Embodied Dialogues for Healing Trauma and Addiction

Dissociation, Attachment, and the Mind's Genius for Survival

Dissociation is often misunderstood and heavily stigmatized. Yet from a nervous system perspective, it may be one of the most extraordinary ways the mind adapts to survive overwhelming experience. In this episode of Embodied Dialogues, Jan Winhall, creator of the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, welcomes psychotherapist and author Sally Maslansky for a powerful conversation about Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D., formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder), attachment trauma, and the possibility of healing. In her thirties, Sally was diagnosed with DID and began therapy with renowned psychiatrist Dan Siegel, whose work in attachment and interpersonal neurobiology helped shape her path toward integration and recovery. Today, Sally is a therapist herself and the author of A Brilliant Adaptation, sharing her remarkable journey from fragmentation to wholeness. Jan’s Felt Sense Polyvagal Model draws, in part, on Dan Siegel’s attachment research, making this conversation a unique opportunity to explore how attachment, nervous system regulation, and dissociation intersect in trauma and addiction healing. Together, Jan and Sally explore: Dissociation as an intelligent survival strategy The role of attachment in fragmentation and healing What recovery and integration can truly look like How therapists can better understand and support dissociative experiences Through lived experience and clinical insight, this dialogue offers a compassionate reframe of one of the most misunderstood trauma adaptations. Join us for a conversation about the mind’s brilliance, the power of the therapeutic relationship, and the possibility of coming back into connection with oneself. Learn more about Sally at sallymaslansky.com. Join the next Embodied Dialogues live podcast recording at www.fspminstitute.com!

When Protective Parts Take Over in Relationships: Healing Through Parts Work and FSPM with Dr. Frank Anderson

In this episode of the Embodied Dialogues podcast, Jan Winhall is joined by trauma therapist and author Dr. Frank Anderson for a rich conversation about healing in relationships. Together they explore how the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM) and Frank’s emerging PATH model (Parts Approach to Trauma Healing) can help couples understand the deeper nervous system dynamics that shape conflict, connection, and repair. Through an experiential lens, Jan begins with a short embodiment practice inviting listeners to notice how safety, activation, and co-regulation show up in their own relationships. From there, the dialogue unfolds into a thoughtful exploration of how trauma, attachment wounds, and survival strategies play out between partners. Frank shares how his PATH model integrates parts work, neuroscience, and relational healing to help people reconnect with what he calls “calm power” - an inner space of wisdom, strength, and intuition that supports trauma recovery. Together, Jan and Frank discuss: * Why couples often get stuck in repeating nervous system patterns (such as one partner escalating while the other shuts down) * How therapists can help partners slow down and track their internal reactions, body sensations, and beliefs during conflict * The role of personal healing work in being able to hold the complexity of relationships * Why healing requires both internal repair and relational repair -The importance of safety and pacing, especially when working with betrayal or infidelity * How attraction can be rooted in shared wounds and the unconscious hope for healing Throughout the conversation, Jan and Frank emphasize that trauma symptoms are not pathologies to fix, but adaptive survival strategies shaped by the nervous system’s attempt to stay safe. With warmth, humor, and vulnerability, they also reflect on their own healing journeys and the importance of therapists doing their own embodied work. This episode offers insights for therapists, coaches, and anyone interested in trauma-informed relationship healing, nervous system awareness, and somatic approaches to growth.

Voice as Resource: Healing, Presence, and Personal Truth with guest Mattie Shisko

Join host Jan Winhall with guest Mathilde (Mattie) Shisko, an acclaimed voice and performance coach whose work helps people access the voice as a powerful pathway to regulation, connection, and truth. Through the lens of Jan’s work with trauma, addiction, and nervous system healing, this episode explores how voice is not just something we use to communicate, but something we can rely on as a profound resource. In the Felt Sense Polyvagal Model, healing happens through embodied awareness, relational safety, and learning to listen inward. Voice becomes part of that listening. It can help us reconnect with ourselves, with others, and with the parts of us shaped by survival. Mattie brings a unique blend of artistry, science, mindfulness, and play to her work, supporting people to move beyond habitual patterns of silence, tension, or performance into vocal expression that is grounded, alive, and authentic. She has coached everyone from public speakers to everyday humans longing to feel more confident, connected, and at home in their own voice. In this episode, Jan and Mattie explore: The voice as a resource — what it means to truly listen with your voice and speak from a place of embodied truth. Stories of resilience and connection, including how voice becomes a resource when walking alongside a loved one whose life has been shaped by addiction. How nervous system awareness and vocal expression offer tools not just for public speaking, but for inner regulation, confidence, and reclaiming agency in life’s most challenging chapters. Practical reflections for therapists, coaches, and individuals on the healing journey. Whether you are a clinician supporting others, someone curious about the physiology of voice, someone in recovery, or simply longing to heal your nervous system and reconnect with your authentic self, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: Your voice is not just something you produce. It is something you can return to. See you there for a conversation that will help you find, deepen, and amplify your voice in the world. ABOUT MATHILDE: Learn more at https://myvoicecoach.org/about [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTVjRFEzTmxTZ2NqTDRfSU1oTHBDcUR0WGVxUXxBQ3Jtc0ttdk5Iek5ZYl85Mm5kS2l2ZGlGWlJacXVKVVRzQmgwNjh3dUxLODVWbThOcVJqRjg3M1F0RmptZGcyWU9YT2ZScjd2UkxuMkRURVlTOVJRbUF3aGVBdkRXM1RHSTV4Tjc4Uk5sc01obU1Ub0NkQUktMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmyvoicecoach.org%2Fabout&v=RUFTIZ-EtiA]

Attachment, Addiction and the Body: Healing what the Body Remembers

In this moving episode of Embodied Dialogues, Jan Winhall is joined by renowned trauma and addiction pioneer Tian Dayton for a deeply relational conversation on the embodied roots of addiction, attachment wounds, and healing through community. They speak about how relational trauma—whether from addiction, emotional neglect, or untreated complex PTSD—impacts the nervous system in similar ways. Together, they explore how early experiences are held in the nervous system, why addiction and trauma are deeply intertwined, and how recovery requires more than insight alone. They share their personal reflections from growing up in families impacted by addiction, how they healed, and how their stories created who they are today. They talk about healing practices from their books can help and Tian explains the power behind her group-based “floor checks” that invite people through movement, emotion, and connection. This episode is a rich exploration of co-regulation, limbic resonance, and the ways safe relationships and supportive communities become essential medicine for trauma recovery and resilience. A powerful thread throughout the episode is Tian’s personal experience as an adult child of an alcoholic father. She describes the “ghost-like” confusion and chaos of loving someone who was both charismatic and deeply lost in addiction, and how that relational trauma shaped her lifelong work. Her upcoming book "Growing Up with Addiction" is presented as both a professional offering and a deeply personal “song” she is bringing into the world. Together, they explore how early attachment wounds shape the nervous system, why recovery must include the body, and how group connection becomes a vital source of co-regulation and resilience. A rich dialogue on trauma, repair, and the deep human capacity to heal in relationship. Join our Embodied Dialogues live audience at www.fspminstitute.com [https://www.fspminstitute.com/]

Brain Partnership: Research-Backed Trauma Healing and Resilience Building with Dr. Kate Truitt

In this powerful episode of Embodied Dialogues, Jan Winhall sits down with clinical psychologist, applied neuroscientist, author, and creator of groundbreaking neuroplasticity-based healing practices, Dr. Kate Truitt. Focuing on healing trauma through brain science & embodied practice, together they explore the meeting place of trauma, the nervous system, the amygdala (“Amy”), and the deep human longing for connection. Dr. Truitt shares her personal story of surviving a devastating loss, tragic accident, living as a “shaky being” and how vulnerability, embodiment, and science intertwine in real healing. She introduces a research-supported micro-practice that helps rewire the brain toward resilience, safety, and self-compassion. Jan highlights the profound overlap with Eugene Gendlin’s Felt Sense work and polyvagal-informed somatic processing, showing just how deeply our bodies hold wise, adaptive intelligence. This episode includes: * How the amygdala learns survival patterns and how to teach it new ones * Why shame dissolves when we understand the nervous system and find curiosity * The neuroscience of resilience, empowerment, and belonging • A guided practice to build new neural pathways toward courage, joy, and safety * The role of micro-practices in trauma recovery, addiction healing, eating disorders, dissociation, and chronic stress * A gentle conversation about being human, messy, vulnerable... and still deeply capable of growth * How brain science and polyvagal-informed somatics beautifully support one another Whether you’re a therapist, coach, healer, or someone on your own recovery journey, this episode offers a unique blend of science, compassion, and embodied wisdom you won’t want to miss. Listen in to learn practical tools you can start using today - and to feel the co-regulating, heartfelt presence between two leaders in the field of trauma-informed healing.