Episodes

Shayna and Kathy are so excited to talk about their speciality today- child and adolescent mental health. They discuss the concepts behind integrating play and art into therapy with children and how it isn't just fun and games- real healing takes place. If you have children, if you know children... even if you ever were a child- you will get something out of this episode. Credits Artwork by Matthew Gwaltney- https://www.bdbumblebee.com Editing by Ryan Merrill- https://www.instagram.com/the_ner...

May the 4th be with you! In honor of Star Wars week, we are talking about the original trilogy. Shayna and Kathy are joined by Shayna's mom, Cindy, and Kathy's husband, Matt- both of whom watched A New Hope in the theater way back in 1977. We talk about what a game changer the movies were at the time, why they resonate with so many people, and how our lives have been impacted. We cover things like A Hero with a Thousand Faces, how important Princess Leia was for girls and women, and why villains...

Taylor Swift is a force- and there is a reason she is breaking records and selling out stadiums. She is a gifted songwriter who taps into some universal human emotions. Shayna (who is Taylor neutral) and Kathy (a recent Swifty) and joined by two long time Swifties, to chat abut mental health and Taylor Swift. Our return guest, Melody Granzow, is a licensed clinical social worker, certified yoga instructor, and college professor. Kayla Newman works in a mental health clinic, is a single mom, and ...

In this episode, Shayna and Kathy talk about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) from both sides of the couch. Pop culture and social media is rife with misinformation about OCD, and minimization of the debilitating nature of the disorder. Not only that, a lot of mental health therapists don't even understand the disorder, thinking it is about being a "neat freak germophobe". Shayna and Kathy talk about their own OCD diagnoses, their respective journeys to understanding their symptoms, and in ...

***Spoiler warning for season/part 1 of The Last of Us tv show and video game. Trigger warning for violence and fungus. Two mental health therapists, Shayna and Kathy, are joined by their nerdy editor, Ryan, to finish talking about the first season of The Last of Us. If you haven't already, listen to episode 28- talking about the first half of the season. Joel and Ellie continue to captivate us and break our hearts. Our discussions go into trauma, panic attacks and grief. We also talk about so...

On our first episode about Dungeons and Dragons (episode 13), Shayna was helping Kathy create her character in preparation for joining her first campaign. Now, we are joined by our friend, and fellow therapist, Olivia to talk more about the game in general, what we like about it, how it relates to mental health, and also check in on how our campaign is going. Citations and Credits Recent research- How youth can build social and emotional skills with table-top role-playing games Artwork by Ma...

**Spoiler alert for episodes 1-5 of The Last of Us. Shayna and Kathy are joined by their favorite nerdy editor, Ryan, to talk about the first half of the series, The Last of Us. Ryan brings his perspective of how the tv adaptation is compared to the video game. We delve into how Joel's trauma impacts how he interacts with the world, and of course talk all about Bill and Frank and their beautiful relationship. Kathy also goes into the very real information from the CDC and US Department of Defen...

Shayna and Kathy are joined by chef to the stars, Severin, to finish our series on taste. He also happens to be Kathy's brother. Severin trained under Caroline Fidanza in NYC, and has cooked for the likes of Alice Waters and the Beastie Boys. Join us on this twisty, turny ride as we discuss taste, bonding over food, Brussel sprouts, potatoes, cats, and how to be passive aggressive in your food gift giving. Credits: Food for Love: the role of food offering in empathetic emotion regulation Sal...

Kathy and Shayna are joined by Joey Pagano, author, therapist, professor, licensed social worker and recovering addict. Joey talks about his own history of addiction, his recovery and his commitment to helping other people struggling with substance abuse issues. Of note, we struggled with identifying realistic, empathetic representations of substance abuse in pop culture. Joey's book, No Addict Left Behind: It's a Recovery Medicine State of Mind, will be out April 25, 2023 on Amazon. You can ...

Shayna and Kathy are back from vacation and jumping back into the series on the 5 senses. On this episode they talk about scent. You get to hear Kathy geek out about one of her favorite topics. Learn about some of the ways scents impact our mental health, as well as how you can integrate scents into your routine, in a relatively unobtrusive way. Kathy will also go into some of the ways you can play around with unique scents to create something that resonates with you. *** Note- when Kathy was t...

We continuing our series on using the five senses to help regulate our mood and help us heal. We are joined by Franchesca Lastra Vicente, a board certified art therapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and by Matt Gwaltney, a graphic designer, who also happens to do the artwork for Mental Mages. They bring their different perspectives on the process of creating art and the end product. Citations and credits Vision and Emotion Emotion Schemas are Embedded in the Human Visual System More ...

For the second episode in our series on using our senses to help us emotionally regulate, we are joined by Melody Granzow. Melody is a licensed clinical social worker, registered 500 hour yoga instructor, and social work professor. She's also one of our favorite humans. Not only do we talk about the power of touch, we also touch on the vestibular sense and the proprioceptive sense. We give some examples of things you can integrate into your coping skills tool box. **Kathy wildly got the name o...

Creating soothing sensory experiences are an integral part of developing individualized coping skills and self-care. This is the first in our series on our senses and we talk about sound and music. Shayna and Kathy welcome 3 guests this week. Emily plays the flute and works in instrument repair, Megan is a music educator, and Melissa integrates music into everything she does, including her work as a social worker. References and Credits: Calming the Body Before Calming the Mind: Sensory Strat...

Very special Halloween bonus episode with JV Hampton-VanSant, podcaster, voice actor, maker, geek, where we chat about cosplay! We had so much fun chatting. **Kathy apparently had some technical difficulties so her audio isn't great. Ryan did what he could to minimize that. Citations and Credits: Where can find and follow JV Becoming Another Person Through Cosplay Personality, behavioral, and social heterogeneity within the cosplay community Artwork by Matthew Gwaltney- https://www.bdbumbleb...

Shayna and Kathy love creepy pastas. Creepy pastas are horror related stories that bounce around the the internet. They are short, fiction (or are they?), and are often created by anonymous writers. They are amazing. Shayna and Kathy chat about some of our very favorite creepy pastas and urban legends, and of course touch on the mental health aspects. Citations and Credits Artwork by Matthew Gwaltney- https://www.bdbumblebee.com Editing by Ryan Merrill Intro Music is "Call to Adventure" Kevin...

Believe it or not, there is research that suggests that consuming horror content may actually be beneficial for some people with anxiety or a history of trauma. Shayna and Kathy are joined by fellow horror enthusiasts, Domo and Myles, to chat about movies that we love and scare us. We talk about how horror content can actually help with anxiety and also the positive association of horror consumption and resiliency during the pandemic. **Horror isn't for everyone and for some people increases th...

Shayna and Kathy are joined by Nyeisha Brown (aka The Book Babe) to chat about our love of all things Stephen King. We talk about how reading has impacted all of our lives and get into specifics about some of our SK faves. Citations and credits: Nyeisha's Website The Divine Madness of Stephen King: A Neurocognitive Examination Artwork by Matthew Gwaltney- https://www.bdbumblebee.com Editing by Ryan Merrill Intro Music is "Call to Adventure" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)-Licensed under Crea...

Memento Mori is Latin for "Remember that you must die," and is an artistic or symbolic reminder to live life to the fullest because we all must die. Shayna and Kathy are joined by Lucy Fitzgerald of the Wine and Crime Podcast, to discuss this life affirming, if a bit creepy, concept. You will learn about the stages of grief, Kathy's unexpected assertion that Jumanji is related to the topic, and will be able to hear the differences in sounds of rattlesnake vertebrae, goat teeth, and baby teeth b...

Shayna and Kathy are joined by best selling author and therapist, Megan Logan, to chat about the mental health benefits and pitfalls of participation in sports, particularly in youth and collegiate levels. But don't you worry, even if you aren't into sports, the discussion was largely relevant to all areas of life. Megan also provides some insight into what Kathy was like in grad school, way back in the olden days of the 1990's. Citations and references Megan Logan's Website You can find Mega...

SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODE 1 OF SHE-HULK on Disney+. Shayna and Kathy explore all things anger while also chatting about the new She-Hulk tv series. We explore stigma around anger, how people manage anger differently, and sometimes very poorly, and also give some strategies for managing anger. All this while exploring how the Hulk Family manages anger, gender differences and also using it to advantage. We also give an update about how our Dungeons & Dragons campaign is going. Citations and Cre...

Kathy and Shayna talk with Ryan (our editor and also the love of Shayna's life) about Stonemaier Games. You may recognize some of the games, such as Tapestry, Viticulture, Wingspan and Scythe. Shayna and Ryan are board game fanatics and got to geek out discussing some of their most favorite games ever. Ewok and Jawa (two of Shayna's cats) make an appearance. And then we are so excited to be joined by Jamey Stegmaier, the co-founder, lead designer, and more, of Stonemaier Games. Jamey talks abou...

This episode is a little different. Shayna decided that she wants to try her hand at being a Dungeon Master and she helps Kathy (a total D&D newbie) create a Dungeons and Dragons character. What does this have to do with mental health? Lots actually- but in this case- Kathy and Shayna are going to start playing some self-care D&D. You will hear Shayna talk about entering information into a website. It's D&D Beyond. Our editor, Ryan, also makes a brief appearance. Credits Artwork by Matthew Gw...

Join us for this bonus episode for Harry Potter's birthday. We talk about trauma and identity and floating baby head tattoos. In honor of Harry's birthday, please consider donating to organizations fighting for rights of transgender individuals. Here at Mental Mages, we know that trans woman are women and trans men are men and all people should be able to live in peace, safety and with equal rights. References and Credits: Time magazines Sorting Hat Quiz The Big 5 Project Personality Project ...

Shayna and Kathy are joined by Sam Mitchell. Sam has autism and runs his own podcast called, Autism Rocks and Rolls. He was diagnosed at the age of 4, and today at 20 years old, is a well-known podcaster, entrepreneur, writer, podcast coach, international public speaker, TEDX Speaker, and Executive Director of Autism Rocks and Rolls NonProfit 501c3. On this episode we talk about some expected things, like challenging misinformation about autism, and also some things unexpected like professional...