Active & Connected Families

Why is this moment in the pandemic so hard for kids and parents alike? How do we help our kids through the pandemic?   Just some of the burning questions many of us have had recently.     In today's episode, we're joined by Jacquelyn Lazo, kids' mental health activist and co-author of Comeback Kids - A Pocket Guide to Post-Pandemic Parenting.     We discuss key steps that parents can take in order...

Do you ever feel confused about how you are supposed to talk about your feelings as a parent? On the one hand, we are supposed to "shield" our children from the ups and downs of life and not talk about our feelings. On the other hand, aren't we supposed to model healthy emotional expression and teach them that feelings are important?   We spend so much time talking about our kids' feelings, but we...

Back-to-school meltdowns: they're nothing new. But that doesn't make them any easier. And (surprise, surprise!) after being out of school for so long due to the pandemic, we expect things to be a bit different than usual.   In today's episode, we answer questions like: Why is my kid experiencing back-to-school meltdowns? What causes a child to have a meltdown? When are my kid's meltdowns healthy a...

Pandemic parenting in 2021: the struggle is real. We know because we're right there with you. Today's episode of Podcast Therapists is for parents, and parents only, because in order to be there for your child 100%, you need to take care of yourself first.   Luckily, we have our very own trauma specialist at Podcast Therapists. Sarah is going to walk us through what triggers this mass trauma, how...

This week, coach Mike is back and he's showing his perspective on Simone Biles' Olympic performances and what lessons we can learn from them. Michael Atunrase is not only the founder and head coach of Resilience Fitness & Sports Performance Training, but he is also a mental health advocate. He shares our belief that mental health should be an equally important part of sports training, as are warm-...

Although mentally, we might not be 100% ready for this yet, the new school year is around the corner, and we need to talk about it. The subject of going back to school is coming up more and more during therapy sessions, and today we're having a conversation about a frequently recurring subject: cell phones. More specifically: cell phone use in school for middle schoolers and teenagers.     Not onl...

This week we're coming in hot with a legitimate timeline for how to get your kid ready for the new school year. Last week we shared our thoughts and predictions for the post-pandemic school year; this week, we're translating all of that into actionable steps.    Like Amanda said: "I will not have a single backpack ready for my children, but I will have talked to them about all their anxiety and ex...

It may seem a bit early to some, but more than ever, we already see anxiety about the upcoming school year come up in therapy sessions. This upcoming school year will be different, that's for sure, and everyone will deal with it in a different way. Based on what we see happening in both our clients and our own kids, we talk about the patterns we're already seeing and expect to see during the schoo...

Talking to your kid about your own drinking behavior often asks you to get very vulnerable as a parent. Being vulnerable is important for us too, and that's exactly what we do in today's episode. We have an open and vulnerable conversation about how to do exactly this: talking to your kid about adult drinking.     Even as therapists who talk about these topics to clients on a regular basis, we kno...

Have you ever wondered if and how you should discuss your drinking with your kids? Or second-guessed whether your drinking behavior is still healthy? Join us in an open, honest, and non-judgmental conversation about healthy adult drinking and how to talk about it with your children. As therapists, moms, and, well, just human beings who like to drink alcohol, we share our insights, the red flags to...

For many kids and teenagers, playing sports becomes a big part of their life and even their identity. Knowing that anxiety and depression can increase during intense training periods, it's important to know as a parent how to support your child's mental health. Whether your child is still a preschooler or already in high school and dealing with the pressure of recruiting to get on a college team,...

We've been waiting a long time to share today's episode with you and we couldn't be more excited! Dr. Samantha Sweeney is one of Amanda's oldest friends and an expert on working with parents of anxious kids. She's a psychologist, author, educator and has a private practice where she works with kids, families, and adults.  Together with Melissa Kilbride, Sam wrote the book 'Working With Worry: A Wo...

Today's guest is an incredible social justice activist and filmmaker and, yes, another one of Amanda's brilliant friends. In her short documentary 'Blood & Guts: Exposing Endo', Meg Allan Cole sheds light on a chronic illness called Endometriosis, which impacts one out of every ten folks with a uterus (girl or boy!). Despite its frequency, 64% of doctors admit they know very little about it, meani...

Today we bring in Nicole Osei,M.Ed., MSW, Anti-Racist Consultant and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Coach and one of Amanda's oldest and dearest friends (yes, my friend's are brilliant!).  As three white women running a podcast and business, we want to make sure that we are doing our own anti-racist work everyday.  Fortunately, Nicole agreed to record our conversation so you could hear her...

Today, we talk about how we teach parents and children how to manage their anxiety when it gets high -- anywhere from 5 to 10 on our anxiety scale :) We talk about what high anxiety thoughts sound like in our heads, what happens to our body when we get anxious, and strategies we use to bring ourselves back down to baseline. We also discuss how anxiety has impacted us in OUR lives and the strategie...

In our 2nd session on anxiety, we deep dive into all the ways we help clients MANAGE their feelings of worry, starting with proactive, or lifestyle, strategies. We give you hints on improving:     1.    Exercise     2.    Eating habits     3.    Sleep     4.    Psychoeducation on how anxiety works All in an effort to reduce anxiety before it even starts! We also describe reactive strategies, or sk...

Anxiety is so misunderstood! In Session 1 of our 4-part Anxiety Series, we talk about how we explain anxiety in all its glory to the children and families that walk through our door. If you or your child worries, gets grumpy, is a perfectionist, puts tons of pressure on themselves, or has difficulty sleeping— this is the podcast for you! We discuss the relationship between anxiety, sensitivity, em...

We are hopeful today as we are all post-vaccine and feeling a little safer in our world.  Take a listen as we discuss what we have learned from the pandemic lifestyle and what we will take moving forward. Most specifically, the permission to say no and actually choose what we say yes to for ourselves, our kids, and our families.  We also take a little minute to reflect on how strong we have all be...

Kids are going back to school! Are your kids nervous? Mad? Excited? Proud? It all makes sense! And we are here to give you a roadmap for their transition. And yours. Tune in for our six steps to get your family through the next few weeks, starting with "Create Your Comfort Zone" and ending with "Practice Your Routine." This is going to be hard, friends, but it will be so worth it when you can list...

Do you ever feel confused about how you are supposed to handle your feelings as a parent? On one hand, we are supposed to not talk about them and "shield" our children from the ups and downs of life. On the other hand, aren't we supposed to model healthy emotional expression and teach them that feelings are important? We get into the WHYs and HOWs of expressing your feelings as a parent, all with...

Have you ever wondered if your child need therapy? Us too, and we're therapists! It's an especially hard time right now for mental health, and we will let you know some of the signs around sadness, anxiety, and anger that may indicate that calling a therapist is a good idea. We will also remind you that a lot of these hard feelings and behaviors are normal, especially during a pandemic. Trigger wa...

Due to Covid, more children and parents are grappling with grief than ever in our lifetime. We cover what you might see from children through this process. We also discuss how to talk to your kids about death and dying and offer ideas for how to help them with their feelings. If you or a friend are grieving the death of a loved one, we are incredibly sorry for your loss and hope we can offer you t...

The days after holidays are usually tough, but this year may feel harder because of the way Covid has changed our lives. We may have had amazing holidays, and still felt sad that we missed our family or scared about the upcoming cold and socially distant months. We are feeling all of the feelings too, and hope to help you put them into words and also let you know you are not alone! We also give id...

We are family therapists hoping to help hard-working parents and guardians understand the insanity of family life in light of psychological theory and research. This means that we tell embarrassing stories about our kids and then explain what the real experts would say. Join us as we analyze everything from talking to your kids about sex to COVID holidays. Come take a seat on our couch! In this po...