Psych Mic

Daniela Ligiero, PhD, is the Executive Director and CEO of Together for Girls, a global, public-private partnership dedicated to ending violence against children, especially sexual violence against girls. The partnership includes five UN agencies, the governments of the U.S. & Canada, several private sector organizations and more than 20 country governments in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, working together to generate comprehensive data and solutions to this public health and human rights epidemic. Dr. Ligiero also serves as the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. 

Before she joined Together for Girls, she served as the VP of Girls and Women’s Strategy at the UN Foundation and developed the foundation’s gender integration strategy. In addition, she spent over 5 years at the U.S. Department of State where she led the integration of gender issues into all foreign policy and investments in global health—working with over 70 countries and over $1 billion in investments. She helped develop the first ever International U.S. Government Strategy to End Gender-Based Violence. 

Dr. Ligiero also served in leadership roles at UNICEF, as Chief of HIV and then as Senior Program Officer in UNICEF Brazil. In addition, she has held positions at the World Bank and the US Senate, and has worked directly with survivors of sexual assault in a variety of settings. She is also a survivor of sexual violence herself, and has been speaking publicly about her story for the last decade. She earned her PhD in counseling & community psychology from UMD, College Park, ranked the #1 program in the U.S. Dr. Ligiero is fluent in 4 languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

See the Keep Kids Safe U.S. National Blueprint to End Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents (launched Nov. 18, 2021).

In this episode:

1. What do you do as the CEO of Together for Girls?
2. What is advocacy, and how is it helping to end sexual violence?
3. If you could implement any policies right now for prevention and healing, what would they be?
4. What barriers do you face as you work to change policy ?
5. How did you learn to harness the power of storytelling to further your organization’s mission?
6. Sexual violence - prevalence
7. How did your interest in psychology evolve?
8. Why did you choose to pursue your PhD in counseling and community psychology?
9. Why did you decide not to pursue clinical work? How does that training still help you today?
10. Clinical vs. counseling psychology
11. Using your psychology degree for policy change
12. As a survivor yourself, how did you cope with counseling survivors of sexual violence in your training?
13. What was it like to work on Capitol Hill?
14. How did you help develop an HIV response program for the U.S. Department of State?
15. Being the HIV lead for UNICEF in Brazil and then the senior gender advisor for the Department of State
16. What does your daily life look like at Together for Girls?
17. What skills are you using every day? 
18. Advice for audience members interested in psychology, policy, and social justice
19. What skill, quality, or general factor has served you no matter where you went in life? 

 
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Music by: Adam Fine 

Jared Weintraub, PhD is passionate about helping individuals, teams, and organizations to create, grow, and maintain purpose-driven, positive, and productive cultures. He currently works on the internal People Analytics and Reporting team at Deloitte and is an Adjunct Professor who has taught undergraduate and graduate Psychology courses. Jared has worked with start-ups, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations across various industries, providing internal and external consulting, coaching, and managing marketing and sales teams. He earned his Master’s degree from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s D.C. campus and recently received his Ph.D. in Applied Organizational Psychology from Hofstra University, where he researched Flow Theory - how, when, and why individuals, teams, and organizations can get into "the Zone." His most recent publication explored how we can use technology-based solutions to "nudge" behavior change to develop critical competencies for flourishing at work.

If you're listening on the episode release date, have a very Happy Thanksgiving :) !!!

See Jared on LinkedIn!
Jared's email: [email protected]

Topics we covered:

1. Jared’s inspiration from Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the father of “flow”
2. What is flow?
3. The value of a psych major in industry
4. Why did Jared enjoy working in sales & HR?
5. How did he discover IO psychology?
6. How did his master’s in IO help him do his HR job better?
7. What went into Jared’s decision to pursue a PhD in Applied Organizational Psychology?
8. Is flow at work actually important?
9. Do a lot of people achieve flow at work?
10. What are concrete things people can do to start figuring out what gets them into flow?
11. What advice does Jared have for people considering grad school in IO Psychology?
12. What was Jared’s experience with research at his PhD program (and why was it unique?)?
13. Practical grad school and networking tips
14. What does Jared do now?
15. Advice for that person listening who’s nodding along and feeling really aligned with IO psychology - how should they get started after college? 

 
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Music by: Adam Fine 

Regine Galanti, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of individuals with anxiety and OCD; as well as young children with behavior problems, anxiety, and co-occuring disorders. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). She is the founder of Long Island Behavioral Psychology, a therapy practice in Nassau County, Long Island, and author of Anxiety Relief for Teens: Essential CBT Skills and Mindfulness Practices to Overcome Anxiety and Stress.  Dr. Galanti received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Hofstra University. 

 Dr. Galanti works together with parents, schools, and teachers to optimize treatment for a child. She provides concrete, research-proven strategies to help individuals with generalized anxiety, panic disorder, OCD,  social anxiety, school refusal, selective mutism, disruptive behaviors, and ADHD. She is a sought after speaker who has been quoted in The Washington Post, Self Magazine, and Buzzfeed, among others. 

In this episode, we cover:

1. How did you figure out you wanted to be a child psychologist?
2. How did you decide which graduate programs to apply to, and why was program orientation so important?
3. How should students go about figuring out which theoretical orientations they align with?
4. Choosing between PsyD and PhD: orientation, training, research, and financial considerations
5. Why Regine’s professors told her to go to conferences
6. How did you piece together that you wanted to work with children again after having worked with adults throughout graduate school?
7. Why did you open a private practice?
8. How can we do better at communicating clinical findings to the public?
9. What are important considerations to make when deciding whether you want to work with children or adults?
10. Why Regine thinks it’s easier to work with kids, and why she loves it
11. A day in Regine’s life
12. Favorite and least favorite parts of the job
13. Regine supervises grad students in clinical psychology. In her experience, what kinds of students do really well with CBT therapy?
14. Misconceptions about CBT
15. What do you see a lot of graduate students struggling with?
16. Grad school isn’t about just getting it done
17. Specialist vs generalist practitioners - how do you choose which conditions you want to treat?
18. What do you think people can/should do to maximize their preparedness for graduate school?
19. What skill, quality, or general factor has served you no matter where you went? 

 
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Music by: Adam Fine 

Val DiFebo is the CEO of Deutsch New York. For over 25 years, Val DiFebo has been one of the key architects of Deutsch’s continual success and leadership in the advertising industry. As CEO of Deutsch’s NY office, Val brings a wealth of expertise to the business of advertising and marketing.  As a leader that positions herself at the intersection of business strategies and digital techniques, since 1992 Val has continually redefined the Agency’s integrated multidisciplinary offering, allowing for the creation of rapid business solutions that impact a client’s business. Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, IKEA, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Green Giant, PNC Bank, Sherwin-Williams, and The Michael J. Fox Foundation are a few of the blue-chip clients she’s touched thus far. Along with the Agency’s success, The Today Show, CNN, and other media outlets have all sought out her point of view, and she has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Fortune. 

 A trusted industry thought leader, Val is anything but shy when it comes to advocating for equality in the workplace. Her philanthropic involvement includes supporting early career playwrights and creative storytellers through her position on the Board of The Playwrights Realm, as well as Chairman of the Hearts of Gold Foundation, which assists at-risk mothers. Additionally, she is a board member of The ANA Educational Foundation (AEF), as well as her alma mater, Williams College, where she studied — you guessed it — psychology!

In this episode, we covered: 

1. What is advertising, and how is it different from marketing?
2. What does Deutsch help their clients with?
3. How did your interest in psychology develop into an interest in advertising?
4. What advice do you have for psych majors who are multi-passionate but are unsure how to take there next steps?
5. Was it difficult to market your psych background in industry?
6. Is it easier now for psych majors to enter the marketing/advertising industry?
7. What do you look for in a candidate?
8. How did you become CEO of Deutsch NY?
9. What makes for good leaders and mentors?
10. Are mentors people you actively seek out or do they just come about?
11. What does your day look like?
12. What do you love most about your job?
13. What do you love about advertising specifically?
14. How do you see advertising changing over the next couple decades?
15. What skills are important to be successful in advertising?
16. For psych majors who are interested in advertising, where can they look for positions they’d be qualified for?
17. The power of yes
18. Graduate school - necessary?
19. Hope for psych students 

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Music by: Adam Fine 

Nicole Vienna, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist  specializing in forensic and neuropsychological evaluations. She completed her PsyD in Clinical Forensic Psychology at Alliant International University - California School of Forensic Studies and her bachelor's at the University of Arizona.

She is currently the CEO and clinical director of her private practice, Vienna Psychological Group, which collaborates with clients across multiple facets of forensic evaluation services. they provide detailed assessments used in legal proceedings and case development for both criminal and civil issues affecting adults and juveniles. They also conduct screenings for employment in public safety to determine if a candidate is a suitable fit for the psychological demands of the position. In addition, they work closely with families and educators to evaluate learning disorders, behavior problems, intelligence and achievement, and other issues impacting academic performance.

Read more about Nicole's practice and training here.
Book referenced: Insider's Guide to Graduate Programs in Clinical and Counseling Psychology by John Norcross and Michael Sayette

In this episode, we cover:

1. What is forensic psychology?
2. Do forensic psychologists always serve the court? 
3. What do you need to do to be called a “forensic psychologist”?
4. How did Nicole land her internship if her PsyD was not APA accredited?
5. Roadblocks in Nicole’s training
6. Why would you get a master’s in forensic psychology if it doesn’t lead to licensure?
7. Why did you choose a PsyD over a PhD?
8. Why did you major in sociology and criminal justice in undergrad instead of psychology?
9. What was the biggest challenge you faced in graduate school?
10. Tips on balance and time management in grad school
11. Doctoral students are typically high-achievers. How do you advise them to embrace failure?
12. Was it annoying to go through clinical experiences in grad school knowing you didn’t want to work in clinical settings?
13. Why do forensic psychologists need to be clinical psychologists?
14. What was it like to work at an inpatient psychiatric hospital during grad school?
15. What was it like to work at a jail?
16. What are important things to consider before working at a jail? A lot of people are drawn to it, but are scared.
17. What does your day to day look like? What do evaluations look like?
18. Do you work equally with the prosecution and the defense?
19. What kinds of cases stick with you the most?
20. What do you wish you knew before entering this field?
21. Are there any practices in the criminal justice system you wish we would get rid of?
22. What is one skill, quality, or general factor that has served you no matter where you went?

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Music by: Adam Fine 

For more than thirty years, psychotherapist Gerald Drose, PhD, has been helping his clients re-write their personal narratives, recognizing that the stories we tell ourselves limit our ability to love and thrive. 

Gerald works with individuals and couples, helping them with relationship problems; has published research on sex therapy; wrote a bi-weekly column on sex, love, and marriage; and has extensive couples’ therapy experience. He also enjoys supervising younger therapists, filling in the gaps left after graduate school training, and firmly believes in the artistry needed to deeply understand the people who come for help. His graduate school experience inspired his first novel, Bird Gotta Land (Amazon).

Bird Gotta Land (book website) is a fictional memoir about a young grad student in clinical psychology. He learns that "in order to heal others, he must first face his deepest wounds." This book is a rare look behind the curtain of graduate school and is a must-read for aspiring therapists (or simply those who are intrigued by the experiences of therapists as they learn to explore the human condition).

Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Gerald received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of South Carolina. He lives with his wife Dina in Atlanta, Georgia, where the couple leads a psychotherapy practice with four locations. He has three grown sons and a granddaughter. 

In this episode, we cover:

1. How and when did you know you wanted to be a psychologist?
2. Is being a therapist a calling, or is it something you can weigh out?
3. What compelled you to get trained in sex therapy?
4. What do you work on with couples?
5. How much self-confidence does one need to have before beginning clinical training?
6. Were you always a natural at therapy? What is the role of intuition in therapy?
7. What happens if you don’t like your client, or if your client triggers your own wounds?
8. How had your learning to be a therapist impact your personal relationships?
9. What did you learn about people - our tendencies, our mental health, our relationships - that surprised you in grad school?
10. Why are you drawn to narrative therapy?
11. How do you know when a client is ready to go to uncomfortable places?
12. Can you get licensed in different states?
13. What is the most fulfilling part about being a therapist?
14. What have you learned about young therapists by supervising so many of them?
15. What advice do you have for the next generation of psychologists?
16. What is one skill, quality, or general factor that has served you no matter where you went in life?

… and so much more!

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Music by: Adam Fine 

Marty Maidenberg, LMHC, NCC, currently works at a private practice called Pathways Psychological Services in NYC. He received his M.A. in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness at NYU. Before he became a therapist, Marty spent over 25 years in the music industry, where he spearheaded marketing divisions at major record companies, founded and operated independent record labels, and worked as a talent manager for artists at multiple stages of their careers, including well-known names:

• Andy Grammer
• Joss Stone
• Sting
• Carrie Underwood
• ...and even Elton John!

In this episode, we discuss many FAQs from psychology students about pursuing a path in therapy. Here are a list of topics:

1. Marty's beginnings in advertising
2. Why were you drawn to HR when starting in the music industry?
3. How did you go from almost being hired for an assistant role, to an HR role, to becoming a top marketing executive at PolyGram Records?
4. Building an entertainment marketing company (M Squared Entertainment) 
5. Working with talent like Andy Grammer, Sting, Carrie Underwood, Joss Stone, and Elton John
6. What made you such an effective music marketing executive?
7. What was it like to work with Elton John?
8. Tips for standing out in the music industry?
9. Why did you leave the music industry?
10. Why did you want to become a mental health counselor?
11. The need for mental health awareness in the music industry
12. How do your previous roles in the music industry help you in your role as a counselor?
13. Was it difficult to make sense of making a career change later in life?
14. Internal battles and revelations during training to become a therapist
15. How did you develop your therapeutic style in graduate school, and how has it evolved over time?
16. What is grad school in mental health counseling actually like?
17. What is it like to be a therapist?
18. Steps to private practice and the difficulty of licensing exams
19. Financial concerns
20. What advice do you have for listeners who are considering becoming therapists but aren’t totally sure? What questions should they ask themselves to assess if this is the right path?
21. How do you switch gears from client to client?
22. Flexibility in private practice
23. What skill, quality, or general factor has served you no matter where you went in life? 

 Visit psychmic.com to sign up for the newsletter, where you'll get career tips, grad school resources, and job opportunities straight to your inbox! Follow @psych_mic on Instagram to submit questions for speakers and stay in the loop.

Music by: Adam Fine 

Melissa Steach, PhD (I/O Psychology), is the Workplace Wellbeing Knowledge Lead at Herman Miller, a furniture company focused on inventive designs that improve the human experience. In her role, Dr. Melissa Steach helps organizations implement Herman Miller’s workplace wellbeing research and meet their ergonomic and wellbeing needs by focusing on their greatest asset: people. Melissa is a bestselling author and award winning fine artist with accreditations in positive psychology interventions as well as ergonomic assessment (CEAS I). She holds a Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology wherein her research focused on human factors and implicit cognition. 

"Growing up in housing projects that were gentrified sparked my initial interest in the relationship between personal and communal identity. Having those same housing projects located blocks away from the city’s library, museum, and major historical sites - along with my mom’s artistic and décor flair that made our little apartment look like a magazine spread - exposed me to the fact that art, in all of its forms, can impact us profoundly. I didn’t know it then, but my subsequent search for self through living in many places, amongst many types of people and cultures, along with trying on a variety of different careers, are what led me to attain a Ph.D. in I-O psychology." - www.drsteach.com

Melissa is also writing her 2nd book called The Intangible Environment, all about the unseen elements of workplace wellbeing. Look out for that in 2022!

In this episode, I ask Melissa:

1. What do you do as the workplace wellbeing knowledge lead at Herman Miller furniture company?
2. In what ways do you incorporate ergonomics and human factors into your role?
3. Why should we care about ergonomics?
4. To what extent does research play a role in your work?
5. What does your day to day look like at Herman Miller?
6. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your job?
7. What’s the difference between I/O Psych and HR?
8. Why did you fall in love with art?
9. Melissa’s path from studio art, to acting, to teaching, to furniture staging, to ergonomics to I/O: How did studio art turn into a passion for ergonomics?
10. What was the common thread among all the jobs you’ve had?
11. You were able to get all this experience without a graduate degree in I/O Psychology. Why did you get a master’s and a PhD anyway?
12. How did growing up in housing projects influence your love for psychology and design?
13. How did you balance a full time job while going to grad school?
14. What advice do you have regarding finding grad schools that support your other commitments: financial, personal, and otherwise?
15. What advice would you give to psychology students who don’t have a graduate degree but want to get experience in business and design?
16. What grad programs to look out for if you’re interested in I/O psych and the power of the built environment (e.g., environmental psychology)
17. When should you get a master’s? And when should you get a PhD?
18. What is one skill, quality, or general factor that has served you no matter where you went? 

Visit psychmic.com to sign up for the newsletter, where you'll get career tips, grad school resources, and job opportunities straight to your inbox! Follow @psych_mic on Instagram to submit questions for speakers and stay in the loop.

Music by: Adam Fine 

David Pizarro, PhD, is a social psychologist and Cornell professor (and director of graduate studies). His primary research interests are in moral judgment. He is particularly interested in moral intuitions (especially concerning moral responsibility, and the permissibility or impermissibility of certain acts), and in biases that affect moral judgment. He also has a general interest in the influence of emotional states (e.g., disgust, anger, fear) on thinking and deciding.

• See his publications and his website here. 
• See his popular Ted Talk about disgust and political orientation here. 
• See his really awesome podcast, Very Bad Wizards, here.

This episode covers a lot of ground. Here's the list of topics:

1. How David got interested in researching moral judgment and disgust
2. Would David eat chocolate shaped like dog poop?
3. Why is disgust a dumb emotion?
4. Why is disgust sensitivity associated with political conservativism?
5. Why is morality and disgust important to understand?
6. To be a fair researcher of morality, do you have to attempt to put aside your own moral convictions?
7. Why psychology?
8. How did David get into graduate school?
9. Knowing what he knows now, would David have gone straight through from undergrad to grad school?
10. What do prestigious graduate programs look for in an applicant?
11. How do you demonstrate positive qualities in a grad school application?
12. Strategies to get research experiences (even when you don’t have prior research experience)
13. Mentors and the freedom to explore in grad school
14. Biggest challenges in graduate school: imposter syndrome, dealing with rejection, being productive
15. Why do a post-doc?
16. The competitiveness of tenure track - are you doomed if you don’t end up there?
17. Start with curiosities, not with disciplinary labels!
18. Do most psych undergrads go to grad school without knowing what they want to do with their degree?
19. The value of a PhD
20. Intellectual humility in academia
21. What skills are needed to become a successful researcher?
22. Do academics just shout into a void?
23. Why did Cornell hire David?
24. David’s podcast, Very Bad Wizards
25. Advice for confused, passionate psych majors
26. Why does David love what he does?
27. Why academics shouldn’t overlook teaching
28. We should express more gratitude! 

To submit questions for future speakers and to get even more career tips, follow @psych_mic on Instagram and visit psychmic.com to sign up for the newsletter, where you'll get career tips, grad school resources, and job opportunities straight to your inbox!

Music by: Adam Fine 

Elizabeth Wierba, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with an independent private practice in Ann Arbor, MI, and a lecturer in Psychology at The University of Michigan for 18+ years. Liz completed a doctorate in Organizational Psychology and a postdoctoral fellowship from the School of Information, both at The University of Michigan. Her career as a psychotherapist began with a postdoctoral Respecialization in Clinical Psychology from Fielding Graduate University. She has worked in a diverse array of therapeutic, educational and business settings, and volunteered with several non-profit organizations. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Liz realizing she didn't want to be a doctor
• What she wish she knew before grad school 
• Bad mentorship experiences & changing advisors in grad school
• How to find the right advisors
• Why organizational psychology?
• Realizing organizational psychology was not her passion
• How teaching helped Liz decide she wanted to be a therapist
• Making career pivots later in life
• Why failure was a gift
• Asking others what you're good at
• Respecializing in clinical psychology
• Finding her talent & passion
• Why she loves being a therapist
• The flexibility of private practice
• What type of person would be good at therapy? How do you figure out if you're not?
• What skill, quality, or general factor has served Liz no matter where she went?

To submit questions for future speakers and to get even more career tips, follow @psych_mic on Instagram and visit psychmic.com to sign up for the newsletter, where you'll get career tips, grad school resources, and job opportunities straight to your inbox!

Music by: Adam Fine