ShrinkChicks

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are answering your questions about self-trust and holding yourself accountable in a compassionate way. The episode begins by addressing the "shoulds" that can come with the start of the New Year and shame vs. self-compassion when it comes to setting goals. Em and Jen discuss self-trust, where it stems from, and how to work on strengthening it. They answer...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen sit down with one of their dear friends, Kayleigh Summers, LCSW. Kayleigh, aka The Birth Trauma Mama, shares her vulnerable birth trauma story and details how the experience led her to where she is today. Kayleigh discusses topics like toxic positivity when it comes to trauma, why “getting over it” is not the goal, others invalidating birth t...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking through your questions and confessions that you're too scared to ask and tell your therapist! They cover topics like asking your therapist what your diagnosis is, processing the fear of judgment in therapy, and what is "too personal" of a question to ask your therapist (such as, do they have a toxic MIL, too?). Em and Jen discuss looking up yo...

The holidays are upon us, and Emmalee and Jen are taking a break from a new episode to spend time with their loved ones and recharge for the New Year! This week, they wanted to re-release the episode Inner Child Work & Wounds as this time of year can bring up a LOT. The episode begins with Emmalee and Jen explaining what inner child work actually entails. They discuss inner child wounds and ho...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are sharing the second part of their two-part series, where they answer your questions about how to survive the holidays this season! They discuss how to bring back childhood and holiday joy, what to do if your kid doesn’t react positively when given a present, the mental load of the holidays, transitioning from your family of origin to the creation of yo...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are sharing part one of a two-part series where they answer your questions about how to survive the holidays this season! They discuss how to protect your peace, regressing when you’re home for the holidays, navigating splitting the holidays with your partner’s family, building up your distress tolerance when it comes to disappointing others,...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are joined by the incredible Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, an internal medicine physician, a leading voice in healthcare, founder and board president of  End Well , and host of the  Before We Go  podcast (@ beforewegopodcast )! Shoshana shares her personal story of grief, anticipatory grief, and dealing with her own mortality. Emmalee, Jen, and Shoshana discu...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are re-sharing one of their favorite episodes while they take a little Thanksgiving break. This time of year is filled with decisions, both big and small, and Em and Jen are validating the various challenges that can come when making decisions. They talk through what makes us freeze when faced with a decision, analysis paralysis that comes with an abundan...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking about spite and motivation. They start the episode off by discussing both of their ADHD diagnoses and how motivation, for them, can be hard to come by. Then, they define spite by explaining the two different types and discussing the motivation behind proving people wrong. Emmalee and Jen share how spite was the catalyst for starting their busi...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen normalize and validate the occurrence of intrusive thoughts. They start the episode off by sharing the definition of intrusive thoughts and some statistics about them. Then they discuss postpartum intrusive thoughts, the difference between intrusive thoughts and rumination, assigning meaning to these thoughts, how to bring them up to your the...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are sitting down with a dear friend, John Scardina. He is a former school psychologist whose current mission is to highlight male vulnerability and connect men with other men. John talks with Em and Jen about breaking negative familial and societal cycles, our relationship with our fathers, masculinity and humanity, anger as a "cover-up" emotion in men, a...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are helping us differentiate between being kind and being walked all over or taken advantage of. They start the episode by explaining how the feeling of resentment can provide information to help differentiate between the two. Then they discuss the socialization of women to always be kind, why we have this idea that holding people accountable...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are thrilled to welcome Nedra Glover Tawwab back to the podcast! Nedra is a licensed therapist, a New York Times Bestselling author, and an expert on relationships and boundaries. If you haven’t followed her on  Instagram  yet, go do it now! They start the episode off by talking about Nedra's new book,  Consider This , which just hit shelves last week. Th...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are sharing the life lessons they've learned throughout the years that have shifted their perspectives. They discuss how helping can really be a way to control, why being clear = being kind, feelings of stuckness and remembering everything is temporary, de-personalizing other people’s reactions, and so much more! Then, Em and Jen share their...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are joined by one of their amazing clinicians from their therapy practice, Dr. Lindsay Haston! Lindsay talks to us about where to begin when releasing control, letting go of control both externally and internally, and why fear can hold us back. She discusses the main modality she uses with her clients, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and what it...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are helping us learn how to take responsibility for our emotional reactions. They discuss the guilt/shame cycle that can occur after an emotional reaction and how to stop it, what a genuine apology looks like, how to communicate when you're hurting, setting boundaries with others who emotionally react to you, and so much more! The episode end...

Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking about what it actually looks like to respond, not react. They discuss the practice of responding and not reacting, identifying and understanding your personal triggers, responding vs. reacting with others AND with yourself, why romantic relationships typically trigger us the most, and working toward not absorbing other peoples’ energy/mood. The ep...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen share tips and tricks to help you build self-confidence and self-esteem. They discuss why doing something new can trigger feelings of insecurity, self-confidence and mastery, how to know if your inner critic is right or wrong, building self-confidence with a core wound of unworthiness, how to validate yourself, when people's opinions matter vs. when they...

On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are covering a topic that they differ greatly on: when to speak up (what Jen works on) and when to bite your tongue (what Em works on). So whether you are an Em or a Jen - they got you! They discuss questions to ask yourself when debating whether to say something, harming yourself by staying quiet vs. harming the other person by saying too mu...

This week's episode is a re-release of one of Emmalee and Jen's favorite episodes. They   want to model what they often share, which is the importance of resting and taking breaks in order to continue to show up as the best versions of themselves. The topic is one that constantly receives questions: what to do when the people in your life aren't "doing the work?" Whether that's your family member,...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are explaining the difference between having empathy for someone vs. enabling someone, as they can feel very similar. They start off the episode by sharing ways to recognize the line between the two and speak on why it can be challenging to shift the dynamic in a relationship where we're enabling. Emmalee and Jen discuss how to apply this same logic to ou...

Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are joined by two incredible guests, Dr. Sophia Brandstetter and Karen Smith, LCSW! Both Sophia and Karen are therapists who have advanced training in and specialize in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Together, they discuss who is a candidate for KAP, a detailed explanation of what KAP looks like, KAP in a group setting vs. individual setting and what...

On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking all about anticipatory anxiety. They begin by explaining the different reasons and scenarios where we might experience anticipatory anxiety, along with what could trigger it for us. Emmalee and Jen share their own personal experiences with anticipatory anxiety and how it manifests for them. They help you to recognize anticipatory anxi...

On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are thrilled to sit down with Alua Arthur! Alua is a speaker, an author, and the founder of  Going with Grace , a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. The three of them discuss the often uncomfortable topic of death and how to get more comfortable with it so that it doesn't feel as overwhelming and scary. Emmalee and Jen st...

This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are digging deeper into our childhood wounds and exploring how they may affect our friendships today. They start the episode by explaining the four different common core wounds to help you identify yours. Then, they share which core wound they each most identify with and how Jen's wound can trigger Emmalee's and vice versa. They discuss how we can work on...