The conversation this week with our colleague and friend, Dr. Rick Butts, stopped us in our tracks—in the best way.

Rick walked us through his grief timeline, beginning with losing his grandmother at 7, his father at 10, and later his mother at 35. What unfolded was something we hadn’t quite thought about before: grief isn’t just an event… it’s a thread that runs through your entire life.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why many of us get “stuck” in one stage of grief (hello, denial)
• How childhood loss quietly shapes adult coping patterns
• Why unprocessed grief lives in the body
• The idea that all counseling is grief work
• What it means to complete a “threat response”
• How to create your own grief timeline
• Why retirement, divorce, moving, and unmet expectations are real losses
• How mindfulness helps us embody grief instead of outrun it
• The power of meaning-making in healing

Rick vulnerably shares his own journey—from shutting down as a 10-year-old boy to fully grieving decades later through experiential therapy.

And we ask the big question:

Where are you in your grief timeline?

If this episode stirred something in you, you’re not alone. Grief is not weakness. It’s human. And you don’t have to move through it by yourself.

About Dr. Rick Butts:

Rick has been a therapist for the past 37 years. During this time, he has been a professor at two different Universities. At the University of Cincinnati, he taught in the Human Social Services department. And at the Cincinnati Christian University, he taught in their Master of Arts in counseling program. Throughout these 37 years, he has maintained a private practice focused for several years on children, adolescents, and families. Then he transitioned to adults with an interest in developmental and relational trauma and couples counseling. In 2013, he co-founded the Healing Our Core Issues Institute with Jan Bergstrom, which is a training program for therapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and coaches.

Website: https://www.drrickbutts.com

Find resources mentioned in this episode here.

Learn more about this podcast here.

Submit your 90-second lesson/experience here.

Apply to be a guest here.

Stay updated on new episodes here.

*Information shared on this podcast is not medical advice. If you have a concern about your physical or mental health, please seek support from a proessional.