Resilient Birth

This week Sarah introduces us to Max, who has brought so much joy and comfort to her life over the last few months. Using a quote from Dog Medicine by Julie Barton, Sarah brings insight into the healing power of animals, particularly dogs, who can offer such unconditional loving support and shares her own experience with Max, who came into her life a few months ago and nourishes her as a person and mother.Throughout the episode, Justine and Sarah explore the profound impact that pets, particularly dogs, have on emotional well-being and the importance of unconditional acceptance in relationships. They discuss how animals provide a safe space for expressing emotions, the challenges of navigating uncomfortable feelings, and the role of pets in parenting. Justine and Sarah discuss the challenges humans seem to face in offering the same kind of nonjudgmental acceptance and warmth that pets such as dogs can provide. We talk about how pregnant, birthing and postpartum individuals often feel that the people from whom they are seeking support and care, such as family members, partners, doulas, midwives, Obs, lactation consultants and other perinatal professionals, are often uncomfortable with uncomfortable conversations. It is understandable that, in our discomfort, we try to fix the problem rather than listen, but this means that parents and parents-to-be do not feel understood by us. Justine and Sarah talk about what we can learn from animals like dogs for whom it is so intuitive to meet people where they are and how we can show up for our clients who are navigating challenges in the journey to motherhood and parenting as a witness who walks into darkness alongside them. We end by exploring the power of 'just being', both of us grasping for words that take us beyond being the idea of 'being myself' to a more grounded concept of what it might mean to 'be with another.' The conversation emphasizes the need for self-care, the significance of being present with others, and the art of just being without the pressure to perform. Ultimately, they highlight the magic that can happen when individuals connect authentically with themselves and others, fostering a sense of community and support.

Keywords: unconditional acceptance, nonjudgmental support, perinatal providers, Dog Medicine, being, pets, emotional safety, unconditional love, parenting, self-care, vulnerability, presence, connection, mental health, animal therapy

Takeaways

Sound Bites

Chapters

00:00 The Healing Power of Pets

02:52 Unconditional Acceptance and Emotional Safety

05:51 Navigating Uncomfortable Emotions

08:50 The Role of Animals in Parenting

12:09 Nature and Self-Care

15:05 The Importance of Being Present

18:12 Creating Safe Spaces for Vulnerability

20:54 The Art of Just Being

26:52 Finding Authenticity in Connection

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

In this episode, Justine and Sarah interview Lacey Castilleja Fisher, a licensed professional counselor and registered play therapist. Lacey specializes in working with parents and parents-to-be who have experienced sexual trauma, as well as individuals dealing with a range of mental health issues. Lacey shares two quotes that resonate with her work: one by Natasha Trethewey about the importance of telling a story to heal from trauma, and another by Resmaa Menakem about the discomfort of healing. The conversation explores the power of storytelling, the use of sandtray therapy and expressive arts in therapy, and the personal experiences that led Lacey to her work. In this conversation, Lacey discusses how she creates safety in the sandtray experience. She emphasizes the importance of selecting diverse materials and figures, and speaking to the activating potential of the miniatures. Lacey also explains how she incorporates EMDR into sandtray therapy and adapts the practice for the perinatal population. She shares insights on finding and collecting miniatures, as well as the importance of open curiosity and not assuming the meaning behind a client's tray. The conversation highlights the power of storytelling and the versatility of expressive art therapy.

Keywords: therapy, trauma, storytelling, sandtray therapy, expressive arts, perinatal trauma, birth trauma, EMDR, perinatal mental health, storytelling, expressive art therapy

Takeaways

Sound Bites

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

01:24 The Power of Storytelling and Quotes

06:21Using Sandtray Therapy and Expressive Arts

10:00 Introduction to Sandtray Therapy

12:09 Working with Non-Verbal Parts and Sensations

17:01 The Process of Building and Creating in Therapy

21:47 Personal Experience and Trauma-Informed Work

27:28 Creating Safety in the Sandtray Experience

30:05 Incorporating EMDR into Sandtray Therapy

33:28 Adapting Sandtray Therapy for the Perinatal Population

36:28 Finding and Collecting Miniatures

39:36 Facilitating Open Curiosity

42:46 The Power of Storytelling in Sandtray Therapy

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

Lacey Castilleja Fisher, LPC-S, RPT-S, PMH-C, is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor and a Certified Mental Health Professional with a mental health private practice in southwest Austin. Lacey has worked in a variety of settings including in a Children’s Advocacy Center to provide counseling to children that experienced sexual abuse and their families, and she decided to take the experience she had there and apply it to private practice. She built her practice around supporting children and adults that had experienced sexual abuse/assault and found a passion working with parents and parents to be when their sexual trauma was activated in the perinatal period. This led to Lacey learning as much as she could about perinatal trauma, pregnancy and infant loss, NICU trauma and fertility struggles. Lacey finds that the parents she works with respond well to EMDR, IFS and sandtray therapy at her counseling practice. Lacey has served as the Clinical Director for the Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Alliance of Texas and now serves on their advisory board.

Lacey has shared this article with us about sand tray therapy (https://wjstp-ojs-txstate.tdl.org/wjstp/article/view/25), as well as an upcoming workshop she is hosting called "Storytelling in the Sand: Using Sandtray Therapy to Cope with Perinatal Trauma and Loss: http://www.openheartcounselingatx.com/store/p2/storytellinginthesand.html.

In this episode, Justine and Sarah are joined by Helena Vissing, PsyD, SEP, PMH-C, a licensed psychologist practicing trauma-informed somatic psychotherapy. They discuss the quote by Rosemary Balsam that highlights the relationship between a woman and embodied events, such as birth, across her entire lifetime. They explore the significance of birth as a prism that captures the past and future, the need for relational care in the prevention and healing from birth trauma, and the limitations of a purely medical approach to birth. Helena emphasizes the importance of holding a lifespan perspective and integrating somatic and psychodynamic approaches in supporting clients.

Keywords

birth trauma, female body, relational care, healing, lifespan perspective, somatic psychotherapy, psychodynamic approach

Takeaways

Sound Bites

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

01:43 Quote by Rosemary Balsam

08:28 The Importance of Relational Care in Birth

17:51 Challenging the Medical Approach to Birth

28:22 The Dilemma of Western Medicine

38:06 Healing and Reconnecting with the Body

50:17 The Prism of Healing and Transformation

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

Helena Vissing, PsyD, SEP, PMH-C, is a licensed psychologist practicing trauma-informed somatic psychotherapy in North California. She is certified in Perinatal Mental Health and specializes in working with expecting and new parents. She is Associate Professor in the somatic program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Before joining CIIS, Helena taught at several graduate institutions, including Reiss-Davis Graduate School, Antioch University, and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Her areas of specialization include developmental psychology, perinatal mental health, and integrating psychodynamic and somatic modalities in trauma treatment. Helena also has extensive experience providing advanced level training of providers in perinatal mental health. She has published book chapters and articles on the topic of the psychology of mothering and its somatic aspects and is the author of Somatic Maternal Healing. Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health; a biopsychosocial framework for integrating and adapting a somatic approach to make perinatal mental health not only trauma informed, but also trauma responsive. She is one of the hosts of the podcast channel New Books in Psychoanalysis and is on the editorial board of the International Body Psychotherapy Journal.  

In this conversation, Sarah and Justine discuss the impact of trauma on our sense of time and how the past can erupt into the present or shift our perception of what is about to happen in the future. Justine shares a quote from the book Trauma and Human Existence by Robert D. Storolow. She was reminded of this quote, in particular his words, “Trauma destroys time,” after a recent personal experience of reacting unexpectedly and dramatically to a trigger resulting from an experience with her baby she did not originally categorize as a trauma. Sarah and Justine emphasize the importance of seeking support and understanding in navigating the effects of trauma particularly when parenting. The conversation highlights the power of trusted relationships and creating safe spaces for healing so that we can be present with ourselves and our children.

 Keywords

Trauma and temporality, unexpected triggers, fragmentation along time, healing, creating safe spaces

Takeaways

Sound Bites

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Quote

08:02 The Impact of Trauma on Our Sense of Time

15:27 Triggers: Unexpectedly Reliving Traumatic Experiences

25:21 The Importance of Seeking Support in Navigating Trauma

27:15 Creating Safe Spaces for Healing and Integration

38:27 Conclusion and Takeaways

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

 In this episode, Justine and Sarah are joined by Marissa Hathaway, a certified birth and postpartum doula. They discuss the harmful impact of 'at least' statements and how they can be invalidating to individuals who have experienced trauma or infertility. Marissa shares her personal journey of going through IVF and the challenges she faced as a doula supporting families while navigating her own miscarriage and infertility journey. They also discuss the importance of recognizing and honoring each person's unique story and the need for more support and understanding in the perinatal field.

Keywords

birth, postpartum, doula, trauma, infertility, IVF, ‘at least’ statements, miscarriage reproductive health

Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

03:30 The Harmful Impact of 'At Least' Statements

11:17 Supporting Others While Navigating Personal Trauma

15:01 Navigating Reproductive Health Challenges as a Doula

26:45 Recognizing and Honoring Each Person's Unique Story

34:56 Conclusion and Takeaways

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

Marissa Hathaway is a full spectrum doula (certified in birth and postpartum), Childbirth Educator, and photographer. She came to doula through starting her career in global maternal health, human rights, and reproductive justice. She is dedicated to reducing maternal health inequities via intersectional collaboration and cultural humility. After studying Public Health & International Relations at Boston University, she attended the University of Haifa, in Israel, for her Masters in Public Health. Marissa has experience in rape crisis counseling, family planning/contraception counseling, and refugee health. Marissa’s approach to supporting families is centered around: embodied consent and informed decision-making; support for partners; and mental health and wellbeing

In this episode, Justine and Sarah are joined by Mara Tesler-Stein, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Touchstone Institute for Psychotherapy and Training. We talk about EMDR for the perinatal population, the impact on Mara's own perinatal journey as the parent of preemie twins on her professional career, and the experience of having a baby in the NICU.

Summary

Mara begins by sharing the Talmudic quote: “Someone who saves a single life is considered as if they have saved an entire world.” The conversation then delves into the topic of EMDR therapy and its benefits for the perinatal population. Mara explains that EMDR is a trauma-focused therapy that helps individuals process and integrate traumatic experiences. Mara shares her story including her perinatal  journey of preterm labor, extended hospital stay and preemie twins. We explore what it is like for parents who have had to navigate life with a baby in the NICU and the emotional aftermath of that. The conversation explores the three core tasks that parents face in and after a perinatal crisis: developing parental identity for the baby, managing emotions, and managing relationships. Mara share that he loss of innocence and loss of peer group are significant challenges that parents face in the aftermath of a perinatal crisis, but also reassures that with window for attachment stretches well beyond the hour or hours after birth.

Keywords

EMDR therapy, perinatal mental health, birth trauma, NICU, early development, attachment, perinatal crisis, parental identity, healthcare providers,

Takeaways

Sound Bites

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Quote

03:02 Understanding EMDR Therapy

06:01 The Power of Healing and Growth

10:06 The Impact of Trauma in the Perinatal Period

14:01 Navigating Medical Settings After NICU Trauma

15:40 Mara Shares Her Personal and Professional Story

24:56 The Three Core Tasks in a Perinatal Crisis

27:54 Challenges of Loss of Innocence and Peer Group

29:42 Navigating Relationships in a Perinatal Crisis

36:01 The Role of Healthcare Providers in Supporting Parents

40:03 The Importance of Acknowledging Parents' Input and Desires

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

Mara Tesler Stein, Psy.D., PMH-C is a clinical psychologist and EMDR consultant and trainer in Chicago and Jerusalem. She is the founder and director of The Touchstone Institute for Perinatal
Training where she offers both foundational and advanced EMDR trainings which take deep
dives into the intersections and applications of EMDR and perinatal mental health.
Dr. Stein is a staunch advocate for trauma-focused care and is trained and certified in a range of
integrative trauma therapies. Dr. Stein is also certified in Emotion-Focused Family and Couple
Therapy, Brainspotting, is a Gottman Certified Therapist, and continues to deepen her training in
Clinical Hypnosis, Yoga-Informed treatment, Advanced applications of EMDR, and Ego-State
therapies.

She is the co-author (with Deborah Davis, Ph.D.) of Parenting Your Premature Baby and Child:
The Emotional Journey (Fulcrum, 2004) and Intensive Parenting: Surviving the Journey
Through the NICU (Fulcrum, 2013). She has also contributed book chapters in the areas of
perinatal loss, EMDR treatment, and trauma focused psychological care for NICU families.
Her trauma work is grounded in her personal perinatal journey, which began 28 years ago taking
her through infertility, twin pregnancy, prolonged hospital bedrest, the NICU, and years of
raising NICU graduates.

You can find her at www.touchstoneinstitute.org and at [email protected].

We welcome Jana Glass, a Licensed Professional Counselor certified in Brainspotting, Addictions, and Perinatal Mental health, to the podcast this week. In this conversation we explore what it means for therapy to be truly client led and how can therapists support parents who have experienced perinatal trauma to find and trust in their brain's own capacity to heal.

Summary

Jana begins our conversation by sharing a quote that embodies her approach to therapy, which focuses on empowering clients to heal and be present in the moment. She discusses the importance of centering the client as the expert in their own experience and using brainspotting to process trauma. Jana also addresses the challenges of working within systems and offers advice for clinicians on navigating boundaries and providing client-centered care. In this conversation, Jana emphasizes the importance of not making assumptions and allowing clients to lead their own healing journey. She shares a powerful example of a client who chose her as a therapist because she didn't assume the meaning of her pregnancy. Jana highlights the significance of creating a safe space for clients to express their thoughts and feelings without judgment. She discusses the power of asking questions and letting clients find their own answers, as well as the importance of therapists doing their own therapeutic work. Jana believes that healing is achievable for anyone and that therapists should support clients in finding their own path to healing.

Keywords: Jana Glass, brainspotting, perinatal mental health, trauma therapy, client-centered care, assumptions, client-led healing, safe space, asking questions, therapeutic work, healing journey

Takeaways

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background of Jana Glass

02:35 Empowering Clients to Heal and Be Present

06:16 Recognizing Unmet Needs and Providing Support

11:25 Accessing and Processing Trauma with Brain Spotting

19:54 Navigating Boundaries and Providing Client-Centered Care

25:46 Working Within Systems and Prioritizing Client Needs

28:09 The Power of Not Making Assumptions

34:14 Creating a Safe Space for Authentic Expression

45:02 Therapists Doing Their Own Therapeutic Work

46:53 Healing is Achievable for Anyone

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma across the perinatal period, from trying-to-conceive to pregnancy, from childbirth to postpartum and parenting. Through an inspirational quote that drives our weekly conversations about trauma and healing, Justine and Sarah explore topics such as birth trauma, parenting as a survivor, and finding healing with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

Jana Glass is a Licensed Professional Counselor certified in Brainspotting, Addictions, Perinatal Mental health, and Telemental health. She works with a wide spectrum of clients and her special interests include healing trauma, supporting people with substance use challenges, and prioritizing perinatal mental health and trauma. Jana is in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia and individuals and Families find relief and feel better.  She provides individual and group consultation as a certified brainspotting consultant and trainer. Jana educates professionals in a variety of topics including neurobiological approaches to trauma, Brainspotting Phase one and Phase two, Supporting  Birthgivers  with substance use during the perinatal period, and Connecting the rainbow: Healing perinatal trauma. Jana is passionate about helping to foster hope when faced with situations that appear hopeless.

Connect with Jana at www.supportivesolutionsga.com or facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SupportiveSolutionsGA, or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainbowconnector3?igsh=cmgzcWR0eG10bDIx&utm_source=qr, and professionals interested in Perinatal Mental Health and Trauma can join the Brainspotting and Perinatal Mental Health Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/1SLgKtfGfeyoDXwZ/?mibextid=K35XfP

This week, Liz Gray, LCSW, RPT, shares her birth story in which she explores the complex feelings she has about the OB at her birth, who provided physically good medical care but whose language and attitude was extremely harmful. Her story includes navigating a lack of trauma-informed care during infertility treatment, a birth center to hospital birth transfer, an unplanned a cesarean birth, and a misdiagnosis of "failure to thrive" for her baby by her first pediatrician. A thread that weaves throughout her story is the impact of our words and how not being trauma-informed can add layers of trauma to what are already challenging prenatal, childbirth, and postpartum experiences, especially for survivors of trauma.

To start our conversation, Liz shares the words of Kayleigh Summers, LCSW, PMH-C, from her Instagram (@thebirthtrauma_mama), who is also host of The Birth Trauma Mama Podcast.

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma in the perinatal period. Through an inspirational quote that drives the weekly content, Justine and Sarah explore various trauma areas with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

Liz Gray, LCSW, RPT is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist, and certified EMDR therapist in Illinois. She is a Highly Sensitive Person, wife, human & goldendoodle momma, organizer, forever learner, quiet leader, social introvert, think-outside-the-box creator, trauma survivor, and infertility warrier. Liz is the proud co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Maternal Health Directory, an online directory that connects women in all phases of trying to conceive, infertility, pregnancy, birth & early parenthood to trauma-informed health and mental health providers.

In this episode, Sarah brings in a quote from Simone Biles in her documentary "Rising." Join us as we find deep connections between Simone's words and the weight of expectations around the identity of motherhood and the narratives that bear down upon women's bodies. We find inspiration in Simone's story and how she said refused to perform for others when that would not be safe for herself.

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma in the perinatal period. Through an inspirational quote that drives the weekly content, Justine and Sarah explore various trauma areas with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals

In this episode, we are joined  by Kate White, who talks intimately about integrating implicit memories and her experience supporting mothers and babies through trauma-informed somatic healing approaches. She starts our conversation, which explores what healing from perinatal trauma can look like when we take into account the baby's experience of birth and what is happening in the relationship between parent and infant, by quoting her mentors John and Anna Chitty.

On the Resilient Birth podcast, Justine and Sarah explore the impact of trauma in the perinatal period. Through an inspirational quote that drives the weekly content, Justine and Sarah explore various trauma areas with vulnerability and compassion that support birthing people and birth professionals.

Each week, listeners leave with takeaways to utilize in their lives and/or clients. Justine and Sarah hold the stories they share with honor and respect with the hope to impart knowledge, increase understanding, and bear witness to this challenging topic.

Sarah is a licensed mental health counselor, educator, and mom of three. She walks with a story of trauma from before and as a result of her perinatal experience.

Justine supports survivors of trauma through perinatal coaching and childbirth education. As well as being a mother of three, she holds a Ph.D. on representations of consent and sexual violence.

Kate White is an award-winning educator and an advanced bodyworker. She is trained in somatic therapies, prenatal and perinatal somatic health, lactation, brain development, infant mental health, and has specialized in parent-baby dyad care using somatic prevention and trauma healing approaches for nearly 25 years. She is a mother of two children, holds a BA and MA in Communication, is a Registered Craniosacral Therapist in the Biodynamic Craniosacral method and a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner. Her work combines somatic trauma healing, energetic therapies, bodywork, pediatric therapies and education about the nervous system to help give families with babies and small children the best possible start. She is Founding Director of Education for the Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health where from 2013 – 2019 she created and ran the Prenatal and Perinatal Educator Certificate program, a large online educational program for professionals. She went on to found Prenatal and Perinatal Healing Online and the Prenatal and Perinatal Somatics Institute. She teaches classes online and in person, and offers a professional training called Integrated Prenatal and Perinatal Dynamics. She has a private practice in Charlottesville, VA called Belvedere Integrated Healing Arts (belvederearts.com) and offers her own seminars through the Center for Prenatal and Perinatal Programs, ppncenter.com

Learn more about Sarah and Justine's course called Trauma Informed Fundamentals here: https://resilient-birth.mykajabi.com/traumainformedfundamentals