When Bearing Witness: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Storyteller Maria Bryan

As a development director at NAMI, Liz Jackson is immersed in the powerful and often painful stories of those impacted by mental illness. In this episode, she shares her journey of learning the critical importance of self-care for storytellers bearing witness to trauma. Liz openly discusses the warning signs that she was approaching burnout early in her role and how she became more deliberate about caring for herself. Liz's wisdom on nurturing resilience as a storyteller is a must-liste...

In the first episode of our special series on mental health in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we discuss maintaining emotional health while continuing your activism. Many activists burn out quickly due to compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, and a lack of emotional self-care. In this episode, Jonathan Walton opens up about his own journey from unhealthy activism driven by unresolved personal wounds to a more sustainable practice of emotionally healthy activism.Jonathan's w...

Carol will guide us through a 20-minute body scan meditation. The body scan is a practice of systematically bringing gentle attention to each part of the body. It helps us become more present and aware of the physical sensations we often ignore or tune out. With this awareness, we can release areas of tightness or tension. Before you press play, find a comfortable position. You can sit upright in a chair or lie down on your back on a mat or blanket.Take a moment to settle into your ...

AI has seemed to blow in like a tornado this past year. The rapid development of AI has brought both excitement and concerns around potential biases and inequities. In this episode, data equity expert Meena discusses why we need to be intentional about centering humans and promoting inclusivity as AI becomes more ubiquitous. Meena emphasizes that data is ultimately about people - we are the data points that these systems analyze and make predictions from. If AI models are trained on data...

Giving voice to our stories, especially the painful chapters, can be a daunting yet profoundly healing journey. Many of us hold back, grappling with self-doubt and the fear of revisiting trauma. However, as Marti Statler, CEO of Rebel Queen Books, passionately shares, bravely articulating your narrative through writing can be a transformative act of self-reclamation.To be clear, this path of healing is a choice. And if you do choose to reclaim your story, this episode is for you.Statler guide...

Reverend Sanghoon Yoo has walked an incredible journey - from a social worker dealing with trauma and crisis to becoming a pastor and experiencing his own period of trauma and burnout. This led him to the trauma-informed care movement over a decade ago. In this episode Rev. Yoo shares how principles of unconditional love and creating a "community of belonging" are key to being trauma-informed, even for those without clinical training. He powerfully reframes trauma-informed practices not ...