Episode 20: Embodiment, Alignment, & Becoming More of Yourself — with Dr. Tina Vitolo

Community & Support If you’ve been listening to Spiritual Friction and wishing you had a place to have conversations like these, I’d love to invite you to join us. The SoulBody Healing Circle is a monthly online gathering for genuine conversations that go deeper than the surface—with room for healing, relationships, spirituality, identity, and what it means to be human. You can learn more and join our email community through SoulBody Wellness. Episode Summary What if becoming more aligned with yourself didn’t require becoming someone new? What if it is actually a process of becoming more of who you already are? In this episode of Spiritual Friction, I sit down with Dr. Tina Vitolo, a licensed clinical social worker and doctor of social work who has spent nearly two decades in the mental health field. Tina is also the founder of The Black Sheep Therapist and the The Innovative Practitioner Accelerator®, communities created for therapists looking for another way to exist within their profession. Our conversation moves through spirituality, clinical work, intuition, burnout, visibility, professional expectations, inner child healing, and the courage it can take to trust a path that doesn’t look like everyone else’s. Tina shares how turning inward and becoming curious changed her relationship with herself: “The more I kind of turned into myself and just was curious, the more I became this version of me that I’m really proud of.” We also talk about Tina’s spirituality and the intuitive experiences that began early in her life. She takes us back to her first interaction with what she describes as her spiritual team at eight years old—an experience in which she suddenly felt as though she had walked into a wall and heard: “Run now.” Rather than separating her spirituality from the rest of who she is, Tina has learned to make room for the many parts of herself. That same process of integration has shaped the way she approaches her work, her relationships, and her own healing. We talk candidly about what happens when the systems we enter no longer feel aligned with who we are becoming, the fear that can come with choosing something different, and why change doesn’t always require one enormous leap. Sometimes it happens through “one manageable, uncomfortable step at a time.” Tina also shares what she has learned about allowing herself to ebb and flow rather than forcing her life or spiritual practice to look like anyone else’s. “I don’t want something I think is beautiful to be now seen as something I’m failing at.” And sometimes alignment means recognizing when it is time to stop pushing altogether. As Tina puts it: “Putting it down does not mean you failed. Putting it down means that you’re pivoting.” This is a conversation about becoming more ourselves, trusting what we know, questioning the systems and expectations we’ve inherited, and finding the courage to follow the breadcrumbs toward a life that feels more aligned. In This Episode, We Explore: What alignment can look like when it becomes something we embody rather than achieve Tina’s first spiritual experience at eight years old Intuition, spirituality, and learning to trust what we experience Becoming more of ourselves through curiosity rather than external validation Being both a clinician and a deeply spiritual person Burnout and questioning conventional paths within the mental health field Visibility, criticism, cyberbullying, and the vulnerability of being seen Inner child healing and responding differently to younger parts of ourselves Giving ourselves permission to ebb and flow Why spiritual practices don’t have to look like anyone else’s Taking one manageable, uncomfortable step at a time Comparison and learning to tend what we have already built Knowing when to keep going—and when putting something down may actually be a pivot Following the breadcrumbs even when the path doesn’t completely make sense yet Key Quotes “The more I kind of turned into myself and just was curious, the more I became this version of me that I’m really proud of.” “My first interaction with my spiritual team was when I was eight.” “I did one manageable, uncomfortable step at a time, and then they added up, and then here the fuck I am.” “I give myself permission to ebb and flow.” “I don’t want something I think is beautiful to be now seen as something I’m failing at.” “Putting it down does not mean you failed. Putting it down means that you’re pivoting.” About Dr. Tina Vitolo Dr. Tina Vitolo is a licensed clinical social worker and doctor of social work who has spent nearly two decades in the mental health field. In 2022, she founded The Black Sheep Therapist and the Innovative Practitioner Accelerator®, creating spaces for therapists who are questioning traditional professional expectations and looking for ways to build careers that feel more sustainable, authentic, and aligned with who they are. Her work makes room for conversations about spirituality, intuition, identity, entrepreneurship, visibility, and what can become possible when clinicians give themselves permission to find another way. Connect with Tina: Website: https://theblacksheepguide.com Instagram: @the_blacksheep_therapist About Your Host Laurel LeMohn is an integrative trauma therapist, founder of Redwood Coast Psychotherapy and SoulBody Wellness, and host of Spiritual Friction: A Space for Deep Feelers. Her work explores trauma, nervous system regulation, embodiment, self-trust, spirituality, relationships, and the stories we have come to believe about ourselves. Across therapy, community, and storytelling, Laurel creates spaces for deeper thinkers and feelers who have spent years searching for language, understanding, and connection. SoulBody Wellness: https://www.soulbodywellness.health Redwood Coast Psychotherapy If you’re looking for a space to explore trauma, relationships, self-trust, identity, or the patterns that keep showing up in your life, Redwood Coast Psychotherapy offers virtual therapy for adults in California and Washington. Learn more or schedule a consultation through Redwood Coast Psychotherapy.