Dropping this convo alongside recent pop culture reminders (hello, little mermaids and Emmy Award-winners!) that representation matters because it heals. Rico Ricketson created an entire platform around that idea. He’s the founder and CEO of MH3, a subscription-based resource that partners with corporations to provide mental health education featuring the voices and experiences of diverse health and wellness experts.

“We provide credible mental health education so that employees can learn how to catch changes in mood, energy levels, and sleeping patterns before they become something more serious,” Rico says of the company he founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Rico’s professional credentials are massively impressive, it’s his personal motivations for creating MH3 that I find so profoundly moving. As a minority, a survivor of domestic violence, and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, finding credible mental health information from experts with whom he shares similar lived experiences isn’t easy. He designed MH3 to deliver that vital life-saving mental wellness support through engaging interviews featuring voices not often represented in corporate wellness programs. “The only thing capitalistic about MH3 is that I hope millions and billions of people get to heal from stories.”

Rico Ricketson is the Founder & CEO of MH3, Mental Health Education for the Mind, Body, and Spirit. When Rico learned of Covid-19's spread throughout Italy in March of 2020, he used his passion and desire to help and save lives. Rico took his 20 years of healthcare advertising experience and combined it with his expertise in human-centered design and his Master's in Biology/Neuroscience to create MH3 so he could do something to help.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of amazing folks. Believe me when I say there's something special about the frequency from which Rusia Mohiuddin operates. She's tapped into a universal rhythm that, in simplest terms, is the deep understanding that people are the source of all power.

If that level of embodiment comes across as too lofty for the "average" person to access, allow Rusia to share another vital facet of her being: "I have a potty mouth like a true New Yorker as well." That's what showing up as your whole self is all about.

As founder and principal of Universal Partnership (UP), Rusia combines her vast experience as a master trainer, facilitator, and somatic coach with generational wisdom––the lived understanding that social movements require holistic foundations to achieve healthy momentum.

Rusia centers on the cooperative rather than the singular: "If everything, all the ecosystems on earth, are reliant––our bodies and the ecosystems within them are reliant––why would all this reliancy then create societal systems that are unaligned and not reliant on each other, that's actually reliant on the suffering and the oppression of most of us?" Hell if I know, but here we are, in the wake of every -ism coming before us.

There IS one -ism that can save us: collectivism. Us. The people with the power. It's a lesson handed down to Rusia through her elders, and we all have access to similar wisdom––if we commit to relearning its language. 

Rusia N. Mohiuddin is a master trainer, facilitator, & somatic coach who pioneered the integration of somatics into an organizing framework. Her current mission, through Universal Partnership, has been developing a holistic model for social justice change work that places in its center the necessary transformation of social change agents.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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The longest, most important, and, let’s be honest, most frustrating relationship of our lives is the one we have with ourselves. How amazing, then, to connect with someone who gets the struggle and sits alongside us in that space. Mia Park is one of those people for me. For a lot of folks.

A talented, multidimensional artist based in Chicago, she’s fueled by a boundless enthusiasm for community engagement through acting, producing events, teaching yoga, and more. Through these myriad pursuits, Mia cultivates kinship with others while deepening her relationship with herself. 

“I work hard on relationships because they're fearful for me in many ways.” The admission acts as a preface to Mia’s challenging backstory. Perhaps it’s because of her difficult childhood that she’s so committed to making connections across different communities in multifaceted ways.

Mia’s definition of wholeness is nothing like the commercialized ideal of completeness. “The body is never balanced. We’re never gonna be whole, and that's part of the struggle and the acceptance of the struggle––and I think that's okay.” 

She pauses to offer an addendum. “I believe we are 100% whole.” Even amid our failures, redirects, and mulligans. Even when we opt not to forgive those who’ve caused us harm. “The ability to make peace with and accept yourself, forgive yourself, I think that's a byproduct of becoming whole.”

Wherever we go, there we are, already in our wholeness.

Mia Park is a multi-dimensional artist based in Chicago. Boundless enthusiasm fuels her community engagement through acting, producing events, teaching yoga, and more.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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I do not like CBT. Don't worry; I won't break into a salty Dr. Seuss-esque rhyme deriding cognitive behavioral therapy (although I could). But then Charles Small, LCSW, would kindly call me and my objections to CBT in rather than out.

I know this because that's how he's handled my grumbling in the past. He's one of those rare souls who can debate without derision, urging folks (like me) to hit pause long enough to trust his professional experience, reconsider the reams of evidence, and assess their (my) personal resistance through a more transparent lens. And you know what? Sometimes* I get it wrong about CBT.  

Alright! Let's get ready to rumble! But not really. Our conversation isn't a CBT vs. NARM cage match. In fact (and I would only say this to you because we're friends), there are points along the healing trajectory where these two modalities intersect. "Where our actual locus of control is, for the most part, is in our behaviors,” says Charles.

This mindfulness component is just one example. Another is CBT's non-judgemental approach. "It's not that there's this moral right or wrong. Instead, if I'm gonna choose the sort of person I wanna be in the world, what do my behaviors have to look like?" 

*I still hate CBT, though.

Charles Small, LCSW, is a social worker providing therapy for adults at Cognitive Behavioral Associates of Chicago. Prior to private group practice, Charles worked with veterans of the US Armed Services at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and the Road Home Program at Rush, where he provided evidence-based psychotherapy for the treatment of PTSD, Military Sexual Trauma, and Moral Injury. Charles is also a lecturer at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago, offering courses on Social Work with Veterans and Evidence-based Therapies for treating PTSD.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Liz Dubé, MA, MS, has one of the best professional introductions on the planet. “I want to heal the world one bedroom at a time.” For the record, Liz is a certified sex therapist, not a sex surrogate. In other words, she gets talky with her clients, not touchy. If visions of the Netflix show “Sex Education” come to mind or Dr. Ruth Westheimer answering embarrassing questions on her weekly radio show with sincerity and smarts, you’re on the right path.

We live in a world working overtime to cleave us from our innate sexuality. No wonder we disembodied creatures have difficulty connecting, regardless of our trauma histories. Hell, even the most “together” of relationships might struggle with the sexual part of intimacy. “Maybe a part of you thinks I'm not enough, I'm defective, I'm broken, I'm a fraud––all these things that so many of us relate to show up in the bedroom,” says Liz. 

You’re not broken; intimacy is overwhelming! Addressing trauma and restoring desire doesn’t have to be. In addition to her psychotherapy practice, Liz offers a 4-week coaching program to empower women. She also shares adult sex education tips via her YouTube and TikTok channels. “So many people come to me, saying, ‘Liz, can I be healed?’ And I'm like, f*ck, yeah, you can!”

Drs. Jean Milburn and Ruth Westheimer would be proud.

GUEST BIO

Liz Dubé (sounds like Doobay), a Certified Sex Therapist, Coach and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, loves working with people who want to better understand themselves sexually and feel sexually empowered. She's helped thousands of men, women, and couples who were feeling stuck sexually and is working her ass off to save the world one bedroom at a time. 

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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“Movement is life.” When Kira Macoun utters that phrase midway through our conversation, she’s referencing both our physical and sacred selves. Whether she intended to or not is not up for debate because this woman embodies forward motion in all aspects of her life. Kira, a functional fitness specialist and somatic movement educator, is co-owner of Comfy Fitness, the online group and personal training studio dedicated to challenging what it means to be physically fit. She’s also a hella inspiring activist.

“One of the things we recognized about the methodology we invented was that we were getting people very consistently and reliably out of pain,” Kira says. Comfy Fitness’ body awareness practices turn what is often a disconnected, fast-paced pursuit into a journey of self-discovery. “What we do in somatic education is basically circumvent the brain. We stop, lay down, and allow the brain to catch up with what it didn’t know it was doing.”

Kira’s a passionate organizer and frontline advocate for issues relating to economic inequality. “As above, so below; as within, so without,” she says of her enviable involvement with social causes. She offers real-life encouragement for folks (like me) so overwhelmed by the sheer need that we don’t know where to begin. “I invite people to think about the one thing that sets your hair on fire, the thing that keeps you up at night. That’s probably the direction you should go in.”

GUEST BIO

Kira Macoun has been an avid mover and exerciser since the age of 12 and became a self-proclaimed "gym rat" by the age of 15. It seemed a no-brainer when she created a fitness and movement company in 2008 after receiving her personal training certification the year before. Since then, Kira has secured several certifications in the world of fitness and movement, and loves talking about the incredible adaptability of the human body and how we can use our bodies to coach us through life.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Given the recent reversal of Roe v. Wade, honest insight into and support for modern-day parents or child caregiving are more necessary than ever. Although recorded weeks before the ruling, this conversation seems incredibly prescient. 

Allison Staiger, LCSW, is spiraling. “Have you heard of that term before? Spiral-linear?” she asks. I hadn’t but given her definition, it’s a concept I’m down with. “It’s where you're still moving forward but there's lots of cycles and you kind of cycle back. Things die and then are reborn.” 

Makes sense given Allison’s current physical and emotional “birthing” process. She’s deep in the process of relocating her life and fierce feminist care practice from Metairie, LA, to Chicago. Highwire Therapy supports new, expectant, hopeful, and grieving parents, helping them process perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, loss, birth trauma, caregiver burnout, infertility, and the general OMFG of becoming a parent. 

The Matriarchy, her nascent coaching practice, is a shame-free space in which folks can rage against the mom-chine (well-played, Allison!), assisting clients in liberating themselves from the mommy complex. Parent or no, Allison challenges all of us to get in touch with our righteous anger and, honestly, there’s no time like the present. Circle back to your Divine Feminine and give the patriarchal system of oppression a big middle finger.

GUEST BIO

Allison Staiger, LCSW, is the founder of Highwire Therapy, a psychotherapy private practice, and The Matriarchy, a feminist coaching practice. As a licensed clinical social worker certified in perinatal mental health, she works with new, expectant, hopeful, and grieving parents, offering support for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, pregnancy and infant loss, birth trauma, caregiver burnout, infertility, and the general holy shit-ness of becoming a parent. Fed up with the insufficient and oppressive norms and narratives in our current culture of caregiving, she created The Matriarchy to help parents socialized as mothers partner with their radical, rebellious anger, and channel it into fierce feminist care.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: http://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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Here’s a hot take for you: The teachings of a privileged white dude from the past can help us sort through our modern existential crises. OK, in the world of Jungian psychology, my pithy opening salvo is far from controversial; it’s indisputable. One of the folks translating Carl Jung’s classic analytical foundation into a contemporary application is Satya Doyle Byock, LPC. 

At The Salomé Institute of Jungian Studies, Satya and faculty provide online salons and seminars that delve into the power of Jung’s work to heal complex personal and societal issues. In addition to hosting the Institute’s podcast, Satya is about to release Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood, a much-needed guide for bridging the gap between adolescence and mid-life. 

“There's kind of this whack-a-mole game of social justice where it's like there's a never-ending number of problems and pains and sufferings, and it's so exhausting,” she says. “When I found Jung’s psychology, It really spoke to me from a feminist and anti-racist perspective.”

Even if you “don’t know” Jung, you know Jung. He coined the idea of the “introvert” and “extrovert” personalities, archetypes, and the power of the unconscious––a fundamental aspect Satya wants to rescue from the patriarchy’s toxic clutches. 

GUEST BIO

Satya Doyle Byock, LPC, is a psychotherapist in private practice, the director of and teacher at The Salome Institute of Jungian Studies, and the author of the forthcoming book "Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood," to be published by Random House July 26, 2022

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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My guest Kerri Kelly landed on the perfect summation for this episode: “It’s gonna be juicy y’all!” And it is, since our discussion centers on whiteness. Ha––leave it to whiteness to center itself here, there, everywhere. In this instance, however, whiteness and the cacophony of capitalism that almost always accompanies it, is drowned out by Kerri’s challenging, meaningful call-in. And she keeps that volume turned way up.

In her new book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri confronts the toxic systems (founded on whiteness) that have commodified wellness and prohibit everyone (including white folks) from enjoying genuine well-being. 

What qualifies her to make such a case? Well, Kerri is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that’s democratizing well-being for all and a yoga instructor with 20+ years of experience. She’s well-known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act. She’s dedicated her life to kicking down doors and fighting for justice, traits she’s inherited from a long line of first-responder ancestors. 

Now that I see the lie of white supremacy everywhere (Perfectionism! Productivity! Individualism!), I recognize how thoroughly indoctrinated I am in the system and the harm caused by my own mistake. That repeated realization is tiresome, by design. White supremacy is engineered to keep us severed from self-discovery and the will to continually question and call out. This is challenging, lifetime work. 

GUEST BIO

Kerri Kelly is the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that is democratizing well-being for all. A descendant of generations of firemen and first responders, Kerri has dedicated her life to kicking down doors and fighting for justice. She’s been teaching yoga for over 20 years and is known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems and mobilizing people to act. 

A community organizer, wellness activist and author of the forthcoming book American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal, Kerri is recognized across communities for her inspired work to bridge transformational practice with social justice. She’s been instrumental in translating the practices of wellbeing into social and political action, working in collaboration with community organizers, spiritual leaders and policymakers to transform our systems from the inside out. Her leadership has inspired a movement that is actively organizing around issues of racial and economic justice, healthcare as a human right, civic engagement and more.

Kerri is a powerful facilitator and TED speaker and is the host of the prominent podcast, CTZN. You can learn more about her work at kerrikelly.co and ctznwell.org. 

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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The magic of great photography is that it uncovers emotions on both sides of the lens. But what if subject and audience are the same? That exposure arrives with all sorts of charged, squishy feelings––including a healthy dose of healing. That’s what I’m experiencing as I circle back to the beautiful new collection of branding images my guest Meagan Thomas took of me.

Meagan is a boudoir photographer specializing in capturing each client's unique beauty, revealing the ravishing soul within so that they can bear witness to it, too.  You might be asking, “Hey Sarah, doesn’t boudoir photographer imply spicy shots of nakey folks?”

Yes. Yes, it does. And while my branding images aren’t nakey (natch), time spent in Meagan’s company, whether through a photography session or simply via this conversation, is a reminder of/return to our beauty beyond the physical. She makes women feel strong, assured, and sexy as hell.

I say “women”, but Meagan’s objective is to create an environment where everyone is free to embrace and embody their enoughness. And confidence comes from unlearning all the conditioning that’s force-fed to us by advertising. Even with my clothes on, I had to grapple with capitalism forever expropriating my desirability––as a professional person, a sensual being, and all the complexities in between. 

Under Meagan’s guidance, I experienced the freedom to pose and play. To experiment in my body. To be seen and see me. “I think my biggest goal is to remove contempt from your psyche,” she says. “If you can go from the contempt of ‘I hate this” to ‘It's not that bad. I’ve done my job.”

Job well done. I cried when I received the final images from Meagan. I like who I see.

GET CONNECTED

Crave with Mishara D. Winston: www.misharadwinston.com/crave

Wounded Healers Virtual Group: https://tinyurl.com/woundedhealersvg-2

GUEST BIO

Meagan Thomas is a boudoir photographer who specializes in identifying the unique beauty of each client she engages with. In every image she wants to see evidence of the ravishing soul within, so that her clients can see it too.

For full show notes, resources, and links to connect with our guest, visit: https://www.headhearttherapy.com/podcast

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