In Season 2, Episode 22 of the Element Q Podcast, host TJ Woodward sits down with Reese Clark explore a powerful question: What are we really talking about when we talk about healing? Moving beyond the myth of healing as a finish line, they reframe it as an ongoing return to wholeness. Together, they unpack how shame—particularly within the LGBTQ+ community—can create a false identity of brokenness, and how true transformation begins when we question that narrative. Through personal stories and clinical insight, they examine the shift from trying to “fix” ourselves to witnessing and integrating all parts of who we are.

Reese Clark, a trauma-informed clinician and member of the team at The Camp Recovery Center near Santa Cruz, brings both lived wisdom and professional expertise to this conversation. Reese and TJ discuss the capital-S Self—t ...