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Most people probably don't think about the loss a therapist experiences when one of their clients passes away. Welcome to Episode 36 of Therapists IRL, where Jen & Steph sit down with our dear friend Abby Ward to discuss just that.  On the heels of Suicide Prevention Month last month, Abby tenderly shares her story of living through and recovering from a therapist's worst nightmare - the loss of a beloved client to suicide.  A unique perspective that is not talked about enough, we are so thankful for the sacred space carved out in this episode. 

Facebook Group for Mental Health Professionals who have lost a client:  Confidential Grief.   

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

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When you realize you're still enraged about something that happened a long time ago... or you just can't get it together and clean up those doom piles or pick up the dog toys. Welcome to Episode 35 of Therapists IRL!! Steph & Jen get real about their therapy status - why they're going (Steph) and why they need to (Jen). And we're here to tell you, vulnerability hangovers really are real. 

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

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Imagine always being told that being a wife and mother were the ultimate goals in life, then finding yourself single, childless not by choice, and working in the Adoption field...  Welcome to Therapists IRL!  In this week's episode, Jen & Steph talk candidly with Steph's long-time friend Charlotte, who openly shares her story of disappointment and pain in some of her adult years through a lens of faith in a loving God. If you have ever experienced the pain of life not turning out the way you hoped, there is a nugget here for you.  Please join us. 

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

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As we wrap up September and Suicide Prevention Month, Jen and Steph are joined by their dear friend, Karen Corona. Please note, this episode comes with a heavy-duty TRIGGER WARNING, as Karen shares her personal experiences with suicidal ideation and previous attempts. Friends, we are here to keep it real, and sadly, suicide is real.  However, there is hope. Karen's inspiring message is one of healing and resiliency.

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, there is help available and you are not alone. Below is a list of resources available.

Resources:

US National text Hotline:  741741

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Dial 9-8-8
https://988lifeline.org/

Suicide Prevention Lifeline for Deaf and Hard of Hearing: https://988lifeline.org/deaf-hard-of-hearing-hearing-loss/

Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255

Hold On https://www.holdoncampaign.org/

To Write Love On Her Arms
https://twloha.com/

Native American Suicide Prevention Hotline: https://988lifeline.org/help-yourself/native-american-indian-indigenous-alaska-natives/

Karen Corona:
HeART Healing for Radiant Living: BE the Best Version of YOU One Week at a Time
by Karen Corona

https://www.karencorona.com/artofwellnessfreebie

https://www.karencorona.com

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

Send us a text

Hey Podcast Family! It's good to be back. We have to put a trigger warning on this episode, because we are talking about a very tender and sometimes triggering topic - suicide. In this episode, Jen & Steph share perspectives from the therapist's couch, and offer information on suicide risk factors, myths, and more.  

If you or anyone you know is suffering from suicidal thoughts or feelings, please go to your nearest emergency room or call 988, where trained professionals are ready to help. 

Resources:

US National text Hotline:  741741

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Dial 9-8-8
https://988lifeline.org/

Suicide Prevention Lifeline for Deaf and Hard of Hearing: https://988lifeline.org/deaf-hard-of-hearing-hearing-loss/

Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255

To Write Love On Her Arms
https://twloha.com/

Native American Suicide Prevention Hotline: https://988lifeline.org/help-yourself/native-american-indian-indigenous-alaska-natives/

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

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Welcome to Episode 31 of Therapists IRL, where Jen & Steph make some important announcements regarding the future of the podcast.  Tune in, and we will see you soon!

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

Send us a text

It's 3am. Do you know where your cheese is?  Welcome to Therapists IRL, Episode 30, where Jen and Steph wax poetic about cheese, change, and challenges based on the classic book, "Who Moved My Cheese?" For many (or maybe most) of us, change can be unsettling, and accepting difficult, unpleasant, or painful experiences is one of our greatest life challenges. What do you do when things aren't as you'd like them to be? How do you cope?

In the story Who Moved My Cheese? the characters all respond to a stressful situation in their own way. Which character are you?

Resource:

Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

Send us a text

Want to hear us get a little choked up? Welcome to Therapists IRL Episode 29, where Jen & Steph delve into one of the most important (and sometimes painful) parts of being human - unmet needs. Needs drive everything, whether we are talking about basic physical needs, relationship and emotional needs, spiritual needs and everything in between. We invite you to join us in your own exploration as we adapt an experiential group therapy activity to explore our own unmet, difficult, and most secret needs. 

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

Send us a text

We start each day early with a daily meditation, a little yoga, and an intentional breakfast, and end each day by winding down gently until we drift off to a restful 8 hours of sleep.  Just kidding.  Welcome to Therapists IRL, Episode 29, where Steph and Jen talk about the importance of a daily routine in self-care and emotional well-being, while simultaneously confessing their mutual rebellion against routine.

Per usual, we're keeping it real. Besides forgetting how old we are, we share our own struggles when it comes to self-care and daily routine, talk about a few things we're managing to do well, and set a few intentions around things we'd like to work on.

Resources:

101 Essays that will Change the Way You Think, The Psychology of Daily Routine, by Brianna Wiest

Self-Care Isn't Selfish, blog by Jen

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph

Send us a text

At age 13, an A- triggered thoughts of ending it all. At 21, a lost friendship led to time in a psychiatric hospital... the first of several psychiatric stays. Welcome to Episode 27 of Therapists IRL, where Jen & Steph talk with colleague Karen Corona, who opens up about her struggle with major depression, complex trauma, and Bipolar Disorder. 

Despite the very dark places Karen has sometimes found herself over the years, she found strength, comfort, and resilience in expressive arts, which proved fundamental in her healing journey. As Karen continues to nurture these artistic outlets in her own life, she's helping others find their path to radiant living through expressive arts.

Resources:

Karen Corona on IG

HeART Healing for Radiant Living: Be the Best Version of YOU One Week at a Time, Karen Corona
Free Guide: 7 Creative Wellness Tools for Radiant Living, Karen Corona

Psychology Today: Internal Family Systems Therapy

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, Kay Redfield Jamison

The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self, Alice Miller

No therapists were harmed in the making of this episode,  but vulnerability hangovers are real.

Please note: While our podcast aims to destigmatize and normalize mental health issues, increase awareness, foster understanding, and offer support with love and laughter, we are not a substitute for professional mental health advice or treatment. [Read our full disclaimer here.]

If you're struggling, we encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or healthcare provider.

If you are in crisis, please contact your local emergency services or a mental health crisis hotline. In the U.S., dial 9-8-8 for immediate services.

Remember, your mental health matters, and seeking professional help is a sign of strength. We're here to share stories, insights, and a bit of humor, but your well-being is our top priority.

With care,

Jen and Steph