Developing Meaning

Dirk Winter
  • 5.0 (15)
  • ALTERNATIVE HEALTH
  • UPDATED MONTHLY
Developing Meaning

A podcast about healing trauma and finding meaning.Have you ever wondered what your therapist has figured out about life's big questions?Join psychiatrist Dr. Dirk Winter as he speaks with colleagues, therapists, and other healers about what they have learned from their clinical work about how to heal trauma and build more meaning and purpose into our lives.Developing Meaning is NOT CLINICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.  It is intended to play with ideas that are emerging, fringe, and outside of the mainstream in order to discover the meaning of life.Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

  1. JUN 27

    #20: How IFS Helped Me Face Cancer And Myself - Audiodiary of My Level I IFS Training.

    Send us a text In this episode, I take you inside my experience of learning Internal Family Systems therapy while simultaneously navigating prostate cancer surgery and recovery during the fall and winter of 2023-24. Through audio diary entries recorded over three months, you'll hear my real-time reflections as I move through an intensive experiential training that forced me to find and confront parts of myself. From the corporate retreat center where it all began to the post-surgical reflections in my bedroom, these recordings capture the disorientation, insight, and healing that unfolded as I allowed myself to be both student and subject. This episode may be helpful for therapists considering IFS training or for anyone facing illness or supporting someone through health challenges.  It is the final episode in my five part series on my IFS level I training experience. This episode of Developing Meaning is produced by Dirk Winter and Caroline Hinton and brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.   Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS and NOT CLINICAL ADVICE. Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz.

    1h 1m

  2. APR 30

    #19: Margaret Conley - How We Heal Complex Trauma and Legacy Burdens with IFS.

    Send us a text Margaret Conley, LCSW, Minister, and IFS Assistant Trainer, joins me to explore how trauma is passed down through families, culture, and society —and how we can heal. Drawing from her own powerful story, Margaret explains the Internal Family Systems (IFS) concept of legacy burdens and how she helps clients release inherited patterns related to race, religion, gender, and family history. This episode is part of my IFS Level 1 training series and offers deep insight into how healing across generations is not only possible—but transforms how we create meaning. Timestamps 00:19 – Welcome to Developing Meaning 04:50 – Meet Margaret Connolly: Healer and Minister 12:40 – Childhood Trauma to Professional Path 27:20 – Discovering Internal Family Systems 47:30 – Understanding Legacy Burdens 1:04:40 – Creating Meaning Through Curiosity 1:14:10 – The Art of Repairing Relationships 1:19:30 – Final Thoughts: Moving at Speed of Trust Them music by The Thrashing Skumz. This episode is produced by Dirk Winter, Fariha Fawziah and Caroline Hinton and brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC. Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

    1h 22m

  3. MAR 15

    #18: Ridghaus Follows the Golden Threads - A Story of Adoption, Grief and Meaning.

    Send us a text Can you imagine learning at 35 that you were adopted?  In this episode Ridghaus, my friend and Level I IFS Program Assistant, shares how this discovery transformed his sense of identity and led him to advocate for adoptee rights and communities. We also explore the profound loss of his 18-year-old son and how he has grieved. Through our conversation, Ridghaus reflects on the "golden threads" that have guided him—moments of insight, connection, and healing. We discuss how Internal Family Systems (IFS) has played a role in his process, helping him hold space for his parts and for others in their own healing journeys. This episode is part of a series on my Level I IFS training experience, in which I introduce the IFS model (#16), introduce my Lead Trainer Jory Agate (#17). Upcoming episodes will introduce another trainer Margaret Conley (#19), who is an expert in complex trauma and legacy burdens, and then an audiodiary (#20) will follow.  My intention in this series is to share this exciting new model of healing with classically trained therapists and anyone else curious about mental health and meaning.   Timestamps:00:00:00 - Introduction to Developing Meaning and Ridgehouse00:05:42 - Early Life: A Misfit in Kansas00:17:28 - Discovering Adoption at Age 3500:30:49 - Facing Unimaginable Loss and Grief00:43:02 - First Encounter with Internal Family Systems01:00:34 - Becoming a Healer: IFS and Identity Work01:11:27 - Plateaus and Valleys of Meaning01:15:33 - Final Reflections on Intention and Starting OverDeveloping Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS, and is NOT MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE. Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz. This episode was produced by Dirk Winter, Fariha Fawziah and Caroline Hinton and is brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.

    1h 27m

  4. JAN 12

    #17: Past Year Review (PYR) and Setting Intentions for Beginner's Mind, Questioning Assumptions, and Consilience in 2025.

    Send us a text This episode invites listeners to engage in a meaningful past year review, turning away from traditional resolutions toward a more insightful approach to personal growth. By exploring the themes of beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and the importance of consilience, Dr. Dirk Winter provides a framework for navigating mental health and self-discovery in 2025. • Dissecting the concept of a past year review  • Sharing personal peaks and lows from 2024  • Introducing guiding themes for 2025: beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and consilience  • Exploring the significance of various healing modalities  • Challenging traditional mental health assumptions  • Encouraging listeners to conduct their own past year review and set meaningful intentions  Go ahead, do your past year review, get yourself maybe into some beginner's mind question patterns, look for areas of consilience, or come up with your own ideas or mantras for the coming year. Them Music by The Thrashing Skumz Produced by Dirk Winter

    33 min

  5. 12/15/2024

    #16: Jory Agate - Unitarian Minister and Internal Family Systems (IFS) Lead Trainer on Meaning, Kindness, and How IFS Heals Trauma.

    Send us a text The Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level I training is an experiential group learning process that teaches us how to identify and heal traumatized parts of ourselves and others.  In October 2023 I began this training after having recently received a prostate cancer diagnosis.  This episode begins a multi - part series in which I introduce you to fascinating healers I met during my Level I training, beginning with Jory Agate my Lead Trainer. Jory is a minister, IFS lead trainer, a kind and gifted healer, and so much more.  In this episode she offers a compelling narrative of how IFS therapy reaches beyond conventional boundaries, touching the lives of clergy, trans and queer communities, and trauma survivors. Together, we explore connections between faith and therapeutic healing.  Join me as I begin my journey into the land of IFS and begin to transform into an IFS therapist myself. Timestamps 00:17 Introducing Jory Agate. 07:30 What is IFS? 12:40 Spirituality and IFS. 15:00 How Jory became a healer. 21:00 How Jory found IFS and healed her trauma. 32:00 Jory describes her professional practice. 36:00 What does a session with Jory look like? 39:00 Connecting IFS, Meaning, and Healing. 47:00 Connecting through shared Exiles, and wrap up. Theme music by the Thrashing Skumz! This podcast is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

    56 min

  6. 11/17/2024

    #15: Do You Have One Mind or Many? How Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) Heals Trauma by Embracing Our Inner Multiplicity.

    Send us a text Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) is a type of therapy that views the normal human mind as an internal family of inner conscious beings.  In this episode we unpack the key IFS concepts of 'Exiles,' 'Firefighters,' and the 'Self,' offering insights into how our childhood experiences shape our inner dynamics and how we can harmonize our mental orchestra by putting the 'Self' back into our mind's conductor seat. This episode sets the stage for a multiple episode series that brings you with me into my IFS level I training experience and community. Timestamps 0:14 - Introducing Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS). 5:30 - Definition of Consciousness and Multiplicity. 9:45 - Historical Perspectives and Evidence for Multiplicity. 12:45 - Exiles and Firefighters. 16:00 - The IFS Self 19:20 - Blending and Unblending. 20:40 - Evidence for the IFS model of the mind. 23:00 - IFS Explanation of Psychopathology. 28:55 - Healing and Rewiring Through IFS. 30:30 - The Unburdening Ceremony in IFS. 31:00 - Bruce Ecker and memory reconsolidation 34:00 - Ten things I like about IFS. 42:00 - A caveat and some disadvantages. Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz.

    47 min

  7. 09/29/2024

    #14: Integrative Psychiatrist Dr. Bliss Lewis Shares Her Story of Holistic Healing, Building Communities, and How She Sets Her Life Intention

    Send us a text Dr. Bliss Lewis is a child and adult psychiatrist, expert in integrative and alternative treatments, and creator of Mind Body 7, one of the most innovative and successful group psychotherapy practices in New York.  She learned natural healing approaches as a child in in Russia and Poland, then combined these interests with modern Western medical training at Harvard, Columbia and NYU.   She also has passion for dance, music, yoga, meditation, and her curiosity and creativity have allowed her to build heart-centered practices and holistic wellness communities around these interests. Discover how trauma-informed care, self-compassion, and artistic expression can guide you towards a more fulfilling existence.  Learn more about Dr. Bliss Lewis at: https://www.mindbody7.com https://www.youtube.com/@DrBlissLewis Learn more about Developing Meaning Podcast at: https://www.developingmeaning.com Timestamps 0:00:17 Exploring Integrative Psychiatry With Dr. Bliss-Lewis 0:11:59 Personal Growth Through Dance and Travel 0:27:14 Exploring Integrative Healing Modalities 0:45:49 Building Integrative Psychiatry Group Practice 0:59:52 Exploring Meaning and Life Direction 1:13:00 Meaning and Life Rapid Fire Questions 1:17:02 Finding Meaning Through Values and Self-Compassion 1:23:00 How Bliss Sets her Life Intention Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz This show was produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

    1h 34m

  8. 08/09/2024

    #13: Dr. Richard Brown Leads 6 Minutes of Coherent Breathing (Supplement to Episode 12)

    Send us a text Please enjoy this guided six minute coherent breathing exercise led by Dr. RIchard Brown, co-creator of Breath Body Mind. This is a spontaneous demonstration taken out of our longer Episode 12 Interview in order for you to be able to chose the right time and place to do this exercise. For more information on Dr. Brown's approaches to breathing listen to our full lenght episode 12, or go to www.breathbodymind.com.

    6 min
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5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

A podcast about healing trauma and finding meaning.Have you ever wondered what your therapist has figured out about life's big questions?Join psychiatrist Dr. Dirk Winter as he speaks with colleagues, therapists, and other healers about what they have learned from their clinical work about how to heal trauma and build more meaning and purpose into our lives.Developing Meaning is NOT CLINICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.  It is intended to play with ideas that are emerging, fringe, and outside of the mainstream in order to discover the meaning of life.Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Information

  • Creator
    Dirk Winter
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Developing Meaning
  • Show Website
    Developing Meaning

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