The Affirming Minds Podcast

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**

Earn continuing education credit for this episode here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/3aac8a4c-169b-45df-8c69-882ed09bdbd1 

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com.  

Demand for mental health care continues to grow while therapists face increasing rates of burnout, workforce shortages, administrative burden, and rapid technological change. In this episode, Shaina sits down with therapist, consultant, and bestselling author Joe Sanok to explore how organizational psychology and intentional work design can help clinicians build more sustainable, fulfilling careers.

Together, they discuss the science of productivity, decision fatigue, autonomy, and workplace design, challenging the idea that burnout is simply an individual problem to solve with better self-care. Whether you work in community mental health, hospitals, integrated care, leadership, or private practice, this conversation offers practical, evidence-informed strategies for supporting both clinician well-being and high-quality client care.

What can a reality television show teach us about trauma, belonging, faith, and identity? In this Mental Health Edit episode, I’m joined by Mellissa Perry Hill, LPC, owner of Inner Compass Counseling & Consulting. Using The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as a starting point, we explore religious trauma, high-control belief systems, gender roles, childhood trauma, mental health stigma, public shaming, and the challenges of healing while living in the public eye. In This Episode, We Discuss:

About Today's Guest Mellissa Perry Hill, MS, LPC, is the owner of Inner Compass Counseling & Consulting and specializes in religious trauma, spiritual abuse, and faith transitions. She works with individuals, couples, and families throughout Arizona and Utah.

Connect with Mellissa Website: https://inner-compass-counseling.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mellissaperrytherapy/

Related Episode 🎙️ Episode 40: Healing After High-Control Religion and Religious Trauma

For a deeper clinical discussion of religious trauma and faith transitions, be sure to check out Mellissa's previous CE-eligible appearance on The Affirming Minds Podcast.

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**

Earn continuing education credit for this episode here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/b38c1a67-776b-47e3-a5fb-24250e5cd456   

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com.  

Psychologist, author, speaker, and Linehan Board-Certified DBT Expert Dr. Kiki Fehling joins The Affirming Minds Podcast to discuss LGBTQ+ mental health, minority stress, identity invalidation, and the role of Dialectical Behavior Therapy in fostering resilience, self-love, and queer joy.

Together, we explore the history of LGBTQ+ mental health care, affirmative practice, and how DBT skills can help individuals navigate shame, stigma, and discrimination while building lives that feel meaningful, authentic, and connected.

Dr. Fehling is the author of The LGBTQ+ Mental Health Workbook: Find Emotional Resilience, Self-Love, and Queer Joy with Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**

Earn continuing education credit for this episode here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/b9e9c5e6-8afd-4568-be2b-bde2515290c2 

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com.  

  What does it mean to be trauma-informed, and how is trauma-informed care different from trauma treatment?

In this episode of The Affirming Minds Podcast, host Shaina Siber-Sanderowitz, LCSW, explores the foundations of trauma-informed care, PTSD, Complex PTSD, post-traumatic growth, and the current landscape of evidence-based trauma treatment. Listeners will learn about SAMHSA's Four R's and Six Guiding Principles, the impact of trauma across the lifespan, and several established and emerging approaches to trauma treatment.

Shaina is joined by Mariah Zur, LPC, for a conversation about Internal Family Systems (IFS), including how the model conceptualizes trauma responses through protective parts, exiles, and self-leadership.

In this episode of The Affirming Minds Podcast: Mental Health Edit, Shaina sits down with Taylor Gilbert, LCSW, and Faith Voss., LCSW, co-hosts of the Social Work to Wealth Podcast, for a candid conversation about money, sustainability, and the hidden financial narratives within helping professions.

Together, they explore:

This episode is part of our Mental Health Edit series — conversational episodes focused on mental health, culture, systems, and professional life. These episodes are not eligible for CE credit.

🎧 Check out the Social Work to Wealth Podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-work-to-wealth-podcast/id1783920058

Learn more about Taylor & Faith’s work and CE offerings:
https://socialworktowealth.com/learn 

Shaina’s Book:

Using ACT and CFT for Burnout Recovery: The Beyond Burnout Blueprint

Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVGKT76Z?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PM97TMRJV2HQ49N1SXNE&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PM97TMRJV2HQ49N1SXNE&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_PM97TMRJV2HQ49N1SXNE&bestFormat=true

Paperback:
https://www.routledge.com/Using-ACT-and-CFT-for-Burnout-Recovery-The-Beyond-Burnout-Blueprint/Siber/p/book/9781041074304

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**

Earn continuing education credit for this episode here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/55b39c15-128a-466e-9fcf-4b24a1114dcd  

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com.  

  What happens when survival mode becomes an identity?

In this episode, Shaina sits down with Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist Caleb Chestnutt to explore the mental health impact of chronic stress, trauma exposure, hypervigilance, and emotional suppression within military and law enforcement culture.

Drawing from both his clinical work and his lived experience serving in military law enforcement roles in the U.S. Air Force, Caleb offers a grounded and deeply nuanced conversation about the culture of endurance that exists within many first responder spaces — and the ways it can quietly shape relationships, emotional regulation, identity, and help-seeking over time.

This is a thoughtful and deeply human conversation about trauma, endurance, identity, and the emotional cost of operating in systems that reward strength while often stigmatizing vulnerability.

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**

Earn continuing education credit for this episode here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/56706d88-e210-4af9-a195-c494dca5629c  

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com.  

  This episode explores the realities of clinical supervision—what it’s meant to do, where it can fall short, and what’s at stake when it does.

I’m joined by Amelia Larson, MSW, RCSW, to break down the ethical gray zones clinicians and supervisors navigate every day—from recognizing early “pink flags” to making high-stakes decisions in complex systems.

Whether you’re receiving supervision or providing it, this episode offers a grounded look at navigating uncertainty in real-world clinical work.

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**

Earn continuing education credit for this episode here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/6767e922-98a1-40b2-806d-74619afb4ea5 

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com.  

  In this episode of The Affirming Minds Podcast, Shaina Siber, LCSW is joined by Kara Lissy, LCSW to explore how dysfunctional family dynamics shape adult relationships, self-worth, and emotional regulation.

Grounded in CBT, DBT, and ACT, this conversation offers practical, evidence-based strategies to help clinicians and clients understand—and break—generational patterns.

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**  

View course information and earn CE/CEUs here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/9efb692d-f428-4a7f-b0e1-08f46a8b775d 

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com. 

 Leadership often demands sustained performance under pressure—but what is the psychological cost?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Simon Rego and Dr. Julian Barling to explore burnout, stress, and the internal experiences of high-performing leaders. Drawing from CBT, ACT, and related evidence-based approaches, we examine how common traits like perfectionism, over-responsibility, and emotional suppression can both drive success and maintain distress.

We also discuss practical strategies to support more sustainable, values-aligned functioning in leadership and high-demand roles.

**Want CE/CEUs for this episode?**  

View course information and earn CE/CEUs here: https://www.affirmmentalhealth.com/courses/f0884cb8-0edc-418f-bcb4-29c436c9443d 

Looking for more? Explore our convenient, affordable CE bundles or browse our full library of podcast courses, on-demand webinars, and live virtual trainings at affirmmentalhealth.com. 

Rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among young people have risen dramatically over the past decade. But what if we’re misunderstanding the problem?

In this episode, Shaina sits down with Dr. Will Dobud, social worker, researcher, and co-author of Kids These Days, to challenge dominant narratives about youth mental health. Together, they explore how current clinical and cultural frameworks may contribute to over-pathologizing normal development—and what we may be missing when we focus too narrowly on diagnosis, symptom reduction, and control.

This conversation invites clinicians, parents, and educators to consider a broader, more contextual lens—one that centers relationships, autonomy, and environment.