Episode description

In this powerhouse episode, I talk to Teva Johnstone, a licensed clinical social worker and a psychotherapist, a homeschooling parent, and Instagram influencer who aims to empower parents and families to parent "their particular child".

Teva and I discuss the road she took to get to this particular moment in time including the race riots and violence she experienced and witnessed in high school and her successful ten-year career as a hair dresser before going back to school to become a therapist.

The overarching theme of our conversation is children's mental health so we touch on a variety of relevant topics, including:

• the roles of social workers
• what it means to be "safe" and the weaponization of safety to shut down conversation
• the family unit and it's importance for child well-being
• toxic environments and how environmental changes can "cure" mental distress
• current public school model being misaligned for children's well-being
• special considerations for praising children
• what neurodiversity means and the side effects of the neurodiversity paradigm and movement
• importance of being honest and clear about a child's clinically significant disordered behavior
• separating the person from the behavior
• the power of internal motivation
• making decisions that are right for "your particular child"
• and more!

Connect with Teva:

Instagram: @rebel.parents

https://www.tevajohnstone.com/

Information mentioned in the show:

https://www.tevajohnstone.com/blog/is-my-child-disordered

The Free Press essay on autism:

https://www.thefp.com/p/the-autism-surge-lies-conspiracies

Dr. Nick Walker on neurodiversity:

https://neuroqueer.com/neurodiversity-terms-and-definitions/

Connect with Missy:

on Instagram @letemgobarefoot

Website: www.letemgobarefoot.com

on Substack: https://letemgobarefoot.substack.com/

and download "Life Unschooled: Living and Learning without School"