In this powerful spoken word poem, Beyond the Frame, Kate explores the impossible expectations placed on trauma survivors to keep their healing tidy, quiet, and contained. This episode dives deep into the messy, raw reality of recovery—the kind that refuses to fit inside the 50-minute therapy hour.

Beyond the Frame gives voice to those who have been told they are “too much,” who have starved their pain into silence only to be told they’re still not enough.

If you’ve ever felt like your trauma didn’t fit inside the systems designed to treat it, or like your story was too complicated to be heard, this poem is for you.

Copyright ©2025 Kate Earley

Music: Where is My Love by Micha Phillipp

Written: March 18, 2025

In this powerful episode, Kate shares her original spoken word poem, Clinically Speaking—a raw, unflinching exploration of trauma, dissociation, and the silences that exist within the clinical world. As a pediatric nurse practitioner and survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Kate weaves her personal experience with professional insight, illuminating the painful intersection between healthcare, PTSD, and identity.

Clinically Speaking gives voice to what’s often left unsaid in trauma narratives: the coded language, the sanitized histories, and the invisible weight of shame that impacts both the body and the mind. This piece explores the struggle of living with dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the cost of minimizing your own pain to make it easier for others to bear.

Through evocative imagery and clinical language, Kate highlights the devastating consequences of silence, from chronic illness to emotional isolation. This poem is a call for recognition—for survivors to be seen, heard, and believed.

If you’ve ever felt invisible inside the healthcare system or struggled to name your own pain, this spoken word piece will resonate deeply.

In this powerful spoken word poetry episode, Kate Earley explores the complex, often painful experience of reenacting trauma patterns in therapy. The Red Pen speaks to the struggle of navigating attachment, survival, and silence—especially when reaching out for help feels like breaking an unspoken rule.

Through raw, vulnerable storytelling, Kate captures the impossible choice between protecting others’ comfort and saving herself. This piece explores themes of childhood trauma, survival coping mechanisms, self-blame, and the lifelong impact of being taught that love means not needing too much.

If you’ve ever felt trapped between silence and survival, or questioned the invisible rules in healing spaces, this poem will speak to you.

Copyright ©2025 Kate Earley

Music: Je te laisserai des mots (composer: Patrick Watson) performed by Micha Phillip

March 9, 2025

“Can You Leave a Light On?” is a spoken word poetry piece about the aching space between therapy sessions—the silence, the uncertainty, and the desperate need for reassurance. It explores the feeling of relying on someone to help navigate the dark, only to be left searching for light in their absence.

With raw vulnerability, this piece captures the quiet unraveling that happens in between, when the flashlight flickers, the echoes fade, and all that’s left is the hope that they’ll return.

Listen now for an intimate reflection on therapy, attachment, and the longing for something steady in the dark.

Copyright ©2025 Kate Earley

Music: Remember Me (piano instrumental)

What does it mean to stand outside, looking in? To carry the weight of others’ pain while no one carries yours? In this raw and haunting spoken word poem, I explore the loneliness of trauma, the struggle to be seen, and the deep unfairness of giving so much while receiving so little in return.

Inspired by my own experiences as a nurse holding space for dying children, this piece unpacks grief, dissociation, and the longing for connection in a world that often moves on too easily. Through visceral imagery and rhythmic storytelling, Looking In captures the aching contrast between those who suffer in silence and those who live without ever feeling the weight of it.

🔹 Themes: Trauma, dissociation, PTSD, emotional isolation, healing, spoken word poetry

🔹 Perfect for listeners who resonate with: Mental health struggles, survivor stories, deep emotional expression, poetry as healing

If you’ve ever felt like you’re standing in the cold, watching the world continue without you—this one’s for you.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe for more poetry and reflections on mental health, resilience, and the unspoken parts of our stories.

#SpokenWordPoetry #TraumaHealing #MentalHealth #Dissociation #PoetryPodcast #HealingThroughWords #PTSDRecovery #EmotionalExpression

Copyright ©2025 Kate Earley

Music: Experience by Micha Phillipp

“You Hold Me With Gloves On” is a raw reflection on transference—the ache of seeing a therapist as a mother, a caretaker, or a lifeline, only to be met with professional detachment. It captures the struggle of seeking warmth in a space built on boundaries, of feeling like a case study instead of a person, a patient instead of someone to be loved.

Through vivid metaphors of sterile fields, rubber gloves, and glass barriers, this piece gives voice to the unspoken grief of transference—the way it makes us reach, even when we know we won’t be held.

This episode is for anyone who has ever felt the sting of one-sided attachment, the loneliness of weekend gaps between sessions, or the quiet devastation of a therapist who will never be the caretaker they need.

Listen now for a powerful, unfiltered reflection on transference, longing, and the spaces between us.

Subscribe for more spoken word pieces and conversations on trauma, healing, and the human need for connection.

#SpokenWord #PoetryPodcast #MentalHealth #Transference #TherapeuticDistance #Healing #Attachment #DevelopmentalTrauma #KateEarley

Copyright ©2025 Kate Earley

Music: Forbidden by Rob Costlow

In this emotionally charged episode of Unspoken, we present “The Velveteen Rabbit”—a powerful spoken word poem that explores the deep pain of being misunderstood and the struggle to express hidden truths. Using evocative symbolism drawn from the classic tale, this poem captures the silent cry for help when words feel too heavy to speak.

Copyright © 2025 Kate Earley

Music: One step forward, three steps back (Olivia Rodrigo) cover by Minnz Piano

In this raw and emotional episode, I share the vulnerable moment I disclosed my childhood trauma to my therapist, only to be met with silence—no tears, no visible emotion. This haunting stillness left me questioning whether my pain was ever “bad enough” to warrant empathy, either from her or from myself.

Join me as I explore the complex dynamics of therapy, the struggle to be truly seen and heard, and the weight of emotional detachment in moments of vulnerability. This episode delves into themes of childhood trauma, emotional validation, and the challenges of navigating mental health care. If you’re interested in understanding how unresolved trauma and silence in therapy can impact healing, this candid reflection is for you.

Keywords: childhood trauma, therapy, mental health, emotional vulnerability, emotional detachment, empathy, healing, psychotherapy, raw emotional storytelling.

Copyright © 2025 Kate Earley

Music: It’s Happening Again by Agnes Obel

In this compelling episode, I delve into the often superficial application of the term “trauma-informed” within institutions and among professionals. While intended to signify a deep understanding of trauma’s pervasive nature and a commitment to fostering healing environments, this label frequently becomes a mere checkbox—discarded when confronted with the raw, inconvenient realities of genuine trauma.

Through evocative spoken word poetry, I confront the hypocrisy of performative allyship and the commodification of suffering for professional gain. This episode serves as a poignant reflection on the quiet betrayal experienced by those who dare to occupy space and voice their truths.

Key Themes:

Critique of Performative ‘Trauma-Informed’ Practices: Examining how the term is often misused, leading to environments that may inadvertently re-traumatize rather than heal.

The Reality of Trauma-Informed Care: Highlighting the importance of truly understanding and considering the pervasive nature of trauma to promote genuine healing and recovery.

Spoken Word as a Medium for Advocacy: Utilizing poetry to challenge superficial support and advocate for authentic allyship.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of trauma and may be triggering for some listeners. Please listen with care.

Join me as I unmask the facade of “trauma-informed” care and advocate for a deeper, more authentic understanding of what it means to support those who have endured trauma.

Music: Lights Are On by Tom Rosenthal

Copyright © 2025 Kate Earley

Welcome to Season 5 of Unspoken, a spoken word poetry podcast by Kate Earley.

This season is called The Space Between Us, and it explores the complex emotional landscape of therapy, transference, and clinical boundaries.

In this introduction to Season 5, Kate reflects on what it’s like to be in therapy as a trauma survivor—especially when you’re autistic, and when the systems designed to help often push away the people who need care the most. These spoken word poems dive deep into the quiet pain of clinical distance, the heartbreak of reaching for someone who cannot—or will not—reach back, and the grief of connection that’s carefully measured and withheld.

If you’ve ever felt the ache of wanting more from your therapist than the boundaries allow…

If you’ve been labeled “too much” or “too complex” for trauma treatment…

If you’ve been turned away from care because you didn’t fit into a system’s idea of who deserves help…

This season is for you.

The Space Between Us examines the one-sided intimacy of therapeutic relationships, the emotional toll of transference and counter-transference, and the heartbreak of healing in systems that pride themselves on being “trauma-informed” until trauma gets too close.

Listen to Season 5 of Unspoken and explore the truths we carry quietly—the ones we’re told not to speak.