Psychologists Off the Clock

Many of us are struggling during this time of COVID-19 and police brutality. It can feel hard to extend compassion to those with different views, let alone to ourselves. In this episode, psychologist and creator of Superhero Therapy, Dr. Janina Scarlet, shares her origin story that led from exposure to Chernobyl radiation as a child to immigration to bullying to discovering her calling: helping pe...

Burnout. It can happen at work, and it can happen to parents, too. Nowadays, with the COVID-19 pandemic, parents are especially stressed. They are navigating new roles and demands while trying to parent, teach their kids, and provide for their families. All of this with no childcare breaks. It’s the perfect storm for Parental Burnout. In this episode, Dr. Lisa Coyne, a parenting and child expert a...

Compassion is good for your body and brain. Caring for and collaborating with others is also key for a healthy future.  In this episode, Dr. Paul Gilbert, founder of Compassion Focused Therapy, offers some wisdom and action steps to harness your compassionate mind and get through this pandemic, cooperatively.  Listen and Learn How our brains evolved to cooperateHow you can use your compassionate m...

In response to current events, we are re-releasing an interview Diana conducted in June 2019 with an African-centered psychologist and expert on racial trauma, Dr. Kristee Haggins. Racism is a public health crisis with deep, ongoing negative impacts on psychological and physical health. In this episode, Dr. Kristee Haggins discusses how to identify racial trauma and strategies to support healing....

If you – like us – are prone to parental guilt, struggle with pandemic parenting, and wonder if it’s possible to satisfy your own soul while raising kiddos then this is the episode for you! Dive in and join Yael for a candid discussion with KJ Dell’Antonia, former editor of The New York Times Motherlode Blog and author of How to Be a Happier Parent: Raising a Family, Having a Life and Loving (Almo...

Wouldn’t it be great to feel more confident, courageous, and less stuck about decision-making? In this episode, Jill talks with Patrick McGinnis, who coined the term FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) about his new book Fear of Missing Out: Practical Decision-Making in a World of Overwhelming Choice. Join us for this fun and rich discussion about the causes and pitfalls of FOMO. We also talk about FOMO’s...

We have been unexpectedly thrust into the responsibility of educating our children from home. How can we survive the "wandering nomads", boredom, video games, and parental fears that our children are “falling behind”? Is it possible to find magic, a love of learning, and joy while educating at home? In this episode, Diana interviews Julie Bogart, a master in compassionate, meaningful home educatio...

Join Yael for Part 2 of a truly transformative two-part series with Dr. Hanson about his latest book, Neurodharma: New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness. Continue to explore what’s happening in the brains of individuals who have made it their life’s work to develop a more grounded, calm and contented sense of being and learn more concrete and accessible practice...

What if you could grow a little stronger, more loving, calmer, and clearer each day? Starting today? And what if you sustain these qualities even during times of stress? This is possible, according to Dr. Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist and senior fellow at the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center. He offers a set of concrete practices to develop seven key qualities steeped in ancient wisdom p...

Many therapists have had clients who question the purpose of existence, or who are waiting until things change to start living life fully. As Dr. Robyn Walser gently reminds us in her latest book, The Heart of ACT: Developing a Flexible, Process-Based, and Client-Centered Practice Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, each moment spent waiting is another moment of life gone by. In this episode,...

If you’re anything like us, parenting—and most certainly parenting under quarantine—can feel tedious, exhausting, mundane, and sometimes downright maddening! Yet time and again parents say some of their deepest joys in life stem from the time shared with their children. In this rich episode, Yael speaks with parenting expert Dr. Daphne de Marneffe, author of Maternal Desire: On Children, Love, and...

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be paralyzing and severely affect one’s life. Successfully diagnosing and treating OCD in the teen years gives young people their lives back by helping them meaningfully re-engage with friends, school, and life in general rather than losing hours a day to awful and unwanted thoughts. In this episode, Jill talks with OCD expert and clinical psychologist Dr. P...

Trying to drag people to change doesn’t work. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative approach that increases people’s inner motivation and commitment to positive change. Motivational Interviewing is used across numerous settings including weight loss, exercise, smoking, substance use, teaching, coaching and supports people in making change for themselves. In this episode, Diana intervie...

We are facing an unprecedented challenge of how to work, parent, homeschool, and partner in the time of the Coronavirus Pandemic. During this tragedy, many of us have felt overwhelmed by the nuts and bolts of maintaining our most important life roles. In this episode, Yael and Diana draw from psychology research, personal experience, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). We discuss strategi...

In this episode, Robyn Walser, a frequent guest of the podcast, and Debbie explore how we can be our “better angels” in the midst of these extreme challenges. We can do this by making values-based decisions, while still caring for ourselves and our loved ones. Dr. Walser discusses strategies for effectively caring for one’s mental health in this current moment of extreme trauma and stress, and bey...

We all know we “should” move our bodies but some of us struggle with wanting to or get caught up in complicated, negative and rule-bound messages about how to move our bodies. Join Jill for an uplifting and motivating discussion with Dr. McGonigal, author of The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage about the intrinsic power of movement for everybody,...

Join Diana in a short Pranayama or yogic breathing meditation. Take 10 minutes to savor the present moment and your breath! Related Psychologists Off The Clock Episodes 81. A Gift For You: 10 Min Breathing Meditation70. A Gift For You: Loving-Kindness Meditation122. Taking in the Good with Dr. Rick Hanson114. The Way of Effortless Mindfulness with Loch Kelly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Stress and anxiety levels are high right now due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In this episode, Dr. Stephen Porges offers us a model of our physiology of threat and strategies to boost feelings of safeness, especially with COVID-19 anxiety. Through the lens of Polyvagal theory, Dr. Porges and Diana explore what it means to be human in the face of infectious disease, trauma, and global uncer...

In this episode, Dr. Alex Pang is back on the podcast to discuss his new book, Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less - Here's How. Last time he came on the show (Episode 45. Rest with Dr. Alex Pang), Alex told our listeners about the surprising benefits of deliberate rest on productivity and creativity. In his new book, he takes his ideas to a new level by exploring how organizations can help pr...

How often do you find yourself relating to your body as a physical being rather than a physical object? Celebrating what it can do for you instead of fixating on how it looks in the mirror? If you’re like most people, not often! All too often we find ourselves comparing how our body looks to narrowly-defined cultural ideals that are unhealthy, unsustainable, and just plain inaccessible!  In this e...

According to Dr. Rhonda Merwin, individuals with anorexia and low weight are, “doing exactly what society has told them makes sense to be a good person.” At the same time, having anorexia and being over-controlled with food narrows your life, increases preoccupation with weight, and has negative health consequences. ACT offers a novel approach to treating eating disorders. By stepping back from ea...

Do you find yourself so distracted by your phone, email, text, or social media that it’s pulling you away from things that matter? According to Nir Eyal, author of the best-selling book Indistractable, technology is not the enemy. We merely need to learn how to identify and manage the internal and external triggers that lead to distraction and make more time for traction--showing up for what matte...

Breaking up is hard to do, and time-stamped events (like, say, Valentine’s Day) can make the pain of a broken heart stand out even more than usual. As painful as it may feel, you’re not alone in what you’re experiencing. Join Yael and Debbie for a conversation about common responses to break-ups and how you can take steps towards healing. Join us as we draw from psychological science, clinical exa...

What if you could slow down the clock on your aging? According to aging expert and Harvard geneticist, Dr. David Sinclair, we now have the knowledge and technology to live longer lives, healthier. In his revolutionary research, Dr. Sinclair has identified mechanisms behind aging giving us clues into the behaviors and molecules that can potentially extend life.  Listen and Learn: Why is aging a dis...

Do you want to move your body more but find it hard to fit movement into your schedule and valued activities? It’s not your fault! According to Katy Bowman, bio-mechanist and movement specialist, our modern environment is a mismatch for our movement needs. Katy Bowman offers us some out of the box solutions to build a movement rich life that is optimal for physical, social and emotional health. Jo...