What if we approached psychosis with more curiosity, compassion and connection?

In this episode, I talk with Anneke Sips, community psychiatric nurse, integrative trauma therapist and author of The Wisdom of Psychosis. Drawing from nearly three decades of experience in mental health and crisis care, Anneke offers a broader perspective on psychosis—one that considers not only psychiatric symptoms, but also trauma, spirituality, the nervous system and the individual person's lived experience.

Anneke shares how her own experiences with spiritual abuse, loss and leaving the religious community she grew up in influenced her approach to healing. We discuss the stigma surrounding psychosis, how to recognize when someone may need additional support, and why connection can be so important when someone's experience of reality differs from our own.

We also explore the LEAP method—Listen, Empathize, Agree and Partner—and Anneke explains how listening without judgment can help someone feel seen rather than immediately corrected or controlled. Later, we discuss embodiment, nervous-system regulation and how Anneke began integrating yoga into psychiatric settings.

This is a thoughtful conversation about mental health, trauma, spirituality and what can happen when we approach another person's experience with curiosity rather than fear.

Connect with Anneke: https://annekesips.com/

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PODCAST CHAPTERS:

00:00 Meet Anneke Sips

00:56 Religious trauma and Anneke's early story

06:46 Nearly 30 years working in psychiatry

11:04 Tara's experience with psychiatric care 1

2:13 What is psychosis?

15:30 Psychiatry, spirituality & the middle path

18:10 When does someone need help?

24:17 The LEAP method 29:25 Embodiment, yoga & the nervous system

35:20 Trauma and altered states

36:36 The Wisdom of Psychosis

39:58 Working with Anneke

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