Clinical psychologist Laura Devlin joins Caroline Stokes to explore how leaders, parents, and high achievers can navigate today’s overwhelming world.

In this episode of the AfterShock podcast, we cover:

• How macro shocks like AI, climate change, and political instability are now showing up in therapy, counselling and coaching rooms.

• Coping strategies leaders use under pressure and how they can become maladaptive.

• The “window of tolerance” and why it matters for CEOs and parents alike.

• Emotional hygiene: what happens when we neglect our inner lives.

• The role of self-compassion in breaking cycles of reactivity, shame, and burnout.

• Parenting in the AI era: helping kids regulate emotions while facing unprecedented pressures.

• The limits of AI as a therapeutic tool and why human connection remains irreplaceable.

• Why reinvention begins with a deeper understanding of our own story.

This AfterShock conversation is part of our September series on Creating Healthy Organizations, inspired by the annual conference founded by Dr. Ludmila Praslova at Vanguard University. Together, we’re exploring what it really takes to build organizations—and lives—that positively impact people, planet, and profit.

More about Laura Devlin:

Laura Devlin is a registered psychologist and the co-founder of Beaches Therapy Group, a multi-location psychotherapy practice in Toronto, Canada, that serves children, teens, adults, couples, and families. Over the past decade, she has grown the team to more than 50 clinicians and supported thousands of clients in accessing high-quality, trauma-informed care.

With deep roots in clinical practice and a passion for systems-level change, Laura is increasingly focused on how psychology and neuroscience can inform healthier workplaces and leadership cultures. She is particularly interested in mental health innovation, trauma-informed leadership, nervous system science at work, resilience in high-stakes caregiving and entrepreneurship, and scalable approaches to meaningful wellness.

Laura is also the founder of Penny’s Promise, a rare disease charity inspired by her daughter, Penny, which funds groundbreaking research teams at Harvard, Boston Children’s Hospital, and more recently University College Cork in Ireland. She brings both clinical expertise and lived experience to everything she builds, working at the intersection of empathy, strategy, and science to create systems that support whole-human wellness, from the therapy room to the boardroom.

https://www.instagram.com/beachestherapygroup/

https://pennyspromise.ca/