Mental Health News Radio

Dave is the Founder and Director of Yoga Services for the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Brookline Massachusetts, where he coined the term “trauma-sensitive yoga”. He was responsible for curriculum development, supervision and oversight of the yoga intervention component of the first of its kind, NIH funded study, conducted by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk to assess the utility and feasibility of yoga for adults with treatment-resistant PTSD. Mr. Emerson has developed, conducted, and supervised TSY groups for rape crisis centers, domestic violence programs, residential programs for youth, military bases, survivors of terrorism, and Veterans Administration centers and clinics. In addition to co-authoring several articles on the subject of yoga and trauma, Mr. Emerson is the co-author of Overcoming Trauma through Yoga, released in 2011 by North Atlantic Books and Author of the forthcoming, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga in Therapy (Norton, 2015). He leads trainings for yoga teachers and mental health clini

Join Melanie Vann, Melissa Richards, Steve Kavalkavich, and Kristin Walker as they discuss entitlement. What are we entitled to? Is all entitlement bad? What is "good" entitlement? How does vanity and ego feed the "bad" kind of entitlement?We are all fired up on this one so get ready to take notes!www.rescuetherescuer.comwww.restorationcounseling.mewww.mentalhealthnewsradio.com

Sharon joins us in the podcast studio to talk about her experience as a student and aid in the trauma sensitive yoga classes facilitated by certified instructor Kim Mulholland. Join Sharon as she gives practical examples of how this practice has helped her own healing as well as many of the inmates at Haywood County Detention Center. www.sonshineyoga.com

Kim Mulholland is a Certified TCTSY Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator through www.traumacenter.org and www.traumasensitiveyoga.com. She joins our podcast to discuss how TCTSY was created and how Trauma Sensitive Yoga is uniquely different than standard Yoga classes. She delves into the work of Dr. Bessel van der Kolk Founder and Medical Director of the Trauma Center. www.sonshineyoga.comKim facilitates classes with female inmates and with a local homeless shelter. She also facilitates classes in our Mental Health News Radio Network podcast studio. All proceeds for classes taken at our studio are donated back to her Yoga practice in the form of scholarships for those who cannot afford them. 

This year, Chanel participated in the Boston photo exhibition, Invisible Fractures: The Hidden Trauma of Emotional Abuse. She hopes to raise awareness that emotional abuse is domestic violence, and that narcissistic abuse, especially when it's covert, is particularly insidious. She enjoys hiking, baking, reading and writing.Chanel joins our host Kristin Sunanta Walker as she takes us on her harrowing journey through psychological abuse at the hands of a covert, malignant narcissist. 

Kevin Petersen, LMFT joins us for another discussion with a focus on parents, children, and codependency. Kevin is a dedicated, caring, and understanding professional who works with families in crisis. Kevin was born and raised in Palo Alto, CA and earned a bachelors from USC in 1994, and enjoyed a prosperous career in Sales and Marketing before he decided to return to school in 2008. Kevin has earned a Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and has a Certificate in Child and Adolescent Counseling both from Regis University. He started his career working as a therapist for Arapahoe Douglas Mental Health Network in Child and Family Services in 2011. Kevin opened his private practice, Petersen Family Counseling, in 2014 and specializes in working with families and individuals struggling with addictions, codependency, and parenting.www.petersenfamilycounseling.com

Dr. Sheila Williams has  over  25  years  of  successful  professional  experience. Her expertise   is   very   extensive  as   she is   CEO of SW Consulting Services,  LLC,  a  Mental  Health  Therapist,  Published  Author , Empowerment Speaker and  Media Personality.  She  has  an  extensive  educational  background  as  she   holds  a   BA   in   Psychology   with   a   minor   in   Sociology,   an   MA   in   Counseling,   and   a   Ph.D.   in  Leadership  and  Education.  After   caring   for   her   Mother   who   suffered   from   Clinical   Depression   and   Multiple  Sclerosis,  Dr.  Williams decided to  pursue  her  education  and  career  in  the  Mental  Health   field.   Her autobiography, ‘My Mother’s  Keeper’  gives  you a very up close and personal look  into  her  life,  the  mystery,  the  challenges and  the  truth  behind  what  motivated  Dr. Williams  to  persevere  and  accomplish  all  the  things  she has  set  out  to do; and she’s just beginning.  drsheiladwilliams.com

Sustainable Recovery™, Inc., believes in supporting the whole family: mind, body, spirit. We realize emotional, physical, psychological and spiritual well being are intertwined. We believe, while it’s important for a loved one to realize that they have an illness, they are more than that illness. We can help someone figure out on their own who they really are. Instead of saying 'You're an addict', ‘You’re bipolar’ or ‘You’re schizophrenic,’ we can help someone feel comfortable and say, ‘I’m a person, not my diagnosis.’” The point is to move forward in life.Adopting an addict identity can be especially problematic for young people whose identities are not yet fully formed. Doing so may make what may well be a transient problem into a long-term one, by teaching them that addiction is inevitably chronic and relapsing. Since no one can predict which youth will “mature out” of addiction and which will not, teens should never be forced to attend 12-step groups—nor should they be made to label themselves as addicts.

Pascal played professional hockey for over 12 years in countries around the world. In those 12 years, his greatest accomplishments included overcoming  depression, dark thoughts, addiction, sadness, ignorance, hopelessness, serious injuries and so much more. Pascal’s life forever changed in Croatia when he suffered a severe brain trauma which left him in critical condition. He went through severe side effects such as paranoia, extreme fear, and panic attacks. The need for change was inevitable. Through this suffering, Pascal realized that the change had to first come from within, turning the present moment into a stepping stone that leads to a continuing journey to invest inward.  The development of his curiosity, the practice of wisdom, and the choice of change was driven by the discovery of guidance found through the internal pain. Pascal knew the best way to raise his son wasn't about what we say to a child, but to "be about" what we say.  Pascal went on to study many powerful books about and take consider

Darlene Lancer joins us again on Mental Health News Radio to discuss perfectionism. Her eBook, "“I’M NOT PERFECT––I’M ONLY HUMAN” –– HOW TO BEAT PERFECTIONISM" is available at www.whatiscodependency.com. Darlene discusses overcoming perfectionism – something common among codependents and people with low self-esteem. She discovered in her research that it spans from people with positive perfectionism, where it raises their self-esteem, to narcissists, whose perfectionism is damaging to others.Enjoy the show!

Do You Ever Feel Like Everything Is Going Up In Flames? Fire fighters, police officers, military, EMS providers, and all first responders are under immense pressure and stress, day in and day out. This can lead to incredible challenges both at work and at home. Steve's mission is to put a spotlight on these problems and help find solutions with the Rescue the Rescuers podcast and blog.Join Steve and our host, Kristin Walker, as they discuss his mission and how his podcast is already changing lives. www.rescuetherescuer.com 

Jeff Jones is a Licensed Professional Counselor, and holds certifications of Certified Addiction Counselor III, ARISE Interventionist, and Certified Intervention Professional. He has expanded the context of addiction and created a three-phase program that empowers families to safeguard their loved one in an addictive cycle or recovery, while they engage in a process to stop the addiction cycle in this generation.Jeff Jones MA, LPC, CACIIIThe Family Recovery Solution: Addiction Navigation for Familieswww.thefamilyrecoverysolution.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TFRSolution/Twitter: https://twitter.com/TFRSolutionPodcast Interview:  http://www.spreaker.com/show/recoveryinnovatorsEmpowerIng individuals and families to engage in a process of healing from the ramifications of addiction.

Join counselors Melanie Vann and Melissa Richards with host Kristin Sunanta Walker as they talk about Fantasy Island. Is this really where you want to live? How do highly empathic people find themselves dwelling there and how narcissists weave a web of deceit and at all costs, including YOU, will defend their island. How and when do we "split" from reality in order to survive trauma? When does this become a crutch and unhealthy as an adult. What is the difference between being wounded and being proud, entitled, and arrogant?We cover it all and have some fun while we are doing it. Enjoy the show. 

“Like Big Little Lies, A Beautiful Terrible Thing is a startling reminder that fairy tales aren’t real. A master class in suspenseful storytelling, Jen Waite recounts the lies, betrayals, and infidelity she endured with unrestrained honesty and deft candor. I couldn’t turn away.”—Jillian Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and Everything You Ever WantedWhat do you do when you discover that the person you've built your life around never existed? When “it could never happen to me” does happen to you?These are the questions facing Jen Waite when she begins to realize that her loving husband—the father of her infant daughter, her best friend, the love of her life—fits the textbook definition of psychopath. In a raw, first-person account, Waite recounts each heartbreaking discovery, every life-destroying lie, and reveals what happens once the dust finally settles on her demolished marriage.After a disturbing email sparks Waite's suspicion that her husband is having an affair

Sarah Oliveira McDonald, a long time listener of our podcast and part of the La Hacienda family, extended an invitation on behalf of La Hacienda Treatment Center for our team to visit their incredible campus located in Hunt, Texas. As our listeners know, we are always searching for treatment facilities that provide exemplary services. We volunteered our time with a mission to get to know their staff who are considered family and interview some of their clinical team.Please welcome Dr. James Boone to the show. Dr. Boone is the medical director for La Hacienda and shared his love of working in the Behavioral Health. Dr. James Boone has worked with La Hacienda Treatment Center since 2004. James’ career in medicine began when he graduated from Baylor University in 1980 with a BS degree, followed by attendance at Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX where he graduated with honors in 1984. He did his internal medicine internship and residency at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas and completed t

What a powerful conversation from the frontlines with licensed clinician Christine Hammond. She works with survivors of narcissistic abuse but also those with personality disorders. It takes an iron gut and an iron will. She's got it. What a pleasure. Enjoy some practical advice!Christine is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor by the State of Florida with over fifteen years of experience in counseling, teaching and ministry.  She works primarily with exhausted women and their families in conflict situations to ensure peaceful resolutions at home and in the workplace. She is also the author of the The Exhausted Woman's Handbook.www.christinehammondcounseling.com

Lindsey is an actress, model, drama and performing arts specialist, youth development practitioner and speaker, poet, published author, and social entrepreneur. She is a world traveller having lived, studied, and worked abroad throughout Eastern Europe and the UK  and taught drama and performance art in NYC, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania..After moving back to NYC to pursue a career in Non-Profit Management and Youth Development, she worked for several large non-profit and social service agencies building and developing educational and personal development programs for youth in the foster care and juvenile justice system.She discussed the the impact that drama therapy and the creative arts therapies have when applied as intervention techniques toward improving social and emotional learning skills, personal development outcomes, and behavior change catered to diverse multi cultural youth populations.For more about Lindsey visit her website here. 

Sometimes, there are just no words to express what you’re feeling. A year ago, Marlena stopped the antidepressant medication she had been taking for a dozen years. She had hoped to have a baby. But instead, she developed memories of childhood abuse. It happened more than 30 years ago. The perpetrator had abused other kids. The trauma had blocked it from my memory. What Marlena had remembered was the depression, irritability, and isolation. Marlena uses photography, drawing, poetry, and painting to express the way she is feeling. Through PeaceLove Studios in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, she honed her expressive art skills through their CREATORS program, with hopes of teaching the technique to others, including kids and teens with autism. On Facebook, she talks about her own battle with mental illness, and launched the Pix of the Day project, a series of rich, moving photos that instill emotion.When she’s not behind the camera, Marlena surrounds herself with animals—including a 2-year-old pitbull, Kemo, and her rab

Join the discussion with counselors Melanie Vann and Melissa Richards and host Kristin Sunanta Walker as they discuss how trauma bonds are formed. Imperative to know when you've been hooked and how to begin to move out of those toxic relationships.  www.mhnrnetwork.com

Did you know that new reports are showing that more U.S. workers are testing positive for illicit drugs than at any time in the last 12 years, according to data coming out today from Quest Diagnostics Inc., one of the largest workplace-testing labs in the nation? Many people suffering from substance abuse have fallen victim to addiction and someone suffering from a secret addiction to drug and/or alcohol will often go to great lengths to ensure that they keep their secret safe and keep up the appearance that everything is fine. Because of these great lengths, it is difficult for employers or even loved ones to notice, even if it is right in front of them.Join Dr. Michael V. Genovese, Chief Medical Advisor Acadia Healthcare Recovery Division and Jamie Vinck, COO of Sierra Tuscon's treatment center as they discuss this topic with our host Kristin Sunanta Walker. www.sierratuscon.comwww.acadiahealthcare.com