Special: Bonnie Badenoch: What it Really Means to Hold Non-Judgmental Presence as a Therapist

Original Air Date: October 25, 2022

The one-and-only Bonnie Badenoch* joins Lisa for this beautiful conversation about non-judgmental presence and how this is so critical in our role as therapists. 

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• How, as a profession, we've become concretized into the left hemisphere (e.g., in a movement toward protocols, interventions, and evidence-based therapies) and how this has pulled us more into the role of experts trying to "fix" people;
• What holding a “non-judgement” presence means; 
• What the “inner community” is, how to be aware and work with our inner community in order to be present with our clients;  
• How to return to a non-judgmental presence in moments when we experience judgment (and how to even recognize when we’re in a place of judgment);
• The 2 pillars of non-judgmental presence and the importance of this in our work; and
• How to engage in our own reflective processes and having supportive others who can truly hold a nonjudgmental space for you.  

Listen to this beautiful conversation that gets us back into the right hemisphere in our work as therapists and back to trusting the wisdom of the client in their own healing process. Discover how to bring more non-judgmental presence in your clinical work and how to offer this same space for yourself.

Bonnie is moving toward retirement, and we’re so grateful that she could join. Thank you Bonnie and much love on the journey 🙏💕

*Bonnie Badenoch, LMFT, has been a therapist, mentor, teacher, and author, spending the last 17 years integrating the discoveries of relational neuroscience into the art of therapy. In 2008, she co-founded the nonprofit agency Nurturing the Heart with the Brain in Mind to offer this work to the community of therapists, healthcare providers, and others interested in becoming therapeutic presences in the world. For 30 she has supported trauma survivors and those with significant attachment wounds to reshape their neural landscapes for a life of meaning, resilience, and warm relationships. 

Her conviction that wisdom about the relational brain can support healing experiences for people at every age led to the publication of Being a Brain-Wise Therapist: A Practical Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology in 2008 and The Brain-Savvy Therapist’s Workbook in 2011. Bonnie’s latest writing is The Heart of Trauma: Healing the Embodied Brain in the Context of Relationships (2017). These books seek to build a bridge between science and practice with clarity, compassion, and heart.

Podcast Resources: 

• Synergetic Play Therapy Institute
• Synergetic Play Therapy Learning Website
• FREE Resources to support you on your play therapy journey 
• Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach to Integrating Intensity

* If you enjoy this podcast, please give us a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcast, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and invite your friends/fellow colleagues to join us.