This podcast is an exploration of the process of healing from spiritual abuse. Dr. Courtney Stratton discusses what actually qualifies as spiritual abuse and why it can be challenging to identify. She shares her research speaking with women about their personal experience of spiritual abuse and their journey to recovery. She describes some of the signs and indicators that someone may be a victim or survivor and discusses the challenges associated with healing from spiritual abuse.

This podcast is an exploration of the increasing presence of spirituality in online platforms. Spiritual mentors, teachers, and gurus are reaching out to share their experiences and teachings and creating spiritual communities along the way. Dr. Olivia Jenkins, Melissa Caicedo-Farbman, and Petra Parvati Meedt conducted a research study on this phenomenon. They share their results here with our listeners.

This podcast is a discussion with Dr. Yon Walls on the importance of recognizing ancestral trauma. Current research into trauma is beginning to identify the transgenerational impact of trauma. These go under the names collective, historical, generational, and ancestral trauma. Dr. Walls is a Somatic and Expressive Arts Psychotherapist, Trauma Specialist and Certified Mindfulness Practitioner in the Japanese Way of Tea. She is also a published poet and novelist. She is a contributor to the upcoming book; Seasons of Grief: Creative Interventions to Support Bereaved People. In addition, her Indie Novella; Seeing Colette (2014) will soon be re-released. Her research in the area of Ancestral Trauma speaks not only to trauma as a human condition of suffering, but also its potential for transformation. She is interviewed by Dr. John Elfers.

This podcast is a discussion with Dr. Fred Luskin on the meaning, purpose and value of forgiveness. Dr Luskin founded and currently serves as Director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Projects.  For 10 years he created and taught the Happiness class based on Positive Psychology class, as well as co-founded the Life Works and Wellness Education programs at Stanford School of Medicine.  He is on faculty for the Stanford School of Business Executive Education program where he teaches a series on Mindfulness and Happiness to business executives from all over the world. He is interviewed by Dr. John Elfers.

This podcast is a discussion with Dr. Robert Frager. Dr. Frager received his doctorate in Social Psychology from Harvard University in 1967. While studying there he conducted research in Japan, studying Aikido with the founder of this martial art. He is the co-author of the textbook Personality and Personal Growth and is the author of many books on Sufi Psychology and Wisdom. In 1975 Dr. Frager co-founded the Institute of Transpersonal psychology (now Sofia University) with Dr. James Fadiman. This was the first institute of higher education devoted exclusively to teaching transpersonal psychology. Here Dr. Frager shares his memories, thoughts, and insights on the evolution of transpersonal psychology as a discipline and the development of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. This podcast has been adapted from an interview conducted in May 2023 He is interviewed by Dr. John Elfers.

This podcast is a discussion with Dr. Suzanne Adams who shares her experience working with underserved communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dr. Adams is a graduate of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and is a licensed clinical psychologist, supervisor, trainer and public speaker. She brings her expertise in areas of LGBTIQQ issues and somatic trauma recovery to her work in community mental health, using holistic and transpersonal perspectives. In this interview with host Neal Adams, Dr. Suzanne Adams discusses her experience as a spiritually oriented therapist in addressing the deep cultural awareness that is critical in working with diverse populations in community mental health. Her approach is visionary and inspiring.

Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti, is a Somatic Psychotherapist, Eating Disorder Specialist, and Yoga Therapist. She is the author of Befriending Your Body: A Self-Compassionate Approach to Freeing Yourself from Disordered Eating (Shambhala Publications, 2018). She is the creator of The Befriending Your Body (BFYB) Program- A Somatic Self-Compassion Program for Making Peace With Your Body, Food and Self. Doctor Saffi Biasetti earned her doctorate through the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in 2015 and now returns to share her wisdom with our listeners.

In this podcast episode, host Dr. Patty Hlava invites Dr. Saffi Biasetti to share her personal story of how she came to appreciate the important role of self-compassion to mental health and the value of making it an embodied experience. She shares how an embodied approach can be integrated into a therapeutic setting. She looks to the future with suggestions and resources for creating an embodied life.  

Rosemarie Anderson, Ph.D., is professor emerita of psychology at Sofia University, an author, poet, and Episcopal priest. In 2017 she received the Abraham Maslow Heritage Award from the Society of Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological Association. She is the author of Celtic Oracles (Random House, 1998), The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching: A New Translation and Commentary (Inner Traditions, 2021), and Celtic Healing Oracle: 64 Cards and Guidebook (Destiny Books, forthcoming in February 2023). She also co-authored Transpersonal Research Methods for the Social Sciences (SAGE, 1998) and Transforming Self and Others Through Research (SUNY Press, 2011) with the late William Braud and co-authored Five Ways of Doing Qualitative Analysis: Phenomenological Psychology, Grounded Theory, Discourse Analysis, Narrative Research, and Intuitive Inquiry with Frederick J. Wertz, Kathy Charmaz, Linda M. McMullen, Ruthellen Josselson, and Emalinda McSpladden (Guilford Press, 2011). Rosemarie lives in southern Oregon surrounded by wilderness and wildlife. 

In this episode, host Dr. John Elfers invites Rosemarie Anderson to reflect on her career in transpersonal psychology as a researcher and professor. She shares her thoughts on where we have been and where we are going.