Category Archives: conscious

What is Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD)?



Robyn Brickel, M.A., LMFT  discusses Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  She defines CPTSD, outlines best practices for recovery, and examines how it is both similar and different to PSTD.

Robyn is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 25+ years of experience providing psychotherapy, as well as the founder and clinical director of a private practice, Brickel and Associates, LLC in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. She and her team bring a strengths-based, trauma-informed, systems approach to the treatment of individuals (older adolescents and adults), couples and families.  She specializes in trauma (including attachment trauma) and the use of dissociative mechanisms, such as: self-harm, eating disorders and addictions.  She also approaches treatment of perinatal mental health from a trauma-informed lens.

Robyn guides clients and clinicians who wish to better understand the impact of trauma on mental health and relationships. She has a wide range of post graduate trauma and addictions education and is trained in numerous relational models of practice, including Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT), the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), and Imago therapy.   She is a trained Sensorimotor Psychotherapist and is a Certified, Senior Facilitator for Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), Certified EMDRIA therapist and Approved Consultant.  Utilizing all of these tools, along with mindfulness and ego state work to provide the best care to her clients. She prides herself in always learning and expanding her knowledge about the intricacies of treating complex trauma, trauma’s impact on the person and body, including the impact on maternal mental health and perinatal distress, all to aide clients in healing and post traumatic growth.

Read much more about Robyn on her website

She frequently shares insights, resources and links to mental health news on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram as well as in her blog at BrickelandAssociates.com


What Are 10 Mindful Lessons That Can Transform Your Relationships?



Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R, CGP stops by to discuss 10 mindful lessons you can use to strengthen all of the relationships in your life.

Michelle P. Maidenberg, Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R, CGP maintains a private practice in Harrison, NY. She is an adjunct graduate professor of Mindfulness Practice at New York University. She is the president and clinical director of the Thru My Eyes Foundation, a 501c3 organization that helps individuals with life-threatening illnesses create a video legacy for their loved ones. She has advanced training in CBT, ACT, Structural Family Therapy, Mindfulness, Polyvagal Theory, and is a Level II trained Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist.

Dr. Maidenberg is a contributing editor of GROUP, the journal of the Eastern Group Psychotherapy Society. She has also published in varied professional journals and was quoted in The New York Times, the Daily News, Fitness, Woman’s Day, Parents, and many other publications. Her book Free Your Child from Overeating: 53 Mind-Body Strategies for Lifelong Health utilizes strategies underpinned in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Mindfulness. Her new book is ACE Your Life: Unleash Your Best Self and Live the Life You Want.

Click for more information on Dr. Maidenberg:
Visit her website
Check out her blog on Psychology Today
Purchase her books


What Is Imposter Syndrome?



In this episode GiShawn Mance, PhD discusses imposter syndrome.  She defines what it is, the feelings associated with it, whether it is truly a “syndrome”, how to conquer any feelings of insecurity, and why women tend to experience it more.

Dr. GiShawn Mance is a clinical psychologist licensed in the state of Maryland.  She is dedicated to providing quality, comprehensive mental health services to meet the individual needs of each client.  Dr. Mance provides clinical individual, group, and family services to children and adults.  Her specialty areas include child mental health (6 yrs – 12yrs), trauma treatments, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and parent support.  Other clinical areas of expertise include mood and anxiety disorders, issues of adjustment, life transitions, and anger management.

Dr. Mance also has extensive experience in conducting cognitive assessments for children, adolescents, and adults.  Dr. Mance received her doctorate in clinical psychology from DePaul University.  She completed her clinical internship at Duke University Medical Center where she trained extensively in trauma treatments, ADHD, family therapy, and community mental health.  She has a master of arts in community psychology from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and a bachelor of science from Bethune Cookman University.  Dr. Mance completed a postdoctoral fellowship in community based participatory research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.Dr. Mance has partnered with communities both domestically and internationally influencing mental health practices and research. She has contributed to the national dialogue on race and mental health as a guest on WHUR, NPR, the Washington Post, National Geographic, and Yahoo.com.  

How Do You Attract, Maintain and End Relationships Mindfully?



Dr, Denise Fournier visits to discuss how to attract, maintain, and end relationships from a conscious, self-aware space.
Dr. Denise Fournier is a Miami-based psychotherapist, coach, university professor, and facilitator. With over 15 years in the mental health field, she’s worked with several hundred people, guiding them on their own unique growth journeys. She facilitates safe and sacred spaces for people to connect inward, work through challenges, define their own unique self-expression, and discover the healer and teacher living inside of them. Denise’s unique psychospiritual approach blends evidence-based mental health modalities with ancient traditions that unify the mind, body, and spirit.
Interested in receiving personalized coaching from Dr. Fournier? Beginning in Jan 2020 she will be providing remote services through  https://denisefournier.com/.

You can also check out her Psychology Today blog HERE

As well as her practice’s homepage HERE