What would you do if you met a kindred spirit but had a barrier to communicating with them? On today's episode we speak with two friends who managed to bridge the gap between the Deaf and hearing worlds. We talk about what communication means, what allyship means, and what is unique and special about Deaf culture. Please also check out the full video episode with ASL interpretation on YouTube!

David Naert

Born and raised in Illinois, David has spent the past decade planting roots in Des Moines, Iowa, where his passion for language and lifelong learning continues to grow. A native English speaker who later learned Spanish, he began studying American Sign Language three years ago and found a deep appreciation for Deaf culture and the people who welcomed him into their world. Now an aspiring trilingual interpreter, he’s motivated by connection, committed to fostering access, and inspired by the relationships that keep him learning.

John Isaacson

Born profoundly Deaf, John’s first language has always been American Sign Language. Growing up in both the Deaf and hearing worlds, he learned early how to balance and move between them. After being mainstreamed from kindergarten through his freshman year, he transitioned to a Deaf residential school for the remainder of high school—an experience that strengthened his identity and deepened his sense of community.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Support us: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

How do we evaluate and create family rituals? How do we meet our family members where they’re at? How can we move into a space of doing instead of saying? In today’s episode, Michelle and Kelly sit down with the hilarious and insightful Terry Kottman, PhD, to discuss all this and more. Terry is the developer of Adlerian play therapy, the founder of the League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists and an author of many books on play therapy. Terry shares heartfelt wisdom from both her decades-long career as a play therapist as well as her 49-year marriage and raising her son, Jacob.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

Resources from today’s episode:

League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists

https://leapt.arlo.co/w/

About Dr. Kottman

https://www.encouragementzone.com/page10.html

Books

https://www.encouragementzone.com/page11.html

Terry Kottman developed Adlerian play therapy, an approach to working with children, families, and adults that combines the ideas and techniques of Individual Psychology and play therapy. She founded the League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists and created a certification program for Adlerian play therapy. Terry is a fun and engaging presenter and author who regularly teaches classes and writes about play therapy. She is co-author (with Kristin Meany-Walen) of Doing Play Therapy: From Building the Relationship to Facilitating Change and Partners in Play: An Adlerian Approach to Play Therapy, and the author of Play Therapy: Basics and Beyond and several other books. In 2014, she was granted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Play Therapy; in 2017, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa Association for Play Therapy; and in 2020, she received a third Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Society for Adlerian Psychology. (She seems to be collecting them.) In 2024, Terry received the Innovation in Counseling: Practice and Clinical Service Award from the National Board of Certified Counselors. She has been married to her husband Rick for 49 years and has a delightful adult son, Jacob.

On today’s episode, we sit down with Hāweatea Holly Bryson, Indigenous Psychotherapist and founder of Nature Knows. We discuss her expertise in Māori healing, rites of passage, and how profoundly we are impacted by the natural world. Through Hāweatea’s unique perspective, we explore the concept of rituals as powerful tools for personal transformation.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

Resources from today’s episode:

Nature Knows
www.natureknows.co

How can we allow grief to move through us and not get stuck? How can we turn grief into a “village making” instead of a “village breaking” process? How are grief and water connected? In today’s episode, we sit down with grief practitioner, death doula, and founder of “Women of the Water,” Lisa Cheney-Philip to answer these questions and more. We all go through grief, so let’s be better tenders of this experience for ourselves and others.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

Resources from today’s episode:

Women of the Water

https://womenofthewater.com/home

Die Wise: A Manifesto on Sanity and Soul by Stephen Jenkinson

https://www.amazon.com/Die-Wise-Manifesto-Sanity-Soul/dp/1583949739

Website with resources from David Kessler and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

https://grief.com/

How can comedy help us through tough times? How can it help us to build community? In today’s episode, we speak to Hannah Butler, a master’s student in marriage and family therapy, and creative dabbler. She was first introduced to the art of improv comedy in middle school and since then has performed in various troupes and will occasionally host improv jams among friends. Hannah is passionate about making art accessible for everyone and advocating for creative space in our work-centric culture. Over the course of the episode we break down how everyone can dip into the world of comedy and why this is beneficial.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

Resources from today’s episode:

Second City

https://www.secondcity.com/

Bird City Improv

https://www.birdcityimprov.com/

Improv Warmup Ideas

Sac Comedy Spot

To Dive Deep - UCB Improvisation Manual

https://impropedia.ru/UCB%20improvisation%20manual.pdf

How do we rebuild community after a major life change like a breakup or divorce? Who do we turn to in our most challenging moments? How can we learn to trust our intuition in relationships? On today’s episode, we sit down with Madisen Rose, somatic practitioner and founder of “Better Half to Whole” to answer these questions and more. It’s an unfortunate reality that many people will go through a divorce in their lifetime and many more of us will experience a breakup that rocks our world. Nearly all of us will have a loved one that will go through these experiences. It’s a loss that we don’t often talk about in terms of grief, and this conversation will illuminate the ways that a significant breakup changes our lives and how to support ourselves and others going through this experience.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

Resources from today’s episode:

Better Half to Whole

https://www.betterhalftowhole.com/

Divorced, Now What? Mini course

https://better-half-to-whole.teachable.com/p/divorced-now-what

Kelly and Michelle sit down to discuss “what is ritual” and why we believe it’s so important. We’ve learned so much from our guests in the last few months that we thought we would revisit this conversation and help new listeners understand what we’re all about! Kelly and Michelle talk about recent rituals in their lives and Michelle shares about how to put on an awesome bachelorette party - ritual style! Plus, stay tuned at the end of the episode for a sneak peak of what’s in store for season two!

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast

Resources from today’s episode:

The Ritual Effect by Michael Norton

https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=7191

Kelly and Michelle sit down to reflect on the highs and lows of season one of the Ritual Sisters Podcast! We then share about the goals for the Patreon and how it can help you to up your ritual game as well as support the show. Clink on the link below to connect with us on Patreon! And stay tuned at the end of the show for highlights of the bonus content that is available now on the Patreon.

Contact us: ritualsisterspod.com

Follow us: @ritualsisterspod on instagram

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ritualsisterspodcast