Episode 6 of an exclusive 6-episode series.In case you missed it:  In episode 5 of this series, I spoke with my father, a man I admire and respect but we are at odds in our views. It's been difficult to reconcile who he is as a father with who he supports politically. So in today's episode, this therapist goes to therapy. I turn to Dr. Erica Ellis, a licensed clinical psychologist and my mentor. We recorded this episode one week post-election and it feels like a brave new world. But it's also just the beginning in this season of healing. We can't just bypass the pain, we've got to go through it. I don't know about you, but after four years of tension with it feeling as if our world is on the brink of disaster, I have some real grief to work through. Maybe you do too. This episode is meant to help anyone who may relate to take the first steps forward, however uneasy they may be.  So with that, I invite you to join us for a little family therapy .Guest: Dr. Erica Ellis, PSYD, CMT is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified massage therapist with over ten years of clinical experience in private, residential, and intensive outpatient settings. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and her Doctorate of Psychology from Alliant-California School of Professional Psychology, where her work focused on the intersection between psychological and physiological health. She has trained in traditional psychodynamic therapy as well as cutting edge somatic modalities including mindfulness meditation, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Neural Manipulation, and Visceral Manipulation.  Dr. Ellis is the founder of Nervous System Regulation, a mind-body touch therapy approach and Integrative Wellness Psychology, an interdisciplinary treatment model that specialize in bridging the brain, mind, body, and spirit.  She is also the Program Director for the Integrative Wellness Program at Community West Treatment in Los Angeles, CA.Dr. Ellis has worked in private practice in both Paris, France and Los Angeles, CA and her current practice includes adults, teens, and couples with a broad range of issues such as ADHD and executive function impairments, stress, depression, anxiety, trauma, psychosomatic illness, physical pains, and concerns related to identity, culture, expatriation, relationships, phase of life, empowerment, and authenticity.In addition to her practice, Dr. Ellis is adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University-Graduate School of Education and Psychology and Antioch University’s Master of Psychology Program.  She was also the Somatic Psychology Department Lead Faculty and Coordinator of Dissertations and Research and Part-Time Faculty in the Applied Clinical Department at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Mentioned: Seduced: Inside the NXIVM CultProduced by: Morgan MacDougall Productions

Episode 5 of an exclusive 6-episode series.We are just hours away from the election. This week, our country saw the highest amount of Covid cases ever recorded.  On the justice front, we as a nation watched as a new form of "justice" was installed in the Supreme Court.  There's a case about healthcare that threatens people with existing healthcare coverage on top of Trump's herd immunity strategy, which pretty much guarantees we become a nation of preexisting conditions. Now the Supreme court can potentially take away people's affordable health care and deny them coverage because of their pre-existing condition. There are a few LGBT issues on the docket as well. So we can look forward to a full assault on my rights and dignities. How's that on your psyche?On today's episode, I speak with my own father, a man I admire and respect but we are at odds in our views. There are so many things I want to ask him but won't. For example, I am won't ask him why he supports an anti-science party. I won't ask him about all the other people on the red team who have figured out what kind of danger Trump is but why he hasn't.Why? Because that conversation with him doesn't work. It makes him feel bad and defensive. While those are real questions, I'm not interested in harming our relationship today. Those conversations go nowhere and they divide my family and no one wins. I don't know who wins when families are at war. But it's certainly not families, when people are divided and distracted and tired and tuned out and saturated and just not listening anymore. Who do you think benefits? Hmm, I don't know, but I would look at who holds power and who stands to benefit?This is America today. Only days away from the most relevant, pressing and important election of our lifetime. And for anyone who wasn't sure. Elections have consequences. I hope that the last election will mature us for this election. Now, before you meet my dad, there's some important backstory: When I was a little girl, I was a daddy's girl. I still am in many ways. When I became a teenager and well into my twenties, my dad was the private OB/Gyn and kind of man all of my friends would turn to for questions about birth control, periods and other gynecologic queries (it was too embarrassing for anyone else). He is a safe, sturdy, reliable human being. And even though I disagree with him on politics and other things, I believe he is genuinely a good person and I'm very proud to be his daughter. My hope is that we can serve as an example to other families who may be at odds. Maybe it is possible to heal, understand and coexist at such a divisive time. Mentioned: Radical Compassion by Tara Brach Rage by Bob WoodwardFear: Trump in the White House by Bob WoodwardThe Wilderness, Crooked MediaWith Friends Like These by Crooked Media

Episode 4 of an exclusive 6-episode series.Have you ever been toward the end of a relationship and wondered "How did I not see this?"Denial is a little gift from our brain and comes in various styles, all meant to keep us and our fragile egos feel intact. Notice it's about feeling intact. It's not about growing.In fact, denial and growth are contra-indicated and we have a whole host of denial styles to keep us nice and shielded from the incoming pains of the world.  On today's episode, Renie talks with Dr. Gary Pearle, her mentor and psych hero who originally taught her about styles of denial and all their magnificent glory. About: Dr. Gary Pearle has been a therapist for 26 years.  Before that, he co-authored and directed the Broadway musical Tintypes and was the recipient of Helen Hayes and Joseph Jefferson awards for his work as a director in the American regional theatre.“In both of these careers I’ve been drawn by the very same thing: the sense of meaning and purpose that arises when we're animated by something that matters. What that is, of course, is very personal to each of us—and it can change. More than anything, therapy is a way of laying out the welcome mat for unexpected possibilities. That can take patience. But the secrets that unfold there are worth the wait.”Mentioned in this episode:Too Much and Never Enough

Episode 3 of an exclusive 6-episode series. In this episode, we talk contagious emotions, how emotions are passed from one person to another, like a contagion.  We catch emotions from each other,  partly because of empathy. Partly because of mirror neurons that pick these things up from other bodies, partly because evolution valued the trait.Empathy has evolved with us over time and can be contagious, like any other emotion. Fear is contagious. I'm sure you've realized. Grandiosity is contagious. Emotional pain of all sorts is contagious as is emotional literacy and emotional wellness. We pass these things to each other all the time. Guest: Stephanie Covington Armstrong, author of Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat, a Story of Bulimia. She is a writer, speaker, mother, survivor, and advocate for healing trauma and the relationship with food. We discuss how the absorption of various messages from her family influenced her life experience. Mentioned in this Episode: Take the ACE Quiz (Adverse Childhood Experiences)Brene Brown on EmpathyRichard Dawkins on Memes

Episode #2 in a 6-episode exclusive series. This podcast began as treatment notes on election night in 2016. Without knowing much about Donald Trump, I knew some of what we as a nation could expect based on his public behaviors for decades; after all the best predictor of future behavior is past and current behavior.What's clear from decades of direct observation of Trump is that he has a rigid idiosyncratic behavior pattern. It is predictable and it is avoidable. I thought it was clear as day, but yet this was and is not obvious to everyone -- regardless of party. This is not about party. This is about psychology and in this case, abnormal psychology.  As our culture increasingly promotes narcissism through social media and technology, this could really happen to anyone. I took it for granted before the election that obviously everyone saw what I saw; it was directly observable, but apparently not.And over the past three and a half years, we've had to suffer as a nation. My hope in this podcast is to help you develop your own integrated psychological lens, just like in therapy, to gain insight and awareness, maybe a new perspective, a tool and grow our shared consciousness.In this episode, we discuss the costs of emotional illiteracy. What is emotional illiteracy and what are the real costs? We'll increase our EQ by hearing from two experts to who will teach us what to look for in order to spot these types, these traits, these psychological malignancies that are identifiable, predictable and absolutely avoidable. GUESTS:Dr. Cynthia Lermond is a Licensed Psychologist and Community Program Director specializing in Forensic Psychology. She is an experienced professional whose skills and interests include: forensic evaluations and expert witness testimony; clinical oversight and program development of multi-disciplinary treatment teams; psychotherapy, risk assessment, crisis intervention, and treatment planning in forensic settings; and training, education and clinical supervision of staff, students and interns. John Snibbe, Ph.D. is a retired Clinical Psychologist who began the journey called retirement in March on 2012 after 40+ years of working. He has served in variety of clinical operations like psychiatric hospitals, a psychotherapy clinics and emergency services. He has also worked with LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He has authored or edited four books and many research articles. His pre-retirement assignment was managing 24/7 Psychiatric Emergency Services for the southern half of Los Angeles County. Like many professionals who have worked in high-octane environments, coming to the tipping point of unlimited leisure and infinite horizons was seductive and frightening. Finding meaning in later life has been a complex learning process requiring persistence, exploration and flexibility.Mentioned in this episode: My Grandmother's HandsSnakes in SuitsClient 9: Rise and Fall of Elliott Spitzer Greater Good Science Center

Episode #1 in a 6-episode exclusive series. On Poli-Psych 101, host Renie Schoenkerman talks to psychological experts about all the stuff we see playing out in America today. From professors to clinicians, forensic experts and self helpers, they explore the costs of emotional illiteracy and benefits of emotional intelligence.In this episode, Renie shares her own story of chaos; growing up in a home with an abusive, mentally Ill parent and how it has led to finding her purpose through her work and podcast. Now, as a Marriage and Family Therapist, she models a relational approach to problem solving and helps us all to open our minds and grow our worlds. Renie focuses on solutions instead of problems, seeking to raise consciousness and understanding and do some mending in America.

On November 8th, 2016, it became clear that Donald Trump would become the 45th President of the United States. For some, this was great news. For others, it evoked real grief and tears.For me, I took to my notebook. I'm Renie Schoenkerman, I'm a Marriage and Family Therapist. I've seen what happens in families when someone with mental illness is at the helm. Now imagine what that can do to a country. In Poli-Psych 101, we try to understand what's happening in this moment of American history, through an integrated psychological lens.This is not about politics or party. It's about living through the mental insanity that is so divisive. Families can't speak to each other, friends are on the outs -- our communities are crumbling.  Relationships are the bedrock of our existence. So we need a relational approach to problem solving. In Poli-Psych 101, we'll explore the costs of emotional illiteracy in the age of the mad king, uncover the benefits of emotional intelligence, moving into the post pandemic era; and extract lessons that will help us develop emotional intelligence so we can learn from our mistakes and live again with dignity, hope, a little grace.I hope you and your family will join me and my family for a little national family therapy In Poli-Psych 101.