The Catalyst Podcast

The Catalyst Podcast
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A weekly podcast and newsletter, The Catalyst is Chestnut Health Systems’ platform for sharing ideas, insights, and innovation that advance public health and strengthen systems of care.  Rooted in Chestnut’s decades-long commitment to direct care, prevention, research, and education, The Catalyst highlights real-world solutions that support whole-person health, foster resilience, and help individuals, families, and communities reach their full potential. It reflects the full scope of Chestnut’s work—from direct care and community‑based services to research, prevention, recovery, and policy‑relevant insight. -Chestnut Health Systems™ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health through a comprehensive approach that includes direct service delivery, prevention, research, training, and system improvement. For decades, Chestnut has worked to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice—helping individuals thrive, strengthening organizations, and supporting healthier communities.The Chestnut corporate office is in central Illinois, with clinical locations in Belleville, Bloomington, Granite City, and Maryville, IL and De Soto and Hillsboro, MO; prevention and recovery services are offered in dozens of counties in Illinois; and Lighthouse Institute research offices are located in Chicago and Bloomington, IL, Euguene, OR, and remote researchers across the United States.  

  1. 4h ago

    Recovery, Resilience and Resurgence in Indian Country.

    Rod Robinson has spent more than 40 years in the helping profession, specializing in addiction recovery across Indian country. He has served as a therapist, administrator, educator, and policymaker for private provider groups, tribes, and both state and federal agencies. He led the Indian Alcohol and Drug Abuse office at SAMHSA and most recently directed the Pathway to Wellness Recidivism Reduction Initiative for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He is now leading Lifeline, LLC, which provides coaching, counseling, and consulting. Highlights: Why “Indian” and “Indian country” are preferred terms, vs. “Native American,” particularly in the lower 48 states.  The education system’s poor representation of Indigenous stories and the need for greater balance and for challenging negative stereotypes.  The 7th Generation prophecy, explaining that the current generation’s role is to prepare the environment for healers to emerge among all nations—work reflected in efforts such as the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s Doya Natsu Healing Center. The broad range of customs among Indian tribes, and the need to approach each with respect and deference.  How alcohol was historically used as a tool to gain power and land, and the root causes of alcoholism across Indian communities.  The shift from conventional treatment models toward more innovative approaches centered on healing and teaching.

    Recovery, Resilience and Resurgence in Indian Country.

  2. Oct 27

    Tapping Through Trauma: the Proven Benefits of EMDR Therapy

    Dr. Laurel Parnell, founder of the Parnell Institute, teaches a client-centered, attachment-focused, innovative, and culturally sensitive approach to the treatment of trauma using EMDR therapy that includes the whole person—body, mind, heart, and spirit. She specializes in EMDR and has authored seven books on the subject. In this discussion, we cover: What EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is and how it works. What Attachment-Focused EMDR means. When she first encountered EMDR and what made her decide to dedicate so much of her career to it. Why EMDR, despite endorsement by the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association and decades of research behind it, still isn’t as widely known as CBT in the U.S., including common misconceptions that have hindered its broader embrace. Several of her books, including Tapping In and Releasing What Isn’t Yours, and how they bring resource-tapping techniques to a wider global audience. How you can tap in the privacy of your home or while waiting to be seen by your dentist. You can find Dr. Parnell's books here: https://shorturl.at/ZYXFs

    Tapping Through Trauma: the Proven Benefits of EMDR Therapy

  3. Oct 20

    Finding the Groove: On Trust, Listening, and Leading Through Changee

    Joining us on this executive leadership edition of the Catalyst Podcast is Stephen DaRe. The theme of our conversation is how a former Navy musician, recovering CFO (his words), and the CEO of Chimes - a $300 million dollar nonprofit with 3,500 employees serving more than 26 thousand people with disabilities and mental health challenges across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C - builds trust, develops people, and leads through constant change. We discuss:  A theme that weaves through the conversation is how his background as a musician informs his leadership style.  His journey from the military, a career in managed healthcare finance, to crossing over into nonprofit leadership at Chimes, including several pivotal moments and their impact on his career arc.   The challenges of managing a highly complex organization with four separate lines of business: special education schools, traditional intellectual disability services, day habilitation programs, and federal contracts through the AbilityOne program (which provides extensive janitorial, custodial, and facilities maintenance operations through federal partnerships, making them one of the region's largest employers of people with severe disabilities). When he stopped being “the numbers person who happens to lead” and started being “a leader who happens to understand numbers,” and the implications of this transformation. The influence of Patrick Lencioni’s work (“Five Dysfunctions of a Team”), emphasizing the importance of vulnerability-based trust, accountability, and shared vision in building effective teams. The lessons he’s drawn from General Stanley McChrystal’s writing on special operations and how they shaped his leadership philosophy.   Empathy and listening as core leadership skills, and how they tie back to being a musician (to be precise, anchoring bands as a drummer and percussionist).   How he earns his team’s trust, what they need to do to earn his, the importance of shared values, including the organization’s core value: “having fun” (which, as you’d expect, is more than playing Twister in the break room).    Bonus content for those gearing up for Halloween: Steve shares the terror of crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge,  considered one of the scariest bridges in the country.

    Finding the Groove: On Trust, Listening, and Leading Through Changee

  4. Oct 15

    Reflections on Reflective Practice and Supervision

    Jake Jacob specializes in the effects of trauma and prevention of trauma through individual and family therapy. He is also an Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant. In this episode of the Catalyst, we focus on reflective practice and supervision. We discuss:    Jake's unusual journey, from his early interest in engineering and aerospace, to his stint in the military, to his current work in infant and early childhood mental health.   Reflective practice and supervision: what it is, how it works, how it’s different from traditional hierarchical supervision, and its benefits to people in the field.    What it is about his specialty – infant and early childhood mental health - that requires reflective supervision.   Common misconceptions about reflective practice and supervision.  How to mitigate its tendency to trigger painful memories/episodes from one’s own history.  The importance of self-awareness and listening, and whether these are traits that can be cultivated.   While Jake shares insights into the challenges of navigating the emotional demands of supporting infants, young children, and families more effectively, the conversation is for anyone who stands to benefit from improving their professional self-awareness.

    Reflections on Reflective Practice and Supervision

  5. Oct 6

    In the "Goldilocks Zone": a Balanced Approach to Executive Leadership

    On this special executive leadership edition of the Catalyst podcast, we speak with Kevin Drollinger, President and Executive Director of Provident Behavioral Health.  Based in St. Louis, Provident provides evidence-based counseling and psychiatric services to over 2,000 youth, adults and older adults annually, many of whom could not otherwise afford professional services. We discuss:    Why the topic of leadership in this space is so timely.  What prompted Kevin to acquire an MBA and how it’s informed his work.  What he means by “Goldilocks management.”  His commitment to transparency, delegation, and using scorecards for tracking progress.    People who took him under their wing and influenced the leader he is today.  How his leadership style has evolved.   The qualities he looks for in someone to determine if he/she has leadership potential., His two heroes: Ben Franklin, because of his unquenchable curiosity (he named his son after him!), and the leader of his high school marching band.

    In the "Goldilocks Zone": a Balanced Approach to Executive Leadership

  6. Sep 30

    Using AI in Primary Care and the Primacy of Human Judgment

    Today’s guest is returning champ, Dr. Michael Dennis, the Chief Research Officer for Chestnut Health Systems’ Lighthouse Institute (LI) and a Senior Research Psychologist, who is making his record-setting fourth appearance on the Catalyst pod. The conversation focuses on a presentation Mike recently gave on "Using AI in Primary Care" for OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington, Illinois. We discuss:  Why this is an important and timely topic for primary care and residency training—not just from a tech perspective, but from a clinical, ethical, and operational one.  What residents need to understand before they start using these tools every day.  The difference between appropriate uses and those that should remain off-limits.  Why AI can serve as an excellent administrative assistant, but can never replace human judgment…and that it must be properly supervised and constrained to reliable medical sources like PubMed and JAMA rather than open-source internet content The concerns that primary care is underestimating, including bias, deskilling, privacy breaches, and loss of patient trust or empathy.  Why practices need to ask who trained the model, what data it uses, who owns the output, how well it performs, and what guardrails exist.  How and what Mike uses in his daily work. including meeting notes, clinical applications, and training simulations. We take a momentary “doomer-adjacent” detour, but quickly get the conversation back on track. This is a must for anyone in the field looking for a succinct tour d’horizon of the issues to consider in incorporating AI in your practice. You can download a summary of Mike's presentation here.  It includes a chart listing common AI applications in order of popularity as of this writing.

    Using AI in Primary Care and the Primacy of Human Judgment

  7. Sep 14

    Trust and Accountability: Chestnut’s CEO Puneet Leekha Kicks off a New Podcast Series on Executive Leadership

    Our conversation with Chestnut Health Systems’ CEO Puneet Leekha kicks off our new Executive Leadership series of Catalyst Podcasts - conversations with some of the most innovative and successful leaders in the field, on everything from their evolution as leaders to the unique challenges of leading their organizations in this environment, and what they look for in cultivating the next generation of leaders.  Puneet begins by explaining why leadership is a particularly important and timely topic, given the multidimensional challenges today's organizations face. He reflects on his evolution as a leader, describing his leadership style as “high trust and high accountability”: give people real autonomy, then be clear about priorities, expectations, and communication. He speaks about three formative influences on his leadership approach: the importance of judgment, intellectual curiosity, and strong people skills.    The conversation turns to AI’s reach across roles, structure, and decision-making; the positives it can bring in making work more efficient, and concerns about it diminishing the human aspects, which are intrinsic to the work that Chestnut Health Systems does.  He closes by citing the leaders he looks up to: Hubert Joly (purpose, people, and performance), Satya Nadella (building a culture of learning), Warren Buffett (hire well and give people room), and his father, whose hard work, perseverance, and humility shaped him as much as any executive model.   Puneet packs a lot of insight and inspiration in sharing his leadership perspective, experiences, and journey – a perfect way to launch what is sure to be a fascinating series with the most thoughtful, forward-thinking leaders in the field.

    Trust and Accountability: Chestnut’s CEO Puneet Leekha Kicks off a New Podcast Series on Executive Leadership

  8. Aug 25

    "Help, Not Handcuffs": How and Why Problem Solving Courts Work

    What if the smartest response to addiction, relapse, and repeat court involvement is not harsher punishment, but a highly structured path back to stability? The Honorable Shannon R. Dougherty, a Circuit Judge for Division 6 of the 23rd Judicial Circuit in Jefferson County, Missouri, and  Lori Epley, the Director of Project Access at Chestnut Health Systems, break down how problem-solving courts are helping people stay in recovery, keep families together, and rebuild their lives while protecting public safety.   Judge Dougherty explains how treatment courts work in practice: close monitoring, regular drug testing, team staffing, and individualized responses that mix accountability with support. Lori Epley, Director of Project Access at Chestnut Health Systems, shares how Chestnut's clinician and peer support specialists work alongside the court team to provide therapy, transportation help, resume support, and practical services that participants need to succeed. You'll discover: Why treatment courts are more demanding than many people assume How judges, probation, prosecutors, treatment providers, and case managers make decisions together What happens when a participant struggles or relapses Why employment, housing, credit repair, and transportation are often part of recovery How misinformation and stigma can block access to life-changing programs Our guests make the case for better education, stronger interagency collaboration, and a future treatment court center where participants can access multiple services in one place. If you care about criminal justice, substance use recovery, family stability, or practical solutions that actually change outcomes, this episode is essential listening.

    "Help, Not Handcuffs": How and Why Problem Solving Courts Work
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About

A weekly podcast and newsletter, The Catalyst is Chestnut Health Systems’ platform for sharing ideas, insights, and innovation that advance public health and strengthen systems of care.  Rooted in Chestnut’s decades-long commitment to direct care, prevention, research, and education, The Catalyst highlights real-world solutions that support whole-person health, foster resilience, and help individuals, families, and communities reach their full potential. It reflects the full scope of Chestnut’s work—from direct care and community‑based services to research, prevention, recovery, and policy‑relevant insight. -Chestnut Health Systems™ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health through a comprehensive approach that includes direct service delivery, prevention, research, training, and system improvement. For decades, Chestnut has worked to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice—helping individuals thrive, strengthening organizations, and supporting healthier communities.The Chestnut corporate office is in central Illinois, with clinical locations in Belleville, Bloomington, Granite City, and Maryville, IL and De Soto and Hillsboro, MO; prevention and recovery services are offered in dozens of counties in Illinois; and Lighthouse Institute research offices are located in Chicago and Bloomington, IL, Euguene, OR, and remote researchers across the United States.  

Information

  • Creator
    The Catalyst Podcast
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    85
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 The Catalyst Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Catalyst Podcast