Season 2, Episode 8

Today’s Guest: Gina Cardillo (she/her) is a licensed professional counselor, board-certified art therapist, and EMDR therapist in private practice in Philadelphia. She brings her training and experience from her first career in the art and design world into her clinical work, and is a practicing artist and musician outside of her role as a counselor. As an art therapist, Gina bases her work on the principle that art is itself a language and that all people are inherently creative. She guides her clients in using imagery and art-making to illuminate their innermost truths. She believes that by nurturing one’s creativity within any given medium, it allows an opportunity to uncover and develop a new side of oneself and to build a sense of mastery and empowerment.

SHOW TOPICS

• How art therapy helps a therapist step into a client’s inner world
• The interplay of different modes of art in art therapy
• Helping clients confront and work directly with their inner critic through art therapy and EMDR
• Discussing how EMDR 2.0 differs from traditional EMDR reprocessing
• How “exiled parts” often hold our wounds and trauma, and how IFS (Internal Family Systems) can address this 
• Therapy as a creative and improvisational art

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake.” —Kurt Vonnegut

Season 2, Episode 7

​Today’s Guest: Jamie Kohanyi is a licensed psychotherapist practicing in the state of California. She is a graduate of Pacifica Graduate Institute’s Counseling Psychology program, with an emphasis in Depth Psychotherapy. Her interest lies in the interplay between the unconscious, the body, and creativity, which began with her experience as a multi-award-winning singer-songwriter and graduate of Berklee College of Music. Singing was Jamie's primary therapeutic modality until she moved from New York City to California in her 20s to initiate studies at The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology and Sky Mountain Institute for the Expressive Arts. The following 20 years of education and experience lead to her current expertise in women with eating disorders, perinatal mental health, dreamwork, the expressive arts, and psychedelic psychotherapy. Jamie is currently pursuing a certificate in Jungian Psychology from the CG Jung Institute of Los Angeles. She is married to David Kohanyi, also a psychotherapist, and is a mother of three.

SHOW TOPICS

• The relationship between creativity and transformation, and how psychotherapists can serve as ministers to aid in that transformation
• Bringing mindfulness and beauty into our daily routines
• The importance of leaving time for imagination and not feeling the societal pressure to “produce, produce, produce” as a creative

​Season 2, Episode 6

Today’s guest: Dr. Bobbi Ballard is a clinical psychologist based in Georgia. She has an online therapy practice working with creative professionals in several states. Her clients are dealing with burnout, depression, and anxiety. Dr. Ballard has been a psychologist for over 20 years, and she also has an active creative practice of her own, which includes painting, knitting, and music.

SHOW TOPICS

• The magic of finding which clients are the best fit for you and who you can serve most fully
• Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and how it can help clients let go of the “bag of crap” they may have been carrying for years
• How sensitivity and creativity go hand in hand
• Facing therapist burnout by creating art for fun and shifting to practicing therapy that energizes you​

Season 2, Episode 5

Today’s Guest: Dr. Lee Stone, LCSW, PhD, has amassed over thirty years of experience in human services. Most recently, he served as Program Director and was quickly promoted to Executive Director of Freeport Pride, Inc./H.E.L.P. Services, Inc. He worked there for twelve years. The 501(c)3 organization was presented an award in 2019 by Nassau County, NY, for the exceptional services provided to the community. The organization had a unique approach in their substance use treatment, drug prevention, and youth services programs — music and performing arts were utilized as interventions.

Dr. Lee’s interest in using music as an intervention began when he was a middle school student; he developed entertainment programs at a local senior citizen center that had a positive impact on the residents’ well-being. During high school, he created the “Underground” magazine—which included interviews with up-and-coming heavy metal/thrash metal artists and critical reviews of their music. As a student at SUNY Old Westbury College, he co-hosted a talk/music radio show that featured current events and social commentary. 

Dr. Lee has received awards and accolades in both music and social work. He is a two-time gold and platinum record award recipient for his music production work; he was also presented an award and given membership to LIU Post University’s Alpha Chi National College Honor Society for his service in the field of social work. Additionally, Dr. Lee was chosen as one of twelve PhD students in the United States to present his research at The Network for Social Work Management at Boston University. He has lectured for the students at Adelphi University, Hofstra University, Molloy College, and most recently, Lee was a guest panelist at The Kennedy Center’s Cultural Center.

Dr. Lee’s future plans include the development of a human service nonprofit organization in partnership with his wife Tanya Dunbar-Stone, MSED, LMSW (Adelphi ’15), and providing consultation work for existing human service organizations that are interested in reinforcing their sustainability. Dr. Lee is also in the progress of completing music for his partnership known as Poeartistry—a performance art ensemble that combines poetry, visual arts, and theater as social emotional learning tools.

SHOW TOPICS

• Recognizing the mental health needs of creatives while working with musicians in a recording studio
• The pressure that artists face when they make their passion their career 
• Fighting getting comfortable or stagnant as an artist or therapist and not continuing to progress or innovate
• The power of understanding the ebb and flow of the creative process for therapists who serve creative clients​