A Mind of Her Own

Dr. Luyi Kathy Zhang, MD has sat with thousands of people and their families in the final moments of their lives, learning from the choices they’ve made and what often goes unsaid. In this episode, she joins Jennifer Reid, MD to talk about caregiver guilt, the “burden of being a burden,” and why she treats self-care less like an indulgence and more like a clinical skill in her daily work. What mak...

Does this sound familiar? “I’m busy all day, but I don’t get anything done. I want something to show for my efforts.” “Everyone in my life is tired of my lateness and unreliability.” “I can’t get motivated unless I’m facing a deadline, and what I produce isn’t as good as it could be.” In this episode of A Mind of Her Own with Jennifer Reid, MD , we hear from adult ADHD expert, J. Russell Ramsay, P...

“Every woman deserves the chance to have a real discussion about hormone therapy — and make whatever decision is right for her. I’m here to give information and answer questions. It’s your body.” — Dr. Jacqueline Riedel The doctor who finally has time for you Dr. Jacqueline Riedel, DO spent 15 years in family medicine where she learned this: women’s hormonal health in midlife was profoundly under-...

What does it take for a single idea to travel from a research lab in New Haven to war zones in Uganda, refugee camps in Malaysia, and clinics across 30 countries and six continents? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Myrna Weissman, one of the most consequential figures in modern psychiatry, to find out. Dr. Weissman co-developed Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) alongside her late husband, Dr....

“Writing meets you where you are. Writing can wrap itself around any situation you bring to it.” - Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, MD In this rich conversation, host Dr. Jennifer Reid welcomes Dr. Carolyn Roy-Bornstein , pediatrician, former nurse, passionate advocate for narrative medicine, and author of A Prescription for Burnout: Restorative Writing for Healthcare Professionals . Together, they explore...

“I don’t think we move past challenging experiences. I think we integrate them into our identities and into the wisdom we carry forward.” -Dr. Rebecca Thompson In Held Together: A Shared Memoir of Motherhood, Medicine, and Imperfect Love , Dr. Rebecca Thompson, family medicine and public health physician, weaves her personal story of life-threatening pregnancy complications into the stories of twe...

“The postpartum brain is brilliant, and we want to nurture that process versus hinder it.” -Dr. Nikki Pensak, PhD, PMH-C In this episode of A Mind of Her Own , Dr. Jennifer Reid, host and author of Guilt Free , sits down with Dr. Nikki Pensak , clinical psychologist, perinatal mental health specialist, and author of Rattled: How to Calm New Mom Anxiety with the Power of the Postpartum Brain ( Pape...

“There’s no such thing as responsible gambling. Remember when we were told to smoke responsibly, and that opiate pain pills aren’t addictive? -Kavita Fischer, MD Several years ago, when Dr. Kavita Fischer downloaded an online betting app, she was just looking for something fun to do with her free time. However, within months she found herself so consumed by online gambling that she was taking out...

“Most of the couples that I spoke with wanted to distance themselves from old-school gender norms, and yet very few were able to achieve balance when it came to the division of this mental work.” — Dr. Allison Daminger If you’ve ever lain awake mentally running through tomorrow’s logistics while your partner sleeps soundly beside you, this episode is for you. Dr. Allison Daminger, sociologist and...

“Honesty doesn’t have to be brutal. Honesty can be compassionate. Honesty can be respectful.” -Dr. Cory Newman Episode Overview In this episode, host Dr. Jennifer Reid sits down with Dr. Cory Newman, PhD to explore how the core principles of cognitive behavioral therapy can be woven into our everyday communication with partners, friends, family, coworkers, and even ourselves. What begins as a conv...

Join us for an intimate conversation with Dr. Keri Smotrich , Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Perinatal Mental Health Counselor, about the emotional challenges of fertility struggles, pregnancy loss, and the journey to parenthood. We dive into the identity crisis that often comes with infertility, what to expect from those first medical appointments, and how to be kind to yourself thr...

Join Dr. Reid, psychiatrist, creator and host of “A Mind of Her Own,” and author of Guilt Free , for this conversation with Nancy Reddy, author of The Good Mother Myth and creator of Be Less Careful and Mara Gordon, family doctor and creator of the Your Doctor Friend by Mara Gordon newsletter. We discuss: * External validation (fellowships, book deals) helps but isn’t the whole story—self-actualiz...

“We’re not alone...that’s kind of our mission and why we do the work that we do.” Anu Gorakanti (MD) and Laura Holford (RN) co-founded Introspective Spaces , a collective creating contemplative community spaces for healthcare workers to reconnect with themselves and reimagine a new way forward in healthcare. Now approaching their five-year anniversary, they share how they’re building “small commun...

Family physician and writer Dr. Mara Gordon interviews psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Reid about her new book Guilt Free (releasing January, 27, 2026). The conversation explores why women experience disproportionate guilt, how to distinguish toxic from adaptive guilt, and practical strategies for managing guilt—especially during the holidays. The Guilt Equation Dr. Reid breaks down guilt into a simple...

In this episode of A Mind of Her Own , host Dr. Jennifer Reid explores guilt, perfectionism, and recovery with Dr. Caitlin Massone , author of Running from Perfection . This conversation is part of the Guilt-Free series, leading up to the release of Dr. Reid’s book Guilt Free on January 27, 2026 . Dr. Massone is a neurologist, ultramarathon runner, and mountaineer who battled eating disorders for...

*Please note, today’s guest will remain anonymous to protect her privacy. “We’re supposed to be constant caregivers. And we’re supposed to do that even when it makes our lives really difficult...this constant caregiving as what a good person, a good nurse, a good doctor, a good woman, a good mother would do is setting expectations that are just not attainable in modern life.” Alongside the upcomin...

“It wasn’t like overnight I woke up and I was like, I don’t like medicine anymore... It was just like this gradual onslaught and accumulation of events that felt very much like beating my head against a wall, just trying to do my job.” -Sarah Temkin, MD In this powerful conversation, Dr. Sarah Temkin —gynecologic oncologist turned first-time filmmaker—shares her journey from loving clinical medici...

“If I didn’t have hope defined as an action—defined as every day doing something to try to close the gap between what is and what could and should be—I don’t know what else I’d do.” In this profound episode, legendary educator and activist Dr. Parker Palmer (author of Let Your Life Speak ) joins Dr. Jennifer Reid to explore what it means to live an authentic life aligned with your deepest calling—...

In this thoughtful conversation, Dr. Jennifer Reid welcomes back an old friend and UCLA training colleague, Dr. Marissa Caudill, to explore one of parenting’s most pervasive emotions: guilt. Dr. Caudill, who specializes in coaching parents of tweens with anxiety and ADHD, brings both clinical expertise and personal vulnerability to a discussion that every parent needs to hear. The conversation beg...

As an avid reader, I’m always seeking that next great book. The one that allows me to see myself and the world more clearly, comforts me when I’m lost, or inspires me to move through my day differently. This series is my opportunity to pass these remarkable books onto you, as readers of A Mind of Her Own, both for your own enjoyment and also, as a self-serving shout-out to the universe to send me...

Listen to a new episode of Guilt Free: Real Women, Real Stories on A Mind of Her Own with host Jennifer Reid, MD, who sits down with Dr. Hope Seidel, a board-certified pediatrician turned parenting coach, to explore the pervasive guilt that shadows modern parenting. Drawing from two decades of clinical experience and her own personal journey—including navigating her husband’s addiction and eventua...

In this first of the Guilt Free: Real Women, Real Voices series with Dr. Jennifer Reid , she speaks with Kerry Chaput, author and creator of the Substack “Badass Women in History.” Kerry opens up about spending decades working in physical therapy—a career chosen to please her parents rather than follow her passion for writing and women’s history. She discusses how guilt over having the “wrong drea...

Trying to raise kids who have a genuinely healthy relationship with food and their bodies? Join Jennifer Reid, MD as she speaks with Oona Hanson , educator, writer and parent coach, about how much power parents have to nurture kids who trust their own hunger cues, enjoy movement for joy rather than punishment, and develop the kind of inner voice that supports rather than sabotages them throughout...

Episode Overview Licensed psychologist Dr. Seth Gillihan returns to discuss his latest book, Your Daily Reset: 366 Practical Exercises to Reduce Anxiety and Manage Stress Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy . In this candid conversation, Dr. Gillihan shares practical strategies for building sustainable mental health habits, explains why mindfulness and CBT work better together, and even opens up ab...

Welcome to A Mind of Her Own! I'm sharing some personal thoughts before interviewing Dr. Seth Gillihan about his new book "Your Daily Reset" - which offers 366 brief, actionable mindfulness and CBT techniques for daily practice. Check out this episode of my podcast, The Reflective Mind when I post it early next week! How do I nurture my own mindfulness practices? * Bird watching (aka nature's real...