What Would Dr. Meyers Do?

Most of us worry. In fact, a certain amount of worry can be helpful - it motivates us to prepare, solve problems, and protect ourselves. But what happens when worry stops being productive and starts consuming our emotional energy?
In this episode, Dr. Meyers explores the difference between preparing for life's challenges and suffering in advance through anticipatory anxiety and overthinking. Drawing from her own experience with public speaking, along with insights from her work as a psychotherapist, she discusses why our minds often rehearse worst-case scenarios, how worry is frequently rooted in our self-esteem rather than the situation itself, and why so much of what we fear never actually comes to pass.
We'll also look at common negative thinking patterns that fuel anxiety, practical ways to interrupt the cycle of worry and manage anxiety, and how learning to tolerate uncertainty can free us from living in imagined futures.
If you've ever found yourself exhausted by "what ifs," this episode is for you.

In this powerful episode, Dr. Meyers speaks with PJ Pacifico, a survivor of sibling sexual abuse, about the complicated and often painful journey of disclosure, family response, and healing.
PJ shares his experience of being abused by his sister and the impact of carrying that experience for years before disclosing it to his father. He describes the devastating response he received when his disclosure was met not with curiosity, compassion, or support, but with denial, emotional abuse, and hurtful attacks. Ultimately, PJ made the difficult decision to end contact in order to protect his own well-being.
This conversation explores a critical but often overlooked part of sibling abuse: what happens after a survivor speaks. PJ emphasizes the importance of a parent’s response—the power of simply listening, creating safety, and believing a survivor’s experience rather than rushing to defend, deny, or minimize. This episode is a reminder that disclosure is not the end of the story. How families respond can shape the path toward healing.
P.J. Pacifico is an American singer/songwriter and recording artist with multiple releases on Viper Records. After touring the US & Europe for a number of years as a solo artist, P.J. settled into the songwriting world in 2015 after signing Razor & Tie Music Publishing for licensing. His music has been heard on ABC, FOX, HBO, SyFy, MTV and more. Through songwriting sessions in LA and Nashville, P.J.’s new project, Signals in Smoke, was born. The band’s debut single, ‘Coming Up For Air’, debuted on Grey’s Anatomy and sent the song to #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart and featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist. His most recent album, 'What I Missed in the Mirror' - along with over 12 new singles released within the last year - are all streaming now.

What happens when the experiences that have wounded us become part of the way we connect with and help others?
Dr. Meyers sits down with Daniela Richards, a social worker who works with mothers and babies experiencing homelessness. She shares her journey as an international adoptee and how her own experiences of loss, abandonment, identity, trauma and connection have shaped the way she understands and relates to the women she serves.
Together, they explore the idea of the “wounded healer”; the ways our own experiences can deepen our empathy while also creating challenges for us as social workers and helping professionals. They talk about the professional boundaries she has developed to protect herself from the trauma she experienced, the decision of when and whether to disclose her adoption history to clients, and the complicated ways our personal stories can influence the work we do.
At the heart of the conversation is a profoundly emotional moment in Daniela’s work with a client needing to put her own baby up for adoption, and the result is a personal breakthrough for Daniela. This episode reminds us again that we are all human, and explores the importance of self-reflection and self-awareness for helping professionals in managing their own emotions and making decisions that are in the best interests of the client.
Daniela Richards, MSW has worked with incarcerated clients at the Social Work Bureau of the Nassau County Legal Aid Society; worked with clients facing the challenges of substance abuse at a Seafield Addiction Treatment Center; and for the last 2.5 years, has returned to her first job out of college working at MOMMAS House, a homeless shelter.

We often think weight loss and body image are about changing the body. But for many people, the struggle with weight is really about something else entirely.

In this episode, Dr. Meyers explores what sits beneath the struggle with weight and body image: the quiet emotional experiences that often go unnamed: not feeling enough, not feeling seen, carrying shame, or trying to gain a sense of control. She explores the connections between self-worth, emotional eating, perfectionism and the number on the scale, and why changing the body doesn't always change how we feel about ourselves. Sometimes the body becomes the place where deeper emotional pain is expressed. And if that’s true, then the question is no longer just “how do I lose weight?” But “what am I really carrying?"

Dr. Meyers talks with Laura Himmelstein, LCSW, for an intimate and reflective conversation about grief, caregiving, dementia, aging, caregiver burnout, cognitive decline, and mortality.
Drawing from both her clinical work and personal experience caring for her mother through dementia, Laura shares the emotional complexity of witnessing cognitive decline, navigating caregiver exhaustion, and grieving someone before they are physically gone. Together, they explore anticipatory grief, the ambiguous nature of loss, the psychological impact of losing a parent, and how personal experiences with grief inevitably shape therapists and mental health professionals both personally and professionally.
The conversation also examines countertransference, fears surrounding aging and cognitive decline, the emotional impact of caring for aging parents, and how our relationship to death changes over time. What happens when clinicians are forced to confront the very vulnerabilities they help others navigate every day?
This episode is an honest discussion about love, anticipatory grief, caregiving, identity, grief counseling, end-of-life experiences, and the ways loss changes us — not only in how we grieve, but in how we live.

Author Heidi Kirby joins Dr. Amy Meyers to share her deeply personal story of surviving sibling abuse, growing up in a family shaped by silence, fear and painful family dynamics. In this powerful conversation, Heidi discusses the long road to healing, learning to release shame, forgiving herself when apologies never came and reclaiming her voice after years of childhood trauma.

Together, they explore sibling abuse, family trauma, resilience, forgiveness, healing from childhood abuse and why so many survivors struggle to recognize their experiences.

Heidi Kirby is the author of My Sister's Secret Keeper and an advocate for survivors of family trauma, creating space for honest conversations about experiences that are often difficult to name but deeply felt.

Contact Heidi:

[email protected]

In this episode, Dr. Meyers explores two deeply human patterns that quietly shape our relationships: Conforming to others in order to gain approval, and trying to change the people around us in order to feel more secure.
While both strategies can feel like attempts to create stability, they often lead to the opposite - disconnection from ourselves, resentment in relationships, and a loss of clarity about what we actually want.
Through clinical reflection and personal insight, this episode examines what it means to take the reins back.

Connie Palmer, LCSW offers a powerful conversation about shame - what it is, how it differs from guilt, and why it can become such a deeply rooted emotional experience.

She distinguishes between the feeling that “I am bad" to "I did something bad,” exploring how shame shapes identity, relationships, self-worth, and mental health. The conversation examines how shame operates beneath the surface, why it can be so difficult to release, and how many people carry toxic shame without even realizing it.

Through reflection, insight, and practical perspective shifts, Dr. Meyers and Connie discuss ways to challenge shame-based thinking, cultivate self-compassion, and begin separating behavior from identity. This episode offers an honest and relatable look at one of the most painful, and most human, emotional experiences we face.

Whether you struggle with self-criticism, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or feeling “not enough,” this conversation invites you to rethink the stories shame tells us and consider what healing might look like.

Connie Palmer, LCSW, is an experienced teacher, presenter, therapist, and school counselor who has spent more than thirty years working with children, youth, and families. She is the owner of Therapeutic Learning Connections which offers social, emotional learning workshops to mental health professionals, community organizations, schools, and workplaces. She is also a Grief Education Consultant for Imagine, a Center for Coping with Loss in Mountainside, NJ which offers grief support groups and grief education. She can be reached at [email protected].

Social work school teaches theory, ethics, and practice skills - but there are some lessons you only learn once you’re actually in the field.

In this episode, Dr. Meyers sits down with a former BSW student/MSW graduate for an honest conversation about what they wish they had learned in social work school. From burnout and boundary-setting to imposter syndrome, workplace realities, practicum challenges, and navigating the transition from student to professional, this episode keeps it real about the parts of social work education that often go unspoken.

Whether you’re a BSW or MSW student, a new social worker, or someone considering entering the profession, this conversation offers practical insight, validation, and advice we wish we had earlier. Tune in for an authentic, reflective, and empowering discussion about becoming a social worker in the real world.

Anthony Gaetani, LMSW, earned his Bachelor of Social Work from Molloy University and his Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He has experience working with diverse populations across inpatient and outpatient settings and currently works as an inpatient psychiatric social worker supporting individuals experiencing acute psychiatric challenges through comprehensive assessment, interdisciplinary collaboration and linkage to community-based resources that promote long-term stability. He approaches social work as both a profession and a calling, grounded in the belief that every individual deserves dignity, respect and the opportunity to thrive beyond hospitalization.

After more than three years of exploring the inner world of therapists, countertransference, and the emotional realities of helping others, What Would Dr. Meyers Do? is entering a new chapter.

In this special episode, Dr. Meyers reflects on the evolution of the podcast and introduces Between Practice and Purpose - a new collaborative blog created alongside two former BSW students. Together, they explore the messy, meaningful space between professional roles and personal growth: the wins, the struggles, the uncertainty, and the moments of insight that shape who we are both inside and outside of the work we do.
This conversation goes beyond social work and therapy. It’s about reflection, identity, emotional growth, purpose, relationships, and navigating life with honesty and self-awareness. In the episode, Dr. Meyers shares the story behind the blog, why writing felt like the next step, and shares one of the blog posts as an invitation into the conversations to come.
Whether you are a therapist, social worker, student, helper, or simply someone trying to better understand yourself and others, this episode offers a thoughtful look at growth, vulnerability, and what happens between practice and purpose.

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