Developing Meaning
by Dirk Winter
Latest episode
#31: Beyond the “Bad Trip” – Dr. Erica Zelfand on Psychedelics…
#31: Beyond the “Bad Trip” – Dr. Erica Zelfand on Psychedelics…
About this podcast
A podcast about healing trauma and finding meaning.
Have you ever wondered what your therapist has figured out about life's big questions?
Join psychiatrist Dr. Dirk Winter as he speaks with colleagues, therapists, and other healers about what they have learned from their clinical work about how to heal trauma and build more meaning and purpose into our lives.
Developing Meaning is NOT CLINICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS. It is intended to play with ideas that are emerging, fringe, and outside of the mainstream in order to discover the meaning of life.
Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff
Episodes
The newest 20 of 31 episodes
- #31: Beyond the “Bad Trip” – Dr. Erica Zelfand on Psychedelics, Naturopathic Medicine, and Meaning · 1 h 23 min · Episode 31Send us Fan Mail What happens when a psychedelic experience meant to be healing becomes frightening, destabilizing, or even traumatic? In this episode, I speak with naturopathic…
- #30: How Healing Happens Between Us – An IFS Healing Circles Audio Diary · 21 minSend us Fan Mail This episode is a companion to my conversation with Chris Burris, creator of Healing Circles. After learning about his approach to bringing Internal Family…
- #29: Chris Burris on Creating Healing Circles – IFS Group Therapy and the Power of Community · 1 h 12 min · Episode 29Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sit down with Chris Burris — senior lead IFS trainer, trauma therapist, and creator of Healing Circles — after spending five days at his home…
- #28: Inside an IFS Ketamine Retreat with Ted Riskin and Amy Borsky Duffer, A Psychiatrist’s Audio Diary. · 21 min · Episode 28Send us Fan Mail This episode is a companion audio diary to my interview with Ted Riskin, recorded while participating in one of his five-day Internal Family Systems (IFS)…
- #27: Ted Riskin - Befriending Anger, Moving the Cat, and the Healing Power of IFS Group Ketamine Retreats. · 1 h 9 min · Episode 27Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I sit down with Ted Riskin — social worker, IFS expert, and pioneer of group ketamine retreats — after spending a week at his beautiful home in…
- #26: How Breath Can Heal Trauma and Restore Meaning - Dr. Patricia Gerbarg · 1 h 48 min · Episode 26Send us Fan Mail Note: This conversation with Dr. Patricia Gerbarg was recorded in August 2025. In this episode, we explore how breathing patterns reshape the emotional brain…
- #25: A Past Year Review Has Consequences (I Quit My Job and Started a Clinic - Yikes!) · 16 min · Episode 25Send us Fan Mail In this New Year’s episode, I explore the very real consequences of last year’s Past Year Review. Most notably, I decided to retire from a beloved community…
- #24: Past Year Review (PYR) and Setting Intentions for Beginner's Mind, Questioning Assumptions, and Consilience in 2025. (REPOST) · 34 min · Episode 24Send us Fan Mail Happy New Year! It's time to do a meaning inventory in order to set intentions for 2026. Toward that end I am re-posting my meaning inventory from last year. Our…
- #23: Master Hypnotist Mike Mandel (50 Years) on Ego States, Parts Work, and the Architecture of Mind. · 1 h 34 min · Episode 23Send us Fan Mail Mike Mandel is a world-leading hypnotist with over 50 years of professional experience. He's performed nearly 5,000 stage shows, trained over 10,000 students at…
- #22: Healing Beyond Words - Joanne Twombly on 30 + Years of Treating Complex Trauma With Hypnosis, EMDR, IFS, and Deep Brain Reorienting. · 1 h 16 minSend us Fan Mail Joanne Twombly, LCSW and author of Trauma Informed Internal Family Systems, has been treating complex trauma and dissociative disorders for over 30 years. In…
- #21: Former Marine Beau Laviolette Combines EMDR, IFS and Nature Retreats to Heal Veterans and Create Meaning. · 1 h 17 min · Episode 21Send us Fan Mail What happens when you combine military experience, personal recovery, cutting-edge trauma therapies, and the healing power of nature? Beau Laviolette's…
- #20: How IFS Helped Me Face Cancer And Myself - Audiodiary of My Level I IFS Training. · 1 h 0 min · Episode 20Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I take you inside my experience of learning Internal Family Systems therapy while simultaneously navigating prostate cancer surgery and recovery…
- #19: Margaret Conley - How We Heal Complex Trauma and Legacy Burdens with IFS. · 1 h 21 min · Episode 19Send us Fan Mail Margaret Conley, LCSW, Minister, and IFS Assistant Trainer, joins me to explore how trauma is passed down through families, culture, and society —and how we can…
- #18: Ridghaus Follows the Golden Threads - A Story of Adoption, Grief and Meaning. · 1 h 27 min · Episode 18Send us Fan Mail Can you imagine learning at 35 that you were adopted? In this episode Ridghaus, my friend and Level I IFS Program Assistant, shares how this discovery…
- #17: Past Year Review (PYR) and Setting Intentions for Beginner's Mind, Questioning Assumptions, and Consilience in 2025. · 33 min · Episode 17Send us Fan Mail This episode invites listeners to engage in a meaningful past year review, turning away from traditional resolutions toward a more insightful approach to…
- #16: Jory Agate - Unitarian Minister and Internal Family Systems (IFS) Lead Trainer on Meaning, Kindness, and How IFS Heals Trauma. · 56 min · Episode 16Send us Fan Mail The Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level I training is an experiential group learning process that teaches us how to identify and heal traumatized parts of…
- #15: Do You Have One Mind or Many? How Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS) Heals Trauma by Embracing Our Inner Multiplicity. · 47 min · Episode 15Send us Fan Mail Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) is a type of therapy that views the normal human mind as an internal family of inner conscious beings. In this episode we…
- #14: Integrative Psychiatrist Dr. Bliss Lewis Shares Her Story of Holistic Healing, Building Communities, and How She Sets Her Life Intention · 1 h 34 min · Episode 14Send us Fan Mail Dr. Bliss Lewis is a child and adult psychiatrist, expert in integrative and alternative treatments, and creator of Mind Body 7, one of the most innovative and…
- #13: Dr. Richard Brown Leads 6 Minutes of Coherent Breathing (Supplement to Episode 12) · 6 min · Episode 13Send us Fan Mail Please enjoy this guided six minute coherent breathing exercise led by Dr. RIchard Brown, co-creator of Breath Body Mind. This is a spontaneous demonstration…
- #12: Dr. Richard Brown, Co-Creator of Breath Body Mind, on How Ancient Breathing Techniques Can Heal Trauma, Optimize Health, and Create Joy · 1 h 34 min · Episode 12Send us Fan Mail For thousands of years breathing has been used to heal trauma, optimize health, and build connection. Dr. Richard Brown has spent his life mastering these…
