Shady & Untamed

Jessica Brooks, LMHC and Ana Allen, LMHC
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Mental Health

Two therapists' two cents on trauma. We are Jessica Brooks LMHC and Ana Allen LMHC, two licensed trauma therapists who got tired of the sanitized, pastel, "just breathe" version of mental health. So we started talking honestly instead. We bring the actual science behind the theories and zero sugarcoating. Plus a lot more laughing than you'd expect from two people who talk about trauma for a living. If you're done being handed affirmations instead of answers, you're in the right place. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Next Pod: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Listener Q&A: Finding a Couples Therapist Who Gets Emotional Labor, and Why We Became Therapists

    If you're the one holding the calendar, the grocery list, and every in-law's birthday in your head, you might have wondered, "How do I even figure out if a couples therapist can actually work with this?" On this episode we're answering YOUR questions. We talk about how to find a couples therapist who has done the work around misogyny and emotional labor, why a quick consult call is the perfect place to ask about it directly, and how one small phrase like "does your husband help around the house?" can tell you a lot about a therapist's assumptions. Then we get into a question that's a lot more loaded than it sounds... why we became therapists! From a midlife career shift that started in the client seat to a twelve-year-old reading books about child abuse and needing to understand why people hurt each other. We also talk about the winding paths through grad school, forensic work, and child advocacy that landed us both in private practice doing trauma work, and the moments in session we love most. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Pod here: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741. If you're in an abusive relationship, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summer License code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    Listener Q&A: Finding a Couples Therapist Who Gets Emotional Labor, and Why We Became Therapists

  2. Oct 7

    Why You Probably Keep Choosing the Same Partner: The 4 Attachment Styles

    If the person who wants you feels boring and the one who keeps you guessing feels like home, your attachment style is probably running the show, and it's been running it since before you had words for anything. On this episode we pick up where trauma bonding left off and break down the four attachment styles, secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized, where they come from, and how they follow you into adult relationships. We get into Harlow's wire mother and cloth mother study, why comfort is a primary need and not a bonus, and why a caregiver can be completely attentive and still misattuned enough to leave your nervous system convinced the world isn't safe. Then we get real about why anxious and avoidant keep finding each other, why a secure partner can feel avoidant to someone who's anxious, and why disorganized attachment is the most confusing one to live in, because how you show up depends on who you're with. If relationships leave you feeling confused more than anything else, that might be your clue. We also talk about how attachment styles are learned, which means they can be unlearned and relearned, and why so much of that shift happens inside healthy relationships, including the one with your therapist. Plus a few book recs we mentioned in the pod: The Neurobiology of We Audiobook: https://a.co/d/08yBcPzw Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker: https://a.co/d/04MWeJmB The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: https://a.co/d/04wYBclT Want the attachment quiz we use in our own practices? Take it free at attachmentproject.com New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Pod here: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741. If you're in an abusive relationship, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summer License code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    Why You Probably Keep Choosing the Same Partner: The 4 Attachment Styles

  3. Sep 30

    What a Trauma Bond Actually Is

    A trauma bond doesn't always look like a problem from the inside because it feels like chemistry, loyalty, and hope that things will go back to how they were. On this episode we're pulling that apart. We talk about the difference between bonding over trauma and what trauma bonding actually is, why a lot of what the internet calls a trauma bond is really codependency, and why there are two kinds of trauma bonds, one you can think your way out of with the proper support and one rooted in childhood that usually needs deeper reprocessing. Then we get into the slot machine effect and how variable ratio reinforcement keeps you hooked, the breadcrumbs and "it'll be better once we get there" promises that keep you waiting, and why your brain would rather blame you than admit you were powerless. We also get real about why toxic can feel like chemistry while healthy can feel boring AF at first, how boundaries built on your worth hold long after the anger fades, and why leaving the relationship is often the most dangerous time. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Pod here: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast It's Not You Book Resource link: https://a.co/d/0dj50PzP We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741. If you're in an abusive relationship, you can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summer License code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    What a Trauma Bond Actually Is

  4. Sep 23

    Codependency [Part 2] : Needs, Responsibility & Choice

    If someone asked you right now what you need, could you answer without listing what you have to get done first? This episode picks up where codependency and boundaries left off and goes straight into needs, starting surface level with the to-do list and digging down to what's underneath it. We hand you the questions we challenge clients with before they take on something that isn't theirs to carry. We talk about choice theory, why "I have to" is rarely true, and why sitting in the discomfort of a choice is still more powerful than pretending you never had one. We also break down why a nice guy isn't automatically a good guy, and how kindness without boundaries can quietly become manipulation nobody intended. Then a sneak peek what's coming next... because trauma bonding deserves its own hour. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Pod here: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summer License code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    Codependency [Part 2] : Needs, Responsibility & Choice

  5. Sep 16

    Codependency [Part 1] : The Need to Be Needed

    Codependency doesn't always look like a problem from the outside because it looks like kindness, sacrifice, and being the reliable one. On this 2-part episode we're pulling that apart. We talk about the differences between codependency and people pleasing, why both typically trace back to a fear of abandonment and a belief that you have to be useful to be worth keeping around. Then we get into boundaries, the actual mechanics of setting and enforcing one, the cost of self abandonment when nobody's even asking you to pay it, and the grief that shows up when people leave because you finally stopped managing everyone's feelings but your own. We also settle a pet peeve once and for all: the difference between a boundary, a rule, and an ultimatum, because they are not the same thing and most people are only doing one of them. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Pod here: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summer License code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    Codependency [Part 1] : The Need to Be Needed

  6. Sep 9

    Trauma Isn't Always the Big Stuff

    Everyone throws the word around. Almost nobody agrees on what it means. In this one we get into what trauma actually is, what it isn't, and why the definition matters more than you'd think. We talk about why it's not really about the event itself, why two people can go through the same thing and walk away completely different, and why "it wasn't that bad" is one of the most common things we hear in a therapy room. If you've ever compared your history to someone else's and decided yours didn't count, this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Pod here: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!) https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summer License code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    Trauma Isn't Always the Big Stuff

  7. Sep 9

    Start Here: Meet Your Hosts!

    Before we get into anything, here's who's talking. We're Jessica and Ana, two licensed trauma therapists who love all things therapy and wanted to share our passion, zero sugarcoating. In this one we get into who we each are, how we work, what this show is going to cover, and why we decided the internet needed one more podcast. New episodes every Wednesday. Submit a question for the show: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!)https://uppbeat.io/t/moire/summerLicense code: MGPLFEEUIXGKQRU2

    Start Here: Meet Your Hosts!
  • 7 Episodes

About

Two therapists' two cents on trauma. We are Jessica Brooks LMHC and Ana Allen LMHC, two licensed trauma therapists who got tired of the sanitized, pastel, "just breathe" version of mental health. So we started talking honestly instead. We bring the actual science behind the theories and zero sugarcoating. Plus a lot more laughing than you'd expect from two people who talk about trauma for a living. If you're done being handed affirmations instead of answers, you're in the right place. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Submit a Question for the Next Pod: https://beacons.ai/shadyuntamedpodcast We're both licensed therapists, but this podcast is not therapy and we are not your therapists. It's education with a little humor mixed in, not clinical advice. If you're in crisis, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. You can also call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741.

Information

  • Creator
    Jessica Brooks, LMHC and Ana Allen, LMHC
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jessica Brooks and Ana Allen
  • Show Website
    Shady & Untamed