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.

How we think about thinking, and understand those around us

How can this couple regulate themselves, and each other, when trauma cycles threaten to repeat

How do individual traumas show up in this couple's relationship?

Dr MacIntosh shares her own experiences and research behind the series

Join Dr Heather B. Macintosh as she talks to a series of couples to explore how trauma impacts their relationships.