We talk a lot about protecting our kids’ future, but the real fight is happening in classrooms, living rooms, and phone screens every single day.
In this episode, Jamie sits down with Dr. Lisa Strohman, clinical psychologist, former FBI profiler, and founder of Digital Citizen Academy, to talk about the real psychological and societal cost of unchecked technology and what it’s going to take to reverse course.
Lisa brings a uniquely powerful perspective. She has been on the ground at Quantico profiling predators, in the halls of Congress crafting policy, and in therapy rooms with the families paying the price. Her work now centers on one mission: to give kids, parents, and educators the tools to fight back against a digital world they never signed up for.
Together, they dig into:
- Why social media is more dangerous than a gun in your child’s room
- What AI literacy in schools needs to look like
- The real neuroscience behind screen time, attention, and identity
- Why tech isn’t evil, but intentionality is everything
- What Lisa is building to scale truth, empathy, and protection in an era of misinformation and digital harm, and much more.
If you’re a parent, educator, policymaker, or just someone who wants to understand how we ended up here and what we can do about it, this is the episode you can’t afford to miss.
About Dr. Stohman
Dr. Lisa Strohman has widely become known for her advocacy and education around mental wellness as it relates to our digital lives. She has worked with thousands of parents, schools and children around the globe. An attorney, clinical psychologist, and author, Dr. Strohman established the Digital Citizen Academy, a non-profit program offered to schools with an in-home plan that educates, empowers and inspires balance and prosocial use of technology.
She is the founder and director of Digital Citizen Academy, one of the first organizations to address the global issue of technology addiction and overuse. As a licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Strohman has spent more than a decade working with individual, family and adolescent clients struggling with issues including depression, anxiety, addiction and technology overuse.
Recognizing the growing challenges parents now face with their children, and the increasingly serious issues her young patients are dealing with due to our growing dependency on technology, inspired Dr. Strohman to launched the Technology Wellness Center, which she co-founded with Dr. Melissa Westendorf JD, PhD in 2014.
With her work in schools and in the media Dr. Strohman recognized the need for prevention education and diversion programs and founded Digital Citizen Academy for students, educators and parents addressing these issues related to technology.
Dr. Strohman attended the University of California, Davis where she received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She then completed a joint, integrated program in law and Psychology at Villanova and Drexel Universities.
During her undergraduate career, Dr. Strohman gained experience as a lead program coordinator with Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT), as a family reunification therapist and a hospice counselor. While attending graduate school, she performed research in substance abuse, risk communication and child abduction. Her avid interest in public policy earned her the honor of becoming a legislative intern for Congress. She was also selected as an honors intern with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and invited to become a visiting scholar with the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime division as she completed her dissertation.
After earning her Juris Doctorate, Strohman worked at a large law firm, while completing her residency at the Arizona State Hospital in both a clinical and forensic rotation in clinical psychology. She eventually settled back into her counseling practice as the clinical psychologist with Lifescape Medical Associates, where she utilizes her training in cognitive behavior therapy to help patients.
In addition to establishing the Technology Wellness Center, Dr. Strohman and Dr. Westendorf developed an assessment test to help parents identify if their child is at risk from technology overuse. The two have also co-authored a book, Unplug: Raising Kids in a Technology Addicted World, published in July 2015.
In an effort to educate parents, caregivers and students, Dr. Strohman is a guest speaker to schools, parent organizations and students to help raise awareness and offer preventative tools and resources. She is also frequently featured in the media as an expert source for issues related to technology use and behavior, including a weekly feature on Dr. Drew’s radio show as well as an expert on Dr. Oz’s ShareCare site.
Guest Quote
“ I don't want to overwhelm people with here’s how it can be really super dangerous. I want to really give that picture of tech as a tool is awesome, tech as a toy, not so much. So let's kind of look at what the good and the bad of it is.”
Time Stamps
00:00 Episode Start
01:35 Lisa's Early Life and Background
04:13 Lisa's Professional Journey and Achievements
07:35 Experiences in Law and Psychology
17:01 Challenges and Insights from Government Work
26:48 Impact of Technology on Critical Thinking
34:23 Rethinking the Formative Years
40:34 Digital Citizens Academy: Addressing the Problem
47:39 Challenges in Education and Social Media
54:26 Scaling Solutions for Schools
01:03:44 The Role of AI in Education
01:27:02 Executive Order: AI Training for All
01:32:33 The Roundup
Sponsor
Ever To Conquer is brought to you by RedLeif, a digital agency focused on accelerating the modernization and security of public sector data. Visit RedLeif.io to learn more.
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