Start Right Here: Conversations About What Matters Most

Conversation about how we are challenged in the present to attend to unfinished emotional business continues, with both Allen and Thom giving specific examples (personal and professional) of how this work plays out. Producer, Patrick Newman, asks about actually finishing what is unfinished and if there is a time when it is completed, which takes the conversation in the very...

Allen, Thom and Patrick all share their personal experiences to shed light on the therapeutic work of investigating our past as a way of helping to resolve issues in the present. Emphasis is placed on the importance of understanding that all changes we make happen in the present tense, that we always have choices available to us. Dealing with past in therapy and through sup...

Allen, Thom & Patrick are joined by two of the participants in the Thursday evening Emotional Sobriety Support Group -- Carol and Craig -- to discuss the importance and the "how-to's" of making good use of a solid support system in recovery. Some of the discussion goes to trusting one's own judgment when there is discomfort in a relationship with a therapist and there i...

Allen & Thom do a deep dive this week into their raw formative periods, underlining how the pain and complications of their pasts contributed to the men they are today. They offer insight into their recoveries, as well as intense and humorous anecdotes about their early careers working in mental wards with violent and disturbed patients.

We...

Allen and Thom deepen their conversation from the previous episode about the actions we can all take to improve our self-esteem, emphasizing that concepts alone change nothing. It is all about putting what we are learning into practice. In the case of self-esteem, we are often limited by the repetition of early familial programming that has become "normal." Once problems ar...

This week we dig into questions of self-esteem, self-respect and self-worth. Unpacking why these are so hard to come by for some people, and discussing the ways that we can cultivate these qualities in ourselves. Next week we continue by considering the practical ways we can GROW our self-esteem.

Join Allen & Thom at our Thursday night Zoom meeting on Emotional Sobriety and the Ste...

Dr. Nadine Macaluso, psychologist & ex-wife of The infamous Wolf of Wall Street, joins the conversation. She shares some of her personal story - from experiencing trauma to specializing in treating trauma but the focus remains on the importance of reaching out to find the right kind of help whenever help is needed. Don’t wait for the shame to subside or for a glimpse be...

Allen, Thom and Patrick continue their conversation from last episode, making the point that “anybody can have a good day on a good day,” but it really is how we respond and handle ourselves when things don’t go our way that reveals character. Discussion leads to the idea that integrity, not personal satisfaction or happiness is the emphasis in the pursuit of emotional sobriety. Allen an...

Allen, Thom and Patrick share some of their responses to the recent Senate impeachment trial of the former president, including a celebration of the excellent job done by the House Impeachment Managers and disappointment in 43 Republicans senators voting to acquit in spite of the evidence. Realizing that they had accidentally stumbled into their topic for the episode, they continue with ...

Dr. Michael McGee returns this week for an episode more focused on our fractured politics - how they’re expressed in our warring political parties, and how they affect our personal relationships. We try to recognize the ways in which our current political moment is damaged and dysfunctional. We acknowledge that finding common ground or “points of agreement” is necessary for conversations...

Psychiatrist Dr. Michael McGee joins the conversation, talking first about his approach to prescribing medication to his patients. Dr. McGee says that his true passion is for doing psychotherapy but he is clearly extremely knowledgeable about psychotropic medications as well. He calls himself a “reluctant prescriber,” saying that he only prescribes medication when it is truly needed and ...

Allen, Thom and Patrick continue the conversation about how we can contribute to the national healing while a global pandemic still rages, in the aftermath of political corruption and insurrection, at the outset of a new administration with an uncertain future. Characterizing our political culture as based not on wisdom but competition, the discussion is about how we might educate the pu...

Therapist and author Dr. John Amodeo joins us in conversation about the attack on the Capitol and how we might be able to contribute to healing. Much of the episode is framed by an excerpt from John’s new article in Psychology Today: “Psychological Causes of the Attack on Our Capitol.”

Highlights include how communication can become less contentious if we can work toward a paradigm shift...

The conversation begins this week with Thom discussing his experience with the publication of his book, Embracing Fear - shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 - and drawing comparisons to the feelings surrounding this week's attack on the Capitol in Washington, DC.

Allen, Thom and Patrick (Podcast Producer) have a multi-faceted and admittedly chaotic conversation cong...

Mary Gordon MA, LAADC, ICAADC shares her experiences as Director of The Betty Ford Center family program (among other things) in this discussion with Allen and Thom in the first week of 2021. Mary shares her thoughts on the importance of communication across America’s political divide to heal some of the damage caused by our extreme polarization. Mary describes some of the group experien...

In the spirit of Allen’s 12-counts (12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery, 12 Smart Things To Do When the Booze & Drugs are Gone, 12 Hidden Rewards to Making Amends, etc.) and in the spirit of this pandemic-fraught holiday season, Allen presents his list of 12 stupid things to mess up the holidays along with helpful comments from Thom. As with most of their collaborations, even in t...

Robyn Goldberg, CEDRD-S has been working as a nutritionist in a variety of settings for 23 years. She specializes in medical conditions, disordered eating, eating disorders, people in recovery, pre-pregnancy nutrition and Health at Every Size. This episode is clearly an introduction of Robyn to Start Right HERE, as it becomes apparent that Allen, Thom and Robyn have much to talk about. I...

Ericha Scott, Ph.D. is Allen’s and Thom’s guest for this episode. Dr. Scott is a Fellow for the International Society of Study of Trauma & Dissociation, a board certified registered art therapist, a registered expressive arts therapy, internationally certified as an advance alcohol and drug counselor and licensed in three states as a psychotherapist. All t...

Allen and Thom welcome Sherry Gaba, LCSW and Author of Love Smacked: How to Stop the Cycle of Relationship Addiction and Codependency to find Everlasting Love and Wake Up Recovery for Codependents to the conversation. Sherry gives a brief and useful history lesson on what codependency is and how our thinking about it has evolved over the years. The three explore the common ground with co...