The Second Degree with Emily Merrell

In this episode of The Second Degree Podcast, host Emily Merrell sits down with Bozhena Evans, a licensed therapist behind BE Therapy based in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Bozhena specializes in brainspotting, couples counselling, and sex therapy. They explore how brainspotting accesses deep emotional wounds through visual focal points, the evolution of desire and intimacy in long-term relationships, overcoming purity culture and body shame, and practical ways to navigate communication ...

Meet Dana Gaydon, the Orange County and Palm Springs based branding and wedding photographer who is rewriting the rules of how female entrepreneurs show up on camera. In this episode, Emily sits down with her dear friend Dana, who has shot two SDS retreats in Palm Springs and Sedona, to trace her path from a 12-year-old inspired by her CIA grandfather's black and white scrapbooks and a Linda McCartney photo book, all the way to building a thriving branding business in Southern California. Dan...

Emily sits down with Dr. Linden Will, optometrist and Director of Community Engagement at LASIK.com, for a candid, funny, and surprisingly eye-opening (pun intended) conversation about everything you've ever wanted to know about LASIK but were too scared to ask. Emily shares her own experience getting LASIK done at LASIK Plus in Denver — consultation and procedure in the same day — and Linden demystifies the process from the doctor's side. From debunking the "your prescription isn...

In this episode of The Second Degree Podcast, host Emily Merrell sits down with Melissa Nichols, founder of Reforming You, to unpack what women should have been taught about their health—but weren’t. After spending years working in pharmaceuticals and clinical trials, Melissa made a bold pivot into Pilates, health coaching, and preventive wellness. Today, she helps women understand their bodies, balance their hormones, and take a proactive—not reactive—approach to health. Together, Emily and ...

After building a successful career in finance, Carolin realized that access to information wasn’t the real problem—confidence, language, and systems were. Today, she helps women feel powerful, informed, and unapologetic about their money through education, strategy, and mindset work. Together, Emily and Carolin unpack: Why women are conditioned to stay quiet about moneyThe biggest financial mistakes high-achieving women makeHow to build wealth without restriction, shame, or burnoutThe differe...