My name is Guy Macpherson.

I bring together people and resources.

I love doing it and I’ve done it for as long as I can recall.

With a Doctorate in clinical psychology, and with The Trauma Therapist Project and The Trauma Therapist Podcast I bring together resources for clinicians and therapist of all kinds who are starting out on their trauma-informed journey.

For the last several years I have dedicated myself to the study of trauma, post-traumatic growth, and most recently, the intersection of trauma and psychosis, specifically assessing and treating signs of early psychosis.

My inspiration comes from working with the courageous individuals determined to learn and find meaning from the trials they have endured.

My inspiration also comes from personal experience: My brother is a Navy SEAL veteran who suffered with PTSD.

A few years after my brother’s return from Iraq, and inspired by his accomplishments, I went on a two-week survival course with Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS) in the middle of Utah. It was the first time I’d ever done anything like this and it required all the courage I had.

This was the middle of summer, we were hiking all day, without backpacks and just the clothes we could wear.

We had water, but no food for the first four days. On the third day one of our members became ill and wasn’t able to walk.

Myself and another member carried this young man for the next two days.

We helped him up ridges, through canyons, and tried to encourage him with every step.

I share this story because it was at that moment that I knew that I wanted to dedicate my life to helping individuals find meaning, strength and inspiration.

This site is dedicated to raising the awareness of trauma and to helping educate, support and inspire the individuals who are interested in learning more about trauma and who want to help those people who’ve been impacted by trauma.

How Things Started
When I got into graduate school I knew I wanted to become a trauma therapist and I thought that the path there was to simply take in all the information and knowledge I could. Now I’m not saying knowledge isn’t a great thing, I’m simply saying it isn’t the only thing. And I thought it was.

Things kind of turned around for me when I started doing clinical work (but even then it admittedly took some time!) and especially when I began doing the podcast.

On the podcast I got to speak with incredible people, many of whom had years and years of experience. And when I would ask them to share an early clinical error/mistake etc. and what they learned from it, their responses didn’t revolve around mishaps with specific interventions or techniques as I expected they would, but rather their responses as a whole came back to not being “themselves” or “not being authentic” or “afraid to be myself which got in the way of creating a bond and a relationship” or “feeling completely triggered that I couldn’t even focus” etc. These were errors, mistakes, lapses (whatever you’d like to call them) that made them realize the attention they needed to bring to their own inner-work, the exploration of their own traumas and biases and fears.

This so inspired me because in a way it not only was a wake-up call that my focus had been skewed, but it gave me permission to be and honor myself and to learn how to (ethically) share that in the process of creating therapeutic relationships.

Though I’m no longer seeing clients, this process and journey of remembering to honor who I am with all my bumps and imperfections and eccentricities, continues to be a day to day journey and one that manifests in all aspects of my life.

So, a giant thank-you to all my guests who’ve taken the time to share their time and heart on the podcast.

And a huge thank-you to those of you who take the time to listen.

Education & Training

Thank you,

Guy

*Though I have a PhD in clinical psychology, I am not a therapist and do not provide therapy.