Episode summary
Clinical social worker and trauma educator Patrick Teahan tells Lewis Howes that childhood trauma often manifests as disconnection from self and others, with shame acting as a central organising emotion that complicates curiosity, anger and joy. He distinguishes between overt, “blatant” trauma (including domestic violence and addiction) and quieter but destabilising family environments where emotional attachment is absent and relationships become performative. Teahan says his first YouTube video criticised the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) study for focusing public attention on extreme categories, arguing that clients from less visibly abusive homes can present with the same adult symptoms — anxiety, depression and difficulties with intimacy.
He describes therapeutic approaches he uses and teaches, including “dialoguing” journalling with dominant and non-dominant hands, and other tactile cues (photos, familiar media and foods) to build an internal relationship with the “inner child”. Teahan argues that refusing tenderness towards that younger self can leave people “stuck in bitterness”, and frames triggers as an amplified threat response (“amps go to 11”) shaped by childhood conditioning.
On family estrangement, Teahan gives a personal account of going no contact with his mother for three years to allow therapy to progress, later re-engaging before cutting contact again; he says he is currently in a third, near-final period of no contact, tied to protecting his son. He also discusses patterns of choosing familiar, dysfunctional partners, and why “healthy people” and calm relationships can feel intimidating to hypervigilant trauma survivors.
