Episode 17 Embracing Authenticity In Holistic Practice with Sam Mahon

[CHRIS McDONALD]

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Welcome to the Holistic Counseling Podcast, where you discover diverse wellness modalities, advice on growing your integrative practice, and grow confidence in being your unique self. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I'm so glad you're here for the journey.

[CHRIS]

Welcome to today's episode of the Holistic Counseling Podcast. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I want to introduce you to today's guest, who I know you will love. Her name is Samantha Mahon and she is a licensed therapist and certified life and business coach. She is trained in Rapid Resolution Therapy and is a Certified Holy Fire® Level II Reiki practitioner. Sam is not a stuffy collegiate who brags about all the educational experiences. In fact, she's quite the opposite. If you meet her on the side of the road, you would have no idea that she was a therapist, her tattoos speak to the painful and miraculous experiences that she has embraced throughout her life. Her words, both written and spoken are words of authenticity, sometimes crude and lewd, but always true to who she is as an authentic person. I do kind of laugh at that Sam, because this never comes up in a bio. So I'm just going to be authentic for a moment and just say, I love that. I love that part of your bio.

[SAM MAHON]

It's awesome.

[CHRIS]

And welcome to the podcast.

[SAM]

Thank you so happy to be here.

[CHRIS]

Yes. We're so glad that you're here and can join us. If I know you have some interesting things to talk about today, but could you tell my listeners more about yourself and your work?

[SAM]

Sure. So again, my name is Samantha and I am a licensed therapist in North Carolina. I own a group practice called Peak Professional Group, and I also provide coaching services for new therapists, older therapists, as you might want to call it and anyone else who needs who either therapy or coaching.

[CHRIS]

Excellent. So I know we talked about some of the holistic approaches you do. So what first interested you in the holistic journey?

[SAM]

I think that what happened for me is I came to this kind of roadblock where I was having a hard time doing some healing myself, and really started looking into some alternative ideas, I say alternative, but I don't really mean alternative, but looking at the mind, body and spirit and kind of the evolution of holistic therapy as it would be. And during that process, I came across some very interesting trainings, the one in particular called rapid resolution therapy and man, that blew my mind.

[CHRIS]

I have only heard of the name of that. Can you share a little bit about that, what that is?

[SAM]

Sure. So rapid resolution therapy is a therapy modality that works from the inside out, and we kind of see things in a different way than what a more traditional therapist to do. And I say that very lightly because I think that we all have the ability to be authentic and show up in lots of different ways, but rapid resolution therapy really looks at how the mind is processing information that's coming in through the senses. So when we use this lens, we're able to quickly shift and clear some of the traumatic things that people have gone through by offering a very different way of looking at things. So there's a whole perspective piece that comes in with it. So rapid resolution therapy came around to me, I think that the universe just kind of threw me into it at the same time as also getting trained in Reiki. So it was a perfect combination for me, and it really became a catalyst for my own process of change and evolution. And I have been teaching, preaching, living and learning it as much as I possibly can.

[CHRIS]

So it sounds like you benefited from learning both of those as well.

[SAM]

Yes, absolutely. And that's the cool thing about both rapid resolution therapy and Reiki, is that not only is it beneficial to the people that receive the treatment as it is in Reiki, but is also something that the practitioner or the facilitator also receives this humongous benefit by being exposed to both types of modalities.

[CHRIS]

Isn't that the best?

[SAM]

Absolutely.

[CHRIS]

That's why I teach yoga too. So yes, I love it because I'll teach some clients some breathing and I realize, geez, I've had a stressful day. Wow, this has helped me too, as an addition to helping them.

[SAM]

Yes, exactly.

[CHRIS]

I think people forget, they don't realize that with the holistic strategies that how amazing it could be for us, because I teach both grounding and energizing, so it can help me with getting energy too, or to ground myself.

[SAM]

Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes.

[CHRIS]

So thinking about your day, so what kinds of holistic strategies or techniques do you use as part of your daily practice?

[SAM]

On a personal level or on a professional level?

[CHRIS]

Personal level?

[SAM]

So I do a lot of clearing and cleansing of my own space. I use different modalities. I can do things, like I do some like fire breath work to clear out immediate energy. It sounds really interesting. It's actually not that difficult.

[CHRIS]

Oh, it's not? I was like, "Oh hell, like a dragon?"

[SAM]

yes, it is. Basically like a dragon breath. So I do some of that. I also do, I read tarot, so I pull tarot cards on a regular basis just as a way to really keep myself connected to my own higher source or higher self, however, you might want to look at it. And I'm trying to think of some other things I do, obviously getting out in nature is another holistic approach that, I am a tree hugger. I'm not going to lie. I love to hug trees.

[CHRIS]

Me too. Trees are just so nourishing to our spirits.

[SAM]

Absolutely. And physically embracing a tree, even though it sounds kind of, I don't know what it sounds, but yes ---

[CHRIS]

You're on the Holistic Counseling Podcast. We can talk about this stuff here.

[SAM]

It's so true. Yes, so even just taking off my socks and shoes and digging into the dirt is something that is very grounding for me, because I have a pretty high level of energy. People who know me kind of know me for having a high level of energy. So keeping myself grounded is really important.

[CHRIS]

And we can get energy from trees too. That's what I learned from one of my guests that you can ask the tree to take what you wish or give what you wish. I have done that before and it works.

[SAM]

It does, absolutely well. And even like, I will hold crystals even when I'm in session with people sometimes to kind of keep me centered or focused, aroma therapy. There isn't like any one thing that I have to do all the time. I just kind of do what I'm pulled to do at any particular moment.

[CHRIS]

Okay, so it's like that mindful awareness, what do I need in the moment. So what kind of crystals do you like to use and do you have any favorites?

[SAM]

My latest favorite, and I say latest because they [crosstalk] has been the labradorite, although I may not even pronounce it, labradorite and, I can't remember some of the other ones, but obviously amethyst and some of the clear courses and things like that have been very powerful in helping either keep me grounded or clearing some of the negative energy that may or may not be around me.

[CHRIS]

Yes, and I like rose quartz as well too.

[SAM]

That's good for love that. That's really good for the heart chakra.

[CHRIS]

Yes, absolutely. And black tourmaline, have you heard of that?

[SAM]

Absolutely.

[CHRIS]

I use that in my office too, to keep it clear as well of negative energy. But when I was doing, in Asheville, I did my yoga training there and I was there like seven times in seven months. I went to a lot of the stores there and let me tell you, oh my gosh, there's so many amazing stores there with all the crystals. I had a new crystal every week

[SAM]

I went to Portland, let's see back in November and I went to the largest [inaudible 00:08:16] store in the United States and I thought I hit heaven.

[CHRIS]

I feel like you and I have so much in common. It's just funny to me. But I love how authentic you are in your work and you own it, totally.

[SAM]

I do.

[CHRIS]

You do, so that's refreshing. But have you always been that way or did that come as a process for you?

[SAM]

It was a process definitely. When I, first I say first, became a therapist and when I first got my license here in North Carolina, I was going through some stuff I think like many people do and I found through going through different things in my own life, being true to who I was, was the only option that I had. And I came, I kind of landed in this space where I had to very authentically accept who I was and keep moving forward because we all mess up, we all got issues and it's important to show up and be true to who I am every single day. And that's what I provide both sort of my coaching and also with my therapy clients, is ,you may not always like me and that's going to be okay.

[CHRIS]

You have to be okay with that.

[SAM]

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

[CHRIS]

So do you find there's pushback with some therapists you work with that are afraid to totally be themselves, like they have to put on some kind of professional front?

[SAM]

Absolutely. A hundred percent.

[CHRIS]

So how do you help them? How do you help them through that? I imagine that can be a challenge.

[SAM]

It is challenging, but at the same time, it's so rewarding to see someone really step into that energy of being authentic and being true to who they really are. I don't really think that there's any other options in living our life these days. I think that we can modify who we are. Like I'm not going to always be the outlandish person and outspoken person that I am outside of therapy. I'm obviously going to tailor things in and reel it in a little bit for some people. For therapists, I don't think there's any other option because when you look at what the dynamics are and what they have shown to be the most important factors, it doesn't really matter what style of healing you do necessarily. What matters is the connection or the relationship that you have with your therapist or the therapist with the client. And if I'm not showing up as me, then they're connecting to something that isn't me.

[CHRIS]

I didn't think of it that way. That's so true to really be who you are so they can connect with the real you.

[SAM]

And I think in doing that, we teach people, because we teach people through modeling and I have no problem being in the session and if I say something the wrong way or things get interpreted differently than how I intended it to be, I have no problem saying, let's start over again. Let me back it up or let me explain myself. Because I'm just being me. I've said for quite some time that I am who I am no matter where I am and no matter who I'm with and you can, I hate to say take it or leave it because it doesn't, I don't mean it to be like poopy like that, but yes, but this is me and we're either going to get along splendidly well, and it's going to be great. Or maybe we're going to learn something different about each other. It's all a learning process.

[CHRIS]

So I would think you'd have to relax into that authenticness. I would think a lot of therapists coming out of grad school would be a little more nervous starting out and struggle with that. What does that mean for them that they have to put on a certain way with clients.

[SAM]

Absolutely. And who you are and when you start out as a therapist, isn't who you become or even who your becoming. So I think we're all in a process of becoming who we are and who we're meant to be.

[CHRIS]

That evolves so much doesn't, I think back when I started, I was actually a school counselor when I started and who I was when I started is so different. Not in a bad way, but just evolves.

[SAM]

We're not going to put any judgment on it. Nothing's good or bad. It's just different.

[CHRIS]

It is what it is.

[SAM]

It changes. It is what it is. Yes, absolutely. Yes, who I am as a therapist and as a person now isn't who I was three, four years ago. And I would almost challenge people to make that their intention, that when they meet somebody that they haven't seen for a long time, that person gets to know the new you, that your becoming now versus who you were back then. Because if we don't evolve and change, then stagnant energy stays around.

[CHRIS]

It does. Yes. Do you find that being more authentic would help with the effectiveness of counseling?

[SAM]

Yes. A hundred percent.

[CHRIS]

I wondered about that. I could see that.

[SAM]

You have to be who you are. And I can, I obviously have my professional hat that I'll put on as a therapist, but I also ask permission to be the jerk. Sometimes that, I say the jerks, I don't say the word, I will ask my clients for permission to say, is it okay for me to be a butthead for a minute here. And they're usually very receptive and usually get a lot out of that, whatever it is that I need to say, because as a therapist, a lot of times we feel very restricted by what we can do and what we can say and that restriction kind of becomes a little bit of a prison for us and we can't do some of the things I think that oftentimes we would like to do or say, or be around our clients because we don't want to get into a situation where someone might perceive you as being different.

[CHRIS]

Yes. And I think that depending on your training, a lot of us are taught not to share much self-disclosure to keep that at a bare minimum. But I find in my experience that I've done this for almost 25 years, really, the more that I open up about some things, the more connection we have and they, I remember one client was like, "You have anxiety." It was like earth shattering to her. I Go, "Yes, I do."

[SAM]

Yes. And that's the thing. People forget that we're not, or think somehow we've got our stuff together somehow more or in a different way than other people do. But I think it's because of the experiences that we have and how we're able to move through those experiences I think that then we're able to connect on a very deep level with our clients, especially.

[CHRIS]

Yes, and I think the pandemic has changed some of that. I do think more therapists have been authentic because we're all going through the same issue for the first time. And I don't know about you, but I've opened up more to just be like, yes, this has been really hard and I'm really looking forward to things opening up and more than I normally would have.

[SAM]

Absolutely. And I would even, I would take it even a step further really in saying that if we don't do the work ourselves, then it's really hard to get our clients to do the work. So for example, not with every client, but with most clients, I'm not asking them to do something that I haven't already done myself.

[CHRIS]

I believe that too.

[SAM]

So, and I'll tell them this is this particular strategy or this particular modality or thing that we're going to do, or I'm going to ask you to do something that I have already done. So I know that it works and here's how it works.

[CHRIS]

I would think hearing that as a client that would really push you, motivate you more to try it. It's not like, oh, here do this, but I'm going to do something else.

[SAM]

Right. Again, I think it's just another way of showing ---

[CHRIS]

You need exercise, but I'm not. I'm going to go lay on my couch and watch Netflix.

[SAM]

Yes. Exercising isn't something I necessarily talk about with my clients, I'm not going to lie.

[CHRIS]

That's one thing I do because I do exercise. So I feel good about that. Again, that's being authentic for who I am.

[SAM]

Exactly. And that's the key.

[CHRIS]

Yes, it is to really, and I did learn that years ago through some jobs I've had that I've had directors where I used to work at agencies that said, "I won't ask you to do anything that I wouldn't do." That just stuck with me. That really stuck with me that they're willing to get their hands dirty in some things and do the things that maybe they don't want to do, but they know that it's important.

[SAM]

Absolutely.

[CHRIS]

Yes. And I guess, do you, with a group practice too, I guess your therapists there, do you help them at all with keeping self-care or anything else like that?

[SAM]

Oh, if I have hounded on self-care, one time I have hounded on it a thousand times with my people. It's something that I very much am aligned with and I push it very hard in my practice, especially now during this pandemic. It's been very difficult for a lot of us and taking care of ourself has really been, I think the key to my practice being able to keep afloat, because like you said, we're going through the same things that our clients are going through on such an interconnected way that if I don't push the self-care then, especially with clients, if I don't take care of myself, then I'm not really being true to what I believe to be important. It always keeps going, yes, it ---

[CHRIS]

It doesn't.

[SAM]

Yes. So yes, I actually do, I have, I'll say lightly pushed some of my people into getting into their own therapy or they'll meet with me and we'll kind of talk things out or just getting out, making connections with other people in my practice, massages, whatever it doesn't matter. What matters is that you're taking a little bit of self-care time for your own well-being. And I've even gone so far as I asked a couple of my people to schedule it in, like, "I'll even pay for the hour. Just get it done."

[CHRIS]

Yes. So you're a good positive influence on them too.

[SAM]

I try, sure.

[CHRIS]

Yes. I know I have to, with my supervisees, I also have to really talk about self-care because, especially with the pandemic, I think we've had to up how much we do in order to really manage it and manage our own stress and anxiety.

[SAM]

I think it's led to an increased level of creativity about our elf-care and what that looks like.

[CHRIS]

And thinking about your sessions, how do you use the holistic strategies in your treatment?

[SAM]

So I tend to come more from the kind of look of the trifecta, the mind, body, soul piece of it. And I'm not into exercise, but I do talk to people about using their body to create different levels of energy. So I do things like teaching my clients power poses and how this can completely transmute the energy that they're experiencing. And I will also get into, I've got an interesting cluster of people that are kind of, I'll call it awakening right now, kind of in this interesting space where they're realizing that there's more to them than just what they thought there was, so tapping into, I guess we would call it a little bit more of the spirituality level, although it's still a little taboo to talk about. That's also something that I can help my clients kind of open up and kind of connect with their intuition.

[CHRIS]

Yes. Yes, I do that as well. I think that's so important. That's definitely something I'm going to be looking for on this podcast, is to talk about that spirituality piece and what that can look like for therapy, how important that is right, with being holistic, that we include a spiritual piece.

[SAM]

Absolutely. And I have done, for whatever reason, I don't know necessarily why it happened, but I really got called into this space of wanting to explore my own spirituality. And that's what kind of kind of spawned things along for me. And I've, like I do with pretty much everything else, I dive right into it. And I started learning everything that I could about what the different theories were and the different ideas around spirituality and where we come from and where did we go and what happens? So I will at times impart ideas again, just again, as ideas of different ways to look at things and I let my clients try it on. So you feel like it, if it fits and you like it, then use it and if it doesn't, then let's keep on moving and we'll try something else

[CHRIS]

Because we're under the ethical guidelines that we can't push our beliefs onto clients, but we can always ask what their beliefs are and to introduce them to things and ideas like you said, and not push it.

[SAM]

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I don't, yes, and I agree a hundred percent that we shouldn't be pushing any one idea in any way. I think for me, it's more about opening up the idea to possibilities.

[CHRIS]

Oh, I love that possibility. That just is endless, limitless, and what that could be.

[SAM]

Absolutely.

[CHRIS]

Love it. You said power poses. I want to know what that is.

[SAM]

Power poses. Okay, a power pose is a, I'm sure it's called a hundred different things. It's just the way I want it to be called. But basically it's where you stand with your legs about hip length apart and you put your arms right straight up in the sky and you put your chin up in the air and what this does when you do this, you have to hold it for two minutes. There's the keys two minutes, because right about one minute and 30 seconds, you start feeling like you're going to die. Like not literally, but like you're going to, like, it just hurts a little bit. But if you can push through those last 30 seconds. What it does is you can feel an entire shift in the energy of your body. And we know where body goes mind will follow and vice versa. So when I have a client who is anxious, or if I have a client who's just really down and not feeling any motivation, I'll put them in a power pose and they do it and the reports back even in session have been amazing because it just shifts the entire energy.

It's about, I can't remember where I learned this from because I keep absorbing so much information from different places, but the idea behind it is that by using your body for this particular pose, it will increase your, it'll increase one chemical and it will decrease another one. So basically, it's kind of like a cat. When it feels threatened, it kind of poofs up. So you'll see the hair on the back of their necks and they'll move their body sideways to appear larger. And what this does, is it activates a certain chemical in our bodies. I think it increases the testosterone and decreases the stress hormones. And it goes back like centuries that this has been known. But for whatever reason, I didn't know about it until ---

[CHRIS]

Yes, because I've done like the wonder woman pose where you stand with your feet, like shoulder width apart with your hands on your hips.

[SAM]

It's very close.

[CHRIS]

Yes. So that's kind of a power pose that I've used before.

[SAM]

Right. But if you just take them off of your waist and you throw them up in the air and you put your chin up, it's a very interesting experience.

[CHRIS]

So your arms are just straight in the air, is that it?

[SAM]

Yes. Straight up. They end up being about halfway up.

[CHRIS]

Two minutes is a long time for your arms.

[SAM]

Yes, it is.

[CHRIS]

But I can see how that would help because I know some people that I've worked with that struggle with self-esteem and just knowing their self-worth, I've tried that, even just the wonder woman pose and that they really liked that.

[SAM]

Absolutely. Yes, it's just a twist off of the wonder woman style pose, but it works wonders. I think it's amazing.

[CHRIS]

Yes, that's thanks for sharing that. And I hope everybody listening can give that a try too. Try it right now if you're at home. You got two minutes, put the timer on, see how it goes. So what advice would you give to therapists who are just starting out with these holistic strategies who might be hesitant to pursue it?

[SAM]

I would say trust yourself, trust that the universe has your back no matter what and try things on, see how they feel when you say it. Really tapping into your own intuition as a therapist, I think is another really important aspect of being holistic. So trying on some of these newer, I say new, but they're not really new, ideas or ways of, yes new for you or new to you, but trying on some different things that are more holistic I think we'll give our clients a better experience. And really when you think about it, that's what therapy is all about. It's about giving your client a better experience.

[CHRIS]

I love the simplicity of that and trying new things. I always believe that too. It's so important

[SAM]

It goes back to neuroplasticity. If you keep doing things the same way as you've always done them, your subconscious mind doesn't really like new things.

[CHRIS]

The brain loves novelty.

[SAM]

Yes, the brain loves, yes, but at the same time, our subconscious mind doesn't. So your subconscious mind or primitive mind, however you want to look at it, it sees sameness as safety. So when you're trying to kind of move out of that box, then it can create a little bit of anxiety for people. It can create some stuff going on, but the idea is keep trying, keep showing up and eventually things will work out the way they're supposed to.

[CHRIS]

So what's a takeaway you could share today that could help listeners who are starting their journeys or anything else you can think of?

[SAM]

I think a takeaway that I would suggest is to be bold, try new things and always show up in the absolute, most authentic of ways that you can while being professional. I'll add that disclosure, but show up, be true to who you are. You can't go wrong when you do that.

[CHRIS]

Absolutely. And I know you mentioned you had some courses in the work, so can you share what you're working on with that?

[SAM]

I do. I am currently working on a couple of e-courses that are related to authenticity in my most authentic of ways, which I haven't necessarily been able to demonstrate fully on a podcast. So it's about, everything is all kind of related to showing up, being bold and being a bad-ass. There's another way to put that. So it's about seeking inner guidance, your inner knowing, learning how to do that and authentically showing up in your life in the best way possible for you, not for anybody else.

[CHRIS]

Yes, that sounds amazing. So have I missed anything else you wanted to share?

[SAM]

Goodness. No, I think you did a great job.

[CHRIS]

I think you did. You have a lot of great information in this. So what's the best way for listeners to find you and learn more about you?

[SAM]

Sure they can visit my website for my group practice. The website is peakprofessionalgroup.com. They can also reach out to me through my other website, which is where my e-courses are in the process of being built and developed, and that would be at www.mypeakpractice.com.

[CHRIS]

Excellent. And those will be in the show notes on the website. Well, thank you for coming on today, Sam.

[SAM]

Thank you.

[CHRIS]

That was great having you.

[SAM]

Thank you.

[CHRIS]

And thank you listeners for tuning in today. So glad that you could be here and I can help you on your healer journey. Just remember to subscribe, rate, and review wherever you get your podcasts. This is Chris McDonald sending each one of you much light and love. Until next time, take care.

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