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United States of PTSD
Season One: Mental health concerns are on the rise in the United States. This podcast will look at the influencing factors contributing to the decline of our culture. With the rise of school shootings, political divisiveness, increasing levels of hate, and a chronic war of peoples' rights, we have entered a domestic war that never ends. Our podcast will look at whether this is done by design or is it an abject failure. We will discuss it from a clinical and common-sense perspective. Secondarily we will discuss ways to protect yourself from being further traumatized. Hosted by Matthew Boucher LICSW LCDP (licensed in RI) who has over 20 years of experience working with people who have addictions and trauma with a specialty of pregnant/postpartum women. Co-host Wendy Picard is a Learning and Development consultant with 15 years of experience, lifelong observer of the human condition, and diagnosed with PTSD in 1994.
Season Two: Is joined by Donna Gaudette and Julia Kirkpatrick BSW. Julia is currently working on obtaining her MSW and her LCSW. She is a welcome addition to the podcast.
Season Three: Cora Lee Kennedy provided research and worked as a temporary co-host. Dr. Erika Lin-Hendel joins as a co-host for season 3.
Episodes
74 episodes
S4 E:5 The Pros and Cons of Peer Led Support Groups
Matt reflects on a retreat and discussed the pro's and con's of peer led support groups. This is the first episode is a mini series topic about when therapy is weaponized. Matt talks about the effectiveness of peer groups, in...
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S 4 E: 4 Trauma and Disordered Eating
Ali shares her story of growing up with a parent who struggles with addiction and behaviors associated with it. Ali candidly talks about how she learned to cope and how difficult it was for her to come to terms with some of her mother's b...
S:4 E: 3 Gaslighting and Politics
Gaslighting is more than just someone “lying.” It’s the slow, repeated pressure that makes you question your memory, minimize your needs, and hand over your trust in your own judgment. Erika and I explore what this looks like at a deeper level ...
S4 E:2 The Violence/Gun Epidemic hits RI, again.
Another mass shooting occurs in RI while our political system continues to dole out empty thoughts a prayers. I intentionally did not use the name of the shooter in the podcast, because I believe in taking away the identity of people who ...
S:4 E: 1 WTF
Erika and I wanted to start off season 4 by acknowledging that many of us are having WTF moments. In the 4 weeks that took off there have been multiple assassinations by ICE/Gestapo/IDF, while multiple genocides continue and they are fund...
S3 E:28 Extra Episode. Brown University Shooting and the failure of our culture.
We came back from our planned break to speak about the Brown University shooting, the weight of living near it, and the everyday systems that fail to protect people. Healthcare costs, campus safety, and community care weave into a candid, groun...
S 3 Season Three Thanks And A Holiday Pause
Happy Holidays everyone. See you in 2026 and thank you for all the support.
S3 E:27 Healing Past Childhood Trauma
Wendy returns for reunion episode. Per listener request Matt shares some of his own personal trauma and how it impacted his relationships before and after his resolution. Below is the poem I wrote when I was 33.&nb...
S3 E: 26 When Empathy Becomes Policy: Food, Power, And The Cost Of Looking Away
Starvation isn’t a metaphor—it’s policy made real. Erika and I sit down on Halloween. A holiday that is ironically about asking for snacks from strangers. We map how a government shutdown can remove the barely sustainable payme...
S 3 E: 25 Lila’s Voice from Gaza
We share Lila’s frontline account from Gaza and the mutual aid network she helps lead for children and orphans, weaving her poetry with hard facts about blockade, targeted healthcare, and the human cost of deliberate deprivation. We explain how...
S 3 E: 24 Who counts as human when grief goes public?
We unpack reactions to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the messy truths of trauma responses, and why some grief gets megaphones while other suffering stays invisible. Trauma reactions come in many forms. But what is it that makes such ...
S 3 E: 23 Holy Terror Part 2
Amy returns to United States of PTSD to complete her powerful story of surviving clergy sexual abuse and the long, winding path to healing through religious deconstruction.Following her abuse at age 15, Amy faced institutional gaslighti...
S:3 E 22 Holy Terror: When Faith Becomes Fear
Every survivor has a story that deserves to be heard. In this powerful conversation, we're joined by Amy, a social work student and survivor of religious trauma who shares her journey through high-control Catholicism and the devastating abuse s...
S 3 E: 21 Echoes of Cambodia's Killing Fields
Please welcome guest speaker Julie Botom-Richny Chhay. Julie shares her family's experience during the Cambodian genocide, drawing parallels to current genocide in Gaza and how generational trauma continues to impact survivors and their d...
S 3 E: 20 Weaponizing the Human-Animal Bond: Police Dogs and Colonial Violence
Dog training experts Zak George and Bree join us to explore the dark side of animal training and how the weaponization of the human-animal bond perpetuates systems of oppression. We examine how our treatment of animals reflects deeper societal ...
PTSD and Coming Out: A Palestinian American's Journey
John Demarjain shares his emotional journey of coming out as a gay Palestinian American, revealing the complex intersection of cultural identity, family values, and personal authenticity in Western and Middle Eastern contexts.• West...
S 3 E:19 School gun fire, corrupt politics, and dangerous rhetoric, oh my!
A foreshadowing of the national impending healthcare collapse as we see the beginnings of it in Rhode Island. As mental health workers face increasing dangers from understaffing, violence, and corporate retaliation against unionization ef...
S 3 E: 18 War, Trauma, and the Fight for Humanity
In this raw, unedited conversation, we process our emotional responses to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran while exploring how intergenerational trauma shapes our understanding of war.• Processing our emotional reactions to ...
S3 E:17 Finding Your Power When Everything Feels Out of Control
Matt and Erika explore how people in compassion-based professions navigate feelings of helplessness when confronted with systemic barriers and limitations beyond their control.• The challenges of working in compassion-based professions ...
S 3 E:16 Papers Please: Navigating America's Broken Immigration System
Immigration rights are under severe threat as communities across America face increasing persecution and detention without due process, with Kim DeLeon sharing her family's journey through the US immigration system and the fears they still face...
S3 E: 15 Field Veterinarians and the Mental Health Crisis in Animal Disease Response
PS: Congress is trying to pass a bill that would prohibit the boycott of the genocidal state of Israel's products. Please contact your rep to tell them to vote against the bill and stop the madness.
S 3 E:14 An Immigrant Story: Erased Histories: Ukraine's Past, Present, and Uncertain Future
Kate, a Ukrainian immigrant living in the US for 25 years, shares her journey navigating American systems while maintaining deep connections to her homeland during Russia's ongoing invasion.• Describes how Russian cultural dominance and...
S3 E:13 When Goodbye Hurts: A Memorial to Hermes and the Grief of Losing a Pet
Pet grief cuts deeper than many realize. When my beloved cat Hermes passed away recently after 16 incredible years together, I found myself grappling with a profound sense of loss that inspired this raw, emotional episode.The story of H...
S 3 E: 12 Division By Design: How Capitalism Profits From Our Political Hostility
Matt and Mike explore cognitive dissonance in political values, examining how party loyalty often overrides moral consistency, particularly regarding responses to global genocides versus performative corporate boycotts.• Discussion of s...
S 3 E: 11 Selective Outrage and the Illusion of Neutrality in Politics
The episode delves into the concepts of cognitive dissonance and selective outrage, exploring how they shape our political identities and conversations. The hosts discuss the implications of a polarized political landscape and emphasize the imp...