Grief in Brief Ken Barringer

Our central nervous system is our friend. It tries to protect us when we are faced with threat, danger, or any time we perceive the situation to not be safe. The CNS is the body’s processing center. The sympathetic nervous system controls our fight, flight or freeze responses while the parasympathetic nervous system helps us “rest and digest”. Our previous experience of trauma and loss help determine how these two systems balance each other.  Sometimes the nervous system over does it, sometimes under does it. Matt and Ken discuss strategies and interventions for keeping ourselves aligned when we have been out of line. Simple and practical strategies are discussed.
Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it! 
Follow Ken on Instagram HERE
Download Ken’s free PDF, “What to say when you don’t know what to say” HERE
 

Approximately 85% of the kids the My Life, My Choice program serves in eastern Ma are involved with DCF. Just by being in DCF care indicates a history of trauma before being trafficked. Wherever there is trauma there is grief. Lisa co-developed and co-executive directs My Life, My Choice. The program she has developed incorporates a survivor led staff focusing on values of empowerment, equity, community, and unconditional love to name a few.
Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it! 
Visit the My Life, My Choice website here: https://www.mylifemychoice.org/
Follow Ken on Instagram HERE
Download Ken’s free PDF, “What to say when you don’t know what to say” HERE
 

What is EMDR? Perhaps you’ve heard of it but don’t know what it is. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. While practitioners may vary their approach to implementing this form of therapy the intended outcomes are similar: Reduce the stress and distress connected to traumatic memories. Dance Movement Therapy utilizes the connection between movement and emotion to aid in people gaining greater physical, emotional, and cognitive awareness. This will ultimately improve one’s mental health. Genevieve’s psychotherapy practice blends EMDR and DMT to promote healing in those who are grieving, have experienced trauma, are anxious and/or have low self-esteem.
Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it! 
Follow Ken on Instagram HERE
Download Ken’s free PDF, “What to say when you don’t know what to say” HERE
 

People can come to know us through the activities we engage in. What happens to our identity when we are absent from those activities? When we sustain a physical injury that prohibits us from doing the things we like to do, we lose a little piece of who we are. Physical therapy may heal the physical problem but what about the psychological part? That can take longer, extending our time away from ‘who we are’. Jane is a psychologist well versed in the psychological response and recovery from physical injury. She shares her knowledge with Ken in this episode.
Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it! 
Follow Ken on Instagram HERE
Download Ken’s free PDF, “What to say when you don’t know what to say” HERE
 

Loss is continuous throughout our lifetime. Even though we know this our instinct might be to push away this reality. When we have had complicated, continuous and/or traumatic loss these can trigger additional mental health issues. There are many interventions and paths to help reduce the suffering. When “nothing works” the use of Esketamine in conjunction with treatments can aid in ‘treatment-resistant’ clients. Kurt is a social worker and the vice president of community partnerships at the Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont. He and Ken talk about the impact of loss, use of esketamine, and the new frontier of using psychedelics.
Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it! 
Follow Ken on Instagram HERE
Download Ken’s free PDF, “What to say when you don’t know what to say” HERE
 

Approximately 25% of women have some type of reproductive health issues. These can range from being able to get pregnant, stay pregnant or have post pregnancy complications. Both females and males have a birth story. This story can start when they are very young and begin to think what it may be like to be a parent one day. When conception is not as simple as “just getting pregnant”, grief and the associated mental health concerns can arise. Further, the intense personal nature of reproductive health issues can silence those going through it - intensifying the loss response. Ken and Julie discuss the often-unaddressed loss issues related to reproductive health challenges.
Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it! 
Follow Ken on Instagram HERE
Download Ken’s free PDF, “What to say when you don’t know what to say” HERE