In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Deana Kahle, LMFT about first responder mental health. Deana discusses her journey into specializing with first responders and describes the current landscape of mental health for law enforcement officers and other first responders. We discuss the unique experiences and contributing factors that play a role in first responder mental health and the primary challenges and barriers first responders face when it comes to receiving mental health care. We d...
Mar 04, 2024•53 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Kelly Minter, LMHC about religious trauma and recovery in the queer community. Kelly shares how she came to specialize in religious trauma and recovery, specifically within the LGBTQIA+ community. Kelly defines what religious trauma is and various ways that it may show up for individuals. She speaks on the unique challenges that LGBTQIA+ individuals face when it comes to religion, as well as how growing up in a high demand religion impacts the coming ...
Feb 26, 2024•55 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Pam Covarrubias, a podcaster, speaker, and coach, about Calladita Culture. Pam discusses what Calladita Culture is - part of the system that has kept women small, quiet, and unaccomplished - and describes how root of Calladita Culture is Machismo and Marianismo as taught in Latin America. We discuss how these messages are passed down to women and girls of various cultures, the impact of these messages on mental health, and how these messages are damag...
Feb 19, 2024•51 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss managing suicidal crises, both for mental health clinicians as well as lay people who may be in a situation in which their loved one is suicidal. I define what I mean by a suicidal crisis and discuss warning signs that may indicate a person is experiencing suicidality. I discuss the steps that clinicians may take when a client is actively suicidal, while also highlighting the importance of any clinician listening to reach out to their direct supervisor...
Feb 12, 2024•35 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Blakely Hunze-Austin, LPC, NCC about sex therapy. We discuss her journey into becoming a sex therapist, who can benefit from sex therapy, reasons people may seek out sex therapy, and what sex therapy encompasses. We discuss common misconceptions about sex therapy and Blakely provides tips on how to overcome fear and shame about intimacy difficulties and going to sex therapy. We discuss mental health concerns that may impact sex, intimacy, and vulnerab...
Feb 05, 2024•49 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Linda Meier Abdelsayed, LMFT about high achieving women transitioning into motherhood. Linda discusses how she came to specialize in working with high achieving mothers and many challenges that high achieving women face when transitioning into motherhood. We discuss what a "default parent" is and their role, the concept of not feeling like mothers are doing enough, and why previously helpful coping and stress management skills do not seem to always w...
Jan 29, 2024•48 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss South Carolina House Bill 4624, entitled "Gender Reassignment Procedures". If you are not in South Carolina, I hope you listen to this episode and are able to take something away from it, as 321 anti-transgender bills have already been proposed across the United States in 2024. I give a brief overview of the bill, the problems with the bill, and how it will affect trans individuals, medical professionals, and mental health professions. I provide some r...
Jan 22, 2024•42 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Dr. David Rosmarin, PhD, license clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School Professor, founder of the Center for Anxiety, and author of Thriving with Anxiety: 9 Tools to Make your Anxiety Work for You . Dr. Rosmarin discusses his journey to specializing in anxiety and what led him to publish his recent book. He talks about what anxiety is and how it is different from other related emotions such as fear. Further, we discuss the r...
Jan 15, 2024•48 min
Happy 2024! In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss how to be mindful and intentional in the new year. So many of us set resolutions, goals, or intentions for the new year and find ourselves giving up on them within the first weeks or months of the year. This is often because the goals we set are too big or too broad, we don't have a plan for implementing them, they do not align with our values, or they don't allow for flexibility, among many other reasons. Thus I discuss how being mindful of...
Jan 01, 2024•40 min
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Instead of releasing a new episode today I wanted to use this as an opportunity to wish everyone happy holidays, whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, another holiday, or no holidays at all. I also wanted to thank everyone for continuing to listen to Psych Talk week after week, as this podcast would not be here without you all. If you want to listen to previous episodes related to mental health and the holiday season, feel free to listen to Ep...
Dec 25, 2023•4 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Lauren Ruth Martin, LPC about burnout and burnout recovery. Lauren first discusses why she is so passionate in discussing burnout and burnout recovery and defines for listeners what burnout is. Lauren answers the question "Can we truly prevent burnout?" and how we can start recovering from burnout. Lauren discusses how perfectionism and burnout are related, realistic self-care when it comes to burnout recovery, as well as how utilizing self-compassion...
Dec 18, 2023•53 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Eleanor Ezell, LCSW about selective mutism and integrating values work into family therapy. Eleanor discusses her journey into working with children and families, as well as her passion for doing so. She discusses selective mutism, what it is, causes of it, misconceptions, as well as treatment options. Eleanor then shares why she believes values work is so important in therapy, especially when working with families and shares how integrating values wo...
Dec 11, 2023•54 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Elyce Mandich, LCSW about transitioning out of the public sector of mental health to the private sector. Elyce discusses her journey to becoming a social worker and the various settings she has worked in, including child protective services, the school system, and private practice. Elyce discusses both the benefits and challenges of working in the public sector of mental health, both for clinicians and those receiving services. Similarly, Elyce discus...
Dec 04, 2023•52 min
The holidays are often a joyous time for many people surrounded by friends and family; however, for those who are grieving, the holidays can be an extremely difficult time. In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss navigating grief during the holiday season. First, I talk about what grief is and why it may be worse for individuals during the holiday season. Then I discuss what not to do when grieving during the holidays, as well as many things individuals can do to help cope with their grief an...
Nov 27, 2023•28 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. McKenna Hereford about health and mental health disparities in a variety of marginalized populations. Dr. Mac shares her journey to becoming interested in and researching mental health disparities and some of the common mental health and healthcare disparities that people may be aware of. We then dive deeper in discussing disparities in various racial and ethnic groups, as well a disparities faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. Dr. Mac discusses the u...
Nov 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I welcome back Gabby Morreale, LPC, a licensed therapist specializing in eating disorders and currently transitioning into maternal mental health. Gabby and I have a raw and honest conversation about postpartum body image. Gabby describes many of the struggles individuals face in the postpartum period when it comes to their body and body image, as well as societal messages that individuals receive about their postpartum body. Gabby spends a lot of time discussing...
Nov 13, 2023•49 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Elizabeth Easton, licensed clinical psychologist, about self-care and mental health during the holidays. Elizabeth talks about why it is important to prioritize self-care during the holidays and typical mental health struggles that many of us face. Elizabeth talks about navigating grief during the holidays, managing stress, boundary setting, and how to manage expectations. Further, she discusses the importance of routine and engaging in the ritual...
Nov 06, 2023•40 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Lucy Leibowitz, PhD who is a licensed psychologist who specializes in pediatric psychology. Dr. Lucy discusses what initially got her interested in medical anxiety and procedural preparation and discusses some of the common medical procedures that individuals have anxiety about. She discusses how anxiety around medical procedures may present in children, teens, and adults, as well as the consequences of this anxiety. Dr. Lucy discusses how common ...
Oct 30, 2023•45 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Jess Sprengle, LPC a licensed therapist specializing in eating disorders, queer and trans affirming care, and neuro-affirming care. Jess discusses her journey to working with these populations and provides a brief overview of various eating disorders. Jess then provides listeners with information about eating disorders specifically in queer and neurodivergent populations and unique challenges that queer and neurodivergent individuals face when it come...
Oct 23, 2023•46 min
If you are listening to this episode in real time, you are likely aware of everything currently occurring between Israel and Palestine. I do not have ties to Israel or Palestine, nor do I feel I am the right person to be at the forefront of this conversation - we need to be listening to and learning from those who are directly impacted. However, regardless if if you are Jewish, Muslim, have ties to Palestine or Israel, or do not, seeing the news and media coverage is likely negatively impacting ...
Oct 16, 2023•22 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Maria Atkinson, LCSW all about trauma. We discuss her journey to becoming a licensed clinical social worker specializing in trauma, what the phrase "trauma is stored in your body" really means, and the mind-body connection when it comes to trauma. Maria discusses what mindfulness is, how it can be beneficial for individuals who have experienced trauma, and guides listeners through a Safe Space meditation. Additionally, Maria discusses how breath work...
Oct 09, 2023•42 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss grief therapists and other mental health professionals experience after the death of a client. This is not something readily talked about in graduate school or that mental health professionals are necessarily prepared for. I discuss the unique challenges therapists face when it comes to grief, how many of us do not feel we can grieve in "traditional ways" (e.g. attend funerals), ethics surrounding attending end of life traditions, as well as my own exp...
Oct 02, 2023•33 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss interventions for suicidal behavior. I discuss primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention for suicidal behavior, screening and risk assessment, and means restriction. I further discuss psychotherapy interventions that are effective in reducing suicidal behavior, as well as suicide-specific interventions that can be used as an adjunct to treatment as usual. Lastly, I finish with discussing care, monitoring, and follow up after a suicide attempt. Resourc...
Sep 25, 2023•39 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Z, a licensed clinical psychologist, about chronic suicidality. Dr. Z first discusses the spectrum of suicidality, as well as the difference between passive and active suicidal thoughts. We discuss chronic suicidality vs. acute suicidality, as well as some interventions used to manage chronic suicidality. Dr. Z discusses what both clinicians and non-professionals can do to help someone who is experiencing chronic suicidality, as well as provides h...
Sep 18, 2023•53 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Lauren Cook, licensed psychologist, speaker, and author, specializing in millennial and Gen Z mental health. Dr. Lauren is the author of the book Generation Anxiety in which she discusses why Millennials and Gen Zers are the most anxious generations. We discuss the unique challenges that millennials and Gen Z are facing and how to cope with anxiety in the face of these stressors that are mostly out of our control. Dr. Lauren also discusses what an...
Sep 11, 2023•47 min
September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month with World Suicide Prevention Day falling on September 10th. In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss 988 - the three digit number for the United States' national crisis and suicide lifeline. 988 became the new number for the hotline in July 2022, replacing the old 10 digit phone number in hopes of increasing ease of remembering the number in a crisis. In this episode I explain what 988 is, what happens when you call, text, or chat w...
Sep 04, 2023•32 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Khalida Himes, LCSW a school social worker, speaker, and content creator. Khalida shares her journey to becoming a school social worker and why she is so passionate about working with students. We discuss the role of a school social worker, as well as misconceptions about what school social workers do. Khalida shares insights about the mental health and other challenges our students are currently facing, including challenges of returning to school aft...
Aug 28, 2023•42 min
We have officially hit 150 episode of Psych Talk! Thank you to everyone who has tuned in, whether you have been here from the beginning or are a new listener, I appreciate every single one of you. For this episode, I am doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything). From questions about repressed memories, major life changes, phobias, and asexuality, to finding out if I still wear that lobster onesie I got in Maine, I answer your questions from IG, Threads, and TikTok. Thank you for 150 episodes, and here is t...
Aug 21, 2023•45 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Z a licensed clinical psychologist who works psychiatric inpatient. Dr. Z discusses the multidisciplinary approach to psychiatric inpatient care, the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach for both the team and the patient, as well as the challenges to working in an inpatient hospital setting. Dr. Z addresses the misconceptions about inpatient psychiatric care, as well as reasons in while someone may enter an inpatient level of care. Further, Dr...
Aug 14, 2023•55 min
In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss the rise of "therapy speak" or the use of therapy-related or mental health words and phrases in every talk. Although "therapy speak" is not innately bad, there is a lot of misuse of common certain terms, which can have negative consequences such as intentionally or unintentionally spreading misinformation, undermining the experiences of those who actually have experienced these things, or breakdowns in communication or relationships. In this episode I d...
Aug 07, 2023•55 min
