Discover + Heal + Grow is the podcast of Taproot Therapy Collective, a trauma-focused therapy practice in Hoover, minutes from Birmingham, Alabama. Licensed trauma therapists talk honestly, and sometimes irreverently, about complex PTSD, the brain, the psyche, and the cultural forces that shape all of us. Some episodes feel like drinks with a group of therapists after work. Others feel like sitting in on a university seminar.
Latest episodes
This player lists every episode and adds new ones automatically as soon as they are published on Podbean. Press play here, or open an episode for its full show notes.
Prefer an app? Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube, or add the RSS feed to any podcast app.
Where to start
New to the show? These episodes are a good way in, and each one connects to work we do at Taproot.
The Science Behind the Light: Dr. Steven Vazquez on Inventing Emotional Transformation Therapy
Aug 18, 2025, 39 min
Dr. Steven Vazquez, who developed Emotional Transformation Therapy, on the years of experimentation behind ETT and how specific wavelengths of light are used to reach the brain's emotional centers.
Therapy Round Table: Lifespan Integration
May 12, 2025, 49 min
Joel and three Lifespan Integration therapists, Marie Danner, Kristan Baer and Pamela Hayes, on how the timeline protocol works with PTSD, anxiety and attachment trauma while keeping clients inside their window of tolerance.
Part 1: A Psychohistory of American Psychology: The Sun and the Clock
Mar 27, 2026, 47 min
The opening episode of the nine-part series traces American psychology to the factory floor: Frederick Winslow Taylor, John B. Watson's behaviorism, and a profession built to help people function inside the machine.
Part 8: A Psycho-History of American Psychology: You Must Never Listen to This
May 18, 2026, 1 hr 33 min
How Richard Schwartz, Peter Levine, Bessel van der Kolk, Stephen Porges and David Grand each arrived at the same picture of trauma in the nervous system, and what AI therapy platforms leave out of the room.
The Body Holds the Trauma: Adam O'Brien on Dissociation and Addiction
Jun 25, 2025, 1 hr 3 min
Adam O'Brien of the Wounded Healer Institute on the link between dissociation and addiction, preverbal trauma, Brainspotting, and why a dissociative drug keeps being prescribed for dissociative disorders.
How to Integrate qEEG Into Clinical Practice with Peak Neuroscience
Mar 31, 2025, 1 hr 25 min
The team behind Peak Neuroscience on bringing QEEG brain mapping and neurostimulation into clinical practice, including their work with ADHD and autism.
The Weird History of Psychotherapy, Part 2. Carl Jung: The Bottom of Consciousness
Jun 4, 2025, 44 min
Carl Jung's confrontation with the unconscious, the collective unconscious and the archetypes, and why American psychology kept its distance from his map of the psyche.
Why Can't Psychotherapists Form a Union? What Is the RUC in Healthcare?
Jan 17, 2026, 1 hr 3 min
Why private practice therapists cannot legally unionize, how a private AMA committee shapes what every medical service is worth, and what that does to access to therapy.
Jungian Addiction Recovery with Corey Gamberg
May 26, 2025, 59 min
Corey Gamberg, executive director of Rockland Recovery, on Jung's part in the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous and what depth psychology adds to long-term recovery.
The series
Much of the show runs in multi-part series. Each one is easiest to follow from the beginning.
A Psycho-History of American Psychology (nine parts, 2026)
How American psychology was built and what it left out: the factory floor and behaviorism, Freud's American arrival, postwar tranquilizers and deinstitutionalization, the psychedelic 1960s and the DSM-III, psychosis and conspiracy as cultural trauma, the STAR*D study, AI therapy, and the DSM-6. Start with Part 1: The Sun and the Clock.
Empire, Oil, and the Odyssey (three parts, 2026)
The follow-up to the psycho-history: the FDA's rejection of MDMA-assisted therapy, the placebo effect as the ritual of care, oil as a psychological event, the dodo bird verdict, and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Start with Part 1.
The Mirror World (2026)
Algorithms, large language models, Baudrillard's simulacra, James Hillman's daimon, and what happens to therapy and culture when the map replaces the territory. Start with Therapy in the Machine Age.
Diagnosis, the DSM and the business of therapy (seven parts, January 2026)
Why psychotherapy needs narrative, the history of the DSM, how borderline personality disorder became a diagnosis, why therapists cannot unionize, game theory and The Trap, and cargo cult science in mental health. Start with The Story Science Forgot.
The Weird History of Psychotherapy (five parts, 2025)
Freud, Jung, Wilhelm Reich, CBT and the Satanic Panic, and the perennial philosophy underneath therapy that works. Start with Part 1: Freud.
Round tables (ongoing)
Taproot clinicians on evidence-based practice, Lifespan Integration, and the psychology of dragons and the katana. Start with the first round table.
Guided meditations (ongoing)
Ericksonian, parts-based and Jungian guided meditations for fear, phobia and anger, and for getting to know your parts. Start with the archetypal parts meditation.
Guests
Interviews include Dr. Steven Vazquez, developer of Emotional Transformation Therapy; MJ Denis, ETT trainer; Adam O'Brien of the Wounded Healer Institute; Corey Gamberg of Rockland Recovery; Peak Neuroscience on QEEG brain mapping; Tania Kalkidis on clinical training in Australia; Tim Faust, author of Health Justice Now; Dr. Madeline Eckenrode on Alabama Medicaid expansion; Matt Hongoltz-Hetling, author of The Ghost Lab; Toby Huss on his photography book American Sugargristle; Walter Sorrells on Japanese bladesmithing; and Sebastian Kole (PYNK Beard), songwriter and artist. Taproot's own clinicians join for the round tables.
Joel has also been a guest on other shows, including the Therapeutic Astrology Podcast, on mystical experiences in therapy, Brainspotting and ETT, and Students of Mind, on Brainspotting with Jennifer Delaney.
For clients, clinicians and press
Clients: if a method on this site interests you, there is usually an episode that explains it in more depth than a page can, and every episode under Where to start links to the treatment it goes with. Clinicians: the interviews with developers and trainers let you hear a method from its source before you pay for training. Press and podcast hosts: Joel is available for interviews on trauma treatment, somatic and brain-based therapy, ETT, religious trauma and the history of psychology. Recent coverage includes Shoutout Atlanta, Bold Journey and CanvasRebel. Call (205) 598-6471 or use the contact page.
Questions about the podcast
What is Discover + Heal + Grow?
Discover + Heal + Grow is the podcast of Taproot Therapy Collective, a trauma-focused therapy practice in Hoover, minutes from Birmingham, Alabama. Licensed trauma therapists talk about complex PTSD, the brain, the psyche, the history of psychology, and the methods used in trauma treatment, through interviews, round tables, multi-part series and guided meditations.
Who hosts the podcast?
Joel Blackstock, LICSW-S, founder and clinical director of Taproot Therapy Collective, hosts the show with Taproot's therapists and invited guests.
Where can I listen?
Every episode is free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Podbean, Player FM, Podchaser and Boomplay, and in any podcast app through the RSS feed. The player on this page updates automatically when a new episode comes out.
Are transcripts available?
Transcripts for many episodes are available on Podscripts.
Is the podcast a substitute for therapy?
No. The podcast is educational and is not a substitute for treatment from a qualified mental health provider. In a crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.
Can I book Joel for an interview or suggest a guest?
Yes. Joel is available for interviews on trauma treatment, somatic and brain-based therapy, Emotional Transformation Therapy, religious trauma and the history of psychology. Call (205) 598-6471 or use the contact page.
Where to listen
Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeAmazon MusiciHeartRadioPodbeanPlayer FMPodchaserBoomplayPodcast AddictListen NotesTranscripts on PodscriptsRSS feed
Heard something that fits?
The methods on the show are the methods we use in our Hoover office and by video anywhere in Alabama. A free 15-minute intake call matches you with the right clinician.
Book onlineCall (205) 598-6471This podcast is not a substitute for treatment from a qualified mental health provider. In a crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911. Taproot's phone and email are for scheduling only and are not monitored around the clock.