In Season 2, Episode 19 of the Element Q Podcast, host TJ Woodward sits down with Terry Gatewood, LCSW, CSAT, founder and clinical director of Ridgeback Recovery, to explore the often-misunderstood intersection of shame, trauma, sexuality, and healing. Drawing from nearly two decades of lived recovery and clinical experience working with sex addicts and individuals labeled as sex offenders, Terry and TJ challenge punishment-based approaches to behavior change. Together, they ask a bold but essential question: What becomes possible when we stop treating behavior alone and begin addressing shame at its root?

The conversation examines how societal and internalized shame—particularly within the LGBTQ+ community—shapes core beliefs through early trauma, secrecy, and hypersexualization. Terry explains why many so-called “deviant” behaviors are trauma responses stored in the body rather than moral failures of the mind, highlighting the role of Somatic Experiencing in real healing. With nuance and accountability, the episode dismantles one-size-fits-all narratives around sexual offending, affirms the importance of community safety, and expands the conversation to include the often-ignored trauma of families and first responders. This episode is a call to move from fear to informed compassion, and from stigma to genuine, lasting healing.

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🔗 Learn more: Element Q Healing: elementqhealingcenter.com

Terry Gatewood: https://www.ridgebackrecovery.com/

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com