Don't Get A Therapist... Yet!

Wendy Castelino
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  • Mental Health
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Welcome to "Don't Get a Therapist - Yet!" with Wendy Castelino, a psychotherapist with over 35 years of experience, aims to support individuals with mental health challenges to achieve their full potential. Although Wendy is passionate about providing individual therapy, there are limitations with this approach. This platform, therefore, is dedicated to offering self-help strategies which are designed to enhance personal well-being. The objective is not to discourage people accessing therapy but to motivate a broader audience to explore therapeutic resources that are simple and effective to use.This podcast aims to encourage people to make positive choices about therapy and to find a therapy that suits their individual needs. Additionally, the podcast features interviews with individuals who have successfully overcome mental health struggles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 5d ago

    Can AI Help Your Mental Health? 10 Ways to Use It and 7 Ways You Shouldn't

    Artificial intelligence is changing fast, and a lot of people are already using it to help manage their mental health. Some of that is genuinely useful. Some of it isn't. And some of it can actually make things worse. In this episode, Wendy cuts through the noise with a clear, honest framework: 10 ways AI can legitimately support your mental health, and 7 ways she would not recommend using it. On the useful side, AI can help you challenge a distorted thought using CBT principles, turn a worry spiral into a practical problem-solving plan, build a graded exposure hierarchy, develop a more compassionate inner voice, organise your worries into what's actionable and what isn't, clarify your values, learn emotional regulation skills in the moment, and prepare for therapy so you get far more out of it. Used well, AI is a thinking partner, a worksheet generator, a prompt for reflection and a reminder of skills you already know. But there are places where it shouldn't go. Diagnosing yourself. Managing a crisis. Conducting unsupervised trauma processing. Making medication decisions. And perhaps most importantly, using it as a reassurance machine, which is particularly relevant for anyone who struggles with health anxiety or OCD, because the temporary relief it provides can quietly make the underlying anxiety worse. The principle running through all of it is straightforward: fluent doesn't necessarily mean factual. And a tool is not the same as a relationship. Wendy also shares five practical AI prompts you can use straight away, covering thought challenging, problem solving, self-compassion, tolerating uncertainty, and preparing for therapy. To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 https://wendycastelino.com/ If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Aug 7

    How to Stop Overthinking: 20 Practical Strategies from CBT, ACT, DBT and More

    If your mind replays conversations long after they've ended, spends hours imagining everything that could go wrong, or analyses a decision so thoroughly that you end up more confused than when you started, this episode is for you. Overthinking often feels productive. It feels as though if you just think about it for long enough, you will finally reach certainty or find the perfect answer. But the loop doesn't deliver certainty. It delivers more questions, more anxiety, and less sleep. In this episode, Wendy explores what overthinking actually is, why the brain does it, and how nature, nurture and our environment all play a role. She covers the difference between worry and rumination, why modern life feeds both, and how the brain's ancient threat detection system ends up treating an unanswered text as seriously as a physical danger. Then come 20 practical, evidence-based strategies drawn from CBT, ACT, compassion-focused therapy, DBT, mindfulness and internal family systems. You don't need to use all 20. The invitation is to listen for the 2 or 3 that speak to you, and practise those consistently, because psychological strategies work like physical exercise. The benefit comes from repetition, not from reaching for them once in a crisis. The episode ends with a short guided exercise you can try right now. To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 https://wendycastelino.com/ If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone whose mind rarely gives them a moment's peace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Jul 31

    Rewiring the Food-Addicted Brain: The Neuroscience of Why We Overeat with Dr Claire Wilcox

    If you have ever felt out of control around certain foods, eaten past the point of fullness, or promised yourself you would stop and then found you simply couldn't, this episode will help you understand why. And more importantly, it will help you stop blaming yourself for it. In this episode, Wendy is joined by Dr Claire Wilcox, board-certified psychiatrist and addiction psychiatrist, neuroscience researcher, and author of Rewire Your Food-Addicted Brain: Fight Cravings and Break Free from a High-Sugar Ultra-Processed Diet Using Neuroscience. Dr Wilcox brings both the research and lived personal experience to a conversation that covers more ground than most books on the subject. The episode unpacks what food addiction actually is, how it differs from and overlaps with binge eating disorder and obesity, and why certain foods trigger the same brain circuitry as alcohol and other substances. Dr Wilcox explains the three brain networks most affected by addiction, the role dopamine plays in cravings, memory and learning, and why ultra-processed foods are specifically engineered to override the brain's fullness signals and keep you eating. There is also a frank and compassionate discussion about shame, why it makes recovery harder rather than easier, and why the single most important myth to unlearn is that this is a personal failing. The food industry has deliberately designed products to hook the brain. That is not your fault. It is biology. The practical part of the conversation covers what rewiring the brain actually looks like day to day, from stabilising food chemistry and building adequate nutrition back in, to sleep, physical exercise, community and mindfulness as evidence-backed tools for recovery. Dr Wilcox also shares her take on GLP-1 medications, why she sees them as a bridge rather than a solution, and what tends to go wrong when the behavioural piece is left out entirely. Dr Wilcox's book is available on Amazon: 👉 https://www.amazon.com/Rewire-Your-Food-Addicted-Brain-Ultra-Processed/dp/1648484689 More information, social links and further resources at: 👉 https://www.wilcoxmd.com To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 https://wendycastelino.com/ If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Jul 24

    Internal Family Systems, Inner Parts & Self-Compassion, with Tammy Sollenberger

    Have you ever snapped at someone and then thought, who was that? Or found yourself wanting to change something about your life but unable to stop the very thing you want to stop? That gap, between what you want and what you do, is at the heart of what this episode explores. In this episode, Wendy is joined by Tammy Sollenberger, certified IFS therapist, author of The One Inside: Thirty Days to Your Authentic Self and host of The One Inside podcast. Tammy has been practising for nearly 30 years and brings a rare warmth and clarity to explaining Internal Family Systems, a therapy model that is growing rapidly and earning its reputation for creating change that actually sticks. IFS says we are not one single self. We are made up of many parts, some that manage and protect us, some that react when things get too much, and some that carry old wounds and beliefs we formed long ago. The model also says there is a calm, wise self at the centre of all of us that, with practice, can learn to listen to those parts with curiosity rather than trying to get rid of them. Including the ones we don't like. The conversation covers how IFS differs from CBT, what "unblending" from a part actually means in practice, why the behaviours we most want to change are often the ones trying hardest to help us, and how Tammy uses the model on herself in real time, including when a client's experience triggered her own grief following her father's death. There is also a genuinely funny thread throughout about book-buying parts, carrying books around without opening them, and the parts that absolutely believe buying more books will fix the problem. Tammy's book The One Inside is available here: 👉 The One Inside: 30 Days To Your Authentic Self Free meditations and resources, including a downloadable meditation, are at: 👉 https://tammysollenberger.com To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 12 Easy Steps to Overcome Stress, Anxiety & Overwhelm | Wendy Castelino If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Jul 17

    Rejection, Body Image & LGBTQIA+ Mental Health, with Rahim Thawer

    In this episode, Wendy is joined by Rahim Thawer, clinician, educator, author and founder of The Politicized Practitioner, whose book The Mental Health Guide for Cis and Trans Queer Guys takes a deliberately broader view of mental health than most therapy resources offer. Rather than focusing on individual thoughts and behaviours in isolation, Rahim's framework looks at what he calls subcultural determinants of mental health: the norms, hierarchies and unspoken rules that shape how queer and trans people understand themselves, seek connection, and navigate belonging, often long before they ever sit in front of a therapist. This is a wide-ranging, honest conversation that covers a lot of ground most mental health content doesn't touch. Rahim talks about the survival strategies queer people develop early in life that are celebrated socially but can create loneliness and disconnection in adulthood, from hyper-masculinity to body consciousness and the cultural weight of the gym. He explores the subcultural pressures within queer communities themselves, including substance use, chemsex, the politics of desirability, and the complicated experience of belonging to a community that can still reproduce its own hierarchies around race, body image, class, HIV status and relationship style. There is also a frank discussion about rejection: why it can land so much harder when it echoes earlier experiences of being unseen, and how internalised hierarchies of power can shape who we pursue and why. Rahim introduces the Gestalt concept of the "creative adjustment," the idea that the coping strategies that once kept us safe can quietly become the patterns that limit us in adulthood. The conversation ends with what emotional wellness actually looks like for queer and trans people. Not confidence, not being fixed, but something more like honesty, integration, and the willingness to stop going to a cognitive place and actually feel something. Free worksheets connected to the book and its determinants are available at: 👉 https://www.thepoliticizedpractitioner.com Rahim's books and resources can also be found at: 👉 https://allmylinks.com/thepoliticizedpractitioner To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 https://wendycastelino.com/ If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Jul 10

    Baby Attachment: What the Research Actually Says and What You Can Do About It Today

    Picture this: a mum steps away from her ten-month-old in a cafe for about 90 seconds. Her baby freezes, then cries hard. She comes back, picks him up, and within 15 seconds he's calm again, reaching for a toy. It might not look like much to anyone else in the room. But to a child psychotherapist, it's a perfect everyday example of one of the most important and well-proven ideas in child development: secure attachment. In this episode, Wendy walks through the real research on how babies form a secure bond with their caregiver, from Bowlby's foundational theory to Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation study and what it revealed about the four main attachment styles. There is a lot of myth around this topic online, particularly around what "attachment parenting" actually means, and this episode cuts through it with what the evidence genuinely shows. That includes five approaches with solid research support for building secure attachment, among them kangaroo care, serve-and-return interaction, and video feedback coaching. It also covers seven real, research-backed reasons a baby might develop an anxious or insecure attachment, from inconsistent responses and postnatal depression to toxic stress and broken continuity of care. None of this is about blame. Naming these things early is what makes it possible to act on them. The episode closes with six practical things any parent, grandparent, foster carer or early years worker can start today, and answers two questions that come up again and again: is it too late if my child is already one, two or three? And if I had an insecure attachment myself, am I stuck passing it on? The research has reassuring answers to both. For more information or to get in touch, visit: 👉 12 Easy Steps to Overcome Stress, Anxiety & Overwhelm | Wendy Castelino If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with another parent or carer who might need it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. Jul 3

    Is Your Depression Rooted in Trauma? What EMDR Can Do That Other Treatments Can't with Dr. Lara Barbir

    In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Lara Barbir, clinical psychologist, author and founder of Transcendent Therapy in California, whose book EMDR for Depression explores something that mainstream treatment often overlooks: the possibility that depression is not just a chemical imbalance to be managed, but an unresolved emotional wound to be healed. What if your depression is not a sign that something is wrong with you, but a sign that something painful has never been fully processed? Dr. Barbir explains how adverse childhood experiences, particularly emotional neglect and emotional abuse, are among the strongest predictors of adult depression, and why so many people with chronic depression find that CBT and medication only go so far. We explore how EMDR works at a nervous system level to reach the roots of depression that talk therapy alone cannot always access, and why emotional insight is so much more than intellectual understanding. We also go into generational trauma, how unresolved pain is passed unconsciously between generations, and why healing your own wounds can quietly break a cycle that has run through a family for decades. Dr. Barbir shares the "sweet spot" exercise from her book, a gentle but powerful tool for reconnecting with moments of genuine aliveness, and talks through a real client transformation that shows what recovery can look like over time. The episode closes with five practical steps you can begin now, covering movement, gratitude, support, connection and play, all grounded in the same evidence-base that underpins Dr. Barbir's clinical work. Dr. Barbir's book EMDR for Depression is available at: 👉 https://www.amazon.com/EMDR-Depression-Overcome-Trauma-Symptoms/dp/1648486975 Free resources, her reparenting course and her YouTube channel are all at: 👉 https://www.drlarabarbir.com Follow Dr. Barbir on Instagram: @drlarabarbir To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 https://wendycastelino.com/ If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Jun 26

    How Journaling Can Help You Process Emotions, Spot Patterns and Build Confidence with Dr. Stephanie Fitzgerald

    In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Stephanie Fitzgerald, clinical and neuropsychologist, writer and passionate advocate for journaling as a mental health tool. Stephanie has been journaling for over 30 years and runs free workshops to help people get started, and in this conversation she shares more practical wisdom than most people will find in an entire book on the subject. If you have ever thought journaling sounds like a good idea but had no idea where to begin, felt put off by the fear of doing it wrong, or worried about someone finding what you have written, this episode is for you. Stephanie explains why journaling works from a neuroscience perspective, including why the act of handwriting, specifically the left to right movement across the page, supports the same bilateral stimulation used in EMDR to help the brain process difficult emotions. She covers how to break free from circular thinking and worry loops using prompt questions rather than free writing, why the "no send letter" can be one of the most liberating things you ever put on paper, and what to do if journaling stirs up more emotion than you were expecting. There is also a genuinely freeing conversation about perfectionism and notebooks, privacy agreements, and the difference between journaling that helps you and journaling that just loops the same anxiety around and around. Stephanie's free journaling workshops and seasonal writing sessions are available at: 👉 https://stephfitzwrites.com Follow her on Instagram for free weekly journal prompts and words of wisdom: 👉 @stephfitzwrites To learn more about Wendy's work, explore resources, or stay up to date with future episodes, visit: 👉 https://wendycastelino.com/ If you found this episode helpful, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might benefit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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About

Welcome to "Don't Get a Therapist - Yet!" with Wendy Castelino, a psychotherapist with over 35 years of experience, aims to support individuals with mental health challenges to achieve their full potential. Although Wendy is passionate about providing individual therapy, there are limitations with this approach. This platform, therefore, is dedicated to offering self-help strategies which are designed to enhance personal well-being. The objective is not to discourage people accessing therapy but to motivate a broader audience to explore therapeutic resources that are simple and effective to use.This podcast aims to encourage people to make positive choices about therapy and to find a therapy that suits their individual needs. Additionally, the podcast features interviews with individuals who have successfully overcome mental health struggles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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