Child Life Wild Life

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, hosts this final episode of The Child Life Wild Life Podcast with Alexx Friesen to celebrate the profound impact child life specialists make in pediatric healthcare through a collection of heartfelt stories sent in by specialists across the field. What unfolds is a tapestry of remarkable moments that showcase exactly why child life work matters. From...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Ellen Palmer, about her journey as a dyslexic and ADHD-diagnosed child life specialist, sharing how these differences have become her "superpowers" in the emergency department. What if your neurodivergence wasn't just something to overcome, but actually your greatest professional asset?  Ellen's story b...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and new CCLS, Anisha Reza, about her journey as a second-generation immigrant and career-changer who brings a unique lens to our field. Having previously pursued medical school before finding her true calling in child life, Anisha offers invaluable insights on the challenges students face—particularly those from diverse backgrounds....

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Kelley Gavel, about her journey through the challenges and profound rewards of supporting children and families in critical care settings. With dual master's degrees in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Counseling, Kelley brings a uniquely holistic perspective to her work in a bustling 36-bed Pediatric Intensive C...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Caitlin Wolf, about her work in pediatric hematology/oncology, and how she prioritizes siblings through thoughtful interventions and family-centered care practices. With passion and creativity, she shares practical strategies for maintaining crucial connections between patients and siblings during lengthy hospital stays or...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Morgan Livingstone, about her understanding that effective support doesn't require special equipment—it requires presence, creativity, and genuine connection through play, regardless of what language you may speak. Morgan's 28-year journey as a Certified Child Life Specialist has taken her from oncology units in...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Katie Lavallee, about the powerful synergy between recreational therapy and child life. As a dual-certified professional with a decade of recreational therapy experience and seven years as a child life specialist, Katie offers unique insights into how these complementary fields enhance patient care. Katie's journey be...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friends and CCLSs, Caelin Hallgren and Ramonna Datuin, about their newly found work/life balance as they have recently stepped away from the child life profession. The moment of reckoning came differently for each – for Ramonna, it was realizing her entire identity had become wrapped up in her clinical role, while Caelin found herself wish...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Veronica Burns, about her pivotal career shift to become a thriving postpartum doula and infant mental health specialist.  Veronica's journey reflects what many professionals experience—the desire to apply specialized healthcare knowledge in settings that better honor their unique strengths and circumstances. After be...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Allison Messerly, about taking child life to camp! What happens when you take a child life specialist out of the hospital and place them in a summer camp setting for kids with cancer? Magic, advocacy, and a whole new world of psychological support. Allison Messerly shares her journey from hospital-based child life to creat...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Kate Hamelin, about her 20 years of experience working on the burn unit.  Starting her career as a social worker working within the child welfare arena, she pivoted unexpectedly into child life and has never left.  Throughout this episode, we take a peek into the burn ICU's complexities, discussing the delicate balanc...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, sits down with three child life professors to see what the world of academics looks like. Please welcome Cara Smith, Savannah Kelly, and Amanda Butler to the podcast.  Learn about the ways in which these three have kept things interesting in the classroom throughout the pandemic, and kept the key skills of child life at the forefront of their careers...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Erin Tukua, about utilizing her previous job experience as a professional photographer to elevate her techniques she uses with patients and families in the child life profession.  Inside this creative episode, we spotlight Erin's innovative practice of using photography as an intervention to help families navigate the...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Shira Miller, about her almost 2 decades of experience working within the same hospital, moving up the clinical ladder and creating the COAST (Children of Adults Support Team) Program. COAST program and the ways in which child life services have evolved to support not just end-of-life situations but the entire spectrum of...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Melissa Schmautz, about her 17 years of experience, wisdom, and compassionate practices in child life and palliative care.  Melissa tells stories about helping families navigate the heartbreak of acknowledging death with their young ones, offering a rare glimpse into the delicate art of conveying the incomprehensible to th...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Maddie Bozikis, about her experience navigating autoimmune diseases as a student and professional.   Having battled with autoimmune diseases since high school, Maddie takes us through a profound journey of courage and resilience in the face of persistent health challenges. As Maddie unveils her experiences, we explore the...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Kelsey Champion, about her almost decade experience working in the Emergency Department; a department she wasn't quite sure she'd land in originally, but has really found her calm in the chaos.  Navigating the high-stakes world of an emergency department requires a special blend of skills and heart, something Kel...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Jessica Correnti, about her personal experience with grief and how that has shaped her in her private practice providing support to grieving siblings and families. With an extensive background in ICU settings and grief support, Jessica joins us to illuminate the intricacies of supporting children and families through some...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and seasoned CCLS, Shani Thornton, about how child life specialists can understand the differences between toxic positivity, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Together, Shani and Jessica peel back the curtain on the child life profession's hidden struggle with toxic positivity. Shani, with her 16 years of experience, offers a we...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Kat Attermeier, about utilizing pain management tools through her work in the radiology department.  Today, Kat finds herself at home in the radiology department, a place where she once felt intimidated. She has grown to embrace the pace and challenges that come with building quick rapport with patients. Kat educates many...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Meredith Murray, about how her lifelong magnetism towards babies led her to a career in the NICU.  Meredith shares her journey, from finding her calling in the challenging environment of the NICU, to becoming an essential support system for families and their newborns in critical care. We take an in-depth look at the nuanc...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Caitlyn Morton, about what her experience has been like as a one-person program (and also an independent contractor!) Reflecting on her experiences as a former patient, Caitlyn delves into how she had to differentiate her experiences from her patients' and the pivotal role her mentors played in navigating this change....

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and CCLS, Samantha Krawiec, about what her experience transitioning from teacher to child life specialist. From managing a classroom to navigating the hospital environment, Samantha's journey from a burnt-out kindergarten and third-grade teacher to a fulfilled child life specialist is sure to inspire you. Samantha shares her ex...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, talks with friend and  CCLS, Andrea Lerude, about her experience being a "service line" child life specialist and all that her role entails.  Andrea fosters open communication with her colleagues, juggles patient care, and maneuvers the delicate art of cold calling patient's families in an effort to advocate for child life preparation...

Certified Child Life Specialist, Jessica Lewin, sits down with friend and CCLS, Madeha Ayub for a conversation surrounding advocacy and empathy.  Madeha is a strong advocate for the special needs and autistic communities with her dual credentials as an Emergency Department Certified Child Life Specialist and Pediatric Occupational Therapist. Join us as we unravel the critical aspects of working wi...