Psych Talk

In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD). NVLD has made headlines recently after Gus Walz, son of Democratic VP Nominee Tim Walz, showed a lot of emotional expression and pride for his father at the DNC and it came out that Gus struggles with multiple disabilities, including NVLD. In this episode I discuss what NVLD is, the main areas of deficit of individu...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss the concept of suicide contagion, otherwise known as "copycat suicide." Given the sensitive nature of this episode (i.e., discussion of suicide, at one point suicide means are mentioned) please take care of yourself when listening or skip this episode if you feel it will be harmful to your mental health. Suicide contagion refers to the process whereby one...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Jessi Gold, MD, psychiatrist, writer, and mental health advocate. Dr. Jessi specializes in burnout, as well as working with college students and healthcare workers. In this episode, we discuss what burnout is, Dr. Jessi's personal experiences with burnout, as well as signs and symptoms of burnout. Dr. Jessi shares why healthcare workers are...

In today's episode I talk about cyberbullying. I start the episode by discussing the inspiration for this episode, which is the recent lawsuit filed by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif. I then discuss what cyberbullying is and examples of what it may look like. I cover why individuals may engage in cyberbullying, as well as the numerous consequences of being on the receiving end of cyberbullying. I...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I speak with Meagan Clark, LPC, NCC about Human Giver Syndrome, this concept that a certain class of humans, generally women, are expected to devote all of themselves to the service of others. Meagan first discusses her journey into specializing in women's health and defines for listeners what Human Giver Syndrome (HGS) is. She then discusses how HGS is per...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Roxanne Francis, MSW, RSW about mental health for mental health workers. As a Registered Social Worker, Roxanne does many things including therapy, consulting, and speaking. Additionally, she provides support services for other mental health professionals. Roxanne discusses why she decided to expand her services to support other mental health profes...

It is the 200th episode of Psych Talk and I am so grateful you have been here alongside me for this journey. In this episode of Psych Talk, I reflected on the podcast over the past 200 episodes, including sharing some things I am proud of, highlighting some of my most popular episodes, and shouting out many of my guests. I then answered questions submitted from my community members and covered top...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Rachel Havekost, M.Sc, writer, speaker, mental health advocate, and author of Where the River Flows. Rachel starts the conversation by sharing what inspired her to write her memoir and the experience of being so open and vulnerable with the world. We then dive into a variety of topics related to the human experience, namely challenges that many indi...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I speak with Kimberly Novosel, published author and founder of Flourish Meditation. Kimberly defines for listeners what meditation is and shares her personal journey into meditation. We discuss common misconceptions about meditation including that it is simply "clearing the mind" or that people are incapable of meditating. Kimberly discusses many of t...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Tarah and EJ Kerwin, LMFT and LPC, respectively, a married couple who owns their own private practice, hosts a podcast, and creates online programs for couples. We discuss their journey specializing in couples/relationships, opening their practice, and creating an online program for couples. Tarah and EJ discuss some of the main challenges that coup...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Jessica Posey Halligan, M.S.Ed, school psychologist and executive functioning coach, about executive functioning. Jessica discusses her journey to becoming a school psychologist and how she ended up specializing in anxiety, depression, trauma, and executive functioning. Jessica defines what executive functioning is and describes how executive functi...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. John Delatorre, PsyD, a licensed psychologist who practices forensic psychology and primarily does work for criminal courts including competency, insanity, violence and sexual violence risk, and threat assessment. Additionally, Dr. Delatorre is a psychological analyst for television news and court shows. In this episode we discuss two of his are...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Kristine Santiago, a wellness coach, personal trainer, and clinical mental health graduate student. We discuss the very important topic of domestic violence. Kristine starts the episode by discussing why she is so passionate about domestic violence and her personal experience of losing her friend to domestic violence. Kristine defines what domestic...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Stephanie Lynn, a trauma & relational recovery coach, who is passionate about relational recovery and post-betrayal dating. Stephanie shares her own experience as a betrayed partner dealing with sex addiction and sexual fetishism of her ex-partner. Stephanie discusses what betrayal in a relationship may look like, what betrayal trauma is, and so...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Kim Gross, coach and podcast host about overcoming people pleasing and perfectionism. We discuss what it means to be a victim to people pleasing and perfectionistic patterns and negative outcomes that arise from such, as well as what it means to "remove the mask" of people pleasing and perfectionism. We discuss how letting go of people pl...

June is Men's Mental Health Month and in honor of Father's Day in this episode of Psych Talk I discuss paternal mental health. Paternal mental health is an area that is under discussed and under researched, which is unfortunate as a father's mental health not only impacts his wellbeing and functioning, but also his child, partner, and family as a whole. I provide some of the [limited]...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Lynne Childress, a playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer, director, and the founder and artistic director of Building Better People Productions. Lynne discusses her journey from being a psychology major to transitioning into theater and how she now writes and performs shows for children about social and emotional issues. We discussed the social...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Charlotte Markey, professor of psychology and body image and eating-related behavior researcher. Dr. Markey describes her journey into researching body image and eating-related behaviors, as well as defines for listeners what body image is. We discuss the primary social influences on body image, including social media, and how these influences c...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dan Jordan, a licensed professional counselor, who works in higher education and specializes in working with students with hidden disabilities. Dan first describes what a hidden disability is and how students with hidden disabilities face more challenges than students without them. Dan and I discuss the transition to college for students with hidden...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with CJ Infantino, an ex-Silicon Valley Engineer turned entrepreneur who shares about his grief so others feel they can to. CJ shares his story with grief after the death of his wife to cancer. He discusses his experience with mental health and therapy before the loss of his wife, as well as what has helped him, personally and professionally, with his gr...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss maternal mental health, from infertility struggles through the postpartum period. I start the episode by defining what "maternal mental health" is and sharing some current statistics. I cover the impact of infertility on mental health, anxiety and depression during pregnancy, taking medication during pregnancy, birth trauma, and hormonal shi...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Laura Glazebook, DPT a physical therapist who specializes in scoliosis and pelvic health. Laura and I start the conversation by discussing how these diagnoses can impact one's mental health and body image. Laura discusses how these diagnoses often are associated with fear of pain, in turn, limiting one's mobility and functioning and disc...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Heather Taylor, PsyD, licensed psychologist specializing in grief. Dr. Heather first discusses her journey to specializing in grief. She then discusses the various ways in which grief can impact us and the spectrum of grief. Dr. Heather discusses the dual processing model, as well as tasks of mourning and processing art, which she utilizes in th...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Dr. Maike Neuhaus, PhD, psychologist and coach, all about positive psychology. Dr. Maike discusses what positive psychology is and her journey into specializing in positive psychology, specifically the construct of flourishing. Dr. Maike discusses the dual continua model of mental health by Corey Keyes and how mental illness and mental wellbeing ar...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss the diagnosis of "atypical anorexia". Atypical anorexia is not considered a subtype of anorexia nervosa but, rather, falls under the category of “Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder” in the DSM-5-TR. I discuss the similarities and differences between anorexia nervosa and "atypical" anorexia, as well as the concerns over the...