We Should Talk About: Surviving Childhood Trauma: Navigating Enmeshment & Healing with Stephanie Bagato

What happens when your biggest childhood trauma buffer was the cousin sleeping on the bunk bed right above you? In this raw, deeply relatable episode, Amber sits down with her cousin, fellow psychotherapist, and private practice owner Stephanie Bagato (LMFT)! Born just six months apart, Amber and Stephanie grew up more like sisters navigating a chaotic childhood filled with makeshift clubhouses, secret snack stashes, endless imaginative play, and navigating an environment where they were largely left to raise themselves. Together, they unpack how childhood survival tactics can subtly weave their way into adult relationships, and what it really looks like to do the healing work when you share a past. In this episode, we dive into: Emotional Flashbacks & Birthdays: Why certain milestones and birthdays can trigger sudden, lingering feelings of loneliness or "decision fatigue," and how Stephanie actively reparents herself through them. The Healing Power of Shared History: How childhood play and co-regulation acted as crucial resiliency factors that helped them survive acute family trauma. Unpacking Sibling & Cousin Enmeshment: What happens when your nervous systems become so intertwined in childhood that conflict in adulthood feels like a life-or-death threat? Amber and Stephanie candidly share a recent fight that forced them to confront their own enmeshment, set new boundaries, and give each other permission to grow. Internal Family Systems (IFS) for Couples & Men: Stephanie shares her passion for using IFS to help couples step out of reactive cycles and guide men in reconnecting with their exiled, deeply feeling parts. Breaking Generational Cycles: The surreal, eye-opening moments of watching their own kids grow up in safe, supportive homes that look nothing like the dark rooms of their pasts. Curious how two therapists go from building cushion forts and hiding stinky socks to sharing an office building and unlearning systemic family patterns together? Hit play and join the conversation! Connect with Stephanie: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/relational.psychotherapist Website: https://www.bagatocounseling.com/ Connect with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weshouldtalk.pod/ Megan Walsh: Instagram / Website https://www.instagram.com/connectwithmegan/ http://connect-with-megan.com/ Amber Trejo: Instagram / Website https://www.instagram.com/integrativetraumatherapist/ https://www.theintegrativetraumatherapist.com/