Write to us, we want to hear from you! In this episode we interview Dr. Tina Vitolo, a licensed clinical social worker, educator, and thought leader in the ethical integration of unconventional practices within mental health care. She is the founder of The Black Sheep Therapist platform and the Innovative Practitioner Accelerator (IPA) Program , which supports clinicians in aligning holistic, spiritual, and energy-based modalities with clinical theory and professional standards....
Jul 15, 2025•44 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Welcome back to Season 5 listeners! This season we are talking about Holistic Psychotherapy, a post-materialist perspective on alternative spiritual practices and their place in therapy. We have interviewed several therapists who incorporate spirituality into their therapy practice, and we have a variety of discussions on the ethics, theory, legality, and cultural responsibility of this type of therapeutic practice. Your hosts are Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan...
Jul 01, 2025•17 min
Write to us, we want to hear from you! It's our last episode of the season! Our guest Niki talks about her harrowing journey of family, love, and leaving Evangelicalism to find a new relationship with the Divine. You can find her on instagram @ Niki_corcoran_nc and @ Phoenix_uncaged . Her podcast is Tales of a Trailblazer: Uncaged , check it out!...
Oct 24, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Write to us, we want to hear from you! We have another special guest! Our friend Justin discusses his life growing up in a conservative Evangelical environment and how it was not an easy road to accept his gay identity and reconcile his faith. In this season about spiritual trauma, we've discussed how it is rooted in one's fear for their immortal soul. Justin's story is a beautiful tale of his dark night of the soul and recovering with a beautiful relationship to his God, and community....
Oct 10, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Write to us, we want to hear from you! We have a special guest! This season we have been unpacking religious trauma and spiritual abuse. Our guest today is Mikayla Gilbreath (she/her), LMSW, CCTS-I. Mikayla discusses discovering her queer identity in an Evangelical community, coming out, and her work as a grief and trauma therapist.
Sep 10, 2024•50 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Grief, loss, and trauma can all accompany leaving a spiritually abusive environment. While previously we talked about how an institution can be religiously abusive -even if it's not a cult- today Dr. Mac and Léa Fae talk about the trauma associated with removing oneself from a high-demand environment. Leaving is never easy.
Aug 27, 2024•34 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Earlier this season Dr. MAC and co-host Léa defined spiritual abuse, and discussed the unique characteristics of trauma from religious/spiritual abuse. Healing wounds from this specific type of trauma is its own unique journey, and in today's episode we discuss what that can look like.
Aug 13, 2024•32 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Today's episode Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan (she/her) and Léa Fae (they/he/she/fae) discuss types of organizational structures that don't meet the standard definition of a cult, but still practice spiritually abusive tactics.
Jul 30, 2024•29 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Spiritual abuse that takes place during childhood is unique in the trauma developed by the abused. In this episode of Finding Our Minds. Dr. Margaret Arnd-Caddigan (she/her) and co-host Léa Fae (they/he/she/fae/faer) discuss how religious trauma differs from other types of childhood trauma, and how that can affect development. Sources for this season can be found in two parts. Below, and in the Episode 1 description. Sources (2/2) McGraw, Danielle M., Marja...
Jul 16, 2024•33 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Welcome back, listeners! Season 4 tackles the topic of spiritual and religious abuse. In this introduction your hosts Dr. Arnd-Caddigan and Léa Fae Caddigan discuss their personal relationship with spiritual abuse and the inspiration behind this season's topic. A short and sweet introduction to the material before delving deeply into the topic in subsequent episodes. Sources for this season can be found in two parts, below, and in the episode description of...
Jul 02, 2024•23 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Write to us, we want to hear from you! It's (finally) the final episode of the season! Dr. Mac and Leah wrap up this season's discussion on "the sense of self." Why is the medical model not the best way to look at mental un-wellness and the healing journey? How can we help our clients without infantalizing them? How dose a mind-centered depth-approach therapy allow for an individual's healing journey to inform the therapeutic process, better than evidence-based practice? This and more on today's...
Mar 20, 2023•28 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Today's final episode of this season's lecture series, Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses what it takes for inner change to occur in an individual, and how other people are involved in the process. Works discussed in today's episode include: Benjamin, J. (2004). Beyond doer and done-to: An intersubjective view of thirdness. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 73, 5-46 Benjamin, B. (1988). Bonds of love: Psychoanalysis, feminism, and the problem of domination. Pantheon. Ches...
Feb 22, 2023•40 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Our final installment of discussing identity, personality, and character, Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses what makes up one's character. She goes on to review personal ethics in the context of forming identity and character, and how this relates to treating mental suffering in the therapeutic context. Works cited in today's episode: Carol Gilligan (1982) In a Different Voice Johathan Haidt, Fredrik Björklund, and Scott Murphy (2000). Moral Dumbfounding: When In...
Feb 07, 2023•32 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Today's episode is a review of personality through the lens of developing a healthy self. How does this relate to identity, character, and development? Dr. Arnd-Caddigan and Leah Faye discuss.
Jan 25, 2023•34 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In this episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan and co-host Leah Faye discuss the various ways in which those suffering from mental illness choose to identify. Today's lecture unpacks how mental suffering can arise when a society chooses to project an identity onto an individual whose sense of self is at conflict with the societal projection.
Dec 27, 2022•38 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Write to us, we want to hear from you! This meditation is meant to be paired with episode 5, and focuses on our sense of self.
Dec 13, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In this episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan breaks down the concept of multiple selves, and the experience of multiple selves in a dissociative context. How does one unify the self? What is the difference between multiple selves and multiple experiences? Works cited in today's episode: Steven Kuchuck: The Relational Revolution in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. Richard Schwartz: ifs-institute.com/resources/articles/internal-family-systems-model-outline Richard Schw...
Nov 30, 2022•33 min
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In this episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses the Jungian definition of individuality, and the means by which Carl Jung studied the sense of self. The co-hosts discuss the impact Jungian and post-Jungian psychology has on the sense of binaries, and the concept of individuation. Works cited in today's episode: Murray Stein: Handbook of Jungian Psychology Christine Becker: Letting your Life Speak: The Gentle Art of Individuation. The Jungian Path. C.G. Jung: Ps...
Nov 16, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Today's episode explores how we define a healthy sense of self. Books referenced in today's episode: Galen Strawson: Selves; The Subject of Experience Jiri Benovsky: Mind and Matter: Panpsychism, Dual-Aspect Monism, and the Combination Problem Daniel Stern: The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology Peter Fonagy: Affect Regulation, Mentalization and the Development of the Self....
Nov 01, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses the concept of self and how it is defined from a psychotherapist's perspective. Who or what experiences the concept of self? Works discussed in today's episode include: Jiri Benovsky: Mind and matter: Panpsychism, dual-aspect monism, and the combination problem. Philip Bromberg: Standing in spaces: The multiplicity of the self and the psychoanalytic relationship. In Contemporary Psychoanalysis, volume 32. Lionel Corbett and Leann...
Oct 18, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In this first episode of Season 3 our co-hosts Dr. Mac and Leah Faye attempt to define the "self" while asking the question: What is it we are actually experiencing when we talk about our 'self' as a sensation? Leslie Kean: Surviving Death: A journalist investigates evidence for an afterlife Harvey J. Irwin & Carolyn J. Watt: An Introduction to Parapsychology 5th Ed. Julie Beischel. Among Mediums: A Scientist’s Quest for Answers Daniel Stern: The Interp...
Oct 04, 2022•33 min
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In our next episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses tactics narcissistic abusers use in depth, and looks at ways one can heal from the experience. This meditation is meant to accompany Season 2, Episode 9, as a way to help ease mental suffering that results from gaslighting and other abusive tactics. We hope you find peace and solace in today's meditation.
Feb 15, 2022•16 min
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Looking for a therapist and have no idea where to start? Uninsured? Worried about what type of therapy is right for you? Not sure what questions to ask a potential new therapist? Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses with Leah how to go about the task of finding the right fit.
Feb 15, 2022•36 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Narcissistic abusers have many tactics to control and manipulate people in their lives. The good news is there are ways to heal after experiencing this kind of trauma. In this episode, Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses a few of the tactics a narcissistic abuser may use to manipulate a person, and the steps one can take to heal from such an experience.
Feb 01, 2022•34 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In our next episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses tactics narcissistic abusers use in depth, and looks at ways one can heal from the experience. This meditation is meant to accompany Season 2, Episode 9, as a way to help ease mental suffering that results from gaslighting and other abusive tactics. We hope you find peace and solace in today's meditation.
Jan 18, 2022•16 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Write to us, we want to hear from you! What if your abuser is your workplace, or your school? In this episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses how narcissistic abuse can extend to the structure of an institution, and posits how we can hold institutions accountable for abusive practices.
Jan 04, 2022•43 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In previous episodes we discuss how narcissistic abuse can involve thought-insertion, the non-somatic communication of degrading thoughts directed at a victim. In this episode, Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses how in therapy we can support clients experiencing this, and the dangers of incorrectly labeling a victim of narcissistic abuse as psychotic.
Dec 21, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Write to us, we want to hear from you! Dr. Arnd-Caddigan leads us in a meditation to center our chakras.
Dec 07, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Write to us, we want to hear from you! In this week's episode Dr. Arnd-Caddigan discusses the history of telepathy and telepathic studies in the discipline of psychoanalysis.
Nov 23, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Write to us, we want to hear from you! We've been discussing all season the implications of mind-to-mind communication in the context of abuse. When someone experiences a narcissist's abusive tactics (such as gaslighting) it can often seem as though the abuser has an otherworldly control over our minds. In this episode we discuss the concept of psi, the mind-to-mind link between two people, and how that is twisted by the abuser to harm others. If you've ever experienced an encounter you would co...
Nov 09, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 5
