The Weekend University

Dr Bessel van der Kolk is a clinician, researcher, and teacher who has spent his professional life studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences.

He specialises in translating emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of effective treatments for traumatic stress and developmental trauma in children and adults.

He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller: The Body Keeps the Score, the Founder of Trauma Center in Boston, and currently serves as President of the Trauma Research Foundation.

In this conversation, we explore:

— The role that neurofeedback can play in healing developmental trauma

— Dr van der Kolk’s study examining the effects of MDMA on PTSD

— The essential difference between those who were traumatised by the 9-11 attacks and those who weren’t

— How developmental trauma leads to deficits in sensory integration areas of the brain and the most effective treatments for addressing this.

And more.

You can learn more about Dr van der Kolk’s work by going to: https://traumaresearchfoundation.org/

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Bessel van der Kolk MD spends his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults.

In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. ​

His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center (now the Trauma Research Foundation) that consisted of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applied treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studied the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel.

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3 Books Dr van Der Kolk Recommends Every Therapist Should Read:

— John Bowlby - Attachment and Loss - https://amzn.to/4bOd3NK

— Daniel Stern - The Interpersonal World of the Infant - https://amzn.to/4e1aTf8

— Ed Tronick - The Neurobehavioral and Social-Emotional Development of Infants and Children (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) - https://amzn.to/459qIwa

In this interview, I’m joined by Derek Sivers.

Derek is the Founder of CD Baby — a company he sold for $22 million, and then gave pretty much everything to charity. He has written multiple bestselling books, given TED talks which have reached millions, and been a circus performer for 10 years.

There have been few people who have had a bigger positive impact on my thinking than Derek, so it was a real treat to sit down with him for an hour and have this conversation.

Expect to learn:

— The connection between your beliefs, your emotions, and your actions

— How Derek sold his company for $22 million and then instantly gave it all away to charity

— His unconventional approach to getting advice from mentors

— Why Derek has journalled every day for the past 13 years and why this is the “single most useful thing” he does.

And more.

You can learn more about Derek’s work, books, and philosophy at https://sive.rs.

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Derek Sivers graduated in 1990 from Berklee, where he majored in professional music. He entered as a guitarist and came out a self-proclaimed “everything guy” after studying voice, composition, piano, songwriting, music synthesis, and production.

Sivers is best known as the founder of CD Baby(Opens in a new window), the largest online distribution company for independent music. After years of touring, recording, and writing for TV projects, he started CD Baby from his bedroom—almost by accident. When he obtained a merchant account to sell his CDs online (not an easy task in the ’90s), musician friends began asking if he could sell their CDs. Soon he was getting calls from strangers, and the foundation for a business was laid. Sivers launched CD Baby in 1998 with a musician-centric ideology that sought to maximize musicians’ profits rather than minimize them for company gain.

In 2003, Sivers won the World Technology Award and was described by Esquire Magazine as “one of the last music-business folk heroes.” In keeping with his philanthropic ethos, Sivers sold CD Baby in 2008 and gave the proceeds to a charitable trust for music education.

In 2011, Sivers published Anything You Want(Opens in a new window), a book chronicling his challenges and triumphs founding, building, and selling CD Baby.

In 2013, Sivers launched Wood Egg(Opens in a new window), which publishes guides about how to build companies in Asia. He is a frequent speaker at the TED Conference, with over 5 million views of his talks.

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Interview Links:

— Derek’s website - https://sive.rs

Interview Links:

— Derek’s website - https://sive.rs

— Derek's new book - https://sive.rs/u

— Derek's new book (Amazon Link) - https://amzn.to/41HkBPz

In this episode, I’m joined by Linda Thai — a mental health clinician, storyteller, and educator who has had her own lived experiences of individual, collective, historical and cultural traumatization...and healing.

I’ve interviewed many fascinating individuals in the past seven years of running The Weekend University, but there was something different about Linda. It might have something to do with her getting off the grid and living in the wilderness in Alaska, or perhaps it's the eclectic self-education she has immersed herself in. Whatever it is, Linda brings to the table a unique and holistic perspective on attachment, that I think is years ahead of the conventional wisdom.

Expect to learn:

— The difference between psychology, trauma-informed psychology, culturally-informed psychology, and liberation informed psychology

— Where traditional attachment theory falls short

— Why we need to redefine the parameters of attachment and take an ecosystem view

And more.

You can learn more about Linda’s work and trainings at https://www.linda-thai.com/.

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Linda Thai, LMSW ERYT-200 is a trauma therapist and educator who specializes in brain and body-based modalities for addressing complex developmental trauma. Linda has worked with thousands of people from all over the world to promote mindfulness, recover from trauma, and tend to grief as a means of self care. Linda’s work centers on healing with a special focus on the experiences of adult children of refugees and immigrants. Her teaching is infused with empathy, storytelling, humor, research, practical tools, applied knowledge, and experiential wisdom.

She has assisted internationally renowned psychiatrist and trauma expert, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, with his private small group psychotherapy workshops aimed at healing attachment trauma. She has a Master of Social Work with an emphasis on the neurobiology of attachment and trauma.

Linda has studied Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, Brainspotting, Internal Family Systems, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment, Havening Touch, Flash Technique, and structural dissociation of the personality, and offers the Safe and Sound Protocol, yoga, and meditation within her practice. Linda works on the traditional lands of the Tanana Athabascan people (Fairbanks, Alaska) with those recovering from addiction, trauma, and mental illness. She is passionate about breaking the cycle of historical and intergenerational trauma at the individual and community levels.

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Interview Links:

Linda’s website - https://www.linda-thai.com/

Join Dr. Richard Schwartz for a life-changing nature immersion combining scenic walks on the breathtaking Camino de Santiago, with deep experiential Internal Family Systems (IFS) workshops along the way:

https://theweekenduniversity.com/ifs-camino

This experience is tailored for leaders interested in using IFS to create deep inner alignment, so that they can positively impact more lives through their work.

Participants will include high-impact creators and leaders from a wide range of backgrounds, including entrepreneurs, bestselling authors, broadcasters, executives, and coaches.

Dr Laurence Heller is the founder of the NeuroAffective Relational Model™ - often referred to as NARM. This is a psychobiological approach known to be highly effective for working with developmental trauma.

He is the author of “Healing Developmental Trauma”, which is currently published in more than 10 languages. For the past 20 years, Dr Heller has been conducting seminars in the NARM approach throughout the United States, Europe and soon to be worldwide.

In this conversation, we explore:

— Why NARM does not see the traumatic event as the primary issue and instead views the adaptations that we make to traumatising experiences as the primary issue

— The key differences between treating shock trauma and developmental trauma

— Why effective therapy requires much more than just extinguishing symptoms

— The NARM core survival styles

And more.

You can learn more about Dr Heller’s innovative work by going to: https://drlaurenceheller.com/

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Dr. Laurence Heller is the founder of the NeuroAffective Relational Model© (NARM), a specialized psychobiological approach to working with developmental trauma. He holds a Ph.D in psychology and was in private practice for over 30 years.

The NARM Model is presented in the best selling book Healing Developmental Trauma: How Early Trauma Affects Self-Regulation, Self-Image and the Capacity for Relationship, which is currently published in more than 15 languages.

His new book with Brad Kammer is The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma: Using the NeuroAffective Relational Model to Address Adverse Childhood Experiences and Resolve Complex Trauma presents the clinical model. He is also the co-author of Crash Course, a book on shock trauma: He speaks several languages fluently and for the past 30 years has been conducting seminars in the NARM approach throughout the United States and Europe. He and his teachers present NARM worldwide.

He is currently working on a project led by Christina Bethell, Ph.D , a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and others to bring a trauma-informed understanding to Pediatricians and General Practitioners throughout the U.S. Their first article for this project was published in 2021: Social and Relational Health Risks and Common Mental Health Problems Among US Children Published by Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America co-authored with Christina D. Bethell, PhD, MBA, MPH, (lead) Andrew S. Garner, MD, PhD, Narangerel Gombojav, MD, PhD, Courtney Blackwell, PhD, Tanar Mendelson, PhD

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3 Books Dr Laurence Heller Recommends Every Therapist Should Read:

— A General Theory of Love - Sir Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini and Richard Lannon - https://amzn.to/44DT01L

— The Power of Attachment - Diane Poole Heller - https://amzn.to/3WG7NH5

— Healing Development Trauma - Laurence Heller and Aline Lapierre - https://amzn.to/3UJiS7E

In this interview, I’m joined by two leading thinkers who are helping to reshape our understanding of consciousness, the nature of reality, and the pursuit of meaning in life: Dr Iain McGilchrist and Dr Bernardo Kastrup.

Iain is a neuroscientist, psychiatrist, author, and philosopher perhaps most well known for his Hemispheric Hypothesis and his books: The Master and his Emissary and The Matter with Things.

Bernardo is an author, scientist, philosopher, and the Director of the Essentia Foundation. He holds two PhDs - one in philosophy and the other in engineering. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental.

In this conversation, we explore:

— Their views on what consciousness is, the common ground in their thinking, and the differences

— The extent to Iain and Bernardo believe we live in a purposeful and intelligent universe, and their perspectives on the question of God

— Why they both consider truth to be the most important thing in life

— Where they see human life fitting into the larger whole and what case can be made that each of our individual subjective experiences do matter.

I hope you get as much from this fascinating discussion as I did from recording it. You can learn more about Iain’s work at https://channelmcgilchrist.com, and Bernardo’s at https://www.bernardokastrup.com.

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Dr Iain McGilchrist is a Psychiatrist and Writer. He is committed to the idea that the mind and brain can be understood only by seeing them in the broadest possible context, that of the whole of our physical and spiritual existence, and of the wider human culture in which they arise – the culture which helps to mould, and in turn is moulded by, our minds and brains. He was formerly a Consultant Psychiatrist of the Bethlem Royal and Maudsley NHS Trust in London, where he was Clinical Director of their southern sector Acute Mental Health Services.

Dr McGilchrist has published original research and contributed chapters to books on a wide range of subjects, as well as original articles in papers and journals, including the British Journal of Psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry, The Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times. He has taken part in many radio and TV programmes, documentaries, and numerous podcasts, and interviews on YouTube, among them dialogues with Jordan Peterson, David Fuller of Rebel Wisdom, and philosopher Tim Freke. His books include Against Criticism, The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning, and Ways of Attending. He published his latest book: The Matter With Things, a book of epistemology and metaphysics. You can keep up to date with his work at https://channelmcgilchrist.com.

Bernardo Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the ‘Casimir Effect’ of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, his ideas have been featured on Scientific American, the Institute of Art and Ideas, the Blog of the American Philosophical Association and Big Think, among others. Bernardo’s most recent book is Science Ideated: The fall of matter and the contours of the next mainstream scientific worldview. For more information, freely downloadable papers, videos, etc., please visit https://www.bernardokastrup.com.

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Interview Links:

— Dr McGilchirst's website - https://channelmcgilchrist.com

— Dr Kastrup's website - https://www.bernardokastrup.com

This week, we welcome Francis Lucille to the show, a renowned teacher of the nondual understanding, who has dedicated his life to helping individuals uncover the ultimate truth of consciousness and reality.

Drawing from decades of exploration and teaching, Francis shares insights on some of the following topics:

— The ultimate purpose of human life

— Why happiness is our natural state

— How psychological suffering stems from a belief in separation

— Why saying “yes” to life aligns us with consciousness.

And more.

You can learn more about Francis’s work and teachings at https://francislucille.com.

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Francis Lucille is a spiritual teacher in the tradition of Advaita Vedanta. A longtime friend and disciple of Jean Klein whom he met in 1975, he was a friend of Robert Linssen, Wolter Keers, Yvan Amar, William Samuel and Robert Adams. He was also influenced by J. Krishnamurti, Krishna Menon and Wei Wu Wei, whom he knew personally. Many contemporary Advaita teachers have attended his teaching events.

Francis transmits the ancient teaching of nonduality, the common ground of Advaita Vedanta, Ch’an Buddhism, Zen, Taoism and Sufism. Francis’ teachings are not “Neo-Advaitic” but traditional, which means that the experience of our true nature has been transmitted from generation to generation by a lineage of sages.

They reflect those of his guru: appreciation for humor, art, music, and poetry, intellectual rigor with a “personal” twist due to his training in Mathematics and Physics, and emphasis on the body and its feelings.

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Interview Links:

— Francis’ website - https://francislucille.com

In this interview, I’m joined by Seán ÓLaoire - a clinical psychologist, author, modern day mystic, and former priest with a P.h.D in transpersonal psychology.

His book: “Setting God Free” explores the harmful effects our image of God as a judgemental father figure in the sky has had on our psychology - both individually and collectively.

In this conversation, we explore:

— Seán’s unique approach to creating a “personal cosmology” and how best to create your own

— How problems can be a path to self transcendence, if the right steps are taken

— What “christ consciousness” is and how to cultivate more of this in your life

— How Seán uses the Jungian practice of “seeding dreams” to gain insights and wisdom from a higher intelligence.

And more.

You can learn more about Seán’s work at https://spiritsinspacesuits.com.

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Seán was awarded a BSc degree (major in Mathematics) from the National University of Ireland. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1972 and spent the next 14 years working among the Kalenjin people of East Africa. He is multi-lingual, speaking six languages. In 1983, Seán authored his first book, written in Kiswahili, "Ukweli ni Nini?" (What is Truth?)

Dr. ÓLaoire has a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology and is a licensed Clinical Psychologist. Seán lectures and conducts scientific research on the effects of prayer.

Fr. Seán is a Co-Founder and Spiritual Director of Companions on the Journey (COJ), a spiritual community which seeks to recognize the God/divinity within each of us and among all of us. COJ is an independent, non-hierarchical Eucharistic community dedicated to aligning itself with God and healing the separations between us. Each individual's spirituality is seen as derived from his/her own experiences of God, immanent and transcendent, and is illuminated by the teachings of Christ and the wisdom of other spiritual traditions.

The "We Are One" interview at the left was done in 2003 and gives a good flavor for Seán's thinking and style of teaching. In the "On the Experience of Divine Guidance" video of 1999, Seán discusses seeking, receiving and following Divine guidance from the perspective of the Christian tradition. For an in–depth synopsis of Seán's teachings, please visit his cosmology page.

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Interview Link:

— Seán’s website - https://spiritsinspacesuits.com

This week, we welcome Alexis Dean to the show. Alexis is the founder of Dovetail Community—a global network for female entrepreneurs dedicated to fostering authentic connections and mutual support.

This episode explores her journey of building an intentional community and the transformative impact this can have on personal and professional life.

Expect to learn:

— Why building an authentic community is critical for entrepreneurs.

— The principles behind creating psychological safety in groups.

— How to overcome isolation and build meaningful connections from scratch.

— Why Alexis believes that "exclusively inclusive" communities are key to thriving.

And more.

You can learn more about Alexis and the Dovetail Community at https://dovetail.community.

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Alexis Dean is the Founder and Lead Facilitator of Two Roads, established in 2015. With over 12 years of experience as a facilitator, trainer, speaker, and educator, Alexis has worked with more than 200 corporate teams and school faculties across 21 countries.

Her expertise is rooted in a robust academic foundation, including a Bachelor of Education in Experiential Education from Queen's University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Adult Training and Development from the University of Toronto. Additionally, Alexis is trained in the XCHANGE facilitation methodology, based on Appreciative Inquiry, which informs her distinctive approach to fostering and scaling exceptional organizational cultures within diverse groups.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Alexis is the host of the Dovetail Community for Women Entrepreneurs. In her personal time, she enjoys outdoor adventures, including trail running, canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, skiing, and snowshoeing, alongside her partner, Scott, and their dog, Albi.

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Interview Links:

— Alexis' website - https://dovetail.community

Dr. Martha Beck is a Harvard-trained sociologist, bestselling author, and renowned life coach known for her transformative work on living in alignment with your true self.

With decades of experience blending science, spirituality, and practical tools, Martha’s insights have helped countless individuals overcome anxiety, unlock creativity, and live with greater integrity.

Expect to learn:

— Why the right hemisphere of your brain holds the key to creativity, connection, and meaning.

— Why anxiety spirals dominate modern life—and how to break free from them.

— The three fundamental questions your brain is always asking and how to answer them.

— The importance of creating a “sanctuary” to restore peace and calm to your life and Martha’s tips on how best to do this.

And more.

You can learn more about Martha’s work and latest book: “Beyond Anxiety” at https://marthabeck.com.

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Dr. Martha Beck, PhD, is a bestselling author, coach, and speaker. She has spent a lifetime offering powerful, practical, and entertaining teachings that help people improve every aspect of their lives. Martha holds three Harvard degrees in social science, and Oprah Winfrey has called her “one of the smartest women I know.”

Martha’s published works include several self-help books and memoirs, including New York Times and international bestsellers Finding Your Own North Star, The Joy Diet, and Expecting Adam. She has also published over 150 magazine articles, including almost two decades of monthly columns for O, The Oprah Magazine.

Martha is a passionate and engaging speaker, known for her characteristic blending of science, spirituality, and humor. As “the best-known life coach in America” (NPR, USA Today), she has spoken to audiences around the world on stage and on The Oprah Show, Good Morning America, and many other television programs.

International nature-based retreats are also a big part of Martha’s work. Seminar participants travel from all over the world to attend her annual retreats in South Africa and Costa Rica. The rest of the time she lives in the Pennsylvania woods with her family and other assorted creatures. Her passions include nature, pajamas, and YouTube videos of unlikely animal companions.

Martha’s recent book, The Way of Integrity: Finding the Path to Your True Self, was an instant New York Times Best Seller and Oprah’s Book Club selection. Her forthcoming non-fiction book, Beyond Anxiety: Curiosity, Creativity, and Finding Your Life’s Purpose, will be out on January 7, 2025.

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Interview Link:

— Dr Martha Beck’s website - https://marthabeck.com