Pieces To Wellness
Pieces To Wellness is a mental health podcast hosted by TPP, formerly of Above Ground Podcast, and Karen. Each episode explores the spectrum of mental health, offering practical tips, tools, and lived experiences to help listeners move toward wellness. The hosts encourage an interactive approach, inviting listeners to build their own path to well-being with the pieces shared. The show emphasizes connection and shared strategies for maintaining mental health.
Episodes
Confessions From A Distorted Mind: Following Your Inner Compass
This week the Instigator and the Yogi get real and raw. How do you know if your brain is telling you the truth? When you realize that your perspective may be distorted, what do you do? Tim shares a trifecta of experience that is not for the faint of heart - feeling dismissed, misunderstood, and/or unheard. We talk through differentiating self-care from avoidance, loneliness from aloneness, fact fr
Amperella: Reconnecting w/ Allison- Somatics Energy Alignment
This week, your favorite dynamic duo welcome Allison Karoly to the show! Allison is an energy and somatic practitioner, and founder of Amperella. Through Amperella, Allison provides a variety of complementary therapies including and often blending somatic experiencing, reiki, and emotion code to facilitate nervous system regulation and calm.Allison shares her story of why this work chose her, and
Fun Questions: Seeing & Hearing Your Hosts
Every day, every where, people ask and answer questions as a means of learning information and getting to know each other. This week, the Instigator and the Yogi decided to use some fun, familiar questions to help our listeners know us more fully.In this episode, you'll get to find out about our favorite sandwiches, our beliefs about the afterlife, even our favorite songs! Some details may se
The Eightfold Path: An Overview
Every once in a while on Pieces to Wellness, the Instigator and the Yogi get a little spiritual about mental health and healing. This is one of those times. This week we're discussing the Eightfold Path. Many spiritual and wisdom traditions offer lists of things to do, things not to do, values and principles to live by. The Eightfold Path has its origins in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the Eightfol
Safe Surroundings w/ Susan From LightNest Interiors
This week we're delighted to welcome Susan DePauw of LightNest Interiors to the show! Susan is local to the 518 and takes a unique approach to helping herself and others manage nervous systems through managing their environments.Susan describes her structured approach to soothing the nervous system through intentionally designed spaces. Whether it's furniture, lighting, floor space, orga
Getting Curious w/Bridget From Curious Hearts Press
One of the things we enjoy most here on Pieces to Wellness is looking at familiar things in new ways. This week we are delighted to be joined by Bridget Kleinert, social worker, therapist, mom, author, and overall delightful human being. Bridget is the founder of Curious Hearts Press/Picture Books for Grownups, a therapy-informed way to use stories for connection, reflection, and self-understandin
Our Desired Impact: It’s What We Do Here
Every so often, it's useful to remind ourselves as well as our listeners (especially any new ones!) what we're all about here at Pieces to Wellness. Our desired impact is three-pronged: Educate. Inspire. Support. Those three things are what we do here every week.The Instigator and the Yogi believe in the power of shared storytelling, the value of lived experience, and the vitality of con
Exploring Letting Go: Unleashed
This week, we're exploring the topic of letting go from a high level perspective. And what's the first thing you have to do to explore? You have to let go of the idea that you already have all the knowledge, experience, control, etc. Only then can you be truly unleashed (Karen's love of that word is another story for another day).This week we're posing as many questions as we&a
Riding The Waves Of Change: Balancing Accountability & Grace
One of the persistent themes here on Pieces to Wellness is that healing and health are journeys of change and growth. This means that we are also constantly adjusting, re-evaluating, and adapting to what's going on within and around us. This requires the ability to balance accountability and grace, easier said than done. So of course, we had to dig into the nitty gritty of how this shows up f
Elevate With Anjali
This week we are delighted to welcome Anjali Mehta onto Pieces to Wellness. Like us, Anjali lives in NY's Capital Region, though she works with clients all over the world. Anjali is a Conscious Life & Parenting Coach, Somatic Breathwork Practitioner, and Immersive Meditation Facilitator. We were drawn to her vulnerability, and openness that what she offers is based in her lived experience
How To Handle Your Demons
This week we're getting down and dirty with our demons. Often, we hear people talk about fighting their demons. As usual, the Instigator and the Yogi start there and branch out to discuss other less-familiar perspectives. What would it look like to engage our demons in other ways?What are our demons anyway? In his book, Tim describes mental-emotional demons as "brain gremlins". In o
Does Love Rule?
This week's episode has been brought to you in the form of a question from the delightfully curious mind of the Instigator: Is love really all we need? Does love rule?In our usual roundabout way, your favorite dynamic duo dissect the enormous topic of love. We find it to be a huge variable in life and living a healthy lifestyle. It can be a catalyst in many ways. Love can motivate or inspire
IFS: A Conversation w/ Chani Getter
This week, we are honored to welcome Chani Getter to the show. Chani is a renowned psychotherapist, interfaith minister, and author of the book Mapito: Embrace Yourself. One of the therapeutic modalities Chani uses with clients is IFS, Internal Family Systems, an approach developed by Dick Schwartz. IFS takes an integrative approach to therapy, emphasizing a strong body-mind connection, and the no
Methods Of Knowing: Let Yourself Be The Guide
This week we're excited to talk about a topic suggested by a listener, "when you have a decision to make or you're trying to understand a situation or experience, how do you know? How and when do intuition, insight, and logic factor in?" Shameless plug: reach out to us through the methods below with ideas related to mental health and lived experience, and we'll talk about
Dr. Arielle Schwartz: From Pain To Possibility
This week we are beyond honored to welcome Dr. Arielle Schwartz to the show! Get out your notebook, this episode is full of juicy nuggets of wisdom that you won't want to miss!Dr. Schwartz is a distinguished clinical psychologist and world-renowned author of several books spanning topics of trauma recovery, neuroscience, yoga therapy. She is a leading voice in trauma recovery, applied polyvag
High Stakes = High Impact
This week your favorite duo jumps right in with several familiar metaphors about what to do when the stakes are high. It would be nice if we could just stride along effortlessly, but life is full of obstacles, challenges, opportunities. Not all tools were meant for all jobs. This week we're unpacking what it feels like to try to even figure out which tool to use when you don't know which
Tune Up-Ready Yourself For Maximum Performance
Time for a tune up! These tune up episodes are short and sweet, and are meant to give you quick pieces, little bits of inspiration for everyday life. We use a lot of food analogies and vehicle metaphors here on Pieces to Wellness, and this week we're talking about tuning up our instruments.In this metaphor, our body-mind-self is the instrument, and our lives are songs. We inevitably discuss t
Evolving Through Safe Connection w/ Dr. Jessica Higgins
This week we're excited to bring you a conversation with Dr. Jessica Higgins! Dr. Jessica is a psychologist, relationship coach, facilitator, and host of Empowered Relationship Podcast. In her over 25 years of experience working with people therapeutically, she draws from multiple evidence-based modalities and has advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which we dig into DEEP
Moving Through
This week the Instigator and the Yogi dig into a topic brought to us by a listener. This listener asked us to talk about what it's like to move through/past things, people, habits that no longer serve us. In true Pieces to Wellness fashion, this conversation gets messy and vulnerable - just the way we like it.We talk about the challenges that arise when we're at a crossroads, when we hav
Unbroken: Turning Your Pieces Into Peace And Joy w/ Karen Carey
This week you get two Karens for the price of one! That's right, we're delighted to welcome Karen Carey to Pieces to Wellness. She felt like a friend right away, as you'll hear in our conversation.Karen is a life and success coach who recently published a book titled Unbroken - Turning Your Pieces Into Peace and Joy. Karen is a fellow resident of the 518, so it's extra special
Stop Abandoning Yourself
One of the things we practice here on Pieces to Wellness is bringing our whole selves on the podcast. More often than not, our topic ideas come from our lived experience. That's what you'll hear here today.Karen shares an example in which she recently chose herself instead of abandoning herself, and the dynamic duo walk through strategies you can implement in your own life to move in thi
Radical Acceptance: Stop Fighting Reality
This week the Instigator and the Yogi dig in to the notion and actions of radical acceptance.Being human is messy. Often uncomfortable. Complicated. We are often tempted to focus only on the things that bring us pleasure, which we mistakenly believe will decrease our suffering. With this kind of bypassing, we miss out on many opportunities to find and achieve those things that are good for our hea
Dr. Tracy Foose: Anxiety & The Power Of Reframing
This week the Instigator and the Yogi sit down with Dr. Tracy Foose. Dr. Foose is a psychiatrist that is changing how we look at anxiety. Close to 90% of us experience anxiety, and some of us think it will destroy us. Dr. Foose argues that anxiety is the thing that is actually holding us together and keeping us alive. Dr. Foose served for 9 years as Director of the Anxiety Disorders Program at UCS
Harmony Through Alignment
Welcome back! This week, the Instigator and the Yogi follow a touch of inspiration. We came across a quote that said, "When your inner and outer worlds harmonize, your relationships do too," and decided to discuss how this statement relates to mental wellness. This conversational path took some twists and turns. We talk about many different kinds of relationships, and how important it is
Mental Health-Past & Present: Dave’s Got Questions
Dave's got questions! This week, the Instigator and the Yogi share another segment of our ongoing conversation with Dave. Dave is a long-time listener and extra-long-time friend of Karen's whose curiosity is boundless. We're grateful to him for asking provocative questions and swimming with us in these deep waters.Tim opens with a quote from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. It&apos
Gut Feelings w/Samantha
Have you ever had a gut feeling? Well, Samantha has, and that same gut feeling has led her on this path. What path is that? It is the path to heal. That path has brought her to where she is today, teacher by day and an integrative health coach by night. Samantha thinks that you should listen to your body when it is trying to tell you something. Through her own circumstances she found out that band
Still Swimming: Another Deep Dive with Dave
This week, your favorite duo sits down again with special guest, and friend of the podcast, Dave. Dave's a deep thinker who helps us flip the script, interviewing us about the glamorous experience of podcasting. He asks us about our favorite guests, and we get philosophical about what wellness means to each of us. Dave drags us out of some tempting rabbit holes in this dialogue, and instead w
Baya Voce Builds Relationship Muscles
This week, Karen and Tim are delighted to share our conversation with Baya Voce. Baya Voce is a relationship repair expert helping couples come back together after conflict. She holds an MSW from Columbia University, is in ongoing supervision with Esther Perel, and collaborates with Columbia University, MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), and Rick Doblin on pioneering res
Showing Up - Going The Distance
How do you know if you're winning or losing? This question was the inspiration for this week's episode. We start with our usual exploration of the importance of personalizing what winning and losing look like for you. The analogy this week is clear: Rocky Balboa. One of the P2W duo (you'll never guess which one!) is a huge Rocky fan. Rocky is the epitome of heart and grit, and his c
Therapy Talk- Peers Helping Peers
This episode is a two-for. You get two episodes for the price of one! This week, the Instigator and the Yogi, and our friend Dave, talk about therapy.First up, the Pieces to Wellness duo dig deep into what we think of therapy. As usual, we're trying to dispel some of the stigma that swirls around therapy, and share about our own personal experiences. We talk about what therapy is and what it&
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? We love analogies here on Pieces to Wellness, and this week's episode is all about digging into wellness as a garden. And yes, this week we're extra full of puns, word play, even nursery rhymes!Plants and humans, all living beings really, have many of the same basic needs. We all need water, sunlight, and nourishing foods. And we nee
Planting Seeds w/ Jen (a true icon) From BOTS
New Guest Alert! This week, the Pieces to Wellness duo is delighted to welcome Jen Degroff, coordinator and A.D.A.P.T. facilitator for Bring on the Spectrum (BOTS) in Albany, NY. BOTS is a community space and sensory gym. The community space offers a huge variety of classes and fun activities (from cabaret to self-defense to Pokémon) for neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals and groups. Usin
Overthinking
This week the Instigator and the Yogi are talking about overthinking. We start with the questions: Does overthinking steal your joy? Can it be strategic or useful?Thinking about thinking (metacognition), like so many things, is a behavior that has a whole spectrum of applications. There are so many possible ways our thoughts can be helpful/healthy or unhealthy/unhelpful. It all comes back to our p
Wrapping Up 2025-Goal Setting
There is so much info out there this time of year about resolutions, intention-setting, goals. We talk a lot here about living in alignment with goals and values as an everyday practice, and this week's episode is no exception. And for many, the significance of a new year (or any date) on the calendar can be a motivator to take a step, to establish a goal that means something to you. It'
Learn To Swim: Deep End Conversations w/ Dave
In keeping with the spirit of the holiday season, this week's episode is a real gift! We are beyond grateful to welcome listeners to the first of several Deep End Conversations with Dave. Dave is a regular listener to the podcast, and also happens to be friends with Tim and Karen. In fact, rumor has it that Dave and Karen have known each other since they were teenagers (ok, not a rumor, that&
Celebrating 100 Episodes
Welcome to the 100th episode of Pieces to Wellness! This is a big milestone for us, and we're here to celebrate!Pieces to Wellness has evolved over the course of these 100 episodes, and this week, Tim and Karen get a little nostalgic, remembering some conversations that have really stood out and resonated for us. We remark on what we're most proud of, reflect on what we wish we'd do
Live By Design Not By Default
The idea for this week's episode came from these two quotes from Tim: Are you a victim of your environment or are you the creator of your environment? andLife is a product of your decisions, not your conditions.This week the Instigator and the Yogi dig into what it can look like to live a life that we design, not one that just happens to us. Living by default is taking a passive stance and ap
How To Hold A Cockroach (and find freedom) w/ Matthew Maxwell
We're delighted to welcome a new guest to the show. In addition to being a life coach and meditation teacher, Matthew Maxwell got our attention as the author of How to Hold a Cockroach. His book combines so many of the things we love: a killer analogy, wise life lessons, and an approachability that comes from lived experience.Talking with Matthew was such a pleasure. We dug deep on things lik
7 Deadly Sins: Mental Health Edition
Buckle up folks, this one's a doozy! The inspiration/intention behind this conversation was to identify the “pieces” that have the most negative impacts on our wellness. We thought, what if we call them seven deadly sins?!We love metaphors and analogies here, and we found a LOT to unpack in this conversation. The "seven deadly sins" feature in the Catholic religious tradition. They
People Pleasing & Relationships w/ Dr. Ilene S. Cohen
So much to say about this incredible conversation! This week we welcome Dr. Ilene Cohen to the show. Dr. Ilene has published six books on various aspects of mental health including anxiety, people-pleasing, and forgiveness. Three of her books are journals/workbooks that emphasize taking practical steps toward healing. Dr. Ilene has been fascinated by behavior and the mind since childhood, and foun
A Multispective Conversation W/Jennica
This week the Instigator and the Yogi are delighted to welcome fellow podcaster Jennica onto the podcast. Jennica is host and producer of the Multispective podcast. Multispective is all about having real people share their raw human experiences, particularly focusing on stories of triumph over adversity.Jennica shares that she got into podcasting because she has always been genuinely curious about
The Devil You Know
The Devil you know may feel like a comfy, well-worn pair of jeans that no longer suit your style. Or it may be a "tried and true" pattern of behavior that served you when you were in survival mode. This week the Yogi and the Instigator take on the topic of tackling those familiar behaviors and responses that may be dysfunctional or unhealthy.Life is a series of micro-moments. How we inte
Pieces To Inspiration
This week we share some of our favorite quotes! Inspiration comes from many places. We share quotes from authors, scientists, fictional characters, religious/spiritual leaders, actors, all over the place.Tim and Karen consider ourselves to be collectors of inspiration. We recognize that it comes in all shapes and sizes and from all kinds of places. Finding a line that's perfectly phrased, or
The Stress Responses Part 2: Freeze-Fawn
Welcome to Part 2 of our mini-series on the stress responses. Last week we discussed fight and flight - the primary stress responses that exist to keep us safe/help us survive. This week we're shining the light on freeze and fawn - the underdiscussed other sides of the stress response.Freezing and fawning are more often seen in people who have experienced stressors or traumas that they couldn
The Stress Responses Part 1 : Fight - Flight
Welcome to Part 1 of our 2 part series on the stress responses. These responses are sometimes referred to as trauma responses. They are the body's natural biochemical reactions to stress, real or perceived, internal or external.The fight-flight response developed as a primitive response to danger - it's purpose is to help us survive. In modern life, many of us experience a fight-flight r
An Atypical Conversation With Aletheia From Ellie
This week the Instigator and the Yogi sit down with a therapist from Ellie Mental Health in Latham, NY, Aletheia! Aletheia specializes in treating people who have experienced trauma as well as individuals living with autism and ADHD. Aletheia's approach to helping people recover from trauma includes many embodied, sensory practices.In this episode, we discuss Aletheia's experience as a p
Joy That Heals, Not Hides
This week, the Instigator and the Yogi are unpacking joy. As usual, we're taking a slightly different approach, Tim calls it a perspective slap. We're digging deep and distinguishing manufactured or performative happiness from true, authentic joy. In our increasingly online, social media world, we're all constantly being sold products, experiences, interactions that we're told
Out Of The Darkness w/ Missy
It's the last Wednesday in Suicide Awareness Month, and this week we are delighted to welcome Missy Stolfi. Missy is the Area Director of the Capital Region NY Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Coming up this weekend is the 21st annual Walk for R.I.T.A. in Saratoga Springs, NY. The walk is a significant fundraiser for our local AFSP chapter, and it's one w
Suture Your Future
How do you suture your future? What does that even mean? Suturing your future means doing what you can now to impact your future in a positive way. It means setting yourself up for success in terms of your mental-emotional-physical-spiritual well-being.To be honest, 'cause that's what we do here, the stuff that sutures your future is generally not flashy or sexy. It's things like pr
Suicide Awareness Month
September is Suicide Awareness month. For our first episode of September this year, we're talking about the difference between active and passive suicidal ideation. First of all, it's normal to think about suicide. It's much more common than most people think (a study from the NIH found that over 10% of the U.S. population experiences passive suicidal ideation in their lifetime). In
Safety In Healing w/ Gab From Ellie Mental Health
This week we're delighted to welcome another counselor from Ellie Mental Health to the podcast - meet Gab!Being in conversation with Gab was a tremendously rewarding experience - she exudes calm, presence, and safety. Gab got her LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor) degree from UAlbany, and worked in a clinic prior to coming on staff at Ellie. Her counseling services run the gamut, and her
Tune Up - Checking In
Who likes lists? In this month's Tune Up, we're checking in and listing off the various pieces that are meaningful components of our wellness. Some are tangible tools (like lists) that help us manage our time and stay on track with our values. Others are less tangible qualities like courage, vulnerability, and friendship that we try to cultivate through our practices.If we think of all o
Forgiveness
Free- Not under the control or in the power of another. If you want to free yourself, forgiveness is part of that process. Free your self with forgiveness, unchain yourself from those wounds and move forward in a healthy manner. No hate, no retaliation, no extra weight, just eyes forward and keep moving step by step. This week the Instigator and the Yogi attempted to tackle forgiveness and they
The Other Side Of OCD w/ Jenna
This week we are delighted to welcome another therapist on Pieces To Wellness to talk with the Instigator and the Yogi. Jenna is a mental health counselor with Ellie Mental Health in Latham, NY. Jenna's enthusiasm and passion for helping others was engaging and clear right from the beginning. Like Tim and Karen, Jenna is all about busting the stigma related to mental health, and she loves to
Guided Meditation
This week's episode is short and sweet, and hopefully one you'll come back to over and over. One of the pieces that's been especially transformative for Karen's wellness is meditation, and this week she shares a guided meditation.Before the guided meditation, Tim and Karen describe what meditation is, and what it's not. We even try to dispel some of the myths about meditat
Helping Others w/Cormac
This week we're delighted to welcome Cormac, a counselor from Ellie Mental Health. We met Cormac recently at the open house for their new office in Clifton Park, and knew we had to get him on the podcast! Cormac wanted to help people from a very young age, and naturally became a counselor. We found him kind, funny, with an ideal mix of knowledge, easygoingness, and a genuine caring heart. Whi
Our Mission: Educate.Inspire.Support
What are the Instigator and the Yogi up to this week? Better yet, what are they up to all the time?During a recent interview (tune in next week for that conversation), a guest asked us what our mission is. In our usual way, we tag-teamed a response on the spot, then reflected on it individually. This week we identify and unpack our mission, the mission of Pieces to Wellness.In short, our mission i
Checklist: Pieces To Our Wellness
The title of our podcast, Pieces to Wellness, can be interpreted in several ways. One is that wellness is like a puzzle and the image on the puzzle that we aspire to is different for everyone. Wellness is a broad, holistic concept with many interconnected parts. This week, we list as many parts or pieces as we can think of - those that help us most and those that we struggle to remember to impleme
A Path To Freedom w/ Leon Logothetis
Purpose. Joy. Flow. Kindness. Our guest this week is Leon Logothetis, widely known as "the kindness guy." This conversation is sure to boost your spirits, warm your heart, and maybe even inspire some faith in the inherent kindness of humanity.Leon shares his story of what inspired him to step away from a life that looked "successful" on the outside, but was deeply unfulfilling
Tune Up- Rumination
This week's episode discusses a common feature of depression and anxiety known as rumination. Rumination is also described as overthinking, and like many other symptoms of depression and anxiety, it tends to fuel itself. Ultimately, when we're ruminating, we're not being present or mindful, we're retelling old stories and/or anticipating possible future scenarios worriedly. Whi
Let Healing Begin w/ Annah Elizabeth
Another guest episode! This week we welcome Annah Elizabeth, founder and creator of the Five Facets of Healing Program. Annah's story is truly miraculous. Annah turned her intense personal experiences of loss, betrayal, and grief into an extraordinary approach to healing that includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing. She shares her story with such openness and vulnerability
Stand In Your Power, Even When It Is Lonely w/ Vicki
This week we welcome a powerful guest, Vicki Savini. Vicki is one of those people whose mind and heart go full steam ahead all the time - she loves her people and pets deeply, and her compassion is endless. And, she is honest, open, direct, vulnerable, and creative. We get into all these things.Vicki is a teacher, writer, mom, speaker, and intuitive life coach. She wears all kinds of hats, rising
Rant Day: Diagnostically Speaking
Today, we rant. Productively, and diagnostically speaking.Here at Pieces to Wellness, we believe that while not everyone has mental illness, everyone has mental health. That's why we share tips, tools, strategies to keep you on the wellness side of the spectrum.We also believe that mental health is essential to overall wellness. All too often, people who live with mental health challenges are
Some Things To Think About w/ Venerable Robina
This week we are honored to welcome the venerable Robina Courtin to Pieces to Wellness. Robina is a Buddhist nun with a remarkably direct, take charge personality that comes through immediately in our conversation. Robina generously shares her wisdom with a real love for humanity that shines through. Together, we explore various daily practices that can literally help us change the way we think. R
Routine Maintenance - Why It Works
Routine maintenance is part of the regular vocabulary here on Pieces to Wellness. This week, we explore the origin story behind this favorite term.Once a month, we do a quick "tune up" episode. Each of these shorter episodes explores one or more practical tools we have in our mental health tool kit. You know, the ones that keep us on the wellness side of the spectrum. These tools are wel
What Is Vulnerability?
Vulnerability - what does it look like, what does it feel like, how can befriending vulnerability support growth and healing? We're breaking it down and putting it all out there this week.Tim and Karen open up about how much each of our relationships with vulnerability have changed over the years. We share how we've masked our authentic selves with things like sarcasm, people-pleasing, n
Mental Illness Is My Superpower: A Conversation With Taylor
You've probably heard the saying, "What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger." And while we don't wish tragedy on anyone, it is also true that sometimes we don't know what kind of strength we possess until we are faced with adversity. Real super heroes are known by their scars, not by accolades. This week we welcome Pieces to Wellness friend, Taylor Locke. Costume or no co
Stepping Stones: Balancing Difficult Feelings
It's often said that healing is not linear. Some people compare it to a spiral in which you uncover new layers and lessons over time and can travel up & down, back & forth. In this week's conversation, we focus on some of the ways in which we each have learned to feel the most difficult feelings and navigate through them. These are our stepping stones. There's also a misconc
(RE) Introduction: Two Hosts And A Microphone
As Pieces to Wellness moves into our second year, we wanted to re-introduce ourselves in a super short and sweet tune up episode.If you're new here, welcome! Pieces to Wellness podcast is hosted by Tim and Karen. We're a couple of regular people with experience living with mental health challenges. Each week we have a conversation about how we live with these challenges, what we're
A Conversation On Depression
**This week on P2W: Let’s talk about the big D—**depression. A listener asked us to dive into this topic, and we’re going all in. Depression looks different for everyone. For both Tim and Karen, it’s been a long-time companion. In this episode, we unpack how it shows up—as a darkness, mask, a thief, a fog, even an octopus—and share our own experiences. Karen sees it as numbing; Tim as a deep dis
Shake Your Foundation: Reframing Edition
We are big fans of metaphor here on Pieces to Wellness, and this one's a doozy. This week we're exploring the idea of shaking your foundation. If we think of life as a house, what do you do when your foundation is damaged, or hasn't been poured properly, or other areas in the house start falling apart? The subtitle of Tim's book is: "Life is a DIY project. This is a DIY bo
Dear Aaron: Trena’s Memoir
There is no timeline for grief.This week we are grateful to welcome Trena to the podcast. Trena shares her story with us all while she talks about her new book “Dear Aaron” One things that rings true for most people, maybe even universally, is that healing is not linear. There are two big points in life… the day we are born and the day we leave this world. Maybe what matters most is how we walk
Tune Up - Stigma Smashing
Back in the garage this week for a stigma smashing tune up! Each month, these shorter tune up episodes focus on routine maintenance practices that keep us on the wellness side, and the tools we each actually use when we're faced with life's challenges. This month we're talking about medications. There continues to be a stigma associated with the use of psychotropic medications to ma
Empowering Through Grief w/ Marie
Grief stays with you always.This week we are grateful to welcome Marie as our guest to talk about grief. If you're new here, we like to talk about topics that others shy away from. We believe that by having conversations with people about their lived experiences with things like grief, loss, mental health challenges, etc, we begin to reduce the stigma associated with these topics. Reducing st
The Last Two Agreements-Part 2 of The Four Agreements
Welcome back to the first Pieces to Wellness book discussion! This is part 2 of Karen and Tim's exploration of Don Miguel Ruiz's book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. To recap, last week we reflected on our experiences with the first two agreements: Be Impeccable with Your Word, and Don't Take Anything Personally. The Four Agreements is part guidebook, pa
The First Two Agreements- Part 1 Of The Four Agreements
Welcome to a Pieces to Wellness book discussion! It's not quite a club (yet), but from time to time, we'll be talking on the podcast about articles, books, artwork that we've found inspirational or helpful on our own journey. One of the books Tim and Karen both take tremendous inspiration from is Don Miguel Ruiz's book: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
Welcome To Ellis Mental Health w/ Tori
This week we're shining the light on some amazing programs in the Capital Region community. We had such fun talking with Tori Daniels from Ellis Medicine. Tori is Supervisor of the Family Room and Living Room programs. These programs offer urgent mental health care services to youth, adults, and families on a walk-in basis. Tori shares passionately about these comprehensive programs that offe
Tune Up- Resentful
We are back in the garage this week and talking resentment. Karen and Tim do not try to define it but instead share what it is for them and how they experience it. Resentment can keep you from moving forward, as if there was an anchor keeping you in that moment of the original pain. Karen and Tim both agree that there is a fairness piece to it. Maybe Resentment can teach us when something unfair h
Clean Out The Yuck In Your Cup
A common phrase in wellness/self-care spaces is, "You can't pour from an empty cup." Yes, we agree. AND If your cup is overflowing, or full of yuck (read: self-limiting beliefs, self-doubt, old unhelpful narratives), you're bound to make a mess with what's in your cup. So periodically, routinely, it's important to clean the yuck out of your cup. Discern what serves yo
Healthy Patterns w/ Jen Plisko
Welcome back! Our guest this week is Jen Plisko, LCSW, therapist, and PIVOT relationship coach. She shares with us her love for mental health counseling, and from her deep well of expertise in DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) and PIVOT relationship coaching. One of the PIVOT tools is to consider interpersonal relationships through the lens of safety instead of love, develop appropriate boundarie
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