02/04/2026
Debriefing doesn’t transform birth stories.
Recently, I was talking with someone who didn’t know I work with Birth Story Medicine.
She told me she’d already seen someone about her birth.
They advertised it as debriefing.
“All they really did,” she said, “was listen to me tell the story.”
And here’s the thing, being listened to can bring relief.
Having someone hold space can soften the edges.
It can feel validating to finally be heard.
But listening alone is not the same as transformation.
Debriefing often stays at the level of:
💥recounting events
💥going over decisions
💥saying “that makes sense”
💥offering empathy and presence
All of that matters.
And still, the story, the meaning itself often remains unchanged.
In Birth Story Medicine, we work with how the story lives inside someone:
💜the meanings that formed in the body and psyche
💜the beliefs about self that quietly took root
💜the places where blame, shame, or helplessness got lodged
💜the parts of the story that keep looping, even years later
Transformation doesn’t come from more talking.
It comes from meeting the story differently.
This is not just holding space.
It’s guiding a story to soften, shift, and integrate, without fixing it, reframing it, or explaining it away.
Debriefing can help you exhale.
Story medicine helps the story come to rest.
And that difference matters.
Comment " Transform" if you would like to learn how to help others transform their distressing birth experiences.
