The Dr. Psych Mom Show with clinical psychologist Dr. Samantha Rodman Whiten

Meredith is the first therapist I ever hired at Best Life and she's awesome. Today's episode covers everything about ketamine assisted therapy, including step by step what the sessions are like, how you can now do it from the comfort of your home, the experiences she and I had with ketamine ourselves, ketamine assisted couples therapy, and the intersection of medication and therapy overall...

Look out if you are dating someone with this mantra! You will always come fourth... and if they are dating after divorce with kids, you'll come fifth! Also: this appears to be the cultural moment of the avoidant! Why? Well, listen and find out. Join my awesome Midlife Women's Group here: ⁠⁠drpsychmom.com/mwg⁠⁠ To get over 200 more episodes, most recent "Being With An Avoidant Partner...

Today's special guest is Renata Ellera, a clinical psychologist from Brazil who writes the smart and relationship-focused Substack Love Better . Our fun discussion covered a range of topics including cute Instagram couples ruining people's perspective of their own relationships, advice we would give to anxiously attached women dating avoidant guys, cultural differences between here and Bra...

Meredith Masony is awesome. I met her ten years ago at Blog U, a now defunct conference for mommy bloggers, and she has since skyrocketed to internet fame. This is a very honest and open chat about periods, HRT, perimenopause, parenting teens, empty nest, being a woman in the public eye, breast augmentation (which we did a decade apart!), marriage issues, her "second mountain," the near...

Today we have Lana Li, who I follow on Substack! We discuss dating as a young overeducated woman in New York City, lol. She was doing that till recently and I was doing it 25 years ago! We had a fun conversation about using data in dating, the end of the honeymoon stage, avoidant men and preoccupied women, and more! Follow Lana here: https://lovemelikearobot.substack.com/ Join the Midlife Women's...

Today's episode discusses how to become 100 times wiser in a minute: Whenever you hear any relationship story from one side, assume if the partner told you their perspective you'd agree that the other one was terrible! Listen, I also used to think that everyone was a reliable narrator even through the initial years of being a therapist. The reality is that people unintentionally tell only...

In today's longest episode ever, we go through the backstory of Brandi, who is a Developmental Psychology PhD and whose husband came out as transgender after years of marital dysfunction. What I love about Brandi, who I also knew in grad school, is how she owns her own contribution to this dysfunction, looking at her part through an attachment lens. Anyone who has been involved with an avoidan...

Today I have an amazing guest who is a true expert on all things addiction! Duane Osterlind is a therapist who has been working in the field of addiction for two decades and who hosts the podcast The Addicted Mind. We discuss: - What is sex addiction? - How do couples repair after betrayal trauma/PTSD? - What is "deceptive sexuality"? - What is the role of childhood trauma in eventual sex addictio...

I came up with this funny phrase in a couples session and told the couple it was too good not to use in a podcast! :) Some women feel like the CEO of the home, and they are okay with that, as long as the man acts like the COO or the CTO or anything but the CFO.... The Chief Fucking Officer. If all that your wife feels that you spearhead in the home is related to your spearhead, this isn't going to...

Many guys think that a woman taking care of a man is a turn off to her, and think "The only thing I really want from her is sex, so that will be my only ask." In fact, this makes her feel unloved, devalued, and like a sex worker. Here's how to change the frame and open yourself up to the scary feeling of interdependence, which is particularly hard for workhorse men! Join the Midlife Women's group...

Another rollicking good time and intriguing discussion with my spirit animal from across the pond: the inimitable Laura How! We discuss marriage, gender, how having a child shapes your ability to love, growing up in dysfunctional families, whether I will ever see her husband Russ on an episode, sons vs daughters, relationship skills vs innate compatibility, and so much more!! Leave a comment if yo...

Dr. Amanda Akers, one of our awesome Best Life clinicians, has a free flowing and often funny discussion with me about the ins and outs of psychoanalytic therapy. We cover myths vs reality, why both of us take a deeper perspective than CBT, our own thoughts about the impact of childhood in adulthood, and I ask her the most common questions I get from clients about this approach, like... how long d...

In this episode, I have an awesome special guest: Tehilla Luttig, LMHC! Tehilla is a licensed therapist in South Africa who sees therapy clients internationally and coaching clients in the U.S. and Canada for Best Life Behavioral Health. We discuss infidelity, attachment styles, and much more! Learn about who cheats and why, what people think about infidelity vs reality, and how to recover and mov...

Many guys have no idea how women internalize the idea that if you tell a man anything about his penis that isn't positive, you will destroy his self-esteem and his penis will never work again and IT WILL BE ALL HER FAULT! Today's episode discusses the origin of this idea, how it sabotages open communication and connection, and how to get over this myth and move forward (unless you tend to take eve...

Got a comment on Facebook on a post about how a common mistake people make in their 40s is not allotting enough time to foreplay. This guy said: "It's not people, it's women who need the foreplay. Let's keep things accurate if we are going to educate." I always do aim to educate and give accurate info, so here's a deeper dive into what I see in practice in terms of men and foreplay! Join the Midli...

The death of your parent(s) is a significant life event, and can lead to tremendous change in your self-concept. No matter how old you are, this makes you recognize that you are truly older, and the top generation. This was one topic we discussed this past week in the midlife women's group, and it resonated with many, whether or not you're close to your parent. And join the Midlife Women's group h...

In this episode, I'm joined by Alyx Coble-Frakes, the CEO and founder of The Agenda., an awesome app that helps women understand and optimize their lives around their menstrual cycles and hormonal health. We are both in our luteal phases recording this lol. And we are both divorced and remarried/she is engaged. So much in common. Including that she lives next to my favorite state of Nebraska! A re...

What a special treat! Today we have an interview with the ultimate otrovert Dr. K, who wrote the book The Gift Of Not Belonging ( https://amzn.to/4nv3OqT )! He and I are both otroverts and we discuss how that manifests in love, family, career, and more. Highlights include: - Otroverts are trendspotters - Midlife crisis and why it happens - Do otroverts do better married to other otroverts? (Spoile...

There is a lot of popular media discourse about the challenges of eldest daughters, but I haven't seen anything about eldest sons. I have many of these high achieving, responsible men in my practice, and they have a unique set of struggles. Listen to understand yourself or your partner better! Join the Midlife Women's group: ⁠⁠⁠⁠drpsychmom.com/mwg⁠⁠⁠⁠ I've started making podcast PLAYLISTS! all abo...

All about otroverts! I can't wait to interview the creator of this idea in a few days, Dr. Rami Kaminski. For now you will have to settle for my discussion of this new term, coined only in June 2025! Take the test at the bottom of this page: https://www.othernessinstitute.com/in-other-words/a-deeper-dive-into-otrovert-traits/ Buy the book: https://amzn.to/4gRuEaK https://amzn.to/4gRuEaK The ot...

Today's episode features a special guest: Jackie Aston, LCSW-C, who provides therapy to individuals and couples in D.C. and Maryland. We discuss the fascinating link between porn use in men and eating disordered behaviors in their partners. What is the commonality between these behaviors and why would they manifest in similar types of individuals? Really interesting discussion with Jackie Aston, a...

People who were raised in authoritarian homes often feel compelled to assert their individuality across multiple domains: hobbies, preferred music/TV/movies, food, what they like in bed or in the romantic sphere, and anything else. They fear that if they try new things at others' behest, this means they aren't being true to themselves. But, this closemindedness stops them from being loving...

Suzanna Mathews is an awesome relationship and dating coach at Best Life Behavioral Health, and she was a fantastic guest on the podcast. In this episode, we talk about tantra, what it is and isn't, how it can transform your intimate connection emotionally and sexually, and a few very concrete ways to start incorporating it into the bedroom! Learn about Suzanna and schedule an individual or co...

Laura How is an awesome couples counselor and coach based in the UK. She runs an excellent YouTube channel and podcast, and I was so excited to have her on the show to talk about sex, marriage, relationships, and life! We are on the same page with so many topics, and part two will be coming since we couldn't get everything covered in one show! More about Laura: https://laurahow.com/ https://ww...

I read this somewhere and it makes a lot of sense and dovetails with a lot of the topics I discuss. Specifically, have you been thinking your marriage is the problem... but you are underestimating the impact of hormones, biology, and evolution on your "restlessness"? Listen and see if you have an aha moment yourself. Midlife Women's group: drpsychmom.com/mwg By the way, I've star...