Internal Chatter

Internal Chatter welcomes Nora Stevens, Licensed Psilocybin Facilitator from Portland, Oregon. Wondering how psychedelics work on the brain, what a facilitator does, what the experience can be like, the benefits for mental health, how the safety of the product is monitored, or who shouldn’t take it?. We facilitate the facilitator to take you on an audio journey around all things psilocybin.

If you missed her at the Vancouver Kiggins’ Theatre panel on Menopause in May 2025, Dr. Cynthia McNally is dropping by the chat for an encore! Staci leads up this interview and gets into all the good stuff with Dr. McNally: comparing peri vs. post menopause symptoms, Dutch testing drawbacks, a breakdown of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and supplement efficacy, anxiety, night sweats (and why s...

Joining us on the chat today is everybody’s favorite strength coach, Brandon Shewbert. Brandon talks about his Know Pain, No Gain (and No Pain, Know Gain) philosophy in strength coaching and sustainable development. Staci discovers that there is something she dislikes more than exercise, and she and Melissa both get educated around Myokines and how they affect your mental and physical health. Alon...

In this episode we cover topics such as: What is the PPB doing in regards to officer wellness? Has the wellness program improved outcomes for officers? What is the Crisis Negotiators Team vs. the Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team - and when do these specialists get called in? What happens in the police Crisis Intervention Training? How does the Portland Police Bureau work with Portland Street Resp...

If you’ve heard any of our other shows, you know how often belonging comes up as a critical piece of mental health across all topics we have covered. So, today we get into belonging in detail with Curtis Miller of Connect Ed. Lest you think it’s all woo-woo and esoteric, let’s cut through that right now and get practical as we do. He talks about how he got started in Battle Ground, why blaming tea...

It’s a teen (and tween) double-header today with Dr. Paula Pilcher, Naturopathic Physician at 11-22 Integrative Medicine and Founder of Empowerteen, and Yshai Boussi, author of Staying Connected with your Teen of Portland Family Counseling joining us.  We get into some of the biological drivers of teen behavior, preventive health activities to help tween and teen adolescents to connect with peers...

The accomplished Susannah Morgan, President of the Oregon Food Bank, stops by the chat to discuss food, hunger, and why having things to do makes all good ideas possible.  Along the way, Melissa and Staci find out about lots of other tasty morsels like:  how food insecurity affects mental health (yes, we said that in the right order) or when would you call 211, what is WIC, how does one cook a rut...

Did you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month? Well, the esteemed Kim Schneiderman from NAMI SW WA is here to remind us. In addition, she gives us the lowdown on why she knows everyone at her grocery store, getting into mental health by way of phlebotomy and bubble packs, and how her volunteer service at NAMI translated into her dual roles now as Board President and Executive Director. We...

We’re big fans of saying mental health is health, and Jackie Baker, DNP stopped by the chat to give Melissa and Staci a primer in what that looks like in the pediatric office. We talk about fentanyl and narcan training, rapid onset gender dysphoria, pronoun use, sports physicals vs. well checks, what to expect at what ages in the pediatric visit, pediatric mental health screening tools, correlatio...

Kristine and Cindy stop by the chat to talk PTSD, the COMPACT Act, CBOC’s, PCL-5’s, and other varied acronymed topics that give Melissa and Staci the insider’s peek into mental health care in the Portland VA. They’re on a mission to spread the word about the VA’s whole health approach, build community coalitions, explain how the VA is trying to broaden the reach into more rural communities, and wh...

Joining us on the chat today is Dr. Amanda “Mandy” Allen, the newest OB/GYN at Cascadia Women’s Clinic. Mandy tackled the cold of Chicago for medical school, braved the heat of Las Vegas for her residency, and now is practicing at the perfect temperature here in Vancouver, WA. She schools us in just how common PPD is (spoiler alert, it’s more common than breast cancer), its diverse symptoms, and t...

Grab your honor beads and lace up your kicks - it’s time to chat with Angela Perry about suicide prevention - just in time for September’s Suicide Awareness Month. As a Board Member with the Oregon Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) she educates Melissa and Staci about: the differences between 911 and 988, the community connection found in the AFSP hosted walks, educa...

Mike Nieto stops by the chat to discuss with Melissa and guest host, Sandra Foreman, how his self-funded nonprofit, Dig Deep, is helping employees in a “tough guy” industry like heavy construction deal with their mental health, so they can be their own best selves. He works to create the ‘uncomfortably safe’ environment where the tough issues can be discussed, in a safe way. In doing so he offers...

Sarah Desjarlais, Executive Director of Fosterful, stops by the chat to discuss how Fosterful provides a variety of ways volunteers can show up for foster children in the greater community without needing to make the full-time committment as a foster parent. Along the way we talk about ACE scores, the four trauma responses and how to work through them (Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn), and Fosterf...

Richard Ott joins the chat to talk about wearing glasses, getting older, and fighting fires as a mild-mannered office worker. In addition, he stops by to discuss the intersection of mental health services and the unhoused. Richard has worked in the healthcare field for over 25 years, with 16 years of that time being spent working in acute, inpatient psychiatric care at Oregon State Hospital (OSH)....

Arabeth Mashek, LPC, LMHC, joins the chat to tell Melissa and Staci that lightbars aren’t just for ceilings anymore. She’s the owner / operator of Three Creeks Counseling in Vancouver WA, and specializes in helping those with anxiety and trauma histories, heal from past difficulties so they can live rich, meaningful lives. In addition to traditional talk therapy, she employs EMDR as a psychotherap...

Lowell MacGregor, Executive Director of Taylor Made Retreat, stops by to give Melissa and Staci the lowdown on addiction, recovery, and Taylor Made Retreat. Lowell has been in recovery for over three decades and in the last four years has made Taylor Made Retreat into a recovery house with a 70% success rate. With a focus on the 12 steps based on the big book “Alcoholics Anonymous”, a longitudinal...

Melissa and Staci chat with Deborah Dedrickson, a master’s level clinician with extensive experience supporting adolescents and adults facing both mental health and substance use issues.  In a career spanning almost 3 decades, she has worked as a residential treatment provider, an outpatient therapist, a crisis intervention specialist, and a program director in a variety of settings.  Deborah curr...

Melissa and Staci chat with Sam Stevens, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in private practice in Portland, OR. His focus is on new fathers and couples with young children. Has been facilitating the Portland New Father’s Group since 2010. He previously taught birth preparation classes for soon-to-be parents and now is asked to speak at industry and community mental health conferences...

Melissa and Staci talk with Cindy Cook from Emergence Grief and Loss in Vancouver, WA. Cindy is an Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist in the Grief Recovery Method. We discuss what the Grief Recovery Method (GRM) is, what kinds of losses typically produce grief (it’s not just death…), the six most common grief myths that often keep grievers stuck, and how everyone can receive and give better suppor...