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The Innovative TherapistCreative solutions for body trust Author: Dr. Shawn Hondorp, PhD, ABPP
Are you a therapist or helper that likes to think deeply and creatively about ways to build trust with our bodies in and out of the therapy office? Do you want to overcome disordered relationships to food so that you can live a life that feels aligned and amazing, and help inspire others to do the same? Do you hate small talk your idea of fun is deep and meaningful talks about living more courageous and connected lives? If so, then welcome to the Innovative Therapist podcast where we talk about creative ways to heal and build self-trust, Internal Family Systems theory and Parts Psychology, and unlearning the many messages from oppressive systems that lead us away from body trust. Im Dr. Shawn Hondorp, clinical psychologist. Lets work together to create safe learning environments for those who want to explore innovative approaches to healing, one authentic conversation at a time. Language: en Genres: Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Science, Social Sciences Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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Why Therapists and Helpers Must Reclaim Personal Power with Sarah Buino
Monday, 23 March, 2026
Episode 158: Why Therapists and Helpers Must Reclaim Personal Power with Sarah Buino ✨ Free resource: Uncover Your Zone of Geniushttps://pages.drshawnhondorp.com/zone You can have all the clinical skills in the world, but if you feel disconnected from your own personal power, your work (and your life) will start to shrink. Hey friends. Welcome back to the Innovative Therapist Podcast. I’m so excited about today’s episode because Sarah Buino is back with me for round two. We recorded yesterday for her podcast, and now we get to keep the conversation going here. Also, we have to start where all meaningful professional relationships begin: unhinged laughter at a conference. We met at the Next Level Summit back in September, and I happened to be sitting right next to Sarah during the “humor as healing” portion. It was late. We were tired. We’d come back from dinner. There may have been drinks. And then we did this exercise where you’re instructed to laugh as hard as you possibly can. Sarah absolutely stole the show. Her laugh was so contagious that my mild headache disappeared afterward. Like… fully gone. So yes, this episode may include an unofficial headache cure, but also it includes something I think is even more important: A conversation about personal power, why therapists often lose touch with it, and why reclaiming it is essential if we want to evolve this field without burning ourselves (and each other) to the ground. What we get into in this conversation This episode is for therapists and helpers who feel any of the following: a little numb or constricted lately tired of the drama and harm happening in our professional spaces ready to do “inner work” in a way that actually changes something curious about how power, shame, and agency show up in therapy rooms and workplaces Here are some of the big themes we explored: Sarah’s shift from heavy clinical work to coaching, consulting, speaking, and leadership Why therapists often misunderstand power and accidentally recreate “power over” dynamics The Right Use of Power framework and why it matters so much right now Agency and shame through the lens of NARM (NeuroAffective Relational Model) Why your own healing is not optional if you want to do ethical, embodied work How to build workplaces (and communities) that feel more like power with, not “who’s winning?” Sarah’s work right now (and why it matters) One of the most interesting parts of this conversation was hearing how Sarah’s work has evolved. She shared that she only has three clinical clients left, and they’re all healers/helpers. Her primary modality is NARM, which she described as the approach that truly helped her “crack the code” of her own healing. She’s also: Podcasting (a lot) Doing consulting/speaking Serving as Board President of the Right Use of Power Institute Building a platform to help therapists and group practice systems evolve through power-conscious leadership And what I loved most is that she’s not just talking about power as an intellectual concept. She’s talking about it as a lived, nervous-system-level experience. What does “Right Use of Power” actually mean? Sarah broke down a framework that I think every therapist should understand, because it gives language for dynamics we often feel but don’t know how to name. She describes six types of power (and if you’ve ever been confused by power in therapy, leadership, or relationships, this framework is clarifying): 1) Personal Power The power that belongs to you. Everyone has it. We can’t lose it, but we can feel disconnected from it. 2) Role Power Power that comes from your role: therapist, boss, doctor, parent, supervisor. 3) Status Power Power tied to social location: race, gender, age, ability, class, body size, etc. (and how those are valued by culture). 4) Collective Power
