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Psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler closes season nine of “What Your Therapist Is Reading” with Dr. Dana E. Crawford, licensed clinical psychologist and trauma-informed care expert, to discuss her book “Healing Bias: Your Guide to Individual, Interpersonal and Institutional Change.” (affiliate link)  We explore how bias shows up for people and Dr. Crawford shares about her Bias Reduction Theory and Training (CBRT) as a framework for addressing culture-based countertransference and projection in therapy and beyond.

Show highlights:

What Bias Really Means

Everyday Bias Examples

CBRT Framework Explained

Impact Over Morality

Scarcity Trauma and Racism

Equity Versus Equality

Three Levels of Change

From Awareness to Practice

Stories And Discomfort Growth

About the author:

Dr. Dana E. Crawford is a licensed clinical psychologist and leading expert in trauma-informed care, bias reduction, and cultural healing. She runs a private practice in Manhattan and is the author of Healing Bias: Your Guide to Individual, Interpersonal, and Institutional Change. Dr. Crawford is also the creator of the R.A.C.E. Cards discussion deck and the Crawford Bias Reduction Theory & Training framework.

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Psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler interviews licensed clinical social worker and author Phil Lane about his book, "Overcoming Panic and Panic Attacks." (affiliate link) Phil shares that the book is rooted in his own experience with intense panic attacks. Listen in as we explore the topic of panic, causes and how to handle it through various interventions. We also address fear of recurring panic, framing episodes as temporary “flare-ups,” and note that panic symptoms can mimic medical emergencies, so ruling out health issues and keeping up with checkups is important.

Highlights:

Challenging Panic Thoughts

What Panic Really Is

Book Roadmap Overview

Why Panic Happens

Baseline Habits

Therapy Tools That Help

Fear of Panic Returning

Somatic Mimics and Medical Checks

Self Awareness and Triggers

About the author:

Phil Lane is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist in private practice, and the author of three books in the psychology/self-improvement space. Phil specializes in the treatment of anxiety, panic, life transitions, impulse control, and men's issues.

Psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler interviews Kaytee Gillis this week about parental abandonment.  We are discussing her book: Healing from Parental Abandonment and Neglect: Move Beyond Insecure Attachment to Build Safety, Connection and Trust with Yourself and Others (affiliate link). Kaytee Gillis defines parental abandonment as a parent or caregiver severing the relationship through rejection, being kicked out of the home, or loss of a caregiver after divorce, and notes it can occur across the lifespan and overlaps at times with family estrangement. There are a variety of causes including family dysfunction, abuse, and homophobia/transphobia.  This in as we discuss how abandonment can impact the child and how to move forward with healing,

Highlights:

What Is Abandonment

 Estrangement vs Abandonment

Why It Happens

How It Shows Up

Healing Stages

Inner Child Practices

Jealousy Around Happy Families

Grieving the Living Parent

 Scripts for Awkward Questions

Forgiveness Without Pressure

Signs You Are Healing

After todays episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about what else I am reading.

*Information shared on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

About the author:

Kaytee is a psychotherapist and author with a passion for working with survivors of relationship and family trauma and the LGBTQ+ community. She is the author of several books, including Breaking the Cycle: the 6 Stages of Healing from Childhood Family Trauma, and Healing from Parental Abandonment and Neglect.

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Psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler interviews Lisa Gray this week about relationships and chronic illness.  We discuss her book:  Thriving in a Relationship When You Have Chronic Illness: Navigate Challenges and Keep Your Relationship Strong Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (affiliate link).  We explore how chronic illness changes couple dynamics and how acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can help.

Highlights:

How couples change

Bargaining and Money

ACT Skills

Values as a couple

About the author:

Lisa Gray is a licensed mental health professional with a private practice in the San Francisco Bay area. She is the author of two books and is passionate about teaching conflict and coping with chronic illness. She reads 200 books a year and lives with her family and three large dogs.

After todays episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about the latest giveaway.

*Information in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

Psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler interviews health coach, author, and speaker Esther Avant about her book, "To Your Health: A Lifestyle of Health, Happiness, and Confidence," (affiliate link).  We explore how changing perspective can free people to question beliefs and pursue goals.

Highlights

Unlearning Beliefs

Self-Compassion Skills

Personality Isn’t Permanent

Three C’s: Consistency, commitment and confidence

Redefining Health

Small Wins Mindset

About the author:

Esther Avant is an author, speaker, and health industry veteran with over 19 years of experience helping people unlock their full potential by prioritizing their health. Through her bestselling book, To Your Health, podcast by the same name, and her work as a coach, Esther teaches individuals how to use health as the foundation for achieving lasting success in all areas of life—whether it’s losing weight for good, boosting career performance, or fostering personal growth. With a focus on her signature FITT framework and the 3 Cs of success, she empowers her clients to build sustainable habits that lead not just to better health but greater confidence, success, and happiness.

After today’s episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about the latest giveaway and what else I am reading.

*Information shared in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

On this weeks episode of What Your Therapist is Reading, Jessica Fowler speaks with Dr. Jessica Zucker about her book Normalize it: Upending the Silence, stigma and Shame that Shapes Women’s Lives, (affiliate link) which examines women’s experiences from girlhood through menopause, including miscarriage, body image, motherhood, and friendship, and aims to dismantle the silence, stigma, and shame surrounding them.

Highlights

Unspoken Pain and Joy

Replace Silence with Stories

Miscarriage Stigma and Shame

Motherhood Without a Village

Three-part framework—acknowledge it, share it, normalize it

Menopause

Friendship Grief and Loneliness

About the author

Jessica Zucker is a Los Angeles-based psychologist specializing in reproductive health and the author of the award-winning book I HAD A MISCARRIAGE: A Memoir, a Movement. Jessica is the creator of the viral #IHadaMiscarriage campaign. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Vogue, and Harvard Business Review, among others. She’s been featured on NPR, CNN, The Today Show, and Good Morning America and earned advanced degrees from New York University and Harvard University. Her second book, NORMALIZE IT: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women’s Lives, is out now and available everywhere books are sold.

After today’s episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about the latest giveaway and what else I am reading.

*Information shared in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

This week on What Your Therapist is Reading, psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler is talking with Hannah DeGroot and Khara Croswaite Brindle about their book “Your Enneagram and Money: Transforming Enneagram Edges into Financial Freedom”(affiliate link). Talking about money can be difficult and bring a variety of feelings up for people. During this episode we explore how pairing the Enneagram with money is relational and practical. Understanding ourselves can be helpful in moving forward with our money goals.

Highlights:

Enneagram Basics

Deep dive into some of the type examples

Financial Therapy Meets Enneagram

Types of Money Patterns

Tools to Reduce Money Shame

About the authors:

Hannah DeGroot is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Enneagram Coach, Executive Coach and co-author of the book Your Enneagram and Money: Transforming Enneagram Edges into Financial Freedom. In her practice, she uses the Enneagram to help individuals find passion, motivation, and fulfillment in their personal and professional lives. 

Khara Croswaite Brindle is the published author of nine books who is passionate about passionate about turning pain points into possibilities.  This means she loves talking about topics that others wish to avoid like leadership trauma, client suicide, and money shame.  As a Social Enneagram Type Three Wing Two, perfectionist, certified financial therapist and serial entrepreneur who specialists in working with helping professionals, she is the co-author of the book Your Enneagram and Money: Transforming Enneagram Edges into Financial Freedom.

After today’s episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about the latest giveaway and what else I am reading.

*Information shared in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

In this episode of What Your Therapist is Reading, psychotherapist and host Jessica Fowler interviews education writer Natalie Wexler about her book "The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System—and How to Fix It.  (Affiliate Link) Wexler explains that many elementary schools, especially since the rise of high-stakes testing around 2000, have reduced time spent on history, social studies, and science in favor of practicing transferable reading “skills” like finding the main idea. Drawing on cognitive science, she argues these skills depend heavily on prior knowledge and vocabulary, and that building knowledge through coherent, topic-based instruction improves reading comprehension by reducing working-memory load (cognitive load theory). In addition, we discuss we explore how mental health and education are connected.

Highlights:

What the “Knowledge Gap” Is—and How Elementary School Got Here

Why “Reading Skills” Don’t Transfer: The Cognitive Science of Comprehension

Inquiry vs. Instruction: How Education Ideology Collides with Learning Science

Working Memory, Cognitive Load, and Why Background Knowledge Matters

History & Science Scores, Missing Context, and the “Mental Velcro” Effect

Mental health and education

18:30 What Parents & Communities Can Do: Knowledge-Building Curricula and Advocacy

22:07 Standards, Teacher Autonomy, and the Curriculum Problem No One Talks About

25:32 Why Therapists Should Care: Shame, Identity, and a Reno Classroom Breakthrough

29:58 Engagement Benefits: Behavior, Curiosity, and Kids Loving to Learn

32:07 Natalie’s New Book + Connecting Reading, Writing, and Content Learning

34:23 Wrap-Up, Where to Find More, and Podcast Disclaimer

About the author:

Natalie Wexler is an education writer who has spoken before a wide range of audiences in the U.S. and elsewhere, focusing on literacy, cognitive science, and fairness. She is the author of Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning and The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America’s Broken Education System—And How to Fix It, and the co-author of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades. She is the host of “Reading Comprehension Revisited,” which is Season One of the Knowledge Matters Podcast.

After today’s episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about the latest giveaway and what else I am reading.

*Information shared on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

In this episode of What Your Therapist is Reading, host Jessica Fowler, psychotherapist and book enthusiast, chats with Dr. Randall Alfino about his book “Listening in the Raw: Coming Home to Receptivity", which emphasizes deep, empathetic listening and the importance of vulnerability in fostering genuine human connections. Dr. Alfino shares personal anecdotes about reading and listening from his own life, exploring how true listening involves stripping away defenses and embracing curiosity and innocence. The discussion also touches on the psychospiritual dimension of listening and its transformative power in therapy and everyday relationships.

Highlights:

Personal Stories and Impact of Reading

Deep Dive into 'Listening in the Raw'

Practical Examples of Listening

The Role of Innocence and Vulnerability

About the author:

Dr. Randal Alifano has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is an Ordained Minister with over 40 years of integrating psychology and spirituality in his private practice. He has worked with a diverse group of people at various stages of their lives, listening to their dreams and aspirations, their traumas and confusions, and their desire to live life more attuned to their own inner wisdom. And he has loved doing it his entire career. Over the decades, he has studied numerous theories and methodologies—both psychological and spiritual—and they have all filtered down to inform who he is and how he works. Today we will be discussing his book Listening in the Raw: Coming Home to Receptivity.

After today’s episode, head on over to @therapybookspodcast to learn about the latest giveaway and what else I am reading.

*Information shared on this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.

In this episode of What Your Therapist is Reading, host Jessica Fowler chats with Dr. Robert Jason Grant about his book “AutPlay Therapy Play and Social Groups: A Neurodiversity-Affirming Model” co-written with Tracy Turner-Bumberry. Dr. Grant explains the importance of respecting neurodivergent children's play preferences and avoiding imposing neurotypical standards on them. The conversation covers the concept of neurodiversity, practical examples of affirming care, and details about group therapy models that involve both children and their parents. Listeners are encouraged to learn more about providing affirming care to neurodivergent individuals and are given guidance on how to apply these principles in their practice.

Highlights:

Discussing and understanding Neurodiversity

Understanding Play Therapy through this lens

Group Therapy Models

Practical Applications and Final Thoughts

About the author:

Dr. Robert Jason Grant is the creator of AutPlay® Therapy. He is a therapist, supervisor, and consultant and utilizes several years of advanced training and his own lived neurodivergent experience to provide affirming services to children and their families. He is an international trainer and keynote presenter and multi-published author of several articles and books. He is currently serving on the board of directors for the Association for Play Therapy.