The Innovative Therapist Dr. Shawn Hondorp, PhD, ABPP

Episode 115. Today's episode was another "this sounds like a fun idea" that quickly came to fruition. I logged into the YouTube TV app on my phone and saw that the Oprah Special on the weight loss GLP-1 meds was being recorded.







The show was titled: An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution







I watched a little bit of it, but then decided to come back and watch the recording the next day. I quickly sent a Voxer text to Dr. Kim Daniels to ask if she was watching and if so, if she wanted to record a podcast episode about it.







Mainly, I noticed quickly in the part that I watched that very little focus was put on the potential root causes of the food noise. I thought, "this would be fun to review with Kim" and so here we are.







What to Expect in this Episode









* Kim and I have a conversation about our general impressions of the TV special including some of the many things we believe they failed to address







* In the episode we try to be as un-biased as possible, but we recognize we have major biases and a lot of privilege that impacts how we approach this situation







* We talk about some of the aspects we wish were discussed and how we had hoped for a more balanced conversation







* We talk about the concept of obesity as a disease and also the statements like "release the shame" and our thoughts on these nuanced topics







* We also talk about how Internal Family Systems theory can help us understand the many strong opinions as it relates to these topics, and how an IFS approach could really be useful as we are trying to truly examine root causes







* We talk a bit about the concept of food noise and early relationships with food and how they might contribute to symptoms as an adult







* My hope and belief is that this conversation is not pro or anti medication, but simply an expansion on the aspects of weight loss and these controversial medications coming from two psychologists









Join the Innovative Therapist Book Club Today!







Want to learn about the Top 4 books I wish I had read many years ago that have shifted my view of healing and human relationships?







Download the free guide today to find out - I bet some of them will surprise you! You can grab it at DrHondorp.com/Books















Disclaimer: This blog and podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual professional advice or treatment, including medical or mental health advice. It does not constitute a provider-patient relationship.

Episode 114. This week's episode is special. I was on the Mastermind Parenting podcast with Randi Rubenstein, my beloved parent coach recently. And the convo was so good, that we are replaying it here.







So if you want to learn a little more about my story and how I got here, and hear me chat about it with one of the people who have been most influential in getting me here, this episode is for you!







What to Expect in this Episode







What to Expect in this episode:









* Some of my training and background and what I thought I was going to do for a career







* When I learned about IFS and what continues to keep me aligned and pursuing training in it







* How Randi has used it and is still using it, and a discussion about our understanding of it







* How our relationship is very "power with" dynamic and how parenting, and therapy can often be a "power over" model and how that can be less helpful and even harmful at times







* How watching Randi coach has shifted my view of how healing happens and my role as a therapist







* A story about shifting my relationship with one of my protector parts recently (I got teary sharing this one!)







* And more!









Disclaimer: This blog and podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual professional advice or treatment, including medical or mental health advice. It does not constitute a provider-patient relationship.

Episode 113. This week's episode is all about my first 4 days of my Internal Family Systems Level 1 training! So if you're curious about what this IFS thing is, what the training is like, if it's worth the wait and the money, and what I'm learning, this episode is for you!







What to Expect in this episode:









* My process with finding IFS and the long process of finally getting into a Level 1 training!







* The roller coaster that took me and on how I felt when I got it, versus how I feel now







* What the schedule of the training looked like







* The overall impact for me so far







* Main takeaways and lessons







* An example of one of my protector parts and how a 10 minute exercise with a new therapist learning IFS shifted things dramatically for me







* How you can begin to explore IFS and my recommendations after exploring it for almost 2 years







* And more!









Other Mentors & Resources Mentioned









* Internal Family Systems (IFS) Institute Online Learning Options







* My very candid conversation called "What your therapist really thinks..." with Randi Rubenstein on the Mastermind Parenting podcast









“I know I shouldn’t focus on weight loss, but…” (Polarized Parts Alert!)















Are you feeling unsure how to guide a client who wants to improve their relationship with food, but also wants to lose weight?







We offer this super cool transformational exercise that can help your clients work to understand their polarized parts, build self-trust and listen to their intuition!







This free PDF gives step-by-step instructions for doing one of my all-time favorite exercises (based on Internal Family Systems theory) to explore polarized parts. It will help clients get to know the parts of themselves without judgment, understand their intention, and create empowerment and harmony in their bodies.







This is hands-down one of the best ways I’ve found to help support client autonomy and build self-trust at the same time. I can’t wait to share it with you!







Sign up today to use this innovative tool!







Disclaimer: This blog and podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual professional advice or treatment, including medical or mental health advice. It does not constitute a provider-patient relationship.

Episode 112. It's official. It is here. This week's episode is all about the new podcast, The Innovative Therapist Podcast. This name and shifting of the podcast reflects my internal shifts, and who I am becoming and permission for all of us to think more creatively with regards to how we think about healing. In this episode, I will tell you what to expect in the new podcast. What will be different and what will be the same. I will also share how I am different, and some of the experiences and people that led to those shifts.







I cannot wait to share it with you!







What to Expect in this episode:









* My reason for changing the name of the podcast to The Innovative Therapist Podcast







* Who it is geared towards (FYI: it isn't just for therapists, but for anyone interested in thinking deeply and creatively about innovative approaches to healing)







* Why I am probably not going to be recording in the same space anymore, and why







* How the shifts you see in this podcast and other aspects of my business reflect internal shifts happening in me, and me learning to listen to and trust my body more and more (aka "walking the walk," if you will)







* What to expect in the future (e.g., more interviews with therapists who have paved their way and began doing meaningful work outside of the traditional 1 on 1 client work, among other creative guests and solo topics), more interviews with therapists and other professionals willing to challenge the status quo and question our traditional way of doing things (e.g., like my conversation with Dr. Adia Gooden a long time ago where we talked about sharing about ourselves as psychologists and how it's so different than what we learned to do in training)







* The book I'm reading right now, Decolonizing Therapy by Dr. Jennifer Mullan, and what I'm learning from it so far and how it's helping me think creatively about our role as helping professionals and some of the reasons the traditional therapy model never felt quite right to me (and how this book is adding to the learning I got from reading Decolonizing Wellness by Dalia Kinsey, Check out my conversation with Dalia Kinsey to explore this)







* How and why I'll be continuing to explore evidence-based approaches as well as other "alternative" healing modalities (with less official research backing, but equally as important explore with an open mind)







* What I'm thinking in terms of the motivation questions at the end, and the music for the podcast, and how I'm letting a lot of this evolve naturally (and how incredibly different that is from my prior approaches)







* Things coming up in my world that I'm excited about! The Innovative Therapist Retreat Oct 7-10th in Norton Shores, Michigan, Local Outdoor Therapist Meetups in West Michigan, sign up for updates here! DrHondorp.com/Meetups, and other community building online offerings coming soon!









Other Mentors & Resources Mentioned









* Natalie Miller and The Mind Witchery podcast







* Randi Rubenstein and Mastermind Parenting









What is The Innovative Therapist Podcast All About?









* The Innovative Therapist podcast is for you if you want honest conversations ...

Episode 111. I just loved this conversation with Natalie Deering. Natalie is the host of the podcast That Wellness Podcast which is a podcast she started in February 2023 and she's already had some incredible guests including Dr. Richards Schwartz, Dr. Frank Anderson, and many others.







We had a great conversation about many things, but Natalie really does a great job breaking down 3 different ways to connect with Parts of you, and how to do it, with some tangible next steps and resources.







I also found it fascinating the ways she's decided what to focus on in her business, so make sure you listen closely to that part.







In this episode, we cover:









* Natalie's journey as a therapist, how she came to IFS, and her process with deciding to start her amazing podcast, That Wellness Podcast where she's invited guests like Dr. Richard Schwartz, Dr. Frank Anderson and many more!







* What she loves most about her podcast







* How she decided to have a podcast first, versus focusing on some of the other ideas she had for work outside of 1 to 1 therapy (e.g., retreats, workshops, ketamine-assisted psychotherapy)







* 3 different ways to connect with Parts with different types of meditation (including Natalie's free walking path meditation linked here)







* How she helped shift her therapy note writing from a should to a choose to









“I know I shouldn’t focus on weight loss, but…” (Polarized Parts Alert!)















Are you feeling unsure how to guide a client who wants to improve their relationship with food, but also wants to lose weight?







We offer this super cool transformational exercise that can help your clients work to understand their polarized parts, build self-trust and listen to their intuition!







This free PDF gives step-by-step instructions for doing one of my all-time favorite exercises (based on Internal Family Systems theory) to explore polarized parts. It will help clients get to know the parts of themselves without judgment, understand their intention, and create empowerment and harmony in their bodies.







This is hands-down one of the best ways I’ve found to help support client autonomy and build self-trust at the same time. I can’t wait to share it with you!







Sign up today to use this innovative tool!







Who Is Natalie Deering?







Natalie Deering is a licensed mental health provider at her private practice, ND Wellness Psychological Services in Fort Thomas KY. She specializes in working with people who have complex trauma, anxiety, and stress using internal family systems therapy (IFS).







Natalie is the host of the IFS informed wellness podcast, That Wellness Podcast with Natalie Deering: Internal Family Systems with a Twist, where she interviews amazing people within the wellness field, IFS, and everything in between.







Natalie helps clients build resilience by gaining access to their inner healing potential. She incorporates internal family systems therapy with meditation, skills building, and movement.

Episode 110. On this week's podcast, we talk to Pooja Arora who you are going to absolutely love. (Peyton, my intern who edits the podcast says it was one of her favorite episodes ever).







Even though I feel really excited about this episode, a part of me is definitely anxious.















Why?







Because on the podcast, we talk about a variety of methods of healing that aren't all unequivocally supported by rigorous scientific research.







We talk on the episode about interventions like Emotional Freedom Technique (aka EFT Tapping), Neurolinguistic Programming, among other interventions, including my personal experience with trying some of these methods out.







Basically, there is research supporting some of the methods above, but how well it works compared to other methods, and why it works is not totally clear.







And the world I come from, the western psychological research world, tends to frown up such things... :)







Navigating the nuance







And although a part of me is worried about what you will think of me, the truth is I believe we need to have more conversations about methods outside the traditionally accepted, 100% unequivocally supported by randomized controlled trials, track.







I love science and research.







And, it has major flaws and limitations.







The truth is, that traditional methods of healing leave many of us struggling, suffering, and sometimes spending years not getting the healing results we crave.







The reality is I've always been open to other methods, even if I have many skeptical parts that come along for the ride.







And as Pooja says in today's interview, those skeptical parts are allowed. They can join.







And if you could get relief for a physical or emotional symptom that's been plaguing you for years in a few sessions, would your interest be piqued?







I know mine was.







The Power of Intuition







Pooja Arora is someone that I was introduced to through my parent coach Randi Rubenstein.







She did some work with some of the other moms in the group, indvidiually and in a group setting and people were getting great results.







Some of the results she has gotten for others are outlined in our conversation and some in her bio in this week's ​blog post​.







When we connected, she shared that she has dealt with a lot of her own body image concerns, and overcome a lot in that area, despite really persistent shaming and bullying throughout her life.







At that point, I knew I had to have her on. She does her own work, has gotten great results for herself and others, and what I'm realizing more and more is that it's much more about the person delivering the healing modality, and your trust and belief in them, than even the method itself.







This was truly a great conversation. So without further ado, here's what you can expect in my conversation with Pooja:









* How Pooja got relief from debilitating stomach pain and infection after trying all the things, in just 2 transformational sessions







* Her experiences growing up in India and her experiences with persistent bullying about her body and appearance, and the ways she has overcome this







* Pooja's MANY areas of specialty and 20 different certifications, including but not limited to Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Neurolinguistic Programming, Past Life Regression,