The Dr. Sylvia K Show

This is short 10 minute raw, off the cuff, and unfancy introduction. Just me, Sylvia. Without the Ph.D. fluff and academic language.

In this episode, I briefly talk about PTSD, C-PTSD, and ADHD and what they all share in common--some form of unprocessed and or unhealed trauma.

My recent reel that I created on Instagram, about unhealed childhood trauma, shows that so many people can relate to this topic. With over 50k accounts reached in 2 weeks, and just 1 reel, I'm seeing how we can connect through something that's often not talked about.

Let's open up that conversation. Childhood trauma can manifest itself as...fixing others, people pleasing, co-dependency, external validation needed, living on high alert, fear of abandonment, de-prioritizing your own needs, need to prove yourself, tolerating abusive behaviors, attracting narcissistic partners, and/or difficulty setting boundaries.

In an attempt to de-stigmatize C-PTSD, PTSD, and ADHD, I invite you to get in touch with your younger self that might still be frozen in time, and scared.  And for the purpose of healing and transformation, I will lead you on a short guided meditation to get in touch with that little kid that still lives inside you. 

Perhaps your inner child and my inner child can begin a friendship based on the words of C. S. Lewis, "What? You too? I thought I was the only one."

Follow me on Instagram @drsylviak or visit my website: www.drsylviak.com for more information on unhealed childhood trauma, ADHD,  mindfulness strategies, and my future book on Loneliness.

September is all about Self-awareness and Self-discovery.  In this episode, you'll meet Dr. Clare McCord, author, educator, wellness practitioner, and consultant who believes that it’s time for a Renaissance: time to learn new skills, behaviors, and ways of thinking that can take you to the next level in your work, life, and relationship with Self.

Dr. McCord’s education and discoveries in the realms of mind/body health have motivated her to write her book Human Renaissance: The New World of Your Power, (available on Amazon).  In this episode, you'll hear more about her book and learn that you were born with an enormous array of mind/body capabilities. 

Listen to the end to discover the power of breath work and guided visualization. You'll learn 2 powerful techniques that can regulate your nervous system and help you get to know yourself better.

Dr. McCord will teach you: 

• The "6-2-6" breathing tool
• How to better understand your "energy" and body cues
• The "3 brains"
• A guided visualization to connect to the "heart brain"
• Connect to your many "selves" to better understand the "whole" you. 

These are just a few, of the many ways, that Dr. McCord teaches direct access to your innate resources-- so that you can experience an expanded, happier, and more productive life. Human Renaissance® is also a registered US trademark for coaching and educational programs that Clare offers to help people discover and access the amazing “new world” of ourselves.


About This Guest:
Dr. Clare McCord  is an author, educator, wellness practitioner, and consultant. Throughout her career, Dr. McCord has had the opportunity to act as a change agent for individuals and organizations who are ready to develop new processes, programs or skills and create new results. 

Clare McCord holds a  Ph.D. with specialty in professional communication, leadership and organizational dynamics. As a Professor at The University of Illinois at Chicago, she realized that she could best use her resources in the workplace, so she took early retirement to begin her company, McCord Consulting, focusing on leadership and communication, developing practical curricula for universities and organizations, and providing executive coaching and consulting to a wide variety of clients. 

Dr. McCord is often called to assist organizations during times of growth and change, defining and strengthening their human cultures by developing leadership skills at all levels. Organizational clients include Fortune 100 and 500 companies, major healthcare providers, non-profits, and government agencies including the NIH and the FBI.

While pursuing her career in business, Dr. McCord has also pursued another passion: mind/body health. A personal health challenge in the early 1980s catapulted her into the world of mind/body wellness and energy medicine. During Clare’s recovery and in the decades that followed, she has studied many alternative approaches to healthy living, earning certifications in Reiki, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or tapping), and BodyTalk, among other modalities. Dr. McCord is still astonished that no formal educational system includes any teaching on our most valuable asset – ourselves. Dr. McCord felt she needed to address this crucial educational gap and decided to open a wellness practice, which is now in its second decade, with many long-term clients, often including whole families. 

Visit Dr. McCord  at www.claremccord.com – start your Renaissance! 

Ready for Overthinking Part 2? 
Let’s dive deeper into where overthinking stems from--the false idea that you are not good enough and learn how you can transform this limited belief through introspection and therapy. 

Erika Smith, LMHC is going to lead you through a healing inspired conversation about the power of self-introspection, core beliefs, and transforming your perspective on your “enoughness” and faith. 

Grab your notebook for this episode because you’ll hear  “aha” moments that inspire growth and healing. 

This month is all about sharing our stories about the ever-evolving journey of healing and self-awareness. 

Sound turned on? Let’s join the conversation together. 


Links from the Show: 

• Follow Erika on Instagram 

About This Guest:

Erika Smith, LMHC, had over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. Erika’s experience spans from working with people with acquired disabilities, to substance abuse, veterans, and life coaching. Erika has a passion for helping clients use their belief system to work through challenges moving them toward their desired place.

Erika is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a qualified supervisor for registered mental health therapist interns, and certified in Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching. Erika believes in a multicultural/holistic approach to treatment and has worked with persons from various cultures as well as religious practices. When Erika is not serving clients, you can find her in her garden or enjoying the beach early in the morning.  

Have you ever expressed your feelings or perspective and you felt like the person you were talking to didn’t quite understand or fully listen to you?

It feels like they’re dismissing your thoughts, or feelings, essentially invalidating your experience.

That’s exactly what we’re talking about today on the Dr. Sylvia K Show with Dr. Porshia Cunningham, LMFT. 

We often seek validation in places that don’t help us heal, retriggering trauma and making it more difficult to create lasting relationships. In today’s episode, Porshia, who has a passion for all families, no matter the size and treats clients in her practice, Rooted Therapy, and I are diving into how you can validate your own emotions so you can fully process your experiences and improve relationships.

Porshia discusses her specialty in working with interracial couples and blended families, while eloquently and pragmatically deconstructing the concepts of validation and invalidation. She shows you how to nurture the love, growth, and stability in your most precious relationships, from couples to families.

Listen until the end because Dr. Porshia leaves you with one message that will knock your socks off. 

Links from the Show: 

• Follow Porshia on Instagram 
• Visit Porshia’s Website

About This Guest:

Porshia Cunningham, LMFT, has been practicing therapy since 2012. Focused on new parents and budding blended families, she established Rooted Therapy as a safe space for families to grow together. Rooted Therapy was named as a metaphor for families and relationships, as a gardener must learn what their plant needs and what conditions influence its growth and ability to thrive. Porshia will explore what unique strengths and needs your family has and will collaboratively provide each person with the tools they need to build themselves.

Where are my overthinkers at? 

Listen, as an overthinker myself, I know how easy it is to get caught up in those rumination waves. The task that should’ve taken you 10 minutes took 2 hours. Something your friend said is playing over and over in your head. 

You worry someone won’t show up, go over all the things that could go wrong, or chase the thought that somehow that thing isn’t going to work! 

In today’s episode, we’re diving into all that with Erika Smith, LMHC. She breaks down overthinking and how it affects well-being, relationships, and our brain health, while offering simple ways to identify overthinking and better manage it.

Erika and I dabble a little with neuroscience topics and the effects that trauma can have  on the brain, often leading to overthinking. Plus, you’ll hear more about how overthinking contributes to the experience of loneliness and several ways to acknowledge it, so you can better manage it and create constructive relationships with yourself and others. 

You’ll also see how neuroscience and spirituality can help us better manage overthinking, loneliness, and anxiety.

Sound good? Let’s dive in.

Links from the Show: 

• Follow Erika on Instagram 

About This Guest:

Erika Smith, LMHC, had over 20 years of experience in the mental health field. Erika’s experience spans from working with people with acquired disabilities, to substance abuse, veterans, and life coaching. Erika has a passion for helping clients use their belief system to work through challenges moving them toward their desired place.

Erika is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a qualified supervisor for registered mental health therapist interns, and certified in Hypnotherapy and Life Coaching. Erika believes in a multicultural/holistic approach to treatment and has worked with persons from various cultures as well as religious practices. When Erika is not serving clients, you can find her in her garden or enjoying the beach early in the morning.  

It’s no secret that grief is a part of life, but that doesn’t mean you have to brave it on your own. 

Meet Gina Moffa, a licensed clinical social worker who’s passionate about the human condition and seeks any avenue with her clients that leads to a feeling of deeper connectedness with themselves and others. Gina specializes in grief and loss, trauma, and PTSD, running her private practice in New York City. 

In this episode, Gina humanizes and modernizes the grief process by offering compassionate perspectives and understanding, and we discuss the intersection between grief and loneliness. 

We talked quite a bit about what scares people the most about the grief journey and how it validates our universal fears. This episode we get very personal as we both talk about our own struggles with grief, as it pertains to mother loss. 

Listen all the way through, because Gina teaches simple tools to better manage symptoms of grief. Make sure to listen with a pen and paper to write down valuable resources for grief and loss. 

Links from the Show:

• Visit Gina’s Website
• Follow Gina on Instagram

About This Guest:

Gina Moffa’s role as a therapist allows her to walk with people through some of their most important journeys. She is truly humbled by the trust and faith people place in the process of healing.

When Gina is  not journeying with her clients, she loves being outside, hiking, kayaking, and generally just being in nature all year round. Gina is also a singer who creates and performs in charity cabaret shows with multiple musical genres once a year. She is currently working on several creative writing projects, which include mental health articles and a book on modernizing grief therapy.

In this week’s episode of The Dr. Sylvia K Show, I want to talk to you about the power of intentional living. 

Meet Jose Duncan, writer, professional Fitness trainer, and host of The Unnatural Born Leader Podcast. In this episode, Jose talks about his journey through writing his first book, The Greatest Fight Within and how it has provided him and his clients tools, purpose, and intentional living guidance. 

You’ll also discover strategies for hacking your mind and tapping into your potential. If you’re really struggling in your life right now with loneliness, feel adrift and need a little direction, this episode is for you!

Links from the Show:

• Email Jose: jmdfitwell@gmail.com 
• Follow Jose on Instagram
• Listen to Jose’s Podcast - The UnNatural Born Leader

About This Guest:

Jose Duncan Jr. carries  quite a few titles these days but one that he certainly embraces is being a Fitness Professional. Before Jose became engulfed in this profession, he was a life-long student-athlete. After playing football for almost 17 years he walked away with a bachelor's degree in Health Science and gained an opportunity to play professional football, and a long list of questions about his purpose in life. Today Jose finds purpose in sharing his perspective and experience with personal growth. His enthusiasm for self-development has led to becoming an award-winning fitness trainer, starting a podcast, The Unnatural Born Leader, publishing my first book The Greatest Fight Within, and now writing for his very own blog.

Welcome to The Dr. Sylvia K Show! In my very first episode, I want to talk to you about the pain points that can be holding us back from growing. 

That’s where my very first guest comes in. 

In this episode, Dina Scippa - Certified Empowerment coach, mentor, and founder of Enough labs - and I are naming some of the most common pain points we face in life, such as not feeling good enough. We dive deep into topics such as taking accountability for our own healing and acknowledging self-limiting beliefs that affect relationships and loneliness. 

Dina provides valuable takeaways and offers 3 simple strategies to better manage the pain point of not feeling good enough. 

This episode is one to replay several times, where you’ll find connection and the invitation for self-healing and emotional freedom. 

Enjoy!

Links from this episode:

• Follow Dina on Instagram