Skip to main content
Safe Home Podcast

Safe Home Podcast

By Safe Home Podcast

For struggling teens and their families finding their healing path. 18yo Joey and his moms Beth and Jan share from the heart their experiences and struggles with addiction and mental health.
Available on
Apple Podcasts Logo
Google Podcasts Logo
Pocket Casts Logo
RadioPublic Logo
Spotify Logo
Currently playing episode

Yoga for Healing Trauma with Lorah Gerald - Ep 50

Safe Home PodcastJul 11, 2022

00:00
49:21
Transitioning from Safe Home Podcast to Unraveling Adoption - Ep 74

Transitioning from Safe Home Podcast to Unraveling Adoption - Ep 74

In this very special episode, Beth Syverson, host of Safe Home Podcast, explains her pivot to Unraveling Adoption. This is the last episode of Safe Home, and the first episode of Unraveling Adoption. She explains what the new title means, what the future plans are, and she provides ways for everyone to help get the new podcast launched.

===============

💌 Sign up for our email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Beth’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

Unraveling Adoption is created by Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Amanda Mullins

Email questions or comments to Beth@UnravelingAdoption.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:22 Thanks to all those who’ve helped make Safe Home Podcast happen, and some stats

9:17 Why are we making the pivot to Unraveling Adoption?

10:50 What does Unraveling Adoption mean?

13:05 What are our plans for the future?

16:26 Ways you can help

Jan 02, 202321:25
Partnership Parenting with Lainie Liberti & Her Son Miro Siegel - Ep 73

Partnership Parenting with Lainie Liberti & Her Son Miro Siegel - Ep 73

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Lainie Liberti and her 23yo son Miro Siegel.

Lainie Liberti is a best selling author, international speaker, teen mentor,  worldschooler, partnership parenting paradigm advocate and mother. In 2012 Lainie co-founded Project World School with her son and has lived in community with over a 100 teens in over 20 international locations. Lainie founded Transformative Mentoring for Teens in 2020 in response to the growing need to support teen's mental health. Lainie just released her first book, Seen, Heard & Understood, Parenting and Partnering with Teens for Greater Mental Health, the number 1 best seller on Amazon in the Parenting New Releases. Her book is right in line with what we’ve been advocating here at Safe Home - that parents do their own work and partner with their kids instead of being an authoritarian figure over them.

Beth talks with Lainie and Miro about unschooling and worldschooling because they lead a fascinating alternative life. But over the top of everything is the partnership that they’ve nurtured which allows them to both live as their fully authentic selves.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Lainie’s & Miro’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

Dec 26, 202245:44
Neurodiverse Family Adventures with Carolyn Balagot - Ep 72

Neurodiverse Family Adventures with Carolyn Balagot - Ep 72

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with   Carolyn Balagot, an advocate for neurodiverse people. In her family, she, her husband, and her 3 kids are all neurodiverse in one way or another - primarily with ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has worked at her children’s school as a 504 case carrier, advocating for students’ needs. Her kids all went to school at Orange County School of the Arts, where I used to teach and which I highly respect and admire. Especially in an arts school, all kinds of diversity are celebrated, including neurodiversity. Carolyn will talk to us about her family’s challenges and triumphs, and help us know how to better advocate for our neurodivergent loved ones or community members.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Carolyn’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:52 Carolyn’s family’s background and diagnoses

8:20 High-functioning and low-functioning are outdated. What vocabulary is correct nowadays?

9:50 Autistic people?  Or people with autism?

12:35 504 v IEP accommodations

13:55 Is anxiety a neurodivergence? Is a student with anxiety eligible for accommodations?

15:48 Cum. files and labeling in school

18:33 What is ableism? What are some examples of ableist policies in school and work?

21:20 Did Carolyn’s child’s diagnosis make things better or worse?

22:30 Carolyn and her husband are waiting to get their own diagnosis of autism confirmed

25:40 How job interviews are challenging for autistic people and how to make them better

27:30 The powerful concept of universal design

28:43 Carolyn’s advice for parents who think their child might be neurodiverse

30:10 Why to steer clear of ABA - listen to adult autistic people

35:15 Why Autism Speaks is problematic

37:40 Carolyn’s advocacy for the LGBTQ community too

Dec 19, 202240:34
Destigmatizing Mental Illness with Amanda Lipp - Ep 71

Destigmatizing Mental Illness with Amanda Lipp - Ep 71

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Amanda Lipp, a documentary filmmaker and social entrepreneur working at the intersection of mental health, storytelling, and technology. Amanda has produced over 80 short documentaries about mental health and social impact - covering topics such as youth psychosis, schizophrenia, art therapy, cyberbullying prevention, and housing relief from wildfires.  A passionate mental health advocate, she has given over 150 speeches around the U.S. since age 18 sharing her journey navigating the mental health system. Amanda is passionate about mental health leadership, policy change, and tying films to mental health research studies. She serves on the Mental Health Advisory Panel at Google, and the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Committee (ISMICC) created by Congress to advise on federal mental health policy. Amanda formerly served on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the largest grassroots mental health nonprofit in the U.S.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

RESOURCES:

Amanda’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:09 Amanda’s lived experience with mental illness

6:05 Sports injuries and Amanda’s depression

9:50 Using drugs like an emotional credit card

11:05 Amanda’s support system and challenges of parenting a “problem child”

12:55 Amanda’s major mental breakdown as a college freshman - The Truman Show Delusion

15:08 Psychiatrist ICU and outpatient services from induced psychosis

17:50 Amanda’s daily regimen to maintain her mental health

22:40 Behind the scenes in mental health organizations

24:00 Amanda’s reprise of The Truman Show Delusion and how her parents handled it

26:37 The danger of cops responding to mental health crises, and the hope of the new 988 lifeline

28:50 The importance of compassion and curiosity in responding to psychiatric emergencies

31:50 Advice for how to be supportive to your loved one struggling with mental illness

33:46 How Amanda’s sexual identity intersected with her mental health

35:50 Seek out access points for professional help before a crisis occurs

36:43 Befriending all parts of ourselves with grace, and lean on community


Dec 12, 202239:47
An Unforgettable Adoption Reunion Story with Doris Blumenthal - Ep 70

An Unforgettable Adoption Reunion Story with Doris Blumenthal - Ep 70

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Doris Blumenthal, an adopted person who lives in Northern California. Her adoption story is one of the adoptee narratives in the documentary Reckoning with the Primal Wound, which you’ve probably heard me talking about before. The filmmaker Rebecca Autumn Sansom was on this podcast in Episode 30. If you haven’t seen Reckoning with the Primal Wound yet, I highly recommend it, and I also want to let you know that this episode contains spoilers.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:00 Doris’ adoption story, crossing paths with birth mother in the early days

6:40 The overwhelming need to know one’s biological roots

9:16 Doris’ adoptive parents’ attitude about adoption

11:54 The mysterious photograph and the broken relationship with Doris’ bio brother

13:35 Complex emotions with Doris’ paternal sisters

14:36 Starting the pre-internet search process

18:50 First attempt at finding birth mother

20:15 How DNA searches help

21:11 A common problem for adopted people: lack of health history

21:56 Minnesota sisters and other maternal relatives

22:54 How Arizona’s open records laws enabled Doris to find her birth mother

25:05 Finding Doris’ birth mother’s home - and SPOILER ALERT if you haven’t seen the Reckoning film yet

28:00 Doris’ brother’s attitude toward Doris, privacy v. right to know

31:35 Another amazing coincidence

33:40 More details about the reunion day

38:45 Did she find the mysterious photograph or any other mementos?

40:35 How Doris handles her complicated grief

43:45 Most adopted people have a deep desire to meet their natural parents

45:05 Doris’ dream of ideal records for adopted people

47:33 Backlash from sharing her story in the Reckoning with the Primal Wound documentary

51:34 Doris’ advice for adopted people who are contemplating reunion, and book recommendation

53:30 Doris’ book recommendation - The Primal Wound by Nancy Verrier

56:37 Doris’ advice for adoptive parents regarding reunion

Dec 05, 202201:00:13
Connective Parenting with Bonnie Harris - Ep 69

Connective Parenting with Bonnie Harris - Ep 69

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Bonnie Harris, a New Hampshire-area director of Connective Parenting, where she is a parent educator, counselor, coach, and speaker. She wrote two parenting books:  When Your Kids Push Your Buttons and Confident Parents, Remarkable Kids: 8 Principles for Raising Kids You’ll Love to Live With. AND she has her own podcast Tell Me About Your Kids where anyone can listen in on her parent coaching sessions. Bonnie has a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education And is the proud mother of two adult children raised with her connective approach.

In today’s episode, Bonnie will help us answer the question: HOW CAN WE BE MORE CONNECTED WITH the KIDS in our lives?

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Bonnie’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:26 How Bonnie parented her own (now grown) children

6:08 How Bonnie developed her connective parenting model by learning about herself

9:25 The Dandelion Child and the Orchid Child

13:00 Bonnie’s own terms: The Harmony Child and The Integrity Child

13:50 Characteristics of The Harmony Child - compliant but harbors shame

16:40 How Connective Parenting focuses on the parents, not the child

22:56 Connecting with your child’s emotional state instead of their behavior

28:17 Connective parenting as an investment for your child’s self-confidence

31:04 Characteristics of The Integrity Child - demanding but knows what they want

36:07 How to turn the parenting ship around

40:26 How did Bonnie’s orchid daughter turn out?

44:10 “My child is having a problem, not being a problem.”

Nov 28, 202246:15
Coping with OCD's Intrusive Thoughts with Katherine Osborne - Ep 68

Coping with OCD's Intrusive Thoughts with Katherine Osborne - Ep 68

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with a family friend of hers from church - Katherine Osborne. Katherine shared with the church that she was recently diagnosed with OCD - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I thought it might be good for our audience to learn from an eloquent teen how OCD feels. Nowadays people joke that they have OCD when they’re bothered when something doesn’t quite line up, or if one tile is a different color. You see memes about OCD all the time. But that’s a very simplistic view of OCD that doesn’t honor the lived experience of people who struggle with this disorder every day of their lives.

In this episode, Katherine explains her own lived experience of OCD, and she mentions things she’s learned so far. But of course neither of us are OCD experts or healthcare professionals. We recommend getting professional help if you or someone you know might be struggling with OCD or any mental health issues.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

Resources about OCD that Katherine recommends:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS

1:12 Katherine’s hobbies & college activities

2:25 When did Katherine’s OCD symptoms start? (Thank you, COVID.  ☹️)

3:46 How Katherine experiences OCD in cycles - obsessions and compulsions

6:30 What are intrusive thoughts?

8:54 How does Katherine manage her OCD?

10:22 How Katherine was diagnosed with OCD. Did her diagnosis make things better or worse?

14:00 How OCD has affected Katherine’s social life

15:45 How do Katherine’s family and friends support her when she’s having a bad OCD day?

18:11 Is OCD more common for adults and teens? Is it growing?

19:40 Katherine’s advice to parents of teens?

24:13 Can someone pull an OCD sufferer out of an OCD cycle?

27:20 First steps if you’re curious if you might have OCD

Nov 21, 202232:01
Grandparents Raising Grandkids with Catherine Becker - Ep 67

Grandparents Raising Grandkids with Catherine Becker - Ep 67

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Catherine Becker, founder of the support group called Joys and Challenges of Relative Caregivers. She’s a grandma who is raising her three  young grandkids while her daughter struggles with addiction. When she tried to find a tribe of other relatives in her same situation, she didn’t find a group that went deep enough or that was small enough to create personal connections. So she made her own group. Her organization is raising money to provide financial assistance to grandparents and other relatives who are caring for or who have adopted their family members’ children.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Catherine’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS

1:26 Catherine’s daughter Katie’s journey with addiction and incarceration

6:07 How Catherine plans to keep her young children away from drugs

8:50 How Catherine gained custody of her children

13:03 The boundaries Catherine has drawn with her daughter while incarcerated

16:45 How Catherine manages her emotions and gets support

19:11 How Catherine avoids feeling resentful toward her daughter

22:13 What kind of support do relative caregivers need?

24:26 Struggles Catherine has with her other adult children

26:40 Katie’s relationship with her kids

29:25 Family preservation, open adoption, and relinquishment trauma

33:23 How common is relative caregiving?

36:44 How can allies help relative caregivers?

41:08 Catherine’s advice for parents with teens

43:33 Katie’s mental health challenges

46:03 Catherine’s advice for relative caregivers

Nov 14, 202252:09
Chronic Suicidality with Frank King - Ep 66

Chronic Suicidality with Frank King - Ep 66

**TRIGGER WARNING** This episode will be talking directly about suicide, so this might not be for everyone to listen to right now. But we at Safe Home believe this is a very important topic so we hope you’ll listen when it’s safe for you to do so.

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Frank King, a comedian who wrote for The Tonight Show for over 20 years and who performs standup worldwide. Along the way, he focused his creative attention on the topic of mental health, and specifically suicidality. Now known as the Mental Health Comedian, he talks openly about his own suicidality and, using humor as a tool to open up the conversation, he informs people about suicide prevention, destigmatizes mental illness, and helps people feel seen and heard. He has a few wonderful TED Talks: including  A Matter of Laugh or Death, Mental with Benefits, and Born To Be Funny.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Frank’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:30 Frank explains creating a career from comedy about suicide

7:48 Vulnerability is Frank’s superpower

9:58 Dentists, veterinarians, and construction workers have the highest incidence of suicide deaths

11:17 Frank’s mental illnesses - Major Depressive Disorder and Chronic Suicidality

15:35 Mental with Benefits - what if mental illness is a desirable disadvantage?

17:30 Frank’s self-care plan - 5 daily requirements to maintain his mental health

20:40 Suicide prevention tips

22:20 Does talking about suicide make it more likely someone would attempt suicide?

23:48 We’re not saying “commit suicide” anymore - what do we call it now?

25:08 The new 988 suicide prevention lifeline

28:02 **TRIGGER WARNING** Frank’s intergenerational depression and suicide stories

32:09 Sugar addiction as a long-term death sentence

33:15 Ambivalence about suicide means most people can be saved from suicide; what are the warning signs?

36:33 Lock up your medications, parents!!

Nov 07, 202239:51
A Recovery Journey with Veronica Silva

A Recovery Journey with Veronica Silva

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Rev. Veronica Silva, a New Thought minister and a nurse who has struggled with alcoholism since she was young, but who has been in recovery for 26 years.

Veronica has been on a spiritual journey since June 24th, 1996, when she got sober from alcohol and drugs. She has had a passion for spirituality as a result of attending AA meetings and finding a God of her understanding. She is SO passionate about God that she recently became a Minister in 2020 - right in the middle of the pandemic. She is a true believer in going right into the discomfort of life to free ourselves from our suffering. She is a registered nurse and works at a cardiac procedures unit and loves helping others during their times of fear and anxiety.

Here at Safe Home, one of our biggest priorities is to destigmatize addiction and mental health, so by hearing stories from people like Veronica, we are able to humanize addiction, find commonalities, and discover the way others have found their healing path.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Veronica’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:40 Veronica’s childhood and early introduction to alcohol

3:16 Spinning all the plates during high school, self-medicating for anxiety

4:38 Unconscious intergenerational rage and machismo

7:30 How spirituality helped Veronica

9:50 Being a young mom in recovery and later supporting her son in recovery

13:22 Tools that helped Veronica with the initial stages of recovery

16:30 Stay-at-home drunk

17:33 Going back to school to become a nurse

19:12 Another new career as a minister

20:20 Veronica’s advice for family or friends of addicted people, setting boundaries with love

22:19 High-functioning alcoholics

24:25 Alcohol’s prevalence in our culture

25:34 Meditation as a recovery tool

27:25 Learning how to set boundaries, resentment as a boundary indicator

29:05 Each personal growth journey looks different for everyone, just take a step any direction

Oct 31, 202233:59
More Than Sex Ed with Emmalinda MacLean - Ep 64

More Than Sex Ed with Emmalinda MacLean - Ep 64

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Emmalinda MacLean, co-founder of More Than Sex-Ed, a Los Angeles-based non-profit whose mission is to nourish healthy development through honest conversation about sex. She is the Director of Curriculum & Instruction at More Than Sex-Ed plus she wrote a children’s book around the topic of consent called “Everybody, Every Body!”  

In case you couldn’t guess, this episode will talk openly about sexual topics, so this episode might not be safe for work.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Emmalinda’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:42 How Emmalinda landed a career in sex ed

4:24 Gender diversity is NOT a new thing

7:21 Parental backlash?

8:22 Beth’s sex ed experience at church

10:33 Teaching consent

12:00 Questions about “gay sex”

14:00 What is sex?

15:52 Can parents rely on school or church to teach about sex?

17:53 Don’t Freak Out!

19:33 Acknowledging pleasure reduces victimization

20:25 At what age can kids start learning about sex?

22:30 The topic of menstruation and Turning Red

25:23 How does gaming and social media affect our kids?

27:30 What’s the deal about furries?

30:18 Anonymous question box and porn

33:31 What about sexting?

35:19 What should parents do regarding phones?

36:03 How the fall of Roe will affect our teens

39:19 Emmalinda’s best piece of advice for parent

42:10 LGBTQ+ identities

44:00 What services does More Than Sex-Ed provide?

Oct 25, 202249:07
BEST OF: Cough Medicine and Other OTC Drugs - Ep 2 REPLAY

BEST OF: Cough Medicine and Other OTC Drugs - Ep 2 REPLAY

Safe Home is on vacation this week, so we're replaying one of our favorite episodes.

When we started Safe Home Podcast in August 2021, this episode was the most important one we did. Our family wants everyone to know the dangers of having cough medicine and other OTC drugs unlocked and available to teens. Joey almost died twice from overdosing on Coricidin.

Take a listen to one of our early episodes that you might have missed, and enjoy a new episode next week!

Oct 17, 202236:17
Open-Hearted Adoption with Lori Holden, AKA Lavender Luz - Ep 63

Open-Hearted Adoption with Lori Holden, AKA Lavender Luz - Ep 63

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Lori Holden, an adoptive mom of 2 teens, author of the book The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole, written with her daughter’s birth mom and featured on required reading lists with adoption agencies across the country. She’s also a blogger at LavenderLuz.com, and host of the podcast Adoption: The Long View. Lori is an influential voice in the adoption world, advocating for openness in all kinds of adoption relationships. She often keynotes at adoption conferences and speaks to new and prospective adoptive families, helping them realize the benefits to EVERYONE of maintaining transparency in the adoption process.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Lori’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:


Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com


TIME STAMPS:

1:50 Parents doing their own work

3:39 How Lori learned adoption wasn’t all unicorns and butterflies

5:05 Getting curious about adoption

6:40 A new child can’t cure infertility grief

9:35 Lori’s family’s adoption story

13:45 The importance of the biological bond

16:52 “You are mom”

19:38 Both-And

20:58 Adoptive parents that are closed off completely

22:37 What should adoptive parents say when their child misses their birthparent?

27:10 Open adoption’s trajectory

30:35 What if…

34:18 Listening to birth parents more

35:55 Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency

36:26 Constellation v Triad

38:35 Adoptive parents as the “bad guys”

41:38 Is Lori anti-adoption?

Oct 10, 202247:17
Fentanyl Harm Reduction for Families with Nicole Miller - Ep 62

Fentanyl Harm Reduction for Families with Nicole Miller - Ep 62

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Nicole Miller, a certified drug and alcohol counselor and coach from Oregon who teaches addiction pharmacology at Portland Community College. Even though she’s very knowledgeable about all kinds of drugs, I brought her onto Safe Home Podcast to help us focus on fentanyl. It’s such a dangerous drug, and deaths from fentanyl poisoning have skyrocketed in just the last 2 or 3 years. Our family really wants to raise awareness about fentanyl, so Nicole will help us all understand the risks and what we can all do to prevent deaths caused by fentanyl.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Helanna Johnson, our life coach Heather Ross’s daughter who died in December 2021 from fentanyl poisoning.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Nicole’s information:

Other resources about fentanyl:

===============

Other Resources:

===============

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:08 Nicole’s personal journey with addiction and recovery

3:14 Safe Home lifts up harm reduction

4:40 What is fentanyl?

8:33 What forms does fentanyl come in? How does it get mixed in with other drugs?

9:55 Having Naloxone/Narcan available to save lives, but never use substances alone

10:45 Fentanyl test strips

13:20 How fentanyl makes people feel

14:30 The dangers of fentanyl with experimental use of substances

16:30 Beth’s challenges getting Narcan from the pharmacy

19:41 Encouraging our loved ones to carry Narcan with them

20:24 Meeting addicted people where they’re at; facing reality and encouraging harm reduction

23:51 How can Narcan - the Lazarus drug - works

27:12 Opiates, pain, and tolerance

28:50 How Medical Assisted Treatment (MAT) affects the rates of recovery

33:48 When to use Narcan, signs of an opiate overdose

36:35 Fentanyl could be in ANYTHING off the streets

38:02 How does Nicole stay grounded working in the addiction field

39:15 What Nicole’s recovery coaching looks like

40:50 All overdoses are accidental

Oct 03, 202244:29
Writing Poetry to Process Depression with Colin Parrott - Ep 61

Writing Poetry to Process Depression with Colin Parrott - Ep 61

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Colin Parrott, a 16-year-old from Huntington Beach who has been struggling with depression. He has gotten help with his mental illness from his awesome mom Debbi and from modern medicine. But perhaps the best tool he’s found has been poetry. He’s written a whole book of poetry about his depression called Shards. The process of writing poetry has not only helped him make sense of his mental health, but his poems help others understand what he and others with depression go through. Near the end of the episode, Colin will be sharing a poem or two from his new book, so stick around until the end!

Joey and Beth both also struggle with depression, which you can hear about in Episode 11. It is something that our family is very open about, because you know what - depression kills! We’re very glad that Colin was willing to come on Safe Home Podcast to share his story. We believe that the more people talk about things like depression and other mental health issues, the more we’ll be able to help each other, and the more lives we’ll save - quite literally.

===============

RESOURCES:

Colin’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:36 Colin’s poetry-writing and other writing experience before his depression

3:32 How Colin’s depression and self-harm started and what it looked like

6:26 What Colin’s parents did to cause Colin to feel safe to tell them when he was self-harming

8:14 How meds worked for Colin’s depression

10:36 Colin’s poetry-writing in NYC

14:48 Colin’s advice for kids who are struggling with depression symptoms

17:30 Colin’s advice for parents of struggling kids

19:52 Colin reads his poem “Sunrise Relapse”

Sep 26, 202226:28
A Transracial Adoption Story with Darcy Mittelstaedt - Ep 60

A Transracial Adoption Story with Darcy Mittelstaedt - Ep 60

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Darcy Mittelstaedt, an adult adoptee originally from Korea, and adopted into a dysfunctional family in Nebraska at age 2. Once she came out of the fog, as they say in adoption-land, and came to terms with her relinquishment trauma and chaotic adoptive family life, she turned toward her adoption agency. She now helps inform the adoption agency’s families about relinquishment trauma and the struggles that interculturally adopted people have. Hers is a story of resilience and hope that I’m sure everyone, whether or not you are affected by adoption personally, will appreciate hearing.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Darcy’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:50 Darcy’s difficult childhood story

5:00 Darcy’s parent’s controlling style

7:49 Food control

10:33 The impact of Darcy’s parents’ divorce

12:14 The end of the road for Darcy

15:45 The family that rescued Darcy

18:05 Darcy’s compliant temperament and the role of the church

24:58 Darcy’s job at Boys Town

27:01 How Darcy collaborates with her adoption agency

32:15 Growing up as an Asian in a Nebraska farmtown

39:58 The importance of mirroring for adoptees

44:58 Hope for anyone who grew up in a dysfunctional family

Sep 19, 202248:46
Being on the Receiving End of the CRAFT Method with Joey and Heather Ross - Ep 59

Being on the Receiving End of the CRAFT Method with Joey and Heather Ross - Ep 59

This week’s episode is very special because #1 Joey is with us for this one.  And #2: It’s going to be a 3-way conversation with me, Joey, and our life coach Heather Ross. If you’ve listened to any of our episodes, you’ve probably heard me mention her, or you might have heard one of her 2 episodes we’ve already published - #10 and #34.

In this Safe Home episode, we will be talking about how the CRAFT method has helped our family, and you’ll hear from both sides - the parents’ side and the teen’s side.  CRAFT is an acronym that stands for Community Reinforcement and Family Training. This is the approach that is scientifically proven to get more people into recovery than the old-fashioned approaches like tough love and interventions. The basis of CRAFT is the positive rewards that the loved one heaps on the addicted person when they are doing favorable behaviors. A key concept in CRAFT is that the relationship is more important than their sobriety. This method shifted our family so much that I credit it to keeping our son alive for these past few years. I’m very excited to share some details of the CRAFT approach with you.

===============

RESOURCES:

Heather’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:


Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com


TIME STAMPS:

3:30 Overview of Joey’s struggles

6:40 Joey’s new job has helped stabilize him

7:40 Alternative healing we’ve found to be helpful

11:32 How Heather and CRAFT helped save our family

16:24 Putting our kids under the microscope

19:29 Addiction causes hiding and masking

21:20 Changing the conversation with our addicted loved one

23:28 What Joey and Helanna received from substances

27:04 The goal is CONNECTION, not sobriety

33:25 Why some parents have trouble with the CRAFT Method

36:30 Sliding through life pre-crisis, asleep at the wheel

39:08 What our kids want from us

41:16 Enabling, Narcan, “rock bottom,” and stigma


Sep 12, 202249:13
Framework to Improve Mental Health with Renee Knapp - Ep 58

Framework to Improve Mental Health with Renee Knapp - Ep 58

Movies & Conversations with Alex Kaplan from Of Substance

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 10am PST

OfSubstance.Eventbrite.com

===============

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Renee Knapp, a vice principal at a high school - or she would call it a deputy principal at a district high school where she lives in SW of Western Australia. But on top of that, she’s an independent consultant at Think Effective Consultancy, where she works with schools, communities, and passionate individuals to improve  mental health and wellbeing outcomes through a proven process and framework for change. She is the Chair and co-founder of a Community Based Mental Health Action Team and she’s an Ambassador for the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association. 

RESOURCES: 

Renee’s information: Think Effective Consultancy website: https://thinkeffective.com.au/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.thinkeffective.com.au 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkeffectiveconsultancy/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn8qrZZ0hmktyC7Ot0QIXuw 


Other resources mentioned in this episode: 

Mind Matters (Australia): https://www.positiveschools.com.au/2012%20Mind%20Matters.html 

GoZen videos for kids: https://gozen.com/ 

Reach Out for teens and young adults: https://au.reachout.com/ 

New 988 mental health crisis line: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988 


www.SafeHomeFamilies.com 

=============== 


TIME STAMPS 

1:50 The Big Picture work that Renee is doing to help kids’ mental health 

2:20 Renee’s background and interest in mental health 

7:30 Behaviors are not the problem 

11:05 Common mental health problems in high school 

15:00 Advocating for a CULTURE of well-being at school and Beth’s horrible experience with Joey’s high school’s culture 

20:23 Examples of Renee’s framework in action 

27:10 Finding passionate individuals who can hop on board 

29:50 Framework instead of programs 

32:40 Suicide as leading cause of death 

37:35 Creating a plan for well-being in the school and community 

39:13 Belonging and connection is the cure

Sep 05, 202250:32
Marriage Under the Influence of Alcohol with Dayna Del Val and Mazz Marry - Ep 57

Marriage Under the Influence of Alcohol with Dayna Del Val and Mazz Marry - Ep 57

Movies & Conversations with Alex Kaplan from Of Substance

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 10am PST

OfSubstance.Eventbrite.com

===============

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Dayna Del Val and Mazz Marry, a married couple from North Dakota who are bringing alcoholism out into the light with their podcast, Daily Dose of Dr Marry & DD. They are here on Safe Home Podcast to talk about how addiction affects everyone, not just the person struggling with addiction. They, like our family, believe that the opposite of addiction is connection, and they are aiming to destigmatize addiction so we can all heal. 

=============== 

MOVIES & CONVERSATIONS about addiction and shame event With Alex Kaplan from Of Substance Saturday, September 10, 10-11:30am PST $15 (Half off for Patreon members, Open House attendees come free) Get your ticket here: https://ofsubstance.eventbrite.com 

=============== 

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX =============== 

RESOURCES: 

Dayna & Mazz’s information: Daily Dose of Dr. Marry and DD: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF3myrebU1m8PhVe1HutQ2w 

Website: https://daynadelval.com/category/dr-marry-and-me/ 


Other resource mentioned in this episode:

 IGNTD Recovery: https://www.igntd.com/ 


Other Resources: 

Other Parents Like Me -  https://www.facebook.com/other.parents.like.me 

Heather Ross - Life Coaching for Parents of Addicted Teens: https://heatherrosscoaching.com/ 

Find a Tele-Therapist: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/online-counseling 

=============== 

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome www.SafeHomeFamilies.com 

=============== 

TIME STAMPS: 

1:16 Why Dayna & Mazz decided to share their story on their podcast 

4:03 How Dayna & Mazz met and their early years together 

6:27 Early signs of alcohol derailing Mazz and their marriage, “married to a newborn” 

10:11 Dayna’s reaction to the negative aspects of alcohol on their marriage 

12:06 How Mazz’s body made him rethink his relationship to alcohol 

15:15 The overwhelming worry about cost of treatment 

20:46 What Mazz’s rehab was like 

23:45 The benefits of having a late-onset addiction 

25:20 Dayna’s quirky addiction 

26:54 The culture around alcohol 

31:46 What was underneath Mazz’s alcohol misuse? 

32:34 Redefining marriage after Mazz’s recovery and getting support for the spouse of the addicted person 

41:28 Getting rid of shame

Aug 29, 202244:40
Disordered Eating with Sue Bowles - Ep 56

Disordered Eating with Sue Bowles - Ep 56

Movies & Conversations with Alex Kaplan from Of Substance

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 10am PST

OfSubstance.Eventbrite.com

===============

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Sue Bowles, an Ohio-based master certified life coach, memoirist, and public speaker focusing on the topics of disordered eating, anxiety, depression, and sexual assault survival and recovery. Her company is called My Step Ahead, whose motto is “you only have to be a step ahead to help the person behind you.” That is certainly how we operate at Safe Home, too.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Sue’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:22 Sue’s childhood

4:45 Sue’s sexual assault at 7yo, “Don’t tell anyone!”

7:33 Ways Sue acted out in high school

9:08 How Sue’s eating disorder began, atypical anorexia

13:01 Physical and mental effects of her disordered eating

17:16 Sue’s opinion about BMI

19:29 What prompted Sue to get help for her disordered eating?

21:25 Sue’s advice to parents of a teen with disordered eating

28:55 Where do people go to get help for eating disorders?

29:55 Sue’s role as a life coach

35:00 Eating disorders resources

38:11 A sliver of hope can be cultivated

Aug 22, 202243:38
Families in Recovery with Pam Lanhart - Ep 55

Families in Recovery with Pam Lanhart - Ep 55

OfSubstance.EventBrite.com - 9/10

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Pam Lanhart. She’s the Director of the Minnesota based non-profit organization “Thrive Family Recovery Resources” that she started in 2016 to help families with addicted loved ones. She’s a certified recovery coach, peer specialist, speaker, author, and advocate for those dealing with substance use disorder - and their families.. She has a book and a FB page called “Praying Our Loved One Home” that our Christian audience members will especially love. She recently lost her young adult son Jake to the disease of addiction, but like our dear friend Heather Ross, she is forging ahead, more determined than ever to help families so they can help their struggling teens and young adults who are battling with addiction. Pam subscribes, as I do, to the CRAFT approach of treating our addicted loved ones with unconditional love and positive regard, no matter where they are in their sobriety.

RESOURCES:

Pam’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Aug 15, 202254:31
Mindset Shifting with Tiffany Gay - Ep 54

Mindset Shifting with Tiffany Gay - Ep 54

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Tiffany Gay, a Philadelphia entrepreneur, mindset coach, and public speaker. Several years ago she experienced severe depression and anxiety, but through prayer, a shift in her mindset, and identifying her "Why" she was able to survive through her mental health breakdown. She regained everything back that she lost, including her mind, and now she helps others shift their mindset and find the root cause of their struggles. Her mission is to serve, support, coach, and mentor individuals with shifting their self-defeating, unfulfilling, unproductive, and unhealthy patterns of thinking.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Tiffany’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:13 Tiffany’s childhood, one of 8 kids

2:44 How Tiffany’s father’s PTSD affected her family

5:20 Unfamiliar simultaneous lack - in full survival mode

8:48 How Tiffany managed her economic struggles

12:05 Tiffany lost hope for 2 years

14:15 TIffany’s turning point

16:00 The 5 steps Tiffany took - Identify her WHY, shift her mindset, reactive her faith, incorporate prayer, identify a support system

17:18 Why Tiffany found her healing path outside the healthcare system

18:25 How Tiffany got back on track

20:00 Tiffany is the CEO of her own life

24:11 How has Tiffany’s experience affected her parenting of her 12yo daughter

27:27 Breaking generational patterns

Aug 08, 202231:23
Self-Care for Moms with Yvette Harpootian - Ep 53

Self-Care for Moms with Yvette Harpootian - Ep 53

Movies & Conversations with Alex Kaplan from Of Substance

Saturday, September 10, 10am PST

OfSubstance.Eventbrite.com 

===============

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Yvette Harpootian, a certified life coach from Rhode Island who is passionate about helping women get out of overwhelm, get more done, and release anxiety and self-sacrifice in order to feel better. I thought her message would be welcome here on Safe Home Podcast since many in our audience are parents of adolescents. I know when Joey was in crisis mode, I almost completely lost myself for a while there, before I got connected with Heather Ross, OUR life coach, who BTW went to the same coaching school as Yvette. In this episode, you will receive practical tools from Yvette that you can put into practice right away.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Yvette’s  information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:18 Why Yvette focuses on moms in her life coaching business

2:08 Key areas that moms can focus on to improve their relationship with their kids

4:52 Women’s invisible workload

6:58 Keeping up with the “perfect” class mom + toxic comparing

8:02 “I don’t have time for self-care!”

12:30 What does self-care encompass?

15:28 How does Yvette convince moms to engage in self-care?

18:40 Avoiding getting “hangry” (hungry + angry) and prioritizing sleep

20:30 Scheduling self-care in the calendar

21:31 What does life coaching look like?

22:41 The Model that Yvette uses in her coaching - how to control your thoughts

32:18 What’s the difference between coaching and therapy?

34:06 “My son got better when I got better” and “Nurturing and Love are the keys to healing”

Aug 01, 202238:31
Creating Wellness with Leela Davis - Ep 52

Creating Wellness with Leela Davis - Ep 52

OfSubstance.Eventbrite.com

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Leela Davis. She is a neurodivergent who combines her lived experience self-healing her Bipolar 1 and CPTSD symptoms and managing ADHD symptoms with training in the healing modalities that she found the most powerful in her own healing journey.  She is certified: as a Holistic Health Coach, in Somatic Attachment Therapy, as a Yoga of Sound and Vinyasa Instructor, in Astrology and Human Design, and has spent decades as a multi-passionate creative finding healing in the process of art-making-performing. Her mission is to mentor and support folks with emotional and mental health challenges or diagnoses and live a meaningful and beautiful life beyond the limitations ascribed to certain diagnoses.  Her vision is a world where all medical and healing practitioners will learn to heal by addressing the roots of symptoms rather than covering up the symptoms.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Leela’s information:

  • Website: LeelaDavis.com
  • Instagram: @mypeaceofsanity
  • Podcast with Jude Gorini: What I Didn't Tell My Therapist - on all major podcast platforms
  • Podcast instagram: @whatIdidnttellmytherapist

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:34 What is the difference between Bipolar I, Bipolar II, and depression?

5:35 Leela’s diagnosis at age 37

7:44 Childhood trauma and genetic predisposition to mental illness

10:41 Did Leela’s Bipolar diagnosis help or make things worse?

12:40 Leela’s Bipolar medication hijacked her body and mind

21:21 How Leela found healing without meds

24:55 Meditation and yoga are key tools, incl. Yoga of sound

28:55 How Leela evaluates medication and substances now

31:15 What does Creative Wellness coaching look like?

Jul 25, 202239:25
Transformation and Healing with Jude Gorini - Ep 51

Transformation and Healing with Jude Gorini - Ep 51

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Jude Gorini, a Brazilian who lives in Northern Italy. He identifies as gender queer, and works as an author, podcaster, intuitive coach, and creative artist. He has struggled with Bipolar, addiction, and gender identity issues and shares his life story openly in order to help others. I met Jude recently when I recorded on the podcast that he co-hosts with Leela Davis, What I Didn’t Tell My Therapist. He really resonated with our family’s story, which intersects in many ways with his own. You will love his warmth and honesty, not to mention his sexy accent.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Jude’s information:

What I Didn’t Tell My Therapist Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-i-didnt-tell-my-therapist-reboot/id1473447399

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

  1:26 Around the world with Jude - Brazil, Italy, UK, Italy

  2:39 What’s wrong with Italy?

  5:50 Jude’s LGBTQ+ status and coming out story

11:33 Jude’s career path

13:19 How and when did addiction come into Jude’s life?

18:56 What was the catalyst for his addiction recovery?

22:35 Start of holistic healing and coaching to help others

24:54 How Jude has managed his Bipolar I

26:20 Bipolar and addiction

28:55 What is Jude’s favorite tool for balancing his life?

30:20 Jude reads his poem “Today”

32:25 Nature as a tool for healing

33:54 Jude’s advice for parents of LGBTQ+ teens

Jul 18, 202243:16
Yoga for Healing Trauma with Lorah Gerald - Ep 50

Yoga for Healing Trauma with Lorah Gerald - Ep 50

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Lorah Gerald, an adoptee, an intuitive, a Kundalini Yoga Instructor, and writer. Lorah hopes to help others heal their trauma, adopted or not, by sharing her lived experiences as an adoptee as well as her education in breath work, energy healing and natural intuitive abilities.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Lorah’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:33 Holding feelings about adoption trauma inside v. healing in community

2:49 Lorah’s adoption story as a Baby Scoop Era domestic adoptee

4:40 A better life or just a different life?

6:40 What Beth was told about adoption trauma when she adopted Joey

8:32 What Lorah’s adoptive parents knew about adoption trauma

9:20 How Lorah acted out as a teen and how she avoided addiction

10:38 Lorah’s reunion story

15:34 Lorah’s mother’s forced hysterectomy

16:46 Lorah’s reaction to her adoption story as told by her parents

20:28 Lorah’s reunion story, continued

26:40 Lorah’s healing path - yoga, reiki, reading, etc.

28:35 Kundalini yoga & processing trauma through our bodies

34:55 Other physical trauma-healing tools that Lorah uses

39:03 Adoptee-only yoga sessions

41:43 How yoga has helped Lorah with trauma and well-being

Jul 11, 202249:21
A Courageous Spiritual Journey with Bobbi Becker - Ep 49

A Courageous Spiritual Journey with Bobbi Becker - Ep 49

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Rev. Bobbi Becker, the Senior Minister and Spiritual Director at Namasté Center for Spiritual Living in Long Beach, California. In this episode, Bobbi tells her story of  being a gay New Thought minister who grew up in the Mormon church and whose whole family was touched by addiction and mental health issues. You will be inspired by her commitment to her own spiritual growth which included the acceptance of her sexual orientation. She is not afraid to speak out and take action within social structures about women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights. You will find out what saved her from the addiction route that many of her family members took.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Bobbi’s information:

Resource mentioned in the episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:18 Bobbi’s unique childhood

2:44 Being raised in the Mormon church

5:00 Bobbi’s excommunication

10:36 Coming out as gay and getting involved in diversity training

13:46 Bobbi’s mother’s mental health trifecta and family secrets

20:01 How Bobbi escaped her family’s dysfunction

22:36 Where Bobbi found support as a young adult

25:30 What are you giving power to?

26:25 Bobbi lost 2 brothers to addiction and mental illness

30:18 How Bobbi’s 2 surviving siblings are doing

33:54 How Bobbi avoided addiction to substances

37:25 Bobbi’s transition from corporate executive to minister

39:05 How Bobbi’s life has affected her parenting

44:59 Dealing with family trauma

47:06 The best thing parents of struggling teens can do

Jul 04, 202249:25
Trauma and Resilience with Cheyanne Alsop - Ep 48

Trauma and Resilience with Cheyanne Alsop - Ep 48

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with one of Joey’s friends, 19yo Cheyanne Alsop. Like Joey, Cheyanne was adopted, her adoptive parents later got divorced, and she struggled with mental health issues throughout her adolescence. Cheyanne’s harrowing childhood would leave most people completely paralyzed emotionally. But because of her willingness to get help and to work on her own emotional toolbox, Cheyanne has graduated high school, she’s got a job, and she’s on her healing path. Her story gives us all hope for our struggling kids, and she and Joey give some great advice to teens and parents at the end of the episode.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Cheyanne's contact info: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheyanne_autumn1618

Other Episodes mentioned during this episode:

  • Our CHS episode - #22
  • Our episode about psych hospitals: #16
  • Brenda's Adoption Story episode: #21

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

0:30 A little update with Joey

3:17 Cheyanne’s infancy and first relinquishment at age 3

4:42 Cheyanne’s childhood trauma with her grandparents

11:15 Moving to her aunt’s in foster care system

13:45 Getting matched with Cheyanne’s adoptive parents

16:55 Cheyanne and Joey talk about adoption trauma

22:20 Adoptive parents’ divorce created more pain and caused first hospitalization

25:00 Cutting and self-harm, Cheyanne’s rock bottom

27:58 Cheyanne and Joey’s advice to teens considering going to residential treatment programs

29:25 DBT - Dialectial Behavior Therapy, working hard in treatment

34:37 Things that have helped Cheyanne survive

36:38 How Cheyanne’s steered clear of the addiction route

41:23 Cheyanne’s plans for the future

44:13 Cheyanne’s advice for adoptive & foster parents

46:25 Cheyanne’s advice for teens

47:30 What Joey admires about Cheyanne

Jun 27, 202250:45
Anxiety Toolbox with Jeanette Matthew - Ep 47

Anxiety Toolbox with Jeanette Matthew - Ep 47

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Jeanette Matthew. She lives in North Yorkshire in the UK, and she is a certified coach who helps individuals and organizations transform their  uncertainty, overwhelm, and lack of clarity into goals, action plans, and confidence. Her specialty is helping people deal with anxiety. Jeanette has delivered workshops around the world offering psychological hacks to managing and preventing anxiety, and teaching people the mindset tools we can adopt preventatively to see every day triggers through a different lens.

In this episode, Jeanette gives plenty of practical tools to help our teens - and ourselves - manage anxiety.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Jeanette’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

Website: SafeHomeFamililes.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:37 Jeanette’s career background

8:00 Coaching v therapy

13:40 What is causing anxiety for our teens?

17:31 Learning to release outcomes

18:35 Sense of permanency of one’s life choices

25:30 Jeanette’s favorite tool for anxiety - a simple question to ground you in the present moment

34:45 Mindfulness tools

44:25 Choices over one’s own behavior gives us autonomy

49:02 Getting active and getting outside for anxiety relief

Jun 20, 202255:46
Recovery Coaching with Tracy Struckman - Ep 46

Recovery Coaching with Tracy Struckman - Ep 46

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Tracy Struckman, an Indiana-based recovery coach who has 8 years of recovery from a destructive  heroin addiction. She now helps others who are struggling with addiction to find long-term recovery.  She is just completing her licensure to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and she does online consulting and workshops for people who struggle with addiction as well as their families.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Tracy’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:35 Tracy’s childhood and adolescence and background of her heroin addiction

3:35 The addiction process - alcohol→marijuana→then heroin

5:41 Fentanyl’s dangers and access to Narcan to prevent overdose deaths

10:19 Addiction as a symptom of an underlying problem

13:32 Tracy’s rock bottom

14:57 A chance of rehabilitation in the criminal justice system?

16:23 What happened to cause Tracy to become sober

19:00 Tracy’s parenting and Tracy’s parents

25:10 What Tracy wishes would have happened differently when she was a teen

27:30 What is a Recovery Coach?

31:23 How parents can shift their focus off their kids and onto themselves

33:27 How is Recovery Coaching structured logistically?

36:22 Parents, don’t blame yourself!

Jun 13, 202239:50
Holding Space with Tamara Gabbard - Ep 45

Holding Space with Tamara Gabbard - Ep 45

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Tamara Gabbard. She lives in the jungles of Costa Rica with her toddler Rubi-Jean. Tamara is a Copywriter and Content Marketing Strategist, and she also identifies as a Soul Consultant and Clairvoyant. She combines her skills in both the practical and spiritual realms to help people who are struggling to break through the overwhelm that life can bring when trying to make an impact on the world.

Like our son Joey, Tamara has done extensive personal research with psychedelics and other substances.  She’s 5 years sober now, but she uses some of the things she learned through her psychedelic trips to inform her work, especially finding the root causes of whatever obstacle people get stuck on.

Tamara’s story is pretty extraordinary. Even if you can’t relate to her exact experience, I know you will be inspired by her talk to dig a little deeper to help yourself and your struggling teen.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Tamara’s information:

Other things mentioned in the episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

Website: http://SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:37 Tamara’s chaotic childhood

5:08 Teenage experimenting (and then deep dive) with substances

7:33 Tamara’s clairvoyance

13:50 Psychedelics and trauma

20:08 Holding space for people

21:55 How Beth has been holding space for Joey and Tamara’s advice for parents

28:41 Teens using psychedelics (including vaping DMT)

34:07 Safer use of psychedelics

36:40 The planetary shift

39:15 Tamara’s role as a Soul Consoultant to overcome trauma and blocks

Jun 06, 202245:10
The Tough Post-High School Transition with Taylor Cox - Ep 44

The Tough Post-High School Transition with Taylor Cox - Ep 44

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with her long-time piano student, 19-year-old Taylor Cox. Taylor graduated from high school in 2021, and has had a year of pivoting, personal growth, and some common teenage challenges since then. She talks openly about her struggles in the hopes that her story will help other families with struggling teens at this tricky post-high school juncture. Listen through to the end and you’ll be rewarded with an original song performed by Taylor.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com 

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

===============

TIME STAMPS

2:05 Taylor’s musical experience

4:18 Taylor’s other interested besides music

6:52 Taylor’s experience as a blind person

12:05 How to help blind people feel accepted and included

13:06 Taylor’s performing arts high school successes

16:51 Pivoting college plans

19:44 Independent living school

22:36 Bonehead teenage choices

23:40 Introduction of depression and anxiety

26:10 Therapy for everyone!

28:43 Tools Taylor learned through therapy

30:57 Taylor’s future plans

32:56 Taylor’s advice for parents of high school grads

38:33 Taylor’s performance of her song “Best of Me”

May 30, 202244:34
Cannabis Science and Side Effects with Jason Wilson - Ep 43

Cannabis Science and Side Effects with Jason Wilson - Ep 43

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Joey joins Beth to talk with Jason Wilson about the science and side effects of cannabis. Jason is a botanist, educator, author, and podcaster whose primary interest right now is cannabis. He studies the chemistry and microbiology of cannabis, and has unique expertise in quality management systems and regulatory compliance in the burgeoning cannabis growing industry. He published a science textbook “Curious About Cannabis” and has a podcast with the same name.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Jason’s  information:

Anonymous testing of substances: https://www.drugsdata.org/

CHS Genetic Testing: https://shop.endodna.com/products/chs-dna-susceptibility-test

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson; Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao; Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson; Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com; Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube; Support Safe Home on Patreon: Patreon.com/SafeHome

===============

TIME STAMPS:

0:57 Jason Wilson’s intro and expertise

2:51 How today’s cannabis compares to the cannabis parents used back in the day

6:09 Jason’s concerns about modern synthetic products like Delta 8 THC

9:50 Different types of testing - qualitative and quantitative

14:32 How can consumers know if their product is good quality

17:28 How clean are dispensary products?

18:50 The dangers of street drugs from the black market

24:00 Vape industry marketing to kids

24:36 Is it “just” cannabis?

24:50 Can you get addicted to cannabis?

28:25 Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) and stigma

31:12 Communicating with your kids about cannabis

32:42 The unique chemistry of edible cannabis, which packs a powerful punch

35:55 How much cannabis does Joey use?

37:28 Bi-phasic effect of cannabis - high dose v. low dose

39:50 Remedies for cannabis overdoses or overwhelm

43:00 High doses of cannabis can make psychiatric problems worse

43:35 Fentanyl in weed and how to test for it

36:35 Safest ways to use cannabis

49:48 Jason’s advice to parents about how to communicate with our kids about cannabis

May 23, 202257:49
Safe Home Families Update with Jan & Beth - Ep 42

Safe Home Families Update with Jan & Beth - Ep 42

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth and Jan, Joey’s moms, give a State of the Family update. They talk about what’s been happening with all 3 family members, and share their vision for Safe Home Families as well.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Safe Home Families information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon - https://Patreon.com/SafeHome

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:30 Family updates - Beth, Jan, and Joey

6:03 How Beth and Jan work together to maintain boundaries

13:48 Changing the things we can, which often prompts change in the family system

14:53 Adolescence and wanting more independence

23:50 Changing geography to try to solve problems

25:25 How our boundaries bring us peace and sanity

27:00 Safe Home Podcast expands to Safe Home Families

28:12 New support system for adoptive parents is coming

32:09 A boost in hope for Joey’s future

33:48 Our Patreon account - thanks to our current Patreon members - Camille, Susan, Nina, Rica, Mara, and Steve & Barbara

37:42 Huge gratitude for our first sponsor - Beth & Laurie Hansen

May 16, 202243:20
Creating Short Films to Conquer Shame with Alex Kaplan - Ep 41

Creating Short Films to Conquer Shame with Alex Kaplan - Ep 41

THIS PODCAST EPISODE CAN BE SEEN IN VIDEO FORMAT ON YOUTUBE AT: https://youtu.be/cQeNVrW0v2U

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Alex Kaplan, co-founding Executive Director & Chief Vision Officer of “Of Substance,” an innovative nonprofit that makes premium, entertaining short films to help us all overcome the shame, blame, and stigma we experience in our struggles. Having overcome his own challenges with substances, Alex has been through the wringer, but he has turned his life around and is now helping other struggling people to find connection, a sense of belonging, and hope.

===============

📬  Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Alex’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at Hello@SafeHomeFamilies.com

www.SafeHomeFamilies.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:55 - Alex’s trauma, shame, and addiction story

5:48 - Alex’s recovery story

12:38 - Beth’s story about how our healthcare system has NOT helped Joey

14:02 - How addicted people deserve more credit than they are given

17:00 - Curiosity about the positive things people are getting from substances

19:00 - Getting to the core issues

22:44 - What kind of movies is Of Substance making?

26:13 - How Alex’s relationship with his mom was transformed by his film “Trapped”

30:05 - Alex’s vision for Of Substance

37:04 - The topic of shame in media

39:44 - How non-industry people can support Of Substance

43:31 - “Bandaids,” one of Of Substance’s short films

51:35 - How we all can help get Of Substance’s message out

54:25 - “Hide Your Crazy” monster film and MTV’s Mental Health Action Day, May 20-22, 2022

May 09, 202259:54
Never Give Up Hope! with Erik, Beth, & Laurie - Ep 40

Never Give Up Hope! with Erik, Beth, & Laurie - Ep 40

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Erik, who spent three decades living under the dark cloud of active addiction, but who is now whole and walking on the recovery path. It’s a dramatic transformation story that testifies to the power of love and hope in our addicted loved one’s recovery. Erik misused meth for over 30 years, and he alternated between living under a bridge, in jail, prison, rehabs, and halfway houses during that time. Joining in the conversation in the second half of the episode are his sister Beth and their 89-year-old mom Laurie, who realized they were helpless to “fix” Erik. But they never gave up hope that he would find recovery. And he did! Find out what it was that turned Erik’s life around, and hear from all three family members, who are dear friends of Beth, Jan, and Joey, as they recall the traumatic experiences and triumphs of their family.

===============

RESOURCES:

Resource mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:28 Erik’s adolescence and the start of his addictive behavior

5:17 Finding a sense of community on the streets

6:34 Introduction of meth and life got way worse

10:59 The revolving door of incarceration

20:30 What ended up turning Erik around?

30:04 Erik reflects on his parents and his own parenting

34:47 Erik’s sister Beth and mom Laurie join the conversation

48:27 Erik’s miraculous transformation through the responsibility of work

May 02, 202201:02:44
The Belonging Blueprint with Ross Leppala - Ep 39

The Belonging Blueprint with Ross Leppala - Ep 39

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Ross Leppala, professional powerlifter, coach, host of the Project UnchainED podcast, and creator of The Belonging Blueprint course. He suffered from bullying and suicidal ideation when he was young, but sports, especially football, turned his life around. He became a powerlifter and powerlifting coach, and he has expanded his skills to help his athletes and others with their personal growth as well. He helps his clients create a sense of belonging within themselves.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Ross’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:43 Ross’s childhood struggles with bullying

8:18 Ross found sports which helped with his self-worth issues

15:19 Personal growth and discipline gained through powerlifting

17:00 Ross’s life coaching process and tools

23:20 Ross’s advice for parents of struggling teens

37:21 The Belonging Blueprint course

44:16 The choice to create change

Apr 25, 202248:57
EMDR for Healing Trauma with Emma Stevens - Ep 38

EMDR for Healing Trauma with Emma Stevens - Ep 38

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Emma Stevens, whose new memoir The Gathering Place: An Adoptee’s Story was written during her treatment with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). EMDR has helped her deal with her adoption trauma and other developmental trauma from her troubled childhood.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Emma’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS

3:56 Emma’s adoption story

6:38 Alcohol was part of her family’s routine…and later her routine

11:23 Exploited by a therapist, then found EMDR

12:45 Starting EMDR and her memoir

15:10  Implicit memories stored in our bodies

16:16 Adoption’s primal wound

20:08 EMDR today

24:43  In utero and infant trauma

27:44 Personal growth for struggling teens + for parents of struggling teens

29:22 Dealing with infertility loss

33:23 Reckoning with the Primal Wound with Emma’s cameo

Apr 18, 202235:02
Non-Binary Musician Spencer LaJoye - Ep 37

Non-Binary Musician Spencer LaJoye - Ep 37

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Boston musician Spencer LaJoye, who identifies their gender as non-binary. They came out as bisexual in college and years later came out as non-binary, all within Christian communities. Beth became aware of Spencer when she heard their song “Plowshare Prayer,” a unique prayer for all those against whom prayer has been used as a sword. The song has gone viral around the world, and you will hear Spencer’s back story plus the entire song toward the end of the episode.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Spencer LaJoye’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS

1:47 Spencer’s childhood and religious background

6:26 Spencer found community as an evangelical youth

8:48 Spencer’s college years and coming out as bi

14:16 Parents letting go of dreams for their child

19:46 Coming out as non-binary in 2018

21:49 Spencer’s gender journey

24:10 What our non-binary kids need

28:49 Being a friendly observer of your own body

30:25 Defining trans & non-binary

35:36 Background of “Plowshare Prayer” song

42:50 Performance of “Plowshare Prayer”

Apr 11, 202252:09
Sound Healing with Ellen Newhouse - Ep 36

Sound Healing with Ellen Newhouse - Ep 36

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with transformational healer Ellen Newhouse, who uses Acupuncture, Sound Healing, and Energy Medicine in her private practice.  This episode focuses on sound healing as a way to transform negative emotions, open up the heart, connect with our loved ones, and create more compassion in the world. Ellen leads Beth in several sound healing exercises in the episode and also shares about her personal journey of healing and growth.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Ellen’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:10 Ellen’s background info

6:57 Ellen’s calling to become a healer

9:25 Healing chronic pain

12:30 Using sound to manage negative feelings

19:19 The benefits of using a healing guide

20:33 Using sound to release constriction

24:46 Conquering the feeling of isolation

27:20 A sound healing connecting Beth with Joey

35:27 How does sound healing work?

39:52 Are music and sound healing the same thing?

41:51 Are sound baths similar to what we did in this episode?

43:50 A sound healing with a singing bowl to create more compassion

49:45 Ellen’s website, memoir, and one-woman show

Apr 04, 202254:13
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) with Kaitlyn Vosburg - Ep 35

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) with Kaitlyn Vosburg - Ep 35

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Kaitlyn Vosburg who is an advocate for people with DID - Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. She has a TikTok account called “apartofeight” where she shares real life scenes from her own journey with DID. Kaitlyn sheds light on a topic that isn’t discussed much, but which affects 1% of the population.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Kaitlyn’s information:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS

2:01 What is DID?

2:45 The ONLY cause of DID

4:25 Kaitlyn’s trauma

6:18 Does every traumatized person get DID?

8:00 What is an “alter”?

9:05 Kaitlyn’s alters

12:58 DID is a hidden disorder

13:39 Kaitlyn’s diagnosis story

16:10 Risks for people with DID

18:09 How Kaitlyn’s family adjusted to her diagnosis

19:59 How Kaitlyn wishes people would do to support her

22:48 How much control over switching does Kaitlyn have?

26:04 How does Kaitlyn manage everything?

27:54 How do people know when switching is occurring?

30:09 Advice for parents

32:24 DID is real and it’s not their fault

34:45 Kaitlyn’s TikTok “apartofeight”

37:29 Where is Kaitlyn in all this?

Mar 28, 202242:14
Losing a Child to Addiction with Heather Ross - Ep 34

Losing a Child to Addiction with Heather Ross - Ep 34

In this week’s episode, Beth interviews her parent coach, Heather Ross, who recently lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning. Clips of Heather’s previous podcast episodes with her daughter are heard throughout this episode.

RESOURCES:

How to find Heather:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:35 Clip #1 with Heather & Helanna from Sept. 2021 Living with Addiction podcast

2:49 Heather is driven to continue helping other families

4:40 Helanna’s childhood and background

7:35 Clip #2 with Heather & Helanna from Sept. 2021 Living with Addiction podcast

13:55 Similarities between Heather and Helanna wanting to numb out

14:30 Clip #3 with Heather & Helanna from Sept. 2021 Living with Addiction podcast

15:13 People pleasing and masking

32:09 Helanna’s rehabs and relapses

33:50 Clip #5 with Heather & Helanna from Oct. 2021 Living with Addiction podcast

35:40 Helanna’s last few days

37:41 Details about fentanyl

39:26 Getting “that phone call”

45:31 How Heather has stayed sane since her daughter’s death

50:40 Clip #6 with Heather & Helanna from Oct. 2021 Living with Addiction podcast

52:00 What Heather wishes she would’ve done differently

56:17 Destigmatizing addiction



Mar 21, 202201:02:00
Tapping (EFT) with Andy Bryce - Ep 33

Tapping (EFT) with Andy Bryce - Ep 33

In this week’s episode we will dive into a wonderfully effective and low-tech healing modality called EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique - or it’s sometimes just called Tapping. Beth’s guest is Andy Bryce, one of 26 remaining Founding EFT Masters in the world. EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques, which combines psychology and acupuncture. Andy takes Beth through a mini EFT session as part of this episode.

THIS EPISODE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE because of the visual content of the tapping session.  Find the video of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYoW-LxFFes2EX71ENcFVCQ

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

How to find Andy Bryce:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:13 What is EFT?

4:50 Emotions come in waves

7:20 What spurred Andy’s interest in alternative healing modalities?

10:00 EFT can be done with a practitioner or alone

11:45 All ages can benefit from EFT

16:08 How EFT can help parents calm their anxiety about their struggling teens

21:50 EFT can help cure phobias

22:23 Beth’s mini EFT session with Andy

37:02 How to help our children find meaning

Mar 14, 202254:22
A Family's Recovery Journey with Dawn McCord - Ep 32

A Family's Recovery Journey with Dawn McCord - Ep 32

In this week’s episode you will hear another family’s story of adolescent addiction and recovery. Dawn McCord’s son Carson had a tumultuous adolescence but he found recovery through wilderness therapy. Dawn’s new memoir "Chasing Carson: A Family's Journey through Adolescence, Addiction and Recovery," provides an honest account of their whole family’s healing process.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

How to find Dawn McCord and her book:

Another book mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:05 Did Carson give his blessing for the memoir?

3:35 Dawn and Beth are committed to reducing the shame around addiction

6:25 Adolescents’ risky behavior is part of normal development

9:30 Carson’s addiction story

14:11 Compounding the addiction story with poverty or racism

16:16 Ideas for helping our struggling kids

21:30 The dangers of social media for our kids

24:45 Carson progressed to heroin and found wilderness therapy

33:25 Reorganizing home rules and revising family habits

35:38 How Dawn has stayed sane

40:00 What Dawn would have done differently (hint: smart phones)

Mar 07, 202247:58
Neurodiversity and Gender Diversity with Lyric Holmans - Ep 31

Neurodiversity and Gender Diversity with Lyric Holmans - Ep 31

This week’s episode is about All The Diversities. Beth interviews Lyric Holmans, a non-binary, autistic self-advocate who runs the blog and Facebook page “The Neurodivergent Rebel” plus their company Neurodivergent Consulting.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

How to find Lyric:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:13 What happens when autistic people tell the truth

5:45 Lyric’s late diagnosis

11:25 Diversity within the Neurodivergent population

14:02 Lyric’s acting on stage and in life

15:05 Lyric’s school experience

18:30 The eye contact issue

22:06 Definition of neurodivergent

28:56 ADHD and “Does not apply themselves”

34:48 How non-binary gender intersects with neurodiversity

37:55 Definition of non-binary gender

Feb 26, 202250:16
Empowering Adoptees with Rebecca Autumn Sansom - Ep 30

Empowering Adoptees with Rebecca Autumn Sansom - Ep 30

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with an adult adoptee, Rebecca Autumn Sansom, who recently created an adoption documentary called Reckoning with the Primal Wound, a film that juxtaposes her own powerful adoption story with the wisdom of Nancy Verrier, who wrote The Primal Wound, the book that is considered to be the adoptee’s bible.


RESOURCES:

Information about Reckoning with the Primal Wound:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:37 How Rebecca got the idea for the film

4:11 Adoptive parent’s perspectives

7:11 Film screening info for 2/26/22

8:51 How the film triggered Rebecca and others

19:22 Adolescence and identity crises

25:05 Is Rebecca anti-adoption?

26:47 How the birth of Rebecca’s child affected her

29:15 Money in the adoption industry

30:58 Does Rebecca ever feel infantilized as an adult adoptee?

41:15 Advice for dealing with Joey’s adoption pain

45:55 Renting the film its eventual release

47:28 Join the Adoption Army!

49:03 Blonde Records info


Feb 19, 202251:50
Recovery and Authenticity with Lona (LC) Currie - Ep 29

Recovery and Authenticity with Lona (LC) Currie - Ep 29

In this week’s Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with podcaster, motivational speaker, and writer Lona (LC) Currie. LC has recovered from long-term drug and alcohol misuse, and after he became stable as a sober person, he transitioned to his true gender. He was considered a “lost cause” by many, but now he is openly sharing his addiction experience to give others hope that recovery is always possible. His story will encourage everyone to come back home to their authentic selves.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Lona (LC) Currie’s information:



Other Resources:

===============


Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and Beth Syverson

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS

1:24 LC’s Transgender Mentor podcast

3:30 The start of LC’s addiction at age 11

5:47 LC’s advice for parents offering kids alcohol because “they’ll do it anyway”

6:51 The progression of LC’s addiction beyond alcohol

11:14 Moving to opiates

15:57 Suicide attempts and accidents

17:40 LC’s recovery story

19:30 Dealing with the core issues

25:00 Starting gender transition

26:50 The path back to LC’s authentic self

31:47 The shift that Covid has created

37:45 Enabling v. Tough Love



Feb 13, 202245:35
Beth as guest on The Whinypaluza Podcast - Ep 28

Beth as guest on The Whinypaluza Podcast - Ep 28

In this week’s episode, we’re sharing an interview Beth had on another mom’s podcast recently: Rebecca Greene’s The Whinypaluza Podcast. Here are some of the topics we cover:

- Why being a reactive parent isn’t helpful during times of stress.

- How teens can easily hide their drug use from their parents.

- What kinds of signs you should be looking for in your teenage children.

- How excessive drug use can lead to disregard for things they once loved.

- How relapse is a very real reality when dealing with a teen who struggles with addiction.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Rebecca Greene’s The Whinypaluza Podcast

Mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and his moms Beth Syverson and Jan Mabie

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson, with design help from Nina Smith

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

3:19 The start of The Whinypaluza Podcast episode

5:27 Why we started Safe Home and where we came up with the title

7:38 Staying out of reaction mode

9:42 How Joey hid drug use from us for 2 years

12:36 The warning signs we missed

14:54 How Beth tried to help Joey after we found out he was using drugs

18:35 How Beth kept herself sane through Joey’s travails

21:06 What has helped Joey

23:52 Advice to prevent your child using drug use

28:12 Let’s talk about sugar!

34:55 The main lesson Beth has learned

35:48 A bit about adoption trauma

Feb 05, 202237:25
Hypnotherapy with Pamela Topjian - Ep 27

Hypnotherapy with Pamela Topjian - Ep 27

In this episode, Beth learns about hypnotherapy with Pamela Topjian from Breakthrough Hypnotherapy. She talks about her own healing path from childhood trauma, how she got into hypnotherapy, and how hypnotherapy can help create more peace and heal trauma for teens and parents. Joey checks in at the end of this episode, too.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Pamela Topjian’s information:

Other resources mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and his moms Beth Syverson and Jan Mabie

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson, with design help from Nina Smith

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

1:51 Pamela’s memoir I Didn’t Come This Far to Only Come THIS Far

4:05 Adding to our healing modality toolbox

6:13 Pamela’s trauma story

9:08 Pamela’s career journey from nursing to hypnotherapy

12:34 Beth gushes over Joey

14:35 How Covid has exacerbated problems

17:05What hypnotherapy is like

23:32 Doing hypnotherapy remotely

24:47 How hypnotherapy can help parents with struggling teens

Jan 29, 202235:47
Learning Disabilities with Jill Stowell - Ep 26

Learning Disabilities with Jill Stowell - Ep 26

In this episode, Beth talks with learning disabilities specialist Jill Stowell from Stowell Learning Center. She talks about how early childhood affects a person’s ability to learn, and she gives great ideas to parents that will help them advocate for their child and find solutions for their learning challenges.

===============

💌 Sign up for our Safe Home Families email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX

===============

RESOURCES:

Jill Stowell’s information:

Another book mentioned in this episode:

Other Resources:

===============

Safe Home is created by Joseph Nakao and his moms Beth Syverson and Jan Mabie

Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao

Cover art by Joseph Nakao, photo by Beth Syverson, with design help from Nina Smith

Email questions or comments to Safe Home at SafeHomePodcast@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube

Support Safe Home on Patreon

===============

TIME STAMPS:

2:05 How Jill got involved teaching people with learning disabilities

4:07 First signs of learning disabilities in kids

5:30 Adopted children with learning disabilities

9:46 How early childhood trauma shows up in the body and in learning

12:13 How parents can help make teachers aware of their child’s challenges

17:00 Can learning disabilities be fixed permanently?

19:15 How trauma can affect learning disabilities

22:19 Crossing the midline exercises

26:25 Is it too late to help teenagers? What to do if you suspect your teen is struggling

28:45 Ways Jill’s center can help with learning challenges

33:57 Can learning disabilities contribute to teens getting off track?

36:40 What’s the best age to get your child help with learning disabilities?

39:30 Where to find resources

Jan 22, 202244:20