In this episode, Sarah sits down with therapist and founder Shakira (Kira) O’Garro to talk about her powerful journey through endometriosis, medical gaslighting, and reclaiming trust in her body. Together, they explore how trauma responses like shutdown and fawning show up in medical settings, the importance of somatic healing, and the transformative power of community and faith.
Whether you’ve experienced medical trauma yourself or support others on their journey, this conversation will leave you feeling seen, validated, and hopeful. Please share this episode with anyone who would benefit, the more we share, the more we spread awareness of medical trauma as well as the awareness that we can recover.

Get in touch with Kira

⁠Cheerful Heart Mental Health Counseling⁠

Get in touch with Sarah

Medical Trauma Support Website

Befriend Your Body Community

Many kids feel anxious or afraid during medical visits — and parents often feel helpless watching it happen. In this powerful conversation, Sarah talks with Mary A. Jenner, pediatric nurse and founder of The Butterfly Pig, about how medical play can help children feel safe, brave, and confident during medical care.

They explore how fear, anxiety, and even trauma can develop from medical experiences — and how parents and providers can take small but meaningful steps to prevent it.

You’ll learn:
• How to prepare kids for medical visits through play
• What parents can say and do during procedures to reduce fear
• Why simple tools like the Buzzy Bee or toy medical devices make a big difference
• How to advocate gently but effectively for your child’s emotional safety

Whether you’re a parent, healthcare provider, or someone who’s had your own difficult medical experiences, this episode offers hope, compassion, and practical tools to help you and your loved ones feel safer in care settings.

Guest: Mary A. Jenner, RN, Founder of The Butterfly Pig

Links: Parent Resources

Keywords: fear of doctors

Many children experience medical procedures that leave lasting emotional wounds — even when everyone involved had the best intentions. In this episode, Sarah talks with Christina Gonzalez, MSW, who wrote her graduate thesis on childhood medical trauma. Christina shares her own story of growing up chronically ill and what her research revealed about how forced procedures, lack of informed consent, and emotional neglect impact children for life.

Together, Sarah and Christina explore what medical trauma looks like through a child’s eyes, how parents and providers can do better, and what healing can look like — for both children and parents.

You can find Christina's thesis project here: https://www.medicaltraumasupport.org/all-about-medical-trauma

You can reach Christina's blog post on Childhood Medical Trauma here: https://www.medicaltraumasupport.org/blog

You can read more about ACES here: https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

Learn more and access parent resources at medicaltraumasupport.com

Topics covered:

• Violation of bodily autonomy in pediatric care

• The missing emotional care that children need after medical experiences

• How it can feel to the child like their parents have betrayed them — and how parents can rebuild trust

• What parents can do now to support their children before, during, and after medical experiences
  

In this heartfelt conversation, Sarah sits down with licensed professional counselor and chronic illness therapist Destiny Davis to explore what happens when medical systems fail to see, believe, or support you.

Together, they unpack the layers of medical trauma, chronic illness, and the emotional toll of being dismissed or disbelieved. Destiny shares her lived experience growing up with parents who had disabilities, the trauma of being labeled “hypochondriac,” and how that shaped her path as a therapist and advocate.

They talk about the importance of accommodations, neurodiversity, and how society’s “push through” mentality harms those living with invisible illnesses. You’ll also hear powerful insights on:

• How medical trauma isn’t always what was done to you, but also what you didn’t receive

• Rebuilding trust in a system that has caused harm

• The overlap between medical and attachment trauma

• Simple, somatic ways to begin feeling safe in your body again

Whether you live with chronic illness, support someone who does, or work in healthcare, this conversation will help you see medical trauma through a more compassionate, nuanced lens.

Show Links:

Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency - https://gvs.georgia.gov/

Connect with Destiny Davis:

• Website: thechronicillnesstherapist.com

• Membership: thechronicillnesstherapist.com/membership

• Podcast: The Chronic Illness Therapist Podcast

Learn more about Medical Trauma Support: medicaltraumasupport.com

In this powerful episode of the Medical Trauma Support Podcast, Sarah Stasica is joined by Dr. Laura Vater, oncologist, writer, and advocate for compassionate, patient-centered care. Dr. Vater shares her journey into medicine, the personal story that inspired her to become a physician, and her work to bring humanity back into healthcare.

Together, they explore:

• The impact of medical trauma on patients and providers

• How sleep deprivation and burnout affect empathy and compassion in clinicians

• What patients wish for in vulnerable moments, from being believed about pain to feeling truly seen

• Practical ways to improve the healthcare system for both patients and medical professionals

• Why honoring the humanity of both patients and providers is essential for healing

Whether you’ve experienced the pain of not being heard as a patient or the weight of burnout as a clinician, this episode explores how we can reimagine healthcare with empathy at its center.

Check out the Medical Trauma Support website for more resources and support - medicaltraumasupport.com

In this episode of the Medical Trauma Support Podcast, Sarah speaks with Lauren Isbell and Whitney Casal from Nevis Outreach, a patient advocacy organization focused on Congenital Melanocytic Nevi (CMN). They discuss their personal connections to CMN, the challenges families face when navigating medical decisions, and the importance of community support. The conversation highlights the medical risks associated with CMN, the need for shared decision-making in healthcare, and the emotional weight of making treatment choices for children. The episode emphasizes the value of connection and understanding among families dealing with rare diseases, and encourages listeners to seek out supportive communities.

Nevus Outreach - https://www.nevus.org/

Shared Decision Making - https://collaborativecare.wustl.edu/items/shared-decision-making-about-congenital-nevi/

Medical Trauma Support - https://www.medicaltraumasupport.com

Befriend Your Body Community - https://www.medicaltraumasupport.org/befriend-your-body-community

In this episode of the Medical Trauma Support podcast, Sarah talks about what Befriending Your Body really means. She also responds to the question, "how can I become friends with a body I am disconnected from or a body that I hate?". And the answer is that it isn't an overnight process, it is a slow, gentle way of being with yourself after learning about your nervous system and building capacity to turn toward your body.

Befriending your body is like coming home to yourself and feeling the safety and wisdom that has been inside of you all along.

Please follow this podcast to be notified when new episodes come out. We have some fabulous guests lined up for the fall.

To find out more about Medical Trauma Support, you can find us here:

MTS website: https://www.medicaltraumasupport.com

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@MedicalTraumaSupport

IG - https://www.instagram.com/medicaltraumasupport/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561327602614

In this deeply moving episode, we bring together patient Vanessa Abraham and her ICU doctor, Dr. Jared Rosen, for an honest, tender conversation about what it means to show up with humanity in medicine.

Vanessa shares how Dr. Rosen’s attunement, compassion, and presence helped her through one of the scariest moments of her life. Dr. Rosen opens up about how this experience shaped his entire medical career — and how he protects his own mental health to continue showing up for patients with empathy and care.

Together with host Sarah, they explore:

• What makes a medical experience feel safe, even during trauma

• The emotional impact of being truly seen by your care team

• How medical professionals can protect themselves from burnout and compassion fatigue

• Why little human gestures — like music, photos, and presence — can be life-changing

Whether you're a patient, a loved one, or a healthcare provider, this conversation will stay with you.

🎧 Listen now and follow for more stories that humanize medical care and support healing after trauma.

Here are the ways you can contact Vanessa and Sarah if you need help finding support.

Vanessa's Website

Vanessa's Instagram Account

Vanessa's Book: Speechless

Medical Trauma Support Website

Befriend Your Body Community

Medical Trauma Support Instagram Account

#MedicalTrauma #ICUStories #HumanizingHealthcare #DoctorPatientBond #CompassionateCare #VanessaAbraham #BefriendYourBody #SomaticHealing #HealthcareBurnout #TraumaSupport

In this episode of the Medical Trauma Support podcast, Sarah speaks to Vanessa Abraham, a mother and medical trauma survivor, about the untold impact of ICU hospitalization, medical PTSD, and parenting during and after illness. From the shock of sudden critical illness to the emotional pain of being separated from her young daughter and the worry that she would not live to raise her daughter, Vanessa shares her story with raw honesty and deeply earned wisdom.

Together, they explore:

• The experience of post-intensive care syndrome (PICS) and family post-intensive care syndrome (PICS-F)

• What it feels like to parent through and after a medical crisis

• The hidden layers of grief, guilt, and identity loss that accompany serious illness

• How medical systems often miss the emotional and nervous system needs of patients and families

• The role of nervous system regulation in healing trauma after an ICU stay

• How to begin feeling safe in your body again after medical trauma

If you're navigating medical PTSD, recovering from an ICU experience, parenting while ill, or supporting a loved one who's been hospitalized, this conversation offers compassion, understanding, and practical insight.

Search terms & support topics in this episode:medical trauma, ICU trauma, medical PTSD, post intensive care syndrome, family post intensive care syndrome, parenting while ill, nervous system regulation, somatic healing, parenting after ICU, grief after medical crisis, how to cope with medical trauma

What happens after you survive the ICU? For Vanessa Abraham — a speech pathologist, author, and ICU survivor — the real trauma began after she came home.

In this powerful episode, we talk about:

• Vanessa’s sudden illness that left her paralyzed and unable to speak

• The grief, identity loss, and depression she faced after ICU

• The emotional cost of being a caregiver and navigating life after medical trauma

• What PICS (Post-Intensive Care Syndrome) is — and why no one talks about it

• Healing tools: nervous system support, community, somatic practices, and more

Whether you're a survivor, caregiver, or provider, this conversation offers validation, education, and hope.

Get Vanessa’s book “Speechless”: https://a.co/d/0Ks1DSe

Are you looking for support and community with others who understand medical trauma? Join the Befriend Your Body Community: https://www.medicaltraumasupport.org/befriend-your-body-community

✨ You are not alone. There is hope, healing, and support waiting for you.