Everyday Therapy

In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Brett Cushing shares the desperate need and relevant power of validation upon relationships, ourselves, and our culture.   Brett provides clarity on what validation is and is not; while giving practical steps on being validating in a manner that can transform relationships with others and with oneself.

Listen to find out how to effectively utilize validation skills and transform relationships into safer, happier, and more secure ones.  We often neglect validation because we believe validating someone means agreeing with them.  This episode highlights how leading every interaction with validation does not mean approval but does convey acknowledgment and acceptance, and this is the beginning of most any change effort.  Also, failure to lead with validation likely leads to defensiveness, stagnation, and a decline in relationships.  The skill of validation is the superpower that can significantly remedy relational challenges.

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing discuss the psychology behind goodbyes and closure as the podcast says goodbye to co-host Michelle in her final episode. Michelle has been honored to be a part of the podcast from its very beginning, and you'll hear about her hopes for the podcast and our listeners. 

Listen to find out why our brains seek out closures in our goodbyes and what research says about both the difficulties and benefits in having closure (versus being ghosted). We will continue to have weekly episodes available with Brett leading the helm, so please join us to listen today as Michelle graduates from co-host to devoted and passionate listener. Some of Michelle's favorite podcast episodes are linked below. 

Episodes Mentioned:

• Stories of Recovery and Hope: Vicky
• The Link Between Toxic Diet Culture and Eating Disorders
• Self-Esteem: How Do You Want to Slice the Pie?
• The Wounded Healer
• Anti-New Years Resolutions 

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing discuss the use of DBT skills in your daily life of "Alternate Rebellion" and "Adaptive Denial." 

Listen to find out how these skills relate to our lives and the clients we work with daily. You'll even hear how Michelle's pink hair is a form of these skills,  and why these skills will help you if you are feeling stuck, helpless, or even rebellious (in unhelpful ways). 

Episodes Mentioned:

• Are You Ready for Change?
• How to Change Behavior (Letting Go of the Log)
• What Do You Want to Know About Borderline Personality Disorder?

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing discuss the fork and spoon theory concepts and how they relate to understanding our stress and energy levels throughout the day. The theories are helpful in understanding the difference between our internal resources (spoons) and external stressors (forks). 

Listen to find out why we might say the phrase "stick a fork in me, I'm done" when we have reached our maximum capacity for stress for the day, and how we might choose to spend spoons to help. You'll also find out how these theories apply to invisible illnesses like chronic pain, chronic illness, and even our own mental health needs. 

Episodes Mentioned: 

• What You Didn't Know About Stress
• Is Laughter Really the Best Medicine?

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing learn about EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy with special guest Christa Overson, LMFT. Christa is the Clinical Site Director at Nystrom's Bloomington clinic and a lifelong Minnesotan raised in the north woods of Duluth. She has 10 years of clinical experience and seven years of experience with EMDR. She works with adults, couples, and families and provides supervision to therapists working toward their license. Outside work, she loves playing with her niece and two nephews. 

Listen as Christa, Brett, and Michelle talk about what EMDR is, including the difference between how "regular" therapy works and how EMDR techniques work by accessing a different part of the brain. Christa shares her own experiences with EMDR and explains how to know if EMDR therapy might be the right kind for you. 

Episodes Mentioned: The Wounded Healer

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing discuss the topic of behavior change, which many clients seek help for in therapy. They talk about what makes it hard to change a behavior, but also give strategies and tools for better understanding why the behavior itself occurs in the first place and giving yourself compassion when it is hard to make a change. 

Listen to find out more about how therapists use a behavior chain to help clients better understand their behaviors and to hear why it can be hard to "let go of the log" when you feel as though you are drowning and still need that behavior to help you survive. 

Episodes Mentioned:

• Are You Ready for Change? 
• You Are Who you Choose to Be 

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing talk about their lives and what led them to become the therapists they are today. They talk about Carl Jung's concept of "The Wounded Healer", and what it means to have a therapist who also gets their own therapy due to encountering and overcoming their own experiences with mental health and family dynamics.

Listen to learn more about Michelle and Brett's stories, how they navigate issues around countertransference in therapy, and how their journey with healing and self-awareness helps to increase their empathy and curiosity with those they work with daily.

Episodes Mentioned:

• The Benefits of Vulnerability 
• Perinatal Mental Health - It's Not Just Postpartum Depression

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) Michelle Iversen discusses her "Anti-New Year's Resolutions" and why the New Year's resolutions we most commonly set are often linked to toxic diet culture and also fail 91% of the time. But rather than blame ourselves for this, Michelle would like us to think about the goals and whether they are designed in a way that isn't helpful for us and our self-esteem. 

Listen as Michelle talks more about toxic diet culture and the new year and offers ideas for new resolutions to try throughout the new year instead. Happy 2023 to all of our listeners. We are thankful for you!

Episodes Mentioned: 

• The Link Between Toxic Diet Culture and Eating Disorders
• Self-Esteem: How Do You Want to Slice the Pie?
• The Problems with Perfectionism

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing discuss the most common myths around therapy and "bust" them along with special guest Scott Steinbarger, LMFT. Scott is the Clinical Site Director at Nystrom's Edina clinic and a "Midwestern Millennial Middle Child." He has always had an interest in counseling but needed to take a detour into Nuclear Engineering in college before figuring out Marriage and Family Therapy was just the ticket. A self-described nerd who loves storytelling and story listening even more, Scott is passionate about relationships and has a surprising amount of fun working with couples and individuals through their challenges and goals. When not counseling, Scott may be found reading fantasy novels or pretending to be a writer.

Listen as Scott, Brett, and Michelle talk about the various myths around therapy, and share from their own experiences and practice what the reality of therapy truly is (especially if you've never tried therapy before!) 

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In this episode, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFTs) Michelle Iversen and Brett Cushing interview their first client guest on the podcast, Vicky. Vicky is a Nystrom client who completed the DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) program. Today, she shares her story of how treatment helped her find happiness and a way out of suffering.

Listen to find out more about Vicky's story, how she continues to use skills to help her through the holiday season, and the hope that comes with treatment and recovery.

Episodes Mentioned: 

• Your Guide to Boundaries for the Holidays
• Managing Holiday Expectations
• Understanding Domestic Violence
• What Do You Want to Know About Borderline Personality Disorder?

Do you have feedback or topic requests? Email us at [email protected]

We'd love to hear from you!

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