Coffee and TheraTEA

September is NICU awareness month and we are so excited to share Courtney's personal story and journey in the NICU with her beautiful child, Elliott! This story follows Elliott's 67 day NICU stay with all of the challenges and wonderful support Courtney and her wife received during their time in the NICU.

A support that you'll hear Courtney share that helped her family during this difficult time is @DearNICUMama on instagram. You can find their page, here!

We hope this story helps anyone on their own NICU journey as well as the wonderful therapists who care for NICU babies and their families.

We recorded this episode a while back and you'll hear us reference the episode, Ketchup and Sour Pickles which is a great listen as well!

We'd love to hear about your journey in the NICU if this story resonates with you. Keep the conversation flowing on instagram @CoffeeAndTheraTEA or email us, [email protected]

It’s BTS time! Sadly, no not the band, Back To School. This can be a challenging time for kids, parents, and professionals. In this episode, Alyssa, Courtney, and Noa sit down and talk about tangible ways to ease the back to school transition. They leave you with ideas for how to manage both the knowns and unknowns of big transitions!

Needing more resources?

Dynamic Lynks has a variety of back to school activities parents and professionals can use to help ease the BTS transition in their free resource portal.

You can also check out their latest blow, www.dynamiclynks.com/blog all about prepping for back to school!

Join us in discussions over on Instagram to keep the conversation flowing - @coffeeandtheratea - or email us [email protected]

In this episode, Alyssa, Noa, and Courtney sit down to discuss the complicated topic of evidence-based practice (EBP). The gals explore the what, why, and how of EBP to better understand what role it plays in clinical practice, outside of the research setting.

Why EBP? It all spurred from last episode's discussion around the update on EBP practices for autistic individuals. Give that episode a listen first if you haven't already, The AMA and ABA Update.

What is EBP?

There are MANY definitions and interpretations. One you will hear on the episode is "evidence-based practice is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best empirical evidence when making decisions about how to practice when providing information and care for client/patients. This best evidence should be combined with practitioner expertise and should consider the characteristics, state, needs, values and preference of those who will be affected."

Other resources we share are:

Episode Edit: Alyssa talked about the PAL research coming out of FSU. Alyssa misspoke on the lead researcher on that study. That lead researcher is Jayne Standley from Florida State University.

You can read about this incredible research and work, here.

Join us in discussions over on Instagram to keep the conversation flowing - @coffeeandtheratea - or email us [email protected]

A very heated topic in therapy land this week has been the update from the American Medical Association's House of Delegates annual meeting in June 2023, withdrawing their support of ABA for the treatment of autism. That title is not all it seems, and this week the gals dive into it.

We encourage you to read the handbook yourself, which has many updates for healthcare as a whole in the US.

This post from ICDL on Instagram also summarizes a lot of research calling ABA into question, noting the harm that his has done to autistic individuals, and opening the door for new evidence-based practices to receive support from the AMA as services for Autism (like music therapy, wooh!).

We know this is a large topic and would love to hear from you.

Join us in discussions over on Instagram to keep the conversation flowing - @coffeeandtheratea - or email us [email protected]

Here is the article from the National Clearinghouse on Autism that outlines current evidence-based practices for Autistic services, as of 2020.

*EDIT: Music Therapy is an evidence-based practice for 0-14, Alyssa had an error on the episode.

As a table of podcasters that includes music therapists and BCBAs, we are no stranger to fighting for your style of therapy to be understood. There are a lot of misconceptions, truths, and opportunities for growth in our professions.

In this episode, the gals deep dive into how to advocate and stand up for the work you love to do! We also mention the enneagram a lot. You can check out what enneagram number you are, here!

Want to keep the conversation flowing? Email us: [email protected] or DM us on instagram @coffeeandtheratea. We want to hear from you!

Are you...

Then this is the episode for you!

Alyssa and Noa dive into how they structure the hiring and interview process for prospective job candidates from cover letter to job offer! And... they're both currently hiring!

Check out the job details:

This episode is all about giving you a peak behind the curtain into why employers choose the steps they do when you're applying for a job.

It can also help guide you as a business owner in what steps to take to ensure qualified candidates are joining your team!

Have more questions about the interview and hiring process? Email us: [email protected] and we'd love to share more!

or DM us on instagram @coffeeandtheratea

Alyssa, Noa, and Sarah spill some realiTEA this week diving into why we love reality TV so much, how we use it in therapy sessions, and the mental health implications of participating in reality TV. This topic was sparked heavily by the discussions surrounding Love is Blind on Netflix. Danielle and Nick from season 2 of Love is Blind dropped a podcast episode this week talking all about their mental health journey on the show. You can check it out here!

Want more mental health content? Check out these episodes!

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on instagram @coffeeandtheratea

Questions, thoughts, ideas? Email us! [email protected]

It's Mental Health Month and today Alyssa is sharing some of her favorite tips for regulation and mental wellness as a therapist!

Top Takeaways from the Episode:

Want more mental health content? Check out these episodes!

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on instagram @coffeeandtheratea

Questions, thoughts, ideas? Email us! [email protected]

If you haven't already, Listen to Part 1 that sets the framework for these ideas! This week the gals talk more about how to put neuro-affirming work into practice. We focus on questions to ask yourself when building neuro-affirming goals, such as:

Additional Resources to explore neuro-affirming skills in therapy:

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on instagram @coffeeandtheratea

Questions, thoughts, ideas? Email us! [email protected]

It's Autism Acceptance month and the gals are zooming in on neuro-affirming care in their day-to-day work as clinicians & humans! In this episode, we define the difference between neuro-affirming and client-centered care and explore what that looks like in practice. We also ask a question that many want to know, "can ABA be neuro-affirming?" There's of course a lot of fun banter along the way!

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on instagram @coffeeandtheratea

Questions, thoughts, ideas? Email us! [email protected]