Lessons from 600 Trauma Therapists with Guy Macpherson

How We Can Heal

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Today on How We Can Heal Podcast, Lisa Danylchuk talks with Guy Macpherson about his most golden takeaways after talking with 600 trauma therapists. "Being with someone in their healing is healing in and of itself." In Guy's experience, that's something he has proven to be totally true. Here, Guy shares what made him go back to studying in his mid-30s, why vulnerability in therapy must come first from the therapist, and what Guy loves about being a therapist in podcasting.

Don't Hide Behind the Assessment
Reading psychoses is a normal thing to do in Guy's field of work. In this episode, Guy cites one instance where he handled a little kid with a 40-page psychosis and severe symptoms. Because communicating results is one part of working with clients, especially clients with guardians and parents, like little kids, as a therapist, Guy ensures that he does so without having to be robotic when simplifying readings with anyone that is of concern.

During therapy with this kid, Guy experienced a challenge—the talk wasn't going anywhere. With explaining an assessment to anyone outside the field being a challenge itself already, Guy faced a stiffer challenge when trying to tackle trauma with a child. That was until he decided to put down the assessment. When Guy resorted to just talking to the child, he observed a major shift. Not hiding behind the assessment helped the child see that he was just talking with another person. After that experience, Guy realized that he only needed to be there as a person first.

About Guy Macpherson:
Guy Macpherson, Ph.D., is a husband, a father of two, and holds a doctorate in clinical psychology. He has spent the last several years studying the impact and treatment of trauma and early psychosis.

In 2014, while working at a clinic in Northern California, assessing and treating young individuals with early psychosis, Guy founded The Trauma Therapist Project with the goals of raising the awareness of trauma and creating an educational and supportive community for new trauma therapists.

The Trauma Therapist Project has now grown to include The Trauma Therapist | Podcast, now being listened to in more than 160 countries around the world, Trauma Therapist | 2.0, an online membership community specifically dedicated to educating and inspiring new trauma therapists, and The Trauma Therapist Newsletter, a monthly subscription resource filled with information and inspiration for trauma therapists everywhere.

Guy's focus is on honoring and cultivating the authenticity, vulnerability, and courage of trauma therapists.

Outline of the episode:

● [01:54] What drew Guy into trauma therapy?

● [05:00] Guy Macpherson – on starting 'The Trauma Therapist Podcast'

● [10:26]Anything can be traumatizing for someone

● [15:27] A therapist's vulnerability is critical to setting a tone of safety

● [20:08] The quality of interpersonal relationships that you have is important

● [25:36] Your healing is your journey

● [31:51] The client's assessment is not as critical as connecting with them on a human level

● [39:00] I like how I can share how I screwed it up

● [46:26] It's not about if you're going to get triggered as a therapist; it's when you're going to get triggered

● [50:03] Human Being vs. Human Doing

Resources:

Website: https://www.thetraumatherapistproject.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guymacphersonphd<