In this wide-ranging interview with Dr. Jeff Magnavita, I discuss my life in the field of psychotherapy, and the ways in which I have been transformed by, and, I hope, have transformed the field of psychology. Where to find FREE – View on YouTube
Posts Categorized: recorded
Decolonial, liberatory, intersectional feminist therapy: The next step on the path (August 2021-August 2022, On-Demand)
Feminist therapy has, in essence, argued that the entire project of psychotherapy was colonized and corrupt from its inception. The collusion of the “founding fathers” of western psychotherapy with both overt and covert moves by governments to control the behaviors of marginalized persons, as well as reinforce dangerous false narrative of toxic masculinity, are core… Read more »
Why psychology must pay attention to trauma
This presentation, which I recorded in early July, 2021, takes the form of a conversation between myself and Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, a feminist/womanist trauma psychologist who was then running for the presidency of the American Psychological Association. In it I talk about the centrality of trauma to everything that psychologists do, and the necessity of… Read more »
What’s in a name? Reflections on how the dissociative coping strategies of survivors of trauma are anything but a disorder
This interview, which I gave in April, 2020, shares my process of becoming a therapist working with, and eventually attempting to be an ally to, people living with dissociation, especially with dissociative ego states. An important focus of this interview is my discussion of how I have come to abandon the use of “disorder” in… Read more »
Retiring from trauma therapy practice: Reflections on four decades in the field
This podcast interview was done just as I was closing my practice of psychotherapy in December, 2018. In it I reflect on the lessons learned in 40 years of working as a psychologist in the field of trauma, as well as discussing how I came to the decision to retire from psychotherapy practice. Where to… Read more »
Feminist therapy supervision
This video features my early career colleague Samantha Slaughter PsyD consulting with me on the topic of countertransference. It offers a real-time experience of what feminist supervision or consultation looks and sounds like. The DVD also includes an interview with me and Dr. Slaughter, and a discussion of some of clips in the session that… Read more »
Laura talks about fear and disempowerment as barriers to social action on Seattle’s public radio station
What do feminist therapy principles of empowerment have to do with responding to climate change? Well, a lot, as it turns out, because empowering people to respond effectively to scary and overwhelming social issues looks very much like empowering people to make change in the therapy process. You can hear me talk about this with… Read more »
Laura talks about being a trauma therapist on the West Coast Trauma Project podcast
Guy McPherson, the podcast host, interviews me about how I became a trauma therapist, and what keeps me inspired and engaged in this work. I share some early stumbles on the path to understanding trauma, and discuss what a new trauma therapist, or an experienced therapist new to trauma, can to to enhance their capacity… Read more »
Laura talks about Your Turn for Care on The Mary Waldon Show
A discussion of Your Turn for Care with internet radio host Mary Waldon. In this frank conversation, I talk about the concept of the contracts between children and the adults who raise them, and the pain and challenges that arise for people who had those contracts for care broken by their elders. I discuss some…
This is the audio for a workshop I gave March 2, 2013 at the New School for Social Research in New York City. This workshop introduced participants to an emerging epistemology of cultural competence that focuses on the person of the psychotherapist rather than on the acquisition of information about the Other. Participants were challenged… Read more »21st Century Cultural Competence
Cultural competence in trauma treatment
This on-line video course describes a paradigm for culturally competent psychotherapy practice, and its integration into work with survivors of psychological trauma. In it I propose that trauma does not occur to a generic human being. Rather, trauma interacts with the unique set of characteristics and experiences that each person brings to their encounter with… Read more »
Multiple identities in context of trauma: Increasing cultural competence
In this recording of a six-hour workshop originally presented live at the annual conference of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies you will be introduced to a model of identity development which conceptualizes people in terms of their multiple social locations and intersecting senses of self, rather than as a unitary identity as externally… Read more »
Developing cultural competence in psychotherapy practice
This Web Conference introduces listener to my model of culturally competent practice focusing on the self of the therapist. Avoiding guilt and shame, being able to make effective, empowering heart-to-heart connections with clients, and increasing awareness of one’s own non-conscious biases are the focuses of this presentation. Where to find Listen at GoodTherapy.org – available… Read more »
Can we create social justice? Toward an ethic of justice for trauma psychology
This presidential address given for the APA Division of Trauma Psychology explores my vision of how work with trauma survivors can challenge core aspects of injustice in the larger social milieu. Creating social justice is one of my core values, and righting the enormous injustice at the heart of most human trauma has been the… Read more »
Psychotherapists face-to-face
This is a candid interview conducted with me in 2010 by Jeffrey Magnavita, Ph.D., then-President of APA’s Division of Psychotherapy. It’s a good way to get to know me and how I think about what I do in a somewhat more informal manner. Where to find FREE – View on the Division of Psychotherapy website
Feminist Therapy over time
This DVD is a revealing and true-to-life portrait of how I practice feminist therapy. It’s a good teaching video for classes on feminist therapy, and also on psychotherapy skills in general.
Finding my center: Martial arts on the way to Tikkun Olam
This is a talk that I gave at APA as part of a symposium about therapist self-care. It’s a highly personal description of how I came to the practice of aikido, and how that practice has transformed my capacities to care for myself in the work of trauma therapy. Where to find FREE – Download… Read more »
Working with men survivors of trauma and abuse
It can be a challenge to illustrate an approach to therapy in one session, but this video does a nice job of showing how narratives of masculinity affect experiences of a male survivor of childhood maltreatment. Includes a voice-over in which I explain and critique my own work, and some post-session analysis of how and… Read more »
Working with women survivors of trauma and abuse
This video of a one-session therapy with a volunteer client (not an actor) probably comes closer to showing what happens in my office most days than any of my other recorded work. It’s a nice example of feminist principles of empowerment in action, and demonstrates how feminist analysis of gender informs and strengthens trauma treatment…. Read more »
Feminist couples therapy
This is the video of a lecture and demonstration that I was invited to give on working with same sex couples. Imagine my surprise when the couple who were recruited for the demonstration turned out to be heterosexual. I had a chance to model therapist flexibility, and the session turned out to be a nice… Read more »
Feminist Therapy
This session, with an actor playing the client, is from APA’s initial efforts to create a video series. Even though the “client’s” story is not her own, we were able to generate some emotionally truthful work, and I had a chance to show the basic principles of Feminist Therapy. You’ll get a better idea of… Read more »