Mental Health News Radio

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.comwww.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.

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 we

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

Dr. Victoria Naumann joins us live from the Converge Autism conference by Springbrook Behavioral Health in Greenville, South Carolina. She is the Executive Director & Owner of Greenville's Brain Balance center and an exhibitor of this event. She stops by the media room to discuss how her center works with all children including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Dr. Naumann became part of the Brain Balance team in 2008 .  Her background in health care as a chiropractic neurologist and the training she has had with Dr. Robert Melillo led her leave the health care field and focus on children with challenges.  She has never looked back and seeing children go from can’t do to can do during their sessions at Brain Balance is the reason. Along with being part of the Greenville, Charlotte and Cornelius Brain Balance Centers Dr. Naumann also enjoys her family, being outside with horses, and furthering her knowledge about neurology. www.mhnrnetwork.com

Join us for an impromtu podcast about the dangers we see in behavioral health regarding patient privacy. Stephen Kavalkavich of Rescue the Rescuer, Dr. John Huber of Mainstream Mental Health and Brian Cuban (Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Advocate and Best-Selling Author of The Addicted Lawyer) join our host, Kristin Sunanta Walker, to discuss how social media can become a nest of patient rights violations. Using possible examples from real life each guest dissects how one post can shame someone in a very delicate place in their lives struggling with addiction and mental health issues. What can this do to the person seeking help? How does this affect any business possibly associated with the violation of patient rights? Is there a difference between sharing a history of abuse at the hands of others and sharing information about someone's addiction?www.mhnrnetwork.com

Mike Rowley joins us live at Converge Autism to discuss the advocacy and self-education parents have gained as services were not available. He is the CEO at SpringBrook Behavioral Health. SpringBrook is 112 psychiatric hospital offering short term acute psychiatric services for adults, long term services for children with behavioral and psychiatric issues and long term services for children with Autism.

Kimberly Kizito stopped by the media room where Mental Health News Radio was broadcasting podcasts live from the 2nd annual Converge Autism conference with Springbrook Behavioral Health. Kim serves as an advocate for parents of children with autism. She works closely with parents by attending school IEP and 504 meetings to ensure proper accommodations for the child. She is a parent mentor for the South Carolina Autism Society. 

Rachel Groesser is a recreational therapist with Beacon Speech Pathology Sensory Learning Center. She stopped by Mental Health News Radio in the media room at the Converge Autism conference by Springbrook Behavioral Health. She and host, Kristin Walker, discussed why she became a recreation therapist and what drew her to the field of behavioral health.Beacon joined this amazing venue as an exhibitor of this fast growing conference in Greenville, South Carolina.

Live at the 2nd annual Converge Autism conference by Springbrook Behavioral Health we speak with Dr. Celene Saulnier. Celene is one of the presenters at the conference. Celene is with Marcus Autism Center.Dr. Saulnier obtained her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Connecticut, after which she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center under the mentorship of Dr. Ami Klin. After her postdoc, Dr. Saulnier joined the Yale faculty, where she became both the Clinical Director and the Training Director for the Autism Program, managing and supervising multidisciplinary diagnostic evaluations on individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from infancy through young adulthood. At Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Saulnier is the Director of the Clinical Assessment Core for the NIH Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) grant, overseeing clinical and diagnostic evaluations on infants and toddlers with and at risk for ASD. In addition to her research on early detection, Dr. Saulnier’

Listeners - We started using it. Our podcasters are excited. We love products and services that actually help aid in mental well being. Listen to our host, Kristin Walker, as she interviews the President of Fisher Wallace, Chip Fisher. They talk about this powerful device. This is NOT a boring technology show (not that we think behavioral health technology is boring). This is straight talk about something that should be utilized with every person suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, and more. Chip is honest about his own struggles with depression and he also uses the device himself. For twenty years now, Fisher Wallace Laboratories has been working to improve the awareness of cranial electrotherapy stimulation in the medical community and to reduce dependencies on medications. To that end, the company, led by founder Chip Fisher, has marketed its Cranial Stimulator, a drug-free device available through prescription from any health practitioner licensed for electrotherapy in the United State

Julie Coons is a wife, mother, and grandmother who lives in a small town in Oregon. She hopes to eventually travel the world while spreading the important message of ending the cycle of abuse. Visit juliecoons.com to learn more.How does a little girl survive an abusive mother, Catholic school, rape, and a near-death experience? Raised by an abusive, narcissistic mother (who once tried to trick her into having an abortion), Julie Coons was also raped in college by a stranger and later married an abusive man who threatened to kill her if she ever tried to leave. Suffering from physical and mental torment resulting in very low self-esteem, Julie often felt so completely alone during the many struggles of her life that she tried to take her own life. This book is her true story—telling all the secrets she was never allowed to tell to encourage and motivate others to heal their own lives and break the cycle of abuse. Her story shows that there is hope and life after abuse. Now that the secrets are finally out, Jul

Dr. Marlene Maheu will be presenting at the 18th Annual Behavioral Health Informatics Conference and Exposition where our CEO is moderating discussions and podcasting. Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D. started delivering her first telehealth service in 1994. Donned the “telepsychology visionary” by former APA President Pat DeLeon, PhD, JD, MPH, she is a consultant, researcher, author, trainer and keynoter. Dr. Maheu has addressed more than 20,000 professionals interested in legal and ethical best practices related to telehealth and various technologies. She serves as the Executive Director of the Telebehavioral Health Institute, Inc., where she oversees the development and delivery of professional training in telebehavioral health via an eLearning platform that has served behavioral clinicians from more than 55 countries.For more than twenty years then, Dr. Maheu’s focus has been legal and ethical risk management related to the use of technologies to better serve behavioral health clients and patients. She has served o

Join the delightful and inspiring Rukshana Triem as she discusses her early life in a refugee camp in Mozambique and eventual path to America. Rukshana Triem is a former refugee and Immigrant from Mozambique. She came to the United States in the 1990s. After overcoming sexual abuse, she became an advocate for parents and childcare providers to support them on their healing journey. She is now the CEO of her women's coaching business, where she helps women overcome their rough pasts and create their desired beautiful lives through nature retreats and different online coaching programs and communities. Rukshana holds a B.S. in Human Development and has also worked as an early childhood teacher, trainer, mentor, and social worker. When she's not working, she's spending time with her family, volunteering, and taking women on outdoor adventures.https://www.facebook.com/womenslifestylecoaching

Jacklyn Murphy joins our host Kristin Walker to talk about her presentations for the Converge Autism conference with Springbrook Behavioral Health. Jacklyn Murphy is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist that specializes in children and adolescents. Prior to her work as a therapist, Ms. Murphy taught in a Title 1 public elementary school for six years. Ms. Murphy worked for over three years as a therapist at SpringBrook Behavioral Health in the residential treatment facility. While at SpringBrook Ms. Murphy worked with patients that were diagnosed with a variety of mental health concerns, behavioral diagnoses, and developmental delays, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2015 she completed a post-graduate certificate in “Evidence-Based and Empirically Informed Practices Addressing Problem Sexual Behavior in Youth” and frequently works with patients and clients that display sexually reactive behavior. In 2017 Ms. Murphy transitioned into a new role in which she created and implemented a therapeutic progr

As we join Springbrook Behavioral Health for their annual conference Converge Autism with our podcast it was important to interview Dr. Dave Vigerust, Chief Science Officer of MyGenetx. Our Program Director, Melanie Vann, is intimately familiar with Autism Spectrum Disorder. She and Dr. Vigerust discuss the latest research regarding genetics testing and how MyGenetx is playing a role in Autism Spectrum Disorder research.Dr. Vigerust is a strategic scientist, consultant, teacher, and inventor, particularly in the areas of infectious disease, oncology, genetics, pharmacogenetics (PGx) and immunology. Dr. Vigerust earned his BS degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in Biology and Chemistry, a MS degree in Immunology and Microbiology from Texas Tech University and his Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in infectious disease first at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and second at Vanderbilt University Medical

One of our hosts most compelling and personal shows. Dr. Ortman and Kristin Walker have a lively back and forth discussion about how anger can destroy the very fabric of your life. We live in the most aggressive society on the planet. The frequency of road rage, bullying, and violent crimes testifies to the intensity of our aggressive urges. For many, their anger becomes like a drug which energizes, numbs, and possesses them. They become like “rageholics” or “grudgeholics” who feel powerless over their hostile impulses.Modeled on the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, this book serves as a guide to help those possessed by anger to recover. Viewing your anger as an addiction, Dr. Dennis Ortman guides you through the time-tested Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to find healing and growth. He shows how the Steps offer practical wisdom to use the natural energy of your anger wisely and well. The Steps provide guidance for your personal journey through your hostile moods so that you can discover your true self

Stephanie C. Holmes, MA, BCCC is a professional counselor and certified autism specialist, but her real credentials come from being the mother of an amazing Aspie (AS) teenage daughter.  Stephanie's career focus changed in 2004 when her eldest daughter was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (ASD). Her book Confessions of a Christian Counselor: How Infertility and Autism Grew my Faith was released in 2015. The book includes her personal story as well as an interview with Dr. Tony Attwood on spectrum teens. She is currently pursuing her Ed.D. and hopes to bridge the gap of mental health and the education system working with students on the autism spectrum.Stephanie C Holmes, MA BCCCCertified Autism Specialistwww.counselorstephanieholmes.comwww.convergeautism.comwww.mhnrnetwork.com