The Just A Mom Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Episode 102: Holly Miles, Executive Director of NAMI Greater Kansas City and Mom Part 1 Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Don’t miss the first of this three-part series featuring Holly Miles. Holly has quite a story of her own mental health journey, her work as a psychiatric nurse, her journey with the foster care system, and her eventual adoption of her son, Jacob. Holly shares her personal and professional experiences that led her to her present work as the Executive Director of NAMI Greater Kansas City. Holly always wanted to have children but was unable to do so. She and her husband went through the process of becoming foster parents. Holly conveys her feelings vulnerably about fostering twins and eventually adopting a 12-year-old boy. Holly does not sugarcoat her experience with and feelings about the foster care system and the impact on her son, who was in the foster care system from the age of two until Holly and her husband adopted him at age twelve.

Episode 101: Mary Pruitt, Executive Producer and Co-Author, NEVER2LATE Productions Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

Since 2008, Stephen and Mary Pruitt have been making truly independent, Hollywood-quality feature films that both entertain and inspire. This episode of The Just A Mom Podcast highlights their recent film, State of Grace, which, Mary says, is a film about “fentanyl, foster care, and a family of strangers.” This must-see movie chronicles the journey of the main character, Erin, and her struggle with fentanyl, her arrest, and the subsequent loss of her daughter to state custody. Mary emphasizes that State of Grace is not fiction but reality and that addiction affects all families. Mary shares how, during their research for the film, she realized how many people came to addiction “honestly and accidentally.” Mary mentions several resources, including the One Pill Can Kill campaign (https://www.dea.gov/onepill) and the Johnson County, Kansas You Never Know campaign (https://www.youneverknowjoco.org/). State of Grace is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPBNJMD7).

Episode 100: Susie Gurley, Creator/Host of The Just A Mom Podcast, interviewed by her friends Debbie, Jen, and Toni Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

I knew I wanted to do something different and special to celebrate the 100th episode of The Just A Mom Podcast. It seems only fitting to have three of my closest friends interview me. On this episode, Debbie, Jen, Toni and I take a walk down memory lane where they ask me questions about my journey as a parent of a child who struggles with mental illness. We also talk about the inception of The Just A Mom Podcast, lessons learned, and what the future looks like for The Just A Mom Podcast. Don’t miss this celebratory episode where the tables/mics are turned on me!

Episode 99: Cindy Elkins and Dr. Koo Part 2 Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

This is the continuation of the previous episode. Cindy chronicles her daughter, Chase’s, journey with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in 2022. Chase was part of a clinical trial, which accelerated all TMS treatments into a few days, as opposed to the traditional model that spans multiple weeks. Cindy notes how quickly Chase improved and how she became herself again. Chase is now a pre-med junior in college and doing well. Dr. Koo explains the difference between TMS and Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT). She also notes that the accelerated protocol is now far beyond the clinical trial, and which path a patient takes is often dependent on insurance. The accelerated protocol is typically cash pay right now. Cindy and Martha conclude by discussing their quest as members of the Board of the Clinical Advancement of TMS (https://factms.org/) is to get TMS on equal footing and get it in the conversation of mental health treatments.

Episode 98: Cindy Elkins and Dr. Martha Koo Part 1 Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

Don’t miss the first in a two-part series featuring Cindy Elkins and Dr. Martha Koo. I met Cindy at the 2024 NAMICon (https://events.nami.org/namicon/). Cindy shared some of her daughter’s story with me, which included being part of a clinical trial for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, and being featured on The Today Show (https://www.today.com/video/how-magnet-therapy-can-help-treat-depression-143573573760). Cindy is not only a business executive and mom, but she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for the Clinical Advancement of TMS (https://factms.org/), along with Dr. Martha Koo, a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine specialist and Chief Medical Officer for Your Behavioral Health (https://yourbehavioralhealth.com/). In this episode, Cindy shares with us how her daughter, Chase’s, battle with depression started in early 2020. After talk therapy and “a carousel of antidepressants” did not help Chase’s depression, Cindy took to an internet search for answers. Cindy and Dr. Koo explain what TMS is, the advantages of TMS, and the science behind it.

Episode 97: Diana Partington, Counselor and Author of DBT for Life Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

Join this informative and engaging conversation with Diana Partington, licensed professional counselor in Nashville, Tennessee, and author of DBT for Life. Diana shares the philosophy behind Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and how every person can benefit from DBT.

DBT was founded in 1993 by Dr. Marsha Linehan and became popular around 2010. Diana shares how DBT is a powerful treatment for suicidal thoughts and ideation, depression, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Diana talks about how her own life events and battle with suicidal thoughts led her to DBT as a client and the transformative power of the tool kit she took from it.

Diana wrote DBT For Life to be user-friendly; something that people could consume in bite-sized chunks and enter in the most helpful way for the reader. The book is full of illustrations and stories of applying DBT skills. Diana dives into the four tenets of DBT therapy and takes the listeners through an example. Diana also runs groups online
(https://dbtforlife.com/) and hosts a podcast called Suffering Optional (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suffering-optional/id1767018426). DBT For Life can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/Dbt-Life-Skills-transform-Lotus/dp/B0CW2ZKB5S

Episode 96: Laura Craciun Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

This episode of The Just A Mom Podcast features a conversation with parent and advocate Laura Craciun. Laura shares her journey as a parent of an adult child who suffers from a serious mental illness and how difficult it is for families of adults to help their loved ones receive the treatment they need. Laura’s son’s journey started right before he turned 18, at which time parents are no longer able to act on behalf of their children. Laura’s son’s journey has included multiple hospitalizations as well as ongoing legal issues. Laura is passionate about educating people on anosognosia (https://www.nami.org/about-mental-illness/common-with-mental-illness/anosognosia/), which is a lack of awareness of one’s own illness. Laura says that 50-60 percent of those struggling with a serious mental illness also have anosognosia, and this likely interferes with the patient seeking the proper treatment. Laura wants everyone to know about Assisted Outpatient Treatment Laws. These laws work to help individuals receive proper treatment and divert them away from the justice system and inappropriate incarceration.

With the rise in the legalization of marijuana, Laura also advocates for parents to understand Cannabis-induced psychosis and the rise of this problem among teens and young adults (https://learnaboutsam.org/,
https://johnnysambassadors.org/stopdabbing/?gad_source=1).

Episode 95: Allies in Recovery (https://alliesinrecovery.net/) Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

In this powerful episode, I am joined by three amazing guests—Kayla Solomon, licensed clinical social worker, along with Allies in Recovery family members Carolyn and Kenneth. Carolyn and Kenny outline their journey with their son’s addiction, which included a suicide attempt, overdoses, developing an eating disorder, and their discovery of Allies In Recovery. Carolyn and Kenny share how Allies has been a major lifeline for them during their son’s battle and now 14 months of sobriety. Kayla adds in her clinical knowledge and expertise as a group facilitator for family members. All three guests share about the CRAFT method that Allies teaches family members, which stands for Community Reinforcement and Family Training. The CRAFT method is an evidence-based method taught as an eLearning program, along with live, weekly training and support groups. The guests emphasize the importance of community for loved ones of those who struggle with addiction along with how invaluable the toolbox CRAFT teaches loved ones and family members. Kenny and Carolyn discuss how they had to change the way they were relating to their family member, and how critical that has been for their own well-being as well as their relationship with their son.

To learn more about Allies In Recovery go to https://alliesinrecovery.net/. Allies in Recovery also has a podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coming-up-for-air-families-speak-to-families-about/id1227530792.

Episode 94: Doug and Stacee Goetzinger (https://www.speakoutloud.me/) Part 3 Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

In this final episode of the three-part series with Doug and Stacee, Stacee continues sharing about her in-patient eating disorder treatment. She emphasizes how important it was for her to make the choice to stay when many in the program left, and how she didn’t want to leave a legacy of not fighting. Stacee talks about the importance of moment-by-moment surrender. Doug and Stacee also reveal that when Stacee was at Laureate (https://www.saintfrancis.com/laureate), she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). While they were devastated by this additional diagnosis, they understand how Stacee’s childhood trauma was a significant factor in her developing BPD.

While in patient, Stacee started writing blog posts, which eventually became part of her first book, You Are Worth Saving (https://www.amazon.com/You-Worth-Saving-Stacee-Goetzinger/dp/1641142758). Stacee also founded Speak Out Loud, a non-profit organization created to bring hope and encouragement into the silence, isolation, and despair created by mental illness. Doug and Stacee also host a podcast by the same name ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-out-loud/id1544996161) on which I have been a guest (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-out-loud/id1544996161?i=1000589034457;

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speak-out-loud/id1544996161?i=1000644620409). Throughout all of our conversations, Doug and Stacee both emphasize the importance of their faith in Jesus during their entire journey.

Stacee has recently released her second book, The Boat That Wouldn’t Sink (https://www.amazon.com/Boat-That-Wouldnt-Sink-Memoir/dp/B0DFC6VTNC).

Episode 93: Doug and Stacee Goetzinger (https://www.speakoutloud.me/) Part 2 Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Doug and Stacee continue sharing more about Stacee’s suicide attempt and subsequent hospitalization. They also talk about their family and how Stacee’s struggle impacted their daughters. Stacee says she couldn’t be the mom she wanted to be and had journals full of self-hatred writing in them. Stacee’s eating disorder returned, which resulted in the church where Doug was a pastor asking them to leave. Stacee emphasized how important it is that when people need help they are not dismissed and that churches need to figure out how to help those struggling instead. Stacee’s eating disorder was so severe that her mental health team told her they could no longer treat her because she was becoming a liability and that she needed in-patient treatment. This episode concludes with Stacee recalling her in-patient treatment experience at Laureate Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma (https://www.saintfrancis.com/laureate) lasted for several months, beginning with a seven-week stint in the ICU. Doug gives Stacee tremendous credit for staying in the program and working hard on her recovery.

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