Episode Overview

In this episode of Trauma Informed Conversations, host Jessica Parker is joined by integrative therapist Louise Brooks. As a physically disabled therapist, Louise brings both professional expertise and lived experience to a vital but often overlooked topic: Medical Trauma.

Moving beyond clinical definitions, Jess and Louise explore the cumulative impact of "medical gaslighting" - the exhausting experience of not being believed or having symptoms dismissed by professionals. They discuss how these interactions can create a cycle of shame and anxiety, transforming necessary healthcare into a source of psychological distress. The conversation shifts the focus toward disability-affirmative practice, emphasising how validation and small systemic shifts can restore a sense of safety for patients.

Key Takeaways

• The Weight of Medical Gaslighting: Medical trauma often stems from being told symptoms are "all in your head". This lack of belief can lead to physical trauma responses like nausea, breathlessness, and heart palpitations before future appointments.
• The Burden of Explanation: Many disabled people spend entire therapy or medical sessions explaining their condition. Louise highlights the importance of professionals doing independent research to reduce this "retraumatising" labour for the client.
• Practical Systemic Shifts: Small changes, such as offering double appointments as standard, can provide the extra time needed for cognitive processing or physical transfers, making care truly accessible.
• Disability-Affirmative Therapy: Finding a therapist who is "disability affirmative" means working with someone who understands the social and systemic barriers disabled people face, rather than viewing the disability as something to be "fixed".
• "Not Disabled Yet": A poignant reminder that accessibility is a community responsibility. Whether through physical access or inclusive language, creating safe environments benefits everyone - because many people are simply "not disabled yet".

Resources Mentioned

• Trauma Informed Consultancy Services (TICS): Visit www.ticservicesltd.com to access live training events, further information on trauma-informed practice, and to contact the team for support.
• Disability-Affirmative Resources:
  • Louise's Challenging Ableism CPD Session (11th April 2026)
  • Emotional Respite (Charity)
  • Spokz People - Modules to support people wanting to learn more and an online community for disabled people to join.

Guest

Louise Brooks is an integrative therapist in private practice, specialising in working with physically disabled and neurodivergent clients. Working exclusively online for inclusivity and access, Louise incorporates person-centered therapy, attachment theory, and compassion-focused approaches into her trauma-informed work. As a disabled practitioner, she is a passionate advocate for disability-affirmative care and challenging the ableist structures within the medical and therapeutic fields.

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What happens to care-experienced people as they grow older? In this deeply moving and trauma-informed conversation, we sit down with researcher and storyteller Dr. Rosie Canning to explore the long-term health and wellbeing outcomes for adults who grew up in the care system.

For too long, the narrative around "care leavers" has focused almost exclusively on the transition to adulthood at 18 or 21. This episode breaks that silence, highlighting the continued exclusion of older care-experienced people from policy and research debates. We discuss why this lack of representation urgently needs to change and how Dr. Canning’s research is finally centering these overlooked voices.

From Grassroots Activism to Oxford Research

Rosie shares her incredible personal and creative journey, offering a unique perspective on resilience and reclamation. We discuss:

• The Power of Community: Rosie’s involvement in Occupy London, where she supported the reclaiming of a closed library for community use.
• Lifelong Education: Her experience returning to education later in life to complete her PhD, and how being a "mature student" informed her lens as a researcher and facilitator.
• The Oxford Study: Insight into the significant research exploring health and wellbeing for care-experienced people aged 50+, co-led by Rosie alongside Dr. Jonathan “Jonno” Taylor, Dr. Michele Peters, and Dr. Anna Scott at the University of Oxford.

Understanding the "Invisible Privilege" of Family

Within the conversation, we reflect on the often-unseen privilege of family—of growing older alongside others, having shared histories, and knowing one’s own medical and health narratives. We consider how childhood trauma shapes adult experiences over decades, including:

• The Risk of Retraumatisation: The specific fears and realities of re-entering formal care systems (such as elder care or nursing homes) in later life.
• Belonging vs. Isolation: Moving away from "deficit-based" assumptions to create spaces of recognition, ownership, and belonging for the care-experienced community.
• Policy Evolution: Why current social care policies affecting children in care must evolve to account for the entire "life course" rather than just the immediate aftermath of leaving care.

This research offers a powerful roadmap for what needs to change now to ensure foster care alumni and care-experienced adults are supported at every stage of their lives.

Explore the Research: Read the winter 2026 edition of Care Leavers Connected to dive deeper into the findings discussed in this episode: https://issuu.com/careleaversconnected/docs/care_leavers_connected_winter_edition_2026

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In this episode of Trauma Informed Conversations, host Jessica Parker is joined by TICS Associate Gemma, an expert with over 30 years of experience in the NHS eating disorder field. Recorded in person on a rare sunny day in Yorkshire, the pair explores the vital, yet often overlooked, role that connection and community play in the lives of those experiencing eating distress and eating disorders.

Episode Overview
Moving beyond the common misconceptions that eating disorders are solely about food, weight, or appearance, Jessica and Gemma examine the neurobiology of these conditions. They discuss how disordered eating often functions as a survival-based coping strategy for an overwhelmed nervous system. The conversation shifts the focus from "what is wrong with this behaviour" to "what is this behaviour helping the nervous system cope with," emphasising the importance of moving from blame to curiosity.

Key Takeaways

• Connection is Complex: While connection is generally protective and regulates the nervous system, trauma can make connection feel unsafe, exposing, or even frightening.
• The "Multifactorial" Nature: Eating disorders rarely have a single cause; they sit at the intersection of biological sensitivity, psychological coping, relational experiences, and cultural pressures.
• Breaking the Cycle of Shame: Eating disorders often thrive in secrecy and isolation. Because social rejection activates similar neural pathways to physical pain, reducing shame through safe, non-judgmental connection is vital for recovery.
• The Power of Curiosity: For parents, educators, and colleagues, the shift from judgment to curiosity is key. We should ask ourselves: "I wonder what is feeling unsafe right now?" instead of focusing on compliance.
• Practical Inclusivity: Creating an atmosphere of psychological safety in workplaces and schools includes being flexible with meal times, avoiding comments on appearance, and recognizing that not everyone views social eating as a "safe" or "enjoyable" activity.

Resources Mentioned

• BEAT: The UK's national eating disorder charity. They provide extensive support resources for individuals, parents, and professionals, as well as a "Help Finder" tool to locate local services.
• Trauma Informed Consultancy Services (TICS): Visit ticsltd.com to access live training events, further information on trauma-informed practice, and to contact the team for support.

Guest

Gemma is a dedicated mental health specialist with over 30 years of experience in the field of eating disorders, having begun her career working within the NHS. As a TICS Associate, she now applies this extensive clinical background to her work in training and consultancy. Gemma’s commitment to this field is deeply personal, stemming from her own experiences supporting family members who struggled with eating disorders, which initially drove her to train as a mental health nurse to better understand how to help. Today, she focuses on challenging myths and misconceptions, advocating for an approach that views eating disorders as complex, multi-factorial adaptations rather than mere human weaknesses. Her work emphasises that because recovery is rarely linear, building community and fostering safety are critical "prevention science" tools that allow healing to emerge.

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