Stay ConnectedThe Think Act Be podcast features conversations about finding happiness, peace, and connection. Clinical psychologist Seth Gillihan talks with his guests about ways to nourish your mind, body, and spirit.
For one-on-one sessions with Seth Gillihan: sethgillihan.com/1-1-sessions
For individual psychotherapy (in CA or DC) with Joel Minden: cbtchico.com
My guest this week is Dr. Paul Kesselman, a clinical psychologist in private practice in Devon, Pennsylvania.
Topics we discussed included:
Paul Kesselman, PsyD, completed his doctoral degree in psychology at Yeshiva University. He has taught college level courses in child psychology. He has been working in private practice seeing individuals, families, and running groups since 2003.
Paul works with children as young as four years of age and sees children, pre- teens, adolescents, families, young adults, and adults. He has also conducted research studies on social anxiety at New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Paul grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He and his wife have five children; he enjoys spending time with his family, listening to music, and playing baseball when he is not helping patients and families.
He has a passion for his work and enjoys the opportunity to work with issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, learning issues, OCD, anger issues, impulse control disorders, school avoidance and refusal, and adjustments issues.
Paul has spoken at both public and private area schools on a variety of topics including ADHD, anxiety, special needs children, and school anxiety.
Learn more about Paul and his therapy practice at his website.
My guest this week is Dr. Steve O’Brien, author of the excellent new book, The Essential Guide to Treating Child and Adolescent Anxiety (affiliate link).
Topics we discussed included:
Steve O’Brien, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist in Tampa Bay, Florida, with over 30 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and families.
He specializes in the treatment of childhood anxiety, depression, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders.
Steve utilizes an integrative, developmental-systems model and relies heavily on psychoeducation, cognitive behavioral methods, interpersonal and client-centered approaches.
A national speaker, on-air mental health reporter, and trusted media psychologist, Steve also developed the first-of-its-kind app for obtaining a child’s perception of family life (psychtouch.com). He is the author of The Essential Guide to Treating Child and Adolescent Anxiety (PESI Publishing, 2023).
Find Steve online at his website.
My guest this week is Rob Bell. I was so happy that I got to speak with Rob. I’ve been a fan of his work for quite a while now—I listen to his podcast all the time and have read a few of his books, and I’ve just found his work so helpful. I actually had an opportunity to spend a couple of days at the Rodale Institute where Rob was hosting one of his events where about 30 people come and bring an issue, a question, or a stuck point, and one by one we each sit and talk with Rob as the rest of the group observes. It’s hard to describe exactly what happens, but something kind of shifts and opens up. That was definitely my experience.
So it was great to speak with Rob here. We focused mostly on his really cool new book called Where’d You Park Your Spaceship? An Interplanetary Tale of Love, Loss, and Bread (affiliate link). If you haven’t read it already, I strongly suggest you get a copy! It’s fantastic.
Topics Rob and I got into included:
Rob Bell is the New York Times bestselling author of 14 books and plays which have been translated into 25 languages.
His visual art can be seen on Instagram, his band is HUMANS ON THE FLOOR, and his podcast is called The RobCast.
Rob lives with his family in Ojai, California.
Learn more about Rob at his website.My guest this week is Yemado. He’s the director of the Boston School of Boabom, and he’s been teaching Boabom for over 20 years. As you’ll hear, Boabom is a Tibetan system of meditation, relaxation, and self-defense, and this was such an interesting discussion. The topics Yemado and I explored were really familiar ones, and they were also in a whole new context. One of the most valuable parts of this conversation for me was his description of “crashing into yourself” when you pursue consistent practice with something like yoga or meditation or Boabom. Eventually you’ll discover inconvenient truths about yourself, and with persistence you can learn better ways to work with yourself. Toward the end you can follow along as Yemado leads us through a brief guided meditation.
Topics we got into included:
Yemado is the foremost teacher in North America of Boabom, an ancient Tibetan system of meditation, relaxation, and self defense.
He has brought this practice to thousands of students around the world over more than two decades of teaching, and he has trained Boabom teachers around the world.
Yemado is the creator of Boabom Journey, a new 5 star app and video course that allows anyone to learn Boabom on their own schedule.
He is the director of the Boston School of Boabom, the principal school dedicated to Boabom in North America. Yemado is also the co-translator and editor of a number of books about Boabom.
You can download the highly-rated Boabom app here. Check out a free Boabom class, and learn more about Boston Boabom where Yemado is the Director and senior teacher.
My guest this week is Brent Franson, an entrepreneur and founder and CEO of a company called Most Days. I met Brent a while back when he had me on his podcast. I really wanted to talk with him after I listened to an episode of his podcast where he described the things that led him to the work he does now, which is focused on helping people make positive changes in their lives. Brent talked about his history of addiction and what helped him overcome it. We talked about self-compassion, which is built into the Most Days approach, and the limits of self-improvement.
Topics we got into included:
Check out the Most Days Show and the Most Days app, and contact Brent here.
You can hear Brent tell his story on his podcast: Part 1: The Story of Most Days and Part 2: The Importance of Big Decisions.
Brent Franson is the founder and CEO of Most Days. A serial entrepreneur, Brent’s interest in entrepreneurial endeavors began in high school when he founded a full-service search technology marketing agency.
After moving to Palo Alto in 2005, Brent was on the founding team of Reputation.com, the worldwide leader in online reputation management. Reputation.com was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum and was backed by Kleiner Perkins, Bessemer Venture Partners, and August Capital.
Most recently, Brent was the CEO of Euclid Analytics, a leader in retail data and analytics backed by Benchmark Capital, NEA, Harrison Metal, and Groupe Arnault. Under his leadership, Euclid was acquired by WeWork in 2019. Brent has been named a LinkedIn Top Voice, and has regularly contributed to Forbes, LinkedIn, Inc, Entrepreneur, and other publications.
Brent is a father, and an athlete who enjoys his routine, reading, running, skiing, skydiving, and anything that involves pushing his own boundaries.
My guest this week is Dr. Mitch Abblett. Mitch and I talked about how we can move through anxiety and stress by what he calls “owning the moment.” We explored what that means, how to do it, and maybe most important of all, how to remember to do it. The process itself is really simple—we just bring our attention to the present and let things be as they are. But as I’m sure you know, that’s much easier said than done. Mitch has some really helpful ways to practice more of this style of being in the moment. It involves something he calls “momentology,” which you’ll hear him explain. I really enjoyed this conversation, and toward the end Mitch led me through a short guided exercise that you can follow along with, too. I’m guessing you’ll like it as much as I did.
Topics we got into included:
Mitch Abblett, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, author, consultant and national/international speaker.
His latest book is for parents, educators and helping professionals – Prizeworthy: How to Meaningfully Connect, Build Character, and Unlock the Potential of Every Child.
His other publications include:
Mitch’s work has appeared in numerous online and print media such as Psychology Today, Mindful Magazine, The New York Times, Newsweek, Tricycle Magazine, and USA Today. His frequent blog posts regarding mindfulness applications in family and relationships can be found in Mindful Magazine’s companion website Mindful.org as well as on Psychology Today.
A clinician in the Boston area for over 20 years, he brings a wealth of clinical, administrative and leadership experience from various settings (hospitals, outpatient clinics, residential facilities and therapeutic schools) to his practice and consulting. For 11 years he served as the Clinical Director of the Manville School at Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston – a Harvard Medical School-affiliated therapeutic school program for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral and learning difficulties. He has also served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.
Mitch lives with his wife and two children in Newton, Massachusetts.
My guests this week are Drs. Kelly Yanek and Michel Kinderman. I was truly excited to learn more about their dual therapist model where they see each client together—two therapists with a single client. They described how this approach keeps them interested and engaged at work, and makes them look forward to Monday mornings. I think you’ll find this conversation as fascinating as I did.
Topics we discussed included:
Michele Kinderman, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and co-founder of Wellness Outside the Box. For nearly two decades, she’s been successfully treating children and adults struggling with trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, parenting issues, and the stresses of everyday life.
Michele combines the more traditional therapies (cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, insight oriented therapy) with music, movement, and nature to assist clients in building their strengths and achieving their goals. She also loves animals and offers Pet Therapy. To maintain balance and serenity in her own life, she enjoys hiking, rock climbing, skateboarding, dancing, and spending time with her husband, two sons, and the family dog Zippy.
Kelly Yanek, PsyD, is a nationally certified School Psychologist and the other founder of Wellness Outside the Box. Kelly has had a love for the outdoors since she was a little girl climbing trees and exploring nature, and she’s been incorporating this passion for nature and adventure into her work since her career began.
In addition to her certification as a school psychologist, Kelly has specialized training in adventure-based counseling and the technical skills of high and low ropes/adventure courses. She’s also a certified yoga instructor. She takes great pride in the progress and success of her clients, and looks forward to helping you.
In her free time, you can find Kelly traveling, enjoying the beach, practicing yoga, running, cycling or swimming, and most of all, spending time with her family and friends.
Discover more about Kelly and Michelle and the Dual Therapist Model by visiting their website.
My guest this week is psychologist and author Dr. Jill Stoddard, who recently wrote a book called Imposter No More: Overcome Self-Doubt and Imposterism to Cultivate a Successful Career. Jill and I had a great discussion about feeling like an imposter—why it happens, who’s likely to have the experience, and most important, how to deal with those thoughts and feelings. The solution probably won’t be what you expect because the answer is not to force yourself to think and feel differently. Most of us find that our thoughts and feelings kind of have a mind of their own, and trying to make them change is often more frustrating than successful. So if you’ve wrestled with the imposter syndrome, you’ll find this conversation really helpful.
Topics we discussed included:
Jill Stoddard, PhD, is passionate about sharing science-backed ideas from psychology to help people thrive.
She is a psychologist, TEDx speaker, award-winning teacher, peer-reviewed ACT trainer, and cohost of the popular Psychologists off the Clock podcast.
Jill has written two books in addition to her latest one: Be Mighty, and The Big Book of ACT Metaphors.
Her writing has also appeared in Psychology Today, Scary Mommy, Thrive Global, the Good Men Project, Mindful Return, and The Washington Post.
She regularly appears on podcasts as an expert source for various media outlets. Jill lives in Massachusetts with her husband, two kids, and disobedient French bulldog.
Find out more about Jill at her website.
I’m all alone for this episode. This week I wanted to talk with you about finding the courage you need to take a bold step forward in your life. It could be anything, from continuing your education to changing jobs or starting to date.
Anxiety and uncertainty often hold us back when we know we need to make an important change. But they don’t have to. There are effective ways to move through our hesitation so that nothing stops us from living the life we know is calling us.
I hope you get a lot out of this episode. It’s based on the first session of a new course I created called Forward: Finding Courage to Take a Bold Step. The course offers 5 audio sessions that include mindfulness exercises to help you find your center, manage your mindset, and act with awareness and intention.
The practices you’ll discover in Forward will help you retrain your thoughts, roll with difficult emotions, and work with whatever life brings you. Each session includes an invitation to practice the things you’ve learned, so you can move from insight to action.
The sessions are designed to teach you effective skills without taking a lot of time or energy. They’re audio-based, so you can listen without needing to look at a screen.
I’ll be monitoring the Comments section so I can respond to your questions. I’d love to see you there!
This week I'm continuing my series with Dr. Joel Minden, and we discussed a fun and interesting topic: psychotherapists in popular media, including film, TV, and comic strips. We explored what these depictions get right, the challenges of presenting therapy accurately, and why therapists so often are portrayed as buffoons.
Specific topics we touched on included:
Joel Minden, PhD, is a clinical psychologist specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety and related disorders.
He is the author of Show Your Anxiety Who’s Boss (affiliate link), founder of the Chico Center for Cognitive Behavior Therapy, diplomate of The Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, and lecturer in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Chico.
Find Joel online at his website, follow him on Twitter, and read his blog on Psychology Today.
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