- See through a teen’s perspective, what kids are really thinking, and what they say they need for wellness.
- Apply real lessons from parents and experts, including honest mistakes and practical ways to reconnect and support mental health.
- Navigate the school system with confidence, work with educators, and use everyday tools that keep kids talking.
March 2, 2026
Parenting Teens: How to Make Life Worth Living Before Crisis Hits
Does your teen feel disconnected, hopeless, or like they don’t belong? What if we stopped waiting for crisis and started building the will to live early? In this episode, I sit down with Kerry Martin – Harvard MPP, attempt survivor, and founder of Foundation for Life – a nonprofit dedicated to going all the way upstream on teen mental wellness.
February 16, 2026
5 Hidden Signs of Anxiety in Teens Most Parents Miss
Is your child calm on the outside but quietly struggling on the inside? What if the behaviours you’re calling defiance are actually hidden anxiety? In this episode, I share five powerful lessons learned through parenting, teaching, and years of working with youth mental health.
February 2, 2026
Why Strict Parenting Loses Teens and Positive Discipline Doesn’t
What does discipline really mean and why are adults afraid of it, while kids seem to crave it? I sit down with Dr. Allie Donaldson, a former student turned surgical resident, to unpack the misunderstood concept of discipline, emotional regulation, and secure attachment.
January 19, 2026
JUST ME: Self-Advocacy – The #1 Skill Your Kids Need At School
Teaching kids self-advocacy may be the single most important skill they learn in school, and most students never get taught how to do it. When kids advocate for themselves with support, they gain confidence, feel seen, build resilience, and perform better at school and beyond.
January 5, 2026
An Honest Talk About Violence and Men with Eugene Bertrand
Domestic violence against males is real and often invisible. In this powerful conversation, best selling author Eugene Bertrand discusses the hidden epidemic of domestic and intimate partner violence against boys, teens, and men.
December 22, 2025
Secret to Raising Grateful Kids This Christmas
Christmas can bring joy and frustration. Many parents worry their kids or teens are not grateful, especially during the holidays when gifts, expectations, and stress collide. In this video, I explain why guilt trips, comparisons, and forced expressions of gratitude do not build gratitude and what actually does.
December 8, 2025
Working Mom, Present Parent: Staying Connected When Life Is Full?
In this episode, I talk with business leader and mom Lisa Marie Garcia about the real struggles that working parents face. From long work hours to mom guilt and the fear of drifting apart from our kids, this conversation brings honest stories and practical tools to help you keep family connection strong.
November 24, 2025
JUST ME: What Teens in Crisis Say They Need From Parents for Mental Health & Connection
In this episode, I share research from inside a youth psychiatric unit and the honest truths teens told her about what they need from the adults in their lives. Their answers were simple and powerful: support, understanding, and care.
November 10, 2025
Screens, Mental Health, and Teens: What Brock Johnson Wants Parents To Know About Cell Phones
This conversation first aired in September 2024, and I’m bringing it back because it still feels just as relevant now. Brock Johnson offered timeless insight into how social media shapes teen mental health, and so many parents have told me this episode changed how they see their child’s relationship with their phone.
October 27, 2025
JUST ME: Help Your Teen Open Up at Home: Reconnect With Your Child Using Get On Their Turf
When your child feels distant, defiant, or disconnected, it can leave you feeling invisible at home. In this episode, I share a practical way to rebuild trust by getting on your child’s turf, meeting them where they are, and leading with presence.
October 20, 2025
Parent Plan B: Support Your Teen’s Mental Health at Home When the System Fails with AnneMoss Rogers
In this episode, I talk with AnneMoss Rogers, mental health advocate, TEDx speaker, and author of Emotionally Naked. After losing her son to suicide, AnneMoss turned grief into a mission to save lives through compassion and connection. Together, we discuss how parents can create emotional safety and a “Plan B” at home when help feels out of reach.
October 6, 2025
Parenting When You’re Not OK: How to Be Honest and Build Connection with Steven Phillip
In this conversation with Steve Phillip of The Jordan Legacy, we talk about how to be honest with your kids on hard days, how to listen first, and how vulnerability at home strengthens attachment, safety, and trust.
September 22, 2025
Building the Village: How Parents Can Lead When the Mental Health System Falls Short with Janelle Miller Morovick
Janelle Miller Morovick and I discuss how parents often step up when mental health care falls short, navigating stigma, shortages, and complex systems. We share practical ways to build resilience through connection, listening, and belonging, and remind you that you’re not alone.
September 8, 2025
This emotional episode of Get on Their Turf is for every parent moved to tears at their child’s birth. Michael Ray shares his powerful fatherhood journey with daughter Maddie, born with Down syndrome, and how her strength and smile transformed his fear into hope, love, and resilience.
August 25, 2025
Is the “perfect kid” most at risk? In this powerful episode, mental health advocate Leslie Weirich shares the tragic story of her son Austin, a high-achieving college athlete who died by suicide on World Suicide Prevention Day. Learn about warning signs, grief, and suicide prevention.
August 11, 2025
Is mental health something that truly starts at home? In this powerful episode, Nicole Runyon shares why the foundation of healing, safety, love, and self-worth begins in the family, and how parents can reclaim leadership in their children’s mental health journey through love, boundaries, and accountability.
July 28, 2025
What if you’re viewing the world through a lens you don’t even realize is there? In this episode of Encountering, award-winning Palestinian-American journalist Daoud Kuttab explores how unconscious biases, assumptions, and cultural blind spots shape our perception of truth, and why recognizing different worldviews is essential.
July 14, 2025
What does it mean to hear “I love you” without words? Inspired by my nonverbal daughter Maddie, who was born with Down syndrome, I founded the Smile Project to spread authentic love, joy, and human connection through the power of unspoken communication.
June 30, 2025
Raising Fearless Girls: Lessons from Identity, Discrimination, & Forgiveness with Sylvia Yu Friedman
What happens when a daughter is raised in a culture that values sons over her? In this powerful episode, award-winning author and human rights journalist Sylvia Yu Friedman shares how childhood trauma shaped her self-worth, career, and relationships, and how healing began through truth-telling, setting boundaries, and embracing forgiveness.
June 16, 2025
Beyond “Fine”: Recognizing Suicide Risk & Supporting Your Teen’s Mental Health with Chris Coulter
Are you wondering if your teen’s “I’m fine” is hiding something deeper? In this heartfelt episode with Chris Coulter, we explore how to recognize teen suicide risk and support your child’s mental health through trust, open communication, and awareness of subtle warning signs like mood changes and behavior shifts.
June 2, 2025
Hidden Struggles of Confident Teens: Mental Health & Parenting Insights with Darian Hooshi
Discover how a seemingly confident young professional, Darian, opened up about his hidden depression and anxiety in the workplace. This powerful follow-up explores the impact of vulnerability at work and offers parents practical insights on supporting teen mental health, even when struggles are masked by success.
May 19, 2025
Authenticity, Failure & Mental Health: Erica Rankin on Owning Your Story
What happens when an entrepreneur shares her failures, mental health struggles, and unfiltered truth with the world? In this episode of Encountering, I sit down with Erica Rankin for a deeply honest conversation about what it really means to be authentic, online and in life.