On today’s episode, I inteviewed Barbara Baum Freethy, M.Ed., a Social Cognitive Therapist with a specialty in working with neurodivergent children and adults.

Over the past 40 years Barbara has been a teacher, developmental evaluator, play therapist, individual psychotherapist and parent coach. She is a certified CPS Provider (Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model developed by Ross Greene, PhD) and currently meets virtually with parents and families across the country.

Barbara also developed Transdisciplinary Workshops, Inc. organizing over 200 continuing education events for professionals and parents wanting to learn more about cognitive diversity, psychology and mental health.

In this interview I spoke with Barbara about the basics of CPS, how people can use CPS to better connect with their partners and their children. And we also talked about some ways to listen reflectively in order to understand each other’s concerns to create connection, rather than deflecting and/or correcting each other’s concerns, which tends to lead to disconnection, stress, and reactivity.

Barbara lives in coastal Maine where she enjoys traveling to local islands as well as sharing her great interest in geometric origami.

She can be reached at Barbara@transdis.com

And you can listen to my other podcast, the Once Upon an Upset Podcast for kids and parents at OnceUponAnUpset.com.

On today's episode, I interviewed Lyric Holmans, an autistic self-advocate from Texas who runs the neurodiversity lifestyle blog Neurodivergent Rebel. They are also the founder of NeuroDivergent Consulting. Lyric is known as the pioneer of the #AskingAutistics hashtag, where simple questions prompt open-ended responses that Autistic people can easily chime in with, and invites participants to engage each other in conversations related to the topic. This hashtag connects NeuroDiverse people who would not otherwise have a reason to engage with each other, and fosters collective understanding of the Autistic Experience.

Links to learn more:

NeuroDivergentRebel.com

NeuroDivergentConsulting.org

https://www.facebook.com/NeurodivergentRebel

And you can listen to my other podcast, the Once Upon an Upset Podcast for kids and parents at OnceUponAnUpset.com.

On today’s episode, I interviewed Kelsie, who goes by The Occuplaytional Therapist online, where she writes about everything from space-themed activities to sensory processing. She shares insights from a school-based professional perspective about IEPs, child development, and working with kids with disabilities, as well as a more personal perspective as a mom herself, and all focused on the importance of learning through play.

In this episode, we talk about sensory processing and some of what kids who have sensory processing challenges go through, how we as parents can support them, and how we can also support ourselves while we’re having sensory challenges of our own.

I want to apologize in advance for some technical glitches in this interview. But in my opinion, they are minor and don’t detract from this really interesting conversation I had with Kelsie, who is a such a brilliant, insightful and generous human being.

You can follow Kelsie’s amazing Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/occuplaytional.

And you can listen to my other podcast, the Once Upon an Upset Podcast for kids and parents at www.onceuponanupset.com.

I had the privilege of speaking with Steven C. Hayes, a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Steven has written 46 books and nearly 650 scientific articles, and originated Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (or ACT), a popular evidence-based form of psychotherapy that uses mindfulness, acceptance, and values-based methods.

What makes him particularly inspiring to me personally, is that he himself has a history of panic disorder and has used his own methods for understanding and reframing these behaviors.

His work has shown to make an enormous difference to people of all walks of life, whether they’re suffering from depression or OCD behavior, or want to boost their performance and well-being.

In my conversation with him, Steven gives a brief summary of the principals of his work, and then we talk about topics including parenting a child with anxiety or OCD behavior, and also some ideas for how to strengthen one’s values and habits, even when destructive thoughts are present.

I’m definitely a writer more than an interviewer, but I hope you’ll enjoy the conversation and carry away something valuable to use in the moments of your life.

(For adults only.)

For more information on Steven C. Hayes, visit www.stevenchayes.com.

To listen to my other podcast, the Once Upon an Upset Podcast for kids and parents, visit www.onceuponanupset.com.