Cultivate Calmness Podcast: Find Your Calm, Cultivate Your Mind

In this first Cultivate Calmness Podcast episode of the year, Kaela welcomes listeners into 2026 by reflecting on rest, renewal, and growth—and sharing some exciting news that’s been months in the making. She announces the upcoming Mental Health Professionals Conference, a full-day integrative mental health conference designed to bring together therapists to explore whole-person care that honors m...

In this final episode of the year, Kaela reflects on the experiences, growth, and lessons of 2025 through a holistic and functional mental health lens. She explores the complexity of the holiday season—how it can hold both joy and grief—especially for those navigating trauma, loss, or emotional exhaustion. Kaela shares gratitude for the mental health community, highlights meaningful professional m...

In this week’s episode, we explore the powerful connection between mental health, physical symptoms, and the body’s natural communication system. I share candidly about my own wellness journey—from chronic sinus issues to shedding chemicals, adjusting nutrition, and pursuing functional testing to better understand what my body has been trying to tell me. We talk about how trauma, emotions, diet, a...

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, trades New Year hype for honest holiday momentum—sharing why she believes in “testing, not guessing” and how small, compassionate steps create real change. From Christmas-sweater cheer to practical first moves, Kaela walks through lab options she’s using herself (basic bloodwork, hair mineral analysis, and stool testing), what those r...

In this heartfelt Thanksgiving episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, takes time to pause and reflect on gratitude — for her clients, her colleagues, her community, and the journey that brought her here. She shares the lessons she’s learned from the brave clients who trust her with their stories, the clinicians who collaborate and present at her CEU luncheons, and the love...

In this week’s episode of Cultivate Calmness, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, shares her personal reflections on the arrival of Ohio’s first snow and explores how the shift in seasons affects our mental and physical health. Kaela explains how sunlight, vitamin D, and movement influence mood and energy, and offers holistic strategies to prevent the “winter blues.” From mindful outdoor walks and light therapy...

In this week’s episode of Cultivate Calmness, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, shares exciting updates about Teal Saguaro Wellness’s upcoming CEU luncheon for mental health professionals, as well as new online CEU courses now available through her website. Kaela discusses the heart behind these events—building community, collaboration, and growth among Ohio clinicians—and offers insight into how therapists, c...

In this week’s episode of The Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela dives into what she calls “sugar overload season”—that stretch of holidays from Halloween through Valentine’s Day where candy, cookies, and cocktails dominate. She explores how excess sugar impacts the immune system, why you might feel run down despite taking vitamins, and how small, mindful choices can strengthen your body’s natural...

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, explores how relationships grow best when we take time to build a strong emotional foundation—one step (or wave) at a time. Using her ocean and beach analogy, Kaela reflects on the importance of exploring relationships slowly, developing trust, and learning each other’s depths before diving in. Whether you’re a therapist, a client, or...

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness Podcast, holistic grief and trauma therapist Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, addresses a heartbreaking story that shook her community — the loss of a child to a viral social-media “challenge.” Kaela explores the darker side of technology and how digital platforms, algorithms, and online predators can endanger our kids’ safety and mental health. She offers practical, compassi...

In this week’s episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, reflects on the power of connection and the urgency of preserving memories with loved ones while we still have the chance. Drawing on her own experiences with family and her work as a grief and trauma therapist, she explores how sudden loss—whether personal or public—reminds us that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Kaela disc...

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, explores the wide spectrum of grief reactions we see both publicly and privately, from anger and numbness to hope and faith. Drawing from personal experiences, professional insights, and reflections on recent events, she emphasizes that no two people grieve in the same way—and that judgment often deepens wounds rather than heals them....

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, takes listeners behind the scenes of her work not only as a grief and trauma therapist but also as the host of monthly Mental Health Professionals Luncheons and the new president of the Central Ohio Counseling Association (COCA). Kaela shares the heart behind creating spaces where counselors can connect, consult, and collaborate throu...

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness, Kaela sits down with Dr. Suzanne Pikula, DC, a trauma-informed, systems-oriented chiropractor and founder of several integrative clinics, to explore how bodywork can accelerate mental health healing. Dr. Suzanne explains why “everything is connected”—from fascia and cranial-sacral flow to the vagus nerve, limbic system, and gut-brain axis—and how gentle, safety-f...

In this milestone 101st episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, I take a moment to reflect on what it means to have been sharing conversations, insights, and stories for over two years. What began as a way to connect and share mental health knowledge has grown into a platform for community, interviews, and holistic discussions around grief, trauma, and functional wellness. From solo reflections...

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, I sit down with therapist and practice owner Emily Hanlon of Spiral Path Counseling to explore the power of Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, and expressive arts therapy in supporting trauma recovery and self-care. Together, we dive into how these approaches intersect, offering both clients and clinicians fresh ways to view “self-sabotage,” con...

In this deeply personal episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela shares her own story of losing her mom to ovarian cancer at the age of seven and reflect on what grief has looked like over the past 30 years. From unexpected triggers, to the ways grief evolves through different life stages, she explores how loss never fully disappears, but grows and changes alongside us. She talks about the...

In this week’s Cultivate Calmness Podcast, we tackle the exhausting myth that you’re supposed to “do it all” — perfectly, all the time. From the picture-perfect lives we see on social media to the increasing demands of modern life, it’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind. I share personal reflections, the reality behind those polished images, and a practical exercise to help you assess your l...

In this episode of The Cultivate Calmness Podcast, I’m joined by Molly Olejownik, a licensed mental health specialist working in a local school district, to discuss the essential and often overlooked collaboration between school-based counselors and community therapists. We explore the evolution of her career from cheer coach to school counselor to private practice clinician—and now, back into sch...

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance sits down with K Preston Moore—TEDx speaker, national mental health and addiction advocate, and person in long-term recovery—to have a powerful, honest, and energizing conversation about the real roots of emotional dysfunction and the stigma that keeps people stuck. Preston shares how his own experiences with addiction, recovery, and e...

In this heartfelt episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance, LPCC-S, dives into the emotional complexity of difficult relationships and why setting boundaries can feel so hard—even when we know they’re needed. Whether it’s with a parent, friend, partner, or coworker, Kaela explores the common fears we carry—fear of rejection, fear of loss, fear of change—and how those fears can preven...

Have you ever wondered if your therapist thinks about you after your session ends? In this heartfelt episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, I pull back the curtain on the inner world of therapists and share what really goes on beyond the therapy room. I talk openly about the emotional residue of sessions, how clients often stay in our hearts and minds, and why you’re never just a job to us. Fr...

In this powerful episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela Vance sits down with fellow LPCC-S and trauma specialist Rikki Grace to explore the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), a therapeutic approach designed specifically for complex trauma. Rikki shares her journey into the world of counseling and how she discovered NARM, explaining what sets it apart from other trauma modalities lik...

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, we welcome Rebecca Dunaway, a certified HeartMath® practitioner, Reiki master, and sound therapy trainee, to explore the healing power of HeartMath®. Drawing on her decades-long career in the medical field and her personal experience with burnout, Rebecca shares how HeartMath® tools—like heart-focused breathing and coherence techniques—can help re...

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, we explore the powerful connection between our inner dialogue and the world we experience. Inspired by a video featuring Peter Crone, “The Mind Architect,” we dive deep into the concept of negative core beliefs—those deep-rooted thoughts like “I’m not good enough” or “I’m unlovable”—and how they silently shape our lives, reactions, and relationshi...