In this episode of our Recovery Ready Workplace Series we spoke with HR Director Erica Williams who brings her 20+ years of experience on how to create a supportive environment for employees struggling with substance use. She also acknowledges that many employees might feel worried about the implications of getting help and lays out the groundwork for getting help in a manner that remains private. This is a vital episode for anyone attempting to navigate the often challenging experience of seeking help while working.

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Dr. Kate Balestrieri, Psy.D., CSAT-S, is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Sex Therapist, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, and PACT III trained couples’ therapist.

Dr. Balestrieri earned her Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, and completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship through the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, with a concentration in Forensic Psychology. 

Dr. Balestrieri is a passionate advocate for mental health, relational and sexual health and wellness. Throughout her work, Dr. Balestrieri focuses on helping people build resilience and recovery from what ails them to move from a position of pain or discomfort to one of thriving, holistically in their lives. 

As a sex positive provider and human, Dr. Balestrieri is dedicated to helping people have a more expansive and integrated relationship with sex. 

Dr. Balestrieri is a regular contributor for Poosh, YourTango, Psychology Today, House of Wise and has been featured in many other publications. She also has two podcasts, Modern Intimacy (focused on sex, mental health and relationships), and Without Consent (a true crime podcast deconstructing sexual violence). Both can be found on Apple podcast and Spotify.

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Vanessa Hurr considered herself a high functioning sad person after the death of her brother to an overdose in April 2020. The grief and sense of loss surrounding his death was compounded with extreme isolation due to Covid. 

Vanessa was previously on the Courage to Change in episode 117 and at the time her grief took the form of achievement. She poured herself into projects and the non-profit she founded. She powered forward, trying to get somewhere without really dealing with all she was feeling.

Then an opportunity presented itself to participate in Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, a form of treatment with promising outcomes in the mental health space. The treatment would enhance the neuroplasticity of her mind and facilitate progress which would typically take years of work. 

In 4 sessions, Vanessa experienced a transformation that changed her experience of her brother’s death and her entire outlook on life. It even provided her the opportunity to see him one last time and give him the goodbye she’d always wanted.

Episode Resources

• Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy | KAP Program

Connect with Vanessa

• Instagram | @vanessawheelerhurr

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In this Q and A episode Ashley talks about how to identify your triggers. This is critical step in understanding your vulnerabilities and the situations you might need to avoid. Ashley shares stories from her own recovery journey and provides strategies on how to prepare for the people, places and things that might set you on the path to relapse. 

Ashley Loeb Blassingame has been clean and sober for 17 years, she's a drug and alcohol counselor, interventionist, and the co-founder of a telehealth company called Lionrock Recovery that provides substance use disorder treatment.

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Annie began to see the cracks in her family at 7 years old. She and her 4 siblings lived a happy life in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, but she could feel something happening. It wouldn’t be fully understood until years later when her mother revealed she was pregnant with the child of an influential man in town who was not her father. 

Everyone turned on her mother and she was forced to leave the family, taking Annie’s sister with her when she went. Annie was left with an immense wound. She’d done everything she was supposed to. She was the good girl and still her mother left. 

At 25 she began a career in the wine industry. It was the perfect place to hide what would become an all-encompassing addiction that ruined her life. The alcohol took hold of everything in her life. In the later years of her addiction, she was left with panic attacks that left her unable to even hold a teacup.

Today, she’s recently celebrated her 3,000th day of sobriety and helps others on a journey of healing through her work with her organization Powerfully Sober where she helps people re-create and re-imagine their one extraordinary life.

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• Powerfully Sober | powerfullysober.com

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Kylene Terhune believed she had a wonderful marriage. She’d spent 8 years with a man she loved and trusted. They had their moments but for the most part, things were great. Then one day a single discovery turned into a string of discoveries that eventually unveiled a 10-year cybersex addiction that was costing $50,000 a year.

She felt like she no longer knew the man she’d married. The loss of trust brought up so many complicated emotions and eventually panic attacks. It didn’t feel like there was any chance of saving the marriage. The only thing that made her stay was her husband’s complete admission and his true desire to change. 

It was that moment that started a journey of recovery for both of them that involved many difficult and uncomfortable conversations, therapy and even work with a polygraph machine. 

Today, their marriage is better than it’s ever been with continued hard work and honesty even when the work feels like it should be done.

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Are you constantly seeking out new relationships or always thinking about your next partner? Do you find yourself losing sleep over the state of your romantic affairs? Do you find your value is often dependent on your current partner's view of you? You may be a love addict. In this episode, we'll explore four signs that suggest you might have an unhealthy attachment to love and relationships.

We'll begin by defining what love addiction is and how it differs from healthy relationships. Then, we'll discuss the four key indicators that suggest you may be a love addict.

Throughout the episode, we'll share real-life stories and experiences from Ashley's own struggles with love addiction. We'll also provide actionable tips and strategies for overcoming this addiction.

If you're ready to take a deep dive into your relationship patterns and gain a better understanding of yourself and your needs, tune in to this episode. Whether you're struggling with love addiction or simply looking to improve your relationships, this episode is for you.

Ashley Loeb Blassingame has been clean and sober for 17 years, she's a drug and alcohol counselor, interventionist, and the co-founder of a telehealth company called Lionrock Recovery that provides substance use disorder treatment.

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Kim Muench is a Jai, Institute for Parenting Certified Conscious Parenting Coach who specializes in working with mothers of adolescents. 

Kim’s expertise is grounded in her own life experience of raising a son who struggled with substance abuse issues. To make matters more difficult, she was also trying to navigate the difficult world of co-parenting with her ex-husband, a man who struggled with his own alcoholism. 

Kim is passionate about educating, supporting and encouraging parents to raise their children with intention and guidance rather than fear and control. 

Kim’s experience raising five children and years of coaching other parents, empowers her to lead her clients with compassion into healthier, happier, and more functional relationships.

Kim has a self-published Amazon #1 New Release entitled Becoming Me While Raising You – a Mother’s Journey to Her Self. 

Her mission is to help more people parent WITH rather than over their children.

Episode Resources

• Website | reallifeparentguide.com

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On October 25, 2011, while on a routine field mission in Somalia, working as the Education Advisor for her non-governmental organization, Jessica was abducted at gunpoint and held for ransom by a group of Somali pirates for 93 days. 

Forced to live outdoors in deplorable conditions, starved, and terrorized by more than two dozen gangsters, Jessica’s health steadily deteriorated until, by order of President Obama, she was rescued by the elite SEAL Team VI on January 25, 2012.

Jessica’s ordeal is detailed in her New York Times bestselling book, Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six.

Jessica has been named one of the ‘150 Women Who will Shake the World’ by Newsweek, and her story was the most highly viewed 60 Minutes episode to air, to date. 

Today, Jessica is a highly sought-after inspirational speaker, host of the podcast We Should Talk About That, and the founder of Soul Speak Press, where she supports women who are ready to share their stories through Memoir Manifestos-books that are one part memoir, one part self-help, and one part inspiration. 

Jessica’s first anthology project, Deserts to Mountaintops: Our Journey to (re) Claiming Our Voice is out now.

Episode Resources

• Website | jessbuchanan.com

Connect with Jessica

• Instagram | @jessicabuchanan

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In this Q and A episode Ashley talks about how to explain your sobriety to your kids. Young children in particular might have a difficult time understanding a complex topic like sobriety, but Ashley is able to break it down into manageable pieces that don't require sharing every gory detail.

Ashley Loeb Blassingame has been clean and sober for 17 years, she's a drug and alcohol counselor, interventionist, and the co-founder of a telehealth company called Lionrock Recovery that provides substance use disorder treatment.

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