Mental Health News Radio

Ken Falke is a 21-year combat veteran of the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) community and retired Master Chief Petty Officer.  Ken is highly respected around the world as an innovative and forward thinking leader on the subjects of wounded warrior care, military and veteran transition, counterterrorism, military training, and innovative technology development.   Ken’s passion is taking care of his fellow combat veterans and their family members, and he is chairman and founder of Boulder Crest, an organization focused on the teachings of posttraumatic growth, and the EOD Warrior Foundation. Ken spends the majority of his time educating the public and private sectors on the issues surrounding the long-term care of our returning military personnel and their families from the last 16 years of war.  Ken is a serial entrepreneur. He was the Founder and CEO of A-T Solutions, which is a recognized international expert and valuable global asset in combating the war on terrorism. At the forefront of providing training and consulting services in the Anti- and Counter-Terrorism industry, A-T Solutions was named four consecutive years to the Annual Inc. 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. Also recognized in Entrepreneur Magazines’ Hot 500 List, the Washington Technology “Fast 50”, Smart CEO’s “Future 50”, and the winner of the very prestigious Greater Washington Area Government Contractor Award in the category of companies $75M-$100M.  In 2010, Ken was named as the Entrepreneur of the Year for the Fredericksburg, Virginia Regional Chamber of Commerce and selected as a finalist in the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year program. www.strugglewell.com  

Johnny Crowder began exhibiting symptoms of mental illness at the ripe young age of 3, and it didn't let up for a decade or two. His abuse-ridden adolescence was sprinkled with suicidal thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and some pretty eye-catching acne. In short, it wasn’t pretty—and neither was he. Crowder pursued a degree in psychology from UCF—that is, until his band, Dark Sermon, got signed and he left campus to tour the universe. Although he finished his degree on the road, he learned more about the human psyche through his travels than he ever could in a classroom. After years of intense therapy and heavy medication, Crowder is now functioning healthily without the use of either. In their place, he's developed effective strategies that allow him to maintain a sound mind and body throughout his journeys with his new band, Prison, whose music addresses his difficult past and encourages others to persevere. www.copenotes.com https://www.facebook.com/prisonfl

Dr. Mark Leeds joins us with The Rehab, a new podcast on our network that is about overcoming drug addiction. The topics range from medical treatment to spiritual fellowships and psychotherapy. Other forms of therapy will be explored as well. The underlying theme is that everyone is different and we cannot apply a single method of treatment to all people and expect it to work. Listening carefully to what works and does not work for an individual, treating people with respect and understanding that behaviors caused by addiction are the result of a medical condition are important. Patients presenting for treatment of addiction should be addressed with caring, compassion and understanding. Dr. Leeds runs a micro medical practice by the beach in Fort Lauderdale, providing concierge medical care to the residents of the Galt Ocean Mile. He also provides medication assisted treatment (MAT) for the treatment of opioid dependence and addiction. Opioids and opiates include heroin, fentanyl, carfentanyl and many prescription analgesics. www.drleeds.com

Our guests join host Kristin Walker to discuss their collaboration as therapist and client, as well as, co-authoring a book together about that journey. Their book Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations with My Therapist is available on Amazon. Geri Henderson, PhD considers herself, first and foremost, a teacher and mentor but loves her rolesas sister, aunt, and friend. Geri hastaught music privately and in a US university but has taught in universities all over the world. Her interests include a passion for music. She is currently teaching literatureand writing Germany for the University of Maryland University College. Seanne Larson Emerton, L.M.F.T., L.I.M.H.P., has been in private practice for over twenty five years and is the owner of a group counseling practice and EAP called Family Resources of Greater NE, P.C. She enjoys her work as a marriage and familytherapist and a strategic life coach. She especially appreciates the power of working with systems, whetherfamily or organizational, using emotional intelligence assessment andcoaching. She enjoys yoga, music, traveland time with her sons and families in Boston and Denver. She and her husband, Tom, live on the landher great great grandfather homesteaded. Family is her greatest joy.  http://healingincest.squarespace.com

Finally it's here! The Animal Effect podcast with host Adam Clark on Mental Health News Radio Network. Adam and our host, Kristin Sunanta Walker, talk about animals and mental health, empathy, life, you name it!  Adam Clark, LCSW, AASW is a published writer, educator, and adjunct professor at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work. Adam focuses his work on the psychology behind the human-animal bond, specializing in endings and transitions. He is passionate about reducing the cultural stigma associated with pet loss, supporting pet owners, and educating veterinary professionals. Additional information on Adam and his current projects can be found at www.lovelosstransition.com. Adam is also a very popular writer for Psychology Today. www.theanimaleffect.com

Join our cohost and guest Dr. Paolo Molino from his office in Florence, Italy as we discuss Codependency and Dependency. What is the difference? How relationships can dip in and out of both?How does narcissism play a role?And more.... Paolo is fluent in English, French, and Italian which allows him to work with travelers, expats, and students.   Please enjoy the blog article here. Dr. Paolo Molino Via Antonio Scialoja 68 Tel: +39 3311064726 E-mail: paolomolino@gmail.com web: www.paolomolino.com

Rakhel Shapiro has over a decade of dedicated mindfulness practice in the insight meditation and Unified Mindfulness traditions. Her approach draws from Shinzen Young’s "four quadrants" of practice: to appreciate self and world, transcend self and world, transform self and world, and express the benefits of practice in our thoughts, words, and actions. She balances an insight/liberation driven focus with cultivation of deep caring, empowering students to transcend unnecessary suffering, and nourish connected and meaningful lives. Rakhel specializes in one-on-one Meditation Mentorship for emotional and relational intelligence, living by authentic values, and deep insight practice. Her work is informed by specialized training in attachment-oriented mindfulness practices and Motivational Interviewing. Rakhel is a certified Meditation Mentor through Mettagroup and Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, and a teacher in Shinzen's Unified Mindfulness system. She holds a BA with Highest Honors from Vassar College, and is currently a PhD student in clinical psychology at Long Island University - Brooklyn. https://deepmindfulness.io

What a delight this discussion was with Dr. Thelma Reese, author of The New Senior Woman: Reinventing the Years Beyond Mid-Life and author of The New Senior Man. She wrote the follow up book to satisfy the numerous requests from men who wanted their own book.   Thelma Reese, Ed. D., retired professor of English and of Education, created the Advisory Council for Hooked on Phonics and was its spokesperson in the '90's. In that role, and as director of the Mayor's Commission on Literacy for the City of Philadelphia, she appeared frequently on television and hosted a cable show in Philadelphia. She was a founder of Philadelphia Young Playwrights, chaired the Board of Children’s Literacy Initiative, and organized the World Symposium on Family Literacy at UNESCO in Paris in 1994. She is co-author, with Barbara M. Fleisher, of The New Senior Woman: Reinventing the Years Beyond Mid-Life (Rowman & Littlefield) in 2013 and The New Senior Man: Exploring New Horizons, New Opportunities (Rowman & Littlefield) in 2017. They created the blog www.ElderChicks.com in 2012. Thelma lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Harvey Reese, the author of several books, including How to License Your Million Dollar Idea (John Wiley, publisher), and an artist.

Join our host Kristin Walker with author and counselor Lucille Zimmeran discussing her wonderful book and how trauma impacts your entire life.  Lucille Zimmerman has a passion to help hurting people. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a private practice in Littleton, CO. She taught psychology and counseling courses at Colorado Christian University and is the author of Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World. She lives in Colorado with her husband, and her favorite place is anywhere she can put her feet on her husband’s lap and talk about the day.  www.lucillezimmerman.com  

Amy Dresner is a former professional stand-up comic, having appeared at The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, and The Improv. Since 2012, she has been a contributing editor of the online addiction and recovery magazine TheFix.com. She’s also written for the Good Men Project, The Frisky, Refinery 29, and has been a regular contributor to Addiction.com and PsychologyToday.com, where she has her own addiction blog entitled “Coming Clean.” “My Fair Junkie” is her debut book. She joins our host Kristin Sunanta Walker for candid talk about her journey through addiction. www.amydresner.com www.mhnrnetwork.com

Join hosts Radhika Iyer and Melanie Vann for an interview with Prabha Sankaranarayan, the President and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders, www.mediatorsbeyondborders.org, an international non-governmental organization whose mission is to build local skills for peace and promote mediation worldwide. A conflict transformation practitioner who has mediated, facilitated and trained in Europe, Asia, Africa and the USA, her public and private sector work includes conflict analysis for public/private partnerships, consultation & assessment for industrial development zones, design and implementation of trainings for multinational corporations; inter faith dialogues as well as facilitation of multi-stakeholder mediations.  Prabha is actively involved in regional, national and international civic activities focused on civil liberties, sexual violence prevention, conflict mitigation & mediation and the recovery & rehabilitation of trauma survivors. She is an Adjunct Professor at Washington and Jefferson College. She trains and delivers presentations (nationally and internationally) on the impact of family and community violence, the intersection of trauma and peacebuilding, restorative justice, conflict resolution, mediation and transitional justice.

Another interesting show with Dr. Paul Meier, Melanie Vann, and Kristin Walker on how to deal with toxic people (energy vampires, narcissists, etc.). We ask the questions: Are we behaving toxically? Is this a difficult time in our own lives and adding stress to the people we love? The answer can definitely be yes for everyone. For most people, however, they are loved through these times because their friends and family realize this is short term. The person is experiencing pain and has a history of going to therapy, working on their issues, and evolving into a more peaceful version of themselves.  With some this is a life long pattern with a refusal to take responsibility for their toxic behavior. It's everyone else's fault. It's their depression or other ailments. They are allergic to being at fault and accepting wrong doing. In this case, it is necessary to step away from the relationship especially if it has become abusive. Sometimes letting them go by holding up hard boundaries is the healthiest thing you can do for your own self-care.  www.meierclinics.com www.mhnrnetworks.com

Erika Reva is a writer and mental health speaker, who until recent years worked as a photographer. She has always been apart of the arts in some capacity. She lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder, OCD & other mental illnesses that accompany DID. Her and her parts strive to end the stigma surrounding mental illness, specifically trauma based disorders. She works with various groups and individuals on an ever growing global scale spreading awareness about DID, in an attempt to alter (only a little pun intended) the stigmatizing beliefs surrounding dissociative disorders. “It took far too long and is unfathomable to me that people, like myself, living with DID are often cast aside or re-traumatized while on their respective journeys to recovery. It’s asinine. No more!” Now with the help of her parts and support system they’re applying their own experiences to written word and in the realm of public speaking with the goal that others living with DID will have their voices heard. She has written a seven week course, Living with Dissociative Identity Disorder, to share her experiences and the dozens of stories she has consent to share from people living with this disorder who are still not being helped or otherwise unsafe and unable to share it personally. It is for herself, her parts and the endless number of people who reach out to her and others like her whom do speak openly and share glimpses of their lives that they created “Living DID Talks” and have now deepened the conversations and transformed these speaking engagements into a course. www.theweinme.com

Dr. Killion stopped by the media room at Converge Autism by Springbrook Behavioral Health to discuss his work as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and why this field has been his inspiration that continues to this day! Dr. Killion possesses 40 plus years of direct experience with individuals with developmental disabilities including autism. He possesses a B.S. in Speech Pathology with a minor in Psychology, a M.Ed. in Special Education and a PhD in Developmental Psychology. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). He is the author of the Functional Independence Skills Handbook or F.I.S.H. Developmental Program. www.mhnrnetwork.com

Jeff Cohn works diligently with Springbrook Behavioral Health and is a popular presenter at their Converge Autism conference. He joins us again to discuss a new program he created and the importance of listening to the needs of the autistic child. With a BS and MS in Occupational Therapy, Jeff has a deep well of educational professional experience. As lead OT in a pediatric development outpatient clinic, lead OT in CA school districts, experience in long and short term rehab facilities, and now with experience in the Autism Program at Springbrook Behavioral Health, Jeff brings a wide range of real-world patient and clinical experience with a specialization in Autism. www.mhnrnetwork.com