Thriving Outside the Box

Season 2 of Thriving Outside the Box comes to a close. In this short solo finale, Dr. Kim reflects on the process of making this season — what she learned, what emerged along the way, and what she wasn't expecting the conversations with her guests to reveal. She shares gratitude for the amazing guests and listeners who showed up, replied, shared, and received this season's offerings, and she sets...

 Dr. Kim welcomes Simona Badger, LCSW — Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Forensic Social Worker, psychotherapist, and educator with over 17 years of experience at the intersection of mental health and the legal system. Simona conducts immigration mental health evaluations and provides expert witness testimony for Asylum, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), T-Visa cases of trafficking, U-Visa, Extre...

Some of you have been quietly running on armor for so long, you forgot that you can put it down. In this solo episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim names what the armor actually costs — mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. She speaks to the weight of building outside the traditional path, the compounded cost for Black professionals navigating systemic racism, and the interpersona...

Some of the most powerful care doesn't exist yet — until someone decides to build it. On this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with Naa Adoley Pappoe, LMSW — psychotherapist, emotional wellness and stress management specialist, speaker, and multi-brand founder. Naa is the founder of the Single Moms Club and Curated Kids. Her work centers Black and Brown women navigating infer...

This week on Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim welcomes Letitia Gottashe — author, educator, child and family advocate, and CEO of Letitia Gottashe Consulting Group LLC. Across more than 35 years in education, parent engagement, and community advocacy, Letitia has been building bridges between schools, parents, and communities so that every child can thrive. In this conversation, Letitia shares he...

Most women entrepreneurs are not having the full financial conversation. In this special co-hosted episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim is joined by Alex Davis, CPA, CFP® — known as The Wealth Strategist — for an honest conversation about the patterns they keep seeing in their work with women business owners: the numbers being avoided, the money stories running the show, the emotional weig...

Sheryl Hatwood decided, at a specific moment in her life, to turn things around. What came next — the healing, the faith, the framework she built — is a masterclass in what it means to build a real relationship with yourself. In this episode, Dr. Kim talks with Sheryl — corporate leader, entrepreneur, wellness coach, author, producer, and founder of TRUCE Natural Living — for a testimony of what t...

What if the most important part of a conversation happens before you ever say a word? In a world where the art of conversation is being lost in all the noise, I wanted to   share a practical, inside-out framework for having conversations that actually count — drawn from my years of experience as a psychotherapist, executive coach, and simply being a human in relationship with other humans. Inside...

What happens when a career in film leads, unexpectedly, to a career in psychiatry? In this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with Dr. Daniel Knoepflmacher — psychiatrist, educator, and host of the podcast On the Mind — for a conversation about the winding path that brought him from film school and trailer editing to medicine and mental health. As the child of South American im...

Self-advocacy is one of the most misunderstood skills we have — often confused with entitlement, self-centeredness, or being "too much". In this solo episode, I make the case that self-advocacy is not only a critical leadership skill but one of the deepest expressions of self-love and self-care. Self-advocacy has a ripple effect. When we advocate for ourselves, we create permission and possibility...

What does it look like to stay true to your mission when the path changes? In this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with Robin Rosenberg, PhD — clinical psychologist, executive coach, business advisor, and mentor — for a conversation about purpose, risk, and what recovery really looks like after a major chapter closes. Robin shares her remarkable journey from writing a psycho...

What does it really mean to listen to yourself — and how does that shape the way you show up for everyone else? In this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with Marie Deveaux, inclusive leadership coach and CEO of High Tides Consulting, for a deeply personal and honest conversation rooted in Marie's own journey and her work with leaders. They explore discernment as a daily pract...

What if the parts of yourself you've been hiding are actually your greatest gifts? In this episode of Thriving Outside the Box, Dr. Kim sits down with psychotherapist and author Melanie Ryan, LCSW — founder of The Golden Shadow Method — for a rich conversation about fearlessness, authenticity, and the parts of ourselves we've learned to conceal. Drawing on 30 years of clinical experience and the a...

Welcome back to Thriving Outside the Box — Season 2 is here. This season, we're going a little deeper. I've lined up conversations with people who are living proof that your path doesn't have to look like anyone else's. I'll also be drawing on 20+ years of helping people get honest about their path — the one they're on, and the one their heart is calling them toward — whether those are the same ro...

In this season finale, I want to thank everyone who has been part of this journey. I'll share the origin story behind the podcast, reflect on where we've been, and offer some final tips to help you continue designing the life you deserve.  Season 2 drops in early 2026—see you then! Credits Host: Dr. Kimberly Grocher PhD, MA, LCSW, ACC, RYT Music: Gregory Brooks, Jr. Sound Engineer: Hitz Muzic Grou...

Christian Brown is the founder and CEO of Blimish, a global wellness company using emerging technologies and psychologist-informed design to prevent burnout and support workplace mental wellness. After publishing his first book at age 20 and traveling to over 30 countries, Christian has spent the last three years building Blimish in France. His work bridges creativity, technology, and human connec...

Dr. Stephanie Chambers is a holistic nurse practitioner with a private practice in Mount Vernon, New York. With over 20 years of dedicated service in the healthcare industry, Dr. Chambers specializes in multi-dimensional wellness approaches to primary healthcare, treating the whole person rather than just symptoms. Combining evidenced-based medicine with holistic principles, she creates a unique p...

Dr. Bosco-Ruggiero is a social scientist, adjunct professor, and founder of Oasis Consulting. She holds a PhD in Social Work from Fordham University, an M.A. in Public Policy from the University of Delaware, and a B.A. in Political Science from Vassar College. Her main research interests include social policy, child welfare, mental health, and spiritually transformative experiences. Stephanie disc...

Results-driven CEO, visionary scholar, and social entrepreneur, Dr. Felecia Pullen, combines 30 years of corporate acumen with cutting-edge nonprofit leadership to transform systems of care for under-resourced communities. As the Founder and CEO of Let's Talk SAFETY, Inc., she has built New York State's highest-performing Recovery Community & Outreach Center, serving nearly 20,000 New Yorkers thro...

There's a lot of chatter about retreats in wellness, corporate, and entrepreneurial spaces, but retreating isn't one size fits all and if you've never been on a retreat, you may be skeptical about a retreat being worth the investment of your time, money, and energy. And if you have been on retreats, maybe you're considering what your next one should be. The right retreat at the right time can defi...

Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph. D., MPH, LCSW-R maintains a private practice in Harrison, NY. She is also the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of "Thru My Eyes", a nonprofit 501c3 organization that offers free clinically-guided videotaping to chronically medically ill individuals who want to leave video legacies for their children and loved ones.  Michelle is adjunct faculty at New York University (NY...

Betsy Kase, E-RYT-500, is a yoga therapist, yoga teacher, and the founder and co-owner of Yoga Haven in Westchester County,NY.  With over 30 years of teaching experience she has witnessed yoga's profound ability to reduce a student's pain, on all levels - physical, psychological, and spiritual- helping people transform from the inside toward a more peaceful, balanced, and healthy life. She is devo...

Coach Rich is full professor emeritus of social work at the University of Washington, Tacoma. 30 years as a clinical social worker, organizational leader, therapist, coach and scholar. Author of 20 books and over 120 peer-reviewed articles, and recognized as one of the international leaders in expressive, arts-based qualitative methodologies. He will help you become the scholar you wish to be, or...

Welcome to the first solo episode of TOTB with yours truly, Dr. Kimberly Grocher, a licensed psychotherapist, executive coach, and yoga/meditation teacher!  It's time to turn the focus on you and consider how your relationhip with yourself is helping (or getting in the way) as you create your own path and move closer to your vision. And yes,  while self care is a whole movement these days, we're g...

Elle McPherson is an ICF-certified coach, Certified Erotic Blueprint Coach™, yoga teacher, and Accelerated Evolution Trainer who helps individuals and couples reclaim pleasure, embodiment, and emotional clarity as tools for growth. After over a decade in international nonprofit leadership, Elle charted her own path — blending personal development, conscious sexuality, and nervous system-informed c...