What Your Therapist Is Reading ®

Episode 44: The Normalcy Fallacy: Stories, Resources and Books

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Jennifer Kos, PsyD. about her book The Normalcy Fallacy: Stories, Resources and Workbook.
Highlights from the episode:
2:14 Jennifer shares how reading as impacted her.
5:38 Jennifer shares how many people ask the question "is this normal" and begins to share about her definition of what is normal.
8:49 Jennifer shares an exercise from her book.
10:22 Jennifer shares about Chakras.
14:14 Jennifer shares about her learning disability and Jessica shares how learning about that impacted her.
18:33 Jennifer shares how this book is for anyone who ever had the thought, is this normal?
More about the author:
After more than 30 years in the mental health field as a student, counselor, psychologist, educator and consultant I have come to the point in the journey that I realize we are all searching; searching for answers, comfort and a sense of belonging. My written work, The Normalcy Fallacy, is the culmination of observed (fictionalized to preserve confidentiality) stories, collected resources from other professionals and challenge questions that I designed to lead us away from pathologizing our human experience and embracing the ideal world where "normal" is simply that which is healthy, safe and loving. As I ultimately move away from the clinical work of diagnosis and treatment, I look to embrace the paradigm shift of seeing us all as in need of acceptance, love and healing however and wherever that finds us. My educational and clinical background includes undergraduate work in psychology and education, graduate work in counseling and a doctorate in clinical psychology. I have multiple clinical licenses in two states, however, continue to see the value in moving beyond the confines of pathology and diagnosis to the deeper work of self-awareness, self-healing and deep respect for intuition and self-actualization.

Episode 43: Begin Within-A Daily Healing Journal

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Christina Kantzavelos, LCSW about her journal Begin Within-A Daily Healing Journal.
Highlights from this episode:
3:43: Christina shares how she created this journal out of necessity.
4:40 Christina shares how this is a mind-body journal.
5:19 Christina shared what is in the journal and why she wrote it.
6:28 Research on journaling.
8:45 The science behind gratitude.
11:13 Who the journal is for.

Episode 42: Island Hopper

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Transcript
In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Cara Fairfax about her children's book Island Hopper (Illustrated by Len Smith).  Island Hopper is about a young penguin, Hoppy, who lives with two special grownups.  Cara shares how this story is about what it can be like for a young person to go from two different homes when one adult struggles with a personality disorder. 
Highlights from this episode:
3:10 Cara shares how this book is written to be gender neutral so anyone can use it.
3:47 Cara shares about the different attachments that Hoppy has to his caregivers.
5:19 Cara shares how she wrote this book through a trauma lens.
6:26 We discuss the resource guide that the book comes with.
6:57 Cara shares some of the scenarios that Hoppy needs to navigate such as unwritten rules.
12:36 Attachment trauma
 

Episode 41: The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD: Lean into Your Fear, Manage Difficult Emotions and Focus on Recovery.

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler, interviews Kimberley Quinlan, LMFT about her book The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD: Lean into Your Fear, Manage Difficult Emotions and Focus on Recovery.
Highlights from this weeks episode:
2:20 Kimberley shares how Thich Nhat Hanh have impacted her.
6:29 We discuss self-compassion
7:35 We discuss what obsessive compulsive disorder is and what it is not.
10:30 We discuss suffering.
11:33 We discuss what is exposure response therapy 
17:00 Kimberley shares how she has written a letter to the readers in each section.
18:42 Who should be reading the book.
Transcript on website
 

Episode 40: Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma & Politicizing Your Practice

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler, interviews Jennifer Mullan, PsyD about her book Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma & Politicizing Your Practice.
It is hard to pick just a few highlights as we discussed so much in this episode, but here are a few:
6:03: Learning and unlearning concept.
9:06 Defining what decolonizing therapy is.
14:12: Challenging the language that we use.
19:50: DSM and (lack of) multicultural classes in our education.
25:00 Beginning to talk about how the history of mental health is important.
25:56: How things are beginning to shift.
27:29: Why Dr. Mullan decided to write the book
29:00 This book is for practitioners.
31:32: Discussion around a shift in mental health treatment and exploring the history and how it applies to today. In addition, how as therapists we need to metabolize the energy we take on.
38:32: Practitioners are leaving mental health and the toll the work takes on people.
50:00: Gatekeeping
 
 
 
 
 

Episode 39: Holding Space: My Story of Grief, Remember, and Thriving After Traumatic Loss

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Arielle Jordan, LCPC about her book Holding Space: My Story of Grief, Remembering, and Thriving After Traumatic Loss.
*There is a trigger warning for the book because it does talk about parental loss, child loss and divorce.
Highlights from this episode include: 
3:23 Although Arielle shares about pain in her book, she shares about resilience.  
5:03 Arielle shares about types of therapies she discusses in the book including DBT, EMDR and IFS.
7:02 Arielle shares what holding space means and how we can hold space for ourselves.
10:19 We discuss part of the book that shares Arielle's experience in the military.
13:22 Types of loss discussed in the book include parental loss, child loss, divorce and more.
About the author:
Arielle Jordan, LCPC runs Mindset Quality, a unique counseling service that's proud to be black-owned, veteran-owned, and woman-owned. She's a former Army soldier who's studying hard to earn her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision. With a solid background in psychology and clinical mental health, Arielle specializes in helping people deal with tough stuff like PTSD, trauma, and loss, using therapies like EMDR, IFS, and DBT. She's all about making sure everyone from different backgrounds feels welcome and understood. Besides her counseling work, Arielle speaks out about mental health issues, teaches others, and writes books to spread hope and help people heal. She's committed to empowering people to overcome mental health challenges.

Episode 38: Somatic Maternal Healing: Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Helena Vissing, PsyD., SEP, PMH-C about her book Somatic Maternal Healing: Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health.
 
During this episode, we take a deep dive into Dr. Vissing's work that she presents throughout this work. We explore somatic experiencing, maternal mental health and trauma. 
About the author:
Helena Vissing is a Licensed Psychologist certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) in private practice in California. She practices trauma-informed somatic psychotherapy as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Dr. Vissing is experienced as Adjunct faculty at several graduate institutions, has taught Child and Adolescent Development, Treatment of Children and Adolescents, Psychodynamic Theories, and Maternal Mental Health. As Training Faculty for Maternal Mental Health NOW, Dr. Vissing also provides trainings and consultations for providers.

Episode 37: The ACoA Trauma Syndrome: The Impact of Childhood Pain on Adult Relationships

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Tian Dayton, PhD about her book The ACoA Trauma Syndrome: The Impact of Childhood Pain on Adult Relationships.
Highlights from this episode include: 
5:18 We discuss the term ACoA.
6:27 Grandchildren of alcoholics and CPTSD (complex post traumatic stress disorder).
11:25 Psychodrama
16:01 RTR Sociometrics 
24:59 The ACoA dilemma
29:27 Discussing trauma
35:16 12-step programs
Book
Workbook
Website
RTR Sociometrics
About the author:
Dr. Tian Dayton is a senior fellow at The Meadows and Director of The New York Psychodrama Training Institute, author of fifteen books including
, Neuropsychodrama in the Treatment of Relational Trauma, The ACoA Trauma Syndrome: How Childhood Trauma Impacts Adult Relationships, Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance, Trauma and Addiction: Ending the Cycle of Pain Through Emotional Literacy, Heartwounds : The Impact of Unresolved Trauma and Grief on Relationships, The Living Stage: A Step by Step Guide to Psychodrama and Experiential Therapy, The Magic of Forgiveness
….she is a Huffington Post blogger and creator of innerlook.com.
Films and Videos include:
The Process: A 73 Minute award winning docudrama that uses Psychodrama to tell stories of Addicts and ACOAs
Psychodrama and Trauma Resolution Training Tape, a compressive psychodrama training tape illustrating the effect of unresolved trauma on the personality and its resolution through psychodrama and sociometry available through tiandayton.com. Tian Dayton has a masters in educational psychology and a PhD in clinical psychology and is a board certified trainer in psychodrama and a licensed Creative Arts Therapist. She is also a certified Montessori teacher. Dr. Dayton is the director of The New York Psychodrama Training Institute where she runs training groups in psychodrama, sociometry and experiential group therapy. She is a nationally renowned speaker, expert, and consultant in psychodrama, trauma and addiction and has served as their director of program development for eight years. Dr. Dayton was on the faculty at NYU for eight years teaching psychodrama. Dr. Dayton is a fellow of the American Society of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy ASGPP, winner of their scholar’s award, the President’s award and editor in chief of the Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy and sits on the professional standards committee. She is also the winner of The Mona Mansell Award and The Ackermann Black Award. Dr. Dayton has been a guest expert on NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Montel, Rikki Lake, John Walsh, Geraldo. For further information log onto tiandayton.com
 

Episode 36: A Kids Book About Nervous System Regulation

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Dr. Joy Malik-Hasbrook about her book A Kids Book About Nervous System Regulation.  
Highlights from this episode include:
2:43 Dr. Joy shares about what the nervous system is made up of and what it is like when we are in a regulated place.
3:4: Dr. Joy shares about polyvagal theory.
7:11 Dr. Joy shares about how this book is meant to be read together, parent and child.
10:19 Dr. Joy shares about the importance of empathy.
10:55 Parents responsibility to regulate their own nervous system.
11:42 Compassion
About the author:
Dr. Joy Malik-Hasbrook, PsyD (she/her), is a licensed clinical psychologist who helps children feel seen and grownups heal. She provides regulation and resiliency-based parenting support, specializes in neurodiversity assessments with kids, and presents on nervous system regulation and neurodiversity-affirming assessment. She is a mama of 2, a highly sensitive human, and biracial of South Asian Indian/white descent. She values integrating both Asian contemplative practices and contemporary psychology into her work and is committed to anti-oppressive practices. Dr. Joy understands how challenges with dysregulation create more distress. She believes that understanding nervous system regulation leads to compassion and resiliency and that all families should have access to this information—this book is a start!
You can connect with Dr. Joy on her website here and on instagram here.

Episode 35: Therapeutic Mindfulness: A Healing Skill, Not a Coping Skill

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In this weeks episode, Jessica Fowler interviews Ruth Fearnow, LMHC about her book Therapeutic Mindfulness: A Healing Skill, Not a Coping Skill. 
 
Highlights from this episode include:
3:19 Ruth shares about the difference between mindfulness and therapeutic mindfulness.
 
5:59 Ruth shares an example of practicing therapeutic mindfulness.
 
10:14 Ruth shares about EMDR.  You can learn more about EMDR here.
 
12:19 Ruth shares about Internal Family Systems (IFS). You can learn more here.
 
14:17 Ruth shares who this book is for.
 
18:24 Ruth shares about how although coping skills are important, she explores why healing skills are necessary.
 
About the author:
 
Ruth Fearnow is a therapist, author and speaker. In her first book, Therapeutic Mindfulness, is a synthesis of her decades-long meditation practice and her work healing trauma and mental distress. Ruth's private journey began as a young woman when she found herself studying kung fu and qi gong in Dengfeng City, China, the home of the famous Shaolin Temple. It was there she began a serious meditation practice. While this skill takes years to develop, this was her first big step to understanding mindfulness practices. A decade later, Ruth graduated with a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. Once licensed, Ruth immediately pursued EMDR education, then continued on to certification. Ruth’s early career included a 24/7 dual-diagnosis treatment center, and then several years in agency work. Ruth began her private practice in Fort Wayne in 2018 and has continued serving Indiana clientele. Ruth’s book, Therapeutic Mindfulness, was published May 1, 2023. Ruth's evolution into a trauma therapist has enabled her to integrate age-old wisdom with trauma-informed insight. As a result, she has developed healing philosophies and the process of therapeutic mindfulness which she practices personally, and teaches to her clientele, many of whom use it on their own. Therapeutic mindfulness has now been adopted for professional use by colleagues in the mental health field. When not working or spreading the word of Therapeutic Mindfulness, Ruth enjoys singing, community theater and time with her wonderful family.
 
You can connect with Ruth on her website here or on facebook here.