Welcome to the ON Parliament Podcast where we spread the word on Parliament! Every month, we will be releasing a new episode where we will discuss the inner workings of parliament, explore its history, the amazing building, interview special guests and much more! Hosted by the Parliamentary Protocol and Public Relations Branch for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. ON Parliament aims to demystify the function, importance, and history of Ontario’s Legislature. For more information about Ont ...
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Sexual Assault Survivor Stories -SASS- is a weekly podcast designed for the purpose of providing victims and survivors of sexual assault and rape information and a forum to better understand the complexities, adversities, victories, and all the dynamics of surviving and healing. But it's not just for victims and survivors! It's a podcast of learning about trauma-informed interviewing and the neuroscience of trauma and memory, understanding the victim impact of rape and sexual assault, knowin ...
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A Signal 51 is police code for an investigation, a law enforcement proceeding that is a systemic and thorough attempt to learn the facts about a possible crime that is complex and whose facts and circumstances are generally hidden, at least initially, behind obstacles that can be circumstantial or manmade. The investigation’s methods are formal. John Henry, a journalist, and retired Fort Worth police sergeant Jake White examine the difficult cases of law enforcement both in Fort Worth and ar ...
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103. Mac McDonald: A Second Visit, With a Close-up View of the Work That Goes into Healing
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For those of you who have been following this show since the beginning almost 2 years ago, or who have had the opportunity to go back to listen to some of the early episodes, you’ll recognize this weeks’ guest: Mac McDonald. Mac was one of the four people who were on a panel of rape survivors who had been assaulted on their respective college campu…
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Youth Opportunities at Ontario's Parliament
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Just in time for Democracy Day on September 15! Learn all about some of the many programs and opportunities that are available to youth at Queen's Park. Discover the Page Program, Model Parliament, and the Student Usher Program first-hand in this special group interview episode. Hear what it's like to be in the program, learn all about the applicat…
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102. Aaron Stone: Retired Sergeant Major Continues His Mission of Healing and De-Stigmatizing Male Rape Victimization
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I’ll start these notes off by providing you some important information about my guest this week, Sergeant Major Aaron Stone, US Army, Retired. This information is taken directly from Aaron’s website, https://18winters.com/#about 18 Winters – Shattering the silence I am a retired Combat Medic in the United States Army, and I have completed multiple …
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101. Lynn Stroud: Bravely Turning Her Rape Stories into Healing Help
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In the deeply insightful podcast episode featuring Lynn Stroud, listeners are immersed in a profound exploration of what it truly means to be trauma informed. Stroud, a renowned advocate and expert in trauma recovery, eloquently guides us through the multifaceted layers of this crucial concept. At its core, being trauma-informed is not merely a set…
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100. Caroline Markel: Facing the Realities of Healing and Taking Responsibility for Our Part in the Trauma Response
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It’s quite the honor to be hosting a podcast that has reached the 100th episode landmark, especially because hitting this commemorative occasion is a testament to the loyalty of you, my listeners, and because of the privileged circumstance of having made it this far. It’s a lot of work, but for me because of the amazing guests I’ve had the pleasure…
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99. Nicole Florisi: Reports of Shelter Abuses Exposed and Discussed
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Here’s some information about Nicole, in case some of you are new to Sexual Assault Survivor Stories. Nicole is a frequent guest on this show, and I want you to know some information about her. This information is published by Force Science, Nicole’s employer, on their website: https://www.forcescience.com/instructor/nicole-florisi/ “Nicole Florisi…
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98. Tracy Rector: Shattering the Glass House of Abuse
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Tracy endured and survived 23 years of domestic and spiritual abuse in a marriage to a prominent minister. For years she lost her voice and agency, living in silence as her spirit was bruised behind closed doors. In the early 80s, when emergency shelters were scarce and conversations about unhappy marriages were taboo, she struggled to even recogni…
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An Interview with the Sergeant-at-Arms, Tim McGough
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This month we had the privilege of sitting down with the Sergeant-at-Arms of Ontario's Legislature, Tim McGough. Our hosts discuss his backstory, learn about some upcoming projects, and discover the story behind how Tim wound up becoming the Sergeant-at-Arms in Ontario when he is originally from England. A special thank you to Tim McGough for takin…
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97. David Weeks: A Childhood Devastated By Abuse And Trafficking, Leads To An Inspirational Adulthood
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To know David, you’d think he’s living a great lifestyle. And the truth is, he is! But it wasn’t always that way. David was born and raised in Virginia, but life started taking some harsh turns when David turned four. That’s when he remembers his father abandoned him, telling his mother that he couldn’t take being around David anymore. It wasn’t lo…
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96. Melissa Fairchild: Transforming Pain into Purpose in her Mission to Heal Others!
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This show seems to inevitably bring guests that are not only willing to share their sexual assault or rape experience with this audience, but who have the true desire to help, inspire, and uplift others on their own healing journey. Melissa Fairchild is an exceptional example, and I am honored that she reached out to me, asking to be a guest on thi…
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95. Ashley Bendiksen: Powerfully Inspiring Others with Hope and Healing
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Sometimes I am flabbergasted by how things work out to bring someone into my life for the purpose of helping to heal others through this show. This is one of those times…I found Ashley Bendiksen through Instagram, being duly impressed with her mission and accomplishments of bringing her story to national audiences to help bring justice to victim an…
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94. John Jay Wiley: Host of Law Enforcement Talk Radio & Podcast Shares his Trauma Story
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John Jay Wiley is a retired police officer (Baltimore Police Department) who is now the founder and host of Law Enforcement Talk Radio & Podcast…both a radio show and a podcast. I had the honor of being a guest on LET Radio in an episode that was aired on 09 June 2024. You can listen to that episode here. It was quite the experience, and I apprecia…
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93. Orvie B. Baker, Jr.: Producing a Documentary on a Monument Most Know Nothing About!
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I sometimes surf social media in search of someone I think might be an excellent guest for this show. When I found retired US Army soldier Orvie B. Baker, Jr. I knew I had found true excellence! See, Orvie is a former SARC, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, for the Army SAPRO (Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office). He has tons of experi…
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In honour of the Summer Olympic Games that are about to take place in Paris, our hosts thought it would be fun to explore the connections that Queen's Park has to the Olympics. Learn about the Olympic Flame making a stop at the building, discover current and past Members who were also Olympians, and of course our hosts go for the gold with their fu…
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92. Dave Markel: A Shared Episode of The Jan Broberg Show!
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92. Dave Markel: A Shared Episode of The Jan Broberg Show! I am honored to be able to bring to you an episode from The Jan Broberg Show, in which Jan invited me to be a guest on her show. After it aired (June 18, 2024; https://www.thejanbrobergshow.com/trauma-informed-perspectives-understanding-the-neuroscience-of-sexual-assault-with-dave-markel/),…
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91. Caroline Markel and Bailie: I Count Myself Fortunate to Know Them Both!
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If you haven’t already heard Bailie’s two-part interview, Episodes 49 and 50, give them a listen—you’ll hear one of the most compelling and intriguing interviews of sexual assault and rape that will hold you spell-bound and awestruck. You don’t need to listen to those episodes before you listen to this one, but definitely take the time to listen to…
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90. Chris McGhee: A Man on a Mission to Change a Law—Because his Daughter Was Sexually Assaulted by a Cop
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This story is compelling for lots of reasons: because it’s told by a man, Chris McGhee, whose daughter was sexually assaulted by a cop; because the cop was convicted, but didn’t serve any jail time; because Chris and his daughter are working hard to get a Pennsylvania law changed so that cops are charged with a felony instead of a misdemeanor when …
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89. Erika Shershun: From Tragedy to Triumph – A Journey of Healing from Unimaginable Trauma
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Erika’s life story sounds like a fictional crime novel…but the amazing aspect is that the truth really is sometimes stranger than fiction. The truth of Erika’s horrific story is that her father killed himself when Erika was just 15. Years later, a brother also ended his own life. At 19 Erika was raped by a friend of the young man she was dating; an…
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88. Laurie McBride: Her Evolving Light, From Desperation to Providing Aspiration
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Laurie McBride was sexually assaulted by her brother when she was a young girl. She was also emotionally abused by her mother while growing up, and then when she was in high school, she was the victim of two separate rape attempts. By the time Laurie was 18 and left home, she felt lost. In a situation like Laurie’s, it isn’t difficult to understand…
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Come take a "stroll" through the grounds of Queen's Park as we explore the fascinating history of the lands, learn more about the different uses of the space over time, and discover the current plants and trees. Our hosts manage to squeeze in lots of fun facts along the way. This is one episode you don't want to miss!…
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87. Caroline Markel: She’s Back This Month; "Big, Bold, and Unapologetic!"
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Because Caroline was traveling so much of last month, I wasn't able to record an April episode with her. But now, she’s back home and busy at work. But not so busy as to miss another episode with me! This month, Caroline talks about where she was these past several weeks, who she was traveling with, what they were doing on this extended trip, and t…
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86. Kelly Justus: Embracing Her Own Healing Through Action—Promoting Project Callisto's Mission
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Kelly and I have a few things in common: our admiration and support of the mission of Project Callisto, and our belief that normalizing the converstation around rape and sexual assault will help reduce the prevalence of rape culture. With regard to Callisto: I won’t go into the full explanation of how Callisto works, you can find out that informati…
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85. Roger Canaff: A Former Sexual Assault Prosecutor and Highly Qualified Expert Gives Us His Insights!
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Having Roger Canaff join me on this show has long been a goal, and I finally was able to reconnect with this former colleague. I met Roger when I was working for the US Army in a position known as a Highly Qualified Expert for the Criminal Investigation Command (known as CID-Criminal Investigation Division). Part of my job was co-managing a 2-week …
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This month, the ON Parliament Podcast delves into the history of the Office of the Assembly. What is it and how did it come to be? What divisions and branches make up the Office? Learn all about the last 50 years of progress and traditions that have gone into making the Office of the Assembly the vibrant organization that it is today. Don't miss ou…
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84. Jessica Michaels: Raped by Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, Jess is Now Promoting Sexual Assault First Aid-PART 2
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When it came to healing from her rape by Jeffrey Epstein there first had to be a realization by Jess Michaels that she was raped. Because, Jess had been taught by society and the culture of the 90’s that what had happened to her must not have really been rape…she hadn’t screamed, she didn’t try to fight him, she hadn’t even tried to push him off he…
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83. Jessica Michaels: Raped by Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, Jess is Now Promoting Sexual Assault First Aid; Part 1
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It’s difficult to imagine having a bright future with a life full of promise, fame, and prestige, living that life doing exactly what you were wanting to do: dancing, modeling, acting, singing, and a career trajectory that was leading to Broadway and world travel and fame on July 8, 1991…and then on July 9, 1991, having it all stomped out in just a…
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82. Dr. Lori Pitts: From Childhood Sexual Assault to Founder of Still Whole Wellness, Dr. Lori Recognizes Her Gift of Healing
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It was only two weeks ago that I had Anne Winslow on this show to talk about her new role as Co-Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Advocacy Network, SAAN, an online community of advocates, victims, and survivors of rape and sexual assault. During our discussion, Anne mentioned that the former Executive Director of SAAN was Dr. Lori Pitts, who…
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81. Cassie Nicholas Returns: New Trauma Memories Lead to New Ways to Heal!
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By Dave Markel
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80. Anne Winslow: A Gentle Yet Powerful Voice for Survivors
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The last time Anne was on this show was just over a year ago. She shared with us her harrowing story of enduring almost 30 years of intrafamilial rape as well as marital domestic violence and rape. Yet, despite all of that, Anne managed to become one the most softspoken advocates for others who’ve endured similar experiences as she advocated and gu…
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It's not every day that you turn 131 years old! To honour the Legislative Building's anniversary, this year we take a look back at what it was like on opening day in comparison to today. Learn about some of the key figures from back then along with what's changed and what's stayed the same. Don't miss out on this fun fact filled episode!…
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79. Ray Epstein: The New Kid in Class Brings Hidden Terrors
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Some communities are safe harbors of individuals who identify as an assemblage who have known each other for a long time…grown together, supported each other, learned together…who have the common denominator of having gone through the same things together, particularly school. Such was the case for Ray Epstein as she progressed through a very small…
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78. The Month of March with Caroline Markel and Safe in Harm’s Way
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As promised in January, Caroline Markel is back for her monthly episode on SASS. Caroline Markel (no relation to myself, at least that we know of!) is the CEO of Safe in Harm’s Way, a non-profit organization dedicated to “providing online trauma-informed resources to survivors, their children, and pets, while identifying the unique needs based on r…
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77. Angela Galbreath: Activated Memories Lead to Hidden Meanings in Behavior
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When long lost memories, suppressed for decades through fear and dissociative amnesia, start to surface in the cognitive mind, the results can lead to frustration and confusion over what the memories stem from. Emotional trauma survivors often spend an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out the cause and meaning of these memories that are o…
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76. To Tell or Not To Tell: The Sexual Assault Survivor’s Conundrum
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Sexual assault is a deeply personal and often traumatic experience that affects millions of individuals worldwide. For survivors, the decision to share their stories with the public is one fraught with complexities and potential consequences. In this episode I’ll help examine and explain the pros and cons of someone telling their sexual assault sto…
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75. Weapon Focus: Explaining Some of the Formation of Trauma Memory
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Part of the common experience in doing interviews of victims and survivors of rape, sexual assault, and other interpersonal violence, is to hear the person I’m interviewing say that they only remember certain parts of their trauma experience, or that there are parts that they’ve tried really hard to remember, but just can’t. Or say that there are p…
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Several months ago I started noticing on my Instagram feed, several posts and reels that were initiated by an organization called Callisto. I was not particularly paying attention to these posts until one day I noticed one that was entitled “Sexual Assault Prevention,” and had the phrases, “Holding perpetrators accountable,” “Consent education,” “C…
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73. Merle Yost: From an Unimaginable Childhood to an Uncompromising Dedication to Helping Others
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Activation and discretion warning: This episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of physical assault, animal abuse, sexual assault, and rape. Caution and discretionary action are required. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode and if you are activated or triggered and need help, call t…
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72. Caroline Markel Hammond: There’s Power in Keeping Your Story Your Story
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In the grand scheme of this podcast, my goal has always been to provide a platform for victims and survivors to tell their stories of rape or sexual assault in a safe environment, to help bring justice to victims and survivors of rape or sexual assault, and to provide my listeners with insights, education, and guidance to help survivors on their he…
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Taking a Page Out of History: The Story of Hansard
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Have you ever heard the term "Hansard" and wondered where it came from? Or maybe you've wondered about the people taking notes during a parliamentary session? This month we delve into the origins of where the term "Hansard" comes from and what it is that they do in our Parliament. And as always, our hosts manage to fit in lots of fun facts along th…
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71. Tiffany Thomson: Doing Her Part to Bring Justice to Victims and Survivors of Trauma
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Some might find this episode and think, “This is a shameless plug for Dave’s wife’s cousin.” But the honest truth is, that is not my intention at all! I ran across my wife’s cousin’s Facebook page and saw that she had started a new business. “She” is Tiffany Thomson. The thing that caught my eye was that Tiffany, who I haven’t seen since about 2005…
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70. Plamen Draganov: Healing After Being Kidnapped, Beaten, and Raped at Fifteen
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Activation and discretion warning: These notes and this episode contain explicit and graphic descriptions of kidnapping, physical assault, and rape. Caution and action are required. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme discretion in listening to this episode and if you are activated or triggered and need help, call the national sexu…
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69. CSM Marisa Saucedo: Yeah, I Fell…But I Got Back Up!
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Being in the US Army Reserve requires discipline. And commitment. And top-notch performance. If you fail at any of these there can be serious consequences…including being discharged. One of the requirements is that during “battle assembly” (weekend training) you have to be there; if a Soldier fails to attend on a consistent basis, they can face tha…
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68. Jan Broberg: Focused, Intentional, and Resolute
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If someone is serious about attempting to fulfil a significant, meaningful, and overwhelmingly difficult objective, the effort can often-times feel ineffective, even pointless. Having this type of purpose-filled lifegoal can be exhausting and often will end in frustration long before even a small dent can be made in the predicament. Especially if t…
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67. Cheryl Wright: Confronting the Torment, Shedding the Weight of Shame, and A Journey of Healing and Gratitude.
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Activation warning: this episode contains explicit and graphic descriptions of attempted suicide, physical assault, sexual assault, and rape. Discretionary caution is strongly advised. This episode is not for children. Please use extreme self-care in listening to this episode and seek immediate help through the national suicide hotline by dialing 9…
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66. Bonus Episode! Arci Grey Is Offering a Free Workshop: Breaking the Invisible Barriers of Trauma.
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Last Wednesday I was just sitting at my desk working on this podcast, and out of the blue I got a text from my good friend and former SASS Podcast guest, and Trauma-informed Peak Performance Specialist, Arci Grey! Arci wanted to schedule a phone conversation with me…which I did. We scheduled the call for Thursday…and it wasn’t just a friendly, catc…
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65. Dave Markel: The First Episode of 2024—Continuing the Good!
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Last week’s episode featured a series of guests who, during their episode interviews, chose to recognize and celebrate the SASS format, its purposes and successes, and the healing benefits of being part of this podcast. I took clips of those episodes and compiled them into a succession of the comments that they made about the show. The episode was …
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64. Dave Markel: The 2023 Year-end Episode of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories
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64. Dave Markel: The 2023 Year-end Episode of Sexual Assault Survivor Stories. 2023 has been an amazing year of growth for Sexual Assault Survivor Stories. It’s terribly sad that there is a need for this podcast to exist in our world. Yet, it’s a blessing to provide this platform for victims and survivors who willing to share their stories of rape …
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63. Yri Stafylaki: Part 2- Life Became a Total Disconnect, Then Came the Start of Healing
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This is the concluding episode of Yri Stafylaki. It’s her continuing story of how her bad situation with an abusive boyfriend got worse. Worse because the fallout of what it means to be in an abusive, narcissistic relationship is often extremely messy. Yri had been living her athletic dream of being on a basketball team that meant the world to her.…
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62. Yri Stafylaki: Part 1- A Narcissist’s Conniving Tactics Lead to Manipulation, Confusion, and Rape
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It never ceases to amaze me…my podcast listeners that reach out to me with courage, strength, fortitude, and powerful resilience who are hoping to share their stories, not for glory or attention, but to help others who may find themselves in very similar circumstances with very similar experiences, in order to offer a sense of comradery and communi…
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61. Ashleyann Garcia: Struggling, but Winning!
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One of the most difficult components of the sexual assault/rape healing journey is mustering the courage and strength to tell someone else your story. It can be formidable. Daunting even. But many psychologists and sociologists agree that talking about ones own sexual assault or rape experience can help in processing one’s emotions, provide a commu…
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