Phoenix Rising With Dr Z: Conversations About Grief and Loss

Born Into Loss: Grieving Deceased Siblings, Replacement Dynamics, and Healing After Family Silence   Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z in a conversation about healing grief and trauma, focusing on “born after loss” experiences, disenfranchised grief for a sibling never met, and shifting “replacement dynamics” within families. They explore why families may hide an adopted-out...

Born Into Loss: Healing After a Deceased Sibling with Dr. Z & Sarah Vollman   Dr. Christina Zampitella speaks with grief and loss clinician, researcher, and art therapist Sarah Vollman about being “born into loss,” when a child is born after a sibling has died. Vollman shares her family story of her sister Julie’s sudden drowning death at age six and discusses how traumatic loss reshapes famil...

Father's Day After Loss: Navigating Grief, Love & Complicated Relationships   Father's Day can be one of the most complicated days of the year for grieving people. In this special Father's Day episode, Dr. Christina Zampitella shares both personal and professional reflections on what it means to navigate grief when reminders of loss are everywhere. Drawing from her own experience of losing her...

Christina Zampitella hosts Gyani Richards, a grief counselor who shares how losing his father to cancer at age 13 shaped his lifelong path into meditation, mindfulness, and grief work. They discuss grief’s intensity and the fight/flight/freeze response, why self-compassion often disappears after loss, and how societal pressure and disenfranchised grief can amplify the inner critic. Gyani explains...

Mindfulness & Grief: Self-Compassion, the Inner Critic, and Learning to Breathe Underwater    Christina Zampitella hosts Gyani Richards, a grief counselor who shares how losing his father to cancer at age 13 shaped his lifelong path into meditation, mindfulness, and grief work. They discuss grief’s intensity and the fight/flight/freeze response, why self-compassion often disappears after loss,...

The Body’s Language of Grief: Felt Emotion and Mind-Body Healing with Dr. Jenn Rapkin (Part 1)   Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts Phoenix Rising and speaks with Dr. Jenn Rapkin about building tolerance for everyday and intense emotions through somatic awareness rather than distraction. They discuss how constant access to phones, media, food, and other numbing habits reduces our ability to sit with b...

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Dr. Christina Zampitella sits down with naturopathic physician and body worker Dr. Jenn Rapkin to explore the body’s role in grief, trauma, and emotional healing. Together, they unpack the concept of “felt emotion” — the physical experience of emotions like grief, anxiety, anger, and overwhelm — and why so many people become disconnected from what their bod...

Linking Objects in Grief: What to Keep, What to Let Go & How Memories Live On | Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z   Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts a conversation on “linking objects” and how personal items can comfort or overwhelm after loss. The guest shares that individual objects usually evoke positive memories, but the sheer volume of an estate can create resentment, burden, and anger—especially w...

Linking Objects in Grief: Finding Comfort and Continued Bonds with Mimi Rayl | Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z   Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts Mimi Rayl on Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z to explain “linking objects,” physical items that help maintain a healthy continued bond with someone who has died while allowing a person to move forward rather than “move on.” Mimi shares losses including her partner Jack...

Supporting Student Athletes After Suicide Loss with Chris Warren (Part 2)   In this episode of Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z, Dr. Christina Zampitella continues her conversation with Chris Warren, exploring the ongoing impact of losing student athletes to suicide. This part of the conversation focuses on what happens after the initial loss and how grief is processed in groups, the role of community in...

Supporting Student Athletes After Suicide Loss with Chris Warren (Part 1)   In this episode of Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z, Dr. Christina Zampitella sits down with Chris Warren, LPCMH (Licensed Professional Counselor at the Center for Grief and Trauma Therapy) to talk about the loss of student athletes to suicide and the impact of that loss from the perspective of a coach and mentor. Chris shares hi...

In this episode, Dr. Christina Zampitella continues her conversation with grief coach, author, and widow Kelci Jager. While Part 1 focused on the story of loss, this episode explores what comes after — the reality of living as a widow and navigating life after everything changes. Kelci shares what it has been like to continue forward after her husband’s death, including parenting, rebuilding daily...

Becoming a Widow: Kelsey Jagger on Trauma, Faith, and Looking for the Light   Dr. Christina Zampitella introduces Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z and interviews grief coach and author Kelci Jager, founder of Rise With Grief, about becoming a widow after her husband Colin died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in July 2022. Kelci shares a series of traumatic events after moving to Florida, including a 2020...

The Impact of Loss on Couples and Families | Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z ft. Perlyn Severe   Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z and welcomes Perlyn Severe, a licensed marriage and family therapist at the Center for Grief and Trauma Therapy with advanced substance abuse certification, to discuss how grief and trauma impact couples and family systems. Sever shares her background...

Healing Through Grief, Trauma & Chronic Illness: Support Systems, Agency, and Finding Meaning | Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts a Phoenix Rising conversation focused on healing from grief, trauma, and chronic or life-threatening illness. The discussion emphasizes the necessity of healthy social support and the harm of “problematic” support that minimizes illness, and s...

Chronic Illness in Limbo: Autoimmune Disease, Lymphoma, and Finding Control   Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z, a podcast focused on healing through grief and trauma, and introduces an episode on chronic and life-threatening illness featuring guest Annika. Annika shares a broad overview of her medical history, starting with Graves disease diagnosed at 17 after her dentist u...

Rising from Chronic Illness In this episode of Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z, Dr. Christina Zampitella hosts an in-depth conversation with Samantha about overcoming the challenges of living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other chronic illnesses. The discussion covers their personal experiences, the emotional and physical impacts, as well as navigating the healthcare system and finding the right trea...

Rising from Chronic Illness: Dr. Samantha Sanderson Brown's MS Journey In this episode of Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z, host Dr. Christina Za Patella engages in a heartfelt conversation with Dr. Samantha Sanderson Brown. Dr. Samantha shares her personal journey and experiences of being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2017. They discuss the early symptoms, the challenges in getting a diagnos...

Losing A Grandparent (Part 2) Navigating Grief and Family Bonds: A Conversation on Loss and Healing In this episode of Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z, host Dr. Christina Za Patella sits down to discuss the intricacies of grieving the loss of grandparents and the restorative love within family dynamics. The conversation covers personal stories of grief, the importance of maintaining family bonds, and ho...

In this two-part episode, Dr. Christina Zampitella sits down with licensed marriage and family therapist Marcus Scarfo for an open and heartfelt conversation about what it’s like to grieve the loss of a grandparent — particularly when that grandparent played a central, stabilizing role in the family. Marcus shares the story of his grandfather’s death and how it quietly unraveled parts of his ident...

The Anniversary of My Cancer Diagnosis In this deeply personal solo episode, Dr. Christina Zampitella opens up about the emotional weight of the two-year anniversary of her leukemia diagnosis. From lingering fears and disrupted sleep to a powerful reminder that grief and trauma don’t follow a linear timeline, Dr. Z shares how even after healing begins, the body and mind continue to carry echoes of...

Unanticipated Loss with Jennifer Levin, FT – Part 2 Grieving the unimaginable takes more than time — it takes validation, stabilization, and the space to be fully human. In Part 2 of this deeply moving conversation, Dr. Christina Zampitella continues her discussion with grief and trauma expert Dr. Jennifer Levin, diving into what it really means to navigate unanticipated loss. This episode offers...

Unanticipated Loss with Dr. Jennifer Levin (Part 1): Unanticipated loss can shake the very core of who we are — leaving us not only grieving but questioning, searching, and trying to make sense of the senseless. In this special two-part episode, Dr. Christina Zampitella sits down with Dr. Jennifer Levin, a nationally recognized expert in traumatic grief, to explore what makes these sudden losses s...

In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Dr. Christina Zampitella and Angela Dean continue exploring the complex emotional landscape of chronic illness. From rebuilding identity after diagnosis to understanding the nuances of grief in long-term illness, this episode dives deep into what it means to live fully — even when your body won’t cooperate. Whether you're navigating illness yourself or supp...

Description: In this two-part series, Dr. Z sits down with psychologist Dr. Angela Dean for a powerful, candid conversation about chronic illness and its impact on mental health, relationships, identity, and grief. Drawing from their personal and professional experiences, they unpack the uncertainty, systemic barriers, and invisible losses that come with chronic conditions — as well as the deeply...