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Everyday Therapy
By Brett Cushing, Dr. Karin RyanSociety & CultureHealth & FitnessMental HealthEducationSelf-ImprovementRelationships
Everyday Therapy episodes
- Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, OCD, and Psychosis: Recognizing the Signs
Dr. Kohlhi shares expert clinical guidance to help parents distinguish between common, short-term "baby blues" and conditions requiring professional care, including postpartum depression (PPD), postpartum anxiety (PPA), postpartum OCD, and postpartum psychosis.
This conversation offers essential insight, destigmatizes intrusive thoughts, and outlines immediate action steps for families navigating perinatal mental health challenges.
Tune in to Discover:
- How the sudden hormonal drop 7 to 10 days after delivery causes temporary emotional shifts, and how to recognize when low mood, self-doubt, or guilt persist beyond two weeks.
- Why PPA often feels like an "engine that won't turn off," leading to exhaustion, physical tension, and an inability to sleep even when the baby is resting.
- The key differences between normal postpartum worry and sticky, distressing intrusive thoughts or compulsions that interfere with daily caregiving.
- The distinct signs of rapid-onset psychosis—including hallucinations, delusions, and loss of reality—and why loved ones must seek immediate ER care or call 911.
- How stabilization, medication, and up to a year of structured therapy help mothers fully heal, rebuild trust in themselves, and thrive in parenthood.
Resources
- Sagent Behavioral Health Perinatal & Maternal Mental Health Services
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
45 min - Beyond Sadness: Understanding Difficult-to-Treat Depression and How TMS Works
Dr. Jasberg shares why she prefers the term "difficult-to-treat depression" over "treatment-resistant," emphasizing that a lack of improvement on first-line medications does not mean someone is broken or untreatable. From cognitive slowing and irritability to the brain's neurocircuitry, this conversation offers clinical validation, an honest look at what a daily TMS session feels like, and genuine hope for anyone who feels stuck.
Tune in to Discover:
- The Hidden Signs of Depression: Why depression frequently surfaces as severe brain fog, executive function slowing, appetite loss, and chronic irritability rather than overt sadness or crying spells.
- Neurotransmitters vs. Neurocircuits: Why simply adding more serotonin or dopamine via medication does not always relieve symptoms if underlying neural firing rates remain sluggish.
- Reframing "Treatment-Resistant Depression": Why Dr. Jasberg advocates for the term "difficult-to-treat depression" to remove patient self-blame and preserve hope for recovery.
- What TMS Actually Feels Like: The practical reality of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation—a non-invasive, 20-minute outpatient session that requires no anesthesia, causes no memory loss, and lets patients drive themselves home or back to work immediately.
- Brain Mapping & The Motor Threshold: How clinicians use precise magnetic pulses on the motor cortex (finding the area that controls the thumb) to accurately target the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
- The Synergy of TMS and Therapy: Why combining TMS with talk therapy works like "going to the gym on a steroid"—using magnetic stimulation to re-energize dormant brain regions while actively cementing healthy thought patterns and coping behaviors.
- Clinical Outcomes & Remission Rates: Neuromodulation data show a 70% to 80% response rate and over 60% full clinical remission for patients who haven't found success with medications.
Resources
- Sagent Behavioral Health Psychiatry & Medication Management
- Sagent Behavioral Health Depression Care & Services
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review
If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe to Everyday Therapy and leave us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
28 min - Is It Just a Bad Day or Childhood Depression? How to Tell the Difference
David shares insights from his work with children and families, shedding light on how depression in young people often looks different than it does in adults. From physical complaints like GI issues and tension headaches to sudden outbursts and tech overload, this conversation offers parents a reassuring roadmap to approach their child with curiosity, groundedness, and "courageous love".
Tune in to Discover:
- Why children often express complex feelings of depression through primitive, intuitive reactions like anger, shouting, or behavioral outbursts rather than quiet sadness
- How physical symptoms, such as tension headaches, stomach issues, and changes in digestion, frequently serve as early warning signs of emotional distress
- Why algorithms and open access to games like Roblox can overwhelm young minds, along with practical tips for setting healthy tablet limits
- Key indicators that a child needs extra help
Resources
- Sagent Behavioral Health Child & Adolescent Therapy Services
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review
If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
28 min - Understanding Addiction: From Substance Use to Behavioral Patterns
Addiction isn’t limited to drugs or alcohol. From gambling and shopping to social media and other compulsive behaviors, many things can activate the brain’s reward system and become difficult to control, especially when they begin interfering with relationships, responsibilities, and everyday life.
Tune in to Discover:
- What addiction is and how it can extend beyond drugs and alcohol
- How dopamine and the brain’s reward system contribute to addictive patterns
- Why addictive substances or behaviors can begin to feel necessary for survival
- How stress, loneliness, boredom, and other triggers can reinforce the addiction cycle
- The connection between addiction and co-occurring concerns like anxiety and ADHD
- How shame and isolation can keep the cycle going
- The difference between substance dependence and behavioral addictions
- Why connection, routine, and community can be important parts of recovery
- How recovery can become an opportunity to rebuild your life in a new way
Resources
- Sagent Behavioral Health Substance Use Disorder Treatment
- Sagent Behavioral Health Therapy Services
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review
If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
31 min - How to Find a Psychiatrist: Online vs. In-Person Care
Dr. Utter shares her clinical perspective on why psychiatrists ask about sleep, social history, and lifestyle, and how medication acts as a collaborative tool to reduce symptom intensity rather than a quick fix. Whether you are curious about starting psychiatric care or deciding between virtual and clinic visits, this episode offers a practical, reassuring roadmap for your mental health journey.
Tune in to Discover:
- What to Expect at a First Visit: Why initial psychiatric intakes last over an hour and why providers ask broad questions about medical history, sleep, and lifestyle.
- Virtual vs. In-Person Care: The unique benefits of virtual psychiatry (convenience, accessibility) compared to in-person care (physical exams, tracking specific movement side effects).
- The "Lowest Effective Dose" Principle: How psychiatrists avoid over-medication and polypharmacy by starting low, titrating slowly, and prioritizing evidence-based, non-medication recommendations.
- How Medications Actually Work: A simplified look at how SSRIs support brain plasticity and why full benefits can take 6 to 8 weeks as new neural connections form.
- The Traction Analogy: How medication and therapy work together to help patients stop "spinning their wheels" and make meaningful progress.
Resources
- Sagent Behavioral Health Psychiatry Services
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review
If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
27 min - The Link Between Anxiety, People Pleasing, and Procrastination
The hosts share their own personal battles with relational perfectionism and outline how an over-attunement to others can cause a person to completely lose touch with their own identity. This conversation offers a deeply validating look at why we overcommit, how avoidance morphs into procrastination, and practical DBT-based tools to break the cycle.
Tune in to Discover:
- The Root of People Pleasing: Why the automatic urge to say "yes" is actually a survival skill designed to avoid the discomfort of conflict, disapproval, or rejection.
- Kindness vs. People Pleasing: The critical psychological boundary that separates an intrinsic desire to help from an anxiety-driven fear of loss or obligation.
- The Irritability Mask: How chronic people pleasing breeds hidden resentment and unmet expectations, frequently surfacing as anxiety-fueled irritability.
- The Anxiety-Procrastination Loop: How tasks tied to a person's self-worth become emotionally loaded, forcing the brain into a loop of stress, avoidance, and intensified guilt.
- The Courtroom of Guilt: Why people pleasers naturally adopt an "innocent until proven guilty" mindset in relationships and how to challenge it.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
27 min - Men’s Mental Health: Why It’s Hard to Ask for Help (And Where to Start)
This episode challenges the common narrative that men are simply "stubborn" or "proud," and instead focuses on how traditional male socialization forces men into a psychological double bind—feeling a societal pressure to remain completely stoic and impenetrable while trying to navigate modern expectations of emotional availability.
Tune in to Discover:
- The Alarming Statistics: The numbers surrounding men's mental health and why struggles frequently go unnoticed and unspoken.
- The Socialization Trap: How traditional expectations of strength and stoicism cause men to view emotional vulnerability as a weakness.
- Masked Symptoms: Why male depression and anxiety often present on the surface as irritability, explosive anger, or emotional withdrawal rather than sadness.
- The "Alibi" of Self-Medicating: How behaviors like working excessively or turning to substances are used as socially acceptable ways to suppress internal pain.
- Action-Oriented Support: Practical strategies for partners and friends to bridge the gap, including the power of "how" and "what" questions over "why" questions.
Resources
- Sagent Mental Health Services
- Sagent Behavioral Health Substance Use Resources
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review
If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
28 min - Healing from Trauma: How to Know if You Are Suffering From PTSD
The hosts break down the crucial distinctions between "Big T" and "little t" traumas, explaining how chronic stress can reshape the brain. If you have ever wondered why certain sounds, smells, or environments trigger an immediate survival response before your conscious mind can even register why, this episode provides a clinical framework, validation, and a powerful reminder that true healing is possible.
Tune in to Discover:
- What Truly Qualifies as Trauma: The difference between single-incident ("Big T") trauma and the chronic, cumulative effect of smaller ("little t") traumas like emotional abuse or neglect.
- The Neurobiology of a Trigger: How the survival center of the brain processes threats a hundred times faster than the rational frontal lobe, leading to immediate physical activation.
- The Four Core Categories of PTSD Symptoms: A breakdown of intrusive symptoms (flashbacks and nightmares), avoidance, hyperarousal (heightened reactivity), and negative shifts in mood or thinking.
The Goal of Trauma Therapy: How evidence-based treatments like EMDR, Prolonged Exposure, and Cognitive Processing Therapy help the brain transition memories so you can retell your story without physically reliving it.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
27 min - What is Bipolar Disorder? Understanding Symptoms, Types and Treatment
This episode offers a clinical yet compassionate framework for understanding the lived experience of bipolar disorder.
Whether you are navigating a new diagnosis or supporting a loved one, Brett and Karin provide the tools to replace confusion with compassion and empower you with practical management strategies.
Tune in to Discover
- The Clinical Reality: The difference between Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and hypomania (and why "I'm so bipolar" is an inaccurate phrase)
- The "Speedometer" Problem: What Anasognosia is and why the brain sometimes loses the ability to recognize it is in a manic state
- A 10-Day Snapshot: A step-by-step look at how a hypomanic cycle builds—from early morning productivity to the eventual "crash"
- The Management Toolkit: Why "living by the clock" and prioritizing sleep, nutrition, and mood stabilizers are the keys to stability
Resources
- Sagent Behavioral Health: Bipolar Disorder Care
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & Review
If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
30 min - How to Set Boundaries for Better Work-Life Balance
Whether you are struggling with "constant availability" or the guilt of leaving tasks unfinished, this conversation provides a realistic roadmap for reclaiming your mental space.
Tune in to Discover- The Identity of Boundaries: Why boundaries are like the walls of an office—essential for knowing where you begin and where work ends.
- The Lumberjack Principle: Why taking intentional breaks actually makes you more productive and sharpens your axe for the tasks ahead.
- Red Flags of Porous Boundaries: How to recognize the signs, from logging back in late at night to feeling resentment when a notification pops up.
- Concrete Skills for "No": How to use assertive communication and "delayed yeses" to honor your capacity without damaging your professional reputation.
Practical Tips for Your Work-Life Separation- Post-Work Rituals: Create a physical transition, such as changing out of work clothes immediately or shutting down your laptop completely rather than just locking the screen.
- The "Supervisor Strategy": If you struggle to say no to a boss, try: "I'd be happy to help with this. Can you show me how to prioritize this with my current workload?"
- Embrace the Discomfort: Understand that setting a new boundary will feel anxious at first. Growth and change often come with short-term discomfort for a long-term payoff.
Resources- Sagent Behavioral Health
- Contact the podcast: [email protected]
Subscribe & ReviewIf you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing to Everyday Therapy and leaving us a review. It helps others discover the podcast and take the next step toward meaningful mental health support.
Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]
We'd love to hear from you!
Follow along:
- Nystrom & Associates
28 min
About Everyday Therapy
From the publisher's feed
Do you find therapy overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be. The concepts in therapy are simple and practical, and you can use them to change your life today!
Hosts Brett Cushing, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Dr. Karin Ryan, Licensed Psychologist, bring the life-changing concepts of therapy into your daily life.
To learn how to apply therapy to your everyday life and become the best version of yourself, subscribe to “Everyday Therapy” wherever you get podcasts!