Today's guest is Gael Aitor— the creator and co-host of Teenager Therapy—the biggest teen mental health podcast in the world. Teenager Therapy has been featured in the New York Times, Teen Vogue, and has had guests like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. He is also the co-founder of Astro Studios, a podcast studio aiming to help Gen Z feel less alone. We discuss what made him want to start Teenager Therapy and why this podcast was so unique, the pressures and responsibilities of being so vulnerable on a podcast with a such large audience, the process of choosing guests, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, to be on Teenager Therapy, common themes that teenagers are struggling with today and advice he most frequently gives on those topics, how his mental health has evolved from his teenage years until now, what’s next for him after wrapping Teenager Therapy, and his advice for teens who want to start their own podcasts.

Today's guest is David Alperovitz— an assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the current program director of the Klarman Eating Disorders Center at McLean Hospital, where he has worked for over 25 years. We discuss his experiences working with people with trauma, eating disorders, and OCD, the role of courage in those being treated for mental health disorders, his work at the Klarman Eating Disorders Center and what the center’s treatment approach looks like, key things people should look for when seeking evidence-based treatment for an eating disorder, things he wishes the general public knew about eating disorders and OCD, what eating disorders have in common with anxiety disorders and OCD, his advice for someone experiencing an eating disorder who is considering reaching out for help, and tips from his work at Klarman that teens can incorporate into their daily lives.

In this week's solo episode, I share some of my favorite psychology facts that you can use to improve your mental health and overall well-being! I discuss shocking statistics on mental health rates in adults and teenagers, why humans are naturally resilient, what happy people have in common and the surprising benefits to our negative emotions, how our moods can affect our judgments about others, positive psychology techniques that you can use to improve your mood and well-being, a life hack on how to get better sleep, and how to rewire your brain to have more optimism and self-efficacy. If you're looking for evidence-based ways to feel happier or just want to learn more about psychology, then this episode is a MUST-LISTEN!

Today's guest is Ann Coleman— a mom, attorney, educator, podcaster, and an advocate for parenting teens. After her son struggled with ADHD and multiple mental health disorders and behavior issues during his teen years, Ann quit practicing law to study adolescence and help other parents learn what she hadn’t known. We discuss her experiences parenting a son struggling with his mental health and how her emotions affected her parenting, advice to parents who want to understand their role in their teen’s mental health and improve their relationship with their child, what parents can do if their teen asks for help with their mental health, insights for parents who are out of ideas on how to help their teen get better, tips on how parents can maintain their mental health while their teen struggles, daily ways parents can support their teen’s mental health and prevent them from struggling in the future, and research and resources on raising teens that all parents should know about.

Today's guest is Gigi Robinson— a chronic illness and body positivity advocate, Sports Illustrated Swim Search finalist, speaker, and podcast host. We discuss her advice on navigating chronic illness as a student and how to advocate for your health, when it’s time to ask for help and set personal boundaries as a student dealing with stress and burnout, what it’s like being a social media creator and how to create an authentic platform, her experience as a Sports Illustrated model, and her tips on how to share your story via social media in a successful way.

In this week's solo episode, I break down my goals for my junior year of college and answer a bunch of your questions! I discuss what my exact goals are for my junior year at Penn, how I pursue my goals with a healthy mindset, if studying psychology in school brings up emotions relating to my mental health struggles, what listeners can expect from the podcast this school year, what it’s like being an upperclassman in college, things I learned in my first two years at Penn that I’m incorporating into this year, tips on balancing school with other projects, and other rapid-fire answers to your questions. If you're looking to set goals for your school year or just want to learn more about my college experience, this episode is for you!

Today's guest is Leandro Olszanski— a board-certified psychotherapist with 10+ years of experience helping teenagers, adults, and couples navigate their unique life challenges. He also shares mental health content on TikTok as @your.tiktok.therap1st, amassing over 3 million followers. We discuss the mental health care system in the United States, differences between going to therapy as a teen versus as an adult, the most common problems that teens are facing today, advice for teens and parents on how to improve their parent-child relationships, views on the mental health community on TikTok and how it can affect teens, and insights for teens who are in crisis or struggling with their mental health.

Today's guest is Dr. Caroline Fenkel— a leader in adolescent mental healthcare with over fifteen years of direct clinical experience working with youth and families. Dr. Fenkel oversees all aspects of clinical programming at Charlie Health— the largest provider of virtual IOP treatment programs for teens, young adults, and families navigating mental health challenges. We discuss why it’s so important to seek evidence-based treatments for mental health challenges and first steps to take to find treatment, how Covid has affected teen mental health and its treatment, why family systems can often cause loneliness and isolation, negative effects and warning signs of loneliness and isolation, why many teens don’t take the steps to decrease their loneliness and how to break this cycle, ways a teen’s support system can help them to feel less lonely, advice for parents of teens experiencing loneliness, and how teens can increase connectedness and independence.

This week's solo episode is about tracking your mental health! I discuss how tracking your mental health can increase awareness and therefore facilitate behavior and mood changes. I cover different types of tracking such as DBT diary cards, bullet journaling, emotion trackers, apps, and more! We also go over how tracking can vary in an inpatient and clinical vs. outpatient and more casual setting. Finally, I discuss how I currently track my mental health to maintain recovery and emotional stability! If you're feeling like you're not making progress in your mental health journey, this episode is for you!

Today's guest is Nicole Baker—a life coach specializing in helping perfectionists, a Life Coach Baker podcast host, and a goal-setting specialist. We discuss why perfectionists tend to struggle with anxiety, differences between being a perfectionist and being a high-achiever, how perfectionists’ brains are wired differently than the typical brain, why certain people are proud to be perfectionists, how you can determine which type of perfectionist you are and the strengths and weaknesses of each type, steps you can take to heal from each type of perfectionism, and myths about perfectionism debunked. If you're looking to figure out how to keep reaching your goals without the pressures of perfectionism, this episode is a MUST-LISTEN!

Today's guest is Erin Treolar—a celebrity health & life coach, meditation teacher, and host of the Raw Beauty Talks podcast. We discuss Erin's experience navigating an eating disorder at 16, overcoming fear surrounding accepting treatment, the cognitive distortions of anorexia/aka the eating disorder "voice," how mental eating disorders are despite being perceived as being very behavior-based, why self-love and mindset are essential in any sustainable health goal, how you can support a loved one struggling with an ED, and how to approach social media when you're struggling with body image. If you or a loved one struggles with disordered eating—70% of women will in their lifetime—I HIGHLY recommend giving this episode a listen.

Today's solo episode is all about emotional vulnerability in teens! I explain the DBT model of emotions and the biopsychosocial theory as a background for how teens understand their emotions and why certain teens are more emotionally reactive. I then discuss why physical vulnerability affects teens' emotional regulation skills and how to decrease physical vulnerability using the DBT PLEASE skill. This episode is a MUST LISTEN for teens wanting to learn emotional regulation skills and for parents looking to understand their teens' emotions better!

Today's guest is Abbie Stasior— a Columbia University graduate student, soon to be Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, and founder of Be About Being Better, a company that aims to show people a diet-free, sustainable healthy lifestyle is possible. In this episode, we discuss the dangers of diet culture, the differences between being healthy versus engaging in disordered behaviors and when to get a professional’s opinion on your health, steps people can take to heal from under-eating or over-eating, how to create a more healthy relationship with exercise, and tips for how to give yourself grace when making changes to your health.

Kate is an expert college coach and admissions consultant dedicated to unlocking the full potential of young individuals and guiding them toward their academic aspirations. In this episode, we discuss tips and brainstorming exercises for how to craft your resume and essays when applying to colleges, advice on what colleges are really looking for in your applications and what you can do to stand out, steps on how to start writing your college admissions essays, signs you may be spending too much or too little time working on your college applications, recommendations on who you should share your college essays with (and who to avoid sharing with), and what the biggest mistakes students make during the college application process are and how to avoid them.

In today's solo episode, I am answering a bunch of your questions on mental health when applying to college and while attending college! I talk all about how to practice self-care even while busy in college and how to avoid burnout, how you can enjoy the present and make the most of your college experience, what to do when your workload is becoming overwhelming, what you can do freshman year to set yourself up for college success, how to deal with rejection during the college admissions process, and how to manage your stress during final exams and when applying for jobs and internships while in school. This episode is a MUST LISTEN if you're wondering how to optimize your mental health while making the transition into college!

#149 Today's guests are Dr. Sarah Olivo and Dr. Liz Seidler— two clinical psychologists and hosts of the College is Fine, Everything is Fine podcast who've helped students navigate the highs and lows of college for over a decade. In this episode, we discuss why college students can benefit from using DBT skills, how to manage your emotions, understand others’ states of mind, and use your wise mind as a college student, common dialectics that college students deal with, specific DBT skills for college students on reducing emotional vulnerability, improving relationships, and self-advocacy, and advice for college freshmen who are struggling.

Today's guest is Emi Nietfeld— an author, mental health advocate, and speaker whose works include her 2022 memoir Acceptance and her viral New York Times essay on her experience working at Google. In this episode, we discuss how she incorporated her mental health journey into her Harvard admissions essays, how to navigate the college admissions process when your mental health has affected your transcripts, how to disclose your mental health experiences on college applications, what types of support systems can make an impact on college admissions, how competition with your peers can affect the application process, and mental health reminders you need to hear when applying to college.

Today's guest is Dr. Bianca Busch— a board-certified adult and board-eligible child & adolescent psychiatrist who specializes in helping college students flourish. In this episode, we discuss why exactly college students experience so many mental health challenges, signs your mental health may be at a breaking point in college and when/where to reach out for support, ways to boost your mental health while transitioning to college and key mental health skills to use while you’re in college, and what she wishes student health services could do differently to support students’ mental health.

Today's solo episode is all about how to maintain your mental health (aka avoid making your mental health WORSE) during times when you're struggling! We discuss the background on why keeping your mental health at a net neutral is effective from a DBT perspective and then dive into coping mechanisms and skills you can use to prevent your mental health from getting worse in the short AND long-term. These skills include the STOP, TIPP, distraction, and riding the wave skills as well as the radical acceptance, cope ahead, and accumulating positives skills. This episode is a MUST LISTEN if you struggle with maladaptive coping skills and are looking for manageable ways to keep your mental health from deteriorating during difficult times.

Today's guest is Nicole Shallow— a sleep expert, behavior coach, and public speaker who works to help others develop habits that ultimately improve their overall quality of life. In this episode, we discuss signs that you might be struggling to get good sleep, why teenagers often struggle most with getting good sleep, an ideal sleep schedule for teens and how teens can begin to try out this schedule, why getting good sleep is so important for your mental health, what to do during the day to get better sleep at night and the optimal nighttime routine for good sleep, and popular sleep myths debunked.