Lifting Depression Through Compassion with Rhoda Schuling
Release Date: 03/06/2025
I’m All I Wanted to Be. Now What? With Sat Dharam Kaur
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. This conversation opens with Sat Dharam sharing her realization that her original life goals have been achieved, and asking herself, “What’s next?” She goes on to look forward and explore the possibilities. A therapist’s state is known to influence the client's experience and expand the potential for healing. That’s why Compassionate Inquiry® brings empathetic presence into therapeutic contexts. But if current psychological and spiritual understandings were expanded to include environmental consciousness and creative expression,...
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What Happens in Women’s Circles with Tanya Lynn
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted and Produced by J’aime Rothbard In this lively conversation, Tanya reveals why women gather in Circles and the personal growth that can happen when they do. She shares her long Circling history and what recently motivated her to train in Somatic Experiencing and integrate it into her Circle Work. Tanya also demystifies: - Sisterhood - The Mother Wound, Sister Wound and Witch Wounds - The Role of Circles - The Roles of Perimenopause and Menopause - The Wild Woman - The Council of Queens - The Grandmother Clan Join us to learn what happens in Woman’s Circles. You might...
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Longing to Belong with Cristina Bâra
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted and Produced by J’aime Rothbard The gentle conversation flows from Cristina’s personal journey to her professional role within the Compassionate Inquiry® organization to the approach’s impact on individual and group development. She highlights how Compassionate Inquiry® groups foster a sense of community and mutual support by inviting individuals to explore their emotions and experiences in the safe facilitated spaces that are essential for meaningful personal exploration. Cristina also explains: - Why the self-discovery and healing path often require us to experience our...
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Bonus Song: U.K. Blessed with Jacob Kishere AKA Culture Pilgrim
The Gifts of Trauma
In our most recent episode, host Kevin Young sat down with the multi-faceted and multi-talented Jacob Kishere in . If you missed it, you can find the conversation . If you've already listened, you'll be pleased to hear that we didn't let Jacob get away without offering a taste of this artform he fully produces and performs independently under his stage name, Culture Pilgrim. U.K. Blessed is a hiphop testament of Jacob's enduring pursuit of mining hope from within when the exterior world is perceivably void of it -- and coming up with glistening things born of weathering the pressures of such...
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Evoking the Resonant Man with Jacob Kishere
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. This deep, esoteric and practical conversation addresses the lack of positive role models and meaningful traditions for men, today. Jacob introduces the "Resonant Man," an archetype that aims to evolve masculinity into a sacred form that addresses current societal contexts and the importance of male identity. After recognizing the need for a communal space that fosters growth and understanding in relation to masculinity, Jacob encourages men to connect with supportive communities, engage in dialogues, explore their emotional...
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Enhancing Bodywork & EFT (Tapping) with Compassionate Inquiry with Pam Sommer
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. In this intimate, flowing conversation, Pam unravels the interconnections of emotions and physical sensations, particularly pain, in therapeutic settings including Massage Therapy, RMT, Emotional Freedom Technique, EFT (tapping), and Compassionate Inquiry® CI. She shares the therapeutic effects on her anxiety and physical pain she experienced while training in EFT and CI, highlighting that while both issues are still present, she now has the tools to manage them. Pam also touches on: - Generational trauma and how earlier...
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Awakening from Shutdown, Numbness & Not-Enoughness with Irina Sadakova
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J’aime Rothbard In this revealing conversation, Irina shares her experience as a child growing up in Soviet Russia, the impact of generational trauma and her journey of personal transformation. She weaves in repeating ancestral themes, highlights the abandonment trauma that impacted three consecutive generations in her maternal line, and explains how grief can fuel growth and healing. In this interview Irina also emphasizes the significance of: - Compassionate Inquiry in the expansion of her understanding of trauma - Personal experiences in...
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Multicultural & Ancestral Healing Perspectives with Soraya Romao-Inglis
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. This gentle conversation explores Soraya’s multifaceted approach to therapy which acknowledges personal, cultural, and systemic factors. She shares her personal trauma experiences as a BIPOC female immigrant in Canada, her ancestors' influence in her life and work, and the multicultural compassionate lens she uses to support her clients’ healing. Soraya also explains: Trauma’s roots and manifestations in human behavior - Emotional eating as a coping mechanism for unaddressed trauma. - How nervous system...
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The Art of Integrating CI in Relational Trauma Therapy with Rita Bozi
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard This nuanced conversation begins with a deep dive into healing relational trauma. Rita explains developmental trauma, relational trauma and how both are rooted in ancestral and intergenerational trauma. After deftly highlighting how trauma experienced during critical developmental periods can lead to gaps in our self-awareness, emotional and relational functioning, she goes on to explore: - Forgiveness as a natural outcome of personal healing rather than a prerequisite for it. - Embodiment’s role in fully experiencing and...
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Transforming Corporate Organizations into Soulful Workplaces with Amy Elizabeth Fox
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. This episode explores the role of trauma awareness in leadership and organizational development. By integrating psycho-spiritual insights, Amy’s work supports leaders in fostering healthier, more sustainable, workplaces which can lead to individual and company-wide healing and transformation. Her initiatives invite leaders to explore their early traumas and free themselves from the old survival strategies and untreated traumas that affect their daily decision-making and organizational dynamics. In this deep, rich conversation,...
info_outlineInterview by Kevin Young. Produced by J'aime Rothbard.
In this deep dive into Compassion Training and Mindfulness, Rhoda openly shares how these approaches illuminated her own journey with depression. She highlights their transformative potential when applied to personal suffering in depression, and advises that they are not a cure-all. It's possible for people who take one or both forms of training to still experience depressive episodes afterwards. However, their newly developed tolerance for negative experiences often enables them to manage their episodes more effectively.
Throughout this conversation, Rhoda gently and thoughtfully explains how:
- Mindfulness practices can help individuals identify and understand their emotions
- True compassion arises from recognizing and experiencing our own and/or others’ suffering
- Tonality and word choice affects peoples’ perceptions of their experiences and emotions
- Group inquiries in Compassion Training enable people to learn from each other's experiences
- Compassion training teaches people to accept all of their emotions, including anger and sadness
Rhoda concludes this conversation by inviting us to look within ourselves and ask, “For whom do I reserve my best self?” Imagine what life would be like if we could reserve at least a portion of our best selves, for ourselves.
About Rhoda Schuling
Mindfulness & Compassion Teacher (MBCL)
In her first Mindfulness training, Rhoda was immediately taken by the simplicity of being aware in the present moment, but struggled immensely with non-judgment. Despite this, she realized there was much to gain though delving into the truth of her heart and mind, and finding an authentic way to live. Most of all, she loved discussing what it is to be human.
She began attending Buddhist retreats regularly, totaling over 150 silent days. Most were Vipassana-oriented, but some were Insight Dialogue retreats. At this time, she also started training as a teacher for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction.
Rhoda began working as a PhD researcher under the supervision of professor Anne Speckens (Radboudumc) and professor Willem Kuyken (Oxford University), studying the effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living (MBCL) as a follow-up to Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in adults suffering from recurrent depression. Having experienced depression herself, and finding recurrently depressed adults one of the most inspiring target populations for compassion, she remained captivated by this research for a decade.
As a researcher, she presented at conferences on mindfulness, compassion, meditation and healthy lifestyle, including the Mind, Body Unity Conference, the International Conference on Mindfulness, the Omega Institute and Mind and Life Europe, all the while deepening her understanding of mindfulness, compassion and psychotherapy.
Rhoda teaches full MBCL courses and the MBCL Teacher-Training Program. Very occasionally, she coaches individual clients. Her passions are yoga and running, and she is currently co-authoring a book on the courage of forgiveness.
Promotional Link: If you are curious about Compassionate Inquiry® and want to learn more about training in this approach, for your own self development or for your work with your coaching or therapy clients, please explore the Compassionate Inquiry® Professional Training Program. Registrations close March 30, 2025.
Resources:
Website:
Related Links:
Note: In 2026, Rhoda will be leading an English MBCL teacher-trainer programme. If you would like to be updated on that, please message her through LinkedIn. Regular MBCL courses in English are also hosted through the MBCL-international website.
Compassion Training - Netherlands
Books:
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living
A Practical Guide to Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living
Poets:
Rachel Holstead | John O'Donoghue | Dana Faulds
Quotes:
"All addiction stems from this moment, when we meet our edge and we just can't stand it."
- Pema Chödrön
“It's a fragile thing
This life we lead
If I think it too
I can get over-
whelmed by the grace
by which we live
our lives
with death over our shoulders
- from Sirens (Pearl Jam)
Social Media: LinkedIn