Cultivate Calmness Podcast: Find Your Calm, Cultivate Your Mind

In this week’s episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela shares her thoughts on the upcoming American Counseling Association conference coming to Columbus, Ohio, and reflects on the value of attending professional conferences as a counselor. From earning CEUs and deepening clinical knowledge to building meaningful relationships, exploring new cities, and creating lasting professional connections, she walks through what counselors can expect and how to make the most of the experience. Whether you are attending ACA for the first time, considering a future conference, or wondering if the investment is worth it, this episode offers practical encouragement on balancing learning, networking, and personal enjoyment along the way.

In this week’s episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela explores the meaning behind the word idiopathic — a term often used when medical providers can’t determine the cause of symptoms. But is “we don’t know” the end of the story? Drawing from personal experience, client stories, and her functional mental health perspective, Kaela discusses the difference between normal and optimal lab results, why symptoms don’t exist in isolation, and how root causes are often overlooked in traditional care. Using relatable examples—from vitamin D levels to iron deficiency and organ removal—she encourages listeners to ask better questions, advocate for deeper testing, and look beneath the surface rather than settling for symptom management alone. Healing, she reminds us, often requires going beyond what’s visible.

In this episode of Cultivate Calmness, I share a personal update on my own health journey—mineral deficiencies, supplement protocols, energy shifts, and even a stubborn eye twitch—and how it mirrors the therapeutic process I guide my clients through every day. Healing doesn’t happen from insight alone; it requires intentional action between appointments. Whether it’s adjusting nutrition, resisting cravings driven by deeper imbalances, setting boundaries in relationships, or putting down your phone earlier at night, meaningful change requires consistent effort. As a holistic/functional mental health counselor specializing in grief and trauma, I explore the connection between body, mind, and behavior—and why real progress happens not just in the therapy room, but in the daily choices you make when no one is watching.

In this week’s episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela dives into the powerful connection between minerals and mental health. From iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper to gut health and nutrient absorption, she explores how internal imbalances can directly impact mood, anxiety, energy, focus, and emotional regulation. Drawing from her own recent testing experience—including hair mineral analysis and stool testing—Kaela explains why “normal” lab ranges may not mean optimal health and why talk therapy alone may not be enough if the body is depleted. This episode encourages listeners to advocate for themselves, explore deeper root causes, and consider how addressing internal health can transform emotional wellbeing.

In this February episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, Kaela explores the deeper meaning of love beyond romance and Valentine’s Day traditions. Drawing from biblical concepts like eros, storge, philia, and agape, she reflects on how love shows up differently in marriage, friendship, family, and even in relationships marked by disagreement or tension. In a world saturated with information, political division, and emotional reactivity, this episode invites listeners to consider what it means to show respect, compassion, and humanity—especially when it feels uncomfortable. Through both spiritual reflection and psychological insight, Kaela challenges us to examine how we love, how we forgive, and how we can strive toward a more unconditional, mature expression of care in our daily lives.

In this week’s episode of Cultivate Calmness, I explore the powerful parallels between plant care and mental health therapy—especially when it comes to grief, trauma, and emotional healing. From watering and soil to boundaries, support systems, and growth spurts, plants offer a surprisingly accurate reflection of what humans need to thrive. Using real-life examples from my office plants, I talk about recognizing signs of distress, honoring individual needs, adjusting care when something isn’t working, and why healing is never one-size-fits-all. This episode is a gentle reminder that with the right environment, patience, and nourishment, both plants and people can recover, grow, and flourish.

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, we explore the complex gray areas of family, romantic, and interpersonal relationships—especially when conflict, hurt, or disconnection arise. Drawing from both clinical experience and personal reflection, this conversation invites listeners to gently “turn the camera around” and examine their own role in relational dynamics without minimizing the harm they may have experienced. We talk about boundaries, reconciliation, accountability, and the reality that relationships often cannot return to what they once were—but can still evolve into something healthier or more aligned. This episode offers compassionate perspective for anyone navigating relational stress while trying to honor both their emotional truth and their well-being.

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, I share my first personal experience with myofascial release massage and explore the powerful connection between fascia, trauma, and emotional healing. As a holistic, trauma-informed therapist, I discuss how physical and emotional traumas can be stored in the body, how fascia functions as connective tissue that holds these experiences, and why body-based work can complement trauma therapies like EMDR. I reflect on the physical sensations, emotional release, and unexpected insights that emerged during and after the session, while also offering important considerations for anyone curious about myofascial work—especially those already engaged in trauma therapy. This episode invites listeners to consider what the body may still be holding and how intentional, integrated healing can support both mind and body.

In this episode of the Cultivate Calmness Podcast, I explore what functional mental health really means and how it differs from traditional approaches that focus only on symptom management. I share how I integrate functional principles into my own clinical work, including looking at nutrition, sleep, stress, gut health, mineral balance, and environmental factors that impact mental and emotional well-being. I also take you behind the scenes of my personal health journey, discussing recent functional testing such as blood work, GI mapping, and hair mineral analysis, and why understanding root causes matters for both healing trauma and supporting long-term mental health. This episode offers an honest, accessible look at how mind and body are deeply connected—and why meaningful mental health care must address both

In this first Cultivate Calmness Podcast episode of the year, Kaela welcomes listeners into 2026 by reflecting on rest, renewal, and growth—and sharing some exciting news that’s been months in the making. She announces the upcoming Mental Health Professionals Conference, a full-day integrative mental health conference designed to bring together therapists to explore whole-person care that honors mind, body, and spirit. Kaela also discusses why therapy alone isn’t always enough, the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, and how expanding our referral networks ultimately helps clients heal more fully. This episode is an invitation to connection, learning, and reimagining what mental health care can look like when we step outside the box.