The Complex Trauma Podcast

If you've done the work, learned the tools, and still feel like you're white knuckling through every single day, this episode is for you.
For many people with complex PTSD and developmental trauma, calm isn't somewhere familiar to return to. It's something that has to be built, maybe for the first time. And that changes everything about how healing needs to look.
This episode breaks down three concepts from developmental trauma research that explain why nervous system regulation can feel so darn hard, and why that has nothing to do with how hard you're trying.
Foundational dysregulation. Blended autonomic states. Defensive accommodations.
These are the missing pieces that explain why you can feel wired and exhausted at the same time, why your coping strategies became your personality, and why the standard regulation tools keep hitting a wall.
This episode draws on the work of Peter Levine and clinical literature on the side effects of developmental trauma.
You are absolutely not broken. There is a real reason you feel the way you do.
Thanks for listening to The Complex Trauma Podcast!
Be sure to follow, share and give us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Follow on Instagram: @sarahherstichlcsw
Follow on TikTok: @sarahherstichlcsw
Learn more about EMDR & trauma therapy in Pennsylvania with Reclaim Therapy
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Remember, I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Nothing in this podcast is meant to replace actual therapy or treatment. If you're in crisis or things feel really unsafe right now, please reach out to someone. You can call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, text them, or head to your nearest ER.
The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organizations or institutions. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.

Childhood emotional neglect doesn't always look like what you'd expect. Sometimes it looks like a parent who showed up to every game, made dinner every night, and still wasn't really there. That gap between what was present and what was missing is exactly what we're unpacking today.
Dr. Danica Harris is a somatic experiencing practitioner and complex trauma expert, and she breaks down why emotional neglect is so hard to identify, what it costs the body to grow up as the easy kid, and what healing actually looks like when you go low and slow. If you've ever said "I had a good childhood" and still felt like something was off, this one is for you.
Find Dr. Danica Harris
@theempoweredtherapist on Instagram and Facebook @empoweredhealingdallas for her group practice
Check out her group practice here and learn more about working with Danica here

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Thanks for listening to The Complex Trauma Podcast!
Be sure to follow, share and give us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Follow on Instagram: @sarahherstichlcsw
Follow on TikTok: @sarahherstichlcsw
Learn more about EMDR & trauma therapy in Pennsylvania with Reclaim Therapy
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Remember, I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Nothing in this podcast is meant to replace actual therapy or treatment. If you're in crisis or things feel really unsafe right now, please reach out to someone. You can call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, text them, or head to your nearest ER.
The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organizations or institutions. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.

After my conversation with Janina Fisher about dissociative parts, my inbox exploded with questions about dissociation. So today, I'm answering three that showed up a few times
In this episode, we're covering:
Why you might dissociate MORE in therapy than anywhere else (and why that doesn't mean therapy isn't working)
How to tell the difference between zoning out and actual dissociation
Why you can tell your trauma story without feeling anything, and what that really means
If you've ever driven home from therapy wondering why your brain keeps checking out, or if you've told your story a hundred times but can't seem to access the feelings, this episode is for you.
What You'll Learn:
Early warning signs of dissociation in your body (before it fully takes over)
How to use orienting to stay present when things get heavy
The difference between depersonalization and derealization
Why emotional numbness is protection, not proof that nothing happened
Three concrete ways to start rebuilding the bridge between your story and your body
Mentioned in This Episode:
Episode with Janina Fisher on dissociative parts (listen if you haven't yet!)
Window of tolerance
State-dependent memory
Dorsal vagal shutdown response
Thanks for listening to The Complex Trauma Podcast!
Be sure to follow, share and give us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Follow on Instagram: @sarahherstichlcsw
Follow on TikTok: @sarahherstichlcsw
Learn more about EMDR & trauma therapy in Pennsylvania with Reclaim Therapy
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Remember, I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Nothing in this podcast is meant to replace actual therapy or treatment. If you're in crisis or things feel really unsafe right now, please reach out to someone. You can call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, text them, or head to your nearest ER.
The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organizations or institutions. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.

Betrayal doesn't just hurt. 
It rewires your nervous system, shakes your ability to trust yourself, and makes you question everything you thought you knew about your relationship. 
In this episode, Joe Sanok shares what happened when his marriage ended suddenly on an RV trip, how he navigated the shock of becoming an unexpected single dad, and what it actually took to rebuild his life without replaying the same patterns.
Joe talks openly about waking up in a camper next to someone who was already gone, the nervous system chaos that followed, and why he built a "support committee" instead of white-knuckling his way through alone. 
We also get into dating after betrayal, how to show up for yourself when everything feels uncertain, and what it looks like to trust again without abandoning the parts of you that are still healing.
This conversation is for anyone who's been blindsided by betrayal, anyone who's had to rebuild their sense of safety from the ground up, or anyone who's wondered if they'll ever feel solid in a relationship again.
Topics covered:
What betrayal trauma does to your nervous system
How Joe's marriage ended and what the early days looked like
Why building a support committee matters more than going it alone
Dating after betrayal without repeating the same patterns
Learning to trust yourself again after your judgment feels broken
How to parent through your own crisis
Rebuilding safety in your body and relationships
Download Joe's new book: Dating After Betrayal: A Guided Healing and Re-Entry Experience here.
Listen to Joe's podcast, Practice of the Practice on Apple or Spotify
Learn more about Joe's Consulting Services
Thanks for listening to The Complex Trauma Podcast!
Be sure to follow, share and give us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Follow on Instagram: @sarahherstichlcsw
Follow on TikTok: @sarahherstichlcsw
Learn more about EMDR & trauma therapy in Pennsylvania with Reclaim Therapy
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Remember, I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Nothing in this podcast is meant to replace actual therapy or treatment. If you're in crisis or things feel really unsafe right now, please reach out to someone. You can call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, text them, or head to your nearest ER.
The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organizations or institutions. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.

What if forgetting your childhood, feeling disconnected from your emotions, or experiencing different "versions" of yourself weren't signs that something's wrong with you, but evidence of how brilliantly your brain protected you?
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Janina Fisher, one of the leading experts on trauma and dissociation, to unpack what dissociation actually is and why it's a survival response, not a pathology. We talk about why so many people say "I had a good childhood" even when they can barely remember it, what's really happening when you lose time or feel like different parts take over, and how understanding your parts can change everything about how you heal.
Dr. Fischer breaks down her Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST) model and explains why chasing "safety" might be the wrong goal if you've never known what safety feels like. This conversation gets real about fight parts, attached parts, and why noticing what's happening inside you matters more than remembering every detail of what happened to you.
If you've ever felt fragmented, disconnected, or like parts of you don't quite fit together, this episode will help you see yourself through a completely different lens.
Thanks for listening to The Complex Trauma Podcast!
Be sure to follow, share and give us a review on your favorite podcast platform.
Follow on Instagram: @sarahherstichlcsw
Follow on TikTok: @sarahherstichlcsw
Learn more about EMDR & trauma therapy in Pennsylvania with Reclaim Therapy
This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional medical, psychological, or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Remember, I'm a therapist, but I'm not your therapist. Nothing in this podcast is meant to replace actual therapy or treatment. If you're in crisis or things feel really unsafe right now, please reach out to someone. You can call 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, text them, or head to your nearest ER.
The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organizations or institutions. Reliance on any information provided by this podcast is solely at your own risk.