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“You’ll get great exposure” sounds flattering until you do the math. We’re pulling back the curtain on what presenting really looks like in the mental health world, from play therapy trainings to association conferences, and why so many speakers quietly lose money while trying to build a name. We talk candidly about the culture of “pay your dues,” the unspoken expectations baked into continuing education events, and how the profession’s hush hush approach to money keeps new presenters guessing.

We also get specific about the real costs that rarely make it into the conversation: hours of prep and research, travel and lodging, meals, airport transfers, and the income you miss when you cancel client sessions to be on a plane. We name the privilege required to absorb those expenses and the way gender shows up when women set boundaries, ask for a speaker fee, or request accommodations. If you’ve ever wondered what’s reasonable to ask for, how to respond to “we don’t have the budget,” or what it means when an event wants to record your training and keep selling it, we give you language you can use.

Our goal is simple: help you become a stronger presenter with a shorter learning curve and a clearer sense of your worth. If you’re building a speaking career in mental health education, listen, share this with a friend who’s starting out, and then subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what you wish someone had told you before your first talk.

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon

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Culture is in your kitchen, your marriage, your training room, and your nervous system, whether you name it or not. Today we do Heroes Welcome a little differently: Maria is out taking care of herself, and Donna steps in to co-host a wide-ranging conversation that starts with cross-cultural relationships and quickly turns into a clinical roadmap for therapists, supervisors, and anyone trying to communicate across difference.

We talk about what it’s like to love someone with a totally different background, including the hilariously high-stakes world of making “the right” enchiladas, and why food can be both comfort and identity. From there we widen the lens: culture isn’t only race and ethnicity, it’s also region, military culture, disability access, language, and introvert versus extrovert wiring. That broader view matters in therapy because if we don’t ask about family of origin, rituals, and expectations, we can miss the dynamics that shape a system.

We also tackle the tension of call-out culture versus call-in culture. When people are terrified of saying the wrong thing, their defenses spike and learning stops. We share stories about accents, sound systems, social media pile-ons, and allyship as ongoing bridge work, not a badge you earn once. We even get practical about inclusive practice, like curating a therapy room with clients and what a kid’s request for a garbage truck can teach us about grief and meaning.

If this conversation challenged you or gave you language for something you’ve felt, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a review. What’s one place you’ve noticed culture shaping your day that you used to overlook?

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon

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A lot of therapists feel pressure to have a clean, confident answer to “What do you do?” but professional identity is usually built in messy, human ways. We talk about what happens when roles get projected onto you, when agencies decide your lane, or when you realize you are carrying a five-year plan that never really belonged to you. Along the way, we share the behind-the-scenes truth: most of what we do now was not mapped out from the start, and that is not a flaw, it is the process.

We dig into the developmental side of becoming a clinician, including the myth that you can “treat everything” forever. Trainings and mentors can help you notice what you avoid out of fear versus what you pursue because it genuinely lights you up, and we offer a simple question that keeps us honest: if someone who does not know you had to name three things you are known for, what would they say? That kind of reflection turns “branding” into something more grounded, like values, boundaries, and ethical scope.

We also get real about disability, chronic illness, aging, and ableism in the mental health field. When the system implies you must be accessible 24/7 or shames you for needing accommodations, it can threaten your livelihood and your sense of self. We talk about how accessibility needs show up at conferences and in practice life, and why designing your work to fit your body often creates better alignment with clients too. We also touch on self-of-the-therapist work, the business of therapy, and why learning to pivot is a core career skill, not a sign you are failing.

If you have been craving permission to rethink your niche, adjust your path, or give your “wild idea” some breathing room, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a therapist friend who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest pivot you have made so far.

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon