In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss bipolar disorder. I quickly debunk the misconception that bipolar disorder is simply mood swings and provide listeners on information on what a major depressive episode, manic episode, and hypomanic episode are. I discuss the differences and similarities between Bipolar I and Bipolar II disorder, as well as touch on Bipolar Disorder in kids and cyclothymic disorder. Although not considered a bipolar-related disorder, I also discuss Disruptive Mood Dysre...
Jul 05, 2021•35 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I speak with Dr. Denise Bossarte, poet, award winning writing, photographer, artist, doctor in developmental neuroscience, and survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Dr. Bossarte shares her story of enduring childhood sexual abuse and discusses her healing journey. Dr. Bossarte's book Thriving After Sexual Abuse: Break Your Bondage to the Past and Live a Life You Love released in April 2021 and we discussed the contents of the book and what inspired her to write it....
Jun 28, 2021•55 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Carrie Jackson about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Dr. Carrie is a postdoctoral fellow specializing in ADHD and behavior disorders in children and parenting therapy. Dr. Carrie defines ADHD for listeners and discusses common areas of life that individuals with ADHD struggle in. She shares some differences and similarities between ADHD in children and adults, as well as misconceptions about ADHD. Dr. Carrie offers advice to paren...
Jun 21, 2021•41 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss dialectics. In the therapy realm, dialectics is often associated with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT); however, the skill is featured in various schools of psychotherapy. Briefly, a dialectic is a tension between to seemingly contradictory viewpoints where a truth will emerge from their interplay. In this episode, I discuss dialectics as they relate to DBT, the power of using the word "and" when experiencing two opposing statements, provide examples ...
Jun 14, 2021•24 min
In this episode of Psych Talk, I speak with Chelsea Duhaime, a teacher, coach, and single mom all about mom guilt. Chelsea shares her story of being raised around single moms and becoming a single mom herself, and how that has shaped her passion to work with other single moms. Chelsea defines what "mom guilt" means to her and the areas of life mother's tend to feel the most guilty over. Chelsea discusses the common experiences and challenges all moms face, as well as touches on unique challenges...
Jun 07, 2021•47 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I speak with Gabrielle Morreale, a licensed professional counselor specializing in eating disorders. Gabby shares a little bit about her personal story and how she came to work with this population and gives listeners a brief overview of eating disorders. We discuss different evidence-based interventions used to treat eating disorders, as well as common misconceptions about eating disorders. Gabby talks about the health at every size (HAES) movement and eating di...
May 31, 2021•56 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss InstaTherapy. InstaTherapy has multiple definitions. From the consumer side, it can refer to people using Instagram or other social media platforms as a form of therapy by following licensed mental heath professionals. On the creator side, it can refer to individuals providing mental health content online as an alternative to therapy. For the purpose of this episode I focused on licensed mental heath professionals using social media to provide therapeut...
May 24, 2021•32 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I have an extremely fun and relatable conversation with Janelle Hettick, LMSW about self-love and self-care. Janelle is a licensed therapist in AZ who primarily works with college aged students. Two of her passions, both personally and professionally, are the topics of self-love and self-care and we discuss how these concepts are things that all people benefit from. Janelle defines self-love and self-care for listeners, describes how they are interconnected, and ...
May 17, 2021•48 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I speak with Haley Wise, LPCC about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Although EMDR was developed in the late 1980s, it has gained popularity in recent years as a treatment for trauma. Haley discusses what EMDR is and how it works, as well as the wide variety of problems EMDR is a treatment for. We discuss reasons someone may seek out EMDR as their treatment of choice, both as an individual treatment or adjunct to other treatments. Haley provi...
May 10, 2021•44 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I share my experiences in the 4th trimester, or the first few months after pregnancy. From my birth story, to my first few weeks home; from feeding struggles with my daughter to postpartum body image; mental health to returning to work; I touch on almost everything postpartum. I shared my experiences in all areas postpartum and provide tips on what helped my mental health in the first few months postpartum. This episode is much more personal than others but I hop...
May 03, 2021•54 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I speak with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge about teletherapy. Dr. Roseann is the found of The Global Institute of Children’s Mental Health and specializes working with children and teens with conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, Lyme disease, and PANS/PANDAS. During the pandemic teletherapy is something that mental health professionals and therapy clients have become very familiar with in a very abrupt and short amount of time. Dr. Roseann discusses the benefits of tele...
Apr 26, 2021•51 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I talk all about sleep. Sleep is extremely important to our overall physical and mental health. Good quality sleep impacts many aspects of our functioning, yet the CDC estimates that one in three adults in the United States does not get enough sleep. In this episode I discuss how much sleep we need, the differences between sleep deprivation and insomnia, and the benefits of good sleep and negative impacts of poor sleep. Additionally, I finish the episode by discu...
Apr 19, 2021•34 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I talk with Lauren Ruth Martin, LPC about Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RO-DBT). Lauren explains the similarities and differences between standard DBT and RO-DBT and the type of presenting issues clients may have that would benefit from DBT and/or RO-DBT. Lauren discusses the core concepts of RO-DBT, as well as the RO skills including self-inquiry and social signaling. Lauren discusses the differences between being overcontrolled and under-controll...
Apr 12, 2021•42 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss perfectionism. Perfectionism is something that many of us high achievers experience. In some instances it can be helpful, if we are goal oriented, yet flexible in pursuit of those goals. But in many instances, it can be maladaptive, causing individuals to base their worth on their achievements, experience excessive concerns over mistakes, and set unreasonably high standards, ultimately setting themselves up for failure. In this episode I discuss differe...
Apr 05, 2021•30 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I speak with Mira Bhattacharya about geriatric mental health and end of life care. Mira is a psychology undergraduate, with a concentration in bioethics and minor in disability studies, applying to physician assistant school who has a passion working with the geriatric population. We discuss the literature on geriatric mental health and how that relates to end of life care in this population. Mira emphasizes the importance of the role of advanced practitioners (e...
Mar 29, 2021•31 min
One of my most frequently asked questions is "I want to become a psychologist, what do I need to do?" or some variation of that question. This episode is targeted specifically for individuals who are considering becoming a psychologist (or other mental health professional) and what to know what it takes or the process of applying to graduate school. Even if you aren't in that target audience, I hope you get something out of this episode. I discuss general steps that it takes to be a psychologist...
Mar 22, 2021•40 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I speak with Danielle Ganchrow, an undergraduate student at Binghamton University about college student mental health. Danielle shares her own journey with mental health concerns, specifically the internalized stigma she held for so long about mental health concerns and therapy. Danielle and I speak about the stigma of reaching out and getting help for mental health concerns, both in general and specifically in the college student population. She shares how menta...
Mar 15, 2021•38 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I talk about imposter syndrome - the belief that you are inadequate, a failure, or a fraud, despite evidence indicating otherwise. Imposter syndrome is a common experience, particularly among high achieving individuals, with about 70% of adults experiencing it at some point in their lifetime. In the episode I discuss causal and maintaining factors of imposter syndrome, as well as problems with imposter syndrome. I also spend a large portion of the episode discuss...
Mar 08, 2021•35 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I interview Samantha Comaty, a college undergrad studying psychology who hopes to go on to pursue her doctorate in psychology. During our discussion, Sam shares her story with mental health struggles, including her experience of being a patient in a psychiatric hospital. We then go on to discuss her growth from being a patient in a psychiatric hospital to becoming a staff member in a psychiatric hospital. We discuss the stigma surrounding mental health and the mi...
Mar 01, 2021•40 min
Season 2 is officially here! In this episode of Psych Talk I discuss my journey of being pregnant during a pandemic. I share my personal experiences with appointments, work, and delivery and how COVID impacted all of those areas. I also touch on social support, comments from others, and general mental health surrounding being pregnant during a pandemic. This episode is more personal than previous episodes and less inundated with research; however, I felt it was an important topic to discuss. Whe...
Feb 22, 2021•31 min
2020 is coming to a close and so is Season 1 of Psych Talk. Before jumping in to the details of today's episode, I wanted to thank all of my listeners for supporting the podcast over the past 7 months; Psych Talk would not be what it is today without you all. In today's episode, I discuss how to live a value-aligned 2021. If 2020 taught us anything, it taught us that life is unpredictable. 2020 was not the year anyone expected and we had to learn how to adjust and adapt our lives to living throu...
Dec 28, 2020•25 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I speak with Beverly Engel, LMFT about her upcoming book Escaping Emotional Abuse : Healing from the Shame You Don't Deserve. Beverly has over 35 years of experience working with individuals who have experienced trauma , specifically those who have been victims of emotional abuse. During our discussion, Beverly focuses primarily on the role of shame in emotional abuse, as well as defines for listeners what emotional abuse is and what some consequences of emotiona...
Dec 21, 2020•44 min
Happy Holidays! No matter what you celebrate, or if you celebrate, this time of year is full of holiday cheer, parties, and celebration. With that comes the sense that we are supposed to be happy and joyous. However, the reality is, despite the holiday cheer and celebrations, this time is stressful and overwhelming for many of us, which takes a toll on our mental health. In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss mental health during the holidays. I start by sharing the impact of holiday stress ...
Dec 14, 2020•30 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I speak with Kristen Gingrich, LSCW, CADC about societal body image. Body image is something that the vast majority of individuals will struggle with at some point in their life and the messages we receive from society about the way we "should" look like impact how we view ourselves and our bodies. Kristen discusses her own journey with body image and her growth from her teenage years and early 20s to where she is now. We discuss the messages that society sends ...
Dec 07, 2020•39 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss gratitude - the expression of appreciation for what one has. It is likely intuitive that individuals who are more grateful are happier; however, the benefits of gratitude go beyond that simple relation. In this episode I discuss the brain changes that occur when engaging in acts of gratitude, as well as many of the physical and mental benefits of practicing gratitude that have been established in research. Further, I discuss many different ways that you...
Nov 30, 2020•20 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Kelsey Wonderlin, LPC-MHSP, a self-esteem and relationship therapist from Tennessee. Kelsey shares her expertise on the intersection between self-esteem and relationships, discussing both how self-esteem impacts the type of partner one seeks out and how relationships can impact one's self-esteem. Kelsey describes aspects of unhealthy and toxic relationships and discusses everything from the fighting and abuse we think of in toxic relationships, to th...
Nov 23, 2020•36 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss cognitive biases, which are systematic errors in our thinking processes that impact our choices or judgment. Given the current socio-political climate, I thought this would be a good topic to touch on, as we see a lot of these biases come to play in politics. However, we all engage in this biases throughout our daily life. Cognitive biases are not necessarily bad, as they allow us to make quick decisions without becoming overwhelmed, which can be adapti...
Nov 16, 2020•32 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I speak with Emily-Christine Lowe, LPCA, NCC about addiction. Addiction is something that I am not very knowledgeable about given the population I work with, so I was excited to talk with Emily-Christine about her knowledge and expertise in the field. Emily-Christine discusses what addiction is, as well as some misconceptions about addiction. She discusses how addiction goes beyond the traditional drugs and alcohol that we think of and how addiction can show up i...
Nov 09, 2020•49 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss the impact of chronic illness on mental health and the bidirectionality between mental health disorders and chronic illness. I start by defining what a chronic illness is and discuss the impact of chronic illness on mental health, specifically in the areas of depression and anxiety. I also talk about medical trauma, what it is and how it manifests, both for those with chronic illness and those who experienced an acute illness or injury. Finally, I concl...
Nov 02, 2020•29 min
In today’s episode of Psych Talk I speak with Eli Weinstein, LMSW (my first male guest!!) on men’s mental health. Eli has a special interest and expertise in men’s mental health and discusses why it is important to carve out a space specifically for men in the mental health realm. Eli speaks to the fact that men tend to not seek out therapy as frequently as women, as well as societal expectations of how men are taught to handle and express emotions, which led to a great conversation about stigma...
Oct 26, 2020•44 min
