Episode Summary:
Join us for a deep dive into the heart of experiential therapy with Caitlin Shiflett, where we unpack the profound role of defenses in our suffering, how anxiety serves as a biological response to emotions, and the journey of finding our true selves. Caitlin explains the foundations of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), how it targets defenses and anxieties, and the challenges therapists face as learners. We also discuss her upcoming self-compassion group, rooted in mindfulness and self-kindness, and the impact of integrating therapeutic learning with self-compassion.

Key Discussion Points:

1. Understanding Defenses in ISTDP

   • Exploring how defenses protect us from intense emotions and the role of experiential therapy in reducing suffering by targeting these defense mechanisms.
   • Why anxiety in ISTDP is seen as a nervous system response rather than a feeling.

2. Embracing the Hero's Journey in Learning

   • Caitlin’s own "hero’s journey" as a therapist and her journey through ISTDP training, which required vulnerability, resilience, and a confrontation with her own self-criticism.
   • How creative growth requires both commitment and self-compassion, moving beyond self-criticism to embrace learning through mistakes and practice.

3. The Role of Self-Compassion in Healing

   • Caitlin’s upcoming self-compassion group, inspired by Kristen Neff’s research, blends self-kindness with the power of taking action for oneself.
   • How group work fosters common humanity, helping participants to feel connected through shared struggles and building resilience against self-criticism and shame.

4. Navigating Vulnerability and Visibility in Private Practice

   • The realities of marketing and vulnerability on social media as a therapist, along with strategies to manage the challenges of feeling “invisible” online while promoting meaningful work.

Takeaways:

• Awareness of Defenses: Recognizing personal defense mechanisms can help reduce anxiety and open the door to emotional authenticity.
• Self-Compassion as a Path to Growth: Learning to integrate self-kindness and structured reflection enables more profound healing, particularly in group settings.
• Learning as a Process: The journey to mastery involves embracing vulnerability, acknowledging failures, and finding safety in the learning environment.
• Navigating Online Spaces as Therapists: Embrace patience and persistence, as sharing valuable content in small communities can still make a significant impact.

Upcoming Group:
Caitlin’s “Yin and Yang of Self-Compassion” group begins early 2025, offering a safe, trauma-informed environment for women focused on self-kindness and empowerment.

Follow Caitlin Shiflett:

• Instagram
• Working Within RVA

Meet Susanna Peace Lovell, who is an Advocate for Disability Families, Speaker, Autism Expert, Author, Certified Professional Life Coach, and Reiki Practitioner. Susanna lives in Los Angeles, CA with her daughter Arizona, who inspired her book Your True Self Is Enough: Lessons Learned on My Journey Parenting a Child with Autism. This episode is filled with wisdom from Susanna's life as a parent and her discovered passion as an advocate and healer in the world. Listen to this episode to get inspiration for how to get through a difficult time and turn it into the stuff of dreams. She encourages listeners to ask for what you need, because the universe does provide what we need when we clearly vocalize it.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Hear from Susanna about how Reiki impacted her healing journey.

2. Learn about Susanna's approach to finding joy among the hardships of life.

3. Discover how you can awaken to your life amid trauma and life not going as planned.

• Listen to previous episodes of Returning Home:

• • Episode 7 | Saying No to Parenthood: Reasons Behind Being Childless by Choice

• Sign up for Elise’s Newsletter and receive a FREE PDF to start your self-compassion journey!

• Connect with Elise on Instagram: @elisekindya

• Susanna Peace Lovell’s Website: www.susannapeacelovell.com

• Connect with Susanna on Instagram: @mamapeace

• Purchase her book on Amazon here: Your True Self Is Enough
  
  

If you enjoyed this podcast, please make sure to subscribe and share it!

Leave an episode review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in to this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review. You can also share what you’ve learned today with your friends to help them embody their true, authentic selves. Anything is possible when you return home to yourself.

Have any questions or lightbulb moments? I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to hit me up on Instagram or send an email at elise@elisekindya.com.

Thank you so much for listening! For more episode updates, visit my website.

In this solo episode of Returning Home, hear about how I manifested facilitating a retreat in less than 5 hours!

And it's NOT what you think...

The term "manifesting" is all the rage right now, and I believe we are manifesting all the time. Whatever you have in your life currently, you "manifested" it, whether intentionally or not. Our words are spells that we use to speak our life into being. With enough belief, our thoughts become things. It has to feel true to you, right? (This isn't a statement about big social issues like racism, sexism or homophobia, but about circumstances that we choose to live in).

I love to pull intentionality into the practice of manifesting because then I know I am consciously choosing what's showing up in my life.

Listen to this episode to hear all about:

1. How I manifested facilitating a retreat for a staff of therapists in less than 5 hours!
2. My process for getting to the point I am at now in my career and my mindset.
3. What I think is the key piece to living the life you desire.

Resources:

• Listen to previous episodes of my podcast here: Returning Home
• Flow by Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi
• Visit my website: www.elisekindya.com
• Follow me on Instagram: @elisekindya
• Sign up for my newsletter
• Attend my next sound bath on July 20th

Get ready to meet Brittany Deutch, LPC, ATR-BC of Creative Source Counseling. On episode 25 of Returning Home: The Podcast, we talk all about Brittany’s work and 10 years of experience in the mental health field, as well as her exciting international travels as a private practice therapist! Brittany is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified art therapist committed to helping women and LGBTQ+ folks navigate the complexities of family, career, and personal identity, and work towards achieving a more balanced and fulfilling life. She is passionate about walking alongside people who are learning to trust themselves, live out loud and take up space in the world. While listening to this episode, you might laugh, you might cry, you might feel really really seen! Please enjoy our conversation and let us know what you think in the comments!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Hear from Brittany about how she envisions art therapy to help her clients through difficult times.
2. Learn what types of art materials Brittany’s clients sometimes use (it might not be what you think!).
3. Discover how art therapy complements any course of therapy treatment.

• Listen to previous episodes of Returning Home:
  • Episode 22 | How To Follow Your Highest Excitement with Jenny McGurk
• Sign up for Elise’s Newsletter and receive a FREE PDF to start your self-compassion journey!
• Connect with Elise on Instagram: @elisekindya
• Brittany Deutch’s website: https://www.creativesourcecounseling.com/
• Connect with Brittany on Instagram: @brittany.deutch
• Check out my 2nd Sundays Soundbath series at Living Water Community Center by clicking here.
• Attend my upcoming Soundbath and Reiki event on June 15th at Dogwood Dell! More info here.

If you enjoyed this podcast, please make sure to subscribe and share it!

Leave an episode review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in to this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review. You can also share what you’ve learned today with your friends to help them embody their true, authentic selves. Anything is possible when you return home to yourself.

Have any questions or lightbulb moments? I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to hit me up on Instagram or send an email at elise@elisekindya.com.

Thank you so much for listening! For more episode updates, visit my website.

On episode 24 of Returning Home, I interviewed Erin Stanley, a fellow therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. We talk about Erin's journey to becoming licensed and self-employed, the influence of social media and the information age on mental health, and how to cultivate self-care amid all the noise. Erin's work with millenials and elder Gen Z'ers is inspired by her own experiences in this generation, and her identity intersects in other ways, such as race and gender, which makes her very relateable to clients. Erin describes having a shorthand with clients where certain things don't need to be explained, which makes it easier for clients to get to the important work they came to therapy to do. When she isn't practicing therapy, Erin can be found baking cookies, playing with her dog or reading a good book.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Learn from Erin about how to cultivate hope, joy and mindful pleasure on a daily basis.

2. Hear why Erin loves working with Millenials and elder Gen Z'ers in her private, virtual therapy practice.

3. Develop ways to listen to your own body and live your life according to the messages you receive, as Erin explains some effective ways to do so.

• Listen to previous episodes of Returning Home:

• • Episode 15| Be The Change: Positivity As A Practice

• Sign up for Elise’s Newsletter and receive a FREE PDF to start your self-compassion journey!

• Connect with Elise on Instagram: @elisekindya

• Visit Erin's website and learn how to work with her here: Honey Bee Therapy

• See Erin's other links here: Linktree

• Connect with Erin on Instagram: @honeybeetherapy_

• Attend Elise's next in-person event: GOLDEN HOUR by clicking here.

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tess Palma-Martinez. Tess is a sound healer, manifestation expert and founder of Completely Golden, based in Nosara, Costa Rica. She has created a medicinal style of sound healing, and works with clients in her Find Your Frequency mentorship. Her clients have experienced miraculous healing and perspective shifts that lead to greater awareness of who they are and how to express themselves in the world. You can find Tess on Instagram at @completelygolden where she shares a deeper connection with nature, offers daily insights and promotes upcoming events and retreats. 

This episode is full of profound insights, a-ha moments and you'll probably want to listen with a pen and paper in hand!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Hear from Tess what she means when she says to validate yourself in every direction of your life.

2. Learn about how Tess healed her body with sound healing.

3. Discover how to find your frequency and shift from forcing things to happen to receiving.

• Listen to previous episodes of Returning Home:

  • Episode 17 | Special Episode! Receive a Reiki Transmission

• Sign up for Elise's upcoming event GOLDEN HOUR on 3/23 here!
• Sign up for Elise’s Newsletter and receive a FREE PDF to start your self-compassion journey!

• Connect with Elise on Instagram: @elisekindya

• Tess Palma-Martinez's website: www.completelygolden.com

• Connect with Tess on Instagram: @completelygolden

• Subscribe to Tess' Substack: www.completelygolden.substack.com

On this latest episode of Returning Home: The Podcast, meet my guest Jenny McGurk. Jenny is a Psychic, Spiritual Guide & Resource. She uses Hypnosis, NLP, EFT and her natural intuition to help others heal & develop their own intuition. Her passion & highest excitement is to help guide others to discover their own unique inner intuition and develop a direct connection to spirit & source. Jenny spends her time studying, currently she is a 2nd Degree Freemason working on Master Mason, she loves reading about esoteric knowledge, ancient history, painting Aura readings for clients and having adventures homeschooling her kids. Listen to this episode to get inspired to start a new path, try a new talent, and let yourself be your true inner self. This episode should leave you feeling curious, ready to learn more about yourself and the world around you.

1. Learn what Jenny means by having Spiritual ADD.
2. Hear about Jenny's path and courage to change careers.
3. Pull back the curtain (a little bit!) about what it is to be a Free Mason!

• Listen to previous episodes of Returning Home:
  • Episode 18 | Blood + Guts + Star Stuff: Making Sense of Being Human
• Sign up for Elise’s Newsletter and receive a FREE PDF to start your self-compassion journey!
• Connect with Elise on Instagram: @elisekindya
• Website: All information for Aura Readings, courses & free resources  https://www.jennymcgurk.com/
• How To Follow Your Highest Excitement Book: https://a.co/d/eXcVU2w

• Daily Rituals Card Deck: https://jennymcgurk.kartra.com/checkout/b75b3154376599c67fee4c74a3d2dd3f

If you enjoyed this podcast, please make sure to subscribe and share it!

Leave an episode review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in to this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review. You can also share what you’ve learned today with your friends to help them embody their true, authentic selves. Anything is possible when you return home to yourself. 

Have any questions or lightbulb moments? I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to hit me up on Instagram or send an email at elise@elisekindya.com. 

Thank you so much for listening! For more episode updates, visit my website.

On episode 21 of Returning Home: The Podcast, meet Britt Stauduhar. They are a multi-passionate entrepreneur leading the way in Richmond's health, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle scene. Britt is a queer athlete & entrepreneur that has been working full time helping others uncover their strengths for the past 3 years. They qualified for IPL World’s in 2021 as a National level powerlifter and less than a year later they co-founded RVA’s first queer owned gym. They’ve since married their wife Kade Stauduhar, a highly credited VFX editor in TV & film and together they raise 6 cats as well as their creative company: STAUDZ. We had a really enlightening conversation that covered so many things- taking care of yourself so you can show up to other spaces and be your best for others, putting in the WERK, and shining light in dark spaces.

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Hear more about Britt's journey from college dropout to successful business owner.
2. Learn how you can truly live the life of your dreams if you stay true to yourself- which also means letting yourself evolve!
3. Be the first to hear about a fun project that Britt and I may do together (you have to listen to the end to learn about it!)

• Listen to previous episodes of Returning Home:
  • Episode 18 | Blood + Guts + Star Stuff: Making Sense of Being Human
• Sign up for Elise’s Newsletter and receive a FREE PDF to start your self-compassion journey!
• Learn more about my upcoming Reiki training on February 10-11 and sign up here!
• Connect with Elise on Instagram: @elisekindya
• Personal: https://www.instagram.com/brittstaudz | @brittstaudz
•   Top Energy Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/topenergypod | @topenergypod
•   Naughty & Nourished: https://www.instagram.com/naughtyandnourished | @naughtyandnourished
•   Resistance + Co: https://www.instagram.com/topenergypod | @resistanceandcompany
•   STAUDZ: https://staudz.podia.com | https://www.instagram.com/staudzcreative | @staudzcreative

If you enjoyed this podcast, please make sure to subscribe and share it!

Leave an episode review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in to this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review. You can also share what you’ve learned today with your friends to help them embody their true, authentic selves. Anything is possible when you return home to yourself. 

Have any questions or lightbulb moments? I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to hit me up on Instagram or send an email at elise@elisekindya.com. 

Thank you so much for listening! For more episode updates, visit my website.