Healthcare for Humans: How Trauma Shows Up in Primary Care Visits

In this groundbreaking video podcast episode, family physicians Dr. Rachel Weiner and Dr. Sophia Malik engage in a deeply personal and professional conversation about the profound impact of unprocessed trauma on both patients and healthcare providers. Drawing from their own journeys of embodiment, disconnection, and healing, they explore how trauma manifests in the body and how primary care clinicians can respond with more presence, curiosity, and somatic awareness—without relying solely on referrals or medication. The discussion reveals how Western medicine's mechanistic, disembodied approach often fails to address the root causes of chronic illness, which are frequently rooted in emotional and relational trauma. They introduce body-based modalities like Compassionate Inquiry and Somatic Experiencing as accessible tools that can be integrated into clinical practice, emphasizing relationship, consent, and the importance of being present with uncertainty. The hosts reflect on the systemic and cultural forces—like capitalism, medicalization, and the myth of productivity—that obscure healing, and they challenge the notion that health is merely about performance. Ultimately, they advocate for a reimagined healthcare model where clinicians are not fixers but co-explorers, creating space for patients to reclaim agency, connection, and wholeness.