Therapy Chat | Psychotherapy | Mindfulness | Trauma | Attachment | Worthiness | Self Care | Parenting

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this week's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C speaks with returning guest Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge. Roseann is the author of multiple books including "Teletherapy Toolkit™". Laura and Roseann discussed the challenges of providing psychotherapy to children using a virtual format and Roseann offered hope and help for therapists and families who are using this medium during the pandemic. Tune in for an interesting discussion that will be helpful for therapists, teachers and parents as we all navigate the way our interpersonal communication has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic which is affecting the United States and the world. Dr. Roseann is a mental health trailblazer, founder of The Global Institute of Children’s Mental Health and Dr. Roseann & Associates, who is, “changing the way we view and treat children’s mental health”. FORBES magazine called her, “A thought leader in children’s mental health”. Her work has helped thousands reverse the most challengin

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this week's episode, recorded prior to the start of the pandemic, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews therapist Dr. Margaret Rutherford, author of the recent book "Perfectly Hidden Depression" and host of the Self Work Podcast. Though the interview took place pre-pandemic, the subject of the discussion is just as timely now, if not more so, with so many people impacted by the mental health effects of the events of 2020. Dr. Margaret Rutherford, a clinical psychologist, has practiced for twenty-six years in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Earning the 2009 Arkansas Private Practitioner of the Year award for her volunteer work at a local free health clinic, she began blogging and podcasting in 2012 to destigmatize mental illness and educate the public about therapy and treatment. With her compassionate and common-sense style, her work can be found at HuffPost, Psych Central, Psychology Today, The Mighty, the Gottman Blog and others. She hosts a weekly podcast, The SelfWork P

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this week's episode, recorded prior to the start of the pandemic, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews therapist Sharon Martin, LCSW, author of the recent book "The CBT Workbook for Perfectionism" and blogger for Psych Central. Though the interview took place pre-pandemic, the subject of the discussion is just as timely now, if not more so, with so many people impacted by the mental health effects of the events of 2020. Sharon and Laura discussed perfectionism and the process of personal growth and change. Sharon Martin, LCSW is a licensed psychotherapist, mental health writer, and media contributor on emotional health and relationships. Her psychotherapy practice, in San Jose, CA, specializes in helping individuals struggling with perfectionism, codependency, and people-pleasing. Her own struggle to feel “good enough”, inspired her passion for helping others learn to accept and love themselves. Sharon writes the popular blog Happily Imperfect for PsychCentral.com

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2 month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat. Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this week's episode, recorded prior to the start of the pandemic, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Dr. Suzy Ross about experiencing transformation through adversity.   Dr. Suzy Ross is the Coordinator of Recreation Therapy at San Jose State University in California. Her primary research examines the underlying archetypal pattern of personal transformation and is the subject of her book, “The Map to Wholeness: Real-life Stories of Crisis, Change, and Reinvention.” Dr. Ross has numerous published articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and has spoken to participants attending local, state, national and international conferences. As a consultant she provides support to healthcare agencies and to individuals in private practice. As a recreational therapist, she specializes in the treatment of women survi

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2 month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat. Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In episode 248, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Scotland and New Zealand-based clinical hypnotherapist and hypnotherapy coach Elisa DiNapoli. Elisa is a musician and performer who loves helping fellow performers overcome performance anxiety with clinical hypnotherapy. If you've wanted to learn more about hypnotherapy, you will want to listen in to this episode, which was recorded back in January, 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world. Elisa Di Napoli has been a full time integrative clinical hypnotherapist since 2001, her practice expanding across New Zealand and Scotland. Her work places a great deal of importance on positive mental health, Neurolinguistic Psychology, and Holistic Coaching. She studied hypnotherapy at the prestigious Hypnotherapy Training Institute of Northern California

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2 month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat. Welcome back to Therapy Chat! Today host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C speaks with Gracy Obuchowicz about self-care from an ayurvedic perspective.  Gracy Obuchowicz is a Washington, DC-based group facilitator, retreat leader and self-care coach. She helps overwhelmed professionals find a deeper work/life balance and live their way into real purpose with strength and ease. Honest and nurturing, Gracy creates healing communities all over the world that activate deep change. Her thoughtful and practical application of self-care techniques continue to evolve and transform many lives. Gracy is a certified Integral Facilitator, a 500-hour registered yoga teacher, and a continuing scholar of Ayurveda. She has led transformational self-care retreats as close as West Virginia and as far away as India and Bali. She has led self-care workshops for the Department of

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2 month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat. Welcome back to Therapy Chat! Today host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C revisits her conversation with Gretchen Schmelzer, PhD about her book Journey Through Trauma: A Trail Guide to the 5-Phase Cycle of Healing Repeated Trauma. Gretchen Schmelzer, PhD is a licensed psychologist, trained as a Harvard Medical School Fellow. She is a trauma survivor, who has worked for twenty-five years with the complex issues of trauma, integration and behavior change across every level of system from individuals, to groups, to large systems and countries, including her role as the expert consultant Frontline for their documentary on Alaskan survivors of priest sexual abuse (aired April 19, 2011). She leads programs using leadership development and trauma-informed emotional intelligence to help communities worldwide engage in the difficult public health issues confronting

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's podcast host Laura Reagan revisits an earlier episode speaking with Deirdre Fay, MSW, LICSW, who integrates trauma and attachment theory with yoga and meditation in embodiment.  The work she does arises out of her life. What she knows is grounded in her own healing as well as rigorous training as a psychotherapist looking for answers and ways to help others navigate the often-difficult terrain of healing trauma and attachment wounds. Deirdre knows what it’s like to make that journey. She did it dealing with her own history of trauma and as she searched for answers to relational and attachment issues. During the course of her life, she was lucky to have lived for six years in a spiritual community [Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health] which surrounded her with a nurturing environment. That experience g

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's podcast host Laura Reagan revisits an earlier episode speaking with Sharon Martin, LCSW. Sharon is a licensed therapist, counselor, and mental health and wellness writer based in San Jose, CA. She has spent 20 years providing counseling, therapy, and clinical supervision. Sharon has built a specialized private practice that reflects her belief that you matter, and you can love yourself, heal, be empowered, speak your truth, and create a life you love. Listen for Sharon’s incredible insights on life, well-being and much more! Resources  https://livewellwithsharonmartin.com Want a cool Therapy Chat t-shirt, sticker or mug? Find them here: https://www.teepublic.com/user/therapychat  Leave me a message via Speakpipe by going to https://therapychatpodcast.com and clicking on the green Speakpipe butto

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's podcast host Laura Reagan revisits her conversation with Dr. Veronique Mead on chronic illness and trauma.  Dr. Veronique Mead integrates the research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), attachment trauma and additional types of adversity as risk factors for autoimmune disease and other chronic illnesses. She shares this emerging new paradigm of disease on her blog Chronic Illness Trauma Studies to inform people living with chronic physical conditions and educate medical and health care professionals. Veronique draws from her background as a family physician and assistant professor, a Master's degree in body-oriented psychotherapy, specialty training in somatically based trauma and perinatal therapies, and applying and exploring these principles on a personal journey of recovery from chronic illness. She lives in Boulder, CO. Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In today's podcast host Laura Reagan revisits an earlier episode speaking to Dr. Gabor Maté. Dr. Maté is the co-founder of Compassion for Addiction, a new non-profit that focuses on addiction. He is also an advisor of Drugs over Dinner. As an author, Dr. Maté has written several bestselling books including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction; When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress; and Scattered Minds: A New Look at the Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder, and co-authored Hold on to Your Kids. His works have been published internationally in twenty languages. For twelve years Dr. Maté worked in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with patients challenged by hard-core drug addiction, mental illness and HIV, including at Vancouver’s Supervised Injection Site. With over 20 years of family practice and palliative care experience and extensive knowledge of the latest findings of leading-edge research, Dr. Maté is a sou

Welcome to episode 241 of the Therapy Chat Podcast with host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. This week's episode features two previous fascinating conversations with Amy Sugeno, LCSW, PLLC. Amy explains that Eco Therapy can take many forms, including animal-assisted (for example, canine and equine) therapies, wilderness therapies, walk and talk therapy, horticulture therapy and clinical eco-therapy in an office, as well as many other possibilities. She explains that this is a depth-oriented type of psychotherapy which can be very powerful. Amy describes how she conducts an eco-therapy session what to wear and what a client can expect overall. She and Laura discuss the power dynamics of the therapy relationship and how Eco Therapy can help create a balance. For the past 10 years, Amy has worked to help people heal from trauma. Most of her work has been with adults and teens affected by interpersonal violence and sexual abuse. Over the years, she has also worked with people struggling with suicidal thoughts, self-har

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this week's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C revisits two of her favourite conversations with Dr Jonice Webb.  Dr. Webb has been a licensed psychologist since 1991, and has worked in a variety of different settings over the course of her career, including a psychiatric emergency service and substance abuse programs.  She has been the Director of several large outpatient clinics.  For the past eight years, she has been enjoying her private practice in Lexington, Massachusetts, specializing in the treatment of couples and families. Dr. Jonice Webb has been interviewed on NPR and over thirty radio shows across the United States and Canada about the topic of her book, Emotional Neglect, and has been quoted as a psychologist expert in the Chicago Tribune. She writes the popular Childhood Emotional Neglect Blog on PsychCentral.com. Over two decades of practicing psychology, Dr. Webb gradually started to see a factor from childhood which weighs upon people as adults.  This facto

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! In this week's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C revisits two of her favourite conversations with Tim Desmond. Tim Desmond is a mindfulness teacher, therapist in private practice, and co-founder of Morning Sun Mindfulness Center in Alstead, NH. He is the author of Self-Compassion in Psychotherapy (W.W. Norton, 2015) and offers training and consultation to therapists around the world, helping them to integrate positive psychology and mindfulness practices into their work. Tim has presented at Yale University, the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy Colloquium, Greater Oregon Behavioral Health Conference, and the International Society for Ethics in Psychology and Psychiatry, as well as to mental health audiences around the country. His writings on mindfulness and positive psychology have appeared in the Psychotherapy Networker and the Mindfulness Bell magazine. Tim was interviewed about self-compassion by the Huffington Post, and writes for major mental health websites s

In episode 238 host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Casey Hersch, LCSW about how energy healing can be a helpful part of healing trauma, chronic pain and chronic illness - when practiced in an ethical manner. Casey shares how consumers can identify safe and unsafe energy healing practices, some of the advantages and pitfalls of using these practices, and how to find an energy worker who is part of a professional organization with ethical standards to protect the public. Casey, a previous guest on Therapy Chat, discusses how energy healing practices have helped her as part of her recovery from trauma and Crohn's disease. Casey Hersch is a licensed clinical social worker, consultant, author, ballroom dancer, and founder of www.lightyoursparkle.life. She specializes in integrative treatment models for chronic illness. She has enhanced her understanding of healing through her studies of holistic treatment modalities. Her own struggles with autoimmune illness (Crohn's disease) and trauma inspire her to hel

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  In today's episode, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews the co-authors of "The Tough Standard: The hard truths about masculinity and violence," Dr. Ronald Levant and Shana Pryor. In this conversation you'll learn about the construct of masculinity and how it impinges upon men and others. Ronald F. Levant, EdD, ABPP, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at The University of Akron; Past President of the American Psychological Association (APA) and APA Division 51; and two-term Editor of APA Division 51’s quarterly journal, Psychology of Men & Masculinities. He has developed and evaluated a number of measures designed to assess a variety of gender constructs. Dr. Levant’s signature contribution has been in establishing the empirical foundation for the “Normative Male Alexithymia” hypothesis. In addition, he developed Alexithymi

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  Welcome back! In this week's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews an expert on workplace culture and its influence on employees. Rajkumari Neogy, the author of "The WIT Factor: Shifting the Workplace Paradigm by Becoming Your Optimal Self," discusses the importance of a workplace environment that makes employees feel a sense of belonging. Rajkumari, who holds a master’s degree in Transformative Leadership Development from the California Institute of Integral Studies describes his experience working at Facebook and other iconic organizations in the Silicon Valley, and why she became a leadership coach based on those experiences. You will hear more about: - How epigenetics factor into creating an inclusive workplace culture - Why leaders should care about "being nice" to their employees - How just as we can rewire our

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  Welcome back! In this week's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews an expert on workplace culture and its influence on employees. Rajkumari Neogy, the author of "The WIT Factor: Shifting the Workplace Paradigm by Becoming Your Optimal Self," discusses the importance of a workplace environment that makes employees feel a sense of belonging. Rajkumar, who holds a master’s degree in Transformative Leadership Development from the California Institute of Integral Studies describes his experience working at Facebook and other iconic organizations in the Silicon Valley, and why she became a leadership coach based on those experiences. You will hear: - How epigenetics factor into creating an inclusive workplace culture - Why leaders should care about "being nice" to their employees - How just as we can rewire our neural pathw

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  In today's episode, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Dr. Jodie Skillicorn, a holistic psychiatrist and author of the new book, "Healing Depression Without Medication: a psychiatrist's guide to balancing mind, body and soul". Jodie explains how trauma plays a role in many psychiatric symptoms and how she works with her partients using medications as a last resort. Tune in for an interesting and thought provoking discussion! Dr. Jodie Skillicorn is an osteopathic physician board certified in Psychiatry and a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. She integrates conventional medical training with evidence-based holistic methods that include breathwork, meditation, yoga, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional Freedom Techniques (E

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, TherapyNotes. Get a 2-month free trial of TherapyNotes by going to www.TherapyNotes.com and using the promo code TherapyChat.  233: Tolerating Discomfort As A White Person Confronting Racism & White Supremacy In this week's episode host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C discusses how the Window of Tolerance and Polyvagal Theory play a role in white people's reactions to confronting our roles in racism. Laura offers "Window of Tolerance 101" to explain hyperarousal and hypoarousal, and how our bodies and brains respond to threats. She describes Deb Dana's Polyvagal Ladder concept as well. Laura reflects upon her own complicity in upholding the systems of oppression that support white supremacy and what she has begun to understand while reading "White Fragility" by Dr. Robin DiAngelo. She reads from an article sharing thoughts of black therapists that are offered to white therapists. She offers resources for white people understanding more and getting