July 29, 2025 • 26 mins
When was the last time you felt truly aligned—mind, body, and spirit working in harmony? For too many of us, that sense of wholeness feels increasingly elusive in a world that treats our physical and mental health as entirely separate domains.
Matt Plutko, co-founder and Director of Wellness at Revelations Counseling and Wellness, joins us to share a perspective on healing that bridges this artificial divide. "Studies show exercise has the same effect on the brain as Prozac," Matt explains, highlighting the science behind their integrated approach. What makes Revelations stand out is their refusal to simply place bandages over symptoms—instead, they dig deep to identify and address root causes. In this conversatin Matt introduces his self-mastery framework. Using the metaphor of wagon wheels creating ruts in dirt roads, he illustrates how our unconscious behaviors carve neural pathways that keep us stuck in patterns we don't even recognize. True transformation begins by "filling in those ruts" so we can steer our lives in new directions. This isn't about perfection or avoiding setbacks—quite the opposite. Matt advocates developing what he calls "anti-fragile confidence," where "the worse it gets, the more committed we become to doing what we need to do."
Perhaps most powerful is Matt's guidance for anyone feeling stuck: "There's never a perfect time to start, so start today." He reminds us that growth happens just beyond our comfort zone, and consistent small steps—even imperfect ones—create lasting change. "It's okay to stink at something," he shares with refreshing honesty, "it's not okay to skip it."
Ready to move beyond therapy as usual and discover an approach that honors your whole self? Visit the show notes below for links to Matt's self-mastery program and additional resources from Revelations Counseling and Wellness. What small step will you take today to create a new path forward?
👉 Visit the Revelations Counseling & Wellness Website
⭐️ Self-Mastery — Revelations Counseling & Wellness
📸 Connect with @revelationscw on IG
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👉 Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl (paid link)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sherry (00:00):
Welcome back to This is It, where we're all about small
wins, big growth and makinglife work even when it feels
like it's falling apart.
Today's guest is someone whounderstands how transformational
healing can be, because he'sbuilt a space where that kind of
healing happens every day.
We're joined by Matt Plutko,co-founder and Director of
Wellness at RevelationsCounseling and Wellness.
(00:21):
Matt's heart for whole personcare is the foundation of the
work being done at Revelations.
We'll explore what makes theRevelations approach different,
how they're helping people movethrough some of life's toughest
seasons, and then we'll dig intoMatt's powerful Self-Mastery
Program, a pathway torealignment, intentional living
and freedom from old patterns.
So whether you're in the thickof burnout, looking to reconnect
(00:44):
with yourself, or just curiousabout what growth can look like
in practice, you're in the rightplace, so let's get into it.
Matt, welcome.
Your work aligns with ourbelief that true change starts
from the inside out, andsometimes at rock bottom.
We love the way that you helppeople rewrite their inner
script, shift their identity andtake back their agency, one
(01:06):
step at a time.
So today we thought we wouldstart with the foundations of
Revelations Counseling andWellness and then later on to
talk about your specificself-mastery program.
Matt Plutko (01:17):
Yeah, absolutely.
First off, thanks so much forhaving me.
This is a great opportunity andI'm really excited.
Revelations started startedback in January and it started
mainly as a mental healthcounseling, but we saw a real
gap in the space where studiesshow that exercise has the same
effect on the brain as Prozacand Ritalin do, and that
scientists are now calling thegut the second brain and that
(01:39):
what you eat has a direct effecton your gut microbiome has a
direct effect on your gutmicrobiome.
So we're working to create aspace where somebody can feel
extremely comfortable coming inand, in an integrated approach,
address both mental and physicalat the same time.
Sherry (01:56):
So it's going beyond therapy into a much more
holistic approach.
Matt Plutko (02:00):
Yeah, exactly that's right.
Jodi (02:01):
You really can't have one without the other.
Matt Plutko (02:02):
Yeah, exactly.
No, they're all so connectedright.
So we're looking to reallyimpart confidence and behaviors
and get them the ability and theknowledge to take things and do
it on their own.
Sherry (02:22):
It sounds like breaking the patterns that we find
ourselves caught in and creatingnew ones.
Matt Plutko (02:24):
Yeah, I like to equate it a lot of times
whenever I talk to people to theold time wagons with the big
wooden wheels.
When they go down these dirtroads, they create these huge
ruts in the road.
Those ruts are what we'vecreated in our brains, basically
with the behaviors that wedon't even know that we're doing
sometimes, and so our goal isto start to fill in those ruts
so we can move that wagon into anew path.
Sherry (02:47):
Yeah, I feel like a lot of times that doesn't happen
until you wreck the wagon.
Matt Plutko (02:52):
Yeah.
Sherry (02:52):
You're in the same ruts, and then you can only keep that
up for so long and the wheelsfall off, and I think a lot of
times that's what puts somebodyon a path that might lead to a
place such as your organization.
I'm wondering how do you helppeople who find themselves in a
deeper crisis mode into somesort of clarity on changing the
(03:14):
trajectory that they may noteven have been aware that they
were on, until something tragicor unfortunate happens to
disrupt life as you knew it?
Matt Plutko (03:23):
Yeah, I think that's where the integrated
approach really comes into play,because I look at mental health
counseling as more of an acutetype of reaction to where you're
trying to identify a specificsituation or instance that
causes some type of trauma.
Then moving into theself-mastery, that's whenever we
start to really impart ancientstoic wisdom of being able to
(03:47):
control what you can control andworking with the things that
you can't.
I think that's a piece that'smissing a lot, instead of just
not paying attention to what youcan't control, figuring out how
to have it work for you.
So that's where we can try tostart to combine the two
together and we're reallystarting to see some interesting
successes.
Sherry (04:07):
Yeah, and understanding what even is in our control,
because sometimes we say toourselves I'm only going to
focus on what I can control, butthen understanding what that
actually is is a whole otherconcept.
Matt Plutko (04:20):
So Viktor Frankl said it best, right?
There's a gap between stimulusand response and we go back to
that a lot, that the only thingthat we truly have control over
in life is that gap and how werespond to a certain stimulus.
Sherry (04:35):
Yeah.
Yeah, it's key.
We're not able to control someof what happens in life, but we
are in charge of how we respond.
Our last podcast guest, Dr.
Kovatch, also was stating aboutViktor Frankl's book too, so we
definitely have to link to thatone in the show notes.
Before we dive into thatself-mastery program a little
bit deeper.
You already talked about this alittle bit, but I wanted to
(04:58):
just get a broader picture ofthe holistic approach.
What does that look like?
What are all the differentservices that are available?
I want to make sure that wegive a broad overview of the
types of services that go intobeing a holistic service
provider.
Matt Plutko (05:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
Currently we have fivefull-time mental health
counselors.
We'll do all different types ofcounseling.
We do EMDR therapy.
We do ADHD assessments.
We have a pediatric divisionwhere we'll see kids as young as
four in terms of a mentalhealth counseling side.
From a wellness perspective,I'm a certified personal trainer
(05:37):
, so we do personal training,mainly program development,
where we try to create programsthat people can do on their own
to try to eliminate variablesfrom them actually being able to
do it.
We have a registered dietitianon staff, we have the
self-mastery mindset stuff, sowe go the whole gambit.
I'm also certified as acorrectional exercise specialist
(06:00):
, so seeing people afterphysical therapy, trying to
identify root causes andmovement patterns to be able to
address specific imbalances tobe able to help people maintain
healthy movement.
Sherry (06:23):
I love that it's not putting a bandaid on things.
It's finding sustainable
Matt Plutko (06:27):
It's like driving your car down the road and
hearing a loud noise in your carand instead of going to get it
fixed to identify what theactual issue is, you just turn
the radio up.
Sherry (06:34):
Moving into segment 2, I'd like to talk about the
Self-Mastery program.
Matt, if you would tell us alittle bit about exactly what is
self-mastery and how is thisdifferent from traditional
counseling?
Matt Plutko (07:05):
Self-mastery to me is an everyday, all-day thing.
I look at self-mastery in threeterms.
We define it as flourishing byputting your virtues in action.
We look to develop what we callanti-fragile confidence, which
is basically the worse it gets,the more committed we become to
doing the things that we need todo.
Sherry (07:26):
And then- yeah, it's like that already happened.
It happened Exactly, so nowwhat?
Matt Plutko (07:31):
And a lot of times people get in situations where
they have a rough day and,instead of being committed to
doing that thing that they knowthey want to do, they just make
an excuse and they say oh, itwas a rough day, so I'm going to
have that drink or I'm going toeat that thing or I'm going to
do this.
So the harder it gets, the morecommitted you become.
And then a big key to it isit's preparing for and embracing
(07:54):
setbacks as inevitabilities,right, and then what we say is
we want to reflect on those witha flashlight instead of dwell
on them with a hammer, say is wewant to reflect on those with a
flashlight instead of dwell onthem with a hammer.
Sherry (08:13):
So we want to learn from those setbacks, to grow and
move forward instead of beatourselves up.
Yeah, cause it's.
You're right, it's inevitable,it's a part of life.
These things are going tohappen, unfortunately, but it's
what you're doing in between thestorms of life that help you
get through them.
Whenever they do come the hardpart that I find you know like
right now I'm going throughsomething hard and I think some
people are like am I likedetaching from the situation?
Jodi (08:36):
Well, sometimes you have to pull back with a wide lens
right.
Sherry (08:39):
Yeah, how does that connect with.
.
.
I know that when people gothrough like a treatment program
or whatever, you learn thatit's important to feel your
feelings.
So how do we say this is notabout suppressing your feelings,
this is not about detaching,but it's more about being
prepared for when the stormscome and that helps you get
through it.
Yeah, Is this making any sense?
Matt Plutko (09:01):
Yeah, it absolutely does.
I think that there's like wesaid, setbacks are absolutely
inevitable and most people don'taccept that fact that they're
going to fail and they're goingto take steps backwards.
The key to self-mastery islearning and reflecting from
those to then get better thenext time.
We always say it's okay to fail.
(09:22):
It's not okay to fail two timesin a row.
So if you get kicked off, inthe same way correct.
If you get taken off the path,how quickly can you get up and
get back on and then not makethe exact same mistake again?
It's like somebody that istrying to eat better.
They're going to have birthdaycake if it's their birthday, but
(09:43):
the next day they're not goingto go in that freezer and grab
that second piece of cake thatthey normally would.
And they have to be okay withthe fact that they're going to
have it because it's theirbirthday and they should be able
to have it.
Sherry (09:55):
Yeah.
Right, but when you're on thatpathway of that self-mastery, as
you said, you're creating abetter likelihood that you will
be successful.
Matt Plutko (10:03):
Correct, because you're creating new habits by
not reinforcing the old ones.
So by not doing it that secondday, you're creating a new habit
that it's okay to do it everyonce in a while, but you're not
going to do it again.
And then, each time you have asetback and you reflect, you
just become that much stronger.
Jodi (10:22):
Yeah, and I think when you continue to do it as you get
stronger, then when you hit thereally bad pitfalls, the really
bad days, it's a little biteasier to not fall into those
ruts again.
Matt Plutko (10:36):
Exactly yeah.
Sherry (10:37):
And it's reducing the mental chaos that you rudiment
about things and improves yourthought hierarchy, the steps
that you put in place to getthrough those hard things.
Jodi (10:48):
Yeah, does that touch upon helping people reclaim their
identity and sort of ownershipand agency over your lives?
Matt Plutko (10:58):
Yeah, we like to break down life into three
specific areas of energy oryourself, work or your career,
and then relationships or love,and what we try to do is we try
to create our own identitywithin those three areas and
then identify the virtues thatwill help us achieve that
(11:18):
identity, because, at the end ofthe day, we have complete
control over our actions towardsworking towards that identity
right?
So we set these targets as thisidentity of who we want to be
in those three key areas of life, and then we work towards it by
knowing that, no matter whathappens again going back to
(11:40):
Victor we control the responseto whatever stimulus is put in
front of us.
Sherry (11:46):
Yeah, and that's your light post.
Exactly, that's your guide,that's what you keep coming back
to to keep your mindset on theright frame.
And I think a lot of times wego through life not really fully
aware of how much agency youactually do have over the life
that you're living in, the lifethat you create along the way
through your patterns, and Ithink once you understand how
(12:07):
much really is in your control,even though it's hard, or we
don't allow ourselves to takethat step back and reflect right
.
Matt Plutko (12:16):
Life is so crazy that we get caught up in it.
One of the things that'simportant is getting people to
take control of their timeinstead of having their time
control them right, and it'sextremely important for us to
focus on the beginning of theday and the end of the day as
the time that people have morecontrol over what they do, and
(12:39):
if you can own your AM and PMbookends, then you set yourself
up to have more success throughthe chaos of the middle of the
day.
Sherry (12:47):
Right.
And then when the big scarythings do show up at some point,
it's that shifting from avictim mindset towards this
thing happened.
This might really suck rightnow, but I'm going to find my
way through it and somehow yougrow.
Matt Plutko (13:02):
Yeah, it's literally about that process.
I tell people all the time.
Nobody's ever written a bookabout what the view from the top
of Mount Everest looked like.
It's always about the journey up, right and so
Sherry (13:13):
in the moment when it's happening, it's a natural
response to be like why, why isthis happening?
But when you're going through aprogram such as something that
you're doing there, the badthing still really sucks, but
you're better able to pickyourself back up again.
Matt Plutko (13:28):
We're using it as fuel to get better is what we're
doing.
Sherry (13:33):
Yeah, love that.
Okay, transformation stories-We'd love one.
If you have one or two for us,anonymously, of course.
Matt Plutko (13:42):
There was an individual that was working with
one of our counselors for abouta month and one day he just
kind of walked into my officewith this individual and just
introduced me.
We started having aconversation and it was a former
athlete that was older in age,who had some issues with his
shoulder, wasn't able to reallydo the things he used to do.
(14:06):
We started talking aboutexercise being like baking a
cake, where it takes the exactamount of ingredients, the exact
time and the exact temperatureto create a good cake and if you
try to add more ingredients oryou try to increase the
temperature, you're not going toget the best result right.
(14:26):
So we redefined what asuccessful workout was for this
individual and after workingwith me for a month, he is in a
much better place right now,where he no longer felt like he
needed to have thoseinteractions with the counselor
for the depression.
(14:47):
I think it highlights the powerof movement Whenever you do the
proper type of movement, theimpact that it has for a lot of
people.
They feel like to transform, tochange the way they look.
The more they do, the better,but that's very rarely the case
and it's about prescribing thecorrect amount for the
(15:10):
individual.
One of the things thatseparates us, I believe, is how
specific we are to theindividual and what their
program looks like
Sherry (15:21):
As it should be, because we are all different and that's
the thing we all try to fitourselves into boxes and you
know, subscribe to this programbecause it worked for
Jodi (15:30):
yeah,
Sherry (15:31):
abc
Jodi (15:31):
I'm thinking back to
Sherry (15:33):
doesn't mean it's
spin classes.
I, I keep going, but I can't doall the things that the
instructors up there telling usto do and I still just pedal and
do my thing, yeah, but themovement is, yes, is the key.
I try to keep myself accountable, to never miss a
(15:53):
Monday sort of thing to like setthe tone for the week.
But part of this podcast is anexercise in accountability for
myself.
Absolutely not doing it rightnow, so I'm just putting it out
there.
I'm coming clean, but there isso much value in the movement.
Earlier on in my whole medicaljourney that was literally my
job was to make sure that Imoved my body every day, no
(16:15):
excuses, and I can tell my ownmental state when I've been off
track as far as the movement,that is something that I do
question.
Jodi (16:22):
What do you do?
Because I occasionally do havebouts of depression, and when it
sets in and the grip is hard,it's nearly impossible for me to
force myself to exercise, eventhough I know in my logical
brain I know I'm going to feel ahundred times better.
There will come a moment whenmy brain just doesn't want to
(16:43):
let me do that.
And now I've gone through itand I know what to do because
I've already been there and Iknow it's time to get a therapy
session or do the things.
But do you see that you have todo the mental health piece
first or all at the same time?
Or how do you incorporate allthat?
Matt Plutko (17:02):
I don't think there's necessarily a
progression.
I think that a lot of it startsfrom mental health perspective
of it because, quite frankly,it's easier.
The way that I like to look atit is that's a commitment in
probably one hour at the most aweek.
Right, your nutrition.
You have to focus on everysecond that you're awake.
(17:22):
So those things, they take moretime and it's about starting
off doing it in a way that isalmost impossible to not be able
to do it.
So whenever you're in asituation where you know you
should be doing something butthere's a depression that's
causing you to not want to, thenit's as simple as going outside
and walking for five minutesand just doing something.
Sherry (17:44):
I say that five minutes.
You don't have to commit to anhour, even if I just put on my
shoes and open the door, andthen you end up doing more than
you.
Matt Plutko (17:52):
At the end of the day, consistency is the most
important thing whenever you'retrying to develop a habit.
I read something today and itstuck with me.
It was talking aboutconsistency and developing
habits and it literally saidit's okay to stink at something,
it's not okay to skip it.
So that's where I am with spin.
(18:12):
Meaning yeah, Meaning.
If you want to create a habit,it's about actually doing it.
If you do it really bad one daybecause you're not feeling it,
it's okay.
There's been studies thatpeople that just put their shoes
on and walk into a gym and thenwalk back out and they do that
for a week are more consistent ayear from then than the people
that are all gung-ho to get inthere January 2nd because they
(18:36):
have these crazy resolutions.
It's just about, like I said,trying to fill up those ruts and
create new ones.
Sherry (18:43):
I love that.
One little caveat there.
I think about a family memberwho is severe pain and severe
mobility problems and somebodylike that who might not
physically be able to go out andgo for a walk.
What exists, Are there otheroptions that somebody in that
particular circumstance might bean entry point or a starting
(19:07):
point for someone who is insevere physical pain?
Matt Plutko (19:11):
I think the best place to start is by training
your breath and doing somereally focused breathing.
It leads to I say meditation,and I don't mean sitting on the
floor with your legs crossed fortwo hours without opening up
your eyes, but it's just aboutbeing present in your own
thoughts and just some veryintentional breaths.
(19:34):
And then being present in yourthoughts can have the same type
of effect.
In the very beginning, there'sgoing to be things that are
going to limit you, but at theend of the day, there's always
something you can do.
It's just about finding thepeople that can tell you the
right things to do and not goingout on your own and trying to
figure out not asking chat, gptwhat I'm supposed to do, because
(19:55):
you're not going to get theright answer.
Sherry (19:58):
Yeah, yeah.
What would you say to someonewho feels stuck but wants to
change?
Matt Plutko (20:03):
I would say there's never a perfect time to start,
so start today, okay.
And when you feel stuck and youwant to change, we need to look
at stacking small wins on topof each other and not look at
what the outcome is.
It's about that compound effectof one little thing done over
(20:28):
and over again makes such a bigdifference.
It's important to understandthat growth only happens right
outside of your comfort zone, soyou have to be comfortable with
being uncomfortable, butunderstand that you can take one
step forward into growth or onestep backward into comfort.
I would just say start today,because there's never a great
(20:49):
time.
Sherry (20:51):
Yeah, I love it.
It's like what they say aboutplanting a tree.
Best time to plant a tree wasyesterday.
The next best time is today.
Jodi (21:00):
So how can?
Sherry (21:00):
people.
Where can people learn moreabout the self mastery program?
If someone feels that thismight be a path that they are
interested in exploring, thebest place to start is to go to
our website,revelationscounselingwellnesscom
.
Matt Plutko (21:26):
Set up a free consultation to be able to just
have a little bit more in depthof a conversation on what the
goals may be, what they may belooking to get out of it, what
they're doing here, and thenfrom there we can take it in as
many different directions aspossible.
A lot of what we've donestarted off as a dedicated
self-mastery program, but it'sturned into imparting the
mindset from self-mastery intobody transformations and health
(21:46):
transformations in terms ofgetting people to help with
their blood markers or peoplethat were pre-diabetic no longer
being diabetic, and dealingwith some of the GLP-1 peptides
like Ozempic and Wegovy outthere.
So it's endless, but it allstarts with the mind.
That's the best place to start.
Jodi (22:08):
Do you work with health insurance programs.
Matt Plutko (22:11):
Yeah, we are in network with all the major
insurance providers.
That is mainly on a mentalhealth side and some of the
actual dietician stuff, thestuff that I do.
I consider it an investment insomebody's future.
Right.
Sherry (22:29):
Yep Got to invest in yourself.
Your health is your wealth.
Jodi (22:32):
As far as conditions, is there a particular set that you
see more frequently?
You talked about an athletelosing, having a shoulder injury
.
I know a lot of older peoplewho now can't do things that
they used to do, and I think tomyself, boy, that probably would
be hard from an identityperspective, right, and boy, it
(22:53):
would be good to find acounselor that could also help
you learn how to move your bodyin a better way.
So, do you see, do you knowwhat I'm saying?
Matt Plutko (23:01):
Yeah, we'll see the gambit when We've set ourselves
up from a mental healthperspective to have between the
five counselors.
They all kind of have theirspecialties but they're all very
well-rounded and some of themmay be very averse in addiction
but they are still very capableof doing an ADHD assessment or
having people help them copewith a loss or anxiety.
(23:26):
From a wellness perspective,we'll see the gambit.
I worked with somebody todaythat has very bad arthritis in
her knee, an older lady.
I was able to put together aprogram that she did for two
weeks and she said she can'tbelieve how much better she
feels already and that shehasn't thought that she could
move this way and she would everbe able to move that way again.
(23:48):
So we'll do that.
We'll see athletes that arerecovering from ACL injuries
that need some correctiveexercise.
So we have the capabilities tosee pretty much the entire
gambit.
Sherry (24:01):
That's fantastic.
That's awesome.
I had another question aboutthe self-mastery program.
What is the cadence If somebodywere to be working with you?
I think you have a four-weekintensive and a 13-week
intensive.
Matt Plutko (24:13):
Yeah, so that's the starting point.
We put that out there as givingpeople a general idea of what
we could do.
But during these conversationsand these consultations we
decide what's going to work bestfor the individual.
Sherry (24:29):
Again individualized.
Matt Plutko (24:30):
We say that 13 weeks is a great starting point
to be able to really dive intothe specifics and ultimately
cement those behaviors, thatconfidence and the knowledge to
then be able to do things ontheir own.
My goal is to, within 12 to 13weeks, give them enough to be
able to then go and do things ontheir own.
Jodi (24:53):
That makes sense.
Sure, sure, I love it.
I will say the best rehabfacility I have ever witnessed
was one that followed somethingsimilar to what you're doing,
matt, and that they doincorporate the diet and the
exercise, and you don't see itvery often, and it is a
fantastic approach.
Matt Plutko (25:13):
Yeah, well, thank you.
Sherry (25:14):
Well thank you, matt.
That's a wrap on this episodeand what a powerful conversation
it's been.
Matt Plutko laid out a reallife roadmap for taking back
your agency, showing how small,intentional steps can lead to
big transformation.
Let this episode remind youyou're not powerless and your
next step matters.
Be sure to check out the shownotes for links to Matt's
self-discovery program and otherresources from Revelations,
(25:37):
Counseling and Wellness.
You'll also be able to findmore tools for growth,
organization and resilience atthrivingyinzers.
com, because support should bepractical, accessible and made
to meet you where you are.
Until next time, keep going andgrowing, because this is it.
This podcast is forinformational and entertainment
purposes only.
Nothing shared on this podcastshould be considered
(25:59):
professional advice.
Thriving Insers LLC, its hostsor any associated parties are
not liable for any actions takenor consequences arising from
the information provided.
The views expressed by thehosts.
Thank you.
Nationwide at the 988 Suicideand Crisis Lifeline Dial 988 to
connect with the trained crisiscounselor for free and
(26:26):
confidential support.
If you are local to thePittsburgh area, resolve Crisis
Services offer 24-7 crisisintervention and stabilization
services to all Allegheny Countyresidents.
You can reach them by calling1-888-796-8226.
If you are struggling withmental health, addiction, grief
or any other serious personalchallenges, we encourage you to
(26:47):
seek support from a qualifiedprofessional.
Welcome back to This is It, where we're all about small
wins, big growth and makinglife work even when it feels
like it's falling apart.
Today's guest is someone whounderstands how transformational
healing can be, because he'sbuilt a space where that kind of
healing happens every day.
We're joined by Matt Plutko,co-founder and Director of
Wellness at RevelationsCounseling and Wellness.
(00:21):
Matt's heart for whole personcare is the foundation of the
work being done at Revelations.
We'll explore what makes theRevelations approach different,
how they're helping people movethrough some of life's toughest
seasons, and then we'll dig intoMatt's powerful Self-Mastery
Program, a pathway torealignment, intentional living
and freedom from old patterns.
So whether you're in the thickof burnout, looking to reconnect
(00:44):
with yourself, or just curiousabout what growth can look like
in practice, you're in the rightplace, so let's get into it.
Matt, welcome.
Your work aligns with ourbelief that true change starts
from the inside out, andsometimes at rock bottom.
We love the way that you helppeople rewrite their inner
script, shift their identity andtake back their agency, one
(01:06):
step at a time.
So today we thought we wouldstart with the foundations of
Revelations Counseling andWellness and then later on to
talk about your specificself-mastery program.
Matt Plutko (01:17):
Yeah, absolutely.
First off, thanks so much forhaving me.
This is a great opportunity andI'm really excited.
Revelations started startedback in January and it started
mainly as a mental healthcounseling, but we saw a real
gap in the space where studiesshow that exercise has the same
effect on the brain as Prozacand Ritalin do, and that
scientists are now calling thegut the second brain and that
(01:39):
what you eat has a direct effecton your gut microbiome has a
direct effect on your gutmicrobiome.
So we're working to create aspace where somebody can feel
extremely comfortable coming inand, in an integrated approach,
address both mental and physicalat the same time.
Sherry (01:56):
So it's going beyond therapy into a much more
holistic approach.
Matt Plutko (02:00):
Yeah, exactly that's right.
Jodi (02:01):
You really can't have one without the other.
Matt Plutko (02:02):
Yeah, exactly.
No, they're all so connectedright.
So we're looking to reallyimpart confidence and behaviors
and get them the ability and theknowledge to take things and do
it on their own.
Sherry (02:22):
It sounds like breaking the patterns that we find
ourselves caught in and creatingnew ones.
Matt Plutko (02:24):
Yeah, I like to equate it a lot of times
whenever I talk to people to theold time wagons with the big
wooden wheels.
When they go down these dirtroads, they create these huge
ruts in the road.
Those ruts are what we'vecreated in our brains, basically
with the behaviors that wedon't even know that we're doing
sometimes, and so our goal isto start to fill in those ruts
so we can move that wagon into anew path.
Sherry (02:47):
Yeah, I feel like a lot of times that doesn't happen
until you wreck the wagon.
Matt Plutko (02:52):
Yeah.
Sherry (02:52):
You're in the same ruts, and then you can only keep that
up for so long and the wheelsfall off, and I think a lot of
times that's what puts somebodyon a path that might lead to a
place such as your organization.
I'm wondering how do you helppeople who find themselves in a
deeper crisis mode into somesort of clarity on changing the
(03:14):
trajectory that they may noteven have been aware that they
were on, until something tragicor unfortunate happens to
disrupt life as you knew it?
Matt Plutko (03:23):
Yeah, I think that's where the integrated
approach really comes into play,because I look at mental health
counseling as more of an acutetype of reaction to where you're
trying to identify a specificsituation or instance that
causes some type of trauma.
Then moving into theself-mastery, that's whenever we
start to really impart ancientstoic wisdom of being able to
(03:47):
control what you can control andworking with the things that
you can't.
I think that's a piece that'smissing a lot, instead of just
not paying attention to what youcan't control, figuring out how
to have it work for you.
So that's where we can try tostart to combine the two
together and we're reallystarting to see some interesting
successes.
Sherry (04:07):
Yeah, and understanding what even is in our control,
because sometimes we say toourselves I'm only going to
focus on what I can control, butthen understanding what that
actually is is a whole otherconcept.
Matt Plutko (04:20):
So Viktor Frankl said it best, right?
There's a gap between stimulusand response and we go back to
that a lot, that the only thingthat we truly have control over
in life is that gap and how werespond to a certain stimulus.
Sherry (04:35):
Yeah.
Yeah, it's key.
We're not able to control someof what happens in life, but we
are in charge of how we respond.
Our last podcast guest, Dr.
Kovatch, also was stating aboutViktor Frankl's book too, so we
definitely have to link to thatone in the show notes.
Before we dive into thatself-mastery program a little
bit deeper.
You already talked about this alittle bit, but I wanted to
(04:58):
just get a broader picture ofthe holistic approach.
What does that look like?
What are all the differentservices that are available?
I want to make sure that wegive a broad overview of the
types of services that go intobeing a holistic service
provider.
Matt Plutko (05:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
Currently we have fivefull-time mental health
counselors.
We'll do all different types ofcounseling.
We do EMDR therapy.
We do ADHD assessments.
We have a pediatric divisionwhere we'll see kids as young as
four in terms of a mentalhealth counseling side.
From a wellness perspective,I'm a certified personal trainer
(05:37):
, so we do personal training,mainly program development,
where we try to create programsthat people can do on their own
to try to eliminate variablesfrom them actually being able to
do it.
We have a registered dietitianon staff, we have the
self-mastery mindset stuff, sowe go the whole gambit.
I'm also certified as acorrectional exercise specialist
(06:00):
, so seeing people afterphysical therapy, trying to
identify root causes andmovement patterns to be able to
address specific imbalances tobe able to help people maintain
healthy movement.
Sherry (06:23):
I love that it's not putting a bandaid on things.
It's finding sustainable
Matt Plutko (06:27):
It's like driving your car down the road and
hearing a loud noise in your carand instead of going to get it
fixed to identify what theactual issue is, you just turn
the radio up.
Sherry (06:34):
Moving into segment 2, I'd like to talk about the
Self-Mastery program.
Matt, if you would tell us alittle bit about exactly what is
self-mastery and how is thisdifferent from traditional
counseling?
Matt Plutko (07:05):
Self-mastery to me is an everyday, all-day thing.
I look at self-mastery in threeterms.
We define it as flourishing byputting your virtues in action.
We look to develop what we callanti-fragile confidence, which
is basically the worse it gets,the more committed we become to
doing the things that we need todo.
Sherry (07:26):
And then- yeah, it's like that already happened.
It happened Exactly, so nowwhat?
Matt Plutko (07:31):
And a lot of times people get in situations where
they have a rough day and,instead of being committed to
doing that thing that they knowthey want to do, they just make
an excuse and they say oh, itwas a rough day, so I'm going to
have that drink or I'm going toeat that thing or I'm going to
do this.
So the harder it gets, the morecommitted you become.
And then a big key to it isit's preparing for and embracing
(07:54):
setbacks as inevitabilities,right, and then what we say is
we want to reflect on those witha flashlight instead of dwell
on them with a hammer, say is wewant to reflect on those with a
flashlight instead of dwell onthem with a hammer.
Sherry (08:13):
So we want to learn from those setbacks, to grow and
move forward instead of beatourselves up.
Yeah, cause it's.
You're right, it's inevitable,it's a part of life.
These things are going tohappen, unfortunately, but it's
what you're doing in between thestorms of life that help you
get through them.
Whenever they do come the hardpart that I find you know like
right now I'm going throughsomething hard and I think some
people are like am I likedetaching from the situation?
Jodi (08:36):
Well, sometimes you have to pull back with a wide lens
right.
Sherry (08:39):
Yeah, how does that connect with.
.
.
I know that when people gothrough like a treatment program
or whatever, you learn thatit's important to feel your
feelings.
So how do we say this is notabout suppressing your feelings,
this is not about detaching,but it's more about being
prepared for when the stormscome and that helps you get
through it.
Yeah, Is this making any sense?
Matt Plutko (09:01):
Yeah, it absolutely does.
I think that there's like wesaid, setbacks are absolutely
inevitable and most people don'taccept that fact that they're
going to fail and they're goingto take steps backwards.
The key to self-mastery islearning and reflecting from
those to then get better thenext time.
We always say it's okay to fail.
(09:22):
It's not okay to fail two timesin a row.
So if you get kicked off, inthe same way correct.
If you get taken off the path,how quickly can you get up and
get back on and then not makethe exact same mistake again?
It's like somebody that istrying to eat better.
They're going to have birthdaycake if it's their birthday, but
(09:43):
the next day they're not goingto go in that freezer and grab
that second piece of cake thatthey normally would.
And they have to be okay withthe fact that they're going to
have it because it's theirbirthday and they should be able
to have it.
Sherry (09:55):
Yeah.
Right, but when you're on thatpathway of that self-mastery, as
you said, you're creating abetter likelihood that you will
be successful.
Matt Plutko (10:03):
Correct, because you're creating new habits by
not reinforcing the old ones.
So by not doing it that secondday, you're creating a new habit
that it's okay to do it everyonce in a while, but you're not
going to do it again.
And then, each time you have asetback and you reflect, you
just become that much stronger.
Jodi (10:22):
Yeah, and I think when you continue to do it as you get
stronger, then when you hit thereally bad pitfalls, the really
bad days, it's a little biteasier to not fall into those
ruts again.
Matt Plutko (10:36):
Exactly yeah.
Sherry (10:37):
And it's reducing the mental chaos that you rudiment
about things and improves yourthought hierarchy, the steps
that you put in place to getthrough those hard things.
Jodi (10:48):
Yeah, does that touch upon helping people reclaim their
identity and sort of ownershipand agency over your lives?
Matt Plutko (10:58):
Yeah, we like to break down life into three
specific areas of energy oryourself, work or your career,
and then relationships or love,and what we try to do is we try
to create our own identitywithin those three areas and
then identify the virtues thatwill help us achieve that
(11:18):
identity, because, at the end ofthe day, we have complete
control over our actions towardsworking towards that identity
right?
So we set these targets as thisidentity of who we want to be
in those three key areas of life, and then we work towards it by
knowing that, no matter whathappens again going back to
(11:40):
Victor we control the responseto whatever stimulus is put in
front of us.
Sherry (11:46):
Yeah, and that's your light post.
Exactly, that's your guide,that's what you keep coming back
to to keep your mindset on theright frame.
And I think a lot of times wego through life not really fully
aware of how much agency youactually do have over the life
that you're living in, the lifethat you create along the way
through your patterns, and Ithink once you understand how
(12:07):
much really is in your control,even though it's hard, or we
don't allow ourselves to takethat step back and reflect right
.
Matt Plutko (12:16):
Life is so crazy that we get caught up in it.
One of the things that'simportant is getting people to
take control of their timeinstead of having their time
control them right, and it'sextremely important for us to
focus on the beginning of theday and the end of the day as
the time that people have morecontrol over what they do, and
(12:39):
if you can own your AM and PMbookends, then you set yourself
up to have more success throughthe chaos of the middle of the
day.
Sherry (12:47):
Right.
And then when the big scarythings do show up at some point,
it's that shifting from avictim mindset towards this
thing happened.
This might really suck rightnow, but I'm going to find my
way through it and somehow yougrow.
Matt Plutko (13:02):
Yeah, it's literally about that process.
I tell people all the time.
Nobody's ever written a bookabout what the view from the top
of Mount Everest looked like.
It's always about the journey up, right and so
Sherry (13:13):
in the moment when it's happening, it's a natural
response to be like why, why isthis happening?
But when you're going through aprogram such as something that
you're doing there, the badthing still really sucks, but
you're better able to pickyourself back up again.
Matt Plutko (13:28):
We're using it as fuel to get better is what we're
doing.
Sherry (13:33):
Yeah, love that.
Okay, transformation stories-We'd love one.
If you have one or two for us,anonymously, of course.
Matt Plutko (13:42):
There was an individual that was working with
one of our counselors for abouta month and one day he just
kind of walked into my officewith this individual and just
introduced me.
We started having aconversation and it was a former
athlete that was older in age,who had some issues with his
shoulder, wasn't able to reallydo the things he used to do.
(14:06):
We started talking aboutexercise being like baking a
cake, where it takes the exactamount of ingredients, the exact
time and the exact temperatureto create a good cake and if you
try to add more ingredients oryou try to increase the
temperature, you're not going toget the best result right.
(14:26):
So we redefined what asuccessful workout was for this
individual and after workingwith me for a month, he is in a
much better place right now,where he no longer felt like he
needed to have thoseinteractions with the counselor
for the depression.
(14:47):
I think it highlights the powerof movement Whenever you do the
proper type of movement, theimpact that it has for a lot of
people.
They feel like to transform, tochange the way they look.
The more they do, the better,but that's very rarely the case
and it's about prescribing thecorrect amount for the
(15:10):
individual.
One of the things thatseparates us, I believe, is how
specific we are to theindividual and what their
program looks like
Sherry (15:21):
As it should be, because we are all different and that's
the thing we all try to fitourselves into boxes and you
know, subscribe to this programbecause it worked for
Jodi (15:30):
yeah,
Sherry (15:31):
abc
Jodi (15:31):
I'm thinking back to
Sherry (15:33):
doesn't mean it's
spin classes.
I, I keep going, but I can't doall the things that the
instructors up there telling usto do and I still just pedal and
do my thing, yeah, but themovement is, yes, is the key.
I try to keep myself accountable, to never miss a
(15:53):
Monday sort of thing to like setthe tone for the week.
But part of this podcast is anexercise in accountability for
myself.
Absolutely not doing it rightnow, so I'm just putting it out
there.
I'm coming clean, but there isso much value in the movement.
Earlier on in my whole medicaljourney that was literally my
job was to make sure that Imoved my body every day, no
(16:15):
excuses, and I can tell my ownmental state when I've been off
track as far as the movement,that is something that I do
question.
Jodi (16:22):
What do you do?
Because I occasionally do havebouts of depression, and when it
sets in and the grip is hard,it's nearly impossible for me to
force myself to exercise, eventhough I know in my logical
brain I know I'm going to feel ahundred times better.
There will come a moment whenmy brain just doesn't want to
(16:43):
let me do that.
And now I've gone through itand I know what to do because
I've already been there and Iknow it's time to get a therapy
session or do the things.
But do you see that you have todo the mental health piece
first or all at the same time?
Or how do you incorporate allthat?
Matt Plutko (17:02):
I don't think there's necessarily a
progression.
I think that a lot of it startsfrom mental health perspective
of it because, quite frankly,it's easier.
The way that I like to look atit is that's a commitment in
probably one hour at the most aweek.
Right, your nutrition.
You have to focus on everysecond that you're awake.
(17:22):
So those things, they take moretime and it's about starting
off doing it in a way that isalmost impossible to not be able
to do it.
So whenever you're in asituation where you know you
should be doing something butthere's a depression that's
causing you to not want to, thenit's as simple as going outside
and walking for five minutesand just doing something.
Sherry (17:44):
I say that five minutes.
You don't have to commit to anhour, even if I just put on my
shoes and open the door, andthen you end up doing more than
you.
Matt Plutko (17:52):
At the end of the day, consistency is the most
important thing whenever you'retrying to develop a habit.
I read something today and itstuck with me.
It was talking aboutconsistency and developing
habits and it literally saidit's okay to stink at something,
it's not okay to skip it.
So that's where I am with spin.
(18:12):
Meaning yeah, Meaning.
If you want to create a habit,it's about actually doing it.
If you do it really bad one daybecause you're not feeling it,
it's okay.
There's been studies thatpeople that just put their shoes
on and walk into a gym and thenwalk back out and they do that
for a week are more consistent ayear from then than the people
that are all gung-ho to get inthere January 2nd because they
(18:36):
have these crazy resolutions.
It's just about, like I said,trying to fill up those ruts and
create new ones.
Sherry (18:43):
I love that.
One little caveat there.
I think about a family memberwho is severe pain and severe
mobility problems and somebodylike that who might not
physically be able to go out andgo for a walk.
What exists, Are there otheroptions that somebody in that
particular circumstance might bean entry point or a starting
(19:07):
point for someone who is insevere physical pain?
Matt Plutko (19:11):
I think the best place to start is by training
your breath and doing somereally focused breathing.
It leads to I say meditation,and I don't mean sitting on the
floor with your legs crossed fortwo hours without opening up
your eyes, but it's just aboutbeing present in your own
thoughts and just some veryintentional breaths.
(19:34):
And then being present in yourthoughts can have the same type
of effect.
In the very beginning, there'sgoing to be things that are
going to limit you, but at theend of the day, there's always
something you can do.
It's just about finding thepeople that can tell you the
right things to do and not goingout on your own and trying to
figure out not asking chat, gptwhat I'm supposed to do, because
(19:55):
you're not going to get theright answer.
Sherry (19:58):
Yeah, yeah.
What would you say to someonewho feels stuck but wants to
change?
Matt Plutko (20:03):
I would say there's never a perfect time to start,
so start today, okay.
And when you feel stuck and youwant to change, we need to look
at stacking small wins on topof each other and not look at
what the outcome is.
It's about that compound effectof one little thing done over
(20:28):
and over again makes such a bigdifference.
It's important to understandthat growth only happens right
outside of your comfort zone, soyou have to be comfortable with
being uncomfortable, butunderstand that you can take one
step forward into growth or onestep backward into comfort.
I would just say start today,because there's never a great
(20:49):
time.
Sherry (20:51):
Yeah, I love it.
It's like what they say aboutplanting a tree.
Best time to plant a tree wasyesterday.
The next best time is today.
Jodi (21:00):
So how can?
Sherry (21:00):
people.
Where can people learn moreabout the self mastery program?
If someone feels that thismight be a path that they are
interested in exploring, thebest place to start is to go to
our website,revelationscounselingwellnesscom
.
Matt Plutko (21:26):
Set up a free consultation to be able to just
have a little bit more in depthof a conversation on what the
goals may be, what they may belooking to get out of it, what
they're doing here, and thenfrom there we can take it in as
many different directions aspossible.
A lot of what we've donestarted off as a dedicated
self-mastery program, but it'sturned into imparting the
mindset from self-mastery intobody transformations and health
(21:46):
transformations in terms ofgetting people to help with
their blood markers or peoplethat were pre-diabetic no longer
being diabetic, and dealingwith some of the GLP-1 peptides
like Ozempic and Wegovy outthere.
So it's endless, but it allstarts with the mind.
That's the best place to start.
Jodi (22:08):
Do you work with health insurance programs.
Matt Plutko (22:11):
Yeah, we are in network with all the major
insurance providers.
That is mainly on a mentalhealth side and some of the
actual dietician stuff, thestuff that I do.
I consider it an investment insomebody's future.
Right.
Sherry (22:29):
Yep Got to invest in yourself.
Your health is your wealth.
Jodi (22:32):
As far as conditions, is there a particular set that you
see more frequently?
You talked about an athletelosing, having a shoulder injury
.
I know a lot of older peoplewho now can't do things that
they used to do, and I think tomyself, boy, that probably would
be hard from an identityperspective, right, and boy, it
(22:53):
would be good to find acounselor that could also help
you learn how to move your bodyin a better way.
So, do you see, do you knowwhat I'm saying?
Matt Plutko (23:01):
Yeah, we'll see the gambit when We've set ourselves
up from a mental healthperspective to have between the
five counselors.
They all kind of have theirspecialties but they're all very
well-rounded and some of themmay be very averse in addiction
but they are still very capableof doing an ADHD assessment or
having people help them copewith a loss or anxiety.
(23:26):
From a wellness perspective,we'll see the gambit.
I worked with somebody todaythat has very bad arthritis in
her knee, an older lady.
I was able to put together aprogram that she did for two
weeks and she said she can'tbelieve how much better she
feels already and that shehasn't thought that she could
move this way and she would everbe able to move that way again.
(23:48):
So we'll do that.
We'll see athletes that arerecovering from ACL injuries
that need some correctiveexercise.
So we have the capabilities tosee pretty much the entire
gambit.
Sherry (24:01):
That's fantastic.
That's awesome.
I had another question aboutthe self-mastery program.
What is the cadence If somebodywere to be working with you?
I think you have a four-weekintensive and a 13-week
intensive.
Matt Plutko (24:13):
Yeah, so that's the starting point.
We put that out there as givingpeople a general idea of what
we could do.
But during these conversationsand these consultations we
decide what's going to work bestfor the individual.
Sherry (24:29):
Again individualized.
Matt Plutko (24:30):
We say that 13 weeks is a great starting point
to be able to really dive intothe specifics and ultimately
cement those behaviors, thatconfidence and the knowledge to
then be able to do things ontheir own.
My goal is to, within 12 to 13weeks, give them enough to be
able to then go and do things ontheir own.
Jodi (24:53):
That makes sense.
Sure, sure, I love it.
I will say the best rehabfacility I have ever witnessed
was one that followed somethingsimilar to what you're doing,
matt, and that they doincorporate the diet and the
exercise, and you don't see itvery often, and it is a
fantastic approach.
Matt Plutko (25:13):
Yeah, well, thank you.
Sherry (25:14):
Well thank you, matt.
That's a wrap on this episodeand what a powerful conversation
it's been.
Matt Plutko laid out a reallife roadmap for taking back
your agency, showing how small,intentional steps can lead to
big transformation.
Let this episode remind youyou're not powerless and your
next step matters.
Be sure to check out the shownotes for links to Matt's
self-discovery program and otherresources from Revelations,
(25:37):
Counseling and Wellness.
You'll also be able to findmore tools for growth,
organization and resilience atthrivingyinzers.
com, because support should bepractical, accessible and made
to meet you where you are.
Until next time, keep going andgrowing, because this is it.
This podcast is forinformational and entertainment
purposes only.
Nothing shared on this podcastshould be considered
(25:59):
professional advice.
Thriving Insers LLC, its hostsor any associated parties are
not liable for any actions takenor consequences arising from
the information provided.
The views expressed by thehosts.
Thank you.
Nationwide at the 988 Suicideand Crisis Lifeline Dial 988 to
connect with the trained crisiscounselor for free and
(26:26):
confidential support.
If you are local to thePittsburgh area, resolve Crisis
Services offer 24-7 crisisintervention and stabilization
services to all Allegheny Countyresidents.
You can reach them by calling1-888-796-8226.
If you are struggling withmental health, addiction, grief
or any other serious personalchallenges, we encourage you to
(26:47):
seek support from a qualifiedprofessional.
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