The Trauma Educator Podcast

Effie Kli
  • 5.0 (5)
  • MENTAL HEALTH

The Trauma Educator Podcast is where nervous system, somatic education, and conversations on trauma meet culture and society.    Through thought-proving interviews monologues and community Q&As, we explore how the nervous system is shaped by trauma and how family dynamics, cultural norms and collective patterns influence our health and relationships. Each episode invites you to connect your individual healing to the bigger picture of community and collective well-being. You’ll find valuable insights, accessible education, and meaningful conversations that challenge old conditioning and open space for reimagining life.   In essence, The Trauma Educator Podcast is about health and well-being, but it also extends far beyond into the cultural, relational, and systemic forces that shape them every day. Join us as we expand the conversation on trauma and healing, and discover how nervous system work can support both personal growth and cultural transformation.  

Episodes

  1. 13H AGO

    Episode 10 | Religious Trauma and Purity Cultures: How to recognize the signs and heal from a high control system with Dr. Laura Anderson

    In this episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Laura Anderson, therapist, trauma recovery coach, educator, and founder of the Center for Trauma Resolution and Recovery. Laura specializes in complex trauma with a focus on domestic violence, sexualized violence, and religious trauma. She is also the author of the book When Religion Hurts You: Healing From Religious Trauma and the Impact of High Control Religion and co-founder of the Religious Trauma Institute. We explore what religious trauma is, how high-control religious systems shape our identity, and the role of authority, power, and control in these environments. We discuss the confusion we often feel in religious communities, if certain individuals and groups may be more vulnerable to religious trauma, and how purity cultures often contribute to feelings of shame and guilt for experiencing pleasure.  We also talk about the long process of reclaiming autonomy after being involved in a high control religion, and learning how to belong in relationships and communities without sacrificing our agency or sense of self. Workshop invitation: If you experience depression, I’m running an online workshop on March 18 on Freeze, Shutdown and Depression. Together we’ll explore how to use somatics, emotional energy, and soul work as pathways back to vitality. To find out more and to register, visit here https://courses.effiekli.com/freeze-shutdown-and-depression And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-educated conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.

    52 min

  2. MAR 3

    Episode 9 | Anxiety as a map out of feeling stuck: how to feel your feelings & change your life with Britt Frank

    In this episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Britt Frank, licensed neuropsychotherapist, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, keynote speaker, and author of The Science of Stuck and Align Your Mind. Britt’s work has been featured in NPR, The New York Times, New York Magazine, and Forbes, and she brings a refreshingly grounded, science-based perspective to what it really means to feel stuck.  Many people who have experienced trauma — especially complex trauma — know the feeling of being stuck in patterns, relationships, motivation, or identity. Britt challenges the idea that being stuck is a personal failure. Instead, she reframes stuckness as information and as something intelligent and workable rather than shameful.  We explore why anxiety can actually be a map out of stuckness, why there is no such thing as a lazy or unmotivated person, and how parts of ourselves we dislike or judge may be the very parts we need for healing. We also discuss parts work in romantic relationships, how to navigate conflict without self-abandonment, and why “feeling your feelings” doesn’t always create change on its own. This conversation bridges neuroscience, parts work, and practical ideas, offering a compassionate and actionable way to move forward in moments you feel powerless and stuck. If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz → https://www.effiekli.com/quiz  For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → https://www.effiekli.com/optin And if you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-educated conversations and bring them to more people around the world who need them.

    54 min

  3. FEB 17

    Episode 8 | Movement and Dance as Medicine: Healing Trauma Through the Language of the Body with Erica Hornthal

    In this interview episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Erica Hornthal, a licensed clinical professional counselor, board-certified dance/movement therapist, and the founder of Chicago Dance Therapy. Known as “The Therapist Who Moves You,” Erica has spent decades helping people understand movement not just as expression, but as a direct pathway to healing, regulation, and change.   Together, we explore what it really means to become body aware, how trauma shapes the way we move, and why changing movement patterns can shift how we think, feel, and relate. We talk about movement as a tool for processing emotions, working with rumination and repetitive thought loops, and developing clearer boundaries and limits through the body.   This conversation also touches on motivation, self-care in busy lives, body image, and how learning to move in a way that is right for you can unlock potential that cognitive insight alone often cannot access.   If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz → https://www.effiekli.com/quiz   For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → https://www.effiekli.com/optin   And if this episode resonates, don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-educated conversations and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world.

    56 min

  4. FEB 10

    Episode 7 | When Harm Is Denied and You Become the Problem: Shame, Projection, the Gift of Complex Trauma & Self-Trust

    In this solo episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I explore a common experience amongst people who live with complex trauma: when harm is denied, minimised, or avoided, and the focus shifts through shame onto your reaction instead. We look at how being blamed for responding to harm becomes a second trauma, how emotionally numb systems uphold these dynamics through dismissal, and why those who are most emotionally alive often become the scapegoat.  This episode unpacks shame projection, avoidance disguised as maturity, and the self-doubt you go through when your perception is repeatedly invalidated. I also explore hyper-perception and noticing relational patterns as nervous system adaptations and gifts, and how healing is not about becoming less sensitive, but about reclaiming sensitivity as grounded discernment. We finish by clarifying the difference between responsibility and self-erasure, and how self-trust is rebuilt when you stop asking what’s wrong with you and start asking what you were responding to. If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz→ https://www.effiekli.com/quiz For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → https://www.effiekli.com/optin And if this episode resonates, don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-educated conversations and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world.

    21 min

  5. FEB 3

    Episode 6 | Fear of Abandonment, Emotional Neglect & Seeking Attention from Romantic Interests as a Soothing Strategy

    In this solo episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I explore why fear of abandonment can feel so intense and challenging in relationships and how emotional neglect and misattunement shape a nervous system that learns to survive through attention, validation and performance. We look at how unmet early needs create an internal sense of emptiness and starvation, why receiving romantic attention can feel soothing but never truly regulating, and how performance, controlling behaviours and reassurance-seeking become survival strategies rather than relational choices.  This episode also explores why rejection & abandonment don’t just hurt but often lead to collapse in the nervous system, why certainty becomes an obsession in attachment trauma, and what it means to shift from survival-based attachment to adult, choice-based relating.  Finally, we explore what healing actually looks like: developing felt safety in the body, increasing capacity to tolerate uncertainty, and learning that safety isn’t earned through being chosen. If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz→ https://www.effiekli.com/quiz For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → https://www.effiekli.com/optin And if this episode resonates, don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help expand these trauma-educated conversations and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world.

    20 min

  6. 12/30/2025

    Episode 5 | Power, Attachment, Healthy Aggression & Repair

    In this solo episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, we dive into one of the most misunderstood, yet foundational, aspects of trauma healing: power. We explore how power, attachment, and healthy aggression intertwine in both our nervous systems and our relationships, and why reclaiming power is essential for repair, dignity, and long-term relational integrity. I break down why power must be proportionally shared in every relationship, and how chronic power imbalances create slow accumulations of harm. We explore why humans as mammals need access to power for internal safety, boundaries, voice, and authentic self-expression, and what happens when this access is cut off. We look at how, after relational injury, power must temporarily shift back toward the hurt person for true repair to occur, and why forgiveness without reclamation is often premature and bypassing. This episode also examines the somatic mechanics of the fight response: anger, rage, and healthy aggression. We discuss how these vital protective energies are suppressed (especially in women), how suppressed rage often manifests as depression, and why somatic rewiring requires uncoupling fear from fight so clean, grounded anger can emerge. If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz → https://www.effiekli.com/quiz For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → https://www.effiekli.com/optin And if this episode resonates, don’t forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help us bring trauma-educated conversations to more people around the world.

    29 min

  7. 12/16/2025

    Episode 4 | Your Questions Answered (Solo Episode)

    In this new episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I answer some of your questions about trauma, healing, and the nervous system These are questions you've submitted, and it was an absolute joy to take some time to reflect on them and answer in the following order: • How can I discern between real and valid needs versus “needs” that stem from a trauma response? • Is it really possible that something bad happened and the person has no memory of it? • How do I move toward connection and others when relationships feel so unsafe? • How can I stop feeling like a victim and step into my power when everything feels hopeless? • In general, how does one heal from complex PTSD? • How do I teach my body to feel safe if I don’t even know what safety feels like?  If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz → effiekli.com/quiz  For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → effiekli.com/optin And if this conversation resonates, don't forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help us expand these trauma-informed conversations and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world.

    36 min

  8. 12/02/2025

    Episode 3 | Rage, Grief, Decolonizing Therapy, and Historical Trauma with Dr. Jenn Mullan

    In this new episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Jennifer Mullan, a major disruptor in the mental health industrial complex and the founder of Decolonizing Therapy®, a psychological evolution that weaves together political, ancestral, therapeutic, and global well-being. She’s the recipient of Essence magazine’s 2020 Essential Hero Award in the category of mental health and the author of the national best seller Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma & Politicizing Your Practice. She's also the creator of the popular Instagram platform @decolonizingtherapy. Together, we explore how colonization, oppression, and historical trauma have shaped modern psychology and how we can reclaim mental health through ancestral wisdom, community and embodied healing. Dr. Jenn breaks down how diagnoses can be weaponized, why she calls symptoms “expressions,” the role of rage as sacred medicine for both individual and collective liberation, and the importance of grief work. If this conversation resonates, don't forget to follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help us expand these trauma-informed conversations and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world. If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz → effiekli.com/quiz For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma → effiekli.com/optin

    1h 13m

  9. 11/18/2025

    Episode 2 | Fawning, Nervous System, Self-Trust and Toxic Positivity With Dr. Ingrid Clayton

    In this interview, I’m joined by Dr. Ingrid Clayton, a licensed clinical psychologist, trauma therapist, and author whose work has helped countless people understand the hidden dynamics of complex trauma. Ingrid holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and an M.A. in transpersonal psychology. She’s the author of the best-selling memoir Believing Me: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse and Complex Trauma and of the new book FAWNING: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves and How to Find Our Way Back. In this conversation, we explore the fawn response — the often-misunderstood trauma pattern that makes us over-adapt, appease, and lose touch with our authentic selves. We discuss the difference between fawning, codependency, and people-pleasing; the nervous-system mechanics behind this survival strategy; and why body-based, somatic work is essential for true recovery. We also dive into the role of power in reinforcing fawning, how toxic positivity and spiritual bypassing can block healing, and the vital process of reclaiming the fight response and self-trust after years of self-gaslighting. If this episode resonates, please follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help us expand this trauma-educated conversation and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world. If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz here https://www.effiekli.com/quiz For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body-level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma here https://www.effiekli.com/optin

    53 min

  10. 11/04/2025

    Episode 1 | Complex PTSD, PTSD, Family, and Culture (Solo Episode)

    Welcome to the first episode of The Trauma Educator Podcast where nervous system science, somatic education, and conversations on trauma meet culture and society. In this opening episode, I explore what complex trauma really is. I talk about how complex PTSD is different from PTSD, why this distinction matters, and how our family systems, cultures, and collective histories shape the nervous system across generations. I also share a deeply personal story of intergenerational trauma and how it became the moment that push me to want to understand the roots of individual suffering but also the cultural and systemic forces that sustain it. If this episode resonates, please follow, subscribe, rate, and share to help us expand this trauma-educated conversation and bring nervous system awareness to more people around the world. We'd be very grateful! If you want to understand where you currently are in your nervous system healing after complex trauma and what your next steps can be, take my Nervous System Healing Quiz here https://www.effiekli.com/quiz  For science-backed tools to help you process emotions on a deep body-level, watch my free workshop The Alchemy of Emotional Processing After Trauma here https://www.effiekli.com/optin

    36 min
  • 10 Episodes

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The Trauma Educator Podcast is where nervous system, somatic education, and conversations on trauma meet culture and society.    Through thought-proving interviews monologues and community Q&As, we explore how the nervous system is shaped by trauma and how family dynamics, cultural norms and collective patterns influence our health and relationships. Each episode invites you to connect your individual healing to the bigger picture of community and collective well-being. You’ll find valuable insights, accessible education, and meaningful conversations that challenge old conditioning and open space for reimagining life.   In essence, The Trauma Educator Podcast is about health and well-being, but it also extends far beyond into the cultural, relational, and systemic forces that shape them every day. Join us as we expand the conversation on trauma and healing, and discover how nervous system work can support both personal growth and cultural transformation.  

Information

  • Creator
    Effie Kli
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Trauma Educator Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Trauma Educator Podcast

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