Ep. 337 ShawnLaRé Brinkley, LMFT

Healing Trauma and Finding Purpose Through Holistic Therapy

ShawnLaRé Brinkley, MS, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the visionary CEO and President of Living Loved Healing. With over a decade of clinical experience, she has dedicated her career to understanding the "why" behind the human experience, working with individuals and couples to navigate the complexities of trauma, relationship challenges, and life transitions. Her practice is founded on the belief that healing is an organic, fluid process, and she employs an eclectic range of therapeutic modalities—including art, music, and movement—to meet her clients exactly where they are.

Jeanne Pepper and ShawnLarae Brinkley at March 11th Interview @PeppTalks Studios

Guided by the wisdom, "To she whom much is given, much is required," Shawn has built a reputation as a fierce advocate for those facing the deepest of struggles. Her professional journey includes extensive work with survivors of domestic violence, human sex trafficking, and childhood sexual abuse, as well as families grappling with the loss of loved ones to homicide, suicide, and systemic violence. She brings a unique combination of clinical rigor and profound empathy to her work, creating a safe, intentional space where clients can uncover their true selves before trauma shaped their narratives.

As a clinician, Shawn prioritizes "psychological flexibility," helping her clients develop the resilience needed to remain present and engaged even when life becomes difficult. Her work extends beyond the therapy room; she is an active public speaker and consultant on critical topics such as suicide prevention, bullying, and human sex trafficking awareness. By fostering a culture of safety, authenticity, and unconditional positive regard, she empowers her clients to transition from a place of feeling "stuck" or disconnected to a life of hope and deep, personal fulfillment.

Bréon Rydell is a celebrated Irish singer-songwriter, poet, and intellectual whose creative output is inextricably linked to a childhood defined by a staggering act of violence. At the heart of his interview with Jeanne Pepper is the discussion of the unexplained murder of his brother at the hands of classmates when Bréon was just a young boy. This early encounter with senseless brutality left an indelible mark on his family and became the silent engine behind his lifelong pursuit of moral clarity and social justice.

For Bréon, music has never been mere entertainment; it has been a survival mechanism and a weapon against the same types of prejudice that shattered his family’s peace. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, his advocacy is deeply personal. In the episode, he reflects on how his own identity and the memory of his brother’s death converged to create a unique empathy for victims of hate crimes. This connection led him to write the hauntingly beautiful song "Into the Light," dedicated to the memory of Blaze and other LGBTQ+ individuals who have lost their lives to violent crime.

Growing up in a Scots-Irish musical family provided Bréon with the traditional foundation to tell these heavy stories. He first channeled his activism into the mid-1980s London music scene with his band ACCENT, recording at Abbey Road Studios and using his lyrics to confront sectarianism, homophobia, and racism. His later academic journey as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Heidelberg allowed him to analyze these cultural dynamics through a radical intellectual lens, which he describes as the "hidden syllabus" of his life.

In recent years, Bréon’s work has taken him to the front lines of global conflict, including a 2022 mission to Ukraine, where he produced a film trilogy to bear witness to the devastation of war. Whether he is filming in a war zone or composing orchestral works for campaigns to stop violence against women, his mission remains focused on human dignity. By sharing the specific pain of his brother’s murder and his own journey as a gay man, Bréon offers a roadmap for how tragedy can be distilled into a powerful, resonant purpose.

In Episode 319 of PeppTalks with Jeanne, we are joined once again by Dr. Michael Gillman, a devoted father who first shared his insights on the show during Episode 304 alongside autism expert Melissa Reiner. While his previous appearance touched on the medical landscape of neurodiversity, this episode pulls back the curtain on the Gillman family’s private world, revealing a story of extraordinary resilience in the face of overlapping crises: autism advocacy and a childhood cancer diagnosis.

Michael and his wife, Rebecca, have spent over two decades navigating the unique challenges and joys of raising their son, Daniel, a high-functioning autistic adult and a verified math savant. Michael speaks candidly about the extraordinary measures he and Rebecca took to ensure Daniel was provided every educational tool and opportunity necessary to thrive in a traditional school setting. Their relentless advocacy ensured that Daniel was never overlooked by a system that often struggles to accommodate neurodiverse learners.

The true payoff of this dedication arrived in middle school, when Daniel’s extraordinary math ability was finally discovered—a breakthrough that Michael believes could have been missed entirely without the specific communication and learning tools they fought to give him. This foundation allowed Daniel to achieve a staggering academic trajectory, completing his undergraduate degree in analytics at USC in just three years before moving on to earn his Master’s at Georgia Tech. Today, Daniel thrives as both an analytics expert and a Professor of Analytics at Georgia Tech, a testament to the power of early intervention and parental belief.

However, the family’s strength was put to the ultimate test when Daniel was in elementary school and their youngest son, David, was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Michael describes the agonizing reality of balancing the structured, intense needs of an autistic child with the life-and-death urgency of a sibling’s oncology treatments. This "double-front" battle required the entire family to lean into their bond unlike ever before, highlighting the profound emotional toll on the parents and their middle child.

Your host, Jeanne Pepper, facilitates this intimate conversation with the warmth and sensitivity that PeppTalks listeners have come to expect. This episode is an essential listen for anyone facing a "perfect storm" of family challenges, offering a message of solidarity and proof that with the right tools and unwavering advocacy, neurodiverse children can not only succeed but lead in their chosen fields.