Ruthless Compassion with Dr. Marcia Sirota

Dr. Hillary Cauthen is a clinical sport psychologist based in Austin TX. Hillary was a division 1 college track athlete, before embarking on a career focusing on the mental health and mental performance dimensions of high performers. She studied and competed at the University of New Hampshire, and Miami, Ohio, before completing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the Chicago School of Professi...

Darlynn is a recovering "mad mom". After spending the first 5 years of parenting yelling at her kids and feeling like crap, she massively transformed herself and her approach to parenting by diving into a self-healing journey that led her to become a certified life coach and parenting expert. Now, she's on a mission to heal the next generation in advance by helping moms find true calm, gain skills...

Fredric Schiffer is an assistant professor of psychiatry, part-time, at Harvard Medical School and a research associate at McLean Hospital. He has developed a theory of psychology that is the subject of his recent book Goodbye Anxiety, Depression, Addiction, & PTSD: The Life-Changing Science of Dual Brain Psychology . The theory has been studied extensively at Harvard and its support and appli...

Toni Bergins, M.Ed., is an embodiment trailblazer who has taught at the premier holistic healing centers for the last 27 years. She is on the faculty at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, and has worked there as a movement artist, dance educator, expressive arts workshop leader, and expert in creating transformational workshops. Her new book is, Embody: Feel, Heal, and Transform Your Life t...

Michelle D. Sherman, PhD LP ABPP (she/her) is the co-author of Loving Someone with a Mental Illness or History of Trauma (written with her mother) and a licensed clinical psychologist who has dedicated her career to supporting families dealing with a mental illness or trauma/PTSD. She has worked in diverse settings, including the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system, private practice, and acade...

Dr. Supatra Tovar is one of the only clinical psychologists in the country who is also a registered dietitian and accredited fitness expert. Dr. Tovar's unique background and integrated specializations allow her to provide holistic mind-body treatment for trauma, eating disorders, depression, and anxiety for children and adults. Dr. Tovar has numerous scholarly and professional presentations at se...

Sacha Mardou is a cartoonist and long-form graphic novelist who lives in St Louis, Missouri with her family. Working in both fiction and autobiography, her comics explore interior experiences such as mental illness, emotional dynamics within families, and healing from trauma. Her latest book is Past Tense: Facing Family Secrets and Finding Myself in Therapy (Avery, October 2024). @Mardou_Draws (IG...

*Trigger Warning: This episode mentions suicide. If you or anyone you know are struggling with thoughts of suicide please reach out to the Suicide Crisis Helpline at 9-8-8 (available anywhere in Canada).* Stacy Blemaster grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She received a BA from Brown University in theater and then went on to be licensed in counseling and human services, earning a MA from John Carrol...

International Speaker and Violinist Diane Allen is a TEDx/TED Speaker, and Thought Leader who speaks on increasing the meaning, joy, and fulfillment in one's work and life by accessing the flow state. As the author of Flow: Unlock Your Genius, Love What You Do , Diane shares her insights on how to harness the power of flow. Years before neuroscientists discovered the positive impact of the flow st...

Author Patti Clark has been described as a cross between Elizabeth Gilbert and Julia Cameron. Patti is an award-winning author, accomplished speaker and workshop leader. As the author of This Way Up: Seven Tools for Unleashing Your Creative Self and Transforming Your Life , Patti has been featured on TVNZ's Breakfast Show, and her work has been featured in numerous publications including The Wall...

DAVID ROCHE is a popular motivational speaker and performer, and he has taken his one-man show, The Church of 80% Sincerity , on tour across the world, performing from Sydney to Moscow, London to Los Angeles, and even at the White House. He has also had several roles in films and documentaries. A recent recipient of the Order of Canada, Roche is also a volunteer for the Sunshine Coast Hospice in B...

Brian Joseph is the author of Vegas Concierge: Sex Trafficking, Hip Hop, and Corruption In America . He has worked as a newspaper reporter and investigative journalist for about 20 years, writing for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Orange County Register, and the Sacramento Bee, among other publications. In 2013-14, he was an investigative reporting fellow at the University of California, Berkel...

LYN SMITH GREGORY grew up in Utah as one of nine children in a devout Mormon family. Her great, great uncle was Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church. At 19, she left the Church and moved to New York City, eventually obtaining an MBA at NYU. After a 20-year career in the tech industry, she left to pursue writing full-time and has attended the Iowa Summer Writing Program and the Bread Loaf Wri...

Dr. Farzana is a Toronto-based author, activist and psychotherapist. Since 1993, Farzana has been a social worker at community based agencies and a mental health hospital. She is now in private practice where she provides psychotherapy to individuals and couples and clinical consultation to other therapists. She is a founding member of the End FGM Canada Network and WeSpeakOut, two organizations t...

Misty Pratt is a science communicator and author of the book All In Her Head: How Gender Bias Harms Women's Mental Health . With over a decade of experience working in the field of biomedical research, Misty unpacks how personal and systemic biases have shaped our scientific understanding of disease and wellness. Misty has written for publications including Broadview, Mindful.org, and Today's Pare...

Patricia Roos was a professor of sociology at Rutgers University when in 2015 her 25-year-old son Alex died from a heroin overdose. Her training as a sociologist led her on a quest to better understand what happened to her family. Building on her professional and academic perspectives, she wrote a sociological memoir, Surviving Alex: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Addiction , published in May...

Tracey Yokas creates stuff. When she isn't writing about mental health and wellness, she can be found playing with paint, glitter, and glue. She shares about her family's journey with mental illness so others will know they are not alone. She is dedicated to supporting women in the journey towards authenticity, and fulfills her mission by creating safe spaces where art, words, and vulnerability me...

Michael Tennant is the Founder, and CEO of Curiosity Lab, a purpose-driven venture studio and consultancy that builds products and experiences that teach empathy, creator of the empathy card game, Actually Curious, and author of The Power of Empathy, described by Inc. as "effectively balancing a self-help approach with a practical explanation of how we can use empathy as a tool". Michael and his w...

Anita Nowak, PhD, is an empathy evangelist, author, TEDx speaker, podcaster, award-winning educator, certified coach, and founder of Purposeful Empathy by Design, an advisory firm that helps purpose-driven organizations create cultures of empathy and social impact. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of changemakers, she teaches Leadership, Ethics in Management, and Social Entrepreneurs...

Jessi Kneeland (they/them) is a queer and non-binary body image coach, speaker, and author of the book BODY NEUTRAL: A Revolutionary Guide to Overcoming Body Image Issues. Through a concept called body neutrality—the practice of consciously stripping our bodies of all false or inflated meaning, biases, and moral significance—Jessi is committed both to helping individuals feel more empowered, worth...

Award-winning author, Alysson Foti Bourque, began her career as a teacher after graduating from University of Louisiana Lafayette with a degree in Elementary Education. She earned a law degree from the Southern University Law Center in 2007. After practicing law for six years, it was time to trade in writing trial briefs for writing children’s books. Alysson enjoys speaking with children and teach...

Dr. Leslie Dobson is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist in California. She has over 20 years of psychology experience. She has worked in maximum security settings with individuals who committed violent felonies and were found to have a severe mental illness. Over the past three years, Dr. Dobson has primarily focused on civil law. She is an expert in psychological evaluations to determi...

Disclaimer: We were having difficulties with our audio. We apologize for the poor sound quality. Loretta Breuning, PhD, is Founder of the Inner Mammal Institute and Professor Emerita of Management at California State University, East Bay. She is the author of many personal development books, including Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endor...

Dr. Paul Zeitz is a preventive medicine physician, epidemiologist, author, and award-winning champion of global justice and human rights. He has been on the front lines of the global AIDS movement, climate transformation, racial and gender equity, authentic democracy, sustainable development, and child welfare in the U.S. and around the world. Often when the odds against success appeared to be ins...

Liza holds a master's degree in counselling psychology and a PhD in general psychology. She conducts research, teaches and writes in an attempt to spread awareness and knowledge beyond the four walls of her therapy practice. A passionate believer in social equality and social justice, Liza serves on the board of ALFREDS, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and communities. Yo...