Therapeutic Perspective

Millennials are currently the largest generation in our country as well as more than half of the current workforce, so undoubtedly, you will encounter millennials in your therapy practice. You may even specialize in working with millennials already. Dr. Goali Saedi Bocci is a clinical psychologist and author of the Millennial Media Blog. She began her career working with millennials on university campuses, and in this episode, she discusses how working with Gen Y is different. Dr. Goali shares the loneliness epidemic millennials experience, and how she helps her clients take the pressure off and return to focusing on themselves. She also dispels myths, educates us on commonalities and research, and simplifies how we can best support our millennial clients with specific tools and interventions.  

The many crises that have been brought about within our society over the past several years have been nothing short of unprecedented. In this episode, we focus on how to keep those in the mental health field from breaking down themselves and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.  Burnout prevention expert Brittany Hoover ABD, LPC, CCTP, MA, NCC shares with us her research and evidence-based interventions on this topic. 

We all face loss. When a child dies, however, it is a particularly brutal, life-altering loss. As caring bystanders and mental health professionals, we may not know how to respond, help, or approach those who are grieving. We're worried we'll say the wrong thing and upset the grieving person, and therefore might end up doing nothing at all. Today we are joined by Anita Swartley, grief coach and Founder of Mosaic Restorative Coaching and Kristin Kane Ford, Founder of the Kellan Ford Foundation. Both have lost children to illness and both are on a mission to help others navigate grief. These two women share their inspirational, messy, heart-wrenching, yet hopeful stories. They discuss myths and misconceptions of grief as well as the grief process and the less talked about symptoms of the grief experience. Finally, they talk us through the practical experience of parenting their other children after the loss of a child and offer practical advice on the best ways to walk alongside those who are grieving. 

 In this episode, we take an in depth look at cults. Cults have made headlines around the world for many years and continue to fascinate us through documentaries and popular podcasts. Most recently, the organization known as NXIVM gained attention for its famous members, including Allison Mack from the show Smallville. NXIVM, led by Keith Ranieri, lured members by asserting themselves as a professional development program; then, subsequently blackmailed and branded its members, and in some cases, used members as sex slaves. As therapists, we need to be aware of the red flags behind these cults, so that we can better support clients who are being manipulated into organizations that may potentially turn abusive. We will discuss how to help clients that are stuck in a cult, find their way out, and how to support families whose loved ones are trapped in. Joining us today, we have the author of CULTS Inside OUT, Rick Alan Ross. 

Trauma informed mindfulness techniques have the benefit of being available to clients both inside and outside of session. Clients can utilize these tools just about anywhere, and mindfulness isn’t one size fits all; techniques and tools can be adapted for just about anyone. In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Dennehy and Melanie Smith of the Shanthi Project, a mindfulness education nonprofit. We discuss using mindfulness with clients, noticing subtle indicators of the fight or flight response, and ways to adapt mindfulness tools and techniques. Sarah and Melanie provide practical mindfulness tools and therapeutic applications that are easily adapted to all populations.