The Web: Weaving Psychology and Soul in Circle

In this episode of The Web: Weaving Psychology and Soul in Circle, Carrie sits down with Andrew L. Brimhall, PhD, Assistant Director of Training and Group Services at Colorado State University's Health Network, where he oversees the training of doctoral psychology interns in Interpersonal Process Group Therapy.

Together, they explore what it means to stay with the process when difference, tension, or rupture enters the group room. Drawing from Andrew's Yalom-inspired and social justice-informed approach, they talk about working with differences in identity, power, neurodivergence, lived experience, and political beliefs—and the responsibility facilitators hold when harm or rupture occurs. They also explore how easily groups can get pulled into the content of a conversation, and what becomes possible when we help members move underneath the content toward the feelings, fears, needs, and relational patterns unfolding in the here and now.

You'll hear:

• How to stay with the process when the content becomes compelling

• Ways of working with difference, identity, and power in groups

• What facilitators can attend to when harm or rupture occurs

• How to move beneath content toward the relational process unfolding in the room

• The role of curiosity and immediacy when things get complicated

• How a social justice-informed lens can deepen interpersonal process work

Carrie and Andrew will also be teaching together this November in Fort Collins in Here and Now: An Experiential Training in Group Dynamics and Interpersonal Process, a two-day experience for therapists who want to deepen their understanding of process groups through both learning and direct experience.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0)

Music powered by BreakingCopyright

Additional music from Alsever Lake and Reveille

In this episode of The Web: Weaving Psychology and Soul in Circle, Carrie sits down with Carlos Canales, group therapist and educator, for a grounded conversation about bringing somatic awareness into group work.

Carlos shares how his early life in Peru and immigration to the United States shaped his understanding of belonging, community, and agency. Together, they explore why group can feel more "real" than individual therapy, how the body carries our histories and defenses, and what becomes possible when facilitators invite clients to slow down and listen to their embodied experience, both in in-person and virtual groups.

This episode offers a thoughtful and accessible look at how somatic work can deepen connection, vitality, and coherence in groups.

You'll hear:

• How Carlos' early life and immigration story shaped his understanding of belonging and group life

• Why group therapy can feel more complex—and more alive—than individual work

• What it means to bring somatic awareness into process-oriented groups

• How the body signals safety, openness, defense, and connection in real time

• A simple, powerful example of how slowing down changes what we can receive and integrate

• The challenges and possibilities of doing somatic work in virtual groups

• How attention to the body supports agency, coherence, and deeper relational presence

• Why vitality, rest, and integration matter for therapists and group leaders

For therapists, group facilitators, and anyone curious about the meeting place of body, relationship, and healing, this episode offers a thoughtful and accessible exploration of how somatic work can transform the life of a group.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

Additional music from Alsever Lake, Artax, LNDÕ, and Moments: https://app.soundstripe.com/private_playlists/music/556586

In this episode of The Web: Weaving Psychology and Soul in Circle, Carrie sits down with Ryan Spencer, LMFT, a Certified Group Psychotherapist whose work bridges modern analytic theory and process-oriented group practice. Together, they explore the subtle relational movements that shape every group: the ways we reach toward connection, pull back for protection, and return when the moment feels right.

Through Ryan's clarity and depth, contact function becomes a lens for understanding not only how groups grow, but how people navigate closeness, vulnerability, and repair.

You'll hear:

• What contact function means in the context of modern analytic and process groups

• How reaching, withdrawing, and returning create the rhythm of group experience

• Why paying attention to these micro-movements deepens safety, insight, and cohesion

• Ways facilitators can track relational cues in real time

• How these patterns reveal the emotional life of the group

• Practical examples of contact function unfolding in live group process

For therapists, circle leaders, and anyone captivated by the alchemy of human connection, this conversation offers a rich and grounded understanding of what makes groups transformational.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

Additional Music from:

Reveille - Keep On Keepin' On

Emorie - Wild (Stripped)

Falls - At Long Last

Heartland Nights - Midnight Square Dance

Carrie Haynes returns from her first fall retreat with reflections on the unseen work that made the experience so beautiful and easeful.

In this episode of The Web: Weaving Psychology and Soul in Circle, Carrie explores the relational preparation that begins long before a retreat — conversations with first-time participants, attunement to returning ones, and quiet listening for what each circle is ready to become.

You'll hear:

• Why most retreat leaders skip pre-screening — and what's lost when they do

• How early connection shapes safety, depth, and group cohesion

• Ways to prepare both new and returning participants

• Options for pre-retreat preparation when 1:1 calls aren't feasible

• Why this process supports the facilitator's own nervous system

• How pre-retreat tending lets the magic of retreat truly unfold

For facilitators wanting to learn Carrie's full pre-retreat process — including her structure, questions, and mentorship on applying it in your own work — visit carriehayneslpc.com/mentorship.

🎧 Listen now and begin preparing your next retreat from the inside out.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

In this episode of The Web, I'm sharing a very personal journey — how I've been practicing essentialism this past year and what it's teaching me about life, home, and Circle.

By nature, I'm someone with a thousand ideas and endless excitement for new possibilities. I love that about myself, but it can also leave me spread too thin, frantic, and giving myself away. Learning to let go — to do less, but better — has been revolutionary for me, and it continues to be a work in progress.

In this episode, I explore: ✨ What happened when I pared down my business to focus on Circle ✨ How decluttering my home created surprising peace and clarity ✨ The perennial spiritual wisdom that connects simplicity with freedom ✨ Why facilitators often hide in chaos — and what changes when we distill our work ✨ How I learned, through retreat prep, that adding more can dilute the magic ✨ Circle itself as the perfect example of "less, but better" ✨ Simple reflections to help you empty your own bowl

This practice of essentialism isn't about perfection. It's about courageously letting go of the clutter so there's room for what matters most. My hope is that hearing my story encourages you to find your own way of choosing less — and discovering the more that's waiting there for you.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

What if the very reasons you think you can't step away—the lack of time, the money worries, the doubt—are actually the clearest signs that you need to?

In this final episode of The Circle Revealed summer series, I'm opening the door to The Well—my annual retreat and experiential training in Colorado for therapists, healers, and guides who are longing for more soul in their work and more spaciousness in their lives.

Inside this conversation, I share:

• Why Circle is the antidote to depletion, disconnection, and burnout

• How The Well blends restorative retreat with experiential training in Circlework

• Reflections from women who've come before—what they discovered, and how it rippled into their work and lives

Whether you're feeling the therapy room grow too tight, sensing a call to community, or curious about stepping into facilitation yourself, The Well may be your next threshold.

✨ Learn more and apply here: carriehayneslpc.com/thewell

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

In this fourth episode of The Circle Revealed series, I'm pulling back the curtain on the Seven Pillars that form the foundation of every sacred, life-changing Circle I lead.

These principles—rooted in the lineage of my mentor, Jalaja Bonheim—are the invisible architecture that makes Circle a place of safety, depth, and transformation. Whether you've been in a Circle before, are considering joining one, or feel called to hold these spaces yourself, the Seven Pillars offer a map for creating gatherings that nourish both heart and soul.

In this episode, I explore: ✨ The larger web of connection that shapes our work together ✨ Spirituality in its most open, inclusive form ✨ The power of the circle shape itself as a symbol of wholeness ✨ The essential role of the feminine in leadership and healing ✨ Why embodiment changes what's possible in a group ✨ How we learn to be in healthy relationship again ✨ Spaciousness as an antidote to the frantic pace of life

These Pillars aren't just concepts—they're living practices that ripple outward into our relationships, communities, and the world. My hope is that they offer you something to lean on in your own healing, leadership, and way of being.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com

In this third episode of The Circle Revealed series, I'm joined by Constance Wilson, Carla Canfield, and Tiffany Lehman—three thoughtful and courageous women whose journeys into Circle began with The Well, my experiential retreat for therapists and healing professionals.

Their initial retreat experience opened the door to unexpected transformation, which deepened through The Nest, my six-month mentorship program that includes a practice retreat for integration and facilitation.

In this conversation, they reflect on: ✨What first drew them to Circle ✨The surprising depth of healing that emerged at The Well ✨Challenges and inner blocks they faced along the way ✨How Circle has shaped their lives, work, and relationships ✨The power of connection and shared growth within the group

Their stories offer a grounded and heartfelt glimpse into what unfolds when women step into spaces that invite presence, vulnerability, and belonging.

Guests:

• Constance Wilson – www.deep-medicine.com

• Carla Canfield – www.carlacanfield.com

• Tiffany Lehman – www.tiffanylehman.com

Learn more: www.carriehayneslpc.comDirection: Carrie Haynes Production: Hayley Lewis

Music: Song: Embrace Composer: Sappheiros

Additional Music from Alsever Lake:

Alsever Lake is an acoustic, calming soundscape that surrounds you in the tranquil, peaceful environment found only in nature.

Songs used - Lantern Light, HAGFD, The Ides of March, Through the Dust and Pines

In this second episode of The Circle Revealed, I sit down with psychotherapist Maggie Robbins, whose life and work have been profoundly shaped by stepping into Circle.

With advanced training in EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy, Maggie brings a grounded, relational presence to her work. But it was Circle that opened a deeper doorway—one that continues to shape how she holds space, connects with clients, and lives into her own healing path.

In this episode, Maggie shares: ✨ What first drew her toward Circle—and why she kept coming back ✨ The subtle but powerful ways Circle has deepened her clinical work ✨ How Circle differs from traditional group therapy ✨ Why connection, presence, and shared vulnerability are central to healing ✨ Her reflections on being a therapist who also needed to be held

Whether you're a clinician exploring group work or someone simply curious about what Circle makes possible, Maggie's story is an honest, soulful window into the kind of transformation that unfolds when we say yes.

Let's begin.

Guest: Maggie Robbins Website: www.maggierobbins.net

Direction: Carrie Haynes Production: Hayley Lewis Music: Song: Embrace Composer: Sappheiros License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) Music powered by BreakingCopyright

Additional Music from Reveille:

Organically grown instrumentals by Brendan St. Gelais

Songs used - Road to Nowhere, One Last Hurrah, Finish Line

In this first full episode of The Circle Revealed, I share what makes Circle different from therapy—not as a replacement, but as a powerful remembering.

For so many therapists and healing professionals, there comes a point when something begins to feel too tight. The therapy room starts to feel clinical, the pace unsustainable, and the sacred… missing.

That's where Circle comes in. It's not a modality—it's a way of being. A field we co-create.

In this episode, I share:

✨ Why therapy alone sometimes leaves us feeling stretched, isolated, or disconnected ✨ A pivotal turning point in my own journey that led me to discover Circle ✨ The three foundational gifts Circle offers that most therapy spaces forget: — Wholeness as the ground, not the goal — Embodiment as a sacred portal — Spaciousness that heals ✨ A deeper reflection on why Circle speaks to this cultural moment—and why now matters

Whether you're a therapist feeling the quiet ache for something more… Or simply someone curious about what happens inside a Circle… This episode offers a grounded, soulful invitation to explore.

Let's begin.

Direction: Carrie Haynes

Production: Hayley Lewis

Music:

Song: Embrace

Composer: Sappheiros

Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZVHXQZAIn9WJXvy6qn9K0

License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com