Therapy in a Nutshell - podcast cover

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdamtinpodcast.podbean.com
I’m Emma McAdam, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and my mission is to make mental health resources more easy to access. I take therapy skills and psychological research and condense them down into bite-sized nuggets of help.

I’m here to spread the message that while mental illness is real, it’s common, it’s debilitating, it’s also treatable. There are dozens of research-backed approaches to treating depression, anxiety, and other mental illness. Change, growth, and healing are possible. Please keep courage! Try one little thing every day to improve your life and health and things can get so much better!

Therapy in a Nutshell, and the information provided by Emma McAdam, is solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and is not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

Therapy in a Nutshell and it’s logo are Registered Trademarks of Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
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Episodes

How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Want to learn how to stop comparing yourself to others? Jealousy is often seen as negative, but you can learn to deal with jealousy through curiosity and values work. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Jealousy and envy are emotions we all feel, especially when we get stuck in comparison—seeing someone confident or attractive and instantly wondering what’s wrong with us. But jealousy isn’t a flaw; it’s a messenger. I...

Jan 23, 202616 minEp. 227

The Neuroscience of ADHD and Emotional Dysregulation

If you have ADHD and your emotions feel overwhelming, fast, or hard to control—you’re not broken, lazy, or “too sensitive.” In this episode of Therapy in a Nutshell, I explain the brain science behind ADHD and emotional dysregulation—including delayed prefrontal cortex development, dopamine and norepinephrine differences, rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), and why emotions can hit before your “brakes” have time to turn on. Up to 70% of people with ADHD struggle with emotional regulation, and t...

Jan 15, 202631 minEp. 235

High-Functioning Depression w/ Research Psychiatrist Dr. Judith Joseph

High Functioning Depression looks like coping with depression by keeping busy and distracting yourself with overwork. Learn 5 ways to overcome depression in this interview w/ Dr. Judith Joseph Learn the skills to regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Learn more about Dr. Judith's work and book: https://drjudithjoseph.com/ https://highfunctioningbook.com/ In this conversation, Dr. Judith Joseph discusses high functioning depression, a condi...

Jan 13, 202626 minEp. 234

Is Choline the Missing Link in Anxiety? Let’s Look at the Data

New research shows people with anxiety have lower choline in the brain. What choline does and is choline a good supplement for anxiety Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Break the Anxiety Cycle in 30 days: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/anxietyskills New neuroscience research suggests that people with anxiety disorders have lower levels of choline in the brain compared to those without anxiety. In this video ...

Jan 08, 202615 minEp. 233

The Life-Changing Power of Making Repairs w/ Dr. Sarah Michaud

Making amends, making repairs is even more powerful than self forgiveness or self-compassion. When you learn to fix the harms you've caused you can truly find emotional freedom. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Where to find Dr. Sarah Michaud https://www.youtube.com/@leavingcrazytown https://drsarahmichaud.com/ Ted Talk: Our story of rape and reconciliation - Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger https://www.youtube.com/wa...

Jan 01, 20261 hr 11 minEp. 232

How to Actually Change Your Life- You Need a System, Not a Goal

top relying on goals that fail. Learn how tiny habits, systems, and 1% improvements create real, lasting change for mental health, motivation, and daily life. Join the 31-day Emotion Processing challenge: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/htpe-30-skills-in-30-days-landing-page-1 Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Tired of setting big goals on Monday and giving up by Wednesday? In this video, you’ll learn why goa...

Dec 25, 202515 minEp. 231

Medical Trauma - How to heal when your body is a trigger w/ Dr. Christen Mullane

Many people experience trauma not from accidents or violence—but from medical events. ICU stays, surgery, birth trauma, or even routine procedures can leave lasting emotional wounds. In this conversation, Emma McAdam (Therapy in a Nutshell) and Christen Mullane, LMHC, unpack what medical trauma really is, how it differs from medical PTSD , and practical ways to heal. Christen explains how medical experiences can damage trust in your body and in healthcare systems, why “health anxiety” is sometim...

Dec 24, 202547 minEp. 223

7 Micro Habits to Escape the Freeze Response - Polyvagal Tools for Depression & Burnout

7 micro habits to escape the freeze response, climb the polyvagal ladder, boost energy, heal burnout, and get unstuck from dorsal vagal shutdown and depression. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership If you feel sluggish, numb, depressed, or burnt out, your nervous system might be stuck in the freeze response. In this video, I’ll teach you 7 tiny habits that activate energy, restore safety, and help your body move up the...

Dec 18, 202521 minEp. 229

Mapping your Parts- This IFS Exercise Can Help You Heal Trauma

Mapping your parts is a powerful exercise from Internal Family Systems IFS to heal from trauma Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Today we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to do an exercise from Internal Family Systems called “Mapping your Parts”. In IFS we come to see our different feelings, inner voices, thoughts, urges or habits as “parts” that interact like an internal family. Because when...

Dec 12, 202517 minEp. 219

The Freeze, Appease or Fawn Response to Sexual Violence

Your nervous system has a built-in Freeze and Appease response to manage the threat of sexual assault, aka the Fawn response. Learn to forgive yourself and train to respond differently. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership When someone experiences sexual harassment or sexual assault, their body often doesn’t react the way they expect. Instead of fighting or running, they might freeze, fawn, or appease—smiling, complyin...

Dec 04, 202520 minEp. 228

What is IFS? No Bad Parts Book Summary - Trauma Therapy

Book summary of No Bad Parts written by Richard Schwartz, it's an introduction to Internal Family Systems model aka IFS Therapy. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth...

Nov 28, 202527 minEp. 222

How to "Lean In" to Feelings - Anxiety Meditation w/ Thomas McConkie

Have you ever felt more anxious when you've tried to calm down? Learn how to lean in to feelings with acceptance and meditation expert Thomas McConkie. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Check out Thomas' School: https://lowerlightswisdom.org/ Learn how to lean in to your feelings, how to sit with them and accept emotions with this exercise and debrief with Thomas McConkie, mindfulness and mediation expert. Many peop...

Nov 21, 202531 minEp. 226

Rebuilding Healthy Attachment Relationships after Childhood Trauma or CPTSD

Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Childhood trauma doesn’t just live in your memories—it rewires how you show up in relationships. If you’ve ever panicked when someone leaves your text on read, overshared on a first date, or pulled away when closeness feels scary, you’re not alone. These patterns are often rooted in attachment wounds from early experiences of neglect, control, or fear. In this video, we explore how ...

Nov 14, 202517 minEp. 225

Why do I feel so numb? Why can't I cry? Working through Emotional Numbing and Dissociation

Emotional numbing and dissociation is often a response to trauma, grief or loss. You might feel empty, dead inside, or like you can't cry. Numbness is a common symptom of PTSD. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership check out our free course Grounding Skills for Stress, Anxiety and PTSD: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd/?utm_medium=YTDescription&utm_source=YouTube Fu...

Nov 07, 202515 minEp. 220

Trauma Fueled Nightmares and Night Terrors with PTSD

Learn how to stop nightmares and night terrors in adults, understand PTSD-related sleep issues, and get practical treatment tips for better rest and recovery. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership What’s the difference between nightmares and night terrors—and how do you stop them, especially in adults? In this video, we break down nightmares vs night terrors, including how they relate to PTSD, trauma, and stress. Learn ...

Oct 31, 202513 minEp. 198

Improving Body Image w/ a Somatic Approach, and Deb Schachter

Let's talk about body image and how to stop comparing yourself to other in this interview with author Deb Schachter. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Rethinking Body Image from a Somatic Perspective with Deb Schachter Most of us try to fix body image by changing how we look — dieting, working out harder, or comparing ourselves to others. But what if real healing starts on the inside? In this conversation with somat...

Oct 28, 202547 minEp. 218

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker -Book Summary about Healing Childhood Trauma

Childhood trauma can turn into CPTSD which has pervasive symptoms throughout your life, but you can learn to heal from childhood trauma. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Emotional Flashbacks video: https://youtu.be/oVLHysMGi8o?si=oJZy76o957LNranw Relationships after Childhood Trauma: Coming soon Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker is a compassionate, practical guide for understanding and healing...

Oct 24, 202525 minEp. 213

6 Deep and Lasting Ways to Improve Your Self-Esteem

Boost self-esteem with 6 practices to transform self-talk, build self-worth, and align your life with purpose, integrity, and authentic confidence. 👉 Download my free Values Clarification exercise here: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/opt-in-2123fb37-7322-4208-a65a-2b135a653d47 Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Low self-esteem can feel like being stuck in a cycle of negative self-talk—rehashing mistakes, bea...

Oct 17, 202516 minEp. 214

Connectability with Anna Runkle

How to have healthy relationships after CPTSD or Childhood Trauma. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership You can learn how to build healthy relationships after childhood trauma or CPTSD. Today we talk with Anna Runkle, creator of Crappy Childhood Fairy about how to work through relationships when you desperately need people but you're tired of being hurt. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp,...

Oct 14, 202550 minEp. 217

Restoring your Internal Sense of Safety after Trauma w/ CPTSD Expert Dr. Arielle Schwartz

Let's dive into how to feel safe again after Childhood Trauma, aka CPTSD, Complex PTSD, using a somatic and polyvagal lens. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Check out Dr. Schwartz' online course here- Strengthen Vagal Tone & Transform Trauma Through Somatic Practices & Spiritual Integration | Upcoming 6 month Immersion Course | Begins 11/11/25 : https://shiftnetwork.isrefer.com/go/rnshrEM/a27571/ Building N...

Oct 10, 20251 hr 5 minEp. 216

Armoring - How Trauma Gets Embodied as Tension, Chronic Pain, Jumpiness or Emotional Walls

When we understand how trauma shows up in the body, armoring is an important aspect. It includes muscle tension, chronic pain, and constant hypervigilance. Learn the skills to regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership FREE Grounding Skills course: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd Resolving Armor with Gabriel Posner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1P82CQ0gxI&list=TLPQMDUwNTIwMjXkG4fwe3LOQ...

Oct 03, 202520 minEp. 215

Healing from Childhood Trauma - w/ Past Tense Author Sacha Mardou

Sacha Mardou wrote/drew an amazing book about healing from childhood trauma and her work in therapy, specifically IFS or Internal Family Systems Therapy. Sacha's website: https://ifscomics.com/ Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Sacha Mardou has a history of a dysfunctional family, childhood trauma and some painful experiences. And she wrote an incredible graphic novel- Past Tense- where she shared her experience goi...

Sep 26, 202541 minEp. 209

A nerdy deep dive into ADHD and Anxiety

Let’s talk about the link between Anxiety and ADHD—how executive function challenges fuel both conditions and how you can improve anxiety with an ADHD approach. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Download the ADHD Anxiety symptom overlap chart: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/pl/2148705851 What is Executive Function: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RoWB8tYLMM Are you ready for a nerdy deep dive into the brain...

Sep 23, 202530 minEp. 212

How to Feel your Feelings: Step-by-Step Exercise and full debrief w/ Thomas McConkie, Mindfulness

Together we're going to do a Meditation for Emotions with Mindfulness Instructor Thomas McConkie. We're going to talk about how to work with the embodiment of emotions and how to create space for all our feelings, even the ones that are painful or frightening. You can learn more about Thomas' classes and workshops here: https://lowerlightswisdom.org/ Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership This exercise we’re about to do ...

Sep 12, 202543 minEp. 207

9 Micro Habits for Self-Regulation of Trauma or Anxiety

Learn daily habits for trauma and anxiety self-regulation, focusing on nervous system regulation and dysregulation to manage stress and PTSD. Free Grounding Skills for Anxiety or PTSD course: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Safe Place visualization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isw37iCwMCg&t=6s Progressive Muscle Relaxation:...

Sep 05, 202519 minEp. 211

Stuck in the Freeze Response? How to convert Toxic Stress into Healthy Action #teamwater

Toxic stress isn’t just having too much to do—it’s getting stuck in the Freeze Response, and this can fuel depression. When overwhelmed by stress, trauma, or global problems, our brain may default to the freeze response—shutting down, avoiding, or numbing out. While this can feel comforting short-term, over time it dysregulates the nervous system, increases cortisol, and fuels anxiety and depression. Stress is meant to mobilize us to act; suppressing that drive makes it toxic. Small, purposeful ...

Aug 29, 202515 minEp. 210

Emotional Flashbacks - 13 Strategies for Childhood Trauma from Pete Walker's book on CPTSD

Learn to manage emotional flashbacks, a key symptom of PTSD and Complex PTSD CPTSD, or Childhood Trauma with these tools from Pete Walker. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Check out the FREE Grounding Skills course here: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd https://www.pete-walker.com/pdf/13strategies_flashbacks_management.pdf Childhood trauma can trigger a different t...

Aug 22, 202518 minEp. 206

When it feels like Anxiety, but it's actually ANGER w/ Dr. Sarah Michaud

Anger can be a hidden root cause of Anxiety. sometimes suppressed anger comes out as anxiety especially when you've been conditioned to believe that anger is unacceptable. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Anger and anxiety are often interconnected, with unprocessed anger manifesting as anxiety. In this conversation, Emma McAdam and Dr. Sarah Michaud explore the intricate relationship between anger and anxiety, shar...

Aug 15, 202551 minEp. 208

Harm OCD - Intrusive Thoughts that I Might Hurt Someone

It’s normal that intrusive thoughts are about things that you consider “Bad” but just having a thought won’t hurt you and it doesn’t mean you’re dangerous. Harm OCD is common. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Course on Managing Intrusive thoughts: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/managing-intrusive-thoughts FREE Clarify Your Values Workbook: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/opt-in-2123fb37-7322-4208-a65...

Aug 07, 202519 minEp. 205

How to Heal from Medical PTSD aka Medical Trauma

Medical trauma can cause PTSD, with signs like fear of doctors, flashbacks, anxiety, avoidance, panic attacks, and emotional numbness after medical experiences. Check out my FREE grounding Skills course here: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd Here's the guide about recognizing distress so you can help to prevent medical trauma: https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//pediatric_toolkit_for_health_care_providers.pdf Learn the skills to...

Jul 25, 202526 minEp. 200
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