Welcome to Just Healing, the podcast where "trauma" isn't a dirty word. We talk about how people really find their way - through identity, loss, culture, community, and all the tangled in-betweens. From survivors to professionals to the friends who’ve seen it all, we break down the complicated, uncomfortable, and very human intersection of trauma and healing by listening, learning, and leading with lived experience. Each episode is a real conversation and a chance to grow, shift perspective, and celebrate all the ways we break, rebuild, and begin again.
How do Heal?
The Story Behind the Murder: Trauma, Survival, and the Road to Healing
When abuse is hidden behind silence for years, escaping it can sometimes feel impossible.
In this episode of Just Healing, Dr. Debra speaks with David Garlock, who shares how abuse shaped his childhood, fractured his relationship with his brother, and trapped them in a cycle of terror, secrecy, and rage for years. He breaks down the moment that changed everything, the confession that lifted the weight he had carried since childhood, and the spiritual awakening that helped him survive prison without letting prison define him.
It is a raw conversation about childhood sexual abuse, survival, disclosure, healing, and the complicated aftermath of violence.
Learn more about David by visiting www.davidlgarlock.com (https://www.davidlgarlock.com/)
Looking for community and resources for male survivors of sexual harm? Visit www.menhealing.org (www.menhealing.org)
David will return to Just Healing for PART 2 of his incredible story in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
Get tickets to Dr. Debra's new lecture series "The Criminal Mind Live!" (https://linktr.ee/male_trauma_institute)
October 16, 2026 | Scherr Forum Theatre at BAPAC | Thousand Oaks, CA
November 5, 2026 | Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre | Vacaville, CA
November 12, 2026 | Clark Center for the Performing Arts | Arroyo Grande, CA
November 15, 2026 | Lesher Center for the Arts | Walnut Creek, CA
4 Sept 2026
You’re Not Broken. You’re Forged by What You Survived
What if the feelings you’ve been told to bury are the very thing trying to save you?
Justin Anderson, writing as J. Vaelorin, shares how dark fantasy, folklore, and a deeply personal creative practice became a path out of grief, depression, and 18 years of unspoken weight.
Dr. Debra guides a raw and honest conversation about why so many men are taught to stay silent, why anger is often the only emotion society permits, and how that silence can mask a silent cry for help.
Justin opens up about losing his grandmother, trying therapy that didn’t fit, and discovering that writing could externalize pain in a way he had never been able to say out loud.You can find Justin's work by visiting www.vaelorinverse.com (https://vaelorinverse.com/)or @JVaelorin across social media platforms.Learn more about MenHealing at www.menhealing.org (https://www.menhealing.org/) and by following us @JVaelorin on social media.
21 Aug 2026
The Hidden Cost of Telling Boys Not to Cry
We are teaching boys to shut down, then acting surprised when men cannot feel, connect, or cope. Psychologist Gloria Vanderhorst has spent more than 50 years working with males of all ages, and she makes a blunt case for why so many boys are mislabeled, misunderstood, and emotionally robbed before they can even name what they feel.
Dr. Debra and Gloria unpack how early shame around crying, tenderness, and big emotions can shape everything from school behavior to marriage, fatherhood, and even physical health. If you have ever wondered why boys are so often tagged with ADHD, why men disappear emotionally in relationships, or why unresolved pain shows up later in the body, this conversation goes straight to the root.
Gloria's Links:
drvanderhorst.com (https://drvanderhorst.com/)
gloriasbooks.com (www.gloriasbooks.com)Learn more about MenHealing at www.menhealing.org (https://www.menhealing.org/)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
36,823
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
74
Social presence
94
YouTube
76
Engagement
60
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