Vanessa Osage is the Director of Philanthropy at NAMI Washington, a nonprofit that provides education, support, and advocacy for mental health. Vanessa leads fundraising and donor engagement initiatives to support the organization’s programs. She also coordinates sponsorship and partnership efforts for signature events such as the NAMI WA Conference and Brainpower Showcase. Vanessa is also an author, having published Can’t Stop the Sunrise and Sex Education for Girls: A Parent’s Guide.

What does it mean to truly create safety in a world where systems often fail to provide it? How do individuals transform personal struggles into sources of strength and empathy that can uplift entire communities?

According to Vanessa Osage, a longtime nonprofit leader and author, safety begins with the courage to seek health and belonging even in the face of adversity. She highlights how her early experiences of displacement and survival shaped her empathy and ability to connect with others across differences. By weaving together themes of justice, empowerment, and healing, she explains how both one-on-one therapy and peer-led support groups can profoundly reorder lives.

In this episode of With Intention, Liz Frost sits down with Vanessa Osage, Director of Philanthropy at NAMI Washington, to discuss creating safety and community through mental health advocacy. They explore how lived experience can serve as an access point to empathy, why peer support groups and education can be life-changing, and the importance of advocacy in shifting systems. Vanessa also shares how storytelling and art play a role in reducing stigma.

Liz Frost is the Owner and Founder of Intentional Spaces Psychotherapy, a trauma-informed telehealth practice based in Washington State. She specializes in helping clients heal from complex trauma, religious harm, and identity-related struggles. With over a decade of clinical experience, Liz integrates EMDR, narrative therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches. She is dedicated to serving the LGBTQIA+ community and fostering a supportive, inclusive practice for both clients and clinicians.

What does it really take to heal after deep trauma and reclaim the parts of yourself that feel lost? Is it possible to move forward without erasing the pain or becoming someone entirely new? How can you find freedom and autonomy when old wounds still shape your daily life?

According to Liz Frost, a licensed therapist and trauma healing specialist, true recovery is not about going back to who you were before but about repurposing who you are now. She highlights that trauma lives inside the body and that healing is a daily practice of listening to it rather than conquering it. By embracing grief alongside hope and honoring the body’s signals, she says people can rebuild trust in themselves and rediscover buried aspects of their identity. This process of reclamation allows survivors to move forward with strength and self-trust even while carrying the lessons of their past.

In this episode of With Intention, Liz Frost, Owner and Founder of Intentional Spaces Psychotherapy, is interviewed by Chad Franzen of Rise25 Media, to talk about reclaiming autonomy and finding freedom after trauma. She explains why healing is an ongoing practice, how religious trauma disrupts self-trust, and the importance of identity reclamation. Liz also shares how high-functioning individuals can recognize hidden effects of trauma.

Jenny McGrath is a Somatic Psychotherapist and Movement Educator at Indwell Movement, a platform offering online somatic education, movement classes, and healing courses that integrate body‑based approaches with trauma awareness and social justice. She is a licensed mental health counselor, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and certified yoga teacher who has spent over a decade researching how movement, dance, and the body can heal trauma and religious sexual shame. Jenny‘s work focuses especially on supporting individuals recovering from purity culture and religious trauma through embodiment, somatic connection, and liberation‑centered healing.

Many people raised in purity culture carry unspoken shame, disconnection, and confusion about their bodies well into adulthood. The messages of control and fear can leave lasting imprints on identity, sexuality, and the ability to feel safe in one’s own skin. How do we begin to untangle those patterns and move toward embodied healing?

According to Jenny McGrath, a licensed mental health counselor, somatic experiencing practitioner, and movement educator, the body itself is the key to reclaiming wholeness. She explains that years of religious conditioning often silence our inner wisdom, leading to dissociation and compliance with oppressive systems. By centering questions like “What are you noticing?” and inviting curiosity about tears, breath, and sensations, Jenny highlights the radical power of listening to the body. She emphasizes that true healing cannot be separated from collective liberation, as marginalized bodies face systemic barriers to safety.

In this episode of With Intention, Liz Frost sits down with Jenny McGrath, Somatic Psychotherapist and Movement Educator at Indwell Movement, to discuss healing from purity culture through somatic therapy and movement. She explores how religious trauma severs our connection to the body, why abstinence-only education harms consent and sexuality, and the role of embodiment in resisting systems of oppression. Jenny also shares insights from her upcoming book on purity culture and white saviorism.