Holding Space

Social media isn't going anywhere...so how do we raise kids inside this new digital age? How do we keep them safe? How do we navigate OUR OWN relationship with it?
This week I'm joined by Kelly McCullough, LCSW, child and adolescent therapist, and founder of La Jolla Therapy Center, to move past the all-or-nothing panic and into something more livable. We get honest about "chasing presence" as parents, why our teens are actually wired to crave connection, and what the research says about the sweet spot between zero access and unrestricted access. Kelly brings the tangible, concrete guidance parents are hungry for — and we both admit how messy this is to actually pull off in real life. Whether you've got littles, teens, or you're just navigating your own relationship with your phone, there's something here for you.
In this episode, we get into:
Why so many of us are "chasing presence" — and how our phones keep us stuck in the chase
Why the teenage pull toward peers is healthy, not a red flag
What emerging research says about zero access vs. unrestricted access
Kelly's tangible guidelines
How to lay the foundation early with younger kids
The loneliness epidemic

Connect with Kelly
Kelly McCullough is a child and adolescent therapist and the founder of La Jolla Therapy Center in San Diego, a practice devoted through and through to kids and teens. You can learn more or book a consultation with one of their licensed therapists at lajollatherapycenter.com.
Connect with Dr. Cassidy
Dr. Cassidy is a therapist specializing in supporting parents and couples who are ready to break cycles and work through the triggers that parenting brings forward. You can learn more about her group practice for parents in California, New York and Nevada at drcassidymft.com.

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What happens when love and fear live in the same household?
This week I'm joined by Leslie Priscilla, founder of Latinx Parenting, cultural healer, and author of the new book CHANCLA: Healing Our Families, Ourselves, and Our Culture through Nonviolent Parenting. Leslie has spent 17+ years helping Latinx families break cycles of intergenerational harm, and in this conversation she uses one deeply familiar cultural emblem — la chancla, the sandal — as a keyhole into a much bigger story about survival, history, and healing.
This is a tender, honest, context-over-shame conversation.
In this episode, we talk about:
The context and culture around la Chancla
What "nonviolent" parenting actually means
The "cuatro amigos" underneath so much of how we parent
Reconnecting with the inner child — the inner niña — as a path back to intuition
Remembrance and celebrating the resilience AND resistance of the culture

About Leslie: Leslie Priscilla is a Certified Parent Coach, Certified Family Life Educator, and the founder of Latinx Parenting, a bilingual organization reaching hundreds of thousands of families through workshops, trainings, and advocacy rooted in children's rights and nonviolence. She's a mother of three based in Santa Ana, CA.
Find Leslie:
Instagram: @latinxparenting
Web: latinxparenting.org
Get the book CHANCLA — out now, linked at latinxparenting.org

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In this episode, I sit down with therapist Josie Ampaw-Greene — a licensed clinical social worker and mom to twins — for a conversation on how we talk to our kids about race, identity, and oppression.
We talk about:
Why "should I even bring it up?" is itself a form of privilege
Ally vs. accomplice — and sitting IN the discomfort, not on the sidelines
Perfectionism as a form of white supremacy (yeah...we went there)
Adultification — why kids of color have these talks so much earlier
Starting with history (going back 300 years, not today's headlines)
And where to start today

If you take one thing from this episode, let it be Josie's reminder: you can't take your kids somewhere you haven't gone yourself.
You can connect with Josie and her Denver practice, Ampaw Psychotherapy & Consulting, at https://www.ampawpc.com and on Instagram @diaryofabrokenheartedtherapist.
To learn more about my book Mom Needs a Moment or my California/New York private practice, visit https://www.drcassidymft.com
A few resources named in the episode:
The March Graphic Novel Books
Tricia Hersey / The Nap Ministry - Rest is Resistance

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In this episode, I sit down with poet and storyteller Taylor Rae Roman for a conversation about the quiet, disorienting grief underneath early motherhood...the experience of waking up in a new body, a new mind, a new identity, and never really getting to say goodbye to the woman you were before.
This one's for the mom who loves her baby AND is barely hanging on. For the one who had the "perfect" birth and still whispers I hate my life into the 3am dark...then feels like a monster for it. For the mom who hasn't turned on music in the car in MONTHS because one more sound might crack her open.
We talk about:
Grieving the woman you were before
Why "perfect" feels like drowning
The sensory overload no one warns you about
Postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety
Seeing yourself in your baby's eyes
Why none of it (the hard OR the beautiful) is forever
The poem that says it all

If you take one thing from this episode, let it be Taylor's message to the mom listening right now: you are not crazy. This is as hard as you think it is. You are not alone. And you deserve support...like, yesterday.
You can connect with Taylor at https://taylorraeroman.com and follow her on social media @taylorraeroman.
To learn more about my book Mom Needs a Moment or my California/New York private practice visit https://www.drcassidymft.com

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This one's for the therapists!
The way clients find therapists is changing, and fast! AI tools, big tech companies with massive ad budgets, shifting search algorithms...it's A LOT. And if what used to work just, isn't anymore, this episode is going to help you understand why AND what you can actually do about it.
I brought in Kristie Plantinga of Place Digital. She's the person I personally turn to when I need real, honest marketing guidance, to cut through the noise and give therapists a framework that actually has longevity to it. Because the last thing you need right now is another tactic that's going to be obsolete in six months.
Here's what we dig into:
What's changed in the marketing landscape for therapists
What "visibility" actually means
How AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Google's AI overviews are changing HOW clients find you
What to focus on if you're a clinician who wants a full caseload WITHOUT social media
What we can do if joining something like BetterHelp is NOT what you want
The one reframe that takes the overwhelm out of all of this

Here's what I really want you to hear: as therapists, we understand systems, human motivation, and relationships. Those skills translate DIRECTLY into building visibility. You are more equipped for this than you think.
This conversation gave me so much clarity. I hope it does the same for you.
Connect with Kristie:
placedigital.com
Podcast + YouTube: Practice Marketing Insider

Learn more about Dr. Cassidy's resources for therapists here!
This episode was brought to you by Lighfully, learn more at lightfully.com.

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