Coming Into Focus

On this episode Jay sits down with friend and colleague Tim Lambesis. Tim and Jay worked together at a treatment center some years back, and Tim also happens to be the front man for the band, As I Lay Dying. In 2013, Tim was at the center of a high profile arrest and he was later convicted and sentenced to a significant time in prison. The conversation doesn't get too deep into the circumstances of the arrest, but instead focuses more on the topic of rehabilitation and reintegration. Tim also...

On this episode Jay chats with friend and colleague Noelani Dizon. Lani and Jay met several years ago while working at a treatment center for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, and currently she is the program director for Whole Person Wellness, a program that assists individuals who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Lani and Jay discuss many of her recent accomplishments and some exciting things she has on the horizon, and they really dig into childhood and a...

On this episode Jay sits down with Nika Hirsch. Nika is the youngest guest so far on the podcast, at 10 years old. But, as you’ll hear, she’s one of the most inspiring guests. Nika and her mom run an Instagram account, This Life Rocks, which documents all of her amazing accomplishments and kind deeds. From a young age Nika has been dealing with selective mutism, which is an anxiety disorder that’s characterized by an inability to speak in certain social settings. So, it makes it all the more ...

On this episodeJay chats with Jason Naylor. Jason is an award-winning artist, designer, and creative director based in Brooklyn. Jason has received global recognition for his work, contributing to such names as Pepsi, Fenty, LuluLemon, Xbox and Sour Patch Kids, to name a few, and in 2018 BUMBLE named Jason one of the 100 Most Inspiring New Yorkers. Jason has become known and sought after, for his unique colorful style that regularly contains messages of love and positivity, and this pas...

In this episode Jay chats with Rebecca Woolf. Rebecca is an extremely accomplished writer, with work in such publications as The New York Times, Time Magazine, Huffington Post, and Glamour, to name a few. She also published a memoir in 2008, and has an upcoming book release in 2022, of which the content is discussed in this particular interview. Rebecca also had a wildly successful blog, "Girls Gone Child," which ran for over a decade, and even has a feature film in the works based off ...

On this episode Jay sits down with Ian Depew. Ian is a longtime friend, who also happens to be a colleague in the mental health field, and was actually Jay's first employer when he became a therapist. Ian is extremely talented and amazing at what he does, but it’s always nice to be around someone who doesn’t take themselves so seriously... as you'll see. Ian goes into detail about the incredible program, Rock to Recovery, that he works for, and the two have a discussion about interventions an...

On this episode Jay sits down with Dr. Laura Louis. Dr. Louis is a licensed psychologist working out of Atlanta, GA, and the owner of Atlanta Couple Therapy. Dr. Louis is also an author, a highly sought after speaker, and a coach to other clinicians that are looking to break into the speaking arena. Dr. Louis and Jay share a love for working with couples, so you can bet they get into some great relationship conversations. The two also dig into the details of her book, her workshops and how sh...

When I started school to become a therapist, I sort of unknowingly entered a program that had a huge social justice component. I was extremely uninformed in the area of social justice, which isn’t surprising considering that as a white straight male I’m not often directly impacted by many of these issues. Being uneducated on these topics, I found myself becoming defensive often and speaking from a place of authority about things I really knew nothing about. Some of my defensiveness was direct...

On this episode, Jay sits down with Andy Laub. Andy is a certified tea master, a mindfulness expert, and sound healing practitioner, and just an all around interesting dude. Andy also happened to be the very first guest that Jay recorded with, but for whatever reason the episode wasn't published until now. Andy, and Jay discuss the path that led him to tea, ways to develop mindfulness practices other than just sitting and breathing, which incidentally opens a discussion about a shared interes...

Jay and Carlie open up about the difficulty of trying to keep up with doing the "30 Day Challenge" each month, and share about the new direction of the TOPIC IN FOCUS segments. With the continuing unfolding of all aspects of COVID-19, it seemed only fitting to discuss the topic of anxiety. Using coronavirus to open up a discussion about anxiety in general, Jay and Carlie explore multiple aspects of the nature of anxiety. The two share personal stories about anxiety, and Jay provides some psyc...