Beyond the Window – by La Ventana Treatment Programs

Breaking the Chain: Generational Trauma, Healing, and Hope

What if your struggles aren’t entirely your own? In this raw and revelatory episode of Beyond the Window , Clinical Directors Carla Fernandez, LCSW and Jennifer Enriquez, LMFT and Steve Zamarripa, MBA, President and CEO of La Ventana, discuss how to unpack how generational trauma shapes addiction, mental health, and family dynamics. From personal stories of survival to groundbreaking science (like the "cherry blossom mouse study"), they explore: How trauma embeds itself in our DNA—and behaviors....

Beyond the Disease Model: Rethinking Recovery with TJ Woodward

What if everything you’ve been told about addiction is incomplete—or even wrong? In this profound episode of Beyond the Window, La Ventana Clinical Director, Sharon Volner, LMFT, sits down with TJ Woodward—author, recovery expert, and creator of Conscious Recovery—to challenge the myths of brokenness and explore seven transformative principles for healing. From “There is nothing wrong with you” to “The only prayer is thank you,” TJ shares how his own journey from addiction to ministry reveals a ...

Rock Stars & Rock Bottoms: Recovery Unfiltered

In this unfiltered episode of Beyond the Window, Director of Detox Gwendolyn Casella and La Ventana Alumni Laurie Sigelman go toe-to-toe with recovery’s hardest truths: 💊 Gwen’s hospice analogy: Why treating patients like "rock stars" is non-negotiable 🔗 Laurie's Ferragamo betrayal: How selling her husband’s shoes for pills became her turning point 🧠 The lie of ‘living clean’: Laurie's year of faking sobriety—and what finally broke her 👊 Jailhouse redemption: “I tell women behind bars: I was...

From Grief to Lifesaving: Sheila Scott's lukelove Revolution

"Dead is dead. There's nothing glamorous about a box of ashes on your bedside table." - Sheila Scott Nine years after losing her son Luke to an overdose, Sheila Scott has since founded the LukeLove Foundation to prevent other families from experiencing this pain. In this raw conversation on Beyond the Window, she reveals: 🔹 Why EVERY family needs naloxone (yes, even yours) 🔹 How 3 grains of fentanyl can be fatal 🔹 Why "good kids" are just as at risk 🔹 How teens are becoming overdose first re...

Psychiatric Hospitals Exposed: Debunking the Myths Behind Mental Health Care

When you hear 'psychiatric hospital,' what comes to mind? Straight jackets? Screaming patients? Hollywood has painted a terrifying picture—but the reality is far different. In this eye-opening episode, La Ventana’s Chief Clinical Officer Sharon Volner, LMFT sits down with Carla DiCandia, Director of Business Development at Oceanview Psychiatric Facility , to pull back the curtain on modern mental health care. They debunk the biggest myths (no, you won’t be ‘locked away forever’), reveal what tre...

Candy with a Purpose: How Coca Candies Became a Mental Health Tool

What if a piece of candy could pull you out of a panic attack? In this episode of Beyond the Window, La Ventana's Chief Clinical Officer Sharon Volner, LMFT sits down with team member Danielle Tilton , creator of Coca Candies —the first candy intentionally designed for mental health. From its origins in trauma therapy to its explosive sour-fizzy-sweet formula, discover how texture and flavor are revolutionizing grounding techniques. (Spoiler: Even our Chief Clinical Officer carries them on cliff...

Grief in the Shadows: Unpacking Loss, Connection, & Recovery

"They’re in a better place" and other things we say to avoid sitting with grief. Debi Jenkins Frankle, M.S., LMFT, a grief specialist with 30+ years of experience, joins La Ventana Clinician Isabelle Pilato to dismantle myths about loss—including why it’s not a problem to solve, but a landscape to navigate. Learn how grief hides in your body, strains relationships, and reshapes your identity long after the world expects you to "move on."

Inside La Ventana Teen Mental Health

What makes our residential treatment program different? It starts with meeting clients exactly where they're at. Today's Beyond the Window episode takes you inside our therapeutic home, for young women ages 12-17, with the clinicians and educators who help teens rewrite their stories. Hear how we pivot in real-time to what each client needs. Listen as Clinical Director Carla Fernandez, LCSW, Primary Clinician Alex Acerboni, and Director of Education, Deanna Ruby share the perspective shifts that...

On the Other Side of Shame is Healing

What happens when we finally admit, "I’m not okay" ? In this first episode of Beyond the Window , La Ventana’s Clinical Directors Jennifer Enriquez, LMFT and Bryce Colvard, LMFT explore the pivotal moment between denial and healing—how trauma shapes our stories, why shame clings, and what it takes to start moving forward. This is a conversation about truth-telling, the weight of unspoken pain, and the small but brave steps toward wholeness. Because healing doesn’t begin with being "fine." It beg...

Beyond the Window Teaser