In this episode of Womanity-Women in Unity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka  speaks with Dr Lauren Moss, a counselling psychologist in private practice, who closes our Mental Health Awareness series by taking us through the realities, science, and lived human story of trauma.

Dr Moss shares how her own journey into psychology began not from a linear career path, but from lived experience. As a sensitive child who grew up curious about people’s inner worlds, she initially thought she would become a journalist and tell stories. Instead, encountering personal trauma in her matric year led her to psychology, where she discovered not only the power of human stories — but the power of holding them.

Her early work in the field of sexual assault counselling revealed an uncomfortable truth; that many conventional therapeutic tools were inadequate, and the real healing comes from authentic witnessing, presence, co-creation, and reintegrating a sense of self. She reflects on the founding of Open Disclosure, an organisation built to create safe spaces for survivors to speak, be seen, and be believed.

We explore why witnessing matters: the power of having one’s trauma narrative held, validated, and countered with humanity, similar to what South Africa collectively experienced through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Dr Moss unpacks trauma-informed practice through the neurobiology of trauma, explaining freeze as our most dominant human survival response, yet also the most misunderstood. She highlights how shame flourishes in silence, and the role society, and especially other women, play in either reinforcing or releasing shame. Gender equality, she notes, is still pivotal and not yet realised in how women experience mental health, judgement, and vulnerability.

The conversation then shifts to access; what women can do when therapy is not financially possible. Dr Moss offers profoundly simple but powerful guidance: journaling to reconnect with self; and seeking or creating spaces where one feels safe and authentic — be it with people, in nature, or in solitude — to rebuild regulation and inner strength.

As a supervisor and mentor to young psychologists, she discusses the importance of knowing oneself deeply to be able to hold healing space for others. She closes by sharing her personal success factors, highlighting playfulness, choosing supportive people, and courageously removing herself from relationships that dim her light.

Finally, she leaves a message of resonance and empowerment — quoting Marianne Williamson’s famous words (from her poem called Our Deepest Fear) that Mandela echoed — reminding women that shrinking serves no one, and that our fear is not inadequacy, but the magnitude of our power.

This episode honours survivorship, honours narrative, and brings trauma into a space of compassion and possibility — reminding women everywhere: you are powerful beyond measure.

Tune in for more…