Melissa Fulgieri, LCSW - Healing Relational Trauma

Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

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In this conversation, we speak with psychotherapist and author Melissa Fulgieri, LCSW about her powerful book Healing Relational Trauma, which offers a deeply human and integrative approach to understanding the ways our early relationships shape who we become. We explore how awareness, compassion, and self-trust can help us move from survival to connection—transforming old patterns rooted in attachment wounding and developmental trauma. The conversation also touches on themes of reparenting, nervous system regulation, relational repair, and the ongoing process of finding safety within ourselves and others.

Themes of Discussion

• Understanding Relational Trauma: Moving beyond “big T” events to include chronic emotional disconnection and unmet needs.
• The Legacy of Attachment: How early caregiving experiences shape self-worth, emotional regulation, and intimacy in adulthood.
• Breaking Cycles: Recognizing and transforming unconscious relational patterns that keep us stuck in repetition.
• Embodied Healing: Learning to recognize trauma responses in the body and fostering regulation through awareness and self-compassion.
• Boundaries and Self-Trust: Reclaiming agency and rebuilding a sense of safety when these capacities were never modeled.
• Connection as Medicine: Viewing relationships not as sources of pain to avoid, but as opportunities for repair and growth.
• Integrative Approaches: How modalities like CBT, family systems, mindfulness, and EFT can work together in trauma recovery.
• Cultural & Generational Context: Understanding how family legacies and social systems influence the experience of healing.
• Seeing Wounds as Invitations: Embracing pain as a portal to deeper authenticity, resilience, and relational depth.

Melissa Fulgieri, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, author, adjunct professor, and speaker specializing in trauma-informed care and relational dynamics. With over a decade of clinical experience, she works with individuals and couples to address the enduring impact of childhood trauma on adult attachment, emotional regulation, and interpersonal functioning.

Her integrative framework blends trauma-focused CBT, family systems theory, emotionally focused therapy (EFT), and mindfulness-based approaches. Melissa is the author of The Couples Therapy Activity Book and Healing Relational Trauma, and is recognized for her grounded, compassionate, and accessible clinical voice. She maintains a private practice in New York and teaches in graduate-level social work programs.

Connect with Melissa:
🌐 melissafulgieri.com
📸 @melissafulgierilcsw
💼 LinkedIn