Finding Your Voice Through “Bad Poetry”: Healing Trauma, Shame & Silence with Margaret Bryden

Send us Fan MailIn this heartfelt and deeply empowering episode of Shut Up and Smile, host Nancy Kohne sits down with licensed clinical mental health counselor and author Margaret Bryden to explore the connection between poetry, trauma healing, self-expression, and resilience. Margaret shares her unconventional journey from studying linguistics and working in HR leadership to becoming a therapist and author of How I Understand It: A Bad Poet’s Guide to Mental Health and Resilience. The conversation centers around the healing power of “bad poetry” — a concept Margaret uses to encourage authenticity over perfection. She explains how poetry creates a safe space for people to process trauma, untangle emotions, and reconnect with themselves without the pressure of being polished or perfect. Together, Nancy and Margaret discuss how trauma fragments a person’s ability to form a coherent narrative, why shame often teaches people to stay silent, and how creative expression can help rebuild emotional safety and self-trust.