Joshua Korac Podcast

How do artists stay connected to their identity when creativity becomes a career?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Nick Perloff-Giles, better known as Wingtip, about imposter syndrome, creative identity, career setbacks, heartbreak, touring, and mental health in the music industry.

Nick reflects on the unexpected path that took him from working as a DJ to developing a more personal and emotionally honest sound as Wingtip. He discusses the pressure to succeed, compare yourself with other artists, and keep creating in an industry where progress is rarely predictable.

Josh and Nick explore how music can become closely connected to a person’s identity and self-worth. They discuss what happens when a creative project struggles, how artists adapt when their careers change direction, and why taking creative risks can require both confidence and vulnerability.

The conversation also looks at the emotional experiences behind Nick’s songwriting, including love, heartbreak, relationships, humor, and self-reflection. Nick shares the story behind “Hope They Love You” and discusses how touring, performance, travel, and time away from home can affect mental health.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• Imposter syndrome in the music industry
• Separating your identity from your career or creative work
• Responding to disappointment and career setbacks
• The pressure to compare yourself with other artists
• Taking creative risks and experimenting with new styles
• Becoming more personal and emotionally honest in your work
• How heartbreak and relationships influence songwriting
• The story and meaning behind “Hope They Love You”
• How touring can affect stress, mood, and mental health
• Balancing ambition with emotional well-being
• Adapting when life and work do not follow a linear path
• Using humor and self-awareness in creative expression

Wingtip is the artist project of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Nick Perloff-Giles. His music blends pop, alternative, electronic, and rock influences while exploring relationships, identity, change, and emotional experience.

His breakout song “Rewind” has received millions of streams, and he has also released music including “Heartworks,” “Happiness,” “Strangers,” “Demons,” and “Mr. 29.” In addition to his work as Wingtip, Nick has collaborated as a songwriter with other artists, including Céline Dion and Lauv.

Follow Wingtip at @wingtipmusic and listen to his music on your preferred streaming platform.

About the host:

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, diagnosis, career counseling, or an established therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.

First episode, November 8th! Follow me on social media for more content @joshkorac

How can families support addiction recovery, and what does an effective mental health response look like after a large-scale disaster?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with psychiatrist, author, and public-health leader Dr. Lloyd Sederer about addiction treatment, family involvement, medication-assisted treatment, disaster mental health, and the challenges facing the mental healthcare system.

Dr. Sederer explains why addiction is not simply a failure of willpower and why shame can make it more difficult for people and families to seek help. He discusses the importance of involving families in recovery, addressing both substance use and underlying mental health concerns, and combining medication with relational and behavioral support.

Josh and Dr. Sederer also explore what he learned while helping lead mental health responses following the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Sandy. Dr. Sederer explains why communities affected by disaster often need practical support, reliable information, social connection, and accessible public-health services rather than traditional psychotherapy alone.

The conversation compares these earlier disaster responses with the COVID-19 pandemic and examines how isolation, grief, uncertainty, economic disruption, and prolonged stress affected mental health.

They also discuss the evolution of psychiatry, the relationship between medication and psychotherapy, the role of primary-care physicians, and how economic and corporate pressures influence mental healthcare.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• How shame and stigma affect addiction recovery
• Why addiction is more complex than a lack of willpower
• The importance of involving families in treatment
• How family therapy can support recovery
• What medication-assisted treatment is
• Why medication and psychotherapy often work best together
• The relationship between addiction and other mental health concerns
• Lessons from the mental health response to September 11
• How Hurricane Sandy affected communities and emotional well-being
• Why disaster mental health differs from traditional psychotherapy
• Similarities and differences between COVID-19 and other disasters
• The role of primary-care doctors in mental healthcare
• Problems with fragmented and inaccessible treatment systems
• How economic pressures and corporate medicine affect patient care
• Writing about mental health for the general public

Dr. Lloyd Sederer is a psychiatrist, public-health leader, author, and former mental health commissioner for New York City. He previously served as chief medical officer for the New York State Office of Mental Health and as medical director and executive vice president of McLean Hospital.

Dr. Sederer has helped lead large-scale mental health responses following disasters including the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Sandy. He has written extensively about addiction, psychiatry, public health, and healthcare reform for both professional and general audiences.

His books include The Addiction Solution: Treating Our Dependence on Opioids and Other Drugs, Improving Mental Health, and Ink-Stained for Life.

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

This episode includes discussion of addiction, opioid use, mass-casualty events, disasters, grief, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, medical advice, diagnosis, addiction treatment, or an established therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.

What are healthy boundaries, and how can you communicate them without feeling controlling, selfish, or guilty?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with therapist Michelle Gaskins about how boundaries support healthier relationships, clearer communication, and a stronger sense of self.

Josh and Michelle explain what a boundary actually is, how boundaries differ from attempts to control another person, and why many people struggle to identify or communicate their limits. They also explore how family experiences, trauma, conflict, self-esteem, and fear of rejection can shape the way people respond to boundaries.

This conversation can help you better understand how to protect your emotional well-being while remaining connected, compassionate, and respectful toward the people in your life.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What healthy boundaries are and why they matter
• The difference between a boundary and an ultimatum
• How boundaries can improve communication and relationships
• Signs that boundaries may be too rigid, too loose, or unclear
• Why saying no can bring up guilt, anxiety, or fear of rejection
• How early family experiences can shape adult boundaries
• Communicating needs without blaming or attacking
• What to do when someone reacts negatively to a boundary
• Respecting another person’s limits, even when you disagree
• How boundaries support identity, trust, and emotional safety
• The relationship between boundaries, trauma, and self-esteem
• Creating boundaries that are clear, realistic, and consistent

Michelle Gaskins is a therapist who works with individuals and couples navigating interpersonal conflict, communication concerns, identity development, life transitions, self-esteem, grief, and trauma. Her integrative approach draws from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy, trauma-informed care, and EMDR.

About the host:

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, diagnosis, or an established therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.

How can running support mental health, and what makes a coach or teacher leave a lasting impact?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac reconnects with his former history teacher and coach, Benjamin Hershelman, for a conversation about running, emotional well-being, humor, mentorship, adolescence, and creating a healthy team culture.

Ben reflects on how running helped him regulate his mood as a teenager and why cross-country can offer something different from many traditional sports. Rather than focusing only on competition, cross-country often creates space for individual growth, shared struggle, belonging, and relationships across different levels of ability.

Josh and Ben also discuss the role of humor in working with teenagers. Ben explains how laughter can reduce tension, build trust, and help young people feel more comfortable being themselves. They reflect on memorable moments from Josh’s time as Ben’s student and examine how teachers and coaches can influence a young person long after a class or season has ended.

The conversation also explores how Ben and his fellow coaches have worked to build a program that develops strong athletes while placing equal importance on character, connection, and becoming a good person.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• How running can support mood and emotional regulation
• The mental health benefits of consistent physical activity
• Why cross-country can feel different from traditional team sports
• How shared challenges can create connection and belonging
• The role of coaches and teachers in adolescent development
• How humor can build trust with teenagers
• Mentoring young people without losing warmth or playfulness
• Creating a team culture that welcomes different abilities
• Balancing athletic performance with personal growth
• Why relationships often matter more than wins or records
• The lasting influence of encouraging adults
• How sports can help young people build confidence and identity

Benjamin Hershelman is a teacher, cross-country coach, track coach, husband, and father. He has worked in education for many years, including teaching gifted and talented students and high school social studies.

Ben has also spent more than a decade coaching high school cross-country and track. He describes coaching as a lifelong passion project centered on relationships, character development, community, and helping young people become both stronger athletes and better people.

Follow Ben at @hershelthings.

About the host:

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, diagnosis, coaching, or an established therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.

Why have fentanyl and methamphetamine become such serious public-health concerns, and what does effective addiction treatment involve?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with addiction-medicine physician Dr. Pradeep Rai about fentanyl, methamphetamine, polysubstance use, addiction stigma, and the importance of treating both substance use and mental health concerns.

Dr. Rai explains how the substance-use landscape has changed, including the growing presence of fentanyl in the illicit drug supply and the increasing overlap between opioid and stimulant use. They discuss why people may use more than one substance, how unpredictable drug potency increases overdose risk, and why addiction treatment must account for each person’s physical health, emotional well-being, relationships, and circumstances.

Josh and Dr. Rai also explore the relationship between substance use and conditions such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and other mental health concerns. They discuss dual diagnosis, the limits of treating addiction as an isolated problem, and the need for medical and behavioral-health providers to work together.

The conversation also examines the language used to describe addiction. Dr. Rai discusses how judgment and stigma can prevent people from seeking help, damage trust, and reduce addiction to a moral failure rather than recognizing it as a complex health condition.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• Why fentanyl has increased the risk of overdose
• The rise of methamphetamine and stimulant use
• Why opioid and stimulant use often overlap
• What polysubstance use means
• The relationship between addiction and mental health
• What dual diagnosis treatment involves
• Why substance use cannot be understood through willpower alone
• How trauma, depression, and anxiety may intersect with addiction
• The importance of integrated medical and behavioral healthcare
• How stigma can prevent people from seeking treatment
• The effects of judgmental language around substance use
• Why compassionate, nonjudgmental treatment matters
• Supporting individuals and families affected by addiction
• Creating treatment plans based on each person’s needs

Dr. Pradeep Rai is an addiction-medicine physician and the founder of Magnolia Medical Group in Colorado. He created the practice to provide integrated addiction care combining medical treatment with behavioral-health support.

Dr. Rai has experience treating a wide range of substance-use concerns and has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. His approach emphasizes compassion, safety, individualized care, and support for both clients and their families.

Learn more about Magnolia Medical Group at magnoliamed.com.

About the host:

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of substance use, fentanyl, methamphetamine, addiction, and overdose.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, addiction treatment, diagnosis, or an established therapeutic relationship. Do not start, stop, or change medication or substance-use treatment without consulting a qualified healthcare professional. If you suspect an overdose, call 911 immediately. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

What is human trafficking, how does exploitation happen, and what can ordinary people do to help prevent it?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with Brad Riley, founder of iEmpathize, about sex trafficking, labor trafficking, exploitation, vulnerability, prevention, and the role of empathy in protecting young people.

Brad explains that human trafficking involves exploiting another person for sex or labor through force, fraud, or coercion. It can happen across countries, in large cities, in small communities, and in places that may appear safe from the outside. Josh and Brad discuss why trafficking is often misunderstood and why awareness must go beyond dramatic stereotypes.

The conversation explores how traffickers identify and manipulate vulnerability. They may use romantic attention, promises of safety or opportunity, emotional pressure, money, housing, or other forms of control. Josh and Brad also discuss how pornography, cultural attitudes, economic hardship, isolation, and unmet relational needs may intersect with exploitation.

Brad describes the prevention work of iEmpathize, a human-rights nonprofit that equips adults and empowers young people to recognize exploitation, build protective skills, and respond with empathy. He explains how education, media, outreach programs, and partnerships can help communities identify warning signs and respond more effectively.

Josh also reflects on volunteering with iEmpathize in Mexico during high school and meeting survivors of trafficking. He shares how those experiences influenced his development as a therapist and changed the way he understood trauma, vulnerability, and human dignity.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What sex trafficking and labor trafficking are
• How force, fraud, and coercion are used
• Common myths about human trafficking
• Why trafficking can happen in any community
• How traffickers exploit vulnerability and trust
• The role of grooming, manipulation, and false promises
• How pornography may intersect with exploitation
• Why awareness and prevention education matter
• Challenges within the legal and judicial systems
• Why trafficking survivors may be treated like offenders
• How businesses, schools, transportation workers, and communities can help
• The importance of collaboration and long-term systemic change
• Practical ways individuals can support anti-trafficking efforts

Brad Riley is an activist, award-winning filmmaker, media producer, and founder of iEmpathize. His work focuses on preventing exploitation and equipping young people and adults with the knowledge and tools to recognize and respond to trafficking. His projects have received international attention through film festivals, human-rights organizations, the Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and the United Nations.

Learn more about iEmpathize and its prevention resources at iempathize.org.

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com.

Learn more about Josh at joshuakorac.com.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, child exploitation, pornography, coercion, and trauma.

This podcast is for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, legal advice, or crisis intervention. If you believe someone is in immediate danger, contact emergency services. In the United States, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is available at 1-888-373-7888 or by texting 233733.

What does “normal” mean in mental health, and how do clinicians decide when a personality trait becomes a psychiatric disorder?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. David Rettew about psychiatric diagnosis, medication stigma, overdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, and the difference between ordinary human variation and clinically significant impairment.

Dr. Rettew explains that mental health exists on a spectrum. Traits such as anxiety, distractibility, moodiness, impulsivity, or emotional sensitivity can be part of a person’s temperament without automatically indicating a disorder. Diagnosis becomes more relevant when symptoms are persistent, cause significant distress, or interfere with relationships, school, work, or daily life.

Josh and Dr. Rettew discuss why diagnostic categories can be both helpful and limiting. A diagnosis may give someone language for their experience, reduce confusion, guide treatment, and provide access to services. At the same time, psychiatric labels can feel stigmatizing, oversimplify a person, or create the impression that there is a clear line between being “normal” and mentally ill.

They also examine the risks of both overdiagnosing and underdiagnosing mental health conditions. Social media, insurance requirements, cultural expectations, limited appointment time, and differences between clinicians can all affect how symptoms are interpreted. Dr. Rettew describes why a thorough assessment should consider temperament, development, environment, family history, functioning, and the full context of a person’s life.

The conversation also explores psychiatric medication. Dr. Rettew discusses medication stigma, the limits of a medication-only approach, and why treatment decisions should be individualized. Medication may be helpful for some people, but it is only one possible part of care and does not replace therapy, relationships, healthy routines, or attention to environmental stressors.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• How clinicians define psychiatric disorders
• The difference between personality traits and mental health symptoms
• Why mental health exists on a continuum
• When distress or impairment may support a diagnosis
• The benefits and limitations of diagnostic labels
• Why psychiatric conditions may be overdiagnosed or underdiagnosed
• How social media can influence self-diagnosis
• The role of insurance in mental health diagnosis
• Temperament, personality, and individual differences
• Medication stigma and the limits of medication-only treatment
• Why mental health assessment requires context
• Moving beyond the idea of a single definition of “normal”

Dr. David Rettew is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and medical director of Lane County Behavioral Health in Eugene, Oregon. He previously served as an associate professor at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine.

Dr. Rettew has published more than 100 journal articles, chapters, and scientific abstracts on child mental health. He is the author of Child Temperament: New Thinking About the Boundary Between Traits and Illness and Parenting Made Complicated: What Science Really Knows About the Greatest Debates of Early Childhood. He also writes “The ABCs of Child Psychiatry” for Psychology Today.

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com.

Learn more about Josh at joshuakorac.com.

This podcast is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, mental health treatment, diagnosis, or an established therapeutic relationship. Do not start, stop, or change psychiatric medication without consulting a qualified healthcare professional.

Does emotional suffering always come from a chemical imbalance, or do we need a broader way to understand mental health?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with sociologist and author Dr. Joseph E. Davis about psychiatric diagnosis, mental health medication, medicalization, cultural expectations, and the ways we explain emotional suffering.

Dr. Davis examines the rise of biological explanations for mental health concerns and the popular idea that distress is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. He discusses why this explanation can feel validating and reduce blame, while also potentially narrowing how people understand their emotions, relationships, circumstances, and personal histories.

Josh and Dr. Davis explore the benefits and limitations of mental health diagnoses. A diagnosis can help people name their experiences, access treatment, and feel less alone. At the same time, diagnostic labels can sometimes make complex experiences appear more fixed, individual, or biological than they really are.

The conversation also looks at medication from a nuanced perspective. Psychiatric medications may provide meaningful relief, especially during periods of severe or acute distress. However, symptom relief does not always explain why someone is suffering or address the relational, social, cultural, and situational factors affecting their well-being.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• The history and influence of the chemical imbalance theory
• Biological explanations for depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns
• The benefits and limitations of psychiatric diagnosis
• How diagnostic labels can shape identity and self-understanding
• The difference between relieving symptoms and understanding suffering
• How medication may help during acute periods of distress
• Why mental health concerns cannot always be reduced to brain chemistry
• The influence of pharmaceutical advertising on public beliefs
• How cultural expectations shape ideas about happiness and normality
• Medicalization and the treatment of ordinary suffering
• The pressure to control emotions and achieve self-mastery
• Why asking “What happened?” and “Why?” can be clinically important
• Understanding distress within a person’s relationships and circumstances
• Combining biological, psychological, relational, and social perspectives

Dr. Joseph E. Davis is a research professor of sociology and director of the Picturing the Human Project at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. His research examines identity, morality, cultural change, psychiatry, medicine, trauma, psychoactive medication, technology, aging, and the ways societies understand human suffering.

He is the author of Chemically Imbalanced: Everyday Suffering, Medication, and Our Troubled Quest for Self-Mastery. He has also written and edited books including The Evening of Life and To Fix or to Heal.

About the host:

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

This episode includes discussion of psychiatric diagnosis and medication. Decisions about starting, changing, or stopping medication should be made with a qualified medical professional.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, medical advice, diagnosis, or an established therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.

How can you rebuild trust with your body when food, body image, or self-criticism have become a source of distress?

In this episode, licensed professional counselor Josh Korac speaks with psychotherapist, author, and embodiment specialist Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti about disordered eating, body image, self-compassion, yoga, and the role of the body in emotional healing.

Ann explains how many people become disconnected from their bodies through shame, trauma, dieting, self-judgment, or repeated efforts to control their appearance. Rather than treating the body as a problem that must be fixed, she encourages listeners to develop a more compassionate and trusting relationship with it.

Josh and Ann explore the practice of embodiment, which involves noticing physical sensations, emotions, and internal cues with curiosity rather than criticism. They discuss how body awareness, mindfulness, movement, and somatic therapy can help people better understand their needs and feel more present in their lives.

The conversation also examines how self-compassion can support recovery from disordered eating and body-image concerns. Instead of relying on shame or punishment to create change, Ann describes how kindness, patience, and nervous-system regulation can help people move toward a more sustainable relationship with food, movement, and themselves.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• What it means to befriend your body
• How shame and self-criticism can affect body image
• The relationship between trauma, the nervous system, and disordered eating
• Why people may become disconnected from physical sensations and needs
• Embodiment and learning to feel more present in your body
• How interoceptive awareness can help you notice internal cues
• The role of self-compassion in eating-disorder recovery
• Moving away from punishment, control, and body judgment
• Yoga and mindful movement as tools for body awareness
• How somatic therapy supports emotional healing
• Rebuilding trust with hunger, fullness, rest, and other body signals
• Developing a kinder and more respectful relationship with yourself

Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, author, yoga therapist, mindfulness teacher, and eating-disorder specialist with more than 30 years of clinical experience. Her work integrates somatic psychotherapy, self-compassion, mindfulness, nervous-system regulation, and embodiment.

She is the author of Befriending Your Body: A Self-Compassionate Approach to Freeing Yourself from Disordered Eating and the creator of the Befriending Your Body Program, a trauma-informed somatic self-compassion program for people experiencing eating disorders, disordered eating, and body-image concerns.

Learn more about Ann and her work through An Embodied Life and the Befriending Your Body Program.

About the host:

Josh Korac is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado who specializes in trauma, family estrangement, loneliness, and complex relationship concerns. He is also the Lead Moderator of Estrangement.com, where he has worked with thousands of adult children and parents affected by family estrangement.

Learn more about Josh and his therapy practice at joshuakorac.com.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, disordered eating, trauma, and body-image concerns. Please consider your well-being before listening.

This podcast is provided for educational purposes and does not constitute mental health treatment, diagnosis, nutritional advice, or an established therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis in the United States, call or text 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.