Episodes

Elaine and Analiza will discuss the double-bind dilemma - damned if you do and doomed if you don't and how women and women of color can manage it. They also discuss how allies and organizations can support women of color.Because our culture has an unconscious bias of how each gender should be, women are caught in a double bind. When caught in a double bind, doing one thing we need to do will undercut another equally important thing. In this case, if we act in ways consistent with gender stereoty...

Shannon Biteng of the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) is the Trauma Informed Organization Manager. She will share the development and implementation of the ODHS Trauma Aware Program. The program supports over 12,000 human services professionals dedicated to assisting 1.5 million Oregonians in accessing essential resources and enhancing their overall well-being. She will share how the Trauma Aware initiatives foster resilience, promote well-being, and strive to empower individuals affe...

Brendan Ozawa-de Silva will share the multifaceted concept of empathy, highlighting its various definitions in scientific literature. He expresses that most definitions of empathy overlook a crucial component: embodied joint action with others. From evolutionary and developmental perspectives, joint action emerges as pivotal to the function of empathy. Our nervous systems are inherently wired to resonate with one another, enabling us to synchronize our bodies by observing the intentions and move...

Media Executive Michelle Hord was no stranger to trauma. Having started her professional career as an award-winning producer on America’s Most Wanted, she expertly guided families through every facet of unthinkable crises. Later, she covered heartbreaking stories while working at The Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America. She sat with survivors of the unimaginable. When the unimaginable struck at home, her world changed forever. In her memoir, The Other Side of Yet: Finding Light In The Mi...

Integrating the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) into the multifaceted landscape of higher education carries its own complexity. Under the guidance of Erica Coates, Virginia Tech’s CRM teachers are actively engaged in not only cultivating equilibrium within their own nervous systems but also disseminating Zone language and skills throughout their student body, faculty, and various departments. In our dialogue, we'll delve into the mental health needs of our transitioning young adults as they pur...

Across the globe, there exists a pressing demand for effective treatment of complex trauma. While a growing number of trauma-informed mental health professionals dedicate themselves to supporting individuals, relationships, communities, and systems, the daily confrontation with trauma can take a toll, leading to exhaustion and burnout. Who stands ready to provide support to these therapists and aiding professionals along their professional journey? Brad Kammer, a Somatic Psychotherapist, Educato...

Dr. Luissa Kiprono will share the wisdom she gained from her remarkable journey. She had the desire to help people inspired from a young age. Becoming a women’s physician—first OBGYN, then maternal-fetal medicine—allowed her to fulfill this desire. When she cared for patients of all ages, from all walks of life through residency and fellowship in academia, as a military doctor, and in private practice, she discovered a privilege incomparable with anything she had ever experienced: the power of d...

One of the most significant sources of suffering comes from our human tendency to avoid difficult emotions. We are not taught how to face these unpleasant, often daily inner experiences, so we tend to push them away, ignore them, or become unwittingly overwhelmed by them. Yet how we meet and greet these difficult emotions has everything to do with our well-being, resilience, and ability to connect with ourselves and others. Instinctually, we fight against our uncomfortable emotions. In doing so,...

Britt Frank, LSCSW, will share the key concepts and methods expressed in her book, The Science of Stuck, Breaking Through Inertia to Find Your Path Forward. Ms. Frank states that we all experience stuckness in our lives—in our relationships, careers, our bodies, addiction issues, and more. We know we need to move forward but don’t know how creating a loop of self-doubt that goes nowhere. The problem has been exacerbated by the isolation and setbacks of the pandemic, resulting in burnout, dissati...

Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, will turn the table and be interviewed during Women’s History Month by her colleague and friend, Dr. Michael Sapp. She will discuss with Dr. Sapp a concept that she calls the “Rebecca Effect.” The “Rebecca Effect is the empowerment and transformation possible for all of us who have been oppressed, marginalized, or shamed. Her ideas were sparked by the fictional character Rebecca Welton, the owner of the fictional Richmond football team in the T...

We all have many beliefs about why we may act out sexually or with drugs and alcohol in ways of which we are not proud. For those of us within certain religious communities, some of those beliefs may include personal weakness or a disconnection from God. With this theology, the more we act out, the more we see proof that we are unworthy of connection, both human and divine. From a neurobiological perspective, we may act out because we are managing difficult emotions like anxiety and depression. ...

The is Part 2. The nurse midwives, Molly Jobe and Hanna Walters, and childbirth education teacher Tracey Goddard Johnson return to Resiliency Within to continue the discussion on how they are improving the mind and body health and well-being of pregnant people, birth givers, and new parents through their innovative programs. They will share how they have implemented the Community Resiliency Model through their Wellness Within project, which is a community-based research project taking place at t...

Resiliency is found at every stage of the recovery process; from the very beginning of wanting to continue living without a substance, a person’s brain may have convinced him/her it needs to survive. This is a remarkably courageous first step. Tolerating the withdrawals, shame, and existential crisis soon follow, and millions of people have been able to stop this cycle, while many others cannot break free. Why? Dr. Blair Steel will explore the correlates of successful recovery and the targeted i...

The Atlanta Birth Center’s Nurse-Midwives, Molly Jobe and Hannah Walters, and Childbirth Educator, Tracey Goddard-Johnson, will present its innovative Wellness Within Project. The Atlanta Birth Center is a Georgia-based non-profit organization that operates Atlanta’s only freestanding, nationally accredited birth center, providing an optimal birth experience as anticipated by a childbearing woman and her family. They offer a home-like environment with a program of family-centered care before, du...

Clarence Nero will share his wisdom from his lived experience and his contributions to youth with innovative writing projects. He is an Associate Professor at Baton Rouge Community College, author, and screenwriter whose accomplishments include his critically acclaimed novel, Cheekie: A Child Out of Desire, nominated for ’Best Books for Young Adults’ by the American Library Association and selected as ’One of the Best First Novels’ by Library Journal which he adapted into a screenplay and is cur...

Survivors of childhood family trauma typically go through many stages in their path to healing. Kaytee highlights 6 of them: pre-awareness, uncovering, digging in, healing, understanding, and nurturing. Using elements from her clinical work, as well as personal experience, she provides support and tips for survivors navigating the healing journey. Kaytee will discuss the stages and provide insights into healing childhood family trauma. Most of us are only starting to become aware of how our foun...

Resiliency Within celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King. This year, on Martin Luther King's Day, Dr. Brenda Ingram, who has made significant contributions to our collective understanding of Resilience, Recovery and Resistance will be my guest. She has co-authored a chapter in the book titled Black Women and Resilience: Power, Perseverance, and Public Health. The chapter she contributed Resilience, Recovery, and Resistance: Black Women Overcoming Intersectional Complex Trauma will be the fo...

Dr. Ravii Chandra will share his wisdom and personal reflections about how we can amplify compassion to contain cruelty and abuse. Dr. Chandra's inspired words reflect what is important for all of us to remember at this time in our history. He said, The voices of all marginalized individuals and communities are profoundly important for the future because our survival and growth as a nation and world depend on empathy and compassion for vulnerability. When we see each other, when we see our own v...

What causes schizophrenia? Is it a genetic glitch or are environmental factors at play? A combination of the two? Whatever the reason, what medication and course of action will give the patient the best chance at a normal life? Of all the mental illnesses, schizophrenia eludes us the most. Despite the strides scientists have made in neurological research and doctors have made in psychiatric treatment, schizophrenia remains misunderstood, almost complacently mythologized. Without a reason for the...

In Crusade to Heal America, Judy Pearson shares the never-before-told story of Mary Lasker, a woman who was savvy, steely, and deliberate, with the goal of eliminating human suffering. While scientists looked at disease as a problem to be solved, Lasker saw it as a beast to be slain. Her first step was creating, with her husband Albert, the Lasker Foundation, which bestows annual awards for medical research. Next, they reimagined—and renamed—the American Cancer Society, greatly increasing the do...

As individuals committed to humanitarian work, DisasterReady is dedicated to upholding the core values of compassion for humanity. Their mission revolves around the vital aspects of preserving lives, alleviating suffering, and safeguarding the inherent dignity of all individuals affected by crises without any form of discrimination. This commitment extends not only to those we aid but also to ensuring the safety and well-being of our own dedicated workforce and volunteers. However, witnessing th...

Allan Sussman, M.D. will share his new book, Saving the Art of Medicine (2023) on Resiliency Within. Many doctors have become despondent, working within a commodified system that pushes for speed and efficiency and profit over patient care. Early in his endocrinology career, Allen Sussman, MD, clinical assistant professor at the University of Washington counted himself among them. When an injury kept him from playing piano, he explored new outlets and was drawn to study meditation and the princi...

Empatico’s mission is to empower school-aged students all around the globe to form meaningful connections that foster a more empathetic world. Empathy is a critical skill that allows us to feel what others feel (emotional empathy), understand what others think and feel (cognitive empathy), and take action on those feelings and understandings (behavioral empathy). In our interconnected world, empathy is a key personal and professional skill, and its development has the following benefits for indi...

Rev. Lesley Carroll serves as the Prison Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (NI), dedicating her life to the pursuit of peace and reconciliation. To her, this mission is a lifelong calling. Her efforts extend beyond the borders of Northern Ireland, as she has been instrumental in fostering dialogues for peace and reconciliation in regions such as Rwanda, Nigeria, Kosovo, and Croatia. In these challenging times for our global community, Rev. Carroll will generously share her insights and the valuable...