Transforming Trauma: Episode 168

In this special Transforming Trauma series, we will be exploring the “origin stories” of influential therapists. These episodes offer a rare opportunity to peek behind the curtain and understand what inspired these therapists to pursue healing work, and how they have brought their life experiences into their professional work, impacting and inspiring many people along the way. By learning from seasoned master therapists who openly share their professional journeys, as well as the painful personal life lessons along the way, we gain valuable insights to support our own growth, both professionally and personally.

On this episode of Transforming Trauma, host Emily Ruth is thrilled to welcome back Brad Kammer, Complex Trauma Training Center (CTTC) Director, Senior Trainer in the NeuroAffective Relational Model® (NARM®) Senior Trainer, author, and executive producer of this podcast, to discuss his eclectic personal and professional journeys. Brad also details the experiences that have shaped his approach to the treatment of trauma and informed the creation of CTTC. 

Brad’s story is compelling, revealing an inquisitive nature and passion for healing complex trauma shaped by his early experiences. Reflecting on his family’s intergenerational trauma, Brad shares about his grandparents escaping persecution of Jewish people all throughout Europe in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and how they came to the United States to build a safe future for themselves and their children. “I think what I was brought into was my parents really wanting to assimilate and having their own internal challenges around what that looks like.” 

At a very early age, Brad’s curiosity led him forward. “I was one of those kids in high school who was always looking up at the stars and asking these really big questions. Do I belong? Who am I? How do I show up?” At the same time, he was searching for his place. 

Psychology seemed like the obvious course of study for someone drawn to understanding human experience and supporting human connection. But first Brad needed to take a different path. Upon completing college, he left the U.S. to travel, working and studying all around the world. It was on this journey he deepened into his passion for spirituality and learning about other cultures. “This was a big turning point for me in my early twenties.”

During his travels, he lived on the Thailand-Burma border working with Burmese refugees. Brad reflects, “It was a life-changing experience because instead of being from an outside Western aid organization that never really integrates with the people they’re serving, we lived and worked amongst the people we were working with…This is the beginning of my understanding of trauma.” Brad got a first-hand experience of individual and collective trauma, and became determined to do his part in the healing. 

Brad and his new family settled back in the U.S. where he enrolled in a graduate program renowned for its experiential approach including self-designed curriculum and mentorship-based learning. “I created this awesome graduate program for myself based on spirituality, shamanism, somatic psychology, and relational therapy,” he says. Even though he was studying to become a therapist, this was a deeply personal process. “I was on a healing journey,” he says. 

His personal and professional journey led him into the Somatic Experiencing training community where he was introduced to Dr. Laurence Heller, the creator of NARM. Brad began studying under Larry and working closely with him in the development of NARM, which eventually led to a partnership in the creation of the NARM Training Institute and the two books they wrote together: The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma and The Workbook for Healing Developmental Trauma.

After years of being part of clinical trainings, Brad began to feel into a need from therapists beyond clinical training. So alongside his close colleagues and friends Stefanie Klein and Marcia Black, Brad created an organization focusing on mentoring therapists. They created the Complex Trauma Training Center in early 2024 that offers clinical trainings (like NARM), as well as other programs supporting therapists in building their capacity for connection, depth, and heart. Brad says, “I’ve gotten a lot of really amazing mentorship over my adult life, and so I’m excited to continue getting that, of course, but also now giving it back.” 

Brad proudly launched a new program in 2025 called the SPACE Inner Development Program that speaks to this purpose of support and community for therapists. “Being around a group of therapists is so comforting because people are reflective and caring,” he says. “We’re bringing all these different elements together and offering other folks to join us.” 

Transforming Trauma is deeply grateful to Brad for his curiosity, openness and heartfelt commitment to compassionate mentorship and building community – as well as for the creation of this podcast!

RECOMMENDED EPISODES

Supporting Presence, Awareness, Connection, and Embodiment for Mental Health Professionals with Brad Kammer and Stefanie Klein of the Complex

Trauma Training Center

Creating SPACE for Self-Discovery and Community Support for Therapists

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

University Of Texas at Austin

Tao Of Poo

Wilhelm Reich

The Function Of The Orgasm

Phish

Goddard College

Laurence Heller, PhD

Healing Developmental Trauma

The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma

Trauma & Civilization: The Relationship Between Personal Trauma, Social Oppression, and the Transformative Nature of Trauma Healing 

Peter A. Levine, PhD

Somatic Experiencing

GUEST BIO & CONTACT

Complex Trauma Training Center

Brad Kammer, LMFT, LPCC, is the Training Director and Senior Trainer for the Complex Trauma Training Center. Brad is responsible for the creation of the CTTC professional development programs, including the SPACE Inner Development Program for Therapists. He also is a Senior Trainer in the NARM® Therapist and NARM® Master Training Programs offered through CTTC. Brad guides the mentorship programs involving CTTC faculty, training assistants and participants; the diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIB) efforts; and is the executive producer of the Transforming Trauma podcast. Brad has a passion for cultivating a professional learning community that provides ongoing training opportunities and mentorship to a diverse group of mental health professionals in their work with complex trauma. Brad is also the co-author of The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma and the upcoming Workbook for Healing Developmental Trauma.