Behavioral Health Today

True leadership isn’t a title you inherit, it’s the daily choice to empower everyone else in the room. In this episode of Behavioral Health Today, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with Dr. Thom Mayer, Medical Director for the NFL Players Association and an internationally renowned emergency physician with over 25 years of high-stakes crisis experience. From serving as Command Physician at the Pentagon on 9/11 to treating Damar Hamlin on the field and training medical teams in war-torn Ukraine, Dr. Mayer’s battle-tested leadership earned him a spot on USA Today’s 100 Most Important People in the NFL and a nomination to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is also the author of 25 books, including his latest release, “Leadership Is Worthless… But Leading Is Priceless”. Join us as Dr. Mayer shares counterintuitive principles that turn traditional hierarchy on its head. Together, we explore how shifting from static titles to daily, action-oriented leadership, built on trust, empathy, and active presence, can democratize leadership and transform how we navigate uncertainty in behavioral health organizations and beyond.

For more information about “Leadership Is Worthless… But Leading Is Priceless” by Thom Mayer, MD, please visit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1523006153?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

To learn more about Thom Mayer, MD, please visit: https://thommayermd.com

To connect with Thom please email at:  [email protected] or call  703-403-4147.

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If you want to protect your child’s developing brain, the secret isn't one huge, awkward "talk", it’s teaching executive skills early, leaning into boredom, and never underestimating the power of a sincere parental apology. In this episode of Behavioral Health Today, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with therapist, prevention researcher, and Know Your Neuro founder Dr. Crystal Collier. Drawing on over three decades of clinical experience and her own journey in long-term recovery, Dr. Collier demystifies complex brain science into plug-and-play tools families, educators, and clinicians can use immediately. As the award-winning author of The NeuroWhereAbouts Guide and Your Moves Matter, Dr. Collier breaks down how family-of-origin patterns, dopamine hits from supernormal tech stimuli, and early behavioral habits shape neural networks. Join us as we unpack practical, neuroscience-backed prevention strategies that empower communities to wire young brains for safety, decision-making, and lifelong resilience from kindergarten through college.

For more information about Know Your Neuro, please visit: https://www.knowyourneuro.org

For families looking for skills and topics, please visit: https://www.knowyourneuro.org/families

For students looking to do an internship or how to become a positive social influencer, please visit: https://www.knowyourneuro.org/students

For more information about “The NeuroWhereAbouts Guide: A Neurodevelopmental Guide for Parents and Families Who Want to Prevent Youth High-Risk Behavior” by Crystal Collier, PhD, LPC-S, please visit: https://drcrystalcollier.com/books/

For more information about Dr. Crystal Collier and her private practice, please visit: https://drcrystalcollier.com

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When a catastrophic outcome puts psychiatric treatment under a public microscope, the legal and media fallout often flattens complex care into oversimplified narratives of provider negligence. In this episode, host Sharlee Dixon and Peter Fenger unpack the clinical and systemic implications of the Lindsay Clancy trial, moving past courtroom drama to address the quiet anxiety currently reshaping mental health practice. They examine how fragmented communication across prescribers and reliance on templated documentation left care vulnerable to legal scrutiny, while detailing the cognitive illusion of hindsight bias that leads evaluators, and clinicians themselves, to treat tragic outcomes as retroactively obvious. Sharlee and Peter break down what the legal standard of "reasonable care" actually demands in clinical records versus the trap of defensive novella-writing, address the "second victim phenomenon" affecting half of healthcare workers after adverse events, and discuss how sensationalized coverage risks causing vulnerable postpartum mothers to mask symptoms out of fear.

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When parenting a biologically sensitive "fire feeler" teen, daily life can quickly turn into a relentless cycle of crisis management, emotional exhaustion, and caregiver burnout. In this episode of Behavioral Health Today, host Peter Fenger speaks with Katie K. May, LPC, founder of Creative Healing Teen Support Centers and author of “You’re on Fire, It’s Fine,” to explore how Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and radical acceptance can transform that overwhelming dynamic. As one of only eleven board-certified DBT clinicians in Pennsylvania, Katie pairs deep clinical expertise with the lived experience of a parent who has walked this path, offering a compassionate, actionable roadmap for families navigating teen depression and self-harm. Together, Peter and Katie break down why emotionally sensitive adolescents stay stuck in overdrive and how genuine validation can cool the flames of emotional escalation. Katie highlights the crucial role of parental self-regulation, reminding caregivers that their child needs them to be the stabilizing thermostat in the room rather than reacting like the thermometer. From shifting out of grief and blame into radical acceptance to building sustainable coping skills at home rather than relying on hospital holding patterns, this conversation equips parents to move away from constant panic and toward a proactive, validating connection with their teen.

For more information about “You’re on Fire, It’s Fine” by Katie K May, please visit: https://youreonfireitsfine.com

For more information about Katie K May, please visit: https://katiekmay.com

For more information about the Teen Coping Code and download the free framework guide, please visit: https://katiekmay.com/f/code/

For more information about the Creative Healing Teen Support Centers, please visit: https://creativehealingphilly.com

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Sometimes a binge is a deep emotional cry for help; other times, it's simply a habit cycle hijacked by autopilot. Dismantling the underlying shame starts with knowing the difference. On this episode of Behavioral Health Today, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with Toronto-based Registered Psychotherapist Brian Baumal, founder of Aliva Psychotherapy. Specializing in eating disorders, food addiction, and sustainable weight management, Brian focuses on the psychological drivers of weight struggles, helping clinicians and clients break through the complex shame cycles and relapse patterns that stall recovery. What sets Brian’s practice apart is a profound commitment to lived experience, having personal triumph over exercise bulimia and binge eating disorder while maintaining a permanent 100-pound weight loss. Blending validated CBT and addiction principles with a deeply human, Gestalt-informed approach, Brian shares practical frameworks for targeting root causes and dismantling rigid thinking. Tune in as we explore how clinicians can leverage lived experience and a "behavior-first" clinical framework to address autopilot habits, release perfectionism, and empower clients to drive their own sustainable healing.

For more information about Aliva Psychotherapy and eating disorder treatment, please visit: https://alivapsychotherapy.com

For more information about Brian Baumal, please visit: https://alivapsychotherapy.com/our-team/brian-baumal/

Book a free discovery call with Brian: https://bb-therapist.janeapp.com/?_gl=1*ltw25x*_gcl_au*MTQ5NTM4OTIzNy4xNzg5NDg2MzQw*_ga*MTgwOTAzNTcxLjE3ODk0ODYzNDA.*_ga_NDXPL15J07*czE3ODk0ODYzNDAkbzEkZzAkdDE3ODk0ODYzNDAkajYwJGwwJGgw - /staff_member/1/treatment/39

An autism diagnosis isn't a single condition with a one-size-fits-all solution, uncovering your child’s unique biology is the key to targeted, life-changing progress. On this episode of Behavioral Health Today, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with Dr. Theresa Lyons: a Yale-trained scientist, medical strategist, and autism parent who is redefining how families navigate care. After leveraging functional medicine and cutting-edge research to help her own non-speaking daughter thrive, Dr. Lyons founded Navigating AWEtism to bridge the gap between complex science and practical, real-world solutions. Today, she empowers parents across 18 countries to look beyond standard behavioral therapies, uncover the root causes of physical symptoms, and turn diagnosis anxiety into strategic action. Tune in to learn how data-driven care and parental intuition can help your family move past survival mode and reclaim extraordinary joy.

For more information about Navigating AWEtism and their platform, please visit: https://awetism.co/work-together

Watch Navigating AWEtism with Theresa Lyons, PhD on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrnw5_DvQ4E7IRwa3zSJe7g

For more information about “Autism & Functional Medicine Doctors” by Theresa Lyons, PhD, please visit: https://www.amazon.com/Lyons-Report-2020-Functional-Medicine/dp/1734358203

You don't just carry the weight of your past; you choose how to carry it forward. Reclaiming your power starts the moment you reframe "I have to" into "I choose to." This week, host Peter Fenger welcomes Larry Freeborg, a veteran corporate marketing leader at 3M and Medtronic, master transformation coach, and author of the deeply impactful new book, Always At Choice. Following a period of heartbreaking grief and loss early in his life, Larry has spent forty years guiding leaders and individuals through their critical pivot points to find both career success and internal alignment. Now 87, Larry embodies his commitment to lifelong learning, demonstrating that hard circumstances never strip away our ultimate agency. Tune in for an inspiring conversation on moving from survival mode to purposeful living, using Larry’s framework to turn trial into strength.

For more information about “Always At Choice” by Larry Freeborg, please visit: https://alwaysatchoice.net

For more information about Stepping Through the Gate, please visit: https://steppingthroughthegate.com

For more information about Larry Freeborg, please visit: https://alwaysatchoice.net/about

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Housing policy isn't just an economic framework, it’s public health. When systemic market friction traps buyers and tenants, the human cost is chronic hypervigilance and a steady erosion of psychological safety. In this episode, host Sharlee Dixon and Peter Finger break down the numbers behind America's housing crunch (a 4.7 million home deficit, surging prices, doubled mortgage rates) and explore what that strain is doing to people's stress levels, relationships, and sense of self-worth. They cover how remote work, corporate property buyers, and migration out of the Northeast and West Coast have reshaped affordability, why millions of homeowners feel "locked in" to their current rates, and the widening generational wealth gap between millennials who bought low and a Gen Z now priced out. Sharlee shares her own family's recent home-buying experience, far more grueling than their first purchase a decade ago despite stronger finances, as a window into how automation and tighter underwriting have made the process feel dehumanizing, even demoralizing.

Follow Behavioral Health Today on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/behavioralhealthtoday/

Follow us on TikTok at: https://www.tiktok.com/@behavioralhealthtoday

Forget everything you’ve been told about resting and icing your injuries. True recovery isn't a passive waiting game or a one-size-fits-all formula, it is an active, dynamic process rooted in intuition, genetics, and smart, whole-body strategy. In this episode, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with Dr. Victoria Maizes, an internationally recognized leader in integrative medicine, founding executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, professor, and host of the Body of Wonder podcast. Together, they dive into Dr. Maizes’ groundbreaking book, “Heal Faster: Unlock Your Body's Rapid Recovery Reflex”, to dismantle long-held recovery myths like R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and reveal why traditional treatments like ice and NSAIDs might actually be delaying your healing. Tune in to discover evidence-based, integrative strategies across nutrition, mindset, and nervous system regulation designed to activate your body’s innate healing power, break the cycle of chronic pain, and maintain peak physical vitality.

For more information about “Heal Faster: Unlock Your Body’s Rapid Recovery Reflex” by Victoria Maizes, MD, please visit: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Heal-Faster/Victoria-Maizes/9781668046029

Audio versions of this book can be purchased at: https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Faster-Unlock-Recovery-Reflex/dp/B0FCYWS38C

For more information about Dr. Victoria Maizes, please visit:

https://www.drvictoriamaizes.com

Connect with Dr. Maizes on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-maizes-b75a595/

Connect with Dr. Maizes on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/victoriamaizesmd/

Saving a loved one isn't about drama, ultimatums, or "fairness", it’s about doing what actually works. In this episode, host Sharlee Dixon sits down with Amber Hollingsworth, Master Addiction Counselor, founder of the Hope For Families Method, and creator of the popular YouTube channel Put The Shovel Down. Amber built a global movement by rewriting the rules of recovery, showing families how to guide loved ones toward help without waiting for them to "hit bottom." Tune in as Sharlee and Amber unpack a radical, connection-first strategy: trading outdated stigmas for "invisible interventions," disarming denial, and protecting your own sanity while making real headway.

For more information about Put The Shovel Down, please visit:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT8PE1v0xFR9zLXOijxM6hg

For more information about family intervention, please visit: https://www.familyrecoveryacademy.online/family

For more information about the Denial Breakthrough Challenge, please visit: https://www.familyrecoveryacademy.online/motivation-unlocked-challenge

For more information about online classes, please visit: https://www.familyrecoveryacademy.online/store

Connect with the Family Recovery Academy