Talking About It

Talking About It Host Cindy Graziano talks with Dr. Andrew Gerber MD, PhD; President and Medical Director of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, CT.  People have said that Dr, Gerber makes discussing mental health "cool". What is the impact of mental health issues on families and communities? How can we come together a community to help?The Partnership's core mission is opening up discussions around behavioral health issues in order to reduce the stigma around these issues and prevent abuse and promote healthy relationships.Talking About It is produced the New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership with support from the New Canaan Community Foundation.To learn more about the resources mentioned on this podcast, visit our website: TalkingAboutIt.org© 2020-2023 New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership & New Canaan Community Foundation

Talking About It Host Cindy Graziano talks with Emily Torchiana, Founder of Lost Got Found, about the personal journey she undertook nationwide to shatter the stigma surrounding mental health. Rather than suffer in silence as many do, Emily seeks to help others who also struggle with mental illnesses by sharing her personal experience of suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, social anxiety, and overcoming a suicide attempt. To learn more about the resources mentioned on this podcast, visit our website: TalkingAboutIt.org

In Part 2 of Managing Parental Stress During the Pandemic, we discuss the stress of the Sandwich Generation—individuals, mainly women, who are simultaneously managing the care for both their aging parents and their own children. To hear first-hand accounts of this particular stress, host Cindy Graziano speaks with Director of the Lapham Center Aggie Aspinwall and New Canaan resident Elaine MacKenzie. Aggie is the mother of two adult children living at home due to the pandemic, and she is also caring for her 94-year-old father. Elaine is a mom of 5, including 4 children with underlying medical conditions who have been living at home prior to the pandemic. She also cares for her 92-year-old mother with dementia who requires 24/7 supervision.We address topics like boundary-setting, communication, finding time for oneself, and fighting that guilt over not being perfect. Our goal is to give listeners practical tips on managing stress through these unprecedented times. 

How can parents manage their own stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? In this two-part episode, host Cindy Graziano is joined by Stacey Walker (New Canaan CARES) and Georgette Harrison (Child Guidance Center of Southern CT) to discuss practical tips to manage the stresses of living during this difficult time.  In Part 1, we discuss the transformation of parents' daily lives during the pandemic and how we can adapt in healthy and sustainable ways. While vaccinations may have increased and some bans are being lifted, we are far from finishing this fight for our mental and physical health. For resources, visit our website: www.TalkingAboutIt.org

This month, Talking About It series host Cindy Graziano talks with Suzanne Adams, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Crisis Center, about how to recognize the signs of abuse and how to help friends in abusive relationships safely find help.“A lot of people misunderstand and find it difficult to understand or even comprehend domestic violence," Adams says. "It’s a pattern of coercive and intimate controlling behavior in a relationship. This behavior can manifest in abuse that’s verbal, emotional, physical and financial. 1 in 4 women experience domestic violence.”To learn more about the resources mentioned on this podcast, visit our website: TalkingAboutIt.org

This month, Talking About It series host Cindy Graziano talks about raising healthy boys with Luke Robbins, Director of Counseling at The Rowan Center.“One big tool when you're talking with your kid,” says Robbins, “is just the simple words, 'I hear you.' Even if we can't understand what someone else is going through, there's this solace that comes from feeling like somebody else knows and cares."To learn more about the resources mentioned on this podcast, visit our website: TalkingAboutIt.org

This month, Talking About It series host Cindy Graziano talks about overcoming childhood trauma and building healthy relationships with Rev. Carol Howard Merritt, author of Healing Spiritual Wounds and Interim Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of New Canaan.“Many times children act out because they’re not able to tell their story. They don’t have the language for it. If we’re able to make a space or really listen to a child experiencing trauma, then we can begin the healing process.”For resources discussed on this podcast, visit our website: www.talkingaboutit.org/resources

From suddenly homeschooling and working from home to general fears about the safety of our loved ones, it's a stressful ​time for everyone—and our children know it. So how do we share information or explain our anxiety to our children?On today's episode, we are joined by Bram Speech and Language Consultants Director Allyson Bram Mahoney (MS, CCC/SLP) who shares tips and tactics for parents to build resilience and help children understand what is happening around them during this crisis and beyond.To learn more about resources mentioned on this podcast, visit our website: www.talkingaboutit.org

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented change both globally and locally. On today's podcast, we are joined by local medical experts to discuss how to manage change and its impact in this time of a global pandemic—both the grief, fear, and sadness we may be feeling now, but also anticipatory grief—and what life could be like after COVID-19. This episode features:—Silver Hill Hospital's Dr. Andrew Gerber, MD, Ph.D. —Dr. Harrison Pierce, MD—Center for HOPE's Chelsea McGee, LCSW —The Den for Grieving Kids' Julianne Green, LMSWSpecial thanks to our experts for joining us via Zoom.Learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode on our RESOURCES page.

As our kids grow up, they’re guaranteed to face setbacks and roadblocks, all magnified by the high pressure to succeed. This month, we’re talking about building kids’ resilience with Ellen Brezovsky, a licensed social worker and the Executive Director of New Canaan CARES. Ellen shares practical steps and strategies you can use at home to prepare your kids for the challenges ahead.To learn more about resources mentioned in this episode, visit our website at talkingaboutit.org.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. We're joined by Meredith Gold, Director of Domestic Abuse Services at the Greenwich YWCA, who shares tips for recognizing signs of unhealthy teen relationships, her trusted resources, and the reminder that there's no need to feel shame when it comes to speaking up for someone's safety.Want to learn more about the resources mentioned in this episode? Visit our website at talkingaboutit.org.

Girls' self-confidence drops drastically during their pre-teen years. LiveGirl Founder and CEO Sheri West shares how we can help our girls not only survive, but thrive to be the brave and strong women we know they can be. This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Silvermine Arts Center and includes audience Q&As. For resources mentioned in today's podcast, visit our website at www.talkingaboutit.org. To learn more about LiveGirl, visit www.goLiveGirl.org.

Welcome to TALKING ABOUT IT, a community podcast from New Canaan, CT dedicated to reducing the stigma around behavioral health issues our community members face, preventing abuse, and promoting healthy relationships.Hosted by Cindy Graziano, this monthly podcast is created by the New Canaan Abuse Prevention Partnership (Dede Bartlett, Founder) and made possible by a grant from the New Canaan Community Foundation. The series is supported by over 40 organizations in the New Canaan area dedicated to providing resources for our community. Because we're not perfect. And we're talking about it.To learn more and explore resources, visit our website: www.talkingaboutit.org