Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: An Interview with Dr. Barbara Stroud

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Release Date: 08/15/2022

Private Practice Planning for the Future of Mental Healthcare: An Interview with Maureen Werrbach

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Private Practice Planning for the Future of Mental Healthcare: An Interview with Maureen Werrbach Curt and Katie interview Maureen Werrbach of the Group Practice Exchange on upcoming trends for mental healthcare. We talk about what is predicted, how to prepare your private practice for success in 2023, and how to plan for unexpected changes to our profession. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! An Interview with Maureen Werrbach, LCPC, The Group Practice Exchange Maureen Werrbach established The Group Practice Exchange after starting her private practice, Urban Wellness, and...

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Thoughts on investing and getting paid as a therapist

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Thoughts on investing and getting paid as a therapist Curt and Katie chat about money: considerations for investing and getting paid as a therapist. We look at typical unpaid opportunities and how to decide whether to do them. We also talk about client care practices that may take time, but could keep clients. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about money mistakes that many therapists make We talk a lot about making sure that therapists get paid, but thought it was worth talking about when therapists...

How to Manage Your Practice as a Traveling Therapist: An Interview with Kym Tolson, LCSW

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

How to Manage Your Practice as a Traveling Therapist: An Interview with Kym Tolson, LCSW Curt and Katie interview Kym Tolson, the traveling therapist. We look at how a modern therapist can be a digital nomad, including what business logistics to consider as well as how to travel well. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! An Interview with Kym Tolson, LCSW I'm Kym Tolson, I'm an LCSW and CSAC licensed in the state of Virginia. I have an online insurance-based therapy practice. I lived in Florida until 2/2/22 when we (my BF and I) became digital nomads. Now, we will live in...

Smarter than SMART: How therapists can improve goal-setting with clients

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Smarter than SMART: How therapists can improve goal-setting with clients Curt and Katie chat about setting goals. We look at why goals are important to therapists, SMART goals (what they are, what works and what doesn’t), and how to move beyond SMART goals to more robust goal setting and behavior design. This is a continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about how to strengthen your goal-setting skills Many therapists learn SMART Goals and objectives as the primary tools for creating treatment plans. Oftentimes, goal...

Navigating the Social Media Self-Diagnosis Trend

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Navigating the Social Media Self-Diagnosis Trend Curt and Katie chat about the TikTok Mental Health and the self-diagnosis trend. We dig into what diagnosis is (and what is actually useful about diagnosis). We also explore the concerns with social media self-diagnosis as well as how we can support our clients with getting accurate assessment and treatment. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about self-diagnosis and the impact of social media We have both heard about TikTok diagnoses in our practices and wanted to talk about how therapists...

What Therapists Should Know About Sexual Health, Monkey Pox, and the Echoes of the AIDS Epidemic: An Interview with Mallory Garrett, LMFT

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

What Therapists Should Know About Sexual Health, Monkey Pox, and the Echoes of the AIDS Epidemic: An Interview with Mallory Garrett, LMFT Curt and Katie interview Mallory Garrett about sexual health as well as the current concerns related to Monkey Pox. We discuss what therapists usually get wrong when working with sexual health, what therapists need to know about STIs, as well as Monkey Pox. We talk about the relevant history of the HIV/AIDs epidemic and the community responses to Monkey Pox. We also look at how therapists can be most helpful to clients within our scope of practice. Resources...

It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

It’s the Lack of Thought That Counts: Ethical Decision Making in Dual Relationships Curt and Katie chat about dual relationships. We talk about the types of dual relationships, how often therapists get in trouble for these types of relationships, how to manage dual relationships, and the ethical decision making process to go through to decide whether to engage in a dual relationship. This is a law and ethics continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about ethical decision making to navigate dual relationships We take a...

How Can Therapists Help Couples Recover from Infidelity?: An Interview with Dr. Talal H. Alsaleem

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

How Can Therapists Help Couples Recover from Infidelity?: An Interview with Dr. Talal H. Alsaleem Curt and Katie interview Dr. Talal H. Alsaleem, Psy.D, LMFT about System Affair Recovery Treatment (SART) and how therapists can better address infidelity in treatment. We discuss what therapists usually get wrong when working with infidelity, the difference between typical couples counseling and affair recovery, and why infidelity happens. We also look at the SART Model as well as tactics and treatment teaming. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! An Interview with Dr. Talal H....

Why Aren’t Men Becoming Therapists Anymore?

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Why Aren’t Men Becoming Therapists Anymore? Curt and Katie chat about the lack of male therapists and the decreasing number of male students in the profession. We look at current statistics and reported experiences of men in the field. We also dig into what needs to change to balance gender representation and increase the number of men becoming therapists. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about male therapists Continuing forward within men’s health month, we are looking at the state of the profession for male therapists....

Why Men Don’t Stay in Therapy

The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Why Men Don’t Stay in Therapy Curt and Katie chat about men’s mental health. We look at why men typically go to therapy, their experiences while in therapy, what therapists get wrong when working with men, and how therapists better support the needs of men seeking mental health treatment. Transcripts for this episode will be available at ! In this podcast episode we talk about men seeking therapy For Men’s Health Awareness month, we want to explore men seeking mental health services. Why do men typically go to therapy? Others telling men to go to therapy Career or...

More Episodes

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: An Interview with Dr. Barbara Stroud

Curt and Katie interview Dr. Barbara Stroud on infant and early childhood mental health. We explore what therapists need to know about working with very young children, including the latest brain science and the very earliest developmental stages. We talk about the importance of children being safe, seen, heard, and helped. We also look at the importance of culture and how to support under-resourced families.

Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!

An Interview with Dr. Barbara Stroud

Barbara Stroud, PhD, is a licensed psychologist with over three decades worth of culturally informed clinical practice in early childhood development and mental health. She is a founding organizer and the inaugural president (2017-2019) of the California Association for Infant Mental Health, a ZERO TO THREE Fellow, and holds prestigious endorsements as an Infant and Family Mental Health Specialist/Reflective Practice Facilitator Mentor. In 2018 Dr. Stroud was honored with the Bruce D. Perry Spirit of the Child Award. Embedded in all of her trainings and consultations are the activities of reflective practice, demonstrating cultural attunement, and holding a social justice lens in the work. Dr. Stroud’s book “How to Measure a Relationship” [published 2012] is improving infant mental health practices around the globe and is now available in Spanish. Her second book, an Amazon best seller, “Intentional Living: finding the inner peace to create successful relationships” walks the reader through a deeper understanding of how their brain influences relationships. Both volumes are currently available on Amazon. Additionally, Dr. Stroud is a contributing author to the text “Infant and early childhood mental health: Core concepts and clinical practice” edited by Kristie Brandt, Bruce Perry, Steve Seligman, & Ed Tronick.

Dr. Stroud received her Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from Nova Southeastern University, and she has worked largely with children in urban communities with severe emotional disturbance. Dr. Stroud’s professional career path has allowed her to work across service delivery silos supporting professionals in mental health, early intervention (part c), child welfare, early care and education, family court staff, primary care, and other arenas. She is highly regarded and has been a key player in the inception and implementation of cutting-edge service delivery to children Prenatal to five and their families; her innovative approaches have won national awards. More specifically, Dr. Stroud is a former preschool director, a non-public school administrator, director of infant mental health services and agency training coordinator. She has held an adjunct faculty position at California State Long Beach and maintained a faculty position in the Infant-Parent Mental Health Fellowship for 12 years. Currently, Dr. Stroud’s primary focus is professional training and private consultation from an anti-racist lens, with a focus on social justice, in the field of infant mental health. Dr. Stroud remains steadfast in her mission to ‘changing the world – one relationship at a time’.

In this podcast episode, we talk about mental health services for infants and young children

Curt and Katie continue to identify gaps in typical therapist training. One such gap is working with children 0-5. We reached out to Dr. Barbara Stroud, expert in infant and early childhood to help us learn what therapists need to know about this age group.

What is infant and early childhood mental health?

“What I often say to parents and providers is, it's our job to be the bigger cortex for the dysregulated midbrain. So, your little kid is not bad, they're not misbehaving, their dysregulated midbrain is doing the best it can. And we have to step in and be the cortex that holds that dysregulation and nurtures them through this process.” – Dr. Barbara Stroud

Looking at big feelings and social and emotional development
The current brain science that is impacting infant and early childhood mental health
How adults impact infant developing brains

What are the basics that therapists should know when working with children under 5 years old?

The importance of dyadic therapy
Parent training
Social emotional developmental stages
The damage of punishment on the development of an authentic self

What infants need to love themselves, have healthy development

“Let me give you something that I give parents and I give childcare providers and I give therapists as a way of thinking about one simple thing you can do and always remember that will support your child's social emotional health: keep them safe, make them feel seen, heard, and helped.” – Dr. Barbara Stroud

Infants want to be safe, seen, heard, and helped
Co-regulation and holding the big feeling with the child
The impacts of this work on adults
Transgenerational work – we treat the parent in the way that we would like the parent to treat the child
How to support parents in healing their own wounds

Therapy Interventions for infants and children under five years old

Play therapy is complex and advanced and requires training and supervision
Before children can think symbolically or have words, play is not effective
Attunement and attachment work

The impact of the pandemic on social emotional development

Developmental delays seen in research of kids related to the pandemic
The way children can catch up developmentally
The impact of parents’ stress responses on availability
How the lack of interaction with age-mates impacts development
The responses to stress based on these delays

Cultural impacts on early childhood development

Questions to ask about cultural and family traditions
The stories to explore and the importance of stories and practices
How to explore areas of inequity and disparities
Understanding our power as professionals

Interventions for families with very young children

“We can take everyday tasks and turn them into not just nurturing moments, but therapeutic moments… take nurturing tasks that parents have to do already (it's already something they're going to do) and turn it into a therapeutic moment.” – Dr. Barbara Stroud

Helping families to identify what they are able to do to make changes
The importance of predictability for families with a lot of chaos
How therapists without kids can work with parents
How parenting is an individual journey
The importance of loving kids and being emotionally available to kids

Our Generous Sponsor for this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide:

Thrizer

Thrizer is a new modern billing platform for therapists that was built on the belief that therapy should be accessible AND clinicians should earn what they are worth. Their platform automatically gets clients reimbursed by their insurance after every session. Just by billing your clients through Thrizer, you can potentially save them hundreds every month, with no extra work on your end. Every time you bill a client through Thrizer, an insurance claim is automatically generated and sent directly to the client's insurance. From there, Thrizer provides concierge support to ensure clients get their reimbursement quickly, directly into their bank account. By eliminating reimbursement by check, confusion around benefits, and obscurity with reimbursement status, they allow your clients to focus on what actually matters rather than worrying about their money. It is very quick to get set up and it works great in completement with EHR systems. Their team is super helpful and responsive, and the founder is actually a long-time therapy client who grew frustrated with his reimbursement times The best part is you don't need to give up your rate. They charge a standard 3% payment processing fee!

Thrizer lets you become more accessible while remaining in complete control of your practice. A better experience for your clients during therapy means higher retention. Money won't be the reason they quit on therapy. Sign up using bit.ly/moderntherapists if you want to test Thrizer completely risk free! Sign up for Thrizer with code 'moderntherapists' for 1 month of no credit card fees or payment processing fees! That’s right - you will get one month of no payment processing fees, meaning you earn 100% of your cash rate during that time.

Resources for Modern Therapists mentioned in this Podcast Episode:

We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!
drbarbarastroud.com

Dr. Barbara Stroud | Changing The World One Relationship at a Time

Using Reflective Practice to Examine Microaggressions

The ABC's of Trauma with Dr. Chandra Ghosh Ippen

https://mcsilver.nyu.edu/ttac-deconstruct-racism/

YouTube: Dr. Barbara Stroud

Facebook: Barbara Stroud Training

LinkedIn: Dr. Barbara Stroud

https://profectum.org/

Relevant Episodes of MTSG Podcast:

Crafting Your Authentic Message: An interview with Mercedes Samudio, LCSW

Navigating Pregnancy as a Therapist: An interview with Emily Sanders, LMFT

Infertility and Pregnancy Loss: An interview with Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy, LMFT, PMH-C

Field-Based Private Practice: An Interview with Megan Costello, LMFT

Who we are:

Curt Widhalm, LMFT

Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and CSUN, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com

Katie Vernoy, LMFT

Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also a former President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com

A Quick Note:

Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.

Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.