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What happens when the checklist says “no,” but your body and life keep saying “something is real”? We open the new season by taking aim at diagnostic gatekeeping—across therapy offices, clinics, and urgent care—and making the case for care that centers lived experience alongside criteria. With returning guest Jessica Kirkberg, LMFT and sex therapist, we untangle how the medical model can flatten people into labels and why cultural humility, social location, and context should guide treatment just as much as manuals do.

We get practical fast. Jessica shares how training in cultural humility and pain reprocessing reshaped her supervision and client work, from asking about the menstrual cycle to mapping how Ehlers‑Danlos syndrome, endometriosis, migraines, and autoimmune flares affect mood, attention, and safety. We talk about the rise of self-diagnosis through social media—not as a problem to be mocked, but as a tool that gives people language and community when criteria were written for someone else. For many, an EDS diagnosis won’t unlock a cure, but it can unlock clarity, reduce shame, and point to better pacing, sensory supports, and boundaries.

Ableism shows up everywhere: patients feeling forced to “look sick” to be believed, therapists policing how clients sit or move, and insurance barriers that turn access into a maze. We offer concrete ways to lower the mental load in therapy—allow movement, normalize comfort items, keep heat packs and tea on hand, dim harsh lights, and keep curiosity at the center. We also challenge clinicians to name their own social locations and examine internalized ableism, because what we hide in ourselves we often project onto clients. If your setting is rigid, build a consultation circle, follow disabled clinicians, and test one new adaptation at a time. Better care isn’t a slogan; it’s a series of small, repeatable choices that trust what people say about their bodies and minds.

If this conversation pushed you or gave you language you needed, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review telling us one access change you’ll try this week. Your story might be the spark someone else needs.

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

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The conversations that shaped our year didn’t push us to work harder. They moved us to be human. We revisit the moments that shifted our lens: naming white supremacy inside everyday clinical decisions, strengthening cultural competence with Latinx clients, and turning judgment into curiosity so the therapeutic alliance can lead. We also reframed the parts of the job that feel “scary.” Subpoenas, high-conflict divorce, and big behaviors became step-by-step, consult-supported tasks that protect our licenses and regulate our nervous systems.

Joy showed up as an ethical practice. A listener-favorite segment on travel hacking reminded us that rest isn’t indulgence. It is the infrastructure that makes good therapy possible. From there, we traced the path toward sustainable careers: mentorship as an attachment relationship, releasing the “pay your dues” myth, and setting down the armor that keeps us guarded. With guests who offer lived expertise and practical tools, we mapped a future where boundaries are clear, play has a seat at the table, and self-compassion is non-negotiable, especially for therapists who are also caregivers.

Season three is on the way, and we’re ready to build on these practices: culturally responsive care, court-smart documentation, nervous system literacy, and a professional identity rooted in our values. Join us as we bridge generations of clinicians, dismantle what no longer serves, and create a community where difference is strength. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and consider: what shifts are you making next year?

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

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The mental health field has a problem we need to talk about - one that's driving talented clinicians away and ultimately harming the clients we all serve. In this candid conversation, two Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists strip away professional pretense to examine the dysfunctional systems governing our work.

We tackle the uncomfortable reality of gatekeeping in mental health - how established professionals and institutions often block access to knowledge, training, and credentials through arbitrary barriers and outdated "pay your dues" mentalities. As systems thinkers, we examine why professional structures resist change even when that resistance contradicts the very values we promote in therapy rooms.

What happens when a field preaches growth and possibility to clients while enforcing rigid, exclusive pathways for its practitioners? The dissonance is both striking and damaging. We explore how newer generations of clinicians bring vital perspectives and boundaries that are frequently rejected rather than welcomed, and how decision-makers are often disconnected from current clinical realities.

This conversation isn't about tearing everything down - it's about questioning why we maintain systems that no longer serve the majority of practitioners or their clients. It's about being curious rather than defensive when faced with calls for change. And ultimately, it's about building a profession that embodies the same principles of flexibility, growth, and multiple possibilities that we offer our clients.

Join us as we position ourselves as bridges between generations, valuing both established wisdom and fresh perspectives, and imagine a more accessible, supportive professional landscape for all mental health practitioners. Question the systems you're involved with, be an ethical disruptor, and know that you're not alone.

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

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What happens when therapists bring their authentic, neurodivergent selves into the playroom? Magic, according to Heather Fairley-Denbrough, a licensed clinical social worker and registered play therapist supervisor with 16 years of experience.

Heather opens up about her relatively recent discovery of her own autism and ADHD, sharing how this self-knowledge has profoundly transformed her therapeutic relationships. Rather than maintaining the rigid professional boundaries many of us were taught in graduate school, Heather demonstrates how thoughtful self-disclosure creates deeper connections with clients - particularly neurodivergent children who desperately need to see examples of adults like them who are thriving.

Through beautiful examples like watching "K-Pop Demon Hunters" at a client's request and creating shared language around it, Heather illustrates how authenticity becomes a powerful therapeutic tool. When she told a long-term client about her autism diagnosis, the child's face registered pure amazement, leading to a year of rich exploration about what neurodivergence meant for them both. These moments of connection go far beyond traditional rapport-building; they create true healing relationships.

The conversation also tackles the persistent stigma around neurodivergence, even within mental health fields. All three podcast participants share experiences of being dismissed or misunderstood by colleagues or medical professionals because they were "high functioning" or successful. These stories highlight how much work remains to be done in normalizing neurodivergence and creating truly inclusive environments.

Perhaps most powerful is Heather's reminder that "if I'm not being the most congruent version of me that I can be, then I'm not actually in the room with the child." This statement cuts to the heart of effective therapy - authentic presence isn't just helpful but essential. As her mentor Lisa Dion advised: "I don't want you to do it like me, I want you to do it like you."

Has your own lived experience shaped your work with clients? We'd love to hear your stories of bringing your authentic self to therapeutic relationships.

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

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Child therapist Laura joins us to explore the concerning shortage of therapists willing to work with children, despite growing mental health needs among youth populations.

• Laura explains how even in therapy-rich Los Angeles, there's a significant gap in child therapy services
• Many clinicians avoid working with children due to fear, lack of proper training, or hesitation about parental dynamics
• Educational programs often lack comprehensive child therapy training, creating knowledge gaps for new therapists
• Quality supervision specifically for child therapy is increasingly hard to find
• Becoming credentialed as a Registered Play Therapist involves significant barriers including time and financial investment
• Despite challenges, working with children offers unique rewards like becoming a stabilizing force during difficult times
• Child therapy serves as preventative mental healthcare, potentially reducing adult therapy needs later
• Innovative solutions like loan forgiveness programs are emerging to incentivize therapists to work with children
• Laura emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with play for therapists of all specialties
• The podcast hosts encourage support for Laura's educational efforts through gift cards for therapeutic supplies

Looking to support child therapy in your community? Consider donating supplies to local child therapists, advocating for better compensation for mental health professionals, or exploring play therapy for children in your life.

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

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When words collapse under the weight of trauma, symbols step in with clarity and care. We sit down with Anna Gomez to explore how EMDR and sand tray therapy, used together, create a safer path into memory networks, one that honors culture, protects against flooding, and invites healing to unfold at the nervous system’s pace. From the first touch of sand to the choice of a miniature, the tray becomes a living map of autonomic states, attachment patterns, and dissociative parts, allowing clients to express what feels unsayable.

We dive into implicit reprocessing, the crucial phase in which a client can work through terror and shame without immediate ownership. Think “the llama is scared” before “I was scared.” That gentle distance isn’t avoidance; it’s precision. With a polyvagal lens, we track state shifts and titrate EMDR activation like microdosing, choosing backdoor entries to memory when the front door overwhelms. For migrants, bilingual clients, and anyone facing loyalty binds or language fragmentation, symbolic work respects the realities of identity and safety while building a bridge back to words.

Clinicians at every level will find both depth and practicality here. Anna shares how to blend EMDR protocols with relational attunement, moment-to-moment decisions, and culturally grounded meaning-making. We discuss composite case patterns that reveal disorganized attachment in the tray, show how ownership often arises organically over time, and underline why therapist regulation is the anchor for complex trauma. If you’ve ever wished EMDR felt less flooding or talk therapy less confining, this conversation offers a humane, research-aligned alternative that is as structured as it is spacious.

Ready to rethink how healing begins? Listen, share with a colleague, and if it resonates, subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more therapists and clients find this work.

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

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Erika brings Dungeons & Dragons into therapy sessions, creating transformative healing experiences for clients through role-playing games and character development.

• Using D&D with clients to build characters and create new therapy modalities
• Personal journey with D&D helping develop real-world skills like confrontation
• Client's story of choosing friendship over combat reveals therapeutic needs
• Facing resistance from traditional play therapy circles despite proven effectiveness
• Creating accessible D&D sand tray therapy tools for therapists with no gaming experience
• Challenging therapy systems that reject innovation they don't understand
• Advocating for evolution in play therapy to meet clients where they are

Try incorporating elements of role-playing games into your work with clients. Consider how games provide narrative frameworks that enable clients to express their needs and process emotions in ways that traditional therapy might not reach.

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

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Miranda shares how we can create the life we want by letting go of fear and embracing our authentic selves through the removal of protective armor that no longer serves us.

• Exploring how our "armor" protects us from vulnerability but also prevents authentic connection
• Teaching children to question their protective responses rather than automatically armoring up
• Understanding how burnout happens when therapists try to "save" clients instead of supporting their journey
• Recognizing when comparisons to idealized therapist images cause us unnecessary suffering
• Learning to pause and reconnect with our true desires and dreams
• Identifying generational patterns and cultural expectations that form our protective barriers
• Finding humor and joy as tools for connection even during difficult conversations
• Acknowledging that asking for help builds community and allows others to experience the joy of giving

When you find yourself getting stuck in old patterns, put your hand on your heart, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: "If I gave you permission to dream big and have whatever you wanted come true because you're worth it, what would that be?"

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