Healing Northern Ireland: From Personal Trauma to Societal Change, with Dr Paul Gallagher
Release Date: 12/04/2025
Giving What We Didn’t Get: Reimagining Father & Son Relationships, with Luke Sniewski & Warren McCaig
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young and J'aime Rothbard. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. The Men in the World series began by asking, “What happened to men?” It concludes by offering some honest perspectives on what becomes possible when men find their way back to themselves. Kevin, Warren and Luke are men who have done the work, are still doing the work, and have built their lives around supporting others to do the same. With J’aime holding space, the three men explore: - The affirmation economy: What happens when a man builds his entire life on other people's approval - Why it’s important...
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This World Was Not Built for Us: Unburdening & Building Brotherhood, with HawaH Kasat & Reggie Hubbard
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young & J'aime Rothbard. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. In addition to the personal weight of masculinity that all men carry, brown and black skinned men are burdened by additional collective weights that must be carried while navigating a world not built for them, in bodies that are policed, feared, criminalized and often murdered. In this episode, co-hosts Kevin and J'aime are joined by two remarkable men: HawaH Kasat and Reggie Hubbard. Together they explore the experiences of BIPOC men, and address: - The male loneliness epidemic - The alchemy that can occur...
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It’s Time to Step Up: An Ongoing Invitation, with Tony Coffey & Stephen Brown
The Gifts of Trauma
It’s Time to Step Up: An Ongoing Invitation, with Tony Coffey & Stephen Brown Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. In this episode, Kevin is joined by two friends and Compassionate Inquiry® colleagues for a full spectrum conversation that moves from desolation and helplessness, to grief, hope and laughter. They begin in grim terrain shaped by intergenerational trauma, measured by dismal statistics and broadcast through news stories and images of violence that shock us precisely because the perpetrators are so young. Then somehow, their focus shifts to...
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Nothing's Wrong with Boys & Men: An Appreciative Inquiry, with Susan Morgan
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard Researchers have studied it, governments have funded it, and schools have intervened. But 30 years later, boys are still falling behind in education. Why is this problem so ‘stubborn?’ Why has so little changed? In this episode, Susan talks about her work in the Taking Boys Seriously research project, Appreciative Inquiry, what actually works for boys, why it matters for the men they’ll become, and to society overall. She explains: - The "bricks in the backpack;" a compounded weight that can hold boys back - Why asking ‘what...
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The Boys We Were Never Allowed To Be, with Bret Hunt and Joe Baldock
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. Three men walk into a podcast. One tells a knock knock joke, then, somehow, all three end up delving into the disappearance of male genetic diversity, what it feels like to carry traumatized masculinity in the body, and whether compassion—rather than condemnation—might be the only thing that actually changes anything. In this first episode of the new Men in the World series, Kevin sits down with two grounded, conscious, refreshingly honest men; CI practitioners who are doing the work, asking the questions, and refusing to look...
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Griefs We're Denied: Nature, Climate, Land Loss… with Steffi Bednarek
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by: Rosemary Davies-Janes & Kevin Young What happens when grief isn't personal, when it belongs to the land, the climate, and the fractured relationship between humans and the living world? Join us as climate psychologist, systems thinker and trauma therapist, Steffi Bednarek moves this conversation from the personal to the planetary, and from the clinical to the deeply, wildly human. She suggests that our epidemic of depression, anxiety, and disconnection may not be a malfunction, but an unanswered call to an unnamed grief so large, Western psychology barely has the language for...
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When Survival Usurps Grief: Showing Up When the World Is on Fire, with James Gordon, MD & Diana Gharib
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. In this episode, Kevin is joined by James Gordon, MD, founder of the Center for Mind Body Medicine, whose teams have worked in Gaza, Kosovo, Syria, Bosnia, Northern Ireland and beyond, and Diana Garib, a clinical psychologist on the front-line in Beirut, recording live as conflict surrounds her. Together they explore: - What it looks like to show up for others when your own world is on fire - How humanizing the other can become the first act of healing - Why finding common ground—from shared grief to shared hummus—may be where peace...
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When Grief Is Stolen: Invasion, Colonization & Griefology, with Rosemary Wanganeen
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes & Kevin Young. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. If grief is the energy generated by loss, what happens to a people whose grief has been stolen for generations, and what becomes possible when we grieve our way home? In this episode, Rosemary Wanganeen, a Kaurna, Wirungu, and Koogatha Aboriginal woman and Australia's only griefologist, presents one of the most provocative perspectives explored in this series. She traces the suppression of grief and the ensuing psychopathic violence of Australia’s colonizers/invaders to a declaration by Plato in 388 BC—the...
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When Grief Doesn't Get a Funeral, with Dr Kenneth Doka, Maria de los Angeles Estrada & Ellie Davis
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J'aime Rothbard. If you’ve ever grieved an unrecognized loss, please join us to explore Disenfranchised Grief, the term Dr Doka coined over 35 years ago to describe the grief that rises when a loss isn't openly recognized, publicly mourned, or socially supported, and why so many of us—unkowingly—carry this form of grief. Drawing on his 50 years in the field, Dr Doka, along with Maria and Ellie who share their lived experiences of disenfranchised grief, unpack: - How grief (the energy generated by a significant loss) can show up...
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What We Don't Know About Grief, with Pam Sommer & Manisha Billimoria
The Gifts of Trauma
Hosted by Rosemary Davies-Janes. Produced by J’aime Rothbard. This gentle conversation launches a new series exploring death, loss and grief—experiences we all face yet are rarely taught to navigate. Our guests debunk grief ‘myths’, as it doesn't follow “5 Stages,” we can't “pre-grieve” and being told to "be brave" can trap grief in our body for decades. They also offer practical suggestions for supporting those who are grieving, and explain: - How grief can manifest in physical, emotional and mental issues - Why talking about the deceased is essential for the living -...
info_outlineHosted by Kevin Young. Produced by J’aime Rothbard.
In this conversation, Kevin introduces us to Dr Paul Gallagher, a lecturer in trauma studies at Cork University who started his formal education at age 40, after a significant "gap" in his life. Born in Belfast in 1972 at the height of "The Troubles," Paul recounts growing up in a war zone, where at 21, his home was invaded and his family held hostage. During this attack, he was shot and paralysed, and while physical and medical care were provided, psychological support was not.
Paul highlights:
- The crucial roles of community-led initiatives that provide vital support, education, and a path to hope for survivors.
- The inseparable connection between the academic understanding of trauma and practical, compassionate healing approaches such as those offered by the Wave Trauma Center.
The conversation concludes with Paul sharing his vision of a trauma-informed society in his deeply traumatized homeland.
About Dr. Paul Gallagher
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Paul grew up in an area heavily impacted by the political violence euphemistically known as ‘The Troubles.’ He was relatively untouched until 1994, when his home was taken over by terrorists who held Paul and his family hostage while they waited for their intended target. When their plan failed to snare that individual, they shot Paul, which left him with life changing injuries
After a protracted recovery, Paul reclaimed his life. His engagement with a local NGO, WAVE Trauma Centre sparked a lifelong journey into psychological trauma understanding and healing. Paul graduated from Queen’s University in 2016 with a BSc in Psychological Trauma Studies. He achieved his MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice in 2017. This was followed up in 2022 when Paul was awarded his Doctorate in Sociology, focusing on the Campaign for Recognition by the WAVE Injured Group, which lobbied successfully for a special pension for those injured during the conflict.
A Trauma Education Officer for WAVE Trauma Centre, Paul blends his personal experience of trauma with his knowledge of the traumatology field. He teaches a range of courses, including the BSc at Queen’s University and an MA in Trauma Studies at UCC (University College Cork). His main interests are nurturing post-traumatic growth, both in himself and sowing seeds for growth around him. He continues to advocate for those affected by the Troubles and for others around the globe through his work with WAVE Trauma.
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Resources:
Websites:
Post Traumatic Growth Module (UCC)
Articles:
Video:
What Does it Mean to be a Frontline Worker?
Book: My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
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