Episode Title: Relax into Sleep with Bilateral Stimulation

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. I’m Rebekah Shackney, and in this episode, I’m guiding you through a sleep meditation designed to gently activate your parasympathetic nervous system using slow bilateral stimulation—an approach that engages both sides of the brain to promote deep relaxation and rest.

For best results, listen with headphones as you settle into bed. Many find this practice helps them ease into a calmer state and fall asleep more easily.

Please Note: This meditation may not be suitable for those currently experiencing migraines, recent head trauma, or dissociative identity disorder, as it could potentially worsen symptoms. If you have any concerns, consult your healthcare provider before listening.

💌 Connect with Me:
🌿 Website: rebekahshackney.com
🎙️ Instagram (podcast): @atherapisttakesherownadvice
🎧 Listen on:
• Pandora
• Apple Podcasts  

• Or visit: rebekahshackney.com/podcast
If this episode resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to reach out, leave a review, or share it with someone who could use a little more peace today.
To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. I’m Rebekah Shackney, and in today’s episode, I offer a guided meditation to help you navigate interactions with the challenging people in your life with more steadiness and compassion.

Whether it’s a colleague, family member, or someone from your past, this practice invites you to stay grounded in your best self—responding with empathy without abandoning your boundaries. You’ll be guided through breathwork, heart-centered awareness, and visualization, reconnecting with your wise mind and inner peace.

This meditation isn’t about excusing harmful behavior. It’s about honoring your well-being while holding space for compassion and clarity. Find a quiet space, settle in, and let’s begin.

💌 Connect with Me:
🌿 Website: rebekahshackney.com
🎙️ Instagram (podcast): @atherapisttakesherownadvice
🎧 Listen on:
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Or visit: rebekahshackney.com/podcast

If this episode resonates with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to reach out, leave a review, or share it with someone who could use a little more peace today.

To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

Today local mom Jess Vecchiarelli, shares her profound experience with a shamanic healer after a period of loss and emotional distress. Now she's reimagining her life  and she’s using what she learned to uplift our community. 

Jess's upcoming offering:

The Aligned Path's Women's Wellness Retreat

Saturday, June 7 from 9-3:00 pm at Reid Castle (Manhattanville Campus, 2900 Purchase Street, Purchase, NY)

Tickets will go on sale in the next few weeks on my website, and I will send you a direct link when available. 

 🌎 Website: www.thealignedwellnesscollective.com
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aligned_wellness_collective/

💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-aligned-path/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1ANe33TNZ7/?mibextid=wwXIfr
🎥 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@the.aligned.path?_t=ZP-8v1yocXihrj&_r=1

Confirmed speakers:

✨ Dr. Lorraine Olivero-Brodeur – CEO & Co-Founder at Aquarian Medicine, leader in longevity & energy medicine, empowering conscious transformation & human evolution, author, speaker, and an incredible shaman. www.aquarianmedicine.com

✨ Jan Fielder – Executive Director & Founder of the Fusion Scholarship Foundation, life and wellness coach, and workshop facilitator helping adolescents, adults, and families navigate life’s challenges. www.findingselfcompassion.com

✨ Karin Elias – Wellbeing facilitator, community builder, and podcaster dedicated to supporting midlife women through perimenopause and beyond. Owner of Dancing Turtles Wellness Center in Hastings. karinelias.podia.com

Jess Vecchiarelli is a strategic communications leader, transformational event host, and community advocate with over 20 years of experience across technology, public service, education, and nonprofits. She excels at aligning strategy with purpose, building meaningful connections, and driving impactful change.

She is also the founder of The Aligned Path, a platform for transformational retreats that blend personal growth, leadership development, and strategic alignment. Her immersive events foster deep connection, skill-building, and community-driven impact.

At the intersection of communication, strategy, and social impact, Jess brings vision to life—whether advising mission-driven organizations, leading initiatives, or curating transformative experiences.

💌 Connect with Me:
🌿 Website: rebekahshackney.com
🎙️ Instagram (podcast): @atherapisttakesherownadvice
🎧 Listen on:
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• Or visit: rebekahshackney.com/podcast

If thi

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

Episode Summary:
When standard treatments for depression stopped working, I found myself in uncharted territory—searching for healing in unexpected places. This episode marks the relaunch of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice—and the beginning of a deeply personal journey through soul sickness, alternative medicine, holotropic breathwork, and the longing for true community.

Join me as I share what led to the podcast's rebrand, how I began exploring alternative healing modalities, and why this space now exists as a lifeline for anyone navigating profound inner work.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• Why I started this podcast—and why I kept the name
• My experience with depression, despite “doing everything right”
• The surprising moment my doctor called it soul sickness
• My first retreat at Omega and what it unlocked
• Starting psychedelic-assisted therapy—and tapering off antidepressants
• The intensity (and relief) of medicine journeys and somatic release
• How DBT skills helped me survive the chaos
• Discovering community through holotropic breathwork
• Meeting Katy—and how soul friendships can change everything
• Why this podcast is now a resource for integration, community, and support

This is a space for the brave—those walking through the fire of healing, and those curious about what happens when traditional care falls short. You are not alone.

Resources & Mentions:

• Omega Institute – Relax & Write Workshop
• Holotropic Breathwork at Kripalu
• Learn more or connect: rebekahshackney.com
• Follow on Instagram: @atherapisttakesherownadvice

Next Episode Preview:
Don’t miss our next conversation with a local mom who found healing through shamanic work out now, plus two new tools in the next few weeks: a bilateral stimulation to support sleep and a meditation to help navigate difficult relationships.

Love the show?
Please follow, rate, and leave a review—it helps others find the support they didn’t know they were searching for. Share this episode with someone walking a deep healing path. 💛

This relaxing meditation uses bilateral stimulation, meaning it stimulates both sides of the brain to help trigger your para-sympathetic nervous system and increase relaxation. To fully take advantage of the bilateral stimulation you must be listening on headphones. This type of slow bilateral stimulation typically results in a deep calm, helping to reduce anxiety or other intense emotions or even to relax into sleep. However, it’s not recommended for those with current migraines, head trauma or dissociative identity disorder as it might exacerbate those conditions. If you have a question about whether this medication is appropriate for you, speak with your medical professional before using. 

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

This new series of podcast parent tips aims to help you reduce conflict and better connect with your teen. In the fifth episode, I talk about problem solving options. 

 When we encounter problems in life, we have choices about how to respond. 

 1.     You can solve the problem.

2.     You can change how you feel about the problem.

3.     You can tolerate the problem.

4.     Stay miserable or make the situation worse.

DBT is Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a model of therapy created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, that has been proven effective at helping people learn to tolerate stress, regulate emotions, improve communication and create a happier more contented life. 

Thanks so much for your support of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you’ve heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups

To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups

When you’re ready we can take about feeling better about the problem. Checking the facts and figuring out what you might be telling yourself that is not based in fact. But here’s what I know. I good friend of mine is a high school English teacher. Every year he has students who don’t get into their dream schools, and they catastrophize that their lives are ruined as a result. Inevitably they come back a year later after being in what every college they go to, and they tell him how happy they are. This rejection is not the end of the world. Its understandably painful. And it won’t destroy you. 

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

This new series of podcast parent tips aims to help you reduce conflict and better connect with your teen. In the fourth episode, learn to create a self-soothing kit to ease emotional intensity and get through a meltdown without making the situation worse.

DBT is Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a model of therapy created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, that has been proven effective at helping people learn to tolerate stress, regulate emotions, improve communication and create a happier more contented life. 

Thanks so much for your support of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you’ve heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

To learn more about DBT group therapy with Rebekah Shackney LCSW, go to https://rebekahshackney.com/groups

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

This new series of podcast parent tips aims to help you reduce conflict and better connect with your teen. In the third episode, learn to empathize with your teen even when you don't agree with them with the DBT Validation Skill.

DBT is Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a model of therapy created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, that has been proven effective at helping people learn to tolerate stress, regulate emotions, improve communication and create a happier more contented life. 

Thanks so much for your support of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you’ve heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

This new series of podcast parent tips aims to help you reduce conflict and better connect with your teen. In the second episode, learn to change your perspective on your teen's behavior with The DBT THINK Skill.

THINK is an acronym that can help you change how you see your teen's behavior. THINK stands for: 

• Think differently
• Have empathy
• Interpretation
• Notice
• Kindness

The THINK Skill is just one of the many DBT Skills I teach my clients to help them communicate more effectively and reduce suffering for both themselves and their teens.

DBT is Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a model of therapy created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, that has been proven effective at helping people learn to tolerate stress, regulate emotions, improve communication and create a happier more contented life. 

Thanks so much for your support of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you’ve heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com

This new series of podcast parent tips aims to help you reduce conflict and better connect with your teen. In the first episode, learn to stop conversations from becoming fights with the DBT STOP Skill.

The STOP Skill can help you Stop a conflict in its tracks by encouraging you to 

• Stop
• Take a Step Back
• Observe
• Proceed Mindfully

The Stop Skill is just one of the many DBT Skills I teach my clients to help them communicate more effectively and reduce suffering for both themselves and their teens.

DBT is Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a model of therapy created by Dr. Marsha Linehan, that has been proven effective at helping people learn to tolerate stress, regulate emotions, improve communication and create a happier more contented life. 

Thanks so much for your support of A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice. If you connected with what you heard here, and you want to work with me, go to my website, rebekahshackney.com and send a message through my contact page. And if you have enjoyed what you’ve heard here, please subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Welcome to A Therapist Takes Her Own Advice! Don't forget to like and subscribe!

Instagram: ATherapistTakesHerOwnAdvice

www.RebekahShackney.com