The Empowered Through Compassion Podcast

Therapy Through The Waldorf School Experience: The Spirituality of Childhood

In this very special episode I am speaking with my 7th and 8th grade teacher Mr. Trostli. He is a Waldorf class teacher (grades 1 to 8), high school teacher, adult educator, author, and lecturer. He is the Founder and Director of Hartsbrook High School and served as the Director of the Waldorf Research Institute. We speak about the incredible impact he has had in my life, and how his beautiful views of education and Rudolf Steiner converge with my understanding of IFS and EMDR therapy. 

IFS Through EMDR Insight: Annabel McGoldrick, Journalist and EMDR Master

Today I was fortunate to speak with Annabel McGoldrick. She is a compassionate and amazing soul, who started "Peace Journalism" with her husband, and then went on to become an EMDR therapist, consultant and founder to EMDR Insght: New Horizons in EMDR Therapy and Training. She teaches classes that weave EMDR and IFS together, and has a lot of wonderful insights to share with us!  

Listening Through Poetry: Gary Whited Connects Ancient Poetry and Philosophy to IFS

Gary Whited has studied philosophy, taught philosophy, and is now a trained IFS therapist. He has published books with his poems, and has done a number of translations of the great poet and philosopher Parmenides. It was so wonderful to be introduced to this ancient world through Gary. It was also a treat to have him read some of his original poetry! It was so interesting to look at some IFS concepts through a poetic lense. I hope you ejoy this episode as much as I did!

Core Self Through the One Inside: Connecting with Tammy Sollenberger

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Tammy Sollenberger. She is very well known in the IFS community. She has a popular podcast called "The One Inside" and also has written an incredible book with the same name. She has been trained in IFS, and is an IFS therapist and consultant. It was a wonderful oppotunity to sit inside some of Tammy's positive self energy as we spoke about all things IFS. I hope you enjoy! 

Addictions Through IFS: Cece Sykes and a Paradigm Shift

Welcome to this beautiful conversation with one of the masters of IFS-- Cece Sykes. She shows us how IFS can be helpful for people struggling with addictions. In fact, she goes a step further, and we speak about how addictions are all around us, sometimes we don't even recognize how many things we are all addicted to in our culture! Some addictions are even encouraged (think about the workaholics or the greedy politicians as examples). 

EMDR Through First Hand Experience: The Righteous Rage of a 10-Year-Old Boy

In this episode I speak with author and CFO Justin B Long about his book, "The Righteous Rage of a 10-Year-Old Boy: A Journey of Self-Discovery." This is a beautiful book about a man who has overcome a traumatic childhood, with inner resilence, a lot of intention, and the help of his therapist (trained in EMDR). He recounts in detail his experience with EMDR, and how it helped transform his perception of himself and the world. Through a lot of courage and inner stamina Justin is able to reflect on the magic of EMDR with a very personal and open account of his experience. 

Healing Shame Through Compassion: Martha Sweezy on Shame and Guilt Part 1

I am reloading the first part of this episode as a special bonus this month! Martha was on the second episode from season 1. She was such a fun and interesting guest and a pleasure to speak with. She spoke about her book Internal Family Systes Therapy for Shame and Guilt, which is one of my most favorite books on my bookshelf! Not only did it deepen my understanding of IFS, but it also helps to get a better handle on something that afflicts all of us: shame! Thanks Martha for having this compassionate conversation with me!   

Robin Shapiro Shares Insights on EMDR, Spirituality and the Nervous System

I had the privilege of sitting down with one of my heroes, Robin Shapiro, the editor of EMDR Solutions I and II and a leading voice in trauma healing.
Robin shared deeply moving stories from her 20s, when she lived in a gay community and witnessed the AIDS crisis firsthand. That early encounter with mortality shaped her calling to help people heal their suffering.
Some highlights from our conversation:
 
Spirituality in Therapy: Robin brings meditation, intuition, and compassion into her EMDR practice—“God is love, and all beings need love.”
 
Attachment as the Foundation: The therapeutic relationship itself is the most healing force. Compassion and love are central to transformation.
 
Polyvagal Theory in Action: Helping clients, like children, learn “I can be sad and still lovable” builds regulation and safety.
 
Two-Handed Interweave: A brilliant way to explore inner conflicts and polarized ego states—using EMDR to integrate them.
 
Ego State & Parts Work: Trauma healing means bringing parts safely into the present, so no one is left “back there.”
 
Intergenerational Healing: Trauma can live in our cells across generations. Robin’s work invites us to clear what was carried before us.
 
Robin’s wisdom blends clinical brilliance with deep spirituality. She reminds us that in facing death and trauma, we actually discover how alive and connected we truly are!

Magic Through EMDR: Cindy Arnold, A Wonderful EMDR Trainer

Come listen to me speaking with Cindy Arnold, who was my EMDR trainer. I attended her wonderful class through the Trauma Institute and Child Trauma Institute which was founded by Executive Director Ricky Greenwald. Listen to Cindy and I speak about EMDR, and how she is also able to integrate IFS (as well as Ego States) into her trauma work. She was one of the people who helped lead me into the world of trauma healing. I hope you find this conversation with her as interesting and enlightening as I have! 

Connecting Through The Heart and Mind: Soul Journey with Sabine Boots

I had the pleasure to speak with Sabine Boots today. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in Massachusetts. Through EMDR and IFS therapy (she is certified in both) as well as other models of therapy, Sabine is able to create a peaceful, calm spaciousness for her clients, to help them reach a place where their souls can be healed from trauma! I hope you enjoy this beuatiful conversation.