Beverly Engel is back, and I'm so grateful to talk with someone who's spent decades helping people break free from trauma-driven relationship patterns. If you've ever felt stuck in the same story - same red flags, different partner - you're not alone. In this episode, Beverly brings clarity to the messy, courageous work of breaking free and putting your past in your past.

Beverly is a renowned psychotherapist and author of 27 self-help books, including her latest, Put Your Past In Your Past. In this conversation, we get into how hard it is to break lifelong patterns, especially when you were never taught how to feel your feelings, let alone trust them. But that's where the work is and that's how we begin to change everything. Healing is messy. It's uncomfortable. But it's also liberating as hell.

Here's what else we discuss in this episode:

• What trauma reenactment actually is and how to begin interrupting the cycle (7:56)
• How to create a "triggers list" and begin connecting the dots between past pain and present-day reactions (10:51)
• Why you can't heal what you don't feel and what to do when the emotions finally surface (18:44)
• The fear of naming your trauma in relationships (and how to work through it) (40:08)
• Tools for building self-compassion and protecting yourself moving forward (43:40)

Learn more about Beverly Engel: Beverly is an internationally recognized psychotherapist and expert on trauma. She has written 27 books on the related subjects of abuse, shame, and empowerment, including The Emotionally Abusive Relationship and Healing Your Emotional Self. Her books have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Greek, Turkish, and Polish. She has a blog on Psychology Today titled The Compassion Chronicles and her writing has been featured in Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, The Chicago Tribune and The Washington Post, to name a few.

Resources & Links:

Thank you to today's podcast sponsor: Our Family WizardSubmit your questions here for possible inclusion in future Q&A podcast episodes Focused Strategy Sessions with Kate Phoenix Rising: A Divorce Empowerment Collective Beverly's website Heal My ShameBeverly on Instagram

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DISCLAIMER: THE COMMENTARY AND OPINIONS AVAILABLE ON THIS PODCAST ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING LEGAL OR PSYCHOLOGICAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY, COACH, OR THERAPIST IN YOUR STATE TO OBTAIN ADVICE WITH RESPECT TO ANY PARTICULAR ISSUE OR PROBLEM.

Episode link: https://kateanthony.com/podcast/episode-322-put-your-past-in-your-past-with-beverly-engel/