Episode 76 Become It, Then Do It | Recover Fully From Sexual Trauma & Reclaim Your Purpose, Power & Joy: Interview with Dr. Shannon South

Chris McDonald: Welcome to the holistic counseling podcast, where you discover diverse wellness modalities, advice on growing your integrative practice and grow confidence in being your unique self. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I'm so glad you're here for the journey.

Does the thought of ethics and potential legal ramifications in holistic counseling? Cause you worry and unease, you are not alone. There are some things to consider and put into place in your practice before diving into holistic counseling strategies. In my upcoming webinar, we'll explore how to protect yourself against liability.

As a holistic therapist, you'll learn more about scope of practice versus scope of competence. What informed consent means for holistic strategies, the ethics of using new. What to document and the role of values also address this, how you can expand your therapy practice ethically into the holistic realms and where to draw the line.

Welcome to today's episode of the holistic counseling podcast. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. Just a reminder that next week is my continuation of my holistic webinar series. We're gonna dive deep into the ethical and legal considerations of holistic counseling. This is one of the top issues my listeners have shared.

So you can learn how to best protect yourself, receive a checklist of action steps to take after the webinar. So back to today's episode. So today's guest was on our podcast in episode 54, she discussed how to align your dream life and your business from the inside out. Dr. Shannon D south is here today to talk about how you can heal your way to success.

And depression permanently. Since this experience, she's helped thousands of clients connect to their most loving, abundant and joy filled self Shannon is founder of ignite your life programs heal your way to success course, and the grow your business by growing your breakthrough day. She also trains other clinicians on how to bring spirit and soul into their practice for deep and lasting healing for their clients.

She loves dancing being in nature and a rowdy game of volleyball. welcome to the podcast, Dr. Shannon.

Dr. Shannon South: Thank you. I'm in the middle of my volleyball season right now. I think so. Bring my pinky finger last week, but I'm doing clothes .

Chris McDonald: So is this outdoor

Dr. Shannon South: volleyball or Indian? Oh yeah. Well, we're on sand ball now.

We're doing sand qu ball and we're having such a blast, but boy, you get Sandy and dirty and you're just chewing dirt by the time you're done. I

Chris McDonald: imagine. So

Dr. Shannon South: that's cute. It makes you feel really alive.

Chris McDonald: yeah, exactly. And you said it gets rowdy.

Dr. Shannon South: It really? Does you run into each other? I mean, it's quite a crowd and we're all over 50. That's the funniest part. We could break wagon moment, but we're actually rocking it.

Chris McDonald: You go, yeah,

Dr. Shannon South: that's right. That's fantastic.

We're the old folks club we're beating all the Youngs.

Chris McDonald: I love. So, could you tell my listeners more about yourself? And I know you mentioned you got some things coming up.

Dr. Shannon South: Yeah. Yeah. I'm so happy to be back with you. This is such an honor to be on your show. Yes. It's great to, we have such similar values and loves and interest, and it's just so, so great to support your mission and thank you for, uh, having me.

Yeah. So I've been, um, focused a lot lately on, uh, helping people heal with sexual trauma and helping them align to their higher nature. You know, we often find as you know, working holistically, right. That when we have trauma, People really get out of, um, connection. They disconnect and they go into survival mode.

And so that's been my big focus lately is really deeply helping because, you know, I had trauma in my past and, you know, had that healing experience. You mentioned in my bio where. I had a lot of the anxiety and the depression around that completely lifted. And so I, we know there are ways and I studied the ways in spiritual psychology training on how to help people do this.

Cause I really think that's the ticket. Besides going back to the old trauma, the inner child work, right? Yes. We also have got to help them align. With their higher nature and there are exact steps to do that. So that's really what I've been really passionate about lately, especially since Roe versus Wade got overturned.

I was so disturbed by that. And so many women were retried from their trauma, their sexual trauma started feeling shame and blaming themselves again. And these are professional, powerful women in the world. You know what I

Chris McDonald: mean?

Dr. Shannon South: Absolutely. So, you know, it's, it's not okay to have our boundaries violated.

And as we, um, have had that happen before with any kind of trauma, physical, emotional, sexual trauma, it really creates, uh, it brings that back up when we get re-traumatized as a culture of women. So that's really been on my heart lately and I really wanna help folks. So I, I am doing some free trainings around healing, sexual trauma, and the powerful keys on how to do that holistically coming up August 25th.

And then I have a three day challenge focusing on the same thing. Um, I'm calling that Chris, you'll appreciate this. Become it, then do it. Yes. , you know, we gotta kind of do that inner work right. To become it. Of course. And then the, the doing is easier. The doing is more of a flow and it's more fun and more creative, you know, but when we try to do it and we haven't quite become it yet, it gets to be pretty exhausting.

True. Yeah. Well, that makes a lot of sense. So become it, then do it. That's a three day challenge I'm doing in September and it's really just to help people with sexual trauma or any kind of trauma overcome and reconnect to their higher nature. The joy and the love and the peace that we all deserve. Sure.

We all work hard and we all give and do our best. And we deserve to feel that in our bodies and our lives and feel the abundance around that.

Chris McDonald: Absolutely. So how would you define healing? That is a

Dr. Shannon South: great question. You know, I really see healing as that path. I just described as really honoring. What happened to us, um, whether it's honoring it through the body, um, and the emotions and the thinking processes, but not a nausea.

I do not believe in going in and hanging out, suffering in the trauma again. That is not my style. Um, I really believe we honor the pain and the reactivity. That's still there, the charge around it. And then we really release it. We soften and we start to love it. That's really what's happening. We soften and love it and bring in our higher nature to help soothe.

And then once we bring that higher nature into the cells of our body, more, it changes our perception. So when our perception changes towards the trauma and we feel more free, like I am strong, I've got this, I'm safe. Now I can trust the world. The world's here to help and protect me. There is something inside of me guiding me and supporting me or around me.

I hire power of sorts. And once we begin to trust, And know how to bring that into the body and really, uh, connect with that, then healing just, you know, happens. It happens naturally, but we really have to honor what is right. What's up, you know,

Chris McDonald: does this align at all with like accepting what has happened and accepting ourselves and yes, cause that's what I've been talking a lot with clients is we have to accept even parts we don't like about ourselves or things that have happened.

And that's the hardest part

Dr. Shannon South: for every. Oh, it's one of the, it's one of the steps that people really get stuck in my process being inter counselor. I'm like, can you thank that part for helping you survive? And yes. And about, about 75% of the people are like, what? I know it's very foreign . Yeah. Are you kidding me?

And then I'm like, yeah, we really wanna thank it. Cuz you survive something really hard. It was really hard and you survived it and that may be all that you can find to think about it, but you did survive. You're alive. You know, some people die, the trauma is so bad. Right. And yeah. And that may be the only thing they can thank.

Right. And, but once they're able to say, thank you for helping me survive. And then we ask it, is it willing to try something new? Then that that's where we actually get the choice. We have to make a choice at that point. Do we wanna align with our higher nature or not? And really, and then the, you know, if you have a process like the inner counselor that I use, or some processes that you use, Chris, that helps us to do that, right.

We guide the client to do that.

Chris McDonald: Because you mentioned bringing in, was it the higher nature? Yes. To help. So what does that mean? Can you break that down a little

Dr. Shannon South: more? The higher nature is just, there's so many words for that. The higher self, the wise mind yes. Mm-hmm, , you know, I work a lot with 12 step people.

They call it their higher power, but, um, whatever you call it, there is a higher. Aspect to us that is there to serve and support us and guide us and love us. And this part has a wisdom and clarity and power and insight. I mean, I I'm blown away at every time people connect with this aspect of the self or what's beyond them, you know, it could be, I mean, some people call it the soul or their spirit beyond them.

Right. But when they connect to this inner wisdom and peace and love the in answers and the solutions show. You know, it's like, how do you, what do you need now instead of feeling, uh, traumatized and afraid or blaming yourself for your trauma, let's say that's a common theme with sexual trauma, right?

Mm-hmm like, it's my fault. If I hadn't been so nice to them, or if I hadn't been so accommodating or if I hadn't gone on a date with them, or if I hadn't been drinking or if I hadn't invited them to my house, whatever it is. Yeah. Yeah. If I hadn't kissed them, if I hadn't worn this skirt, whatever violations violation, and so that self blaming and that self persecuting is what we do when we've been through trauma.

And so instead, what do I really need? Well, I need to love myself and forgive myself and know that I am amazing and I still didn't deserve that, but that was, I still didn't deserve

Chris McDonald: that. Yeah, that's right. That's powerful. That's

Dr. Shannon South: right. So I still didn't deserve that. It was still not. Okay. And that was their misusing, their power.

I didn't do. And I tried to stop it right at that point, or if, even if I didn't and didn't know how cuz I froze that that was what my body did to protect me. So like you said, it really is accepting and understanding where we were and then letting ourselves off the hook so we can have that energy back.

To grow and to create and to love again and to trust again, because that energy, it takes a lot of energy don't, you know, to protect that trauma and bracket it off

Chris McDonald: for sure. But I think going back to that acceptance of, you know, that our body does it's best to keep us safe. Absolutely. And remembering that and, and the freeze response that we can't control that in those situations.

So you can't get on that self blame with. No.

Dr. Shannon South: I mean, I've had women say, I tried to fight him off. I was sore the next day. I felt so hard and still he, they wouldn't stop. Right. Or I froze, you know, there's so many different things or I didn't even realize I was being traumatized until it was halfway done.

Right. And then I was like, what is going on? This is not what I want. Right. Um, for sure. So most of you know, the time it's someone that you already know, or you kind of know, but you clearly don't, you. So anyway, there's a lot that goes to into it, as we know, but yeah, really, really embracing the healing around that and freeing ourselves from that permanently.

Like I do not believe that has to make, that has to take any more energy from us anymore once we know how to heal it. I think,

Chris McDonald: cause I do hear from a lot of clients cause I work with trauma as well. That. They feel like this is just something I have to live with. And I don't know if that's society that, you know, they still have to deal with the suffering no matter what, but from what you're saying, it sounds like there is hope that there are ways to overcome this and be able to heal.

Dr. Shannon South: Oh, absolutely. Um, with spiritual psychology, they always say there's a spiritual solution to every problem, meaning that there is a part, there's an aspect of the self that knows how to heal this. It's just like nature, you know, nature knows how to rebalance itself. Yeah. Most of the time mm-hmm right. Our systems do as well.

There is a, there is, we just have to know how to connect to that aspect and bring it in so that it. Talk to us, communicate with us and really come back into us. It's almost energy psychology. You know, EMDR is a form of energy psychology. And so is this, this is a form of bringing in a new pattern, a new energy to embrace and replace.

embracing a place, the old one, right? Absolutely. Yeah. And it's so powerful. Cause then we feel more whole, we feel more expanded and less contracted. We feel more free. It feels so good.

Chris McDonald: Yeah. So I guess what are some other parts that people can heal their way to success?

Dr. Shannon South: Absolutely. So of course the more that we go to those deeper, either repetitive experiences that cause some kind of belief, you know, it's so common for people to feel unworthy of success.

Yes. Like somewhere down deep, I'm just not worthy enough to have my dreams come true. So I guess like you were saying, I guess I'll just slog along. Kind of how it is. I just have to accept it. And if a dream keeps coming back to you, it's your dream to 10. And my belief is that if a dream keeps coming to you, that there are the resources for that dream to continue to grow and to be possible.

And we just have to know how to heal our way to it. , you know, it may not happen as quick as we want, but what will happen is it is if it keeps coming to your heart, that that's the dream meant for you to. So, I

Chris McDonald: guess it's, it's that inner listening to paying attention and cause you

Dr. Shannon South: know, there's dreams that we are like, oh my gosh, I really want to X, Y, Z, I really wanna make this much money or I really wanna have this kind of deep love in my life, or I really want to feel good most of the time.

Instead of having these triggers that keep, you know, are talking to myself in this way about something, I really wanna have energy and passion for my day and love what I do and be paid well for it or whatever. Like we all have dreams. And so those dreams are really our hearts calling our hearts saying to us, you, uh, this is for you.

And I, you know, and I do believe that as we keep clearing out the old stuff that stands in our way, we will. Access the solutions one rock at a time. You know, I get this image of, you know, you and I did imagery. Last time I was on here, I get this image of going across a lake, but you have to go in the stepping stones, right?

So it's like this, each stepping stone is there. As we clear out something and let something go or heal something, we see the next stepping stone. Yes. So we, we may not see it right away, but once we are in that process of healing and we clear it out that stepping stone is so clear. What's next? Does that make sense?

Chris McDonald: Yeah. And it's within our grasp, cuz I, I saw a picture recently was like a meme or something where, you know, taking small steps is easier to get there than the big ones. And it showed somebody reaching with the big step. They couldn't, they couldn't reach it with the small steps. They were able. Keep going and find their way.

I, it, so the small steps are where, what we need to do with this. Especially if, if

Dr. Shannon South: you have a lot of trauma, Oh, gosh, that's exactly why, you know, the

Chris McDonald: complex trauma's even harder.

Dr. Shannon South: Yes, that is a very good point. I'm glad you said that. Cause trauma's so sped up and fast and you know, the small steps you have to slow down, that's goes slow down and go deeper.

You know, I think of the work that I do is kind of like we're digging a deeper well, but once you hit that water, boom, you got water for life. Right. yes. Mm-hmm but you gotta keep digging, you know, and you may not see the water just yet. Right. But there is, there's a deeper, well, in there that's going to nourish you once you go deeper into a certain thing and heal it.

But yeah, slowing down and taking it one step at a time, because that's where we bring our whole self along. We leave parts behind. If we try to jump too far, too fast too soon, that's been my experience. Yeah, that's true. And then we fall in the wall fall in right. And overwhelm. Overload. So if we really wanna bring our whole self along, it does require a slowing down and a grounding of sorts that allows for that deeper well to speak to us and move through us

Chris McDonald: and progress is

Dr. Shannon South: progress.

Oh gosh. Yeah. And what's so cool. You know, I've done a lot of study in the yoga tradition and if you look at yoga, I mean, Carl Young even did a lot of, he, he wrote a paper on Kini yoga, one time about the breath and how integrated the breath is. If you look at the yoga tradition, um, and a lot of it, the healing is you go down and ground and then once you are able to ground and get those roots really deep, then the other stuff comes up naturally and you move up towards the higher nature naturally.

Oh, wow. Yeah. Um, in that interesting, that is, um, so that takes slowing down to go to, to my teacher, used to say we regress to transcend and I like that that's deep. Isn't that deep it's like, boy, we do, but we don't throw anything away. We just bring it along with us in a new way, in a new way. And then we're more whole

Chris McDonald: mm-hmm , it's almost relating to parts of self in a different way and new way.

Dr. Shannon South: That's right's our relationship to what is not, what is, that's a problem. And the solution. I always say that over and over, we change our relationship to where, whatever we find in there. and then when we're free from it, right? Like if I'm relating to it from, from a place of fear or trigger or trauma, which we do, right.

That's just a stage.

Chris McDonald: Yes, exactly. And again, this sounds very hopeful too. Cause I think that as you work with clients, I know mine get very impatient mm-hmm with the process and they wanna, they wanna take that giant M step and it just doesn't work that way. But then I know, you know, to know that. When you work with someone for a while and you can see that healing and know that, oh my God, the parts just start to fit together.

And especially what I've seen, I don't know if you've seen this as well with your holistic practices. And once they do this over time, it accumulates in their system and they're able to find that healing. And I think just reminding clients of that too, with the process.

Dr. Shannon South: That is exactly right. It has an accumulative effect.

The higher nature continues to, uh, embody, embody, embody, embody. You know, I think about it like a cloth you're dipping a cloth and a color. Yes. And it, you pull it out. It's just a lighter color, but then you dip it again. It's a little bit darker the beginning. And then that's how the higher nature comes to comes.

Within us, you know, is that we just keep dipping that cloth and keep, you know, loving and healing. What is right in front of us and with help, of course, like if you, yes, of course, with our guidance, you know, and you know, it's, what's cool. I just, I just, um, was writing this this morning. I was gonna post it on my social media.

It was about the inner counselor process that I teach. In four sessions, they found that they get, they did a study of like 70 people and in four sessions, they were able to use the state trade anxiety scale and the POI, which is a test, you know, that, um, personal orientation inventory, which kind of talks about like, how do you see things?

What's your experience with things perception, right? A lot of perception. But, um, anyway, they gave the, the people, uh, 70 people, the pre-test and they did four inter counselor sessions with them. And then they gave them a post test and to see where they were. And then they gave them a test a month later to see where they were and the, the, the holistic process that the inter counselor had a decrease sign.

Decrease in anxiety, significant decrease in depression and an increase in self actualization, which is that higher nature. Right? Yeah. That's amazing. Isn't that cool? Mm-hmm so cool. So, um, you know, I te I, uh, love teaching that process because it has more rapid effects than, than other processes that I've used, you know?

Yeah. Which I love, it sounds

Chris McDonald: like. So can you share again, so the inner counselor process for those that's called me inner

Dr. Shannon South: counselor process. Yeah, it's called the inter counselor process and it is the best process that I learned in my doctorate program in spiritual psychology. It is the best, most effective process that I've ever learned.

That's holistic in nature. And

Chris McDonald: are there certain steps with it?

Dr. Shannon South: Yes. In fact, I'm getting ready to put on my website and I'll have it before you share this. There's a video called discover the inner counselor process and it has the research that I was just mentioning on it, and it will also have a me guiding someone through the process.

So, if any of your listeners wanna go see it and check it out, they can I'll have that on my website, probably under the, what is transpersonal psychology page. You know, that page, then they'll have a description of that on there with the video. So, yeah, they're welcome to check that out at Dr. Shannon south.com.

Chris McDonald: Nice. I know you do or treats at times for therapists too. I

Dr. Shannon South: do I do. I don't know where my next one is because I have this heal your way to success. Yeah. Program coming up in the fall. But, um, yes, I'll be doing another one of those after that. And so it'll probably be closer to the end of the year. That's amazing.

Yeah. It's so much fun. I love teaching it. Oh, I actually, that's not true. I do have one coming up at may. Heck, um, in September. Oh, oh yeah. Mm-hmm it's so day long and it's actually online. It's called transforming trauma, a holistic approach and mind, body spirit approach. So I'm gonna be teaching the inter counselor on that.

That's September 7th. That is on my website. Thank you, Chris. I forgot there than you. No,

Chris McDonald: you

Dr. Shannon South: do. I have that coming up September 7th and that's gonna be through mountain area health education center. Yeah. So that'll be a good one if anybody's interested in learning more as a practitioner. Perfect.

Chris McDonald: I think that's great.

And I've learned so much from you. I know with the training I took with you and in our conversations and yeah. It's just been so applicable those things, especially if you're a holistic provider. I think it's just amazing. She's an amazing resource for sure.

Dr. Shannon South: Sure. Thank you. It's definitely my passion. And I've been doing it a long time.

Yeah. So I love, I can't can't get it more excited talking about. Absolutely. I know. And it works. I mean, you, you see something that works and people don't have to suffer as much. You get you. It's pretty

Chris McDonald: exciting. And that's the cool part. You mentioned about research too, is, you know, this is something that's research based.

Cuz a lot of listeners, I get nervous with, you know, we're supposed to follow the ACA guidelines with having research based interventions. And this is one that

Dr. Shannon South: is. Absolutely. You know, I really look forward to it being more in the mainstream. Um, the presenter that did that research, she just shared the information at the association of energy psychology at their big conference this year.

So she was one of the presenters that shared this research there. So I was so happy that she got into that conference with this process. Cause that means it's gonna be hopefully be getting more mainstream. Yeah,

Chris McDonald: exactly. And I do feel like the holistic realm is, is starting to move in that direction that we're hearing more of that with counseling and psychology.

Dr. Shannon South: Yes. I think it's harder to measure the cells of the body and how the feeling sense and the felt sense changes it's harder than it is to say. What's your blood pressure.

Chris McDonald: your whole field is harder to measure medicine. exactly.

Dr. Shannon South: It's but the good news is the more you heal, these things I've been, I've been watching Oprah.

She has a new book out on, uh, oh. Talking about the ACEs, you know, the ACE of trauma. Yes. Uhhuh was. And she's talking about how beneficial that is. And there's a great website for that as well about trauma called your number, story. Dot org, but, uh, it's Oprah and the surgeon general of California. She has a great Ted talk on it.

They have got a, a page there for ACE to go take your trauma quiz. And then what we know, and as you know, these holistic methods, as they heal trauma, um, you begin to reduce your toxic stress from your childhood and you don't get sick. You don't get heart disease as much. You don't get cancer as much. You don't get diabetes and all this stuff.

It's all connected. So it's great, actually. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean this healing way to success is everything. It's, it's your abundance. It's your health? I mean, health is your wealth, right? Yes. For sure. If you don't have your mental and physical health, I mean, my goodness. So it's, it's really the whole NCH.

Lot of like, we wanna feel good on every level and we wanna have our health and we wanna have, um, wealth and we wanna have love and soulful connection to something bigger than ourselves. It's all, it's all important.

Chris McDonald: That spiritual piece too is so important. Yeah, absolutely. And whatever that means to you.

Cause I, and that's what I, I always try to remind people too, it's spirituality is something different for everyone and it, it's not just one standard thing.

Dr. Shannon South: Absolutely not. You know, I have some clients that want to focus on holy spirit and Jesus and I have others who their grandmother comes in to support them.

Who is the person that loved them the most. Isn't that sweet. Yeah. Or their dogs.

Chris McDonald: animals, man. You can find some, some spiritual with that for sure.

Dr. Shannon South: They've got the unconditional love piece mostly down don't they? Yeah.

Chris McDonald: Yeah. And I just think nature's a big one for me. And I know a lot of people connecting with mother earth.

Dr. Shannon South: Oh, I love nature. I'll tell you. We, we could live outside. We'd probably be, he. Yeah, for sure. ,

Chris McDonald: you're really hot here in North Carolina though in the

Dr. Shannon South: summer. That's true. That's true. This global warming is getting to us. Isn't it? brutal, man. Brutal, but you're right. That nature connection is, is where it's at.

Isn't it? It's that boundless. Yeah. That boundless part of ourselves that we can feel more in nature. Yes, for

Chris McDonald: sure. So it was, have I missed anything else that you wanted to share about healing, your way to success?

Dr. Shannon South: No, I just have that, um, program coming up. It's gonna be in September. Um, actually I moved it to October cuz I have all these other trainings, but it's gonna be starting October 11th and I'm gonna be only taking 12 people and we're gonna do a eight week series of heal your way to success.

And we're gonna be doing these deeper spiritual psychology processes. And I'm gonna give people a recording that they can take with them to actually do these at home when they get stuck. Um, or in kind of a funk or in a down downdraft is what we call it and they get, um, they need help getting out. And so we're gonna do that for eight weeks and then I'm gonna keep them on for a year.

Oh, wow. Um, once a month for a year after that. So to help people. So yeah, if you know anyone that has trauma and that really wants to really access their higher nature and reach their full potential more that this will be a great course for them. Um, besides all the free things I have coming, this would be the, a great course in October for them to check.

And

Chris McDonald: you mentioned before we hit record that you have a Facebook group too,

Dr. Shannon South: that you started. Oh yeah. Yeah. You and I, we're gonna talk about that too. Um, it's holistic practitioners and psychotherapists

Chris McDonald: take a lot of listeners

Dr. Shannon South: will love that. Mm-hmm yeah. Come join us on Facebook. Just request to get in.

And we're posting holistic things that are going on. In our area and for anyone that wants to attend and most of them have an online option, so, oh yeah. Please join us. Excellent.

Chris McDonald: Well, thank you so much for coming back on the holistic counseling podcast. Shannon.

Dr. Shannon South: Oh gosh. I'm so happy to be here with you and thank you for having me.

Chris McDonald: Absolutely. And don't forget to join us listeners for another episode next Wednesday. If you wanna join my next holistic webinar, August 24th, go to holistic counseling podcast.com/holistic-webinars/, and you can sign up there for the whole series, or if you wanna just do the one webinar, that's totally up to you.

And this is Chris. McDonald's sending each one of you much late in love till next time. Take.

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