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Holding Space with Dr. Barker
Holding Space with Dr. Christopher Barker is a psychology podcast focused on how unresolved complex trauma shapes daily life — from childhood through adulthood.
Complex trauma isn’t only about major events. It develops through chronic stress, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, and relational instability. Over time, these survival adaptations can show up as ADHD-like symptoms in children, emotional dysregulation, workplace conflict, burnout, leadership struggles, relationship challenges, and intergenerational family patterns.
Through the lens of EMDR therapy, attachment theory, neuroscience, and trauma-informed care, Dr. Barker explains how the nervous system learns to survive — and how healing becomes possible.
Each episode offers research-based insight and practical tools for regulating triggers, improving relationships, and moving from survival mode to intentional living.
Understanding your story is the beginning. Healing transforms how you live it.
Welcome to Holding Space.
https://substack.com/@christopherbarkerphd
Holding Space with Dr. Barker
Letting Go of the Struggle: A Simple Exercise for Tough Feelings – Part 1
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this short companion episode of Holding Space, Dr. Christopher Barker teams up with intern Caesar Salas to demonstrate a powerful visual exercise for anyone who feels stuck in their emotions. Using a cord and an imaginary pit, Dr. Barker shows how depression, anger, or anxiety can feel like an endless tug-of-war that never truly resolves. Instead of fighting the feeling, the exercise illustrates what happens when you simply let go of the struggle and view the problem from a new angle.
Drawing on principles similar to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dr. Barker emphasizes that your feelings are real and valid, but you do not have to be in constant battle with them. By stepping back, reconnecting with your values, and seeing emotions more clearly, you can respond in a more constructive way instead of being pulled toward an emotional “pit.” This brief episode pairs with Episode 36 Part 2 as a practical, easy-to-follow tool you can revisit whenever you feel overwhelmed.
Email Us: BarkerHoldingSpace@gmail.com >>
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