Trapped in secrecy and shame-- A boy, his coach, and healing trauma with MDMA

Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories

Craig Heacock MD

Psychiatry, Bipolar, Suicide, Depression, Ketamine, Psychotherapy, Science, Psychedelics, Health & Fitness, Addiction, Medicine, Psychology, Mental Health

4.8 • 452 Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 96 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How do you rebuild trust amidst the ashes of trauma? This is the story of Sean, an up and coming star tennis player whose coach carefully selected him and then groomed him for years of sexual assault. His trust destroyed, Sean had to find a way to try to trust again…..and after many years of hiding and pretending and near self-destruction, Sean finally was able to share the details of what happened to him. Thus began his therapeutic journey of finding compassion for himself and trust toward o...

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Back from the Abyss. I'm Dr. Craig Hecock. We are back for season seven.
0:20.5	Woo-hoo! And I'm feeling recharged and excited for this new
0:24.1	season, and I can't wait to share the new stories with you. Today's season opener explores one of the
0:30.3	podcast's central themes. How do you rebuild trust amidst the ashes of trauma? This is the story of Sean, an up-and-coming star tennis player,
0:40.9	whose coach carefully selected him and then groomed him for years of sexual assault. His trust
0:46.7	destroyed. Sean had to find a way to try to trust again, and after many years of hiding and
0:52.7	pretending a near self-destruction, Sean was
0:55.8	finally able to share the details of what happened to him. And this then started his therapeutic
1:00.9	journey of finding compassion for himself and trust toward others with the guidance of his two
1:07.3	devoted therapists and the assistance of MDMA.
1:16.8	Well, first of all, I'd like to thank you, Dr. Hicott, for having me on your podcast.
1:24.5	I've been a avid fan for a couple of years, thanks to the amazing guidance by my psych MP and my therapist that put me onto your podcast. I'm very selective on the ones I
1:31.2	listen to. So on the fact that you have been on the list for two years now since the day that
1:37.0	I heard it the first time. It is always the podcast that I go to first when a new one is released.
1:42.4	I just want to say thank you and thank you for having given me the opportunity to share my story. My story is one of highs and lows. I was born in
1:52.0	Florida. I'm 48 years old. And by many accounts, I won the lottery. I was born into a family
2:00.6	that is extremely loving. There hasn't been a day
2:04.0	on this planet, despite what you're going to hear about some of the not-too-terrally-great events
2:10.5	that happened in my childhood. There hasn't been a day on this planet where I've questioned
2:13.5	my parents' love for me. And I think that's profoundly important. I have a child,
2:19.1	and I've always put a premium on that specific notion. Like, to me, that's foundational. So I had that
2:26.3	my mom and dad. I have an older brother. The further luck is demonstrative in or demonstrated
	...

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