The Gifts of Trauma

Hosted by Kevin Young and J'aime Rothbard. Produced by J'aime Rothbard 
More than 15 years spent running into burning buildings taught him that the hardest fires to face are the ones that follow you home. In the first of our five-part First Responders Series, Kevin and J'aime sit down with Brandon, a retired Canadian Firefighter, to explore what it really costs to be the one who shows up for others on the worst days of their lives.
Brandon explains:
- Why 'mental fitness' is a more useful frame than 'mental health' for firefighters
- What his international research (104 fire chiefs across five continents) revealed about the gap between how firefighters train for fire and how they train for their own mental health
- How the firehouse storytelling tradition could become the fire service's most powerful teaching tool
- The five pillars of Fire to Light, and what 'operationalizing wellness' actually looks like
Brandon shares a raw and unflinching perspective on what it costs to be the one who runs toward the fire, and why "We're not broken, we just need to train differently" might be the most important reframe first responders need to hear. Join us to hear what can change when a firefighter stops surviving their career and starts training for it.
About Brandon Evans Executive Director,
Fire to Light Foundation, Founder & CEO,
Fire to Light 
Brandon Evans is a retired firefighter and the Founder of Fire to Light, an organisation dedicated to advancing preventative Mental Fitness training inside the fire service. Drawing on lived experience and independent global research involving over 104 fire chiefs and leaders across 13 countries and 5 continents, Brandon developed the Fire to Light Mental Fitness Training System, a practical operationalised approach to training Mental Fitness the same way fire departments train every other critical skill.
Through the Fire to Light Foundation, a registered Canadian charity of which Brandon serves as Executive Director, the goal is to make Mental Fitness training accessible to every fire department, removing barriers so that Mental Fitness is systemised and embedded into fire service operations worldwide. not treated as a clinical afterthought, but trained, reinforced, and owned at every level of the organisation.
Brandon's mission is to help reduce rates of suicide and psychological injury in the fire service through an upstream approach of Mental Fitness Training, Fitness before Therapy.
Promotional Messages:
Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training
If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please tap this link to learn more.  
Suicide Attention Training
The Compassionate Inquiry Suicide Attention Training is for therapists, health professionals and others working in therapeutic, healing, educational, medical, or coaching roles. If you're seeking sensitive training to help you recognize and support people in your communities who may be experiencing suicidal distress, please tap this link. It will take you to a web page where you can learn more about this training, and decide if it's a good fit for you. 
Resources:
Websites:
Fire to Light Foundation 
Fire to Light Website
Support Fire to Light — Zeffy
Fire to Light Research Study
Crackyl Magazine Website
Articles:
Defining Resilience for Firefighters
Firefighters and Mental Health: The Fear of Raising Your Hand
The Current State of Mental Health in the Fire Service
But There Is Nothing Wrong With Me
Trauma: Who, What, Where, When and Why
Podcasts: 
Upgrade Your Self Love (2025)
Heroes are Also Human (2025)
Transforming Challenges into Opportunities (2025)
Brandon Evans - Fire to Light (2024)
Discovering The Energy Of Love (2022)
Videos:
Firefighting and Mental Fitness (2025)
Understanding Mental Health in the Fire Service  (2024)
Real Leadership Comes from Courage (2024)
Don't Judge a Book (2024)
Fire To Light with Brandon Evans  (2024)
How to Improve Your Mental Fitness (2023)
Social Media:
Facebook: Fire to Light
Instagram: @firetolight_firefighters
LinkedIn: Fire to Light Foundation

Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard

Diagnosed with an autoimmune disease at three, Lizzie grew up not feeling safe within her own body. A volatile home meant she didn't feel safe outside it either. This candid conversation traces a decades long journey from a childhood marked by chronic illness and family instability, through disordered eating and compulsive exercise to a liver transplant at 31, the long work of making a stranger's organ her own, and what it takes to keep finding, again and again, a small enough foothold to trust she can balance.
Lizzie shares:
- How a psyche and body under siege shaped a pattern of control through eating and exercise
- What it took to wait for, survive, and recover from transplant surgery
- What her transplanted 80-year-old liver is teaching her about time, aging and her own body
- What drew her, a 20-year veteran of structural bodywork, to Compassionate Inquiry®
Join us to hear how three decades in the treatment room, five decades of living with chronic illness, and one organ transplant brought Lizzie to a practice built on trust, patience and staying gently curious about what her body is still holding.
About Lizzie Reumont Yoga Teacher, Rolfer and Rolf Movement Practitioner, Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, Private Mentor and Somatic Therapist
Lizzie's interest in what it means to be in the body originated from an early age, as a young child living with an active auto-immune illness in an environment where her body never truly felt safe.
After spending her teenage years doing everything possible to disconnect from her body, in her early twenties Lizzie attended her first yoga class. This became an entry point for what continues to unfold as a lifelong practice of uncovering new layers of understanding about what it means to be herself, and what it means to be human.
Lizzie has been teaching yoga and working as a Rolfer, Rolf Movement practitioner and craniosacral therapist for over 20 years. During this time, she has also moved through an arc of personal circumstances that include a liver transplant, a cancer diagnosis and a colectomy. Whilst her body has changed form, her inner landscape has found clarity and depth. Her scope of work has also shifted, adding Compassionate Inquiry and Somatic Experiencing to the tools she uses as a multidisciplinary Somatic Therapist. 
Alongside her curiosity about what shapes the experience of being human, Lizzie is also an avid nature enthusiast, bird watcher, piano player and mother, which are all sources of inspiration and joy.
 
Promotional Messages:
Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026
If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing. 
Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training
If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, tap this link for more information.  
Resources:
Websites:
Professional Website
Books:
(Auto-Immune Illness, Chronic Pain, Female Studies)
Between Two Kingdoms
Unwell Woman
The Invisible Kingdom
Bodies of Truth
Body Horror
The Body Keeps The Score
When The Body Says No
(Authenticity)
The Secret to Superhuman Strength
Dying To Be Me
A Matter of Death and Life
The Roles We Play
What It Means To Be Human
Far From The Tree
Daring Greatly
(Trauma)
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents
The Drama of Being a Child
Meeting the Shadow
The Myth of Normal
Waking the Tiger
In An Unspoken Voice
An Autobiography of Trauma
Anchored
Social Media:
https://www.instagram.com/lizzie.reumont/

Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard.
What do birth and grief have in common? For Anouk, they are different sides of the same coin; threshold moments where our bodies already know what to do, if our minds allow us to trust the process. Anouk's life has so many facets, layers, and redirects that it would have been easy for her to overlook the consistent theme, which is simply: "Everything was meant to happen."
In this warm and wide-ranging conversation, Anouk explores:
- What shifts grief from a natural and healthy human experience into pathology
- What seeing birth and death as different sides of the same coin, taught her about life
- How becoming a parent can activate unprocessed transgenerational wounds
- What it means to grow up as a "third culture kid"
- How her multicultural inheritance, Korean, Swiss and Taiwanese, shapes her perspectives
Throughout this interview Anouk shares many of her beautiful facets: Two decades running a children's forest school. A lifetime of crossing cultural and emotional thresholds. Her work in 'The Portal.' A concept she calls Essence Recovery. And at the end, the gift she offers to anyone hesitating at a life threshold is simple and steadying: "You're not alone in this."

About Anouk Wehli:  ⁠Traumatologist
Anouk brings a unique synthesis of clinical expertise and lived experience to the fields of growth and development. As a psychotherapist, trained midwife, grief specialist, massage therapist, outdoor educator and mother, her work is rooted in the belief that our personal histories and professional lives are fundamentally interconnected. 
She joined Compassionate Inquiry in 2020 and today works as a Portal Facilitator, Circle Leader and behind the scenes in administration. The trauma lens Compassionate Inquiry offers has deepened her work as a grief counsellor, birth worker, communications trainer and bodyworker. 
Having survived cultural and generational trauma, she knows first-hand the powerful effects of compassionately being with pain so suffering eases and life becomes more bearable… even enjoyable. 
Growing up in Taiwan and Hong Kong with a Korean mother and Swiss father endowed Anouk with an invaluable set of multicultural competencies. Her melting pot upbringing and education in international schools instilled open-mindedness which she embodies when working with clients from all around the world. Working virtually has opened up a cosmopolitan online practice which she invites you to step into, if you're drawn to start your recovery journey with a Compassionate Inquiry session. 
Promotional Messages
The Portal Training
If you've been listening to our podcast, you may have heard guests connect their birth experiences with enduring subconscious behavioural and emotional patterns. To help break this cycle, Compassionate Inquiry® offers The Portal, a 28-week trauma-informed training for perinatal health professionals; such as midwives, obstetricians, nurses and doulas, who want to empower their patients to trust their innate ability to birth, bond & nurture their child. Tap this link to learn more
Spotlight Episodes
Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships
Resources:
Websites:
Professional Website
Compassionate Inquiry Profile
Related Links:
Grief Recovery Method 
The Grief Recovery Handbook
Cruse Bereavement (UK)
National Bereavement Alliance (UK)
What's your Grief?
Grief School  
The Beyond Addiction Program
The Portal Training
Compassionate Inquiry Professional Training
Compassionate Inquiry Circles
Science and Nonduality (SAND)
The NVCI Circle
Cat McCarthy's Interview
Social Media
Instagram @anoukwehli

Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard.
Some healing journeys begin with a single crisis. This deeply moving conversation tracks a healing journey that spans more than 5 decades; from infant medical trauma, to being sent to a children's home, to losing her first husband to cancer, the sudden suicide of her second husband, myelitis-induced paralysis and incontinence, the esophageal cancer that followed years of dexamethasone treatment, and a near-death experience during chemotherapy.
Anouk's life is one where extraordinary trauma coexists with luminous aliveness, intelligence and impeccable care. She shares:
- How being 'fixated' as an infant wired her nervous system for survival, dissociation and a lifelong resistance to touch
- What finally forced her body to say no, and the crack of light that initiated her return
- How psychedelics, approached within a carefully held therapeutic container, opened childhood layers that nothing else had reached
- What it means to build a healing model from the inside out, and why the safety of the container is everything
For anyone considering legal psychedelic work, Anouk's retreat model, with its rigorous preparation, trauma-trained support team, and structured integration program, represents something rare and genuinely trustworthy in a landscape where harm is all too possible. Join us to hear how one woman's most shattering experiences seeded her most profound gifts.
About Anouk Bindels
A psychologist, systems therapist, coach and trainer, with a private practice based in the Netherlands, Anouk's work focuses on understanding the deep roots of trauma and the protective patterns people develop in order to survive difficult experiences. Having spent 40 years helping people heal from trauma, her Heart & Brain healing approach springs from firsthand experience, deep training, and a desire to offer something better..
Over the years, Anouk has continued to deepen her knowledge and professional skills through various international refresher courses and studying the works of: Jan Foudrenne, Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, Joe Dispenza, Kelly Turner, Bruce Lipton, James Fadiman, Stephen Porges, Dan Siegel, Gabor Maté, Janina Fisher and Frank Anderson. Anouk has also completed the Compassionate Inquiry® professional training and participated in the Kiyumi trauma-informed, psychedelic-assisted therapy, preparation, and integration programs developed in collaboration with Gabor Maté.
By combining her versatile, international orientation with her professional insights and personal life experiences, Anouk developed the Heart & Brain healing process, which skilfully bridges the gaps between modern neuroscience and traditional Eastern philosophy, and between cognitive psychology and spirituality. 
Anouk's learnings gained through her personal experiences with loss, trauma and illness are woven throughout her book, Wisdom of Trauma. It is currently available in Dutch and German. However, English and Spanish translations are underway. 
In addition to her book, Anouk offers various forms of therapy, coaching, small groups and Heart and Brain Healing Camps (4.5 or 7 day psychedelic retreats with full preparation and integration elements). On her website, she offers an online trauma course (9 modules) and numerous meditations.
Promotional Messages:
Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training
If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please tap this link.  
Spotlight Episodes
Your journey with Compassionate Inquiry® matters. Your work in the world matters. If you have a story to share about bringing Compassionate Inquiry into the world, we'd like to amplify your voice. Spotlight episodes are full length Gifts of Trauma podcast interviews offered exclusively to CI community members. You'll not only share your story with 55,000 healing professionals across all platforms, you'll receive a pre-interview strategy session plus three promotional video clips. We're offering only 10 Spotlight episodes per year and production realities require a financial contribution. Follow the links to access full details and express your interest. Spotlight Episodes   |   Sponsorships
Resources:
Website:
Professional Website
Related Links:
Therapy Offerings
Coaching Offerings
Meditations
Free Meditation Journal
Events
Trauma-Sensitive Training (with New Mind Institute)
Heart & Brain Healcamp (Retreats)
Wisdom of Trauma (Podcast - 2025)
Wisdom of Trauma (Book - 2021)
When the Body Says No (Book)
The Myth of Normal (Book)
Radical Remission (Book)
Radical Hope (Book)
Gabor Mate, MD  (YouTube)
Howard Schubiner, MD (YouTube)
Social Media:
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn

Hosted by Kevin Young.  Produced by J'aime Rothbard.
What if the part of yourself you've been taught to suppress is actually the doorway to being fully alive? Charon has spent a lifetime exploring that question, as a somatic therapist, a shamanic bodyworker, through her training in Compassionate Inquiry® and her new book, Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy. (2026)
In this Spotlight Episode, Kevin engages Charon in a wide-ranging conversation that flows from the body's quiet intelligence to the life force that animates everything, including our capacity to tolerate, connect, create and engage fully with the world around us.
Charon shares:
- How her life's work springs from reading bodily signals as a child, and watching her mother grieve
- What it means to "drop into the body;" through a live demonstration
- Why sexual energy is about life force, not intercourse, and why a healthy relationship with sexuality doesn't require a partner
- How shame around sexuality can shrink our capacity for presence, connection and aliveness
- What it means to be sovereign in love… and why pleasure is not a luxury but our birthright
This episode offers both a map and a permission slip to anyone who has ever felt disconnected from their own intimacy and aliveness. Charon invites us to consider what we've been taught to suppress, and what might become possible if we free it.
About Charon Normand-Widmer
LMSW, Relationship Therapist
A Licensed Master Social Worker and somatic psychotherapist, Charon is the founder of Luminous Ground, a body of work at the intersection of nervous system science, intimacy, and embodiment.
For over a decade, she has worked with individuals and couples in the territory where most healing actually happens: the body. Her approach is trauma-informed, somatic, and deeply relational, drawing on attachment theory, polyvagal theory, and the practices of erotic embodiment. Charon believes that people are not broken, they are carrying nervous systems that learned, often very young, how to survive. The work, in her hands, is helping the body feel safe enough to come back online.
Her practice offers a range of doorways into this work: 1:1 sessions, written therapy by letter, group containers including Embodied Tantra, live ceremonies and circles, and Empower Your Pathways, her ongoing WhatsApp community for those committed to longer-term integration. 
She also teaches and writes at the intersections of nervous system, intimacy, desire, and sovereignty, with essays appearing on her Substack and across her social platforms.
Charon's first book, Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy, released on June 1, 2026 from Sovereign Press. It is available on Amazon and IngramSpark.
Promotional Messages
3rd Compassionate Inquiry® Conference—Vancouver 2026
If you've completed, or are currently enrolled in Compassionate Inquiry training, you're invited to attend the third international CI Conference in Vancouver, Canada from October 30 to November 1. Dr Gabor Maté is returning as our keynote speaker and master class presenter. Enjoy engaging workshops and inspiring demonstrations with Sat Dharam Kaur, CI Facilitators and Practitioners. Whether you join us in person for three days of shared inquiry with CI cohort partners, and colleagues from around the world, or attend virtually to focus on the teachings, tap this link to learn more and secure your place. And yes—there will be dancing. 
Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training
If you've been listening to our podcast and are curious about the Compassionate Inquiry approach developed by Doctor Gabor Maté and Sat Dharam Kaur, consider joining the Professional Training Program. It's open to all healing professionals, including naturopaths, physicians, body workers, coaches, and therapists. In addition to learning how to use compassion to support your clients in their most vulnerable moments with greater empathy and authenticity, you'll also deepen your own internal process. If you're interested, please follow this link.  
Resources
Professional Website
Related Links
Free 'Intimacy Without Armour' Masterclass
Embodied Intimacy (Small-group sessions)
Private 1:1 & Group Work
Muse Codes 1-Month Audio Experience
Empower Your Pathways WhatsApp Broadcast: 
Books
Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy (Amazon)
Sovereign in Love: The Nervous System Path to Holding Desire, Power and Intimacy (IngramSpark)
The Power of Divine Eros: The Illuminating Force of Love in Everyday Life 
Articles
Relationship Alchemy (Substack)
Compassionate Inquiry Blog Library
Social Media
Facebook
Instagram
Tiktok