A Little Help For Our Friends

Message us here! A common question we get is "what to do with the Fox News dad?" In other words, how do we maintain our relationships with our loved ones during this time of social divide and polarization? In this episode, we discuss these issues with Jared Glenn, who evolved from a life as a professional fighter to a historian, academic, writer, and advocate for youth through the All St...

Message us here! Do you or your loved ones obsess about being in the right relationship or being with the right partner? Although those questions are very common in every relationship, at an extreme level could be considered relationship obsessive-compulsive disorder (ROCD). ROCD is an understudied and relatively new form of obsessive-compulsive disorder that can interfere with intimacy or relatio...

Message us here! ASMR, or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, is a tingling, pleasurable sensation you can get from listening to certain sounds or visuals. This mysterious and curious phenomenon has inspired an explosion of internet communities and resources in recent years, with some notable mental health benefits. For this episode, we discuss this growing trend with ASMR content creator Danny...

Message us here! We feel guilty when we do something wrong, driving us to fix it, apologize or repair. Sounds great, doesn't it? As helpful as guilt can be sometimes, extreme levels or pathological guilt can drive symptoms of many mental health issues such as OCD, depression, PTSD or prolonged grief. In this episode, we discuss what guilt is, what pathological levels of guilt look like, and t...

Message us here! We're all familiar with disgust as the feeling of our stomach churning or scrunching our noses at the sight of something gross, but does this feeling lead to mental health issues? In this episode, we discuss how disgust may play an important role in many psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, OCD and even trauma. We also discuss the different types of disgust and strategies t...

Message us here! Do you ever feel a little embarrassed when you do something foolish? Or do you ever feel so deeply ashamed of yourself that you hide from the world or lash out at others? These are different levels of shame, which can sometimes cause serious problems in your identity and relationships. In extreme forms, shame can be the core of borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this episod...

Message us here! Pregnancy is a wild ride of physical transformations, swells of emotion, and confusing hormones. So many changes can be taxing for mental health, both for the mother to be and her social support system. In this episode, we discuss Kibby's first pregnancy journey and the research on the mental health issues and treatment for pregnancy. We also share tips for partners and loved...

Message us here! Have you been knocking back a few too many glasses of Chardonnay these days? You're not alone. Especially after the pandemic, many people have noticed that they or their loved ones have started drinking a little too much alcohol (or indulging in other drugs) and want to cut down. However, sometimes "just stopping" isn't as easy as it sounds. In this episode, Ja...

Message us here! Is it possible to suddenly remember if you've been abused? We discuss this highly controversial topic with Dr. Jonathan Schooler, a distinguished professor in the Psychological and Brain Sciences department at University of California Santa Barbara. As one of the only researchers brave enough to tackle this topic, Dr. Schooler describes his work on memories of abuse and other...

Message us here! Do you have emotions you struggle with, like intense sadness, anxiety and anger that can get you into trouble? Sometimes when we have intense emotions, we can act in ways that can even make the situation worse, like getting into arguments or running away from a situation. To follow up on our CBT skills series, we discuss strategies for changing these unhealthy emotional patterns....

Message us here! The thoughts running through our mind shape the way we see the world, other people, and ourselves. But what if the way we think keeps us stuck or unhappy? In this episode, we talk about the different ways cognitive behavioral therapists have changed the way patients think and rewire negative thought patterns. We also list several common "thinking traps," or thought patte...

Message us here! When some people suffer from so many different psychological problems and disorders at the same time, how can they get the biggest bang out of their buck in therapy? Clinical psychology has shifted into a "transdiagnostic approach," which focuses research and treatment on psychological problems that tie together separate disorders. In this episode, we describe one new tr...

Message us here! Bipolar disorder can be a serious and debilitating illness that swings from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. The expansive energy, lack of sleep, increase in impulsive and unusual behavior, and all around changes in character of someone in a manic episode can be especially alarming to loved ones. In this episode, we decode bipolar disorder and how to tell if someone i...

Message us here! Scrolling through Instagram, you might be showered with advice from mental health influencers to "just practice self-care" and "love yourself." But what does that even mean anyway? In this short and sweet episode, we delve into the definition of self-care and what that actually looks like from a clinical psychology perspective. We draw upon the principles of Be...

Message us here! *Note: We uploaded the wrong audio file initially, but the issue has been resolved! Sorry for the inconvenience. Following our episodes on relationships, we wanted to do an in-depth exploration of "f*ckboy" or "f*ckgirl" behavior. F*ckpeople are those who have difficulty committing to someone else romantically, sometimes hurting or leading on other people in th...

Message us here! Do you or someone you love have thoughts, images or urges that keep coming back even when they're not wanted? Or have to do something over and over, like checking something or counting up to a certain number? If so, this episode is for you: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In this episode, we describe the diagnosis and different types of OCD, the theory behind how it deve...

Message us here! For this episode, Sydney Lotuaco from ABC's The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise and host of podcast Something to Share joins us to discuss  the many changes in her career. As a trained dancer, Sydney describes how her career became her identity, which faced a crisis during the pandemic. She also describes the toll it took on her mental health and her path to healing. Check...

Message us here! Ever wonder what makes people attracted to each other? Or why you may be attracted to the "wrong person"? Or why you feel feel that spark of sexual chemistry with some people and not others? In this episode, Jacqueline and Kibby discuss the principles of attraction from a scientific perspective. As a bonus, Jacqueline describes her recent engagement and how ABC's Th...

Message us here! Grief after losing a loved one can be overwhelming for both the individual and the friends and family who want to support them. When offering condolences to someone grieving, people often don't know how to say the "right" thing or even know how to help in this situation with no quick fix. We delve into the experience of grief through the lens of Kibby's loss in...

Message us here! We have something very special for our 50th episode: an interview with Sarah Edmondson, the actress and podcast host who escaped Nxivm. Featured on HBO's The Vow , Nxivm is a group organization that claims to be a personal and professional development program, but has been discovered as a cult that recruits for a secret society called "DOS" in which women are sexual...

Message us here! Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a range of conditions marked by different social skills, communication, and repetitive behaviors. Naturally, the social challenges inherent in this disorder can be difficult for loved ones of people with ASD. Dr. Catherine Jones, a research psychologist and director of the Wales Autism Research Center joins us to describe the signs and symptoms of...

Message us here! Claustrophobia, arachnophobia, aerophobia, trypophobia may all sound like chorus members of a Greek tragedy, but actually describe different types of a common psychological disorder: Specific phobias. In this episode, we discuss what phobias are, how they develop, and how they are treated with cognitive behavioral therapies. Kibby and Jacqueline also share funny examples of phobia...

Message us here! We continue our deep dive into ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) by talking to an expert, Dr. Jessica Stern, who is a clinical assistant professor and psychologist at New York University. Dr. Stern shares her insights working with adults with ADHD, including strategies to manage ADHD symptoms, tips for loved ones, and treatment approaches. Support the show If you&apo...

Message us here! This episode was highly requested after our first ADHD episode in Season 1. Having a child with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder can be especially challenging for parents. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Julia Schechter, a child and family clinical psychologist at Duke University about how parents can best support their children with ADHD. She gives an overview of ADHD i...

Message us here! For our final episode in our mini relationships series, we discuss divorce. Although almost half of marriages in the United States end in separation or divorce, but we rarely expect to go through it ourselves or plan how we would cope with it. Kibby shares her personal experiences coping with divorce and we share tips and recent research on the impact of divorce on mental health....