The Dr. Shyamala Show

Dr. Shyamala Kiru
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The Dr. Shyamala Show explores the intersection of leadership, identity, and cognitive transformation. Hosted by Dr. Shyamala Kiru, former psychotherapist of 20 years and founder of the Cognitive Freedom Method™, this podcast explores how internal patterns shape the way we think, lead, and relate - especially in moments of pressure and complexity. Each episode examines the psychology behind leadership and relational dynamics, with a focus on structured cognitive change, emotional regulation, and identity-level transformation. The conversations are grounded in disciplined psychological insight applied to real-world complexity. Dr. Shyamala is also the founder of Kiru Psychotherapy Clinic and the author of The Emotionally Intelligent Woman. Through solo teachings and conversations with practitioners and thought leaders, she brings clinical depth into leadership development and practitioner training. This podcast is for leaders and practitioners who value clarity, structure, and depth in how they think, lead, and relate. Connect on Instagram @iam.drshyam Learn more at www.cognitive-freedom.com Clinical services at www.kirupsychotherapy.com

  1. 6H AGO

    Sticky Thoughts: Why Certain Thoughts Take Hold Of The Mind

    Some thoughts pass through your mind and disappear quickly. But some thoughts don't. They linger. They repeat. They feel convincing. They feel like the truth. And no matter how many times you try to move past them, they seem to pull you back in. In this episode, we're talking about what we call sticky thoughts. These are the thoughts the mind becomes attached to. The ones that feel heavy, personal, and hard to let go of. When the mind fuses with a thought, it stops feeling like a thought and starts feeling like reality. And when that happens, that thought begins to shape your emotions, your behavior, and the choices you make. Inside this episode, I walk you through: What sticky thoughts are and why some thoughts grip the mind more than others What it means for the mind to become fused with a thought Why sticky thoughts often attach to themes like self worth, success, relationships, or safety How repetition and emotional charge make certain thoughts feel true Why sticky thoughts are not defined by their content, but by your relationship to them How learning to see a thought as a thought creates space and choice Why the goal is not to get rid of sticky thoughts, but to change how you relate to them When you learn to step back and observe a thought instead of automatically believing it, something important happens. You create space. And in that space, you regain choice. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Shyamala Kiru is a former psychotherapist of 20 years and the founder of Kiru Psychotherapy Clinic and the Cognitive Freedom Method™. Through her work in leadership development, practitioner training, and clinical practice (now retired), she teaches a structured framework for understanding and transforming the cognitive patterns that shape how we think, lead, and relate. 📘 The Emotionally Intelligent Woman Available on Amazon and Chapters Indigo   🎧 The Dr. Shyamala Show Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify   🎥 Free masterclass Inside the Mind: The Hidden Patterns That Hijack Your Reactions   Learn more at cognitive-freedom.com kirupsychotherapy.com Real freedom begins when you understand your mind Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  Psychotherapy + Structured Support: Cognitive Freedom Method™ LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    16 min

  2. MAR 26

    Why the Mind Misreads Reality: Understanding Cognitive Distortions

    We can have two people experience the same event and have two completely different experiences.  Person A loses their job and spirals into fear and overwhelm.  Person B loses the same job and somehow approaches it with calm, clarity, and groundedness, finding opportunity in hardship. So what's the difference? How that person interprets the event.  Your mind is not a neutral observer of reality. It is a meaning-making system, constantly filtering every experience through your past, your beliefs, your assumptions, and your emotional state.  And when that filter is untrained, it almost always leads you somewhere inaccurate. This is episode two of Inside the Cognitive Freedom Method™, and today we go one layer deeper. Inside this episode, I walk you through: Why two people can experience the exact same event and interpret it completely differently The four categories your mind uses to make meaning of everything that happens to you Why events don't create your emotions directly, and what actually does What cognitive distortions are and why they are quietly running your reactions Six of the most common distorted thinking patterns, including catastrophizing, mind reading, and fortune telling Why your brain does this, and how understanding it is the first step to changing it How identifying a distortion creates distance from it, and why that distance gives you choice _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Shyamala Kiru is a former psychotherapist of 20 years and the founder of Kiru Psychotherapy Clinic and the Cognitive Freedom Method™. Through her work in leadership development, practitioner training, and clinical practice (retired), she teaches a structured framework for understanding and transforming the cognitive patterns that shape how we think, lead, and relate. 📘 The Emotionally Intelligent Woman - available on Amazon and Chapters Indigo 🎧 The Dr. Shyamala Show - listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify 🎥 Free masterclass: Inside the Mind - The Hidden Patterns That Hijack Your Reactions Learn more at shyamalakiru.com + kirupsychotherapy.com  Real freedom begins when you understand your mind. Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  Psychotherapy + Structured Support: Cognitive Freedom Program LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    16 min

  3. MAR 19

    Seeing Your Thoughts Clearly: The First Skill in Cognitive Freedom

    Here's something worth sitting with. Right now, your mind is generating somewhere between 60,000-80,000 thoughts today. Over 80% of them are negative. And over 98% of them are simply recycled from the day before. Not because something is wrong with you. Because this is how an untrained mind operates. And most of those thoughts? They're running completely in the background. Unnoticed. Like hold music you've stopped hearing, except this music is quietly dictating your emotions, your reactions, and the direction of your life. This episode kicks off a brand new series: Inside the Cognitive Freedom Method™. And we're starting exactly where transformation has to start. With your thoughts. Inside this episode, I walk you through the very first skill in the Cognitive Freedom Method™, and why everything else depends on it. Why your thoughts feel true even when they aren't How repetition creates the illusion of truth in the untrained mind Why automatic thoughts drive your emotional reactions before you even realize it The ripple effect between event, thought, emotion, and behavior What thought monitoring actually is and why it slows everything down in the best possible way Why the goal is never to eliminate negative thoughts (and what to do __________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Shyamala Kiru is a former psychotherapist of 20 years and the founder of Kiru Psychotherapy Clinic and the Cognitive Freedom Method™. Through her work in leadership development, practitioner training, and clinical practice (retired), she teaches a structured framework for understanding and transforming the cognitive patterns that shape how we think, lead, and relate. 📘 The Emotionally Intelligent Woman - available on Amazon and Chapters Indigo 🎧 The Dr. Shyamala Show - listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify 🎥 Free masterclass: Inside the Mind - The Hidden Patterns That Hijack Your Reactions Learn more at shyamalakiru.com + kirupsychotherapy.com  Real freedom begins when you understand your mind. Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  Psychotherapy + Structured Support: Cognitive Freedom Program LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    14 min
  4. Freedom Starts in the Mind: What Cognitive Freedom Really Means and How to Practice It

    MAR 12

    Freedom Starts in the Mind: What Cognitive Freedom Really Means and How to Practice It

    If you've ever thought that freedom would come when things finally lined up the right way... When the relationship felt more secure. When work calmed down. When life stopped being so hard. This episode is for you. Because here's what I've come to understand after almost five decades of living and over two decades of this work: Freedom doesn't live out there. It lives in the mind. And if the mind isn't free, nothing else truly is. Not your relationships. Not your self-concept. Not how you show up in the world. This episode is deeply personal for me. I share exactly how the concept of cognitive freedom came to me, what it means in practice, and why I've returned to it as the foundation of everything I teach in this new season. Inside this conversation, I walk you through: Why freedom is not circumstantial and where it actually begins What cognitive freedom is and how it came to shape the Cognitive Freedom Method™ Why 80% of thoughts in an untrained mind are negative and 98% are simply repeated from the day before What it means to commit to cognitive freedom as a daily practice Why this kind of transformation is slower but lasting LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS This is not about a quick fix or three easy steps. It's about building a cognitive structure that allows you to meet life differently, respond differently, and show up differently. Every day. And if you're ready to go beyond insight and begin working with your mind in a real, structured way, start with the free Inside the Mind Masterclass. It's the natural next step after this episode. Reach out when you're ready, we're here. Dr. Shyam XO P.S. This is the work I've come home to. And I think it might be the work you've been looking for too. The masterclass is free and available anytime. ACCESS THE FREE MASTERCLASS HERE   Dr. Shyamala Kiru is a former psychotherapist of 20 years and the founder of Kiru Psychotherapy Clinic and the Cognitive Freedom Method™. Through her work in leadership development, practitioner training, and clinical practice (retired), she teaches a structured framework for understanding and transforming the cognitive patterns that shape how we think, lead, and relate. 📘 The Emotionally Intelligent Woman - available on Amazon and Chapters Indigo 🎧 The Dr. Shyamala Show - listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify 🎥 Free masterclass: Inside the Mind - The Hidden Patterns That Hijack Your Reactions Learn more at shyamalakiru.com + kirupsychotherapy.com  Real freedom begins when you understand your mind. Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  Psychotherapy + Structured Support: Cognitive Freedom Program LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    21 min

  5. MAR 5

    The Knowing-Doing Gap: Why You Still React Even When You Know Better

    If you've ever walked away from a hard moment thinking I knew better, why did I still react that way… this episode is for you. Because the truth is, most of us don't struggle because we don't know what to do. We struggle because in the moments that matter most, when pressure hits, when we're triggered, when the stakes are high, we can't access what we know. And that gap between knowing and doing? That's not a character flaw. That's conditioning. In this episode, I unpack why your skills and awareness seem to disappear under pressure, and what it actually takes to change that. Insight tells you what is happening Awareness helps you name the pattern But neither one can override a nervous system that's wired to protect you When pressure hits, you don't default to what you understand. You default to what you've been conditioned to do. That's the difference. And it's an important one. Inside this conversation, I walk you through: Why willpower will never override nervous system activation What the knowing-doing gap actually is and why it keeps you stuck Why your skills vanish the moment life gets hard What real transformation requires beyond awareness and insight How stability under pressure can be trained and why that changes everything   LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS This is not about starting over. It's about coming home to yourself with more depth and greater clarity. If you've felt frustrated that you know better but still can't seem to respond differently when it counts, this episode will meet you exactly where you are. And if you're ready to go beyond the knowing and actually retrain the patterns running your life, this is the exact work we do inside the Cognitive Freedom Program. Reach out when you're ready, we're here. Dr. Shyam XO P.S. If you want to understand exactly what's happening beneath the surface and how to begin shifting it, start with my free masterclass, Inside the Mind. It's the first step toward working with your mind in a real, concrete, structured way. ACCESS THE FREE MASTERCLASS HERE   Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  Psychotherapy + Structured Support: Cognitive Freedom Program LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    18 min

  6. FEB 19

    Why Insight Isn't Enough to Change Your Patterns

    If you've done therapy, read the books, listened to the podcasts and still find yourself reacting the same way under pressure…this episode is for you. Today I'm beginning a new mini-series that feels like a return home. For years, the foundation of my work was the mind.  Understanding it. Working with it. Training it. Rewiring it. Over time, my teaching expanded into relationships, emotional intelligence, energetics, and embodiment. And yet, in this season of my life, navigating stress, transition, love and growth, I find myself returning to the same place. Inside the mind. In this episode, I unpack why insight alone was never meant to be enough to help you embody meaningful change (right down to the level of your patterns). Insight gives you understanding.  It helps you name what's happening.  It can even feel like relief when the light bulb goes on. These are all good things. But your patterns are not stored in your understanding or comprehension.  Your patterns are stored in your nervous system. They're stored in the habits you repeat. In what your mind and body have practiced over the years. In the automatic way you respond when pressure hits. And when pressure hits, you don't default to what you understand. You default to what you're conditioned to do. That's the difference. Conditioning happens slowly, experience by experience, over a lifetime.  And when pressure hits, conditioning wins. Inside this conversation, I walk you through: Why insight feels powerful but doesn't stabilize your reactions Where patterns actually live Why you lose access to your awareness when you're triggered What real transformation requires beyond the "light bulb moment" How to begin working with your mind in a concrete, structured way   LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS This is not about starting over, it's about coming home to yourself with more depth and greater understanding.  If you've felt frustrated that you "know better" but still don't respond any differently under pressure, this episode will meet you exactly where you are. And if you're navigating something that insight alone hasn't been able to shift, this is the exact work we do at Kiru Psychotherapy.  Reach out if you're ready for support, we're here when you're ready.  Dr. Shyam XO P.S. If you're ready to go beyond insight and actually retrain the patterns running your life, start with my free masterclass, Inside the Mind.  It will show you exactly what's happening beneath the surface and how to begin shifting it.  ACCESS THE FREE MASTERCLASS HERE   Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  1:1 Support: Cognitive Freedom Program LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    23 min

  7. FEB 12

    The AI Therapist Era: Why Advice Alone Isn't Enough

    My daughter called me the other night via FaceTime. It was all about a boy, a dilemma, and a conversation she'd had... with ChatGPT. She read us the entire transcript. Word for word. The advice was thoughtful. Structured. Strangely familiar. Because it echoed the very guidance I've given her for years. From my book. From our conversations. From my work. And still, to her, ChatGPT felt clearer. More helpful. More precise. That moment stayed with me. Not because the advice was wrong, it wasn't. But because it revealed something deeper about where we're sourcing our wisdom, and why so many are turning toward AI to meet emotional needs that (I believe, in my decades of experience) requires something far more human. In this episode, I unpack that moment, and the larger shift it signals for all of us. We explore: Why AI is becoming a source of emotional support What well-worded advice can't replace The gap between resonance and true relationship safety What gets lost when guidance isn't rooted in lived experience And why embodiment, not information, is the portal to real change This isn't about resisting innovation. It's about remembering what technology is great at…and what it can never hold. LISTEN ON SPOTIFY   LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS If you're navigating something that insight alone hasn't been able to shift, this is the exact work we do at Kiru Psychotherapy.  Reach out if you're ready for support (from humans!) Dr. Shyam XO     Where to Connect: My Clinic: Kiru Psychotherapy: https://kirupsychotherapy.com Free Masterclass: Inside the Mind  1:1 Support: Cognitive Freedom Program LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    28 min

  8. 11/27/2025

    The Threshold Part 3

    Most of us do our inner work in solitude. We build awareness. We regulate. We deepen into self-trust. But eventually— life invites us to take that inner work into our relationships. Specifically, into our adult relationships. This is what I explore in Part Three of The Threshold series: how the emotional mastery I've cultivated privately is showing up inside my partnership, my parenting, and the beautiful complexity of blending families. This episode is not about theory.  It's about practice. About what it means to stay present when you want to disconnect. To choose curiosity in moments of discomfort. To share the responsibility of safety. Inside, I explore: What co-regulation really looks like in adult love How two nervous systems shape the quality of connection Why presence matters more than perfection The moments that turn emotional work into lived healing If you're on your own path of becoming— and want to show up more fully inside your relationships—this is your episode. LISTEN ON SPOTIFY LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS   If this speaks to where you are, The Emotional Reset is the next step. This private, one-month coaching container helps you regulate your nervous system, reclaim emotional authority, and lead your life—and your relationships—from a place of grounded presence. Because the version of you who can hold more is already within you. Let's help her take the lead. EXPLORE AN EMOTIONAL RESET  (Private Coaching With Me)   Dr. Shyam XO   Where to Connect:   THE FREE PRECIPICE WORKSHOP: https://www.shyamalakiru.com/workshop BOOK AN EMOTIONAL RESET:  https://www.shyamalakiru.com/the-intensives EXPLORE WORK WITH MY PSYCHOTHERAPY CLINIC: http://kirupsychotherapy.com WEBSITE:  https://shyamalakiru.com  LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-shyamala-kiru-4a853aa5/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/iam.drshyam/

    21 min
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About

The Dr. Shyamala Show explores the intersection of leadership, identity, and cognitive transformation. Hosted by Dr. Shyamala Kiru, former psychotherapist of 20 years and founder of the Cognitive Freedom Method™, this podcast explores how internal patterns shape the way we think, lead, and relate - especially in moments of pressure and complexity. Each episode examines the psychology behind leadership and relational dynamics, with a focus on structured cognitive change, emotional regulation, and identity-level transformation. The conversations are grounded in disciplined psychological insight applied to real-world complexity. Dr. Shyamala is also the founder of Kiru Psychotherapy Clinic and the author of The Emotionally Intelligent Woman. Through solo teachings and conversations with practitioners and thought leaders, she brings clinical depth into leadership development and practitioner training. This podcast is for leaders and practitioners who value clarity, structure, and depth in how they think, lead, and relate. Connect on Instagram @iam.drshyam Learn more at www.cognitive-freedom.com Clinical services at www.kirupsychotherapy.com

Information

  • Creator
    Dr. Shyamala Kiru
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © @ Copyright 2024
  • Show Website
    The Dr. Shyamala Show