Season 6, Episode 9

​Today’s Guest: Zach Meyer, MA, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor who likes to say he has worked with students since he was one himself. From coaching high schoolers and working as a camp counselor to clinical positions in inpatient and outpatient settings, Zach has spent his career supporting teenagers and young adults to navigate the many challenges that accompany this developmental stage.

Zach has also spent his life in the arts, growing up in choirs and theater productions from grade school through college. He continues to write and record music, and he released his first full-length album last summer. At the intersection of these two interests lie Zach's greatest passion: the relationship between art-making and our mental health.
He and his wife — a psychologist — have a private therapy practice in the Milwaukee area. When not doing therapy or making music, Zach is probably hanging out with his wife, three kids and two dogs, or working on the restoration of their historic 1913 home.
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SHOW TOPICS

• Doing preventative work with teenagers while they’re in a more malleable stage of life
• The power of stories in therapy and music making
• Helping teenagers discover their own narrative to uncover their goals, passions, and intrinsic values beyond what outside sources are telling them to believe
• Striving to take the pressure off artists so they can create something meaningful in the moment

Season 6, Episode 6

Today’s Guest: Barry Hill is a now kinda retired LMFT clinician and Rady Children's Hospital AAMFT-certified Clinical Supervisor. He was adjunct faculty at San Diego State University in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology for eleven years. He has had over 500 counseling students and trained 70 MFT and Psychology interns. His speciality is Post-Modern approaches to Family Therapy. He has always played guitar, composed, and sung in some format. From early bluegrass bands, through electric blues and hard rock in the 1970s and '80s to original indie rock in the 2010s to now acoustic singer songwriter. He recently completed an album of original acoustic material. He is now 74 years old and the name of the new album is "74." He performs around San Diego, mostly at songwriter showcases and circles. He also sometimes performs with his multi-talented musician son, Matthew Hill. Barry tells us he is filled with gratitude for his "place in the world" at this time of his life.   

SHOW TOPICS

• Bringing an interactive and collaborative approach to educating and training new therapists
• What to do or say when we don’t know what comes next in the therapy room
• The freedom and out-of-the-box nature of working with “difficult” clients
• Shifting to focusing on solutions rather than problems in therapy by asking clients who they want to become and what small steps they can take to achieve that

Season 4, Episode 10

Today’s Guest: Phil Hartman is an Adjunct Professor of Music Education at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.  He previously taught at Centennial High School in Boise for 27 years. He has enjoyed many awards and accolades during his time as an educator, including the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, presented by Boise Mayor David Bieter to Phil and his wife, Wendy.
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SHOW TOPICS

• Realizing a vision of school programs that creates a sense of community and meets the needs of students
• What success looks like and how to approach praise
• Pushing back against the relegation of the arts to the sidelines in education
• The ability of high school band programs to foster a shared passion for music and life

Season 4, Episode 2

Today’s Guest: Ruby Rose Fox is multi-award-winning musical artist who charted #8 on the Heatseeker Billboard charts, has over 2 million Spotify plays, and has music featured in the game Rock Band. Over the past 4 years, Ruby has become a mental health pioneer, starting with her nervous system state-shifting class for performers, based on cutting-edge research by Dr. Stephen Porges, and then with MuscleMusic, the #1 trauma-informed app for artists. Ruby has an Acting BFA from Emerson College and studied jazz and classical singing at both New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. She was trained in polyvagal theory from the Polyvagal Institute by Deb Dana. She is also trained in Linklater technique, Alexander Technique, and Qi Gong. She has also coined her own performance training method, The Fox Method, which combines Integral Theory, Polyvagal Theory, and decades of experience on the stage.

SHOW TOPICS

• Peeling back layers of generational shame around mental health
• Bringing polyvagal theory, the science of safety, to the performance art industry
• Is it worth it to suffer for the sake of art? 
• How our relationship with creativity changes once it becomes a job

Today’s Guest: Blanca Lucia Bergman is the founder of Mental Wellness for Artists (MWA), a community group of San Diego artists, mental health advocates, and arts leaders. She is also the founder of a local arts business, Art Unites, and co-lead vocalist in the band Poised In The Darkness.

​SHOW TOPICS

• Meeting artists where they’re at with mental health resources
• The role that a lack of affordable housing plays in mental health and the ability for artists to live in major US cities
• The importance of community for mental health, especially for artists

Season 3, Episode 1

Today’s Guest: Daryl Chow, PhD, is based in Western Australia and works with a vibrant team of practitioners at the Henry Street Centre in the heart of Fremantle. He also returns to his home country, Singapore, to provide consultations and intensive therapy every few months. Meanwhile, he keeps busy with writing and conducting research, as well as trainings, clinical supervision, consultation, and mentoring.

He is a co-editor and contributing author of a recent book, The Write to Recovery: Personal Stories & Lessons About Recovery From Mental Health Concerns. He is also a senior associate and certified trainer for the International Center for Clinical Excellence (ICCE), which is a worldwide consortium of clinicians, researchers, and educators dedicated to promoting excellence in behavioral health services.

As part of his PhD, he researched the area of development and practices of highly effective psychotherapists, alongside with his mentor and collaborator, Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. Together they are co-authoring a forthcoming book, Reach: Pushing Your Clinical Performance to the Next Level. 
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SHOW TOPICS

• The “terrible gift” of creativity and the beauty and struggle of living an aesthetic life
• Understanding the risks creative clients face as artists
• The musicality of therapy and working as a “conductor” in the therapy room
• What is the meaning of life? (Because we don’t shy away from the big questions here!)

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 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​

Season 2, Episode 4

Today’s Guest: Davida Price  is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Board Certified Music Therapist, and Certified Yoga Teacher. Davida is also fully trained in EMDR therapy. Davida has worked in both agency and private practice settings with children, teens, adults, and families in a variety of roles from primary therapist to program director. Davida combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, music therapy, energy psychology, shame resilience, mindfulness, creative arts, and body awareness from a trauma-informed point of view to target the needs of each client in a creative and comprehensive manner. Davida’s work using “Rock Therapy” with teens has been written about in the San Diego Reader and San Diego Women’s Magazine, and has been featured on About.com. Davida served on the San Diego Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists board of directors from 2011 to
2015. In 2006, Davida traveled to Gulu, Uganda, to help implement music therapy and music education programs in areas that had been affected by war. Davida likes to read, play music, draw, run, do yoga, and be with friends and family when not engaging in her passion of being a therapist.

SHOW TOPICS

• Incorporating music into EMDR therapy as a tool to keep clients present
• Bringing empathy to the process of helping clients through the challenges of the pandemic and society’s devaluation of art and creativity
• The long-term repercussions of creative wounds and how we can help address them​

Season 2, Episode 1

Today’s Guest: Brittani Williams is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Social Work Entrepreneur, Educator and Hip-Hop head. She received her Bachelor’s in Sociology from The University of Southern California and a Master’s in Social Work from The University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Originally from the San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles, she was immersed in the Underground Hip Hop Scene. Through Hip Hop she found connection, passion and identity, and she integrates this passion into her clinical work. Brittani has been in the Social Work field for over 8 years and has a wide variety of social work and therapeutic experiences. She has experience working with at-promise youth in community-based settings such as: group homes, residential care facilities and public-school settings in Southern California. In addition, she has supported individuals through addiction and trauma, along with other mental health challenges. Brittani also worked as a clinical supervisor, providing clinical supervision and consultation to pre-licensed therapists. During this time, she facilitated professional development and mandated trainings to school districts and non-profit agencies. Currently, Brittani is CEO of HEALmatic Group Practice in San Diego, CA and provides therapy to individuals, couples, families and groups. Brittani is also an Adjunct Professor and teaches Social Work courses to prepare future social workers to enter the field of mental health. In her free time, Brittani enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 kids, writing rhymes and contributing to the collective work of Hip Hop Therapy. 

SHOW TOPICS

• Helping therapists entering the field prioritize identity development so they can show up to the work as their full, authentic selves
• Serving your community in a way that is culturally relevant, and working to normalize therapy and increase accessibility for Mexican-Americans
• Honoring the hierarchy of the brain through bottom-up and top-down therapy approaches
• Finding inspiration in hip hop music and integrating it into clinical work​