The Antidote to Perfectionism

How do you find the strength to go on after trauma and abuse? Learn how one woman did it in this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman as host Elizabeth Cush welcomes Kimberly Bell, author of “The Epitome of Kimmy: Accept & Embrace It All.”

“I can break generational curses and taboos that I was raised with.”
— Kimberly Bell

If you experienced trauma as a child—whether physical, sexual or emotional abuse; neglect, or abandonment—it can often feel hard to survive, much less thrive, long into adulthood. The loss, the pain, the grief can feel like too much to bear and keep us from the joys of life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Healing is within reach. In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women’s life coach, welcomes Kimberly Bell, author, inspirational speaker, minister and mentor for an intimate discussion of how she overcome her beginnings and found a path to resilience.

You can find all the recources and link for this and every episode here.

If everyone around you denies it, did it really happen? Find out in this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman as host Elizabeth Cush welcomes Lynn Crook, author of “False Memories: The Deception That Silenced Millions.”

In 1991, Lynn Crook sued her parents for damages after she recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse by her father. At the time, believing media reports, most of her community insisted that her memories were false. But a key memory study was flawed, and the judge found in her favor. In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women’s life coach, welcomes Lynn Crook for a talk about her experiences; her book, “False Memories: The Deception That Silenced Millions;” and the importance of speaking your truth.

“There's essentially no corroboration for claims that memories like mine are false.”
— Lynn Crook

You can find the full show notes and resources mentioned for this and all the episodes here.

Welcome the new year with this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman, and join host Elizabeth Cush in a centering meditation.

It’s a new year! January, as you might remember, gets its name from the two-faced Roman god Janus, who could look back at the old year and forward at the new. That makes it a perfect time to take stock of our lives and release those things that no longer serve us so we can move into the future without unnecessary burdens. In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Biz Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a life coach for highly sensitive women, talks about the New Year and how you can help shape the podcast in the months ahead. She also leads a guided centering meditation designed to help you get grounded; cleanse and nourish yourself; shed unwanted habits and embrace the new you.

You can find the full show notes for this and every episode here.

If you have an unhealthy relationship with food, listen to this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman as host Elizabeth Cush welcomes holistic nutritionist Ali Shapiro for a conversation about emotional eating.

“I really think food is inviting you into deeper healing, physically, emotionally, and on the soul level.”
— Ali Shapiro

At the end of a tough day, do you curl up on the sofa with a book and a bag of chips? Does a confrontation send you on a search for chocolate, cake or a hot fudge sundae? Do you celebrate with a special meal—and maybe a second helping? What can you do if you turn to food at times when you wish you didn’t? Or wished you didn’t overdo it? In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women’s life coach, welcomes Ali Shapiro, MSOD, CHCC, a holistic nutritionist and host of the podcast Insatiable for a talk about food and emotional eating. Listen to their insights about food and eating and health at midlife and how to make a truce with food and bring it all into better balance.

You can find the full show notes and Ali's links here.

https://www.elizabethcushcoaching.com/awaken-your-wise-woman-podcast 

If you’ve reached midlife, you know that your body has changed. So has your partner’s. For one, things don’t work the same way they did in your younger days. How has that affected your sex life? And if your sex life isn’t great for one or both of you, how has that affected your relationship? And what can you do about it? In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women’s life coach, welcomes Dr. Deb Shine Valentine, a licensed clinical psychotherapist and a certified sex therapist for an open and unencumbered discussion about sex and intimacy as we grow older. They talk about challenges to physical intimacy that midlife couples face and how to address them in order to have a closer and more fulfilling relationship on every level at any age.

“You can tell your partner how to load the dishwasher. How come you can’t tell them what to do sexually?”
— Heather England

You can find the full show notes and links to all the episodes here.

What do you know about “parts” work? If you listen regularly to Awaken Your Wise Woman, you’ll be familiar with Internal Family Systems (IFS). If you’re a new listener, this episode will open you to new possibilities. Host Biz Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a life coach for highly sensitive women, recently attended the IFS conference, where she was trained in a variety of techniques for using IFS to help therapy and coaching clients get in touch with all their parts and create the compassionate and understanding relationships with those parts that lead to healing. Listen as she shares her experience and insights into this information-packed program.

“This is your opportunity to help you bring your body, your soul, yourself, your parts into the work to find a deeper level of healing, of understanding, of compassion, of curiosity, and to the next part of your journey.” — Biz Cush

You can find the full show notes for this and every episode here.

Do you feel like if you suffer enough, the world around you will get better? In this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman, host Elizabeth Cush talks with Deb Shine Valentine, PhD, about thriving while you work to change the world.

“It's a very fine line between saving and centering … whether it's a community or an individual.”
— Deb Shine Valentine

You can find the full show notes here.

None of us live in a vacuum. We live in families, in communities. In this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman, host Elizabeth Cush talks with Catherine Quiring about healing systemic harms—for ourselves and the world.

We often talk about how our early family live has shaped how we think, feel and react to life. But what about the bigger systems we’re raised within—religion, for example, or the culture where we live. What is their impact? And how can we heal the wounds they might cause us? In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Elizabeth Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Annapolis, Md., and a mid-life women’s life coach, welcomes Catherine Quiring, a fellow therapist and coach in Florida, for a discussion of the how our belief systems shape us and the world around us. They talk about the need for empathy and how breaking free from systems that burden us can help us get back to ourselves and our values—and maybe make a better world.

“We need to acknowledge the harm—and that's actually really healing for both sides, if we allow it.”
— Catherine Quiring

Find the full show notes and other episodes here.

Are your relationships changing as you reach mid-life? In this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman, host Elizabeth Cush talks about our friendships and how they may change as we move through the healing process and grow into our authentic selves.

“Sometimes friendships and partners and our acquaintances shift and change over the years.”

—Biz Cush

You can find the full show notes and links to resources to all the spisodes here.

Welcome back! In this episode of Awaken Your Wise Woman, host Elizabeth Cush talks about lessons learned about sensitivity during the hiatus. Listen to find out what’s in store in this exciting new season of the podcast—and what you can learn from listening to Biz and her guests.

“The world needs more sensitive people showing up fully, especially sensitive women."

 — Biz Cush

You can find the full show notes and all the AYWW episodes here!