The Trauma-Informed Lawyer

In this intimate and wide-ranging conversation, Myrna sits down with her best friend Shain Jackson for a soulful exploration of love, art, healing, spirituality, and relationship—with all the honesty, laughter, and tenderness that only a lifelong friendship allows.
Together, they reflect on how love shapes who we become, how trauma informs our relationships, and how learning to listen—to ourselves, to spirit, and to one another—is an ongoing practice. This episode weaves personal stories with deeper teachings about healing, creativity, and the role of art as a living, breathing expression of spiritual connection.
Shain shares the vision behind his Story Booth Project, an initiative dedicated to creating physical recording spaces where Indigenous people can safely share and preserve their stories, teachings, and lived experiences for future generations. Rooted in respect, sovereignty, and cultural continuity, the project is both an act of preservation and a form of resistance.
The conversation also touches on Shain’s entrepreneurial and community-building work through Spirit Works, as well as his nonprofit Golden Eagle Rising, which centers Indigenous resurgence, creativity, and community care.
At its heart, this episode is about love as a teacher—love in friendship, love in art, love in healing, and love as a spiritual force that guides us home to ourselves.
This is a conversation for anyone navigating growth, grief, creativity, relationships, and the sacred work of becoming.
To see Shain's work: www.spiritworks.ca and www.goldeneaglerising.org

In this powerful episode of The Trauma-Informed Lawyer Podcast, Myrna welcomes James, the somatic practitioner behind Soma Reset Toronto and the viral TikTok account Nervous System Care Toronto, where he has become a trusted voice on trauma, embodiment, and nervous system regulation.
James has a unique ability to translate complex somatic principles into simple, humane, tangible practices. His work resonates because it is grounded in the body, not theory — and because he speaks from a place of humility, lived experience, and deep compassion for the human condition.
Together, Myrna and James explore what it means to reconnect with the body after trauma and stress, why healing requires slowness, and how nervous system care is actually a path toward personal liberation.
In This Episode, We Explore:
✨ What a dysregulated nervous system looks and feels like
James breaks down the signs we often overlook — the ways our bodies communicate distress long before our minds catch up.
✨ Why regulation is relational
We heal through connection, attunement, and being witnessed. James explains how co-regulation shapes safety and eventually leads to self-regulation.
✨ Trauma as a bodily imprint, not a story
They discuss why insight alone doesn’t shift survival responses, and how somatic practices create change that talking cannot reach.
✨ The importance of slowness in healing
James shares why slow work is not “less work” — it’s nervous-system-friendly work. The body moves at the pace of safety, not urgency.
✨ How simple, consistent practices reshape the system
James offers examples of easy, daily nervous system resets that help build resilience and reduce chronic activation.
✨ Why somatic work is exploding online
From TikTok trends to collective burnout, they touch on why so many people are increasingly turning toward body-based healing.
About James (Soma Reset Toronto)
James is a somatic practitioner and educator based in Toronto. Through his practice, Soma Reset, and his fast-growing TikTok presence under Nervous System Care Toronto, he offers accessible teachings on nervous system regulation, trauma physiology, and embodied healing. His content has helped millions understand their patterns, reconnect with their bodies, and explore somatic work in a grounded, non-performative way.
Key Takeaways
Healing happens in the body first, story second.
Regulation is built in connection, not isolation.
The nervous system responds to consistency more than intensity.
Slow is safe. Slow is sustainable. Slow is healing.
Somatic work is not a trend — it is a remembering.
Connect with James
Soma Reset Toronto : https://somabody.com/pages/somareset
TikTok: @nervoussystemcaretoronto
Instagram: @somabody_

Season 4 of The Trauma-Informed Lawyer Podcast launches with an invitation — and a challenge — to everyone working in law and leadership. In this episode, Myrna shares insights from her talk to judges on how trauma, culture, and integrity intersect in the pursuit of justice.
She reframes the trauma-informed movement as just the starting point. True transformation happens when we move beyond awareness to embodiment — when we center humanity, integrity, and relational accountability in every interaction and decision.
Themes explored:
Why trauma-informed practice is the bare minimum standard in today’s justice systems
How cultural responsiveness deepens empathy and understanding in judicial decision-making
What it means to embody integrity in leadership roles
Practical strategies for judges and legal professionals to bring humanity into their work
The importance of self-awareness and wellness as justice tools
Mentioned in this episode:
Myrna’s training and speaking work with the judiciary
Trauma-informed principles in judicial reasoning
The call for systems change rooted in relational accountability
Connect with Myrna:
website: www.myrnamccallum.co IG @thetraumainformedlawyer TT: traumainformedlawyer LI: thetraumainformedlawyer

Angela Sterritt is an award-winning Gitxsan woman and former journalist who has been  recognized for her groundbreaking reporting on Indigenous issues. Her memoir Unbroken has been hailed as both heartbreaking and inspiring, weaving her own story of survival with broader systemic patterns of violence against Indigenous women and girls. In this episode, Angela and Myrna talk about:
The power of naming and telling our stories.
What it means to carry responsibility as a storyteller.
Finding strength in truth and justice.
The responsibility settlers have to confront colonialism - and heal their traumas.
Hope, healing and dreaming.
Lessons from Unbroken. 
You can buy Unbroken here: https://greystonebooks.com/products/unbroken?srsltid=AfmBOoqhuCNYtQusjdLaUrhMK40ubfBurFr4fRpCXe7mfEIpHuc6w42K and to learn more about Angela Sterritt, please visit her website at: https://angelasterritt.com/
To watch the panel with Angela from the 2025 Justice as Trauma Conference, please visit Myrna's video library: https://www.myrnamccallum.co/video-library
To get pre-sale tickets to the next Justice as Trauma Conference in Vancouver from April 7-9 (where Angela will be speaking) please visit: https://www.myrnamccallum.co/jat2026

In this episode, I bring listeners back to the Justice as Trauma Conference held last week in Vancouver, by sharing a compilation of feedback and testimonials from attendees. Their reflections highlight the deep impact of the conference and the importance of integrating trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices into our work. I also share my keynote, which explored healing, humility, and humanity in the legal profession. I invite listeners to pause and reflect on these essential questions:
➡️ If not you, then who?
➡️ If not now, when?
This keynote which begins at 21:40 serves as both a reflection and a challenge to step into the work of creating safer, more compassionate spaces in law, leadership, and advocacy. 
Some Key Takeaways:
Healing Through Justice: Integrating trauma-informed practices into systems and relationships.
Humility as Strength: Embracing lifelong learning and acknowledging our limits.
Humanity in Leadership: Creating authentic, compassionate spaces where safety and trust can thrive.
🔗 Explore More:
Discover upcoming trainings at www.myrnamccallum.co
Subscribe to The Trauma-Informed Lawyer podcast for future episodes.
Connect with me on LinkedIn, IG and TikTok to continue the conversation.