Welcome to “Accidental Experts,” the podcast that empathizes with the chaos of everyday parenting and life. If you find yourself overwhelmed by car pools, friendship challenges, homework, childhood anxiety, neurodiversity, teen drivers and behavior challenges, you’re not alone. I’m your host, Bryce Hamilton, a seasoned licensed clinical social worker who has navigated the intricate challenges of family life firsthand. In each episode, we delve into the complexities of parenting alongside insightful guests, offering practical solutions and fresh perspectives on the daily struggles parents encounter. From the seemingly mundane to the intricately complex, “Accidental Experts” breaks down the challenges of parenting, equipping you with valuable tips and strategies to navigate the labyrinth of family dynamics. Join me as we take a moment to breathe and share stories, expertise, and humor, reassuring you that, indeed, it’s all going to work out. Parenting is an adventure, and “Accidental E
Coping Skills and Emotional Regulation For Kids with Kiara Luna LMHC
Feb 18, 2025
Show notes
Published author and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Kiara Luna, sat down with Bryce Hamilton LSCSW, to share helpful tips to parents on how to help teach our children from toddler to teens emotional regulation skills.
They systematically go through each developmental age range and give tangible, helpful techniques and activities you can use with your children to help them learn coping skills for stress and emotional regulation.
Knew You Psychotherapy Mental Health Counseling CEO and Founder Kiara Luna is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and the visionary Founder and CEO of Knew You Psychotherapy. Her group practice is dedicated to helping ambitious individuals and couples achieve emotional connection, self-awareness, and meaningful transformation through personalized, high-quality care. Her influence extends through features in publications like Fatherly, Psych Central, NY1 and Bustle, along with her bestselling book, “Becoming a Knew You.” Renowned for her engaging speaking engagements and workshops, Kiara inspires audiences to embrace change and live authentically. With a holistic approach, she blends empathy and expertise to guide clients toward healing and self-discovery. Through her dedication, Kiara is shaping the future of mental health care and encouraging transformative journeys for others.
Preventing Sexual Violence Among Youth
Feb 11, 2025
Show notes
Sociologist Dr. Nicole Bedera PhD has spent her career researching sexual violence. In this important episode, she shares the research and patterns she discovered on the common factors that contribute to sexual violence in a community and why it is predictable and ordinary. She also shares what demographics are most at risk and why, and effective and ineffective prevention and response measures.
Dr. Bedera shares what parents of any gender can do both within their communities and families, to help reduce sexual violence for their children and others.
Dr. Nicole Bedera’s decade-long research on how social structures, organizations, and culture create a world where violence is predictable and ordinary. By identifying how violence is produced, we identify interventions to make our society safer.
Her work has been published in leading academic journals and featured in The New York Times, NPR, Time Magazine, Slate, and Teen Vogue. She is an affiliated Educator at the Center for Institutional Courage. Dr. Bedera is the co-founder of Beyond Compliance with Dr. Jacqueline Cruz.
Evolving as Parents with Luke Kujacznski
Feb 04, 2025
Show notes
Helping children grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults often requires us as parents to also continue to grow and develop. Father and business owner, Luke Kujacznski, SVP of the family wellness app Lucero for tweens and teens, recently met with Bryce Hamilton LSCSW to discuss the importance of evolving as a parent. Luke shares ways we can connect with our children and help them feel like priorities despite the busy, hectic, chaos of life.
Together they discuss how to stay grounded and open-minded to different parenting techniques and the different challenges that will arise with each child and each age range. Luke shares his insight as a father to both young children and adult children and the lessons he has learned along the way.
Multiple time business owner, former CEO of a nonprofit, and currently an executive at a startup, Luke Kujacznski asserts his greatest accomplishment and most cherished role is that of a husband and father. A proponent of mental health awareness and self described Kindness Advocate, Luke has 4 children, three of which are still here and one always in memory. He has been married 23 years and counting. He enjoys riding bikes, fishing and hiking with his children and friends. He also enjoys reading “deep fiction with a lot of history thrown in.” He credits his two cats to being pivotal in helping him stay emotionally regulated each day.
Luke is the SVP of Lucero, a family wellness app for tweens and teens.
With a sprinkle of game-based fun, Lucero is here to help you learn new ways to feel more connected and have more good times.
Bryce’s Recommendations: Color with Me, Mom! By Jasmine Narayan PSYD My First Mom and Daughter Journal Just Between Us by Meredith & Sofia Jacobs Draw With Dad! Father & Son Journal By Brit A. Anderson Unpack Your Day conversation kit by Learning Resources A Year of Building Resilience for Life Beyond School conversation cards for kids The Feelings Book by Todd Parr The Color Monster by Anna Llenas The Boy Who Makes A Million Mistakes by Brenda Li Little Monkey Calms Down by Michael Dahl Luke’s recommendations for parents of teens: https://drlisadamour.com/books
Alcohol Awareness For Teens
Jan 28, 2025
Show notes
Bryce Hamilton LSCSW and Regional Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Jerod Breit sit down to share how to talk to our teens and children about safety and responsibility around alcohol, driving safety, and sobriety. They share tips on how to have conversations about the risks associated with consumption of alcohol and drugs, how to model responsible consumption for our children, the dangers of drinking and driving and where to access resources and information aimed toward empowering youth, risk avoidance and sobriety.
A great listen for any parent to prepare for themselves for how to start these conversations with their children to empower them to make smart choices around substances, help keep them and their friends safe, and instill trust with them as their caregiver.
Jerod Breit is the Regional Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Heartland Region. For more information and to access the resources discussed in this episode please visit: MADD.org
Parenting Children with Chronic Illness
Jan 21, 2025
Show notes
Clinical child psychologist, Dr. Erin Hambrick PhD, meets with Bryce Hamilton LSCSW, to discuss the impact of chronic illness in families. They talk about how sibling and parental relationships can be affected, how to cope with strains on relationships, missed developmental and educational opportunities and burnout.
Dr. Hambrick shares tips for dealing with burnout, staying consistent with boundaries and how to support and empower children through their diagnosis and understanding their illness.
Dr. Hambrick, a Clinical Child Psychologist, is the owner of Delta Child Behavioral Health, LLC where she is a consultant and clinician in the area of trauma-responsive research, practice, and systems change. Formerly an Associate Professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City in the School of Education, Social Work, and Psychological Sciences and the Director of Research for the ChildTrauma Academy, she has years of experience in child mental health research, editorship, teaching, consulting, federal and local advocacy, clinical practice, media psychology, and prevention endeavors.
Dr. Hambrick believes that trauma-responsiveness requires a focus on equity and cultural competence and does not believe there is a line between mental and physical health. She is an avid tennis player and believes that play can develop discipline and inner peace. Dr. Hambrick received her Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology at the University of Kansas and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Developmental Psychobiology Research Group at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She has written over 30 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of child trauma and school-based mental health and works to freely disseminate wisdom on best practices in the field of child mental health.
Helping Neurodivergent Kids Make Friends
Jan 14, 2025
Show notes
Host of The Neurodiversity Podcast, licensed professional counselor, and author Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC, joins us to talk about how to help parents of neurodiverse children (those with autism, ADHD or other spectrum disorders), socialized and make friends. Emily defines neurodiversity explains how neurodiverse traits manifest and appear toward others and how these manifestations may impact relationships.
She also shares how to tackle some issues that may arise for your neurodiverse children socially and what to do about them. A must listen for anyone wondering if their child is doing alright socially, how to determine their social battery needs, and encourage them to make friendships, and safely help push them out of their comfort zone.
Emily Kircher-Morris, M.A., M.Ed., LPC, is a licensed professional counselor, author, and podcast host with a passion for neurodiversity. Inspired by her own neurodivergent journey, she has authored several books related to supporting neurodivergent people and hosts The Neurodiversity Podcast. Emily provides professional development worldwide, with many of her resources available on the Neurodiversity University online platform. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, she specializes in mental health support for neurodivergent individuals and their families. As a seasoned speaker, she regularly addresses conferences on fostering neurodiversity-affirming workplaces, making her a key resource for businesses seeking to promote inclusivity.
Addressing Suicidal Thoughts in Children with Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet PhD
Jan 07, 2025
Show notes
Director of the Zero Suicide Institute, Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet PhD, shares essential tips for parents who have a child or teen that struggles with suicidal thoughts. An expert in behavioral health transformations, Julie lays out a guide on how to talk to children about suicide, what type of words to use, developing a good check in system for keeping our children safe. Safety tips on what protective steps to take if you find out your child has been having thoughts of suicide, when to go to the hospital, choosing a medical professional and how to seek outside support.
Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet PhD, EDC vice president, is an expert in behavioral health transformation, state and local community suicide prevention, and the use of evidence-based practices for suicide care in clinical settings.
As director of the Zero Suicide Institute, Goldstein Grumet provides strategic direction and leadership for the Zero Suicide framework nationwide. A highly acclaimed trainer and speaker, her work has been spotlighted in the Washington Post, Science Magazine, and Military Times.
To learn more about Julie’s work and initiatives visit: www.edc.org
Unlocking the Joys of Reading with Dr. Dan Wuori Ph.D.
Dec 31, 2024
Show notes
With more than 30 years of leadership in early childhood education and policy, Dr. Dan Wuori Ph.D, sits down with Bryce Hamilton to share his knowledge on child development, literacy and encouraging and supporting our children to read.
He gives tips for young readers as well as how to help older children develop a passion and interest in literacy. They discuss the science and evidence linked to literacy in young children and early adolescents and how it helps them developmentally. A great listen for any parent wanting to understand the importance of childhood reading, and anyone looking for ways to help encourage their children to read more.
Dan’s book “The Daycare Myth What We Get Wrong About Early Care and Education (and What We Should Do About It) is available on Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/mw8kyt25
Grieving the Loss of a Parent with Beth Tyson, MA
Dec 24, 2024
Show notes
Childhood trauma expert, Beth Tyson, MA, returns to Accidental Experts to speak with Bryce about coping with the loss of a parent. Beth shares how grief can be a comfort, and how we can lean into our grief to help process the loss we are experiencing. Together, they discuss how to explain the death of a loved one to our children, how to help keep their memory alive, finding new beginnings, and what to expect as we navigate life after a significant loss.
Beth Tyson, MA, is a childhood trauma consultant, author, and keynote speaker passionate about creating a world where children heal and thrive. As the Founder of Beth Tyson Trauma Consulting, she educates professionals and caregivers on trauma-informed care. Her work bridges neuroscience, trust-building, empathy, and practical tools to reduce suffering and foster resilience in children and families worldwide.
Screen Sanity with Jamie Gordon
Dec 17, 2024
Show notes
Proprietor of “Screen Sanity, a global organization aimed at helping families and communities achieve digital health to reduce loneliness, depression, anxiety and suicide, Jamie Gordon LMSW, sits down with Bryce Hamilton LSCSW to discuss the challenges of raising children in a digital age.
They have direct conversations about the dangers children are exposed to online today, including predatory behavior, grooming, exposure to pornography, and how to talk to our children and teens about these issues. Jamie gives parents helpful tips on how to manage our children’s screen time, online activity, and create ongoing conversations and support around difficult topics.
Jamie Gordon is a licensed master’s level social worker. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska earning her Bachelors of Science degree in psychology. She went on to the University of Kansas where she earned her master’s in social work in 2008. Jamie has worked in several different settings, with her work primarily serving youth and families. She has worked in residential treatment, an inpatient psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, a domestic violence shelter, and a school setting. Jamie currently serves as the intake coordinator at Husch Blackwell’s human trafficking clinic, where pro bono legal aid is provided for survivors of human trafficking. Jamie has been the lead designer of the Screen Sanity social work program. She is also a mother of 3 kids, and is also learning how to navigate the digital world as a parent.
For more information and additional resources visit screensanity.org
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
