Episodes

  • Forrest Lang, Author of Angel Blue: A Song of Redemption talks about his journey through trauma

    Forrest Lang, Author of Angel Blue: A Song of Redemption talks about his journey through trauma
    Sep 2 2025
    Forrest Lang, Author of Angel Blue: A Song of Redemption, talks about his journey through trauma

    Trigger Warning: We talk about childhood trauma in this program. Please make sure you do what you need to to take care of yourself.

    Meet Forrest. With an artist’s hands and a life forged in resilience, Forrest Lang has lived a journey carved by trauma, tempered by addiction, and transformed through recovery. His path moves through child abuse, foster care, and homelessness to sobriety, service, and purpose. Today, he speaks not just for himself, but for every survivor searching for light in the dark—offering strength, truth, and the promise of healing.

    Forrest is a tattoo artist, father, and military veteran and resides in La Jolla, California. He is the author of Angel Blue: A Song of Redemption.

    Bernadine and Forrest virtually sat down and talked about trauma in the way only two trauma survivors can. From his website we grabbed this information and found that it was true for this program as well. "Forrest’s ability to connect with his audience stems from personal experiences. He understands the struggles and doubts that individuals face on their path to success, and he uses his own story as a source of inspiration. Through his engaging storytelling and relatable anecdotes, Forrest creates an atmosphere of trust and authenticity, allowing his audience to truly connect with his message. …

    Forrest covers a wide range of topics, including goal setting, overcoming adversity, vulnerability, and suicide prevention. … Forrest believes that true transformation occurs when individuals are equipped with the tools and mindset necessary to take control of their own destiny. Forrest is also the author of “Angel Blue, a Song of Redemption,” a memoir on overcoming trauma and success. His written works serve as a valuable resource for individuals seeking long-term guidance and inspiration."

    Join us.

    You can find his book on Amazon or on his website angelbluebook.com

    Music by Shari Ulrich and Siibii
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Heidi Little and Her Journey to Heart-based Learning and Education

    Heidi Little and Her Journey to Heart-based Learning and Education
    Aug 31 2025
    Heidi Little and Her Journey to Heart-based Learning and Education

    For 30 years Heidi Little hails out of Regina Saskatchewan before she moved to Mexico and then to Austin Texas. She has been teaching and using music to give people the sacred space to explore and decide who and what they are here for. Heidi has created The Center for Heart Based Education and The Center for Advancement in Social Emotional Learning. She has written 14 books on heart based education. Including the foundation of the Center for Advancement with it's 8 stacking modules offer tools and techniques that connect to the heart and inner guidance system we all have. According to Heidi, despite the ways in which we flounder trying to find ourselves, inside we know who and what we are AND when we are given safe, brave space to ‘come home to self’ we can find that for ourselves. Bernadine Heidi talk about single motherhood, dealing with terminal illness and finding your way out of that twice, find ourselves, participating in waterkeepers, Dr. Emoto’s work on how our intentions affect water and therefore ourselves. And she mentions things like soul house, source energy, plant medicine and other things that mostly went over my head. Come and listen as I try and keep up around navigating your own inner guidance systems to find what are your unique gifts, mission and purpose for being on the planet.

    Music by Shari Ulrich and Heidi Little
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Changing your Life with Improv and Speaking out about Therapy Abuse

    Changing your Life with Improv and Speaking out about Therapy Abuse
    Jul 29 2025
    Cass Freeman is an Improviser, Activist, Journalist and all-round funny person. She joins us to talk about the benefits of Improv theatre for our mental health. She teaches Improv and is setting up class starting in September specifically for folks with mental health challenges. She chats with Bernadine about what Improv is, why its important, and how it can help all of us overcome fear, embrace positivity and learn to inspire others. Classes are open to anyone who self-identifies as living with a mental health challenge and she does not require any disclosures.

    Then Shanice Docksin joins Bernadine for a very serious conversation about her experience with therapy abuse and exploitation. And while that is what we are going to talk about here, that is not the most important thing about Shanice. She is a leading Black businessewoman who has experienced her fair share of failures, challenges, and success. She transformed herself from a broken-home mentality to one of Oklahoma City’s very own published authors whose published works include "Unplugged". Shanice is also a public speaker, coach, and a mental health/domestic violence advocate. Shanice is one of those examples that tells us those who have been victimized by therapy abuse and exploitation are not chosen because they poor fragile, broken people.

    Music by Shari Ulrich, Kelly Clarkson, and Sons of Legions
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Courage to Come Back: Theresa Duggan’s Journey and Richard Lett chats about his Art

    Courage to Come Back: Theresa Duggan’s Journey and Richard Lett chats about his Art
    Jul 23 2025
    Courage to Come Back Winner in Mental Health: Theresa Duggan’s Journey
    From childhood trauma to becoming a beacon of hope for others, Theresa Duggan’s story is one of resilience and transformation. After surviving years of sexual abuse and a suicide attempt 12 years ago, she struggled with undiagnosed bipolar disorder for much of her life — so paralyzed by her condition she couldn’t even brush her teeth or leave the house. Everything began to shift when she was properly diagnosed. Theresa works in hospital psych wards, supporting others facing mental illness. As someone who has walked the same path, she builds trust quickly with clients, offering them something rare: true understanding. Theresa’s journey is a powerful example of how tragedy and healing can exist side by side — and how lived experience can become a lifeline for others. Although winning the award happened 15 years ago, she credits it with changing how she takes on the world.

    And Richard Lett/Comedian and Spoken Word Artist We are then joined by Richard Lett in an interview we did a couple months back – but really wanted to get his voice back out there. He talks about alcoholism and change and growth. He always brings his particular form of comedy and spoken word to whatever stage he is standing on.

    Music by Shari Ulrich and Omar Rudberg
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Off the Map (part 2)

    Off the Map (part 2)
    Jul 1 2025
    Off the Map 2

    In this episode of ReThreading Madness, Bernadine has the joy of talking to four more writers from Off the Map: Vancouver Writers with lived experience of mental health issues. Seema Shah was the powerhouse behind Off the Map. She along with Betsy Warland and Kate Bird compiled and edited 33 different authors to put together this anthology of stories and poems published by Bell Press. Seema is also one of the writers and she joins us today along Quin Martins, Sandra Yuen, and Merle Ginsburg to talk about what inspires them to write these pieces. Each one of them graces us with a reading of their work.

    Music by Shari Ulrich & Jake Banfield
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Exploring Transference with Amy Avalon

    Exploring Transference with Amy Avalon
    Jun 24 2025
    Exploring Transference with Amy Avalon

    Trigger Warning: discusses therapy abuse

    Bernadine sits down (virtually) with Amy Avalon, a retired psychotherapist and passionate advocate for survivors of sexual and emotional abuse by their therapists. Together, they traverse the issue of transference: What is it? How does it play out in our lives, and specifically in therapy? How can we work with it or use it to understand ourselves? When we are experiencing transference with our therapists, how do we talk about it and, most importantly, how should a therapist respond to those disclosures and what they should and should not do? Music by Shari Ulrich
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Outsiders and Others with Redrum Sticker Artist

    Outsiders and Others with Redrum Sticker Artist
    Jun 12 2025
    Art at Outsiders and Others with Redrum the Sticker Artist

    “Outsiders and Others is a non-profit art Society with a focus on bringing non-traditional artists to the forefront. Their artists identify as outsider, folk, self-taught, visionary, intuitive, and artists with disabilities.” Outsiders and Others defines outsider art as the work of those who have no formal training, create art for themselves to record their life experiences or document historical events (not necessarily for an audience), and use non-traditional materials (like found objects). In May, Mental Health Awareness month, Outsiders and Others presented Brain Child featuring artworks from Caro Embling, REDRUM, and Gabriel Ostapchuk. We had the opportunity to speak with Yuri Ajars. Artistic Director and Curator, about this exhibit and the gallery. We also chatted with Redrum, the sticker artist (@redrum_ays_crew). Redrum describes the different neurodiverse and disability issues he copes with daily but also how important art has been to his process specifically in inspiration around images and topic. You can find Outsiders and Others In Vancouver and at

    https://www.outsidersandothers.com/

    Music by Shari Ulrich
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • Off the Map and its Writers

    Off the Map and its Writers
    Jun 11 2025
    Off the Map with writers Angela J. Gray, Venge Dixon, Mary O’Toole with music by Ren

    Trigger Warning: Song by Ren Gill includes foul language

    May 1st 2025 saw the release of Off the Map an anthology of prose and poetry that has to do with mental health. ReThreading Madness had privilege of speaking to 3 of the writers included in this publication. Venge Dixon is a nonbinary lesbian who writes, creates art (and comic books) and make music. She wraps a heart-warming story about a very difficult time in her life around a cat named Linus who showed up and put a wrench in her plan’s to die. Angela J. Gray is an emerging black writer who writes about the “impact of colonization on children of African/Caribbean Diaspora who were adopted into white homes” in what, in her case, looks just like 60s Scoop. Mary Phyllis O’Toole says “ she writes, not only for emotional catharsis, but to shine a light on schizophrenia.” All of them share a portion of their writing with us during this hour. In addition, we have included a song entitled “Hi Ren” by Ren Gill, a musician from the UK who used music to have a conversation with himself about his current state of mental health and in, so doing, gives us an incredible inside view of what his world is like while leaving us all inspired and hopeful.

    Music by Shari Ulrich & Ren Gill
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr