Episode Summary:

In this candid and illuminating conversation, Joshua and Adina sit down with Ann Russo, psychotherapist, educator, and founder of AMR Therapy, to explore the deep intersections of sexuality, spirituality, mental health, and social justice. Drawing from her own non-traditional upbringing and an MA in theology, Ann shares her pioneering work in religious trauma treatment and her passion for creating inclusive spaces for healing. Together, they unpack themes of liberation from spiritual abuse, embracing authentic identity, and navigating the complexities of intimacy and self-expression.

Topics Covered:

• Healing from religious trauma and spiritual abuse
• Queer identity, non-monogamy, and sexual empowerment
• Dismantling stigma at the intersection of sexuality and spirituality
• The importance of inclusive mental health care
• Creating space for authenticity and self-liberation
• How personal healing ripples into cultural transformation
• Building compassionate frameworks for clinicians and clients
• Reclaiming wholeness through education, advocacy, and community

Guest:

Ann Russo
Psychotherapist • Educator • Founder of AMR Therapy • Creator of the Religious Trauma Treatment Model

Ann Russo is a psychotherapist, educator, and founder of AMR Therapy. Raised in a diverse, non-traditional household, she brings lived expertise, radical compassion, and unapologetic education into every space she enters. With an MA in theology and deep roots in social justice, Ann specializes in religious trauma, queer identity, non-monogamy, sexual empowerment, and inclusive mental health. She developed the Religious Trauma Treatment Model to empower both clients and clinicians in the healing process.

Website: amrtherapy.com; annrusso.org

Resource Mentioned:

Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:

In this brave and expansive conversation, Adina sits down with Rev. DiAnna Ritola to explore her powerful journey from a life defined by external expectations to one rooted in intuition, embodiment, and spiritual authenticity. Together, they unpack themes of womanhood, self-care, spirituality, aging, and feminine empowerment through all life stages, including menstruation, motherhood, and menopause.

Topics Covered:

• Breaking free from prescribed roles and expectations
• Listening to the body’s signals and reclaiming joy
• Living in integrity with personal truth
• Religious imprints and the path to authentic spirituality
• The value of ritual and ceremony for honoring and celebrating life transitions
• Embracing menopausal wisdom, rage, and transformation
• Reimagining beauty, aging, and feminine identity
• Tapping into ancestral, communal, and natural wisdom

Guest:

DiAnna Ritola
Interfaith Minister • Dianic Wiccan Priestess • Somatic Healer • Spiritual Counselor• Author

Rev. DiAnna Ritola is an Interfaith Minister and a Dianic Wiccan priestess. She is the owner of True North Healing Sanctuary in Worthington, MA. There she hosts retreats and workshops, offers energy and somatic healing practices, virtual and in-person spiritual counseling for trauma, intimate relationships, and sexuality, and rituals to honor life events and passages. She is the author of the book, Mismatched Luggage: Unpacking Your Sexual Baggage for Your Spiritual Journey. DiAnna and her wife, Michele Fitzsimmons, split their time between Worthington and Flushing, Queens, NYC.

True North Healing Sanctuary is a place to find rest, rejuvenation, and spiritual counseling. Offering EMDR, plant medicine journeys, transpersonal counseling, Reiki and Jin Shin Jyutsu energy healing. Focusing on women's full-spectrum health and well-being with an emphasis on sexuality, relationships, and the way all our lives are impacted and informed by our hormonal cycles.

Website: DiAnnaRitola.com

Facebook: Rev. DiAnna Ritola

Instagram: @rev_di

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

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Episode Summary:
In this episode, Joshua sits down with intimacy and relationship coach Rachael Lioness for a deep conversation on embodied intimacy, conscious relationship, and erotic truth. Rachael shares her path and practice of helping individuals and couples break free from shame and societal conditioning around sexuality. She invites us to return to a grounded, sacred connection with our bodies, desires, and truth.

Together, they explore

• The true essence of tantra as a spiritual path
• How trauma and conditioning impact intimacy
• The role of embodiment and presence in cultivating sacred connection
• How to reclaim your erotic intelligence and deepen relational authenticity
• Tools for healing through love, shadow work, and somatic awareness.

Whether you're navigating relationship challenges, awakening your sensuality, or curious about the deeper dimensions of intimacy, this episode offers powerful insights and practical wisdom.

Guest Info:
Rachel Lioness
Intimacy, Conscious Relating, Sacred Sexuality, Erotic Liberation

Rachael is a Certified VITA Intimacy and Relationship Coach, trauma-informed Tantric Facilitator and Somatic Practitioner. She supports individuals and couples to build healthy, conscious partnerships through releasing shame and conditioning around intimacy and sexuality. She facilitates grounded, integrated awakening and transformation of mind, body, spirit, heart and sexuality to find your deepest truth and highest alignment. Rachael bridges science and spirituality/mysticism and professionalism/esoteric and earthly wisdom. She shares the medicine of Love, Truth and Erotic Liberation through online coaching and at international workshops, festivals and retreats.

Website: www.rachaellioness.com

Instagram: @rachael_lioness

Facebook: Rachael Lioness

Support the show

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and subscribe.

Adina Arden Cooper is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who prefers to refer to herself as a Shadow Guide and Soul Healing Specialist. She helps highly sensitive creative visionaries heal trauma so they can not only survive this human experience but thrive in the expression of their greatest gifts. Adina has over 20 years of experience in education and mental health. She's also an artist, a seeker, a mother, and very curious person.

Visit Adina's website to find out more about her work
Follow Fire Bird Creative on Instagram

Joshua Zamrin is a nomadic soul guide, somatic life coach, and sacred purpose mentor, deeply immersed in the realms of embodiment, shamanic wisdom, and mythopoetic exploration. With a background in nervous system regulation, mindfulness, and compassionate communication, he weaves together ancient and modern practices to help others reconnect with their deepest truth. His work is rooted in rites of passage, initiation, and the sacred journey of becoming, drawing inspiration from indigenous traditions, soul-centered psychology, and the raw wisdom of nature.

@soulbodywholeness

...