Really! Melanie and guest Jon Baskin have a lot of fun talking about psychoanalysis in this episode.

 

Things like what it is, why there are so many negative biases against it (at least on Melanie’s part), and what motivated Jon to become a candidate psychoanalyst-in-training at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute.

 

Jon Baskin is already a seasoned psychotherapist. He’s a licensed clinical social worker, completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy at UCLA along with a master’s degree in social welfare, also at UCLA.

 

Over the course of his career, he’s worked with children with neurodevelopmental disabilities; military service members, veterans, and their families; first responders; education and mental health professionals; teenagers and young adults; and those experiencing crises related to severe psychological distress.

 

Jon’s a warm, compassionate, engaging guest who’s articulate about a sometimes confusing psychotherapeutic modality.

 

The prominent psychoanalytic therapist, Jonathan Shedler, shares this sort-of description about how it works:

 

 

“Our unexpected participation in our patients’ problematic relational patterns necessarily stirs up difficult feelings for us. It is not a question of if we experience difficult feelings but of whether or not we can use them constructively, as a source of understanding.”

 

Come along with Melanie as she learns more about psychoanalysis in this light-hearted (honest!) episode.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m Melanie, and I love helping people who are ready to work with a trauma therapist. 

 

In balancing the science of therapy with the art of healing, I’ll create an innovative program for you that sets you on a path of success from the very first session.

 

My compassionate, creative approach weaves together my ability to hear below the surface of the words, advanced degrees, years of specialized training, professional experience, and my own healing around trauma.

 

I use the latest neuroscience findings as I combine Western systems, Eastern wisdom, Earth-based practices, as well as creative, innovative ideas to help you process, heal and begin building your future.

 

My hope for you is that you’ll feel safe every step of the way as you transform “I don’t feel safe” into “Yes, I’m safe and well and happy.”

 

If you’d like a free, 15-minute phone consult, just send me an email: melanie@melanieharth.com.

This episode takes a deep dive into healing the shame of childhood sexual abuse.

 

National expert Beverly Engel is Melanie’s guest as the two of them explore some of the many unhealthy consequences of shame. An acclaimed advocate for victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, Beverly’s a psychologist and best-selling author who’s published 22 books, including four bestsellers on emotional abuse.

 

Her most recent book is Freedom at Last: Healing the Shame of Childhood Sexual Abuse.

 

Even though the subject matter may feel dark and heavy, the reality is that millions of people, both men and women, suffer deeply from the shame of having been sexually abused as children.

 

And that shame can become an insidious self-saboteur, holding you hostage, never allowing you to live a full, rich life.

 

There are many, often hidden, negative health consequences of having experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA). As Beverly writes:

 

“CSA survivors have a significantly higher risk of medical, psychological, behavioral, interpersonal, and social difficulties. Systemic reviews have also specifically established that CSA is a risk factor for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dissociative patterns, sexual problems, relationship problems, sexual exploitation, intimate partner violence, suicidality, substance abuse, eating disorders, and educational difficulties. But all those effects and risk factors pale in comparison to one particular consequence of child sexual abuse—shame.”

 

The very good news is that there is so much hope and healing possible, which is what the focus of the show is really all about.

 

Bad things happen to very good people. When you understand how much can be done to heal the shame of those early childhood wounds, your life will change for the better, in ways you may not even be able to imagine at this point.

 

As Beverly wrote in Freedom at Last, “being reminded of your own abuse is not necessarily a negative thing. This is because many former victims are in so much denial that being reminded of what happened to them can help them get out of denial, a major problem for many former victims. The more you can face the truth about what happened to you, the healthier you can become.”

 

This episode takes a fearless look at the truth about what happened, and offers lots of ideas, suggestions, and evidence-based strategies to help folks begin the transformational journey of healing themselves into wholeness.

 

Finally, please don’t expect this to be a horrible downer of a show. These two women offer wide-open, heartfelt personal experiences and professional guidance into a taboo subject that must be openly talked about. For that is where the healing lives.

 

Beverly Engel’s website here: http://healmyshame.com/

 

Dr. Melanie Harth’s website here: https://thesantafetherapist.com/about-santa-fe-therapist/