeanette Winterson. Our values inform every decision and aspect of our lives. Knowing what we value is more than a self-help exercise or some words to place on a sticky note in the bathroom. It turns out, not knowing, not acting on our authentic values, or having "junk" values, can actually make us more depressed and anxious. It takes immense courage to act from  full integrity. It can mean leaving a relationship, a career, or all that is familiar to us, choosing courage over security, or authenticity over perceived belonging and validation. To take the leap of integrity, we aren't guaranteed a happier outcome, but the risk is often worth it. 

In this episode, I discuss: 

Links:

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Research:

Johann Hari: Lost Connections: Uncovering the root causes of Depression and  Unexpected solutions https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34921573-lost-connections

Tim Kasser: The High Price of Materialism https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295001.The_High_Price_of_Materialism

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

“Grounding” or cultivating feelings of presence and safety in the body is not only about integrating a few practices into your life. There are often very real barriers we face when trying to ground or calm the nervous system, especially for trauma survivors. Grounding isn’t about hugging a tree, it’s about facing the discomfort of landing our full presence and power here onto this earth, when we may have patterns and conditioning that tell us the body is an unsafe place to be. In today’s episode, I discuss common blocks to grounding, the annoying but true things that other healers have taught me about grounding, and crucial lessons I wish I had learned sooner.

Also in this episode:

Links: 

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Sessions: https://www.jazminerussell.com/book

12 Grounding Practices for Fear Anxiety and Dissociation: https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/fa99aed366

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

What does it mean to become an ancestor who is worthy of praise? To leave a legacy? How do we become the kind of ancestor our familial or collective future descendants want to call on? Today’s guest, Veronica Agard, founder of Ancestors in Training, shares her journey realizing what was missing in activist and mental health circles, and her motivation for creating circles where people could explore their lineage and connect with the power of their intuition.

We also discuss:

Veronica Agard (Ifáṣadùn Fásanmí) (she/her) is a writer, abọ̀rìṣà, community educator, and connector at the intersections of Black identity, wellness, representation, and culture. She curated the Who Heals the Healer series and the conference of the same name and facilitates the Ancestors in Training educational project.Her words have homes at For Harriet, Black Girl Magik, Life as Ceremony, Black + Well, Redefining Our, and Heritage Journal (among others). Through Ancestors in Training, she is a recipient of a Spring 2022 Reclamation Ventures Grant award for Healing Practices for Grief. Ṣadùn also serves as a member of the Speakers Series with End Rape on Campus, as well as member of the Board at IDHA NYC. With every opportunity, she names the power of storytelling and being believed in. Described as living in the future - Veronica is guided by the past and carries out her dreams in the present.

Find Veronica here:

Ancestors in Training : https://ancestorsintraining.org/

Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ancestorsintraining

Personal Website: http://www.veronicaagard.com/work-with-me

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/verosgotthejuice/ &
https://www.instagram.com/ancestorsintraining/

Links:

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

References:

https://af3irm.org/af3irm/chapters/new-york-city/

https://batjc.wordpress.com/resources/pods-and-pod-mapping-worksheet/

the alter of my soul - Marta Moreno Vega

Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish

https://endrapeoncampus.org/speaker-series/about-erocs-speakers/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

It takes courage to own your story, especially for trauma survivors. Jessie Roth shows us, in this episode, the power of storytelling, showing up as your full self with the multiple roles and identities you hold and why it’s important to intentionally straddle frameworks to re-story your experiences as a form of healing. As the director of The Institute for the Development of Human Arts, she’s also a master at facilitating cross-movement knowledge building at the intersections of mental health and social justice. Jessie and I also discuss:

Jessie Roth is a writer and movement organizer with more than a decade of experience at the intersection of mental health and social justice. She is the Director of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA), a transformative mental health training institute bringing together mental health workers, peers, survivors, activists, artists, and other advocates for education and community development. Inspired by personal and family mental health experiences, Jessie’s work is focused on the healing power of storytelling and the importance of cross-movement organizing for mental health liberation. A longtime IDHA member, Jessie supported the development of initiatives such as Mental Health Trialogue, a forum bridging the perspectives of peers, family members, and providers; and Decarcerating Care, an ongoing panel series discussing the carceral nature of the mental health system, rooted in the voices and experiences of survivors. Her writing has been published in We've Been Too Patient: An Anthology of Voices from Radical Mental Health, the Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine, and the Village Voice. She is also an avid home cook, passionate about the power of cooking as a care-centered creative practice.

Links:

Institute for the Development of Human Arts:

Find Jessie here: http://www.jessie-roth.com/ & join her "cooking as care" on substack: https://jessieroth.substack.com/

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Research/Articles :

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

This is one of the most intimate and refreshing conversations I've ever had on childhood sexual abuse. As my guest and long-time best friend of 15 years, Jagger Waters, says, societally, "We tend to treat it like it's a disease rather than an experience." As a comedy writer, she brilliantly sheds light on this topic by intentionally using humor to alchemize one of the most traumatic experiences one can have. We muse on what it's like to not just heal from the experience, to the point where it's nothing but a tiny blip in our life story, but to also use it as a catalyst to become an even more powerful, communicative, confident, sex-positive, and self-aware human. 

We also discuss: 

Jagger Waters is a Los Angeles based comedy writer, goof ball and amateur roller skater. 

Instagram: @glamorousreptile 

Twitter: @glamoureptile

Links: 

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

Creating your life like a work of art starts with having a vision and being deeply intentional about what we desire (while also leaving room for the mystery). Modern “goal setting” strategies can feel cold or simply exhausting. I’ve spent a decade researching the best ways to intentionally set goals that are aligned with your values in a way that also feels easy and fun. So in today’s episode I cover my favorite annual reflection and annual planning processes, how to discover and get creative with your 10, 3 and 1 year goals, and how to implement online and paper systems for consistency. You can do these practices anytime, not just around the start of the year but also the start of a quarter, around your birthday, or anytime that you need clarity.

Also in this episode:

Links:

Resources:

Kate Northrup - https://katenorthrup.com/book/

Hilary Rushford - https://elegantexcellencejournal.com/

Danielle LaPorte - https://shop.daniellelaporte.com/pages/desire-map-digital

Leah Goard - https://www.leahgoard.com/

Greg McKeown - https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/

James Clear - https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

Marie Forleo - https://everythingisfigureoutable.com/

Susannah Conway - https://www.susannahconway.com/

Simon Sinek - https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/

Values exercise - https://personalvalu.es/

Core desired feelings list - https://www.spiritandmuse.com/spirit-muse-blog/101-core-desired-feelings-2022

Wheel of life - https://theartofliving.com/planner/start/wheel-of-life/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

It takes radical imagination to envision a future of mental health that is rooted in community support and multiple ways of approaching healing. Noah Gokul is an artist and mental health educator who embodies this concept in all their work. Grounded and affirmed by legacies of activism before us, we discuss what it was like to be peer specialist working in a clinical mental health setting. Noah shares how having a father who was a culturally affirming family therapist impacted their work, and how they use art to explore frameworks for navigating depression and anxiety.

Also in this episode:

Noah (they/them) is a Queer multidisciplinary artist and educator here to create liberated worlds through art, storytelling, and sound. They grew up in Oakland, CA/unceded Ohlone land, and identify as a trauma survivor with sensitivities to the world around them. They use music and art for meaning-making and the healing of others, integrating these passions into their work as a peer for young adults in a first-episode psychosis program. They have facilitated in a wide variety of settings, at the intersections of anti-oppression, trauma, incarceration, Caribbean ancestry, music, and mental health. Through their incantations they create spaces of radical imagination and possibility.

IDHA-NYC.org

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Links:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bindiram/

Bandcamp - https://bindiram.bandcamp.com/music

ReKin Art Collective Berlin - https://moritzjekat.de/re-kin

Inside the spiral created by Noah Gokul - https://vimeo.com/749357163

On Track NY - https://ontrackny.org/

The Icarus Project - https://www.academia.edu/11397502/The_Icarus_Project_A_Counter_Narrative_for_Psychic_Diversity

The Radical Imagination: Social Movement Research in the Age of Austerity by Max Haiven and Alex Khasnabish

The Family Centre NZ- https://familycentre.org.nz/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

People have been experiencing altered states of consciousness since the dawn of humanity, whether it's through plant medicine, meditation, spiritual practices, or spontaneously (in experiences that often get labeled as "psychosis"). We are now starting to understand that altered states of consciousness, no matter the origin, have the capacity to be deeply healing. In this episode, with my good friend and colleague, Katrina Michelle, a psychotherapist specializing in spiritual integration, we discuss different kinds of spiritual experiences, why psychedelic therapies often are faster and more effective than talk therapy, and how people can heal from trauma through altered states.

Also in this episode: 

Katrina Michelle, PhD, LCSW earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University and her Master’s in Social Work from Stony Brook University. For her doctoral research she conducted a heuristic study on Exploring Resistance to Spiritual Emergence. Her Master’s research focussed on spiritual development within higher education.

Katrina worked as the director of harm reduction for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) at the Zendo Project and served for three years as the executive director of The American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE). Katrina has served as graduate faculty at New York University’s Department of Applied Psychology, Columbia University’s School of Social Work, Fordham University’s School of Social Services, and The Institute for the Development of Human Arts.

Katrina is a member of the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC) and currently working with an international team on research to elucidate adverse psychedelic experiences in order to contribute to evidence-based and trauma-informed integration practices. She is also a founding member of the advisory board for The Fireside Project, a psychedelic peer-support line.

Katrina is the founder and director of The Curious Spirit, a New York-based psychotherapy and coaching practice. She is also creator and producer of When Lightning Strikes, a documentary in progress intended to demystify the awakening process and help create a cultural context for understanding mystical phenomena while normalizing the often challenging elements of this natural human experience.

Research & Links:

http://www.thecuriousspirit.org/ 

Spiritual Emergency by Stanislav & Christina Grof - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/638137.Spiritual_Emergency

https://maps.org/

https://zendoproject.org/

https://aciste.org/

Support Katrina's Research : https://challengingpsychedelicexperiences.com/

https://www.lucid.news/

https://psychedelic.support/

https://psychiatryinstitute.com/psychedelic/

Get bonus episodes on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Book a session with Jazmine: www.jazminerussell.com/book

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

There is no such thing as being "too sensitive," we simply live in a world that doesn't honor the gifts of sensitivity. This week we're diving into the various ways we can feel "too sensitive" or reactive to the world around us - emotionally, physically, or spiritually, and the ways in which highly sensitive people often get labeled as mentally ill. We discuss finding the balance between desiring resilience and honoring the crucial messages of our bodies are trying to give us. When we honor these messages and work with the body, we have an opportunity to make the changes necessary for a more sustainable life.

Also in this episode:

Links: 

Research: 

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.