37 - Poly Roles and Relationship in Psychedelic Healing with Dottie, Part 2
11/16/24 • 44 min
Dr. T and Truth Fairy return with the second half of their talk with guest Dottie, a highly experienced therapist specializing in Gestalt psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, and trauma-informed work. Dottie and Truth Fairy resume the story they were sharing in the first part about a rupture in a medicine session that they had to navigate together. The story leads to a vulnerable discussion about emotional regulation, acknowledgement of feelings, the importance of touch in medicine sessions, and a host of other vital variables to consider when working through the surfacing and healing of people’s trauma.
Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and Dottie explore the complexities of relational dynamics, trauma, and healing, and Truth highlights the importance of understanding the multiple factors at play in any relationship, emphasizing that true repair involves mutual learning and deep understanding of the other person’s experiences. She explains how her own work with trauma, particularly infant trauma, has taught her to recognize the small gestures and subtle cues that can create or repair ruptures in neural connectivity. This attentiveness allows her to approach therapy with greater sensitivity and presence.
Dottie and Truth Fairy each share personal experiences that stress the significance of creating safe spaces for emotional regulation and healing, especially in moments of fear and dissociation. Dottie explains her hypervigilance toward abandonment and how this affects her relationships. She stresses the importance of a therapist’s full presence to help clients feel secure. Dr. T brings up the potential risks in psychedelic therapy if practitioners fail to integrate a developmental trauma lens, urging more training and awareness in this field. This episode touches on how therapists, through their own healing, can better support clients in addressing trauma, ensuring safe and effective therapeutic experiences.
“... the journey that we both have been on in the last couple of months has just been profound in being so committed to this process of repair. And I know that I keep banging on the word repair. But for me, I think that what's becoming clear is, is something that I really hold of high value as a therapist working with clients is in relationships with other people, the importance of holding space for others when there has been a rupture, and to hold that space of repair. And to be honest, this is what I have really learned from you” - Dottie
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Resources discussed in this episode:
- “Hunter, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans” by Michaeleen Doucleff
- Episode 36: Poly Roles and Relationship in Psychedelic Healing with Dottie, Part 1
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Contact Punk Therapy:
Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
Website: PunkTherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
Dr. T and Truth Fairy return with the second half of their talk with guest Dottie, a highly experienced therapist specializing in Gestalt psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, and trauma-informed work. Dottie and Truth Fairy resume the story they were sharing in the first part about a rupture in a medicine session that they had to navigate together. The story leads to a vulnerable discussion about emotional regulation, acknowledgement of feelings, the importance of touch in medicine sessions, and a host of other vital variables to consider when working through the surfacing and healing of people’s trauma.
Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and Dottie explore the complexities of relational dynamics, trauma, and healing, and Truth highlights the importance of understanding the multiple factors at play in any relationship, emphasizing that true repair involves mutual learning and deep understanding of the other person’s experiences. She explains how her own work with trauma, particularly infant trauma, has taught her to recognize the small gestures and subtle cues that can create or repair ruptures in neural connectivity. This attentiveness allows her to approach therapy with greater sensitivity and presence.
Dottie and Truth Fairy each share personal experiences that stress the significance of creating safe spaces for emotional regulation and healing, especially in moments of fear and dissociation. Dottie explains her hypervigilance toward abandonment and how this affects her relationships. She stresses the importance of a therapist’s full presence to help clients feel secure. Dr. T brings up the potential risks in psychedelic therapy if practitioners fail to integrate a developmental trauma lens, urging more training and awareness in this field. This episode touches on how therapists, through their own healing, can better support clients in addressing trauma, ensuring safe and effective therapeutic experiences.
“... the journey that we both have been on in the last couple of months has just been profound in being so committed to this process of repair. And I know that I keep banging on the word repair. But for me, I think that what's becoming clear is, is something that I really hold of high value as a therapist working with clients is in relationships with other people, the importance of holding space for others when there has been a rupture, and to hold that space of repair. And to be honest, this is what I have really learned from you” - Dottie
__
Resources discussed in this episode:
- “Hunter, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans” by Michaeleen Doucleff
- Episode 36: Poly Roles and Relationship in Psychedelic Healing with Dottie, Part 1
__
Contact Punk Therapy:
Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
Website: PunkTherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
Previous Episode
36 - Poly Roles and Relationship in Psychedelic Healing with Dottie, Part 1
In this episode, Dr. T and Truth Fairy talk with guest Dottie, a highly experienced therapist specializing in Gestalt psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, and trauma-informed work. Dottie shares her journey of learning and collaboration with Truth Fairy, who is a close mentor who has influenced her work. After appearing on a previous Punk Therapy episode, Dottie was inspired to seek out Truth Fairy for supervision. This sparked a profound partnership that led to training sessions in Australia with Dr. T. Their collaboration has fostered a deep relationship, with Truth helping Dottie navigate challenges and bring important psychedelic and somatic healing practices to a wider audience.
Dottie describes how Truth Fairy's mentorship has been a transformative experience, both personally and professionally. She was initially overwhelmed by the idea of organizing training in Australia and benefited greatly from Truth Fairy’s guidance and commitment to community building. It was Truth Fairy’s experience in establishing a community in Canada that helped Dottie create one in Australia. Their relationship exemplifies a reciprocal dynamic, where Dottie has both contributed to Truth Fairy’s professional endeavours and received support in overcoming her own insecurities. The discussion Truth Fairy, Dottie, and Dr. T have highlights the importance of mutual respect and open communication in professional relationships, especially in such a complex field.
The conversation also delves into the nuances of dual relationships in therapy, particularly in the context of psychedelic work. Both Dottie and Truth Fairy reflect on the need to redefine traditional therapeutic boundaries, emphasizing the importance of relationship, trust, and vulnerability when working with altered states of consciousness. By advocating for fostering transparent and empathetic communication, this episode presents a way for a therapeutic approach that allows for deeper healing and connection, challenging traditional norms in therapy, and promoting a more humanized, relational model of care.
“I guess this theme of relationship is probably, you know, going to sort of weave throughout this conversation because I think in my relationship with Truth over the last two years and the various roles that we've had, the most fundamental thing that I've been taught and am continuing to learn is the absolute value of relationship. And that in life we're not supposed to do these things alone.” - Dottie
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Contact Punk Therapy:
Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
Website: PunkTherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
Next Episode
38 - Sexual Health and the Integration of Psychedelic Experiences in Therapy with JF
Dr. T and Truth Fairy welcome guest JF to the podcast to talk about sexual health, relational difficulties, and the integration of psychedelic experiences in therapy. JF is a psychotherapist with a double PhD, one in EI and one in clinical psychology, and he approaches therapy from a holistic perspective, integrating mind, body and heart in the healing process. Dr. T and Truth Fairy delve into how JF’s psychological insight shapes his approach to helping individuals and couples navigate life challenges.
JF describes part of his conventional clinical specialties as focussing on human sexual health and relationships, and he works with patients who struggle with sexual issues. That part of his work is often conventional. But he also works in psychosomatic therapy with breathwork, movement, visualizations, and more. Dr. T and Truth Fairy explore exactly what sexual issues a person or couple could experience, how those may relate to being queer or having kinks, and how sexuality changes with age as well. JF talks about common themes in his conventional and psychosomatic work and discusses his approach to the client’s troubles.
The body speaks more slowly than the mind, according to JF, and as such he discusses the innate differences between processes in conventional and psychosomatic therapies. Dr. T, Truth Fairy, and JF all relate personal stories about psychosomatic treatments and experiences within their bodies. The conversation opens wider to include the roles of psychedelics in healing and which ones help in which ways. JF recounts his training in Gestalt, what he explores through cannabis work, and how he fundamentally approaches trauma work. The conversation is an elegant deep dive into sexual health and healing.
“There's something fundamental in contact improv. It's contact. And I'm convinced the more I work that we are contact starved. And of course, our basics are contact through touch. It's not the only way we connect. We contact through emotional synchrony. We contact through speaking. But we are, I believe, contact starved.” - JF
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Contact Punk Therapy:
Patreon: Patreon.com/PunkTherapy
Website: PunkTherapy.com
Email: [email protected]
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