Brainwaves by Opus

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we’re joined by Molly Halbrooks, founder of Restore Counseling & Therapy in Belmont, North Carolina. Molly shares her journey from solo private practice to building a small group practice and why community matters, both for clients and therapists. We dive deep into trauma therapy, including why Molly chose EMDR, how it works in plain language, and why so...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, Shawn Rickenbacker sits down with Mark Nolte, co-founder and CEO of Start Talking, a virtual therapy platform helping people access counseling through secure remote sessions. Mark shares how his own experience seeking help for depression revealed a major barrier: the fear of being seen, judged, or stigmatized. That insight sparked Start Talking’s mission to m...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we’re joined by Nafisa Obi, licensed speech-language pathologist and co-founder of Essential Speech & ABA Therapy. What began as a single outpatient speech therapy clinic in 2017 evolved into a multidisciplinary autism care model offering speech, occupational, and ABA therapy under one roof. Nafisa shares how fragmented care was burning out families and c...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Alex Kurian, co-founder of NuroCoach, to explore why so many patients feel stuck cycling through the same mental health treatments, and how NuroCoach is working to change that. Drawing from his own experience as a patient, Alex shares how repeated medication adjustments and disconnected care models often fail to address underlying trauma and...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Brian Tierney, Executive Director of Cura West in Denver, part of the Guardian Recovery Network. Brian shares his journey from property management into addiction treatment, driven by his own long-term recovery and a desire to help others. Over the past decade, he’s worked his way up from entry-level roles to leading one of Colorado’s top deto...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Tim Lewandowski, CEO of MindLab, a tech-for-good company launched from the Mental Health Association of San Francisco. Tim shares how MindLab was created to bridge nonprofit mission with scalable technology, bringing evidence-based mental health tools to people worldwide without geographic barriers. We explore Pocket Kado, MindLab’s first pro...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Jennie Marie Battistin, LMFT, trauma specialist, author of Mindfulness for Teens in 10 Minutes a Day, and founder of Hope Therapy Center, a multi-location practice integrating EMDR, brainspotting, psychiatry, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Jennie Marie explains the neuroscience of trauma, why memories become “stuck” in the amygdala, and ho...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus , we sit down with Robyn Pendleton, LCSW , a clinician whose work spans foster care, shelters, community mental health, and culturally responsive trauma therapy. Robyn brings a rare blend of clinical experience, cultural perspective, and personal healing — including her own journey reframing and expanding beyond domestic violence — to help individuals break cy...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Wade Muhlhauser, Founder and CEO of Plugged In Recovery, a rapidly growing recovery organization in Scottsdale, Arizona that is redefining what compassionate, client-centered addiction treatment looks like. Wade shares his powerful personal journey, from two decades of opioid addiction and homelessness to building one of Arizona’s most innova...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus , we sit down with Cody Palmer , Director of Business Development at Team Recovery Technologies , a company helping addiction treatment programs strengthen alumni engagement through technology and community. Cody shares his personal journey from construction to behavioral health, how a family crisis led him into recovery, and how Team Recovery’s tech platform...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Craig Aasved, CEO of Shodair Children’s Hospital, Montana’s only psychiatric facility dedicated exclusively to children and adolescents. Craig shares how Shodair is redefining youth mental health care in a rural state, expanding beyond inpatient services to include outpatient clinics, school-based therapy programs, and telehealth to reach kid...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Andy Flanagan, CEO of Iris Telehealth, a leading telepsychiatry company connecting patients to licensed mental health providers across the U.S. Andy shares lessons from his career leading startups and global enterprises, from scaling Iris fivefold since 2020, to fostering culture and accountability, to reimagining telehealth as a seamless par...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Andy Flanagan, CEO of Iris Telehealth, a leading telepsychiatry company connecting patients to licensed mental health providers across the U.S. Andy shares lessons from his career leading startups and global enterprises, from scaling Iris fivefold since 2020, to fostering culture and accountability, to reimagining telehealth as a seamless par...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we talk with Karri Francisco, Executive Director of Telehealth at All Points North (APN), one of the most innovative and outcomes-driven behavioral health organizations in the country. Karri shares how APN built an integrated model connecting detox, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, IOP, and outpatient services into one coordinated continuum of...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Dr. Michael Barnes, counselor, educator, and clinical leader at The Foundry Treatment Center and The Michael Barnes Family Institute. Dr. Barnes shares his decades of experience helping families navigate trauma and addiction, and why lasting recovery requires healing not just the individual, but the entire family system. Topics include: -How...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Jennifer Chase, Life Coach and Founder of Rise Addiction Life Coaching. Jennifer shares her extraordinary story of transformation, from growing up in a family marked by addiction and trauma, to battling her own opioid dependence, to watching her son face the same struggle. Today, she helps families heal generational patterns and find peace, e...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus , we sit down with Michelle Walters, Clinical Hypnotherapist and creator of Make My Hypno, an AI-assisted platform that delivers personalized hypnosis recordings in minutes. Michelle shares her journey from corporate marketing into clinical hypnotherapy, how COVID pushed her to pursue a purpose-driven career change, and what inspired her to merge her love of t...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Ajita Shah, LPC, ACS, PMH-C, founder of Innerspace Counseling, and Melissa Maranzano, Administrative Director. Together, they share how they built a trauma-informed, female-led practice in New Jersey offering PHP and IOP programs for children, adolescents, and adults. Ajita and Melissa discuss their personal journeys in behavioral health, the...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Bill Bailey, President and CEO of Cenikor Foundation, one of the most respected nonprofit recovery organizations in the U.S. Bill shares how Cenikor grew from serving fewer than 1,000 people a year in 2004 to over 15,000 individuals annually today, without ever losing sight of its mission. From blending lived experience with formal education,...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus , Humberto sits down with Greg Vorst (therapist) and Michael Nolan (certified addiction counselor in long-term recovery), co-founders of Embodied Recovery in California. Greg and Michael share how their personal experiences in recovery, one through addiction, one through spiritual seeking, shaped their mission to build a treatment center that treats the whole...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with James Granger, COO of Southeastern Integrated Care, to explore what it really means to treat the whole person, blending mental health, primary care, and even unconventional therapies to improve lives in rural North Carolina. James shares his unique journey from hospitality into healthcare leadership and how that background shaped his servant...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Nick Howell, CEO of Northern Illinois Recovery, to explore what it really takes to build sustainable, community-based recovery care. Nick shares his journey from corporate healthcare into behavioral health leadership, weaving in his own recovery story and the operational lessons he’s applied to grow a local treatment center into a nationally...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, Humberto Buniotto sits down with Tom Sauer: A former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer and now the Co-Founder and CEO of MacArthur Group. Tom shares his personal journey from losing his father to addiction, serving in some of the most high-stakes military environments, and ultimately building a network of veteran-focused mental health and addiction pro...

In this episode of Brainwaves by Opus, we sit down with Heather Signorelli, a board-certified pathologist, healthcare executive, and founder of NatRevMD. With experience managing lab services for nearly 200 hospitals and building a thriving medical billing company, Heather brings a unique perspective on fixing what’s broken in the business side of healthcare. We talk about why too many practices i...