Stay ConnectedHealers are often drawn to this work because of their own histories and emotional pain. the only way to thrive and avoid burnout while we help others heal is to do our own healing.
On this podcast, Annie Schuessler-Zam talks to all kinds of healers as they share vulnerable stories about pain, healing and growth.
Deb Benfield has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies in her 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
She is a needed expert at the cross section of pro-aging and body liberation. Her new book, Unapologetic Aging, teaches us to navigate anti-aging and diet and wellness culture so we can enjoy our lives. As women enter perimenopause and menopause, we become more vulnerable to risk of disordered eating. This book is an antidote.
I got an early copy of this book so I could prep for this interview. I want to get more copies for people I love.
As I talk to a few friends about my conversation with Deb, they've admitted to me how much they struggle with their body image and how much they need to hear this conversation.
This is a personal conversation about Deb's own journey with her body.
Here we go.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/253
Before I jump in I want to invite you to a couple of things.
If you've gone low contact or no contact with a parent or caregiver, this time of year can bring up a lot.
I'm hosting a workshop for folks who are estranged from a parent or caregiver and want tools and support in creating your most meaningful and beautiful life.
Every time I run this, folks experience belonging and a sense of hope.
We'll meet online on Friday, December 5th from 1pm to 4pm Pacific.
go to https://anniezam.com/estranged to register. No one will be turned away because of money.
And for everyone, I'm hosting a year-end ritual to clear space in your life for what isn't needed for the new year and setting intentions and creating more space for what matters to you.
We'll reflect on the year you've had and tap into the energy and values you want to make your next moves from.
If you like internal family systems and parts work, you'll probably resonate with this.
You'll have lots of time while we're together to reflect and feel into what's next.
If you've joined me in the past for this, you'll notice this one will be less productivity oriented and more about anchoring into yourself.
We'll gather online on Thursday, December 11th from 2 to 3:30 Pacific.
This is a free gathering. Go to https://anniezam.com/ritual to register and get the link.
My guest today went through a huge personal transformation when she learned Internal Family Systems, or IFS. For example, the ways that she was incredibly productive and excelled at pretty much everything? For the first time in her life, that was not as celebrated. In fact it was something she was encouraged to stop doing.
Alexis Roberson, licensed family therapist, provides psychotherapy and virtual parenting groups for families navigating the complexities of neurodivergent caregiving. As an IFS practitioner, she helps parents and children identify with their "parts" and become more of their true, authentic selves.
You'll hear about her own healing and the way her life and work and family continue to evolve in the direction of freedom.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/252
This podcast is about therapists and healers doing their own healing work. So now it's my turn to talk about some of my healing.
Sarah Buino, host and creator of the podcast Conversations with a Wounded Healer interviewed me recently, and I'm sharing that conversation with you. I love the questions Sarah asks me and I just love Sarah and I know you will too.
We talk about a pivotal psychedelic journey I went on, estrangement, authenticity, and how my own healing led to a recent career pivot.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/251
Sonya Brewer is a trauma specialist and relationship expert who specializes in creative life and relationship design for overachieving trauma survivors and their partners. She helps trauma survivors feel more alive, connected and authentic so they can create the lives and relationships they truly want.
In this conversation Sonya shares vulnerably about doing her own deep work, including the processes she went through to heal her childhood emotional neglect and other traumas. She also talks about how her own healing has changed her work as a therapist and healer.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/250
You're going to hear some courageous and vulnerable stuff right now. My guest today is a therapist who uses two methods to help her clients heal trauma. Her own healing journey started in an unexpected way.
Helen Beynon is a somatic therapist and IFS-informed practitioner. She loves working with folks to transform trauma and build their capacity to navigate a tumultuous world.
I met her when she was a teacher in my IFS learning.
She's based in British Columbia.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/249
Before I jump in, I want to share a workshop I'll be running for people who are estranged or distant from their parent or caregiver and are needing support while they work to create a beautiful life and heal.
This is a judgment free zone where you'll be with people who get it, and you'll learn tools to truly show up for yourself.
Join me on Friday, August 1st. Go to https://anniezam.com/ to learn more and sign up. I can't wait to see you.
On to today's interview!
Today's guest shares deeply and vulnerably how she's done her own healing through big stuff, including childhood sexual abuse, realizing she's a lesbian while married to a man, and the death of her father. You'll hear about the beautiful process she guides people through, why she took a sabbatical recently, and why she's working with a shaman now.
Meet Samantha Fox.
As a sexuality coach, she works with women around the world to support them as they discover that they are not as straight as they might have thought. She's developed an experiential method called Unbox Your Sexuality that creates a monumental transformation. She's also an LMFT in New York.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/248
This podcast is changing because my work is changing!
I'm still offering business coaching, and you can find out how I help therapists and healers with their businesses at rebeltherapist.me.
AND I've stepped back into working with clients as a healer.
I have been on a HUGE healing journey of my own that started with a guided psychedelic journey in January of 2023.
I then received Brainspotting, first from my friend, Alicia Taverner. Hire her if you can. She's at *https://www.ranchocounseling.com/.*
Then I received some parts work.
I have gotten so much help from these modalities. They really get to the root of my trauma in a way that nothing else has. I felt this magnetic pull to learn these modalities myself and to start working as a healer again.
I work with people who are estranged from a parent or caregiver and other folks who want to do some big healing.
I also have a workshop coming up later this summer for people who are estranged from a parent or caregiver and are working to build their most beautiful life.
If you're interested in checking out any of that, find it at AnnieZam.com.
Let's get to today's amazing therapist guest who I adore.
My favorite kind of practitioner is the kind that wouldn't ask their client to do anything they don't do themselves.
I'm SO excited to introduce Jaclyn Tyson, a therapist and spiritual companion who helps people reconnect with their inner wisdom through spirituality, creativity, and healing practices. She weaves together approaches like Brainspotting, parts work, energy healing, and expressive arts to support personal and collective transformation.
In our conversation, you'll hear about how she uses these modalities with her clients AND how they're central to her own growth and healing.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/247
My 2 guests today created and will co-facilitate The Hour Before Dawn
A Program for Inheritors of Wealth with Family Ties to the Nazi Regime who want to take ancestral responsibility and create a more just world.
(https://www.irisbrilliant.com/the-hour-before-dawn)
Iris Brilliant is a money coach based in Berlin, Germany. She guides wealthy people who are confused or conflicted about what to do with their money to create a deeply liberating vision and plan for their wealth. She has recently shaped her career to fight fascism globally.
Justine Epstein is a facilitator and mentor for people with inherited wealth who want to examine the histories of their ancestors and money, and take meaningful action to address these legacies. Her approach combines ancestral research, contextual history, political education, wealth redistribution and divestment, with embodied mindfulness, ritual, connection to the natural world, and creative expression.
They both come from wealthy families. You're about to hear how they've done intense personal work AND justice work. I'm swooning on that combination and it's a combination of work I aspire to do. You'll hear me ask them some challenging questions. You know, the stuff people who have wealth don't usually talk about in public? They talk about that stuff with a ton of transparency. I think it's courageous.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/246
I've been regularly creating content to build and nurture my audience for 10 years now.
This strategy has worked really well for me. It's been a huge part of how I've drawn people to my work and built their trust.
My content has also helped thousands of people who I'll never have the pleasure of meeting.
AND…creating content week after week can be overwhelming.
Daniel Fava had me on his podcast, Private Practice Elevation, and we dug into all of my insights about how to create content that matters.
I realized this conversation includes a lot of things I haven't shared with you, and I asked Daniel if I could release it as a Rebel Therapist episode as well.
Daniel Fava is the owner of Private Practice Elevation where his team helps therapist with all things website and SEO. He got into this particular niche because his spouse is a therapist.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/245
When you engage in your own healing, how does your work change?
Today I'm talking to Judy Hu.
They've created a group process to alchemize generational trauma, and in this episode she talks all about her own path to healing and finding this way of working.
They also guide me through an unexpected and powerful process during the interview.
Judy Hu is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor turned Boundary Coach based in Massachusetts. Judy is the author of bestselling book, The Boundary Revolution: Decolonize Your Relationships and Discover a New Path to Joy, which documents the framework Judy developed to guide her clients through their boundary healing.
They're also a Rebel Therapist grad.
Here's some of what we talked about:
Show notes at https://rebeltherapist.me/podcast/244
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