Transforming Trauma: Episode 178

What does it mean for trauma therapists to truly grow—not just in knowledge, but in deep presence and human connection? In this reflective episode, Brad Kammer, Stefanie Klein, and Marcia Black reunite for a candid look at the first year of the SPACE Program at the Complex Trauma Training Center. Together, they share what happens when a professional community focuses as much on therapists’ inner experience and vulnerability as on clinical skills. The discussion explores the profound shifts that emerge when therapists give themselves permission to receive support, reveal their struggles, and build safety through honest collective exploration.

The group discusses the evolution of the program, participant impact, and where the vision is headed next. They also reveal how modeling openness, exploring therapeutic enactments, and inviting feedback have created a uniquely dynamic community. Listeners hear firsthand stories of the tenderness, courage, and transformation that arise when “people feel able to be vulnerable, be open, receive support, to ask for support, and…want to go more deeply into those challenging and dark spaces.”

Brad Kammer, LMFT, LPCC, is the Training Director and Senior Trainer at the Complex Trauma Training Center (CTTC), where he develops advanced training and mentorship programs for mental health professionals working with complex trauma. Stefanie Klein, LCSW, is a NARM Master Therapist and Somatic Experiencing Practitioner with 30 years of psychotherapy experience, specializing in trauma and anxiety. Dr. Marcia Black is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, NARM Senior Training Assistant, and NARM Faculty Committee member, and has been in private practice for over 40 years in SF and the East Bay, specializing in treating complex and developmental trauma and other psychological conditions, including depression and loss, anxiety, relationship issues, and addiction.

One theme that emerges powerfully in the conversation is the essential humanizing of therapists within the community. Brad observes, “So many therapists are really wanting to do a great job for their clients and just even if we’re not thinking so much about ourselves…our clients are gonna benefit so much when we’re getting our own support.” Stefanie notes the ongoing paradox: “Those people are often not asking for and receiving support, whether that’s just community and hearing other people’s experiences or their own psychotherapy or their own consultation.” Marcia reflects on how being “supported and inspired by the courage and vulnerability of each other” enables everyone to explore unknown places within themselves. Participants describe moments that “sneak up on me and you’re like, whoa, that was much more powerful than I thought it was gonna be,” highlighting the sacred, surprising quality of collective work.

From modeling vulnerability to running intersubjective explorations in pods, to integrating group feedback and shaping new experiential offerings, Brad, Stefanie, and Marcia illustrate how therapist growth flourishes in relational contexts. They speak to the reality of therapeutic enactments, the shame and complexity that often keep challenges hidden, and the relief that comes from openly sharing and unpacking these experiences together. The group’s commitment to “co-creation with the space participants” and to continually evolving the program based on lived experience and honest dialogue reinforces the mission: to nurture a field where therapists can “be intimate and real and authentic,” deepen their own enjoyment and sense of meaning in the work, and become more effective supports for clients.

As the SPACE program enters its second year, new topics, immersive weekends, and opportunities for deeper integration are on the horizon—always shaped by the needs and voices of therapists themselves. “We just expect it to keep evolving, as we go, while again, we’re adding more things to the same intention,” shares Stefanie. The conversation closes with gratitude for the shared journey and a reaffirmation that therapists’ willingness to invest in their own presence not only transforms their clinical work, but also reverberates throughout their lives and communities.