Hope to Recharge

Dr. Jennifer Finlayson-Fife, an LDS relationship and sexuality coach with a Ph. D. in Counseling Psychology, discusses how we all want security in our lives, marriage, society and often in religious beliefs. Often the “rule” becomes the most important thing which then creates tension and frays our freedom and structure. Instead of allowing honesty and courage to drive us, we resort to making other...

In this second part of this episode, (part 1 here ) with our returning guest Elisheva Liss, we dive into the controversial topic of the benefits and challenges of making our partners and children aware of the fundamentals of relationships and the taboo topic of sex awareness. Often, religious or community obligations and accepted practices encourage young people to marry, and often without providi...

In part 1 of this 2 part episode with our returning guest Elisheva Liss, we discuss the views shared and seen by ourselves and society regarding divorce. Elisheva is a licensed psychotherapist whose training is in marriage and family therapy, and also treats individuals and couples. You can listen to previous episodes with Elisheva here and here . Sometimes divorce is necessary and sometimes the t...

As Hope to Recharge completes its 3rd year and 200th episode, we take a moment to recognize past achievements and accomplishments and give gratitude to those who helped reach this milestone. Although the journey of healing was treacherous and laden with the possibility of defeat, we continue to discuss and practice the essential tools that allow us to move forward each day. While focusing on the p...

In part 2 of our episode with attorney-turned-Imago-healer Igor Meystelman, Igor shares the nitty gritty of how Imago therapy works, explaining and drawing from his own journey and experience from the dialogs with his wife. Imago relies on the fundamentals of human behavior and our deep and innate desire to grow and form healthy human connections. By sharpening and heightening our intrinsic senses...

As an attorney, Igor Meystelman saw many couples pursuing divorce. In his own personal life, after a fateful and explosive conflict with his wife, he discovered Imago Therapy, which helped his conquer obstacles in his own marriage and exponentially strengthen the bond between himself and his spouse. Despite his career aspirations, he decided to take on learning the skills needed to become a Certif...

Aliza Bulow, a returning guest, shares the path that led to her conversion to Judaism with us, an in depth conversation about finding belonging in our community, and the love, respect and trust she shares with her husband, despite his late-in-life rejection of their religion. Aliza previously shared her journey through her son’s depression and eventual suicide in, part 1 here and part 2 here . As...

Coming back from Passover break, we catch up on Matana's journey, and the internal changes seen over the past few weeks. May is crowned National Mental Health Awareness month, but is it enough to just have it marked in a calendar? Growth and appreciation are a constant and required focus to continue along the journey of recovery and noticing the little details are a critical tool to developing...

As Matana faces different hectic life events, she navigates from important to more important. Often, we neglect important items for things that are more important, and that's ok. Feeling unaccomplished or missing out on goals can often lead to disappointment but we need to also focus on downtime. Critically important for maintaining proper mental health, taking the time we need to reflect, rel...

We're human an are programmed to want things in our life. Some people want happiness, others seek weight loss, better sleep, reducing stress, financial success or a healthy mindset. We yearn and it often consumes us. When we receive that which we so desperately seek, how do we react? Do we utilize gratitude? Many of us do, but is the gratitude expressed, proportionate to the intensity of the o...

Jason Wasser is a healer therapist who practices the neuro-emotional technique. A licensed marriage and family therapist, he is one of only a few thousand licensed NET practitioners in the country and a mind-body integrative wellness specialist. His knowledge about the mind-body connection and how to move past traditional talk therapy through trauma muscle testing is extensive. Jason has witnessed...

What do you do when you are struggling with your mental health and you are not feeling supported by your family and friends the way you wish? This is a question that I am often asked and is a common concern in the mental health community. This is our last episode in our solo series where I am diving into my own story of healing which included, finding the right support. I want to honestly share wi...

Children with OCD and anxiety need their parents to understand that they feel terrified. They need their parents to express confidence in their ability to face their fears. What they don't need is for their parents to do everything for them when they're afraid because over time, they will need to learn how to deal with their fears when their parents aren't around.  Dr. Lebowitz’s book,...

In part 2 of our talk with Alana Shlagbaum, who is not a therapist, doctor or any kind of health expert but a preschool teacher from New Jersey, Matana shares her own personal story with Alana, of how miscarriage and living with chronic bleeding prevented her from becoming pregnant. After having her first son, Matana went on birth control. During that time, she also lived with  chronic feminine bl...

Our guest today is not a therapist, doctor or any kind of health expert but a preschool teacher from New Jersey. She talks about our personal experiences with infertility, miscarriage, and living with chronic bleeding conditions. Alana struggled for years without having anyone who understood what she was going through, so she is here to offer that support she never had to others. Living with an un...

Discovering true belonging is a gift. As humans, we crave belonging on both personal and communal levels. The feeling of being connected is a fundamental desire and we can learn to accept others who are different than we are by seeing and validating their choices made, based on their need to belong. We often scold children for making choices we disagree with. Validating and showing empathy would l...

Communities often attempt to silence sexual conduct and misconduct and the associated secrecy and shame it fosters. Intentional secrecy surrounding sexual knowledge, sexual abuse and sexual addiction profoundly harms children and families in any community and especially one that is sincere and devout, such as Judaism. The Chasidic community in particular has an extreme level of secrecy to the degr...

We are human and are always evolving, growing and learning. Many times, we don't communicate what we are feeling. We often neglect those close to us and lack the skills of how to effectively communicate. Sometimes, our biases feed our agenda and we take others for granted, not recognizing what they do for us or misdirect our mindset due to misunderstanding. Thankfully, the human experience is...

Author Gary Sweeney, wrote a brilliant memoir about growing up with his great-grandparents’ support. His book, The Light of Other Days , shows us the positive person that his great-grandfather was in his life, rather than focusing on his abusive parents, teachers and others. The title’s intent is to focus on the good days that have been or will be, rather than the deep darkness of the present. Gar...

Often, we confuse our excuses to be reasons and our reasons to be excuses. We are often certain that the excuse is really a defining reason for us, but we fear it because it might force us to work on something we really don't want to, or face an issue we'd rather not deal with. if we really , truly want to change our lifestyle to move out of a rut, whether mental health, relationships, try...

Margy’s father committed suicide and her struggle with his mental health symptoms didn’t end with his death. He was a hoarder. Margy, as his only child, was thrust into the role of going through her parents’ house after he passed. She was the one who had to hire help and a dumpster and motivate her mother to go through her belongings every single day until the house was cleaned out. Margy provides...

Our 2022 Retreat is Live! Space is limited to 25 people. Signup today to reserve your spot: https://hopetorecharge.com/retreat ————————————————————————— As the Holiday of Thanksgiving 2021 is upon us, we can harness its energy and message. Gratitude is an essential gift for harnessing and focusing our innate power and allows us to grow and gift to others. Thanksgiving is a holiday that encompasses...

In this episode, Matana shares the common thread all religions are woven with. Gratitude is an essential gift for harnessing and focusing our innate power and allows us to grow and gift to others. We are innately blessed with the power of gratitude. This gift from G-d allows us to feel our abundance. Although to some it might come easily, the importance of daily recognition of the blessings in our...

You might know someone with mental illness. Maybe it’s you; maybe a family member or friend. But it is someone you wish to see get better. You’ve seen them suffer, even while in treatment. Perhaps you have suffered as well. You wish there was another way for them to find help and hope in the darkness. Chazkeinu was created to offer that additional support to Orthodox Jewish women living with menta...

As we work on ourselves, we sometimes find that doing it alone is not enough. In this episode, Matana shares some of the details on the upcoming 2022 Ignite your Life Retreat and what we can expect. For the lucky 25 women selected to join, this retreat will be chock-full of pampering, tips and techniques towards the path of thriving, self motivation, sharing and inspiration. Hosted by Matana and M...