Therapy with my Mom

It's TBRI, but it's also family systems and a whole lot more! In this episode we are joined by Rhonda Johnson, the owner of The Center for Counseling and Family Relationships in Fort Worth, Texas. Rhonda shares with us the foundations of TBRI and how it informs her work with play therapy and family systems.

We also get to learn and appreciate Rhonda's own story of becoming an adoptive parent, how her daughte...

It's a special no-guest episode this week as we review the Netflix Documentary, "Stutz." This film was directed by Jonah Hill and we encourage you to watch it before listening to this episode!

We discuss the dynamics of Jonah's relationship with his therapist, the "tools" that are explained and suggested, and the philosophies shared. It's a vulnerable look at both Jonah and Phil Stutz&apo...

Ever had to argue with a Narcissist and not really get anywhere? Sounds like you got caught up in the drama triangle. Thankfully, we have Dr. Greg Lester with us this week to explain how he works with the personality-disordered population, and to give us a better understanding of what is behind their motivations to stir up drama.

Dr. Greg Lester is the leading trainer on all things personality disorders, having read everyt...

Dr. Beth Plachetka usually only uses her title on Christmas cards, but that doesn't make her any less qualified to be on our show! Beth is a former educator and school social worker, now working out of her private practice, Safe Harbor Counseling in Sugar Grove. Mother to three and grandmother to nine, Beth followed the path to end up doing exactly what she needed to.

In this episode, we discuss all methods of parenti...

Karen Rose never studied how to be inspirational, that doesn't stop her from inspiring us though! Career Coach and MFT Karen Rose joins us this week to talk about her nearly 40 years of experience with career coaching, and how so much of her tenacity was born from her own struggle of trying to get hired as a completely blind person.

Karen shares her story with us, on how she suffered discrimination and eventually star...

Did you know that therapy can be funny? Well, at least when you're working with two infectiously hilarious people like Lodge McCammon and Mallori DeSalle. Musical educator and mental health counselor duo, Lodge and Mallori, teach us all about how humor can find its way into our mental health and help us take mini "vacations." Through a variety of exercises and examples, Ryan and Julee are shown how imagining the most...

Clinical Hypnotherapist and professional confidante, Hunter Moore, joins us to tell us exactly what those terms mean! Hunter is an amazing professional who is trained in many modalities and explains how this wisdom helps her explore hypnotherapy with her clients. This can often happen in "conversational hypnosis" where one could enter a basic trance-like state in conversation and our underlying subconscious could be surfa...

It's a very special episode for Therapy with my Mom, being released on Ryan's birthday! Today we talk to the creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach, Howard Glasser, on the foundation of his style and the journey he took to get here. This approach is all about removing energy from the negative and giving it all to our successes. Julee and Ryan get to share the profound impact that his method had on a younger Ryan, and we c...

Can you externalize your problems from yourself? Maybe it would help if you gave it a name. 

Rob Castillo is our special guest this week, talking us through narrative therapy and how we can apply the tools to almost every problem. We discuss how music and other forms of art can help us connect and communicate our stories when the words are hard to find, and share many stories of triumph in which removing ourselves from the...

Therapy doesn't have to be all talk. That's what Valerie Maty is here to teach us with her many degrees and experience conducting Art Therapy. Valerie is an accomplished practitioner from Labyrinth Counseling, who helps us understand the use of art and play in therapy. We discuss the many types of mediums you can explore in therapy, how this blends with traditional talk therapy, and what types of tools or pieces to avoid ...

Maternal mental health does not have enough focus and attention, at least that's what our guest Robin Withrow saw and used as inspiration to fill that gap. Robin joins us this week to talk about how we can care for new moms (and dads) and to open up about her own issues with anxiety and postpartum depression. Julee relates much of her own history to the experience as the group tackles some difficult subjects, the operative goa...

Keeping in line with our last couple of episodes, this week we explore a personal journey of body image and acceptance. Susan Southerland-Mifsud joins us today to talk about her journey of self love and the challenges of losing weight. Susan is the mother of Ryan's girlfriend, Larisa, as well as a wedding planner who gets to see first hand the types of ideals that people want to portray in terms of their image.

Susan ...

Did you know that eating disorders can be present in every type of body? Often it goes unseen or unmentioned, as the stigma and pressure of society keep an individual from revealing what they are really going through. Luckily we have Erica Antonucci on the podcast this week to talk about body image and how she works with this population that deals with eating disorders.

In this episode, Erica helps us understand how import...

The time has come for you to provide yourself with acceptance, compassion, and empowerment. The amazing Dr. Michelle Maidenberg joins us this week to talk about living according to your values and her new book, "Ace Your Life: Unleash Your Best Self and Live the Life You Want." Michelle is an incredible speaker and motivator with countless resources online. If you are interested in learning more from her, check out https:...

How do you handle those unreasonable people? Or worse, the people or partners in our lives that have a personality disorder that demands someone conform to their toxic needs. Dr. Alan Godwin is here to talk to us about how we can manage to deal with these people, notably how we can try to be drama non-participants in their games.

Hosted by: Ryan & Julee Barkauskas

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Season 2 is here! We kick off the new year and new season with a reflection on our time together over the holidays and share some great stories. After playing catch up we practice a guided meditation led by Julee meant to soothe our nervous systems and check in with the body. We hope you decide to join in on this practice and enjoy it as much as we did!

Hosted by: Ryan & Julee Barkauskas

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It's the Season 1 Finale! In this incredible episode that marks our 30th and the end of the year, we speak to Christina Neff about OCD and the treatment of anxiety disorders in general. Christina helps us examine the effectiveness of exposure in working through our anxieties and how to combat that desire to avoid them. We also discuss intrusive thoughts and how the phenomenon of having them doesn't necessarily mean you ha...

Trauma can be considered both single event and complex. When it is complex you need a trained professional like Amanda Ann Gregory to help you heal. Listen in this week as Amanda teaches us through her experience and writing and helps us begin the healing process of our developmental traumas. We learn how trauma can truly affect everyone differently and some techniques that could work such as blending Somatic Work and EMDR!

It's time to Accept and Commit! This week we speak to DJ Moran, an incredible speaker and practitioner of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. DJ speaks to us about his new book, "Finding your Why and Finding your Way" as we explore the idea of acceptance and mindfulness. It's a truly meaningful episode that we hope you all enjoy!

Hosted by: Ryan & Julee Barkauskas

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