SPEAKING & COMMUNITY EDUCATION
What the Therapy Room Teaches Us About Each Other
Talks for organizations, companies, and community groups drawn from the frontlines of trauma healing
After years of sitting with people in the hardest moments of their lives, certain truths become impossible to ignore. Human beings are wired for connection. Our defenses, as individuals and as communities, make perfect sense. And healing, at every scale, happens in relationship.
These talks translate the hard-won wisdom of trauma therapy into language your group can use in your work, your leadership, and how you show up for each other.
Signature Talks
Wired for connection: what trauma therapy teaches us about community
15-20 Minutes | All Audiences
We arrive in the world as infants already reaching for human connection. This talk explores what happens when that need goes unmet and how the adaptations we make, individually and collectively, shape the way we relate to each other long after the original wound. Audiences leave with a new lens for understanding conflict, withdrawal, and disconnection in their organizations and communities, and a simple but powerful tool for changing the pattern.
The Defended Self: Understanding your inner landscape under stress
20-30 Minutes | Leadership & Teams | Pairs Well with Talk 1
Why do we react so differently when life becomes overwhelming? In this approachable and insightful presentation, participants will explore how stress activates the protective patterns we all develop to navigate challenges, including people-pleasing, perfectionism, overthinking, withdrawal, and self-criticism. Drawing from attachment theory, trauma-informed perspectives, and contemporary psychology, this talk helps attendees understand the inner forces that shape their thoughts, emotions, and relationships under stress, while offering practical tools for greater self-awareness, resilience, and self-compassion.
After the Rupture: What collective trauma does to communities and how they heal
25-35 Minutes | CIVIC GROUPS & ORGANIZATIONS | DISCUSSION-FRIENDLY
Communities fracture after hard events the same way individuals do, into defended parts that stop seeing each other clearly. This talk examines the parallels between trauma’s effects on the inner world and its effects on the social fabric, drawing on clinical observations from work with dissociation and attachment to offer a framework for collective healing. Especially relevant for organizations navigating significant change, loss, or conflict.
Who These Talks Are For
Civic Organizations
Rotary clubs, Lions, community foundations, neighborhood associations
Companies & Teams
Leadership offsites, all-hands, ERGs, wellness programming
Nonprofits & Social Services
Staff training, board retreats, community health initiatives
Schools & Universities
Faculty development, parent groups, student wellness programs
Healthcare & Helping Professions
Burnout prevention, team culture, compassion fatigue
Faith Communities
Pastoral care teams, lay leadership, congregation programs
