From Chaos to Context: Treating Family Violence and Incest

In this episode of Therapist Confidential, Travis Heath speaks with Mary Jo Barrett, a pioneering family therapist whose career spans nearly five decades of work with family violence, incest, and complex trauma. Together they explore what trauma really means, how the word has evolved culturally, and why trauma is best understood as an interruption of development rather than a single event. Mary Jo shares how she was forced to innovate early in her career—creating a collaborative, relationship-centered model based directly on what survivors themselves identified as healing. The conversation also examines power, safety, predictability, hope, and the reality of vicarious trauma for clinicians. This episode is a grounded, deeply human exploration of healing, responsibility, and staying present in the face of suffering.