Therapy Rocks!

This month's episode explores the physical, mental, and emotional journey Luciana Naldi went on after being diagnosed with a hair disorder: Alopecia Areata.  She talks about how it profoundly affected her children (two sets of twins!), her views on body image, society's beauty standards, and how she redefined beauty on her own terms after experiencing sudden hair loss. Luciana's story was featured on the PBS “stories from the stage” series, and she partnered with the Dove Project #ShowUs campaign, a collection of 10,000 images that offer a more inclusive vision of beauty for all media & advertisers to use. Luciana is an educator who specializes in teaching sustainable, body positive health, strength and movement habits to athletes, a basketball coach, and mom of two sets of twins! To learn more about Luciana, follow her on instagram @lucianatwinmama

In this episode, Signe talks to Dr. Linda Shanti about improving grief and death-literacy, as a grief-adjacent person, as well as creating new meaning when traveling with grief after your person dies. Dr. Shanti is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, who specializes in grief, eating disorder recovery, and is a licensed soulcollage(R) facilitator. She is also a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT), and author of The Recovery Mama Guide to Your Eating Disorder Recovery in Pregnancy and Postpartum, as well as After Your Person Dies. To learn more about Dr. Linda Shanti, follow her @drlindashanti, @griefandart and visit https://www.drlindashanti.com/about

Join Signe in a conversation with the authority people turn to for empowering tech advice, Dr. Devorah Heitner. They discuss the importance of "mentoring vs. monitoring" kids on tech, Devorah's stance on the call for warning labels on social media, "sexting" and a whole lot more! Devorah is the author of Growing Up in Public and Screenwise. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN Opinion. She has a Ph.D. in Media/Technology & Society from Northwestern University and has taught at DePaul and Northwestern. Devorah works with schools, and communities worldwide helping parents and educators mentor kids coming of age in a digital world. To learn more about Devorah follow her on Substack, Instagram @devorahheitnerphd and visit her website https://devorahheitner.com/

We're back in the studio with renowned psychologist, and best selling author, Dr. Brenda Shaeffer. This time Dr. Brenda walks us through the most common themes she sees in long term relationships, the importance of “finishing the grief” when faced with losing a  relationship, and considerations for being single in midlife and beyond. Dr. Schaeffer is the best-selling author of Is It Love or Is It Addiction? with over 600,000 publications sold, in twelve languages. She is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Addictions Specialist, and holds a doctorate in spiritual psychology. Dr. Schaeffer is a national and international lecturer and workshop presenter.  To learn more about Dr. Schaeffer visit her website https://www.brendaschaeffer.com/my-story

Do you want to better understand what it means to be transgender, and how you might provide gender-affirming care? Today we're talking with someone who knows a lot about it, annnd just happens to be transgender! Nik is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT), co-owner of group therapy practice and crisis intervention service in California. In this episode, Nik talks about the differences between gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, as well as their own transgender identity and transition.  We debunked the fear of “social contagion,” using the framework of historic stigma and discrimination of “left-handedness" to explain that “when we allow human beings to be their authentic selves, greater numbers of diverse expression naturally emerge.”  We also talked about body image “after” transitioning, and the answer might surprise you!

Signe is joined by her co-author, Wendy Sterling, to talk about her latest book, give some insights into how she makes her writing routine work while raising a family, and working full time, the benefits of writing with co-authors, and more! Wendy is a registered dietitian with a Masters of Science in Nutrition Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, and Approved Supervisor through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. Wendy is also a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, she has consulted for the Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors, NY Jets, and NY Islanders, and she is the co-author of two eating disorder books: How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder, and How to Nourish Yourself Through an Eating Disorder, as well as two preventative books: No Weigh! and Raising Body Positive Teens. Wendy maintains a private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and is also seeing patients virtually throughout the country.  To learn more about Wendy, visit  www.sterlingnutrition.com.

Welcome to Part Three of the Therapy Rocks! “Three Part” menopause series (Episodes 38, 39 & 40).  In this episode Signe interviews Val Schonberg about nutrition in midlife and beyond, weight, bone health, and more. Val is dietitian and certified menopause practitioner with The Menopause Society. She is a registered dietitian with a Master of Science degree in nutrition from the University of Minnesota. She is Board Certified as a Specialist in Sports Dietetics, she specializes in eating disorders, sports nutrition, and midlife health. She owns a private practice in Atlanta, Georgia, where she also serves as a consulting dietitian for Emory Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics, the Atlanta Ballet, and the Atlanta Dream Women's NBA team. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and received the Excellence in Women's Health Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Women's Health Dietetic Practice Group. To learn more about Val visit https://valschonberg.com/

In this episode Signe interviews Dr. Amy Voedisch for Part Two of the Three Part menopause series navigating the physical aspects of menopause, such as hormone therapy considerations, body changes, sex in midlife, and more. Dr. Voedisch attended Mayo Medical School and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara and a Fellowship in Family Planning at Stanford School of Medicine. She has a Masters in Epidemiology and Clinical Science Research from Stanford as well. Dr. Voedisch is passionate about providing comprehensive reproductive healthcare to all women at any stage in their lives. She specializes in contraception, family planning, and menopause and is a certified practitioner of The Menopause Society. She has a particular interest in international healthcare and serves as a consultant through the Stanford Program for International Reproductive Education and Services (SPIRES). She's also a member of the Bay Area Leadership Council for the International Women's Health Coalition.  To learn more about Dr. Amy Voedisch, see her biography here.

Join Signe for Part One of a Three Part Series on menopause. To start off in Part One, Signe Talks to a doctor who specializes in the brain, and who is always on the cutting edge of scientific research into the female experience, Dr. Louann Brizendine. Dr. Brizedine navigates the stages of menopause, cuts through the controversy around Hormone Therapy, and give us steps for preserving brain health for the second half of our lives. Dr. Brizendine completed her degree in Neurobiology at UC Berkeley, graduated from Yale School of Medicine, and did her internship and residency at Harvard Medical School. She also served on both the faculties of Harvard University and University of California at San Francisco. She founded the Women's Mood and Hormone Clinic at UCSF, and her New York Times bestseller, The Female Brain, and its follow-up, The Male Brain, continue to be read around the world. She recently released her new book, The Upgrade: How the Female Brain Gets Stronger and Better in Midlife and Beyond. To learn more about Dr. Brizendine visit https://www.louannbrizendine.com

Join Signe for her Therapy Rocks! interview with Shannon Kopp who shared her personal recovery story including the shelter dogs, and how they loved her back to life, the healing benefits of animals, and gave her best tips for grieving the loss of an animal in a society that underestimates the power of the human/animal connection. Shannon Kopp is the author of Pound for Pound: A Story of One Woman's Recovery and the Shelter Dogs Who Loved Her Back to Life. Shannon holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing and has written for CNN, Maria Shriver, The Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, BarkPost and more. Her story has been featured in PEOPLE, NPR, CNN, Women's Health, and Psychology Today. Shannon is the founder and CEO of the SoulPaws Recovery Project, a nonprofit organization providing free, clinician-led eating disorder support groups, enhanced by the loving presence of therapy animals. Shannon is a National Mental Health Advocate for ERC Pathlight.  For more information about Shannon, visit soulpawsrecovery.org, and follow her @soulpawsrecoveryproject.

Join Signe for an interview with “fathering” expert, Joe Kelly. They talk about overcoming common relationship barriers between fathers and stepfathers and daughters—when they're kids and adults! We also tackled male acculturation, "social" dads, and a whole lot more! Joe Kelly has researched and written about the power and potential of father-daughter relationships since 1992. He's an advocate, educator, and Family Coach for Within Health. He wrote the best-selling books Dads & Daughters®: How to Inspire, Understand, and Support Your Daughter and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Being a New Dad. His 11 other books include four on eating disorders. Joe and his spouse Nancy Gruver founded the girl-edited feminist magazine New Moon Girls. A past president of the Minnesota Fathers and Families Network, Joe has twin adult daughters and three grandsons. To learn more about Joe Kelley visit www.upagainsted.com

Have you heard of Ketamine-assisted therapy? Interested in hearing more about what it is, and how it's being received? Join Signe for an interview with Suzannah Neufeld, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Ketamine-assisted Therapy provider, and author of “Awake at 3 a.m.: Yoga Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Pregnancy and Early Motherhood. Also joining this episode is Dr. Miriam Schultz, a reproductive psychiatrist with extensive experience in the field of Reproductive Psychiatry, as well as Ketamine treatment, she is also an associate clinical professor at Stanford University. To learn more about Dr. Miriam Schultz visit her website http://miriamschultzmd.com/about.html. To learn more about Suzannah (Timperas) Neufeld visit: https://www.rockridgewellnesscenter.com/team, and follow her on instagram @suzannahneufeld.

Interested in hearing about body image and eating in a subsistence agriculture, before and after exposure to television? Join Signe for a conversation with Dr. Anne Becker about her groundbreaking study in 1995 in Fiji, when she said, “television arrived like it was being parachuted from nowhere,” her follow up study in 2007 (pre-social media), and her plans to return. Anne Becker, MD, PhD, Dean for Clinical and Academic Affairs, Professor of Psychiatry, and Presley Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. A medical anthropologist and psychiatrist, Dr. Becker's research includes the social and cultural mediation of presentation and risk for eating disorders and social barriers to care for mental disorders. Dr. Becker is founding and past Director of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Mass General Hospital, past president of the Academy for Eating Disorders, former associate editor of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, and was a member of the DSM-5 Eating Disorders Work Group. She has been a recipient of NEDA's Price Family Award for Research Excellence as well as the Academy for Eating Disorders's Leadership Award in Research.  To learn more about Dr. Becker visit: https://hms.harvard.edu/faculty-staff/anne-e-becker

If you are looking for tools to increase self-discovery, and deepen your compassion for yourself and others, tune into this Therapy Rocks! interview with guest Dayo  Ajanaku, founder of The Black Enneagram—making the Enneagram accessible for communities of color. Dayo is a lifelong student focused on bringing joy and justice to the world. She offers basic enneagram education through black culture and black images, and regularly engages issues of faith, justice, self-awareness, love and unapologetic joy. Dayo is a 25 year old Nigerian American woman, currently attending Berkeley Law (Class of 2024) in the SF Bay Area, working on her certification with the Narrative Enneagram. To learn more about Dayo, follow her @theblackenneagram and visit https://www.theblackenneagram.com. Free Enneagram test to find your type: https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/dotest

If you've ever wondered about things like “mind control” and how to lower the vulnerability to it, you'll want to tune into this Therapy Rocks! episode with cult expert and exit counselor, Diane Benscoter. Diane draws from her own experience inside a religious cult, known as the “Moonies.” As a result, she recognized the need for an organization that recognizes psychological manipulation as a public health problem, and founded “Antidote,” the only nonprofit taking this approach and providing services that aid both prevention and recovery. Diane is the author of Shoes of a Servant – My Unconditional Devotion to a Lie. She is a speaker, with a Ted Talk on How Cults Rewire the Brain, workshop facilitator, and has been featured on NPR, Huffington Post and more. To learn more about Diane's work, visit her website https://antidote.ngo

Join Signe for a second interview with Dr. Dan Tomasulo about a new science of hope and hopefulness that has the capacity to change the trend of anxiety and depression we are seeing around the globe. Dr. Dan talks about the habits of high hope individuals, ways to start adding a little bit of  hope into our lives, “not-so random acts of kindness,” and more! To learn more about Dr. Dan, follow him on Instagram & Twitter @drdantomasulo and visit his website: https://www.dantomasulo.com/

Dr. Derek Vigon, joins Signe to talk about what goes into our musical taste, how music and audio tracks can enhance performance with athletes, performers, and organizations, music as catharsis and more. Dr. Vigon is a licensed clinical and sport psychologist in private practice in Maryland and Virginia, and a staff psychologist and the Coordinator of Sport Psychology at George Mason University. He has worked in numerous clinical settings which allowed him to support individuals with diverse presenting problems and from various multicultural backgrounds. He has supported numerous collegiate and professional athletes, and has consulted with the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conference, the NFL, and several professional organizations. His dissertation performance tool, “Psych Beats™,” was performed with Olympic marathon runners in San Francisco. To learn more about Dr. Vigon visit https://drderekvigon.com, and follow him on Twitter @MasonSportPsych.

Therapeutic sex/relationship coach and Certified Body Trust® Provider, Dawn Serra, joins Signe to discuss what our relationship to food has to do with sex, why “safety” is a prerequisite to pleasure, sex and changing bodies, as well as the best advice for a couple with different libidos.  Dawn Serra specializes in pleasure, body trust, and boundaries. She is currently completing her Master of Counseling degree and will soon be opening a therapeutic private practice in British Columbia specializing in trauma, body, and relationships specifically for people in bigger bodies. Dawn believes that we heal “in relationship, ” and her work is about creating a space where people can explore the kind of healing they are dreaming of without having to do it alone, that's rooted in practices of playfulness, curiosity, empathy, and imperfection. To learn more about Dawn's work, follow her on instagram @dawn_serra and visit https://www.dawnserra.com/about/.

Signe talks to Emma Goswell about one of the most important moments in many LGBTQ+ people's lives, “coming out." They cover off on the importance of pronouns, how to be a better ally, and Emma gives her best advice for individuals thinking about coming out. Emma has interviewed over 90 LGBTQ+ people from around the world in the last couple of years, and  recently released Coming Out Stories, a book that tells the stories of 27 people from across the spectrum, based on her  hugely popular Coming Out Stories podcast. To learn more about Emma's work, follow her on Twitter @emmagoswell, Instagram @comingoutstoriespod and visit her website: https://comingoutstoriespodcast.com/

Signe is joined by her two co-authors, Dr. Shelley Aggarwal and Wendy Sterling to talk about their newly released book Raising Body Positive Teens: A Parent's Guide to Diet-Free Living, Exercise and Body Image. They talk about the importance of taking the morality out of movement, morality attached to weight, and how it seeps into medical care, what sleep has to do with sport performance and Shelley gets up close and personal as she reflects on the writing process for this book as a first generation immigrant who grew up in a taller/larger body. Wendy Sterling, is a Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Approved Supervisor through the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, and a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has consulted for the Oakland Athletics, Golden State Warriors, NY Jets, and NY Islanders. She is also the co-author of How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder.  Shelley Aggarwal is a physician and is a board-certified Pediatrician and Adolescent Medicine Sub-Specialist. She treats medically complex teens and young adults, and consults on a variety of youth-specific health issues including adolescent development. Dr. Aggarwal has worked with premiere academic institutions and continues to be teaching faculty with Stanford Children's Health and UCSF-Fresno. She is the Medical Director of clinics serving justice involved youth. To learn more about Wendy, visit: http://sterlingnutrition.com, and follow her on instagram @wendy_sterling. To learn more about Shelley visit: https://www.signedarpinian.com/books.

Signe talks to Virgie Tovar about why anger is an integral part of self-acceptance, boundaries as the most powerful B-word, tips for bad body image days (BBIDs) and body positivity as a relationship value. Virgie Tovar is an author, activist and one of the nation's leading experts and lecturers on weight-based discrimination and body image. She holds a Master's degree in Sexuality Studies with a focus on the intersections of body size, race and gender. She is a contributor for Forbes where she covers the plus-size market and how to end weight discrimination at work. Tovar is the author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat,The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color, her new book The Body Positive Journal, and she's the host of the Rebel Eaters Club podcast, just starting season 3. Virgie has been featured by the New York Times, Tech Insider, BBC, MTV, Al Jazeera, NPR, Yahoo Health and the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in San Francisco. To learn more about Virgie Tovar, visit https://www.virgietovar.com

Signe talks to Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson, who demystifies the “art form” that is social skills and gives insight on how to be better friends, partners, and colleagues.  Dr. Laugeson is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and is a licensed clinical psychologist. She is the Founder and Director of the UCLA PEERS Clinic, which is an outpatient program providing evidence-based social skills training for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and other social challenges across the lifespan. Dr. Laugeson is the author of The Science of Making Friends: Helping Socially Challenged Teens and Young Adults.  To learn more about Dr. Laugeson and the UCLA PEERS Clinic, visit: https://www.semel.ucla.edu/peers

Join Signe for a Therapy Rocks! conversation with Jessie Susannah Karnatz, author of Money Magic: Practical Wisdom and Empowering Rituals to Heal Your Finances. Jessie Susannah walks through the importance of a self awareness audit to get a clearer picture of where we “currently” are in regards to our relationship to money, identifying your true financial desires and actionable steps to refine them into real-life goals.  Jessie Sussanah brings capitalism-critical, shame-free education to healers, hustlers, and creatives in order to catalyze change in their financial lives. She believes healing our finances will bring blessing to our lives, our lineages, and our communities. She offers education, Money Magic products and Intuitive Financial Coaching online and in the Bay Area (unceded Ohlone land) and does it all with impeccable business lady style. To learn more about Jessie Susannah visit moneywitch.com and follow her on Instagram @money.witch.

Join Signe for a conversation with anti-diet journalist, Virginia Sole-Smith, to explore questions (and some answers) about body image, fatphobia, and diet culture. Virginia is the author of The Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image and Guilt in America and the forthcoming Fat Kid Phobia. Her reporting on diet culture, health and parenting has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, and many other publications. She also writes the newsletter Burnt Toast and hosts the Burnt Toast Podcast. To learn more about Virginia follow her on instagram and twitter @v_solesmith.

Join Signe for a conversation with Certified Yoga Therapist, Suzannah Neufeld, on low pressure healing—yoga therapy, asking for help, and avoiding the “all natural” mandate. Suzannah (Tipermas) Neufeld is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), Certified Advanced Emotion-Focused Family Therapist, as well as a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Supervisor (CEDS-S). She has been supporting people coping with eating disorders, body image concerns, anxiety, and maternal mental health since 2003. Suzannah has a passionate interest in helping parents, caregivers, and partners of people with mental health issues. She co-founded the Rockridge Wellness Center, a counseling and health collective in Oakland and speaks widely on topics such as eating disorders, body image, media literacy, perinatal mood disorders, and yoga therapy. She is the author of Awake at 3 a.m.: Yoga Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Pregnancy and Early Motherhood.  To learn more about Suzannah, visit https://suzannahneufeld.com.

Margaret Hunter, Registered Art Therapist, joins Signe to talk about Art Therapy as a specialized area of mental health that helps to promote insight and healing through creative expression. Margaret is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT), Registered Art Therapist (ATR), and Certified Eating Disorder Creative Arts Therapist (CEDCAT) through the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals, and author of  Reflections of Body Image in Art Therapy: Exploring Self Through Metaphor and Multi-Media. To learn more about Margaret Hunter, visit https://www.margaretrhunteratr.com. For “Weekends of Recovery” through Men Healing visit https://menhealing.org.

Connie Sobczak and Signe have a conversation about “The Art of Aging.” Connie is the author of Embody: Learning to Love Your Unique Body (and quiet that critical voice!) and in 1996, Connie co-founded The Body Positive, a nonprofit organization that provides practical tools to developing balanced, joyful self-care and a relationship with our bodies that is guided by love, forgiveness, and humor. In Connie's 2021 TEDx Talk, Embracing Your Critical Voice: The Gateway to Self-Love, she shares her painful yet powerful journey to self-love, and offers ways for others to get there as well. To learn more about Connie visit https://thebodypositive.org and  https://thickpress.com/ for her book emerging.

Join Signe for a conversation with Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Stanford dean, on "adulting," the modern markers of adulthood and the importance of feedback. Julie is the New York Times bestselling author of the anti-helicopter parenting manifesto How to Raise an Adult which gave rise to a popular TED Talk. Her second book is the critically-acclaimed and award-winning prose poetry memoir Real American, which illustrates her experience as a Black and biracial person in white spaces. A third book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, has been called a “groundbreakingly frank” guide to adulthood. Julie is a former corporate lawyer, holds a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. She currently serves on the boards of Common Sense Media, the Black Women's Health Imperative, the advisory board of LeanIn.Org and Parents magazine. To learn more about Julie, visit www.julielythcotthaims.com.

Join Signe for a conversation with Dr. Jason Nagata about body image in boys and men, a historical overview, considerations in caring for this population, risk factors and prevention. Jason Nagata, MD, MSc, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, specializing in adolescent eating disorders. He researches eating disorders, body image, and muscle-enhancing behaviors in adolescent boys and young men. He edited the book Eating Disorders in Boys and Men. He has published over 150 articles in academic journals including The Lancet, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Pediatrics, and his research has been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, and NBC News. He is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the International Association for Adolescent Health Young Professionals Network and is a recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics Emerging Leader in Adolescent Health Award.   To learn more about Dr. Jason Nagata, visit https://profiles.ucsf.edu/jason.nagata and follow him on Twitter @jasonmnagata. Nine More Truths About Eating Disorders: Boys and Men

Join Signe for a conversation with Dr. Norman Kim on shame. They discuss what shame is, why we have it and how to manage it, specifically in marginalized communities. Dr. Kim completed his B.A. at Yale and his Ph.D. in Psychology at UCLA.  Norman has developed an expertise in treating and teaching about psychiatrically complex populations. He takes an evolutionary approach to shame, anxiety, and minority mental health. He is the founding co-chair of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Committee of International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp), on the inaugural Behavioral Health Taskforce for the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, the co-chair of the Transcultural Significant Interest Group (SIG) for the Academy of Eating Disorders. Norman was the co-founder of Reasons Eating Disorder Center, and as well as the Institute for Antiracism and Equity. For more information about Dr. Norman Kim, visit: https://reasonsedc.com/about-us/team-members/

Join Signe for a conversation with Kelly McGonigal about her most recent book, The Joy of Movement, why people who exercise are happier, insights on why some individuals are more inclined to move than others, and some surprising benefits of moving that you may not have heard before.  Kelly is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who specializes in understanding the mind-body connection. As a pioneer in the field of "science-help," her mission is to translate insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support personal well-being and strengthen communities. She is the best-selling author of The Willpower Instinct and The Upside of Stress. You might also know her from her TED talk, "How to Make Stress Your Friend," which is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time. To learn more aboutKelly McGonigal, visit http://kellymcgonigal.com/about and follow her on instagram @kellymariemcgonigal.

Award-winning podcaster, Kristen Meinzer, joins Signe to discuss the necessity of knowing WHY you want to embark on a podcasting journey (and who it's for), movie therapy, tips on co-hosting a show, the importance of diversity in podcasting the BEST tips for making a great show!Kristen Meinzer is podcaster, culture critic, royal watcher, and author. She's the host of Movie Therapy with Rafer & Kristen, a podcast in which listeners write in with their quandaries, and she and her cohost Rafer Guzman respond with a mix of advice and viewing recommendations. She also hosts By The Book, a podcast in which she and her co-host Jolenta Greenberg live by the rules of a different self-help book in each episode. Kristen's book, So You Want to Start a Podcast, won the Audie Award for best business and personal development audiobook of 2020. She was named a 2020 Woman of the Year by The Women's Center in Washington DC. And this year, 2021, she was selected by the U.S. Department of State to serve in the U.S. Speaker's Program, working with South African storytellers shining a light on gender-based violence.To learn more about Kristen Meinzer, visit www.kristenmeinzer.com.

Sleep is the most glaring omission in the health conversation of today, and Dr. Meeta Singh is going to catch us up to speed on what we need to know about this behavior that takes up 1/3 of our day, but don't talk about. In this conversation, Signe and Dr. Singh unpack the changes in sleep across the life span, why some people love the mornings and others thrive at night, how under sleep affects mood and food, oversleeping, athletes and sleep, the best wind down routines and more! Dr. Singh is the Service chief of sleep medicine, and section head and medical director at the Henry Ford sleep center in Michigan. She did her training in psychiatry at the Mayo clinic and sleep fellowship at the Henry Ford hospital. She has served as a consultant for multiple NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA teams. Also the proud owner of the World Series ring from the Washington Nationals, she was their "sleep coach" when they won in 2019. Dr. Singh has worked with college sports teams, large organizations, CEO’s and other C suite executives who are aiming for success in the global world.  To learn more about Dr. Meeta Singh, visit https://meetasinghmd.com, follow her on instagram @athletesleepmd and Twitter @athletesleepmd.

Join Signe for a conversation with Dr. Riley Nickols on the barriers to physical and mental health in sport, body image in sport culture, “the need to be perfect” in athletes and how to navigate that in a more balanced way.  Dr. Nickols is the spokesperson in the media for input on relevant mental health topics for athletes such as eating disorders, anxiety, and performance improvement. He is a counseling and sport psychologist who specializes in treating athletes with eating disorders and the Director of the Victory Program (https://www.mccallumplace.com/programs-athletes/) , the nation’s only residential eating disorder treatment facility for athletes, at McCallum Place in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Nickols has a MS in Sport Psychology, a MS in Counseling Psychology and a PhD in Counseling Psychology. He speaks regularly to athletes, coaches, and sports medicine personnel about disordered eating and unbalanced exercise in sport. He maintains a private practice in St. Louis where he primarily works with athletes addressing both clinical and performance concerns. In addition to competing in endurance sports for over 15 years, Dr. Nickols is a running coach and a USA Triathlon coach. To Learn more about Dr. Riley Nickols visit www.mindbodyendurance.com and www.thevictoryprogram.com

Join Signe in a conversation with Dr. Dan Tomasulo about "hope," what it is, how to access it and why it’s so important in 2021. Dr. Dan Tomasulo just released his book and audiobook Learned Hopefulness: The Power of Positivity To Overcome Depression (https://www.amazon.com/Learned-Hopefulness-Harnessing-Positivity-Depression/dp/168403468X) , which is currently a #1 new release on Amazon. Dr. Dan has been honored by Sharecare as one of the top ten online influencers on the issue of depression. He is the Academic Director and core faculty member at the Spirituality Mind Body Institute (SMBI), Teachers College, Columbia University, and holds a Ph.D. in psychology, MFA in writing, and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania--where he is also an assistant professor to Martin Seligman. Learned Hopefulness is hailed as: “…the perfect recipe for fulfillment, joy, peace, and expansion of awareness," by Deepak Chopra. To learn more about Dr. Dan Tomasulo visit www.dantomasulo.com (http://www.dantomasulo.com/) and follow him on instagram @drdantomasulo.

Join me for "Part Two" with Dr. Brenda Schaeffer about the benefits of expelling addictive love from your life, the stages from addiction to love and finding healthy belonging. Brenda Schaeffer is an author, a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Addictions Specialist, and holds a doctorate in spiritual psychology.  With over 600,000 publications sold, she is the best-selling author of Is It Love or Is It Addiction? presently published in twelve languages. Dr. Schaeffer is a national and international lecturer and workshop presenter.

This episode is about how to raise competent eaters, keep diet culture out of parenting and feed with trust not fear. Joining us for this conversation is someone who knows a lot about family feeding and nutrition: Anna Lutz. Anna is a Registered Dietitian in private practice in Raleigh, NC who  specializes in eating disorders and pediatric/family nutrition. She is the co-creator and co-host of Sunny Side Up Nutrition (https://sunnysideupnutrition.com/) and the Sunny Side Up Nutrition Podcast, where she writes and talks about nutrition and family feeding, free of diet culture.  Anna received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Duke University and Master of Public Health in Nutrition from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Anna previously worked at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC where she was an outpatient dietitian, working children and their families. Also, Anna worked on the Eating and Body Image Concerns Treatment Team at Duke University Student Health.  Anna is a national speaker and delivers workshops and presentations on eating disorders, weight-inclusive healthcare, and childhood feeding.  

Join me for a conversation with Jane Mattes, founder and spokesperson for Single Mothers by Choice (SMC). Jane speaks about what it was like to pave the way for SMC in 1981, soon after having her son, Eric and starting the first chapter SMC chapter in NYC. She now oversees chapters throughout the US, Canada, Europe and beyond, where now over 30,000 single women have enjoyed the benefits of membership since its inception. Jane is a psychotherapist in private practice in NYC and the author of the book Single Mothers by Choice (https://www.singlemothersbychoice.org/shop-estore/) . 

The teen years can be turbulent times for parents, tune in to my conversation with Dr. Louann Brizendine for a look "under the hood" at the teen brain. Dr. Louann Brizendine is a neuropsychiatrist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropsychiatry) , researcher, clinician and professor at the University of California, San Francisco (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_San_Francisco) (UCSF (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCSF) ). She is the author of two best selling books: The Female Brain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Female_Brain_(book)) , and more recently the The Male Brain. Since Dr. Brizendine wrote The Female Brain 10+ years ago, the response has been overwhelming, a New York Times bestseller that’s been translated into more than thirty languages, has sold nearly a million copies between editions, and has most recently inspired a romantic comedy “movie” of the same name.  While doing research as a medical student at Yale and then as a resident and faculty member at Harvard, Louann discovered that almost all of the clinical data in existence on neurology, psychology, and neurobiology focused exclusively on males. In response to the overwhelming need for information on the female mind, Brizendine established the first clinic in the country to study and treat women’s brain function.

Join me for my conversation with Dr. Brenda Schaeffer about the definition of love addiction, where it comes from and how to heal from it. Dr. Schaeffer is an author, Licensed Psychologist, Certified Addictions Specialist, and holds a doctorate in spiritual psychology.  With over 600,000 publications sold, she is the best-selling author of Is It Love or Is It Addiction? presently published in twelve languages. Love or Addiction? The Power and Peril of Teen Sex and Romance which was a Nautilus Book Award winner.  Her other publications include Love’s Way, Loving Me Loving You, a Healthy Relationship Series and her debut novel Grip of the Hawk which is the recipient of seven book awards. Dr. Schaeffer is a national and international lecturer and workshop presenter.

Best selling author, Randi Kreger, has a candid conversation with Signe about her relationship, the keys to having good boundaries as well as the benefits of boundaries. Randi's forthcoming book Stop Walking on Eggshells:Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Love Has Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), has sold 1.1 million copies in 15 different languages and therapists refer to it as the gold standard for family members coping with the behaviors of their loved ones with BPD. The third edition of Stop Walking on Eggshells is coming out this December 2020. 

Dr. Joanna Steinglass talks about the neural circuitry of habits and more specifically the habit-based model of disordered eating. Dr. Steinglass breaks down the neuroscience of habit, how this relates to Anorexia Nervosa, and gives her top 3 habit-busting techniques for eating disorders. Dr. Joanna Steinglass is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Associate Director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Steinglass graduated from Amherst College  and received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. To learn more about research participation see link here: https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/research-clinics/eating-disorders-clinic  About Eating Disorders: https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/research-clinics/eating-disorders-clinic/about-eating-disorders

Children’s book author and illustrator Innosanto Nagara’s books encourage children to grow up with confidence in themselves, and to be proactive citizens who are passionate about causes from environmental issues to LGBTQ+ rights and civil rights. Inno’s first book, A is for Activist, started a movement in social justice book publishing for children. His books stand in solidarity with people of all ages, races, gender identifications, and backgrounds. They suggest that your family isn’t only yourself and your parents but also the community in which you live, the histories of those around you, and the natural environment on which we depend for our food and water and air. 

Director of the award winning social change body-image documentary EMBRACE, Taryn Brumfitt, now has a children's book, Embrace Your Body, aimed at early learners (years 3-7) to foster size diversity at an early age. On this episode of Therapy Rocks! podcast, Taryn opens up about her experience of making a film for the first time, her personal journey to loving her body and what inspired her to write a picture book for kids accompanied by an iTunes #1 hit children's song "Embrace" by Pevan and Sarah, and more!

Sara Gilliam, award winning writer and co-author of Reviving Ophelia 25th Anniversary Edition: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, joins Signe on Therapy Rocks! to talk about being the original "Ophelia," the trends of adolescent girls mental health over a 25 year span, and gives us some tips for helping our youth navigate social media. Sara has teamed up with her mother, bestselling nonfiction author Mary Pipher, to revisit Pipher’s American classic Reviving Ophelia with the 25th Anniversary Edition, published with Penguin less than a year ago. 

Aaron Flores, registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), Certified Body Trust® Provider and host of Dietitians Unplugged. Join the conversation for Aaron's personal journey in finding Health at Every Size®, Intuitive Eating, reclamation of the word "fat," Men's Plus Size Fashion, and more!Follow Aaron on instagram @aaronfloresrdnThe Winston Box: https://www.thewinstonbox.com. The Winston Box is a monthly subscription service catering exclusively to the plus size, or big and tall men. 

Aaron Flores, registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN), Certified Body Trust® Provider, and co-host of Dietitians Unplugged (https://dietitiansunplugged.libsyn.com) joins Signe to discuss his personal journey to Health at Every Size, reclamation of the word "fat,"  plus sized clothing for men (https://www.thewinstonbox.com) , and a whole lot more! You can follow Aaron on instagram @aaronfloresrdn