Episode 53 - A Depth Psychological Approach to Menstruation
I had the honor of sitting down with Dr. Roxanne Partridge for a conversation that left me deeply moved and inspired. We talked about something many of us feel intuitively, but rarely have language for: the menstrual cycle as a doorway into deeper self-knowing, mystery, and soul. Roxanne brings a rare combination of clinical depth, poetic insight, and embodied wisdom to this space. Together, we explored how depth psychology invites us to meet our cyclical experiences with curiosity rather than control — and how reclaiming the imaginal and relational nature of menstruation can shift our entire relationship with our bodies. Whether you’re new to this work or already walking the cyclical path, this conversation will offer you something meaningful to take with you.
Topics Covered
In this illuminating conversation with Dr Partridge, we explore:
- How depth psychology differs from mainstream psychological approaches
- The menstrual cycle as a path to self-knowing and wholeness
- Meeting our cyclical experiences with curiosity rather than judgment
- Breaking free from rigid expectations about how our cycles "should" be
- The relationship between menstruation, dreaming, and indigenous wisdom
- Simple practices for developing a more imaginative relationship with our cycles
- How cultural conditioning has disconnected us from our cyclical wisdom
- The value of giving ourselves permission to explore the mystery of menstruation
About Dr. Roxanne Partridge
Dr. Roxanne Partridge, PhD, CHt, is the Creatrix of embodyperiod. With over 14 years of guiding women into their embodied wisdom and sovereignty, she approaches healing and empowerment dynamically as a healer, scholar, creative, and activist. Her work holds the menstrual experience, sexual experience, and embodied experience as deep thresholds of self-knowing and pathways into authentic expression.
Dr. Partridge holds both a Masters and PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and is a clinical hypnotherapist and relational sexuality practitioner. She's studied with distinguished elders including Gina Ogden, Marion Woodman, James Hillman, and others who have shaped her eclectic approach.
Her practice weaves together post-Jungian approaches to the feminine, intersectional feminism, queer theory, archetypal psychology, liberational practices, somatic work, pleasure principles, arts-based healing, menstruality, and sacred rites of initiation into authentic personhood. She maintains her private practice and hosts intimate retreats at Aletis House in Hudson, New York, while also offering embodiment programs virtually and speaking at conferences for organizations including the Society of Menstrual Cycle Research.
Dr. Partridge envisions a world where women can fully embody their wild majesty, richly sourced and aligned with their true desires. Her work invites authentic embodiment of personhood—period—in allegiance with the menstrual body throughout the lifespan.
Connect with Dr. Roxanne Partridge:
- Website: https://embodyperiod.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embodyperiod/
Listen to the Episode
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Timestamps
[00:00:00] Introduction to Iris Josephina's podcast
[00:00:56] Welcome and introduction to Dr. Roxanne Partridge
[00:01:06] Discussion of how Iris and Roxanne met at the SMCR conference
[00:03:38] Reflections on finding community in the menstrual field
[00:04:34] Roxanne introduces herself and her work with Embody Period
[00:08:00] Explanation of depth psychology and its differences from mainstream psychology [00:10:38] How depth psychology relates to the menstrual cycle
[00:13:24] Cultural difficulties with thinking about menstruation
[00:17:32] The menstrual cycle as a path towards self-knowing
[00:19:09] Approaching your cycle with curiosity about "who's here" in each phase
[00:21:12] The comparison between menstruation and plant medicine/vision quests
[00:24:55] The cycle as a constant wisdom keeper and partner
[00:25:33] Iris shares her experience with an indigenous community in Colombia
[00:28:51] The metaphor of sitting around a campfire with a pot of "mystery soup"
[00:31:18] The menstrual cycle as an ecological, expansive experience that can't be contained [00:35:16] The cycle as a practice of revelation rather than rules or dogma
[00:36:32] Letting go of anticipating what each cycle phase "should" be like
[00:39:01] Giving ourselves time to shift our relationship with our cycle
[00:41:09] Roxanne shares how she began her menstrual awareness journey during a painful period
[00:42:46] The transformative experience of having a conversation with her uterus
[00:50:45] Practice invitation: personifying your cycle with curiosity
[00:54:44] Reflections on the lifelong journey of cyclical discovery
[00:56:53] Where to find Roxanne and learn more about her work
What is Depth Psychology?
Dr. Partridge explains that depth psychology is fundamentally the study of the unconscious, but it approaches the psyche in a unique way:
"It's this very soul-centered approach to the psyche. It's a field that embraces the unconscious and also embraces the creative potential of the unconscious and the autonomy of the unconscious. I think this is something that mainstream psychology can struggle with, in trying to clean up or make neat or controllable the autonomy of the unconscious."
Unlike more conventional psychological frameworks that might focus primarily on the individual psyche, depth psychology recognizes us as "truly intersectional beings" that include "not just the personal conscious and unconsciousness, but also the collective, the ancestral, the nature, and the anima mundi—the soul of the world that is living through us."
This expansive view sees humans not as isolated individuals but as part of "a deep and wide community of histories and relationships." It embraces mystery and the unknown—elements that can feel uncomfortable to our egos, which generally prefer certainty and control.
The Menstrual Cycle as Body-Soul Phenomenon
When we apply a depth psychological lens to menstruation, we begin to see it as more than just a physiological process:
"The menstrual cycle, as I see it, is a body-soul phenomenon where psyche and soma flow together. It's not a clean cut one or the other. It's not a clean cut causal relationship—they're in a dance, they're in communication."
Dr. Partridge views menstrual events in a similar way to dreams—as communications from our wider selves that contain wisdom we may not consciously know. Unlike the historical tendency to pathologize menstruation (from ancient ideas about "wandering wombs" to modern medicalization), the depth psychological approach "allows menstruation to have imaginal rights—it gets to participate in the dreaming of our lives."
This perspective honors menstruation as "part of our larger embodied story" and invites us to "listen into the unknown, listen into the mystery" without trying to reduce our cyclical experiences to any single meaning or interpretation.
Cultivating Self-Knowing Through the Cycle
Our menstrual cycles offer a continuous path to deeper self-knowledge—if we're willing to approach them with curiosity:
"Attuning to our cycle in a depth psychological way might look like getting curious about your menstrual experience in any of the phases... and being curious who's here? In the feeling, in the emotion, in the sensation, even in any of the discomfort, in any of the joy, in any of the excitement, in any of the flush of energy."
Dr. Partridge suggests turning toward our cyclical experience "in a similar way that we would if we were going on a vision quest or seeking counsel from some wise elder—to turn towards our cyclical experience and greet it as a guest, as a figure, as a guide who is unknown, who is mysterious."
She refers to these autonomous images of our menstrual experience as "bloody others"—aspects of ourselves that we can welcome and give a seat at the table: "Who is this in my luteal phase? Who shows up? Who is this in my follicular phase?"
This approach recognizes that no two cycles are exactly the same—each month brings its own unique wisdom, reflecting our continuously evolving life circumstances.
Menstruation as Indigenous Wisdom
Dr. Partridge shared a beautiful insight from Peruvian shamanic tradition:
"The men do the ayahuasca, and the women, they menstruate. They have menstrual cycles."
This simple observation highlights how menstruation itself can be a powerful visionary practice—a natural gateway to wisdom that's available to menstruating people without the need for external plant medicines.
This reminded me of my own experience visiting an indigenous community in Colombia when I was 21, where I learned that when a girl has her first period, she enters a special place to connect with the dream world and then returns to share the wisdom she received with her community.
These indigenous perspectives recognize what Western culture has largely forgotten—that menstruation is a natural doorway to deeper consciousness and wisdom that can benefit not just the individual but the entire community.
Breaking Free from Cultural Conditioning
One of the most important aspects of reclaiming a more meaningful relationship with our cycles is recognizing how cultural conditioning has shaped our expectations:
"We are not the same every day. We are not the same every month. And the cycle is happening with us."
Dr. Partridge points out how "sneaky" the "lurking feminine ideal" can be—how even as we try to reclaim a more empowered relationship with our cycles, we can fall into the trap of trying to "perfect" them or anticipate exactly how each phase "should" feel.
Instead, she suggests approaching our cycle as "an ongoing conversation between you and an intimate friend" where we remain open to "what is it revealing to you about your life today?" This invites a radical shift from seeing our cycles as something to control or predict to something we're in continuous dialogue with.
Dr. Partridge's Personal Journey
Dr. Partridge shared the powerful story of how her own menstrual research began—during a night of intense menstrual cramps when she was doing "all the right things" for self-care but still in tremendous pain:
"I realized, if I was having some other kind of challenge that wasn't related to my menstrual cycle, I would be approaching this differently. I would be approaching it from this depth psychological lens, but I'm not doing that now. And I was like, well, what if I did that?"
She decided to have a conversation with her uterus:
"It took a lot of courage...to turn my attention to my uterus and be like, 'Hey, what's going on? Who's here? What's happening? What do you need me to know? What do you need? What do you want to tell me? What do I need to be shown?'"
To her surprise, her body responded immediately, revealing a "felt image" of someone deeply in mourning:
"I never would've guessed, I have no idea what this means... It was just this feeling of just deep, deep mourning. And I knew, I was like, I have to sit next to this mourner. And I just have to sit for as long as it takes... I don't know what its grief is. I have no idea."
That night changed the direction of her research and put her on the path to exploring the depth dimensions of menstruation—a journey she describes as "opening the door to Narnia," revealing an entirely new realm of imagination and consciousness.
A Practice for Beginning Your Journey
For those curious about developing a more imaginative relationship with their cycle, Dr. Partridge offers this simple practice:
Since many of us are taught to experience our cycle as "something that is happening to us," we can use this as a starting point for a creative exploration:
"Let's adjust that like an inch by saying, 'Okay, the cycle is happening to me. My PMS or my luteal phase is happening to me.' And get creative and curious—'Well, who is it? We're already othering it, so I'm going to invite you to take it even a step further—who is this? What's their name? What do they look like? What do they want? What's their attitude like?'"
This approach uses personification—a key technique in depth psychology—to transform our relationship with aspects of our cycle that might otherwise feel alienating or overwhelming:
"It's a turning towards with some playful curiosity... not trying to make it anything else, but rather just getting more information. 'What's happening right here and right now?' Just be like, 'Tell me more, tell me more.' And that turning towards exactly where you're at opens up so many unexpected doors."
Key Takeaways
- The menstrual cycle is a body-soul phenomenon - Beyond physiological processes, our cycles reveal wisdom from our deeper selves
- Mystery deserves a seat at the table - Learning to welcome the unknown aspects of our cyclical experience opens us to deeper wisdom
- Personification creates a relationship - Treating aspects of our cycle as "others" we can dialogue with transforming how we experience them
- No two cycles are the same - Each cycle brings unique wisdom reflecting our continuously evolving life experiences
- Indigenous cultures recognize menstrual wisdom - Many traditions honor menstruation as a natural visionary practice and source of community wisdom
- Cultural conditioning creates expectations - Breaking free from rigid ideas about how our cycles "should" be allows for authentic experience
- Curiosity is more powerful than control - Approaching our cycles with playful wonder opens doors that trying to "perfect" them never will
- The menstrual journey never ends - From menarche through perimenopause, our cycles offer continuous opportunities for growth and discovery
Honoring Our Menstrual Mysteries
As our conversation drew to a close, I reflected on how the menstrual journey continues to unfold throughout our lives:
"I'm on the preconception path and the things that I'm witnessing right now—oh my God, there is more. There is even so much more. And then I haven't even walked through a full pregnancy. I haven't even stood on the threshold of birth. I haven't even experienced postpartum. I haven't even experienced a transition towards menopause. Like there is so much, it never stops. How exciting!"
Dr. Partridge agreed, affirming that our "full life" continues to offer new cyclical wisdom with each passing day. This perspective transforms menstruation from a burden or inconvenience into an ever-unfolding adventure—one that connects us not only to the depths of our own psyches but to the ancestral wisdom of all who have cycled before us.
By giving ourselves permission to explore the mystery of menstruation—to approach it with reverence, curiosity, and openness—we reclaim a powerful source of wisdom that has been diminished in our culture for far too long.
About the Host
I’m Iris Josephina—functional hormone specialist, orthomolecular hormone coach, and entrepreneur. Through Cycle Seeds and The Inner Rhythms Podcast, I support people in reconnecting with their cyclical nature, deepening body literacy, and reclaiming hormonal harmony from a place of sovereignty and embodied knowledge. Most people know me from Instagram, where I share stories, tools, and inspiration on cyclical living, menstrual cycles, fertility, hormones and more.
Let’s stay connected:
📸 Instagram: @cycleseeds
💻 Visit the Cycle Seeds website
