she persisted | mental health, self-care, psychology, gen z, dbt, depression, anxiety, healing

#162 In this week's solo episode, I share some of my favorite psychology facts that you can use to improve your mental health and overall well-being! I discuss shocking statistics on mental health rates in adults and teenagers, why humans are naturally resilient, what happy people have in common and the surprising benefits to our negative emotions, how our moods can affect our judgments about othe...

#161 Today's guest is Ann Coleman — a mom, attorney, educator, podcaster, and an advocate for parenting teens. After her son struggled with ADHD and multiple mental health disorders and behavior issues during his teen years, Ann quit practicing law to study adolescence and help other parents learn what she hadn’t known. We discuss her experiences parenting a son struggling with his mental health a...

#160 Today's guest is Gigi Robinson — a chronic illness and body positivity advocate, Sports Illustrated Swim Search finalist, speaker, and podcast host. We discuss her advice on navigating chronic illness as a student and how to advocate for your health, when it’s time to ask for help and set personal boundaries as a student dealing with stress and burnout, what it’s like being a social media cre...

#159 In this week's solo episode, I break down my goals for my junior year of college and answer a bunch of your questions! I discuss what my exact goals are for my junior year at Penn, how I pursue my goals with a healthy mindset, if studying psychology in school brings up emotions relating to my mental health struggles, what listeners can expect from the podcast this school year, what it’s like...

#158 Today's guest is Leandro Olszanski — a board-certified psychotherapist with 10+ years of experience helping teenagers, adults, and couples navigate their unique life challenges. He also shares mental health content on TikTok as @your.tiktok.therap1st, amassing over 3 million followers. We discuss the mental health care system in the United States, differences between going to therapy as a tee...

#157 Today's guest is Dr. Caroline Fenkel — a leader in adolescent mental healthcare with over fifteen years of direct clinical experience working with youth and families. Dr. Fenkel oversees all aspects of clinical programming at Charlie Health— the largest provider of virtual IOP treatment programs for teens, young adults, and families navigating mental health challenges. We discuss why it’s so...

#156 This week's solo episode is about tracking your mental health! I discuss how tracking your mental health can increase awareness and therefore facilitate behavior and mood changes. I cover different types of tracking such as DBT diary cards, bullet journaling, emotion trackers, apps, and more! We also go over how tracking can vary in an inpatient and clinical vs. outpatient and more casual set...

#155 Today's guest is Nicole Baker —a life coach specializing in helping perfectionists, a Life Coach Baker podcast host, and a goal-setting specialist. We discuss why perfectionists tend to struggle with anxiety, differences between being a perfectionist and being a high-achiever, how perfectionists’ brains are wired differently than the typical brain, why certain people are proud to be perfectio...

#154 Today's guest is Erin Treolar —a celebrity health & life coach, meditation teacher and host of the Raw Beauty Talks podcast. We discuss Erin's experience navigating an eating disorder at 16, overcoming fear surrounding accepting treatment, the cognitive distortions of anorexia/aka the eating disorder "voice," how mental eating disorders are despite being perceived as being very behavior-b...

#153 Today's solo episode is all about emotional vulnerability in teens! I explain the DBT model of emotions and the biopsychosocial theory as a background for how teens understand their emotions and why certain teens are more emotionally reactive. I then discuss why physical vulnerability affects teens' emotional regulation skills and how to decrease physical vulnerability using the DBT PLEASE sk...

#152 Today's guest is Abbie Stasior — a Columbia University graduate student, soon to be Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and founder of Be About Being Better, a company that aims to show people a diet-free, sustainable healthy lifestyle is possible. In this episode, we discuss the dangers of diet culture, the differences between being healthy versus engaging in disordered behaviors and when to...

#151 Kate is an expert college coach and admissions consultant dedicated to unlocking the full potential of young individuals and guiding them toward their academic aspirations. In this episode, we discuss tips and brainstorming exercises for how to craft your resume and essays when applying to colleges, advice on what colleges are really looking for in your applications and what you can do to sta...

#150 In today's solo episode, I am answering a bunch of your questions on mental health when applying to college and while attending college! I talk all about how to practice self-care even while busy in college and how to avoid burnout, how you can enjoy the present and make the most of your college experience, what to do when your workload is becoming overwhelming, what you can do freshman year...

#149 Today's guests are Dr. Sarah Olivo and Dr. Liz Seidler— two clinical psychologists and hosts of the College is Fine, Everything is Fine podcast who've helped students navigate the highs and lows of college for over a decade. In this episode, we discuss why college students can benefit from using DBT skills, how to manage your emotions, understand others’ states of mind, and use your wise mind...

#148 Today's guest is Emi Nietfeld — an author, mental health advocate, and speaker whose works include her 2022 memoir Acceptance and her viral New York Times essay on her experience working at Google. In this episode, we discuss how she incorporated her mental health journey into her Harvard admissions essays, how to navigate the college admissions process when your mental health has affected yo...

Today's guest is Dr. Bianca Busch — a board-certified adult and board-eligible child & adolescent psychiatrist who specializes in helping college students flourish. In this episode, we discuss why exactly college students experience so many mental health challenges, signs your mental health may be at a breaking point in college and when/where to reach out for support, ways to boost your mental...

Today's solo episode is all about how to maintain your mental health (aka avoid making your mental health WORSE) during times when you're struggling! We discuss the background on why keeping your mental health at a net neutral is effective from a DBT perspective and then dive into coping mechanisms and skills you can use to prevent your mental health from getting worse in the short AND long-term....

Today's guest is Nicole Shallow — a sleep expert, behavior coach, and public speaker who works to help others develop habits that ultimately improve their overall quality of life. In this episode, we discuss signs that you might be struggling to get good sleep, why teenagers often struggle most with getting good sleep, an ideal sleep schedule for teens and how teens can begin to try out this sched...

Today's guest is Dr. Nicole LePera, a clinical psychologist, author, podcaster, and creator of the "Holistic Psychologist" platform that has amassed over 6.5 million followers on Instagram. Dr. LePera shares her holistic psychology approach—which involves a united philosophy of mental, physical, and spiritual wellness—with her mass audience to equip people with interdisciplinary healing tools. In...

Today's solo episode is all about exposure therapy! We discuss what exactly exposure therapy is, how it works, and who can benefit from it, the four different types of exposure therapy, my most embarrassing experiences with exposure therapy and how they ultimately lowered my anxiety, and a step-by-step method for how you can try out exposure therapy yourself. This episode is a MUST LISTEN if you s...

Today's guest is Kristen Carder — an ADHD expert, top podcast host, and internationally-recognized mindset coach for adults with ADHD. In this episode, we discuss differences between presentations of ADHD in adults, children, and teens, the most common symptoms of ADHD, how parents can best support their children and teens with ADHD, the ADHD spectrum and why certain people are under-diagnosed, ad...

Today's guest is Alexandra Wyman — an author, podcaster, speaker and grief navigator. After losing her husband to suicide, Alexandra wrote The Suicide Club: What to Do When Someone You Love Chooses Death to offer a road back to peace and joy for anyone who has lost someone close to them to suicide. In this episode, we discuss Alexandra's journey to becoming an advocate for people whose loved ones...

In today's solo episode, I am answering a bunch of your questions! I share my tips on how to advocate for your needs with others, why we sometimes look for unhealthy attention and how to avoid this behavior, how to cope when someone needs space from you, how to build trust with yourself, what to talk about in therapy sessions, and how to navigate a loved one's willfulness. MENTIONED + She Persiste...

Today's guest is Britt Frank—a licensed psychotherapist, trauma specialist, speaker, award-winning adjunct instructor, and author of The Science of Stuck . In this episode, we discuss why people get stuck in the first place, signs you may be getting stuck with your personal goals or relationships, the truth behind laziness, the neuroscience behind getting stuck and pursuing goals, how to set and p...

Today's solo episode is all about how to cope when you are experiencing a panic attack or other forms of intense anxiety. We discuss three DBT distress tolerance skills that will help you stop a panic attack in its tracks: The STOP skill, the TIPP skill, and the ACCEPTS and IMPROVE skill. If you struggle with anxiety, this is a MUST LISTEN & I share a coping skill that is 100% effective, every...