Healing Broken Bonds

As we move through the world and our lives we are surrounded with images, stories, connections and relationships that tell us who we are, who we should be, who we should love, how we should love, and how we should feel about ourselves and others. For many of us living the legacies of trauma in childhood and past relationships, breaking free of these scripts can be liberating and healing. Today Mike and Marie join Dr. Heather MacIntosh to explore how they’re navigating life, sexual identities, and parenthood with all the complexities of how trauma impacts them both individually and as a couple. Heather also sits down with Dr. Liz Powell, a psychologist, author and coach specialising in polyamory, and queer and trans communities, to gain some more insight into Mike and Marie’s healing journey.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma impacted couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Routledge.com or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr. Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Hunter Skahan. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trauma can present challenges to us accessing and expressing our full ‘beingness’. Today’s episode looks at those challenges specifically with the lens of trans identity. How can we see our true selves when there is no representation, and how can we break free of cis-scripts and expectations? Ocean and Moss join Heather to share their experiences of discovering their full selves and embodying their sexual and gendered selves. We look at kink, polyamoury, and setting boundaries, and dispel the myth that trauma causes anyone to be queer, trans, or non-monogamous. Ocean and Moss explore how their shared trans experience has created a new and healing relationship dynamic, and how their slow start allowed them both to show up authentically and fully, without any performance. Psychotherapist, writer and educator at the University of Alamabma Rahim Thawer weighs in too with his insights, sharing how the very structure of a long-term relationship can be healing for queer and trans people, providing a space for others to truly see us.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma impacted couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Routledge.com or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Hunter Skahan. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trauma profoundly impacts how we perceive ourselves, our bodies, and our relationships. It often lives on as loud, intrusive voices from the past, leading us to seek regulation through external means - like food, substances, or sex - or by disconnecting entirely. And while these strategies aim to quiet overwhelming feelings, they often hinder the very closeness and connection we need. Today Dr. MacIntosh sits down with Monica and Brennan, a couple who have been intentional about creating a safe, expansive, and healing relationship space together, where they can be fully present and not retreat into disconnection or dissociation. Psychotherapist Galit Atlas joins us to share her wisdom on how trauma continues to live within us.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma impacted couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Routledge.com or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Hunter Skahan. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Walking through life in a body navigating the impacts of trauma can quietly or loudly affect our daily lives, relationships, and sexualities. Bodies can hold painful stories from the past and create unique challenges in the present. Embodied trauma can impact how we feel about our bodies, sexualities, and gendered identities. This season we’re looking more closely at sex and sexualities, and the first stop on that road is embodiment. How do we hold trauma in our bodies? How do we feel about our bodies? And how does that move into sex and relationships? In this first episode, Dr Heather B. MacIntosh is joined by Joni and Greg, a couple who spent years in partnerships that felt disempowering, dismissing, and just plain wrong, but eventually they found each other. Over time, they have learned to reinhabit their own bodies, engage with physical sensations, and find deep intimacy with embodied sensuality, and sexuality evolving and changing with their needs for healing over time in their life together. Dr. MacIntosh also speaks with Massage Therapist Pam Fitch, who shares some of her reflections on decades of working with trauma survivors around embodiment, touch, and connection.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma impacted couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Routledge.com or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Hunter Skahan. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mentalizing is all about how we navigate our social worlds and relationships, how we think about thinking, and how we understand ourselves and those around us… and it can be tough for trauma survivors. In this third episode, Dr Heath MacIntosh is joined by Joe and Estelle, who share the challenges they’ve found in not letting assumptions cloud their responses to each other. Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma survivor couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Amazon.ca or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Jamie Zahn. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Emotions often hold good or bad connotations, but it isn't the feelings themselves that are the problem, rather the things we do to avoid or erase the ones that are scary or bewildering. Today’s episode explores the topic of Emotional Regulation, and Dr Heather B. MacIntosh is joined by George and River who share how they have learned to regulate themselves and each other when trauma cycles threaten to repeat. They discuss building in space between feelings and reactions, physical changes they can make when dysregulation begins, and the complexities with diagnoses of PTSD, Complex PTSD, and Borderline Personality Disorder.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma survivor couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Amazon.ca or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Jamie Zahn. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How can we know who we are and what matters to us if we can't even feel our feelings, and feel safe in our bodies? In this first episode Dr Heather B. MacIntosh is joined by Sofia and Cece to look at how their individual traumas show up in their relationship, and Heather tells how these behaviors or patterns are shared by many trauma survivor couples. The group explores ‘naming the trauma’ as a concept, setting and resetting boundaries with family, and how neurodivergence can add complexity to trauma responses.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma survivor couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Amazon.ca or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Jamie Zahn. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Get to know your host and the origins of her new approach to couples therapy as Dr MacIntosh shares her own experience of trauma and how that led to her therapy practice and research. Heather previews topics she’ll be exploring with her guests - couples experiencing the impacts of past trauma in their relationships today.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma survivor couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Amazon.ca or you can get in touch at [email protected]. Access the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Jamie Zahn. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Almost two thirds of us have experienced traumatic events in our lives. How do these experiences persist beyond those moments in our lives, our bodies, and our romantic relationships? Join Dr Heather B. Macintosh, Associate Professor at McGill University as she talks to a series of couples to explore these questions. Whether you're on your own healing journey or just curious about how humans work, follow Healing Broken Bonds now.Dr. MacIntosh's workbook for trauma survivor couples is published by Routledge Press and can be purchased at Amazon.ca or you can get in touch at [email protected] the manual for therapists here.  Healing Broken Bonds is created and written by editaudio in partnership with Dr Heather B. MacIntosh. Our lead producer is Maria Passingham with additional production support from Ali Sirois, Kathleen Speckert, and Jamie Zahn. Our executive producer is Steph Colbourn. Thank you to the couples who have contributed to our research, and to the communities who have helped to reinstate safety for trauma survivors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.