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Emmalee Bierly, LMFT and Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT, owners and co-founders of The Therapy Group (@thetherapygrp), bring you the ShrinkChicks Podcast. ShrinkChicks is on a mission to make therapy and therapeutic topics more relatable and accessible. Each Monday, Emmalee and Jen will explore different mental health topics and invite you to sit in on their insight, humor, and knowledge, leaving the psychobabble behind.
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What Should You Talk About Before Getting Married?
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen give you an inside look at their premarital counseling program by sharing specific topics to address before saying "I do!" They start the episode by giving us some marriage stats and sharing the leading causes of divorce. Then they discuss how soon to start having premarital conversations and what to focus on w…
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In this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen zoom in on a specific theory in therapy called Narrative Therapy! They start the episode off by explaining what Narrative Therapy looks like and its four principles. Then Em and Jen share how to identify the narratives we each hold about ourselves, where they come from, how the narratives can …
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are confronting confrontation and talking all about how to have hard conversations. They start the episode off by sharing tangible tips to teach yourself that you deserve to take up space in your relationships. Em and Jen then answer listener questions about worrying what the outcome of a conflict/confrontatio…
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On today’s episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen explore the topic of feeling stuck and share their insights on how to move forward! They begin the episode by listing their favorite mantras for when you're feeling stuck or resistant to change. They answer your questions about how to become unstuck, addressing the fear of failure when it comes to…
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Exploring Gender Identity with Alexander Stefanini
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On today’s episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are joined by one of their amazing colleagues and friends, Alexander Stefanini, LPC, owner of Arrive Therapy, an all-LGBTQ+ counseling practice that is trans and queer-focused. The episode begins with Alexander sharing his story of growing up transgender and his experience transitioning. Then, Emm…
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen break away from their usual content to get real and raw about what they've been going through. They open up about their current struggles and challenges with burnout and share candidly about their difficulty saying no and asking for help while managing the overwhelming mental load of running The Therapy Group.…
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On today’s episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are joined by one of their amazing clinicians from The Therapy Group, Taylor Nance, LMFT, to talk about all things boundaries! Taylor is their resident boundaries expert and the three of them are answering your questions about dealing with pushback when setting boundaries, why it can be so difficu…
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Answering Your Sex, Libido & Desire Questions
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen explore the topics of sex, libido, and desire. As sex therapists, they share their expertise and insight into these sometimes hard-to-talk-about topics. They begin the episode by answering the #1 listener question: how do I increase my libido? They also answer questions about having a different libido than…
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Finding the Gray Area in Black & White Thinking
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48:56
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen explore the topic of all-or-nothing/black-and-white/dichotomous thinking. They start the episode off by explaining what all-or-nothing thinking looks like and the reasons why you might be engaging in it. Em and Jen then cover listener questions; topics like where this type of thinking comes from, the safety th…
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Is Everyone Experiencing Imposter Syndrome?
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen cover one of their most requested topics: Imposter Syndrome. They start the episode off by explaining the different subtypes of imposter syndrome and which subtype resonates with each of them the most. Then they answer a common question: do you ever get over imposter syndrome? Emmalee and Jen disc…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen agree that opposites generally attract, but focus on the question: do they work? They go through listener topics and questions surrounding various differences within relationships such as life goals, politics, religion, parenting style, libido, view on money/finances, and more. Emmalee and Jen discuss the …
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen explore the pervasive emotion of guilt and how it impacts us on a daily basis. They begin the episode by defining the term "guilt-proneness" in response to a listener asking why it is their "go-to" emotion. Emmalee and Jen discuss guilt vs. shame, healthy guilt vs. irrational guilt, why so many of us might fee…
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When Family Dynamics Shift & Change in Adulthood
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On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen explore the topic of shifting family dynamics in adulthood and the complexities that exist within this change. When we grow into adults, our family dynamics often do not grow at the same rate. Em and Jen discuss family roles from our childhood staying present in adulthood, why it's so hard for…
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What It Means to be a Highly Sensitive Person
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are discussing the highly requested topic of being a highly sensitive person (a.k.a. an HSP). They help us understand what it means to be an HSP and the difference between being an HSP and an empath by sharing examples. The conversation gives insight into your own sensitivity, as well as insight into the p…
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Understanding Passive Aggressive Behavior
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In today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are examining passive-aggressive behavior. They start the episode by sharing the different types of passive-aggressive behavior and examples to accompany each type. Emmalee and Jen explain where passive-aggressive behavior might stem from, and how to better understand it if we're engaging in it or…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking about establishing and upholding the boundaries you set with yourself, for yourself. They answer your questions surrounding: why boundaries with ourselves are often harder to keep, what the line is between having boundaries for yourself and being “selfish," how to work on the emotional boundary…
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Dear Em & Jen: Listener Advice (Continued)
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Welcome to Season 5 of ShrinkChicks! Emmalee and Jen are back for the first episode of the New Year with another episode dedicated to Dear Em & Jen questions! The first question asks: how do you help someone who is not ready to be helped? Emmalee and Jen discuss the challenges of watching a friend or loved one stay in an unhealthy relationship, pro…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are giving you a holiday pep talk! They answer your questions about all of the curveballs that the holiday season can throw us such as financial pressure, anxiety, grief, and loss surrounding this time of year, losing that childhood joy as an adult, combining traditions when you enter into a romantic relat…
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On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are dedicating the full episode to answering multiple Dear Em & Jen questions! The first question is from a listener who is extremely frustrated with her current relationship dynamic. Her partner is not willing to do the work and she feels lost on how to reach him after trying for so long. The…
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking all about long-term friendships and how they evolve over time. They discuss whether it's possible to stay friends if you're in different life stages by sharing their personal experiences of being childfree (Jen) and a parent (Em), and how that affects their friendship. They cover topics such as: wh…
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Why is the Mother-Daughter Relationship So Complex?
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are joined by Hilary Truong, one of their wonderful clinicians, who is a Mother-Daughter relationship expert and coach! Hilary shares her expertise around this unique relational dynamic. She answers your questions about the guilt around setting boundaries with your Mom, why Mom might be competitiv…
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This week, ahead of Thanksgiving, Emmalee and Jen are re-releasing their most downloaded episode: Why Are In-Laws So Triggering? They know that the start of the Holiday season can be activating, overwhelming, and bring up a lot of emotion, which is why they picked this particular episode to remind you that you're not alone. Emmalee and Jen answer y…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are helping you to answer the question: should I stay or should I go? They talk about how to know when something is no longer serving you and the nuances that exist around that, how to decipher between needing to give something more time vs. knowing it's time, and working through the guilt of making the de…
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Resentment, The Mental Load, & How They Intertwine
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen have the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Tracy Dalgleish! Dr. Tracy is a clinical psychologist, couples therapist, and author who specializes in the topics of resentment, the mental load, and other challenges that can show up in our partnerships. They start the episode off by diving into the com…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen sit down with Jenny Wise Black, LMFT, who specializes in how our phones affect our mental health. Jenny shares her personal journey of being without a phone for FOUR years and how it changed her life and informed her work. Emmalee, Jen, and Jenny discuss social media breaks and FOMO, living in our daily re…
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What's Normal Independence vs. Hyper-Independence?
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are covering the highly requested topic of hyper-independence! They start the discussion off by defining hyper-independence, also known as ultra-independence, and where it can originate from. They talk about the relationship between hyper-independence and parentification and birth order, the societal praise hy…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are answering your questions about childhood wounds. They start the episode with a question about what a healed person looks like and what their own healing journeys have looked like. Then they discuss how our childhood wounds do not always originate from our families; that some of us have deep wounds from…
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are covering the highly requested topic of shame. They start the episode off by distinguishing between the emotions of guilt and shame as they can feel quite similar but are very different. Then they share some of Brene Brown's research including the 3 things shame needs to survive and how to get …
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking all about decisions and why decision-making can be so challenging. They share what they each do when struggling to make a decision, a tangible exercise to help you with decision-making, and answer your questions about feeling stuck in a decision. They discuss their thoughts on "the one," making…
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are revisiting the topic: how to stop taking sh*t personally! You can listen to this one on its own, and for more check out the episode: How to Stop Taking Sh*t Personally. Emmalee and Jen pick the topic back up by answering a question about rejection sensitivity and explaining what it looks like.…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are covering a highly requested topic: confrontation and how to get more comfortable with it! They start by normalizing how challenging confrontation can be. They share questions to ask yourself like what does confrontation mean to you and what does it look like for you, historically? Then they answer your…
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking about chosen family. They discuss popular sayings like "blood is thicker than water" and "you only get one (insert family member here)" and why these don't apply to everyone. They explain that it's not all or nothing; a chosen family doesn't require the absence of a biological family. Emmalee and J…
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Em and Jen are practicing what they preach by resting and taking the week off from a new episode. They don't want to leave you all hanging of course, so they're re-releasing one of their most listened-to episodes: Carrying The Mental Load. Emmalee and Jen break down the term "mental load," which is also known as cognitive lab…
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On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are honored to be joined by Juliane Taylor Shore, LMFT, LPC, SEP. Jules is a therapist specializing in trauma recovery, interpersonal neurobiology, and couples work and she shares her incredible knowledge with us all today! The episode begins with Jules explaining how to use neurobiology as a …
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Improving Communication in Your Relationship
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Today on ShrinkChicks Emmalee and Jen are communicating about communicating! They discuss how to improve communication in your relationship(s), identifying your specific pain points when communicating, being the external processor or the internal processor, the difference between honesty and being harsh, asserting your needs vs. being controlling, …
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How to Break-Up with Your Therapist & More
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are answering all of your questions about therapy! They discuss why they each chose this career, where to start when looking for a therapist, how to break up with your therapist & find a new one, how to know if you've found the right therapist, how to make the most of your sessions, and why it can be hard …
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are covering one of the most requested topics: taking things personally. The episode kicks off with the new intro segment question: how did Em and Jen meet their partners? They then get into the topic and explain where taking things personally may stem from, times when we are more prone to taking things person…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are diving into the topic of resentment and how it can be connected to unmet expectations, feelings of unfairness or imbalance, and asking for what we need. They first explain the emotion of resentment, where it can come from, and how they each know when resentment is building for them, personally. Emmalee…
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Why It's So Hard to Give Ourselves Compassion
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are covering one of their favorite topics: self-compassion. They are thrilled to sit down with Dr. Kristin Neff, the self-compassion pioneer and expert. Dr. Neff was one of the first to research self-compassion about 20 years ago and shares many of her incredible findings with us all today. Dr. Ne…
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Navigating Complicated Relationships with Our Parents
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen dig into the topic of complicated relationships with our parents/caregivers. They start the episode off with a hilarious story about Emmalee's version of a "lovie" when she was young. Hint: it was not a blanket or a stuffed animal. They then define the term enmeshment as it relates to our family of origin, tal…
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On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen cover the topic of being the partner, friend, family member, etc. with anxiety and the shame, guilt, and other emotions that can bring up. They noticed a theme with the listener questions that came in for this topic around the word "burden." Emmalee and Jen answer your questions about being a …
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are practicing what they preach and taking the week off from a new episode for the July 4th Holiday. They of course never want to leave you all hanging, so they are re-releasing one of their most popular episodes from last year: Jealousy is a Complex Emotion. They start off by discussing jealousy as a very hum…
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen have the honor of sitting down with the boundary and relationship expert herself, Nedra Glover Tawwab, MSW, LCSW! You may recognize Nedra's name from her incredible Instagram account or as the author of two amazing books Set Boundaries, Find Peace & Drama Free. Nedra starts the episode by sharing …
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Life Transitions and the Anxiety That Accompanies Them
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This week's episode of ShrinkChicks is all about life stage transitions and the anxiety that can come along with them. Emmalee and Jen start the episode off with another new listener intro idea and share the highs and lows of their weeks. They then dive into listener questions about various life transitions like the difference between a period of t…
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On today's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen talk all about things not going according to plan. Any planners out there? This one's for you (and also to share with anyone in your life who you want to explain your perspective to)! The episode starts off with a new intro idea from an amazing listener that has Emmalee and Jen share something the…
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen dive into the topic of parentification aka parenting our parents and/or siblings as a child or adolescent. They start the episode by defining parentification, sharing the different types, giving examples of what it could have looked like in your childhood/adolescence and explaining the short & long term ef…
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Exploring Internal Family Systems with Dr. Richard Schwartz
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen have the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Richard Schwartz, fellow psychotherapist and the creator of the therapeutic modality Internal Family Systems (IFS). Dick has written some of Em & Jen's favorite books to recommend to you all like No Bad Parts and You are the One You’ve Been Waiting For, which was just…
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On this week's episode of ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking about the need to be right and why it can be so hard to let this go. They start off the episode by sharing how each of them feels about being right in their relationships and also with one another. They expand on the importance of feeling heard and seen, why it can be easier to let…
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Today on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen are talking about fear and resistance and what to do when they get in the way. They highlight the various responses we all can have to fear: fight, flight, freeze, and fawn and share which responses the two of them typically experience. Emmalee and Jen discuss the nuances that exist with fear and how fear can …
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This week on ShrinkChicks, Emmalee and Jen dive into a topic that many were curious to hear about: finding joy in the day-to-day routine. They discuss how they each find joy in their day to day, tips for how to incorporate it, and the challenge of transitioning out of a chaotic period of life to a calmer one. Emmalee and Jen answer listener questio…
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