Therapy Rocks!

This month's episode explores the physical, mental, and emotional journey Luciana Naldi went on after being diagnosed with a hair disorder: Alopecia Areata.  She talks about how it profoundly affected her children (two sets of twins!), her views on body image, society's beauty standards, and how she redefined beauty on her own terms after experiencing sudden hair loss.

Luciana's story was featured on the PBS “stories from the stage” series, and she partnered with the Dove Project #ShowUs campaign, a collection of 10,000 images that offer a more inclusive vision of beauty for all media & advertisers to use.

Luciana is an educator who specializes in teaching sustainable, body positive health, strength and movement habits to athletes, a basketball coach, and mom of two sets of twins! To learn more about Luciana, follow her on instagram @lucianatwinmama

In this episode, Signe talks to Dr. Linda Shanti about improving grief and death-literacy, as a grief-adjacent person, as well as creating new meaning when traveling with grief after your person dies.

Dr. Shanti is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, who specializes in grief, eating disorder recovery, and is a licensed soulcollage(R) facilitator. She is also a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT), and author of The Recovery Mama Guide to Your Eating Disorder Recovery in Pregnancy and Postpartum, as well as After Your Person Dies.

To learn more about Dr. Linda Shanti, follow her @drlindashanti, @griefandart and visit https://www.drlindashanti.com/the-art-of-grief

Join Signe in a conversation with the authority people turn to for empowering tech advice, Dr. Devorah Heitner. They discuss the importance of "mentoring vs. monitoring" kids on tech, Devorah's stance on the call for warning labels on social media, "sexting" and a whole lot more!

Devorah is the author of Growing Up in Public and Screenwise. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She has a Ph.D. in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. Devorah works with schools, and communities worldwide helping parents and educators mentor kids coming of age in a digital world.

To learn more about Devorah follow her on Substack, Instagram @devorahheitnerphd and visit her website https://devorahheitner.com/

We’re back in the studio with renowned psychologist, and best selling author, Dr. Brenda Shaeffer. This time Dr. Brenda walks us through the most common themes she sees in long term relationships, the importance of “finishing the grief” when faced with losing a  relationship, and considerations for being single in midlife and beyond.

Dr. Schaeffer is the best-selling author of Is It Love or Is It Addiction? with over 600,000 publications sold, in twelve languages. She is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Addictions Specialist, and holds a doctorate in spiritual psychology. Dr. Schaeffer is a national and international lecturer and workshop presenter. 

To learn more about Dr. Schaeffer visit her website https://www.brendaschaeffer.com/my-story

Do you want to better understand what it means to be transgender, and how you might provide gender-affirming care? Today we’re talking with someone who knows a lot about it, annnd just happens to be transgender! Nik is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT), co-owner of group therapy practice and crisis intervention service in California.

In this episode, Nik talks about the differences between gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, as well as their own transgender identity and transition. 

We debunked the fear of “social contagion,” using the framework of historic stigma and discrimination of “left-handedness" to explain that “when we allow human beings to be their authentic selves, greater numbers of diverse expression naturally emerge.” 

We also talked about body image “after” transitioning, and the answer might surprise you!

Signe is joined by her co-author, Wendy Sterling, to talk about her latest book, give some insights into how she makes her writing routine work while raising a family, and working full time, the benefits of writing with co-authors, and more!

Wendy is a registered dietitian with a Masters of Science in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, and Approved Supervisor through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. Wendy is also a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, she has consulted for the Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors, NY Jets, and NY Islanders, and she is the co-author of two eating disorder books: How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder, and How to Nourish Yourself Through an Eating Disorder, as well as two preventative books: No Weigh! and Raising Body Positive Teens. Wendy maintains a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and is also seeing patients virtually throughout the country. 

To learn more about Wendy, visit  www.sterlingnutrition.com.

Welcome to Part Three of the Therapy Rocks! “Three Part” menopause series (Episodes 38, 39 & 40). 

In this episode Signe interviews Val Schonberg about nutrition in midlife and beyond, weight, bone health, and more. Val is dietitian and certified menopause practitioner with The Menopause Society. She is a registered dietitian with a Master of Science degree in nutrition from the University of Minnesota. She is Board Certified as a Specialist in Sports Dietetics, she specializes in eating disorders, sports nutrition, and midlife health. She owns a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where she also serves as a consulting dietitian for Emory Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics, the Atlanta Ballet, and the Atlanta Dream Women’s NBA team. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and received the Excellence in Women’s Health Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Women’s Health Dietetic Practice Group.

To learn more about Val visit https://valschonberg.com/

In this episode Signe interviews Dr. Amy Voedisch for Part Two of the Three Part menopause series navigating the physical aspects of menopause, such as hormone therapy considerations, body changes, sex in midlife, and more.

Dr. Voedisch attended Mayo Medical School and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara and a Fellowship in Family Planning at Stanford School of Medicine. She has a Masters in Epidemiology and Clinical Science Research from Stanford as well. Dr. Voedisch is passionate about providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare to all women at any stage in their lives. She specializes in contraception, family planning, and menopause and is a certified practitioner of The Menopause Society. She has a particular interest in international healthcare and serves as a consultant through the Stanford Program for International Reproductive Education and Services (SPIRES). She’s also a member of the Bay Area Leadership Council for the International Women's Health Coalition. 

To learn more about Dr. Amy Voedisch, see her biography here.

Join Signe for Part One of a Three Part Series on menopause. To start off in Part One, Signe Talks to a doctor who specializes in the brain, and who is always on the cutting edge of scientific research into the female experience, Dr. Louann Brizendine. Dr. Brizedine navigates the stages of menopause, cuts through the controversy around Hormone Therapy, and give us steps for preserving brain health for the second half of our lives.

Dr. Brizendine completed her degree in Neurobiology at UC Berkeley, graduated from Yale School of Medicine, and did her internship and residency at Harvard Medical School. She also served on both the faculties of Harvard University and University of California at San Francisco. She founded the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at UCSF, and her New York Times bestseller, The Female Brain, and its follow-up, The Male Brain, continue to be read around the world. She recently released her new book, The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond.

To learn more about Dr. Brizendine visit https://www.louannbrizendine.com

Join Signe for her Therapy Rocks! interview with Shannon Kopp who shared her personal recovery story including the shelter dogs, and how they loved her back to life, the healing benefits of animals, and gave her best tips for grieving the loss of an animal in a society that underestimates the power of the human/animal connection.

Shannon Kopp is the author of Pound for Pound: A Story of One Woman’s Recovery and the Shelter Dogs Who Loved Her Back to Life. Shannon holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing and has written for CNN, Maria Shriver, The Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, BarkPost and more. Her story has been featured in PEOPLE, NPR, CNN, Women’s Health, and Psychology Today. Shannon is the founder and CEO of the SoulPaws Recovery Project, a nonprofit organization providing free, clinician-led eating disorder support groups, enhanced by the loving presence of therapy animals. Shannon is a National Mental Health Advocate for ERC Pathlight. 

For more information about Shannon, visit soulpawsrecovery.org, and follow her @soulpawsrecoveryproject.