Dr. T hosts this episode solo and welcomes, as his guest, Joe Strummer, partner of Truth Fairy. Joe Strummer was instrumental in helping set up Punk Therapy and had his own therapeutic psychedelic experience a decade ago alongside Truth Fairy and Dr. Gabor Maté. Joe shares how that experience has stayed with him, how he works with Truth in supporting her workshops, and how the psychedelic healing and therapy both factor into his own work in corporate leadership coaching. Joe’s background with the arts and team facilitation fuse into his embodied leadership approach, which he shares with Dr. T.  

Many key themes weave through the conversation between Joe and Dr. T. as they discuss Joe’s own history and work. Leadership development is something Joe is very involved in. He stresses the importance of integrating left-brain strategic thinking with right-brain relational and somatic skills to assist leaders in self-awareness and being fully present. Joe also works in the overlap between leadership coaching and psychedelic therapy, drawing on his training in somatic relationship trauma-informed practices and personal experiences with ayahuasca, MDMA, and psilocybin, to help his clients. 

Dr. T and Joe talk in detail about Joe’s personal journey with imposter syndrome and outsider syndrome. Joe was able to trace the roots of those struggles back to childhood experiences, and through psychedelic-assisted therapy, he was able to reframe old narratives. He and Dr. T explore how Joe is now able to pause, ground, and adapt in high-pressure facilitation moments. Joe advocates for leaders to recognize and integrate the parts of themselves they’ve felt pressured to cover or suppress to foster greater authenticity and inclusion, as well as human connection, in the workplace.

“... maybe another good metaphor is the work that the Truth Fairy leads through somatic relational informed practices for psychedelic medicine. And, you know, that somatic relational is really important. Somatic meaning of the body, being present in the body in that moment. So being aware physically of what's going on with your body and where you are and how you're sitting, but also just being in that moment rather than in your head.” - Joe Strummer

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Gabor Maté
• Joe Strummer at PsychedelicLeadership.ca or [email protected]

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

Email: [email protected]

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest Dr. Emily Tunks, Founder of Embody Being and Research Trial Psychedelics Assisted Psychotherapist, to the podcast to explore her work in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for first responders and her passion for understanding potential somatic implications of psychedelic medicines. Dr. Tunks shares her experience and knowledge regarding therapist support and well-being, and discusses the need for integrating Indigenous wisdom into psychedelic research.   

The conversation explores somatic and relational foundations in psychedelic therapy, and Dr. Tonks emphasizes the importance of somatic psychotherapy and relational depth in supporting clients through expanded states of consciousness. She advocates for an approach where nervous system regulation, co-regulation, and attachment repair are key components, especially when working with medicines like MDMA and psilocybin. Dr. Tunks questions the fixation on mystical experiences as therapeutic benchmarks. Instead, she proposes measuring success through the quality of the relational field, the client’s safety, and their capacity to experience nourishment and trust.

Dr. T and Truth Fairy discuss the therapist's experience with Dr. Tunks, especially in the areas of burnout, well-being, and regulation. They highlight the need for therapist preparation, including their own embodiment practices, peer support, and supervised exposure to non-ordinary states. Dr. Tunks identifies something called the “trough of disillusionment,” which she explains as the time where hype around psychedelics comes face-to-face with the reality of systemic limitations and poor trial design. There is a need to mature the movement and deepen ethics, which Dr. T and Truth Fairy address with Dr. Tunks.

“You know you have contact highs, as you said, if you've done a work… if you have some neurodiversion in there. If you've got some, hopefully, some intuition. We are going to feel stuff. We are going to have contact highs and we're going to have trauma lows, and being able to hold relationships, you know, in a way that will also meet regulatory standards. Let's not forget that when we're working above ground, we have to always be able to justify our behavior to sometimes people who have never had a therapy session in their life, like our medical boards, our registration boards. They are in an old paradigm.” - Dr. Emily Tunks
 

About Dr. Emily Tunks:

Emily aims to support individuals understand their whole selves, body and mind, so that their health, relationships and life purpose may thrive, in spite of physical set-backs and ongoing challenges.

Emily co-majored in Psychology and Psychophysiology at Swinburne University, and after obtaining first class honours, she was awarded a full scholarship to complete a Doctorate of Psychology (Health) at Deakin University. Her doctoral qualitative research investigated Australian specialists' attitudes and practices of end-of-life care and organ donation, which was published in a high impact, international SAGE scientific journal: Journal of Health Psychology (under previous name: E. Macvean). 

Emily is a member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc. and is endorsed in Health Psychology (AHPRA). She maintains a commitment to excellence through researching best-practice techniques and her strong understanding of health psychology, clinical psychology, attachment, physiology, somatic (body) psychotherapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, ecotherapy and psychoneuroimmunology. Both in session and outside, Emily draws on her modern practice of Eastern contemplation traditions and is a graduate of Hakomi Somatic Psychotherapy professional training.

Emily is honoured to be a co-therapist in several local and international clinical research trials for Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy (psilocybin with depression at Swinburne University and MDMA with PTSD at Monash University, collaborating with MAPS). In preparation for this humbling work, Emily continues to train extensively with several leading international PAP and trauma experts, local PAP integration and somatic psychotherapists. She deeply respects the healing potential of “non-ordinary” states of consciousness but most importantly, their safe, ethical, and practical integration.

In addition to private clinical work, Emily has over a decade of multidisciplinary team experience in world-leading pain management and chronic illness hospital units, rehabilitation units, community health settings and university lecturing.

Contact Dr. Emily Tunks:

Website: EmbodyBeing.com.au

LinkedIn: DrEmilyTunks

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Ram Dass
• “Becoming Somebody Before Becoming Nobody: Somatic and Relational Approaches to MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy”

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

Email: [email protected]

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of addiction, opioid use (including fentanyl), complex trauma, intergenerational trauma, medical neglect, and the death of a child.

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest Liz Rezanson, a psychotherapist and social worker who works with the caregivers of children with disabilities, largely in her community of Vernon, BC. Liz believes in the healing power of connection and integrates mind-body attunement therapy, EMDR, EFT, hypnosis, and psychedelic-assisted therapy into her practice using a trauma-informed approach. Liz shares her deeply moving personal and professional journey through raising a daughter with catastrophic epilepsy and her oldest daughter Amy’s eventual struggle with opioid addiction, including fentanyl use, and repeated treatment attempts that led to a tragic end.   

Liz’s story highlights the need for a more compassionate and effective approach to addiction recovery, one that acknowledges the role of attachment, emotional regulation, and support. She, Truth, and Dr. T discuss how psychedelic-assisted therapy, specifically with medicines like ibogaine and MDMA, can offer a powerful opportunity ot desensitize past trauma and support emotional integration. Liz emphasizes that healing doesn’t happen through medicine alone, but through the presence of a trained and emotionally regulated facilitator and through a focus on coregulation and relational attunement. 

Dr. T and Truth Fairy agree with Liz in stating that her daughter Amy’s journey illustrates the high stakes and systemic failures in addiction treatment, particularly when treatment centres are ill-equipped to meet clients with compassion and flexibility. Liz emphasizes that healing developmental trauma requires practitioners to develop their own capacity for emotional presence through somatic awareness and self-regulation. Her story is a powerful call to reshape psychedelic integration therapy and addiction treatment by centring safety, right-brain healing, and the profound importance of human connection.

“Just that need to be so in tune or attuned to our clients, and especially in the psychedelic field. Yeah. You're doing sometimes long sits, and you have to be able to stay with it and be able to support, and I always say I'm not… I hate the term healer. I think I'm not a healer. I'm literally the guide in this process, whether it be we use something like eMDR or somatic or IFS, whatever, psychedelic, whatever we're using. I'm just the guide in the process. I'm just the person who shows you how to reconnect with yourself, right?” - Liz Rezanson
 

About Liz Rezanson, Psychotherapist, BCYC, MACP, CCC, RSW:

Liz has called Vernon home for the past 30 years, and for over two decades, she has had the privilege of working with individuals and families in that community. Her background includes more than 20 years supporting families, and 11 years working closely with children with diverse abilities and their caregivers.

At the heart of her work is a belief in the healing power of connection—both with ourselves and with those closest to us. Liz works alongside my clients with compassion, curiosity, and respect, helping them move toward greater authenticity, emotional safety, and meaningful change. True connection takes courage, vulnerability, and the right kind of support. She believes it’s her role to help create the space where that becomes possible.

Liz offers individual, couples, and group therapy in a safe and confidential setting. She draws on a range of approaches, with specialized training in: Mind-Body Attunement Therapy®, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) for Couples, Psychedelic Psychotherapy (studied over the past five years), Clinical Hypnosis

She takes an attachment-based, trauma-informed approach to therapy and works with clients navigating trauma, anxiety, depression, PTSD, grief, and chronic pain. In addition to psychotherapy, Liz offers parent coaching, health and wellness counselling, support for chronic pain management, and guided processing of trauma, loss, and life transitions.
 

In memory of 
Amy Elizabeth Rezanson
Dec 28,1997 to Nov 4, 2022

Contact Liz Rezanson:

LinkedIn: liz-rezanson-1b26ab67

Website: MindBodyCounselling.org

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Allan Schore
• “Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self” by Allan N. Shore
• Darcia Narvaez, PhD: EvolvedNest.org
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Dr. Richard Schwartz

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

Email: [email protected]

While Truth Fairy is away, Dr. T hosts this episode solo, welcoming Scott Hill, author of “Confrontation with the Unconscious: Jungian Depth Psychology and Psychedelic Experience”, who completed his PhD with a dissertation titled ‘Building a Jungian Framework for Understanding Psychedelic Induced Psychotic States’ at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Dr. Hill shares his early transformative encounters with LSD in 1967, which, though initially ecstatic, devolved into psychologically traumatic events. These experiences led him on a lifelong journey of self-exploration, academic inquiry, and healing.  

Scott shares his journey very openly with Dr. T and they discuss how Scott’s return to academia in Cailfornia, studying under Stan Grof and Ralph Metzner, deepened his understanding of his own experiences. They examine how Jung’s concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes reflect in intense psychedelic states. Scott details how key reading, Holotropic Breathwork, a medicine circle. and an MDMA-assisted therapy session at Burning Man, and MDMA-assisted therapy all helped heal his ongoing flashbacks.  

Dr. T and Scott Hill share a deep and revelatory conversation, at the end of which Scott expresses gratitude for the path he was forced onto in spite of how painfully it began. He describes writing and academic research as transformative tools and identifies scholarship as a spiritual practice in its own right. “Confrontation with the Unconscious: Jungian Depth Psychology and Psychedelic Experience”, Dr. Hill’s book, is now foundational in psychedelic psychotherapy circles, and his insights are key to understanding much about psychedelic psychology. 

“As I read about the myths of Gilgamesh, Inanna,, Job and Christ, I was struck by the resonance between passages in those myths and my difficult psychedelic experiences. Given the Jungian view that myths are expressions of the archetypal unconscious, and given the resonance I experienced reading those myths, I started to wonder whether my terrifying trips, and perhaps those of others, might be understood, in Jung's words, as experiences of an archetypal nature.” - Scott Hill
 

About Scott Hill:

Scott J. Hill, Ph.D., lives in Sweden, where he conducts scholarly research on the intersection between psychedelic studies and Jungian psychology. He holds degrees in psychology from the University of Minnesota and in philosophy and religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Book: “Confrontation with the Unconscious: Jungian Depth Psychology and Psychedelic Experience” by Scott J. Hill

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• “Confrontation with the Unconscious: Jungian Depth Psychology and Psychedelic Experience” by Scott J. Hill
• “Psychedelics and Psychotherapy: The Healing Potential of Expanded States” by Tim Read, Maria Papaspyrou, and others
• “Ralph Metzner, Explorer of Consciousness: The Life and Legacy of a Psychedelic Pioneer” by Cathy Coleman, PhD (Editor)
• “Breaking Convention: Psychedelic Pharmacology for the 21st Century” by Ben Sessa (Editor)
• “Drugs and the Mind” by Robert S De Ropp
• Aldous Huxley’s Books
• J. Krishnamurti Books
• “Letters from the Earth” by Mark Twain
• “Man and His Symbols” by Carl G. Jung
• “Trials of the Visionary Mind” by John Weir Perry
• Holotropic Breathwork

Scott’s chapter, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious: Jungian Insights Into Psychedelic Experience, in “Breaking Convention: Psychedelic Pharmacology” is available on his  Academia.edu page (https://ciis.academia.edu/ScottHill) as is a preview copy of his book that includes the TOC, Preface, Introductory chapter, and Conclusion. There is also a book review of Scott’s book by Jungian Analyst Stephen A. Martin.

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

Email: [email protected]

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome Greg Wrenn, a former Alabama state representative and long-time health policy advocate, who shares insights into how he became interested in the therapeutic use of psychedelics through personal research and professional exposure. Greg recently wrote a book called “Mothership” about coral reef research, ecological crisis, and his personal PTSD healing journey with ayahuasca. He discusses portions of the book and his experiences with Truth and Dr. T.  

Greg explores the growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy, particularly its potential to help individuals who struggle with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He addresses the shift from viewing psychedelics as taboo to recognizing their potential under controlled, clinical settings. His personal stories, alongside those shared by Truth, highlight the positive impact psychedelic therapy can have and how his passion for the issue has been fueled. 

Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Greg share concerns about the challenges of implementing beneficial psychedelic healing sessions, and they celebrate Greg’s integration of tribal and liberating dance into the ayahuasca ceremony. They talk about the importance of regulation, ethical safeguards, and integration of Indigenous practices, and caution against the risks of commercialization. The episode is both vulnerable and informative, painting a hopeful picture of potential healing even in the face of difficult times.

“You know, I'm no psychedelic evangelist. I don't think everyone should drink ayahuasca or work with psychedelics. I know I should, I know I need to. And so this is really important for my mission, which is to, I guess, spread a message of love and spread a message of the possibility of planetary healing, because planetary healing happens, at least with humanity, one brain at a time.” - Greg Wrenn

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About Greg Wrenn:

A former Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, GREG WRENN is the author of the ayahuasca eco-memoir Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis, an evidence-based account of his turning to coral reefs and psychedelic plants to heal from childhood trauma, and Centaur (U of Wisconsin Press 2013), which National Book Award-winning poet Terrance Hayes awarded the Brittingham Prize. 

​Greg's work has appeared or is forthcoming in HuffPost, The New Republic, Al Jazeera, The Rumpus, LitHub, Writer's Digest, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. He has received awards and fellowships from the James Merrill House, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, the Poetry Society of America, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Spiro Arts Center. On his Mothership book tour, he spoke to audiences around the world, including at Yale School of Medicine, the University of Utah School of Medicine, Vancouver Island University, and the University of Virginia School of Nursing. Greg has also been on numerous podcasts, including Levi Chambers's PRIDE, and was recently interviewed by Emmy Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas on NewsNation​ and by Jane Garvey on Times Radio (UK). 

​As an associate English professor at James Madison University, he teaches creative nonfiction, poetry, and environmental literature and directs the JMU Creative Writing Minor. He also teaches in the Memoir Certificate Program at Stanford Continuing Studies. He was educated at Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis.

Greg is currently at work on a follow-up book to Mothership and sending out Homesick, his second poetry collection. A student of ayahuasca since 2019, he is a trained yoga teacher and a PADI Advanced Open Water diver, having explored coral reefs around the world for over 25 years. He and his husband divide their time between the mountains of Virginia and Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Website: GregWrenn.com

Book: “Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis” by Greg Wrenn

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, Dr. T and Truth Fairy have an in-depth conversation about current global and political concerns, particularly focusing on the drastic actions taken by Donald Trump in his recent return to power. Truth Fairy details how his executive orders have dismantled key institutions, targeted marginalized communities, and damaged international relations. They talk frankly about the trauma of living in this time and the role of psychedelics, exploring powerful examples of reclaiming the traditional powers of medicine for healing.

Truth Fairy explores how Western psychedelic culture has often become self-focused, neglecting to address larger societal issues. Dr. T reflects on how ancient examples of dominance and control still shape the world, and they discuss the need to reclaim group wisdom, relational healing, and embodied awareness in psychedelic work. Part of that work must include a balance to both hemispheres of the brain—logic and intuition—to effectively deal with the challenges of the modern world.  

Truth Fairy shares a powerful case study of a client who had endured extreme childhood trauma and how psychedelics, when used with intentional intervention, helped him break free from dissociative loops. She and Dr. T discuss the overlooked trauma of men, the need for deeper empathy in therapy, and the responsibility of practitioners to guide clients with wisdom. This episode is a raw and powerful look into the current news, where Truth Fairy and Dr. T urge us to become critically aware of media narratives and integrate psychedelic healing within the social context. 

“It's not Trump. He's just a figurehead, a representation or a mirror [held] up to us of our own situation as a culture. You know, I mean, I can't help but wonder if Trump was stood down for some reason, would another leader just like him emerge? Because it's not actually him that is the sickness. It's the culture that has decided to elect a leader of that nature that's reflective of trauma, that's not resolved for so many people.” - Dr. T

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Contact Punk Therapy:

• Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
• Website: PunkTherapy.com
• Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

• Email: [email protected]

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest Robert Laurie to the show to talk about radical approaches to medical health and the ongoing fight for the recognition and legalization of cannabis and psychedelic medicines. Robert is a pioneer in psychedelic law and policy, the founder of Ad Lucem Law Corporation, and has been instrumental in advancing medical access to cannabis and psilocybin internationally. Robert shares his insights on the future of psychedelic therapy with Dr. T. and Truth Fairy.

Robert discusses how he has represented many cases in the psychedelic space but the focus of his work has primarily shifted to looking at constitutional arguments. He points out such areas as opening dispensaries, operating psychedelic healing centers, and making psychedelics available on reserves through retail dispensaries. He explains that he collaborates with and represents academics, scientists, MDs, researchers and elders in his quest to shape policy in favour of cannabis and psilocybin.  

Truth Fairy, Dr. T, and Robert examine the history of cannabis prohibition, how cannabis use compares to tobacco and alcohol use in terms of lethality rates, the rigidity of government views on psychedelics, and how policy aims to combat the ingrained structures that stand against the proliferation of psychedelic medicines. Robert’s opinions and outlook are shaped by personal experience, years of study, and legal expertise in the realm of psychedelic use. He sheds light on what he believes is the innate right of humankind to access plant-based medicines and why governments tend to oppose that right.  

“I mean, I think it's fair to say that there's probably been tons of scientific research by both military and medical and pharmaceutical. But what it boils down to is, you know, just take smoking cessation and psychedelics, for example. I mean, psychedelics, you know, promise major disruption to these well-established and entrenched hallowed halls, including tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and the government isn't, I think, sure what to do with all of this.” - Robert Laurie

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About Robert Laurie:

Robert graduated from the faculty of Political Science and International Relations at the University of British Columbia and earned his law degree from the University of Oxford. He has been practicing law since 2006, and is recognized as an accomplished lawyer, international consultant, and public speaker.

Part of Robert’s practice is committed to improving medical patient access and facilitate drug laws for cannabis, psychedelics, and sacred plant medicines. Robert advised Dr. Bruce Tobin and the TheraPsil Alliance litigation team (first Section 56 CDSA medical exemption for psilocybin in Canada). He was one of the Decriminalize Nature Canada Petition drafters, part of a national campaign to decriminalize restricted plant medicines and fungi in Canada. His goal is to help provide more options for doctors and treatments for anxiety, depression, addiction, and PTSD.

Robert is a Special Advisor to Gateway Proven Strategies (GPS Global), [JB1] a Denver-based cannabis management consultancy firm operating globally, and serves as a board advisor to MAPS Canada, the Last Prisoner Project, and the Psychedelic Association of Canada. He is an advisor to the Heroic Hearts Project UK, a founder in the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy, and a director with the Ecuador Amazon Restoration Project.

Website: AdLucemLaw.com

Robert Laurie on LinkedIn

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Contact Truth Fairy: 

Email: [email protected]

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest Gil Bar-Sela to the podcast to talk about his work as a psychedelic guide, facilitator, and trainer working with individuals, couples, and groups. Gil weaves modalities like generative somatics, compassionate listening, and archetypal work into the more ancient medicine ceremonies. Gil shares his personal journey with Dr. T and Truth Fairy and engages in thoughtful discussions about psychedelics and healing. 

Gil shares that when he moved to the United States after being raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, he had his first opportunity to deal with the trauma lodged in his body. That led him to ask questions about conflict, the root causes of conflict, trauma, and intergenerational trauma which put him on track to explore all those issues. He also began his own personal healing process around his queer identity. This experience and questioning led him to the studies and practices he engages in today.  

Truth Fairy, Gil, and Dr. T talk about how self-awareness is what first leads to healing work. Having a sense of what we need can lead us to the right kind of work to be doing. Gil talks about the building blocks necessary to become a good guide which include ethics, pharmacology, and onboarding clients in a responsible way. The conversation highlights Gil’s own strong sense of guidance and understanding of the different types of medicine available for healing individuals which also includes psychedelics.

“You have the psychiatrist, you have the psychotherapist moving into the space that are very rooted in the Western psyche, but are also lacking usually in terms of connection to spirit, to more expansive practices, to ancient wisdom. And so I think, in particular, the role of the underground guide can be to merge the two worlds. Because we're not here and we're not there. We can be bridge builders. The training that I lead is very much focused on that.” - Gil Bar-Sela

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About Gil Bar-Sela:

Gil has trained teams and businesses to invoke a thriving work culture. He has inspired audiences of thousands by speaking at colleges across the country on topics such as the power of listening and gender equality. He has collaborated with the leadership team of Seattle’s Restorative Justice Initiative, creating community-based, non-punitive solutions to conflict. He co-leads annual delegations to Palestine and Israel with The Compassionate Listening Project, an organization dedicated to empowering individuals and communities to transform conflict and strengthen cultures of peace. He also coaches privately, and leads workshops and retreats globally.

Gil is a Certified Trainer with the Heart Math Institute and a Certified Facilitator with The Compassionate Listening Project. He has also trained at Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations, Dominic Barter's Restorative Circles, Core Energetics, META (Mindful Experiential Therapy Approaches), Cortiva’s 1,000-hour massage therapy program, and shamanism.

Website: GilBarSela.com

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest JF to the podcast to talk about sexual health, relational difficulties, and the integration of psychedelic experiences in therapy. JF is a psychotherapist with a double PhD, one in EI and one in clinical psychology, and he approaches therapy from a holistic perspective, integrating mind, body and heart in the healing process. Dr. T and Truth Fairy delve into how JF’s psychological insight shapes his approach to helping individuals and couples navigate life challenges.  

JF describes part of his conventional clinical specialties as focussing on human sexual health and relationships, and he works with patients who struggle with sexual issues. That part of his work is often conventional. But he also works in psychosomatic therapy with breathwork, movement, visualizations, and more. Dr. T and Truth Fairy explore exactly what sexual issues a person or couple could experience, how those may relate to being queer or having kinks, and how sexuality changes with age as well. JF talks about common themes in his conventional and psychosomatic work and discusses his approach to the client’s troubles.  

The body speaks more slowly than the mind, according to JF, and as such he discusses the innate differences between processes in conventional and psychosomatic therapies. Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and JF all relate personal stories about psychosomatic treatments and experiences within their bodies. The conversation opens wider to include the roles of psychedelics in healing and which ones help in which ways. JF recounts his training in Gestalt, what he explores through cannabis work, and how he fundamentally approaches trauma work. The conversation is an elegant deep dive into sexual health and healing.

“There's something fundamental in contact improv. It's contact. And I'm convinced the more I work that we are contact starved. And of course, our basics are contact through touch. It's not the only way we connect. We contact through emotional synchrony. We contact through speaking. But we are, I believe, contact starved.” - JF

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]

Dr. T and Truth Fairy return with the second half of their talk with guest Dottie, a highly experienced therapist specializing in Gestalt psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, and trauma-informed work. Dottie and Truth Fairy resume the story they were sharing in the first part about a rupture in a medicine session that they had to navigate together. The story leads to a vulnerable discussion about emotional regulation, acknowledgement of feelings, the importance of touch in medicine sessions, and a host of other vital variables to consider when working through the surfacing and healing of people’s trauma. 

Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and Dottie explore the complexities of relational dynamics, trauma, and healing, and Truth highlights the importance of understanding the multiple factors at play in any relationship, emphasizing that true repair involves mutual learning and deep understanding of the other person’s experiences. She explains how her own work with trauma, particularly infant trauma, has taught her to recognize the small gestures and subtle cues that can create or repair ruptures in neural connectivity. This attentiveness allows her to approach therapy with greater sensitivity and presence.

Dottie and Truth Fairy each share personal experiences that stress the significance of creating safe spaces for emotional regulation and healing, especially in moments of fear and dissociation. Dottie explains her hypervigilance toward abandonment and how this affects her relationships. She stresses the importance of a therapist’s full presence to help clients feel secure. Dr. T brings up the potential risks in psychedelic therapy if practitioners fail to integrate a developmental trauma lens, urging more training and awareness in this field. This episode touches on how therapists, through their own healing, can better support clients in addressing trauma, ensuring safe and effective therapeutic experiences.

“... the journey that we both have been on in the last couple of months has just been profound in being so committed to this process of repair. And I know that I keep banging on the word repair. But for me, I think that what's becoming clear is, is something that I really hold of high value as a therapist working with clients is in relationships with other people, the importance of holding space for others when there has been a rupture, and to hold that space of repair. And to be honest, this is what I have really learned from you” - Dottie

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• “Hunter, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans” by Michaeleen Doucleff
• Episode 36: Poly Roles and Relationship in Psychedelic Healing with Dottie, Part 1

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Contact Punk Therapy:

Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy

Website: PunkTherapy.com

Email: [email protected]