Dr. Sheryl‘s PodCouch

Dr. Cara Natterson is a leading voice in puberty and adolescent health. A pediatrician, speaker, and the co-host of the This Is So Awkward podcast, she is the author of ten books including the bestselling This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained and the New York Times bestselling The Care and Keeping of You series. When her own kids started puberty, Cara founded Less Awkward, the first company aimed at making puberty less cringey and more comfortable with both product and content. Cara graduated from Harvard college and Johns Hopkins Medical School, trained at UCSF. She has two college aged kids and lives in Los Angeles.Vanessa Kroll Bennett is a national bestselling author and puberty educator who helps adults navigate uncertainty while supporting the kids they love. She is co-author of the national bestselling book This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained, co-host of the This Is So Awkward podcast and President of Content at Less Awkward. Vanessa was founder of Dynamo Girl, a company focused on building kids’ self-esteem through sports and puberty education. A graduate of Wellesley College, Vanessa holds a Masters in Jewish History, but perhaps her most important schooling comes from raising her own four children, ages 14 to 21.Their book This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained is the ultimate guide for adults helping tweens and teens navigate the rollercoaster of puberty.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram.Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website.You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome! If you’re navigating the amazing, ever-changing, and sometimes overwhelming world of parenting, you’re in the right place. I’m so glad you’re here!This is The Crucial Years—a community where we’ll explore the joys, challenges, and real talk of raising kids. Here’s a little hello from me and what you can expect moving forward.Let’s get the conversation started- I can't wait to hear from you! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Jessica Joelle Alexander is the creator of Raising Digital Citizens, which is designed to "help families foster more meaningful relationships based on what researchers clearly confirm is the very best protection for children in the digital world: conversations."Talking together about values in the online world and making a bond based on trust, not fear, is one of the best long term investments in a child’s safety a family can make. Most parents have no idea how to even begin to cover everything when discussing digital citizenship. This is exactly why Raising Digital Citizens’ conversation cards were created: to help you cover all the important topics in a fun, hands-on way so you can ensure your child knows what to do in any situation even when you aren’t there to protect them.The cards are followed up by a personalizable agreement, ongoing support, guidance and lots of cutting edge research and tools to help you evolve together with understanding and respect, not distance and hostility.You can find Jessica at her site here. You can find Raising Digital Citizens here.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram. Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website. You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Best-selling Author and Educational Consultant, Craig A. Knippenberg, has developed effective parenting strategies to help "imperfect" parents build resilient kids and families. His highly popular books and podcast support people all over the world discover how their children's brains work so they can foster both deeper connection and independence without guilt or shame.In his newest book Shame Free Parenting, Craig demystifies the challenges of over-protective parenting and offers a thoughtful guide to resilient and genuine parenthood. Loaded with judgment-free parenting wisdom and invaluable resources, Shame-Free Parenting inspires parents to build families that not only withstand challenges but flourish amidst them. After all, building strong families is what healthy parenting is all about.You can find Craig at his site here. You can find Shame Free Parenting here.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram. Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website. You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Bonnie Mitchell is the Clinical Director at Healthy Life Recovery, a rehab center in San Diego that offers education and treatment to help their patients' journey to sobriety. Whether transitioning out of a residential setting or starting recovery, Healthy Life Recovery outpatient rehab and sober living can help achieve lasting sobriety. Their addiction treatment program is designed by clinical professionals to provide individualized levels of care. On this episode of Dr. Sheryl's PodCouch, Dr. Mitchell joins Dr. Sheryl and discusses how to spot dopamine addiction that stems from everything from social media to video games to marijuana to other chemicals, how to address it, and how to replace those addictions with healthy hits of dopamine. She discusses "dopamine detox" and a "dopamine diet." In a world where dopamine hits seem to await around every corner, this episode will equip you with what you need to know to live and thrive in it.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram. Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website. You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

New York Times bestselling ghostwriter, Samantha Rose, steps out of the shadows to unravel the mystery surrounding her mother’s suicide. What begins as a solitary journey of grief shifts form when her mother slips back from the darkness beyond to reconcile her irreversible choice. Raw, deeply revealing, and with resilient humor throughout, Giving Up the Ghost explores the layered complexity of mental health, the love between mothers and daughters, and how, in the aftermath of inconceivable loss, we can release our inner ghosts and write a new story for ourselves.Giving Up the Ghost is a memoir about a ghostwriter who “ghosts” a ghost—beyond that interplay, the narrative reveals hidden truths—about her mother’s surprising death and also, it shines a light on how Rose had become a ghost in her own life—hiding, shrinking, no longer speaking for herself. You can find Samantha Rose on Instagram, and you can order her book at Amazon or book retailers everywhere.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram. Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website. You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

As a ghostwriter, Emily once lived in the shadows of other people's stories. While she loved the work, over time, she realized something was missing—a deeper connection to her own voice and purpose. Through her studies with Human Design and Gene Keys, Emily discovered a more expansive way to share her gifts: helping others not only find the words to tell their stories but also to craft the next chapter of their lives.Today, Emily works with women who are ready to align who they are with what they do. Using Human Design and Gene Keys as a foundation, she helps women break the patterns that lead to burnout and overwhelm, expand their life vision, and step into their days with clarity, purpose, and joy. The culmination of this work leads women to a new beginning, where they feel emboldened to create the unique impact only they can make on the world.When she’s not working with clients, Emily can be found binge-watching Netflix romances, hanging with her kids, or sharing her own stories on Substack.You can find her at her website Human Design Haven.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram. Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website. You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Neha Ruch is the founder of Mother Untitled, the leading platform for ambitious women leaning into family life. A thought leader, influencer, and sought-after speaker focusing on women, work, parenting and identity, Neha's transformative insights and reframes resonate with the hundreds of thousands of women in the Mother Untitled community and beyond.Her book, The Power Pause is a first-of-its-kind, interactive guide to approaching stay-at-home motherhood or a downshifted career as an enriching chapter — the opposite of a death knell for a woman’s professional life. You can order it here. She discusses the book in great detail on this week's episode.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler.Please follow Dr. Ziegler on Instagram. Sign up for Dr. Ziegler's newsletter at her website. You can pre-order Dr. Ziegler's new book, The Crucial Years: The Essential Guide to Mental Health and Modern Puberty in Middle Childhood (Ages 6-12) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target or your local book retailer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Kristi Rible is founder and CEO of The Huuman Group™ where she is dedicated to “humanizing the workplace” by developing caring leaders for a future of work that will depend upon workplace equity, psychological safety, and whole well-being.She also created a course for Stanford University called "Motherhood & Work: Challenges & Opportunities for Positive Change" starting on February 5th! This course discusses topics that some often feel can be taboo, but puts the data behind what mothers are feeling and experiencing and why they are feeling and experiencing it ... Those experiences have names like "the motherhood penalty", "the double burden syndrome", "economies of gratitude", "the care economy", "the stalled gender revolution, and "relative deprivation" to name a few ... and these experiences of mothers are universal and GLOBAL in nature. You can find all of Kristi's work at her website.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Kailan Carr is on a mission to prioritize play for kids living in this screen saturated world. She is a former teacher with a masters degree in Literacy and founded Quiet Book Queen and Crafts in Between to make it easy for caregivers to use screen-free activities and more play in their day to day. Limiting screen time was (and still is) so important to her. It wasn't easy, but it is SO worth it.Her book Screens Away, Time To Play! is an award-winning children’s book inspiring screen-free activities and sparking conversations about screen time limits. Recommended by early childcare experts, pediatricians, and child psychologists! This lighthearted and playful rhyming book for ages 3-7 makes a difficult topic approachable. You can find all of Kailan's work at her website.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Alyssa Blask Campbell is a teacher, parent, and an emotional development expert with a masters degree in early childhood education. She co-created the Collaborative Emotion Processing method, and researched it across the country. Their revolutionary, research-backed Collaborative Emotion Processing (CEP) method has been a game changer for parents and educators, and now they are sharing it with readers in this indispensable guide.Tiny Humans, Big Emotions provides the tools to tackle every sort of stressful child-rearing situation, including:What to do when your child throws a tantrum (it's not what you think!)Helpful scripts to handle any challenging moment like school refusal and bedtime resistanceHow to react when your child hits, kicks, or bitesEasy tips that help regulate your child’s nervous systemHow to anticipate and end meltdowns before they even beginYou can learn more at Alyssa's website Seed and Sew.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Kathleen Smith, PhD, LPC is an author, licensed therapist, and expert on relationship systems. She helps individuals and organizations learn to think differently about their relationship challenges and begin to operate more thoughtfully and less anxiously.Her book True To You: A Therapist’s Guide to Stop Pleasing Others and Start Being Yourself is a relatable self-help guide for people who want to learn to live less focused on others’ reactions and more confidently by their own principles. Readers will learn how to:Interrupt relationship patterns that keep you stuck.Rely less on praise and approval from others.Develop a solid sense of self in anxious times.Build more authentic and rewarding relationships.You can find Dr. Kathleen Smith at her website.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Jody Carrington is a psychologist, best-selling author, and public speaker with an affinity for helping teams and organizations overcome their most complex, human-centred problems. Her glowing energy and incomparable ability to connect with audiences result in compelling keynotes and life-changing workshops. Her book Feeling Seen examines how and why humans are so disconnected right now, worse than we have been in the history of the free world. Dr. Jody looks at how we got so lost, and all the soul-ripping contributions to a disconnected world. Then, Jody deciphers with the reader a road map back home, back to each other, to discover how the simple act of acknowledgment can change the world. And then she unpacks the hardest part: when we (inevitably) lose our way again.  You can find Dr. Jody Carrington at her website.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Eric Tipler has spent the past twenty years working with teenagers as a teacher, writing coach, and college admissions counselor. His students have attended the country’s top colleges and universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. Eric holds degrees from Harvard and Yale, and he is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.With admission rates at an all-time low, getting into a competitive college is tougher than ever. At the top schools, a strong transcript and test scores will get your foot in the door, but it’s your essays, and the personal qualities that they highlight, that will move your application to the top of the pile.Yet it’s often hard to know where to start. Seasoned college admissions expert and educator Eric Tipler has seen this firsthand. In Write Yourself In Tipler, a former high school teacher, meets students where they are and shows them how to craft a winning essay: one that is authentic, vulnerable, and highlights traits like personal growth, intellectual curiosity, and emotional maturity.You can find Eric Tipler at his website.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe

Phyllis Fagell has worked in both public and private schools with students in grades K-12. She currently works as the school counselor for Sheridan School in Washington, D.C. and provides therapy to children, teens and adults in private practice. She also was a previous guest on Dr. Sheryl's Podcouch, appearing in Episode 050: Middle School Matters.Her newest book Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times discusses how to bolster any middle schooler’s resilience by leveraging the 12 Middle School Superpowers they need to manage disappointment, self-regulate emotions, take healthy risks, and recover from any setback.You can find her at PhyllisFagell.com and on X.Hosted by Dr. Sheryl Ziegler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drsherylziegler.substack.com/subscribe