Kids These Days

Guest: Dr. Monica Corrado, licensed clinical psychologist specializing in psychoeducational assessment.

Dr. Monica sits down with Dr. Courtney to demystify gifted testing. From the signs that might prompt a parent to seek it out, to what those confusing percentile scores actually mean, to why a single test result is never the whole story. It's a candid, reassuring look at a process most parents feel completely unprepared for, especially during admission season.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Stephanie Pinch — Licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Pinch Psychology in Denver, specializing in autism evaluation, child development, and family relationships; former award-winning teacher.

Episode Summary: Dr. Stephanie Pinch joins Dr. Courtney to unpack why autism so often gets missed in girls and women from the diagnostic criteria itself to the exhausting, invisible work of masking. They talk through the subtle early signs parents can watch for, why so many women aren't diagnosed until adulthood, and how to help a child (or yourself) start to unmask safely.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Kate Bennett, PsyD — clinical sport psychologist, three-time national cycling champion, and licensed Way of Champions trainer, working at the intersection of youth sport culture, athlete mental health, and performance.

Episode Summary: Dr. Courtney sits down with clinical sport psychologist Dr. Kate Bennett to unpack what two decades in youth and elite sports has taught her about parent pressure, early specialization, and burnout. They talk through the research on why so many kids quit sports by age thirteen, how parents can tell if their kid is playing for themselves or for approval, and what to actually sa...

Guest: Dr. Kristin Edwards, licensed psychologist and founder of Tampa Pediatric Psychology, specializing in evidence-based therapy and assessment for children, adolescents, and young adults, with a focus on ADHD, anxiety, and executive functioning.

In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with fellow psychologist Dr. Kristin Edwards to unpack why ADHD often gets missed or misunderstood in teenagers — especially when a bright, capable kid seems to be trying but still falling short. They dig into the shame spiral this creates, how it quietly erodes trust between parents and teens, and how families can start shifting the pattern with mo...

Guest: Dr. Emily Bailey — Licensed Psychologist, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Oglethorpe University, and owner of Atlanta OCD and Anxiety Treatment, LLC. Specializes in OCD, anxiety disorders, and scrupulosity, with advanced training in SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions).

Episode Summary: Most parents don't realize how often they're accommodating their child's anxiety — answering the same question on repeat, giving a play-by-play before every event, or quietly rerouting family plans to avoid a meltdown. In this episode, Dr. Emily Bailey joins Dr. Courtney to unpack why accommodation, while completely loving, can accidentally reinforce anxiety, and why pulling it b...

Guest: Rachel Schopp, Founder of Allied Education — a K-12 veteran teacher, administrator, and curriculum lead who helps families translate school confusion into confident, informed action.

In the final episode of our back-to-school mini-series, Dr. Courtney and educational consultant Rachel Schopp tackle how to raise concerns with a new teacher — whether they're carrying over from a rough prior year or just starting to show up now — without waiting for Fall conferences. They cover what's worth flagging immediately, how to frame a hard history without blaming a former teacher, and how to tell if a teacher is truly receptive.

W...

Guest: Carrie Visintainer, MS, Certified Executive Function Coach

Carrie helps teens and young adults (ages 15–24) build the self-management skills — planning, prioritizing, time management, and self-advocacy — that carry them through the transition from high school into college or the workforce.

In this episode, Dr. Courtney and Carrie unpack what executive functioning actually is, why the "great wide open" of early adulthood exposes gaps parents didn't know were there, and what families can start doing when kids are still young to build these skills early.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Rachel Schopp, Founder of Allied Education — a K-12 veteran teacher, administrator, and curriculum lead who helps families translate school confusion into confident, informed action.

In part three of our back-to-school mini-series, Dr. Courtney and educational consultant Rachel Schopp tackle one of the most common parent anxieties of the season: how and when to talk to your child's new teacher. They cover ideal timing, what's actually useful to share, how to frame sensitive information without it feeling like a warning label, and the tone that keeps these conversations collaborative instead of defensive.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Megan Cannon, licensed sport & performance psychologist and founder of MVP Mindset Sport & Performance Psychology, working with teen, collegiate, and professional athletes nationwide.

Episode Summary: Dr. Courtney sits down with sport psychologist Dr. Megan Cannon to talk about what it's really like to raise a high-performing high school athlete — from identity and burnout to the ever-changing landscape of college recruiting. Dr. Megan draws on her own athletic background and years of clinical work with teen athletes to help parents understand where healthy drive ends and unhealthy pressure begins, and how to stay supportive without becoming another so...

Guest: Rachel Schopp, Founder of Allied Education — a K-12 veteran teacher, administrator, and curriculum lead who helps families translate school confusion into confident, informed action.

In part two of our back-to-school mini-series, Dr. Courtney and educational consultant Rachel Schopp get practical about routines — why they matter far beyond logistics, how to reset sleep and screens without a fight, and how much routine structure actually looks different depending on your child's age. They also talk about giving parents (and kids) permission to have a "good enough" routine instead of a Pinterest-perfect one.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Katherine Wesley, PhD, DBSM — licensed psychologist and board-certified behavioral sleep medicine specialist, Children's Hospital Colorado.

Dr. Courtney sits down with longtime friend and colleague Dr. Katherine Wesley to talk all things kids and sleep — from the unpredictable early months of infancy through the social jet lag of adolescence. This is the episode for every parent who has ever white-knuckled a bedtime routine and wondered if they're doing it wrong.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Rachel Schopp, Founder of Allied Education — a K-12 veteran teacher, administrator, and curriculum lead who partners with families nationwide to translate school confusion into clear, confident advocacy.

Kicking off a four-part back-to-school mini-series, Dr. Courtney sits down with educational consultant Rachel Schopp to talk about the transitions every family faces this time of year — kindergarten, middle school, and high school. They dig into what "readiness" actually means, how parents' own emotions shape a child's experience of change, and what to do when transition anxiety sticks around longer than it should.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Mallaree Blake, PsyD, CST — Licensed Clinical Psychologist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist specializing in sex and sexuality, relationships, and perinatal and postpartum concerns.

You'll talk to your friends about sleep schedules and daycare waitlists. You probably won't talk about what happened to your sex life. In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with sex therapist Dr. Mallaree Blake to name what so many parents are quietly carrying — the shift in desire, the touched-out feeling, the sense that something has broken. Dr. Mallaree Blake makes the case that nothing is broken at all. It's just time to w...

Guest: Danielle McDowell, LCSW — OCD specialist, ERP-trained therapist, and founder of her own private practice serving children, adolescents, and adults with OCD and related anxiety disorders.

OCD affects far more kids than most parents realize — and it rarely looks like what you see on TV. In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with OCD specialist Danielle McDowell to bust the biggest myths about OCD in children, explore what the disorder actually looks like in real life, and give parents a clear-eyed look at what works — and what doesn't — when it comes to treatment. This one is honest, warm, an...

Guest: Dr. Norrine Russell, PhD — founder of Russell Coaching, the largest student coaching practice in the U.S., and author of Asking the Right Questions About ADHD.

This week, Dr. Courtney is joined by Dr. Norrine Russell to unpack what really goes into understanding and supporting a child with ADHD — beyond the Instagram soundbites. Drawing on both her clinical expertise and her own experience parenting two children with ADHD, autism, and anxiety, Dr. Russell offers a clearer, more compassionate roadmap for parents navigating diagnosis, treatment, and everyday overwhelm.

What You'll Learn:

Picky eating can feel like a daily battle, but it's rarely just stubbornness. Danielle Zold breaks down the four pillars behind feeding struggles—appetite, skill, comfort, and enjoyment—and shares practical, low-pressure strategies parents can use tonight to make mealtimes feel less like a fight and more like a chance to connect.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Jacqueline Jacobs Tynan, licensed clinical psychologist specializing in attachment-based therapy for children, families, and parents, trained in Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).

In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with Dr. Jacqueline to unpack why kids' big behaviors are rarely the real problem — they're a signal. They dig into selective attention, the difference between a tantrum and a trauma response, and why repairing after we get it wrong matters more than never missing the mark.

What You'll Learn:

Summer is supposed to feel like freedom — but for most parents, it's also when couple connection quietly falls apart. In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with couples and sex therapist Bozhena Evans, LCSW to talk about why the summer transition is hard on relationships, how to stop the communication spirals before they start, and the surprisingly simple practices that can keep you and your partner feeling like a team.

What You'll Learn:

Guest: Dr. Stephanie Bono, licensed psychologist and founder of Evergrow Therapy & Assessment in the Denver Highlands. Steph specializes in ADHD, anxiety, insomnia, and parenting, and leads workshops for moms raising toddler boys — including her new boy mom playgroup at Sloane's Lake in Denver.

Episode Summary: Dr. Courtney sits down with Denver psychologist and boy mom Dr. Stephanie Bono for a warm, research-packed conversation about what it really takes to raise emotionally healthy boys. From the sharks on their onesies to the way we respond when they cry, Steph breaks down the subtle — and not so subtle — ways we sta...

In this Father's Day episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with Denver-based therapist and dad coach Bryce Giron Mathern to talk about what it really means to show up as a present, connected father. Bryce shares his personal journey through IVF, miscarriage, and becoming a dad in his 40s to twin boys — and how fatherhood has been his single greatest growth experience. Together they unpack why modern dads are navigating something genuinely unprecedented, what nervous system regulation has to do with parenting, and two simple tools any dad can use starting tonight.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

June is Pride Month, making it the perfect time to evaluate the environment we are building within our own four walls. While many parents hold deeply open-minded values and want their homes to be an "identity-safe zone," a wave of intense anxiety often hits the surface the moment topics like gender exploration, sexual identity, or pronouns enter the chat. Parents freeze out of a catastrophic fear of saying the wrong thing or causing permanent damage.

In this episode, Dr. Courtney Lynn sits down with Dr. Marissa Nunes-Moreno, a clinical psychologist and the Director of Mood Specialty Services...

If you are a parent of multiples, your day-to-day reality is a completely different ballgame. The physical and emotional exhaustion of the early years is next level. But beyond the logistics of double strollers and synchronous tantrums lies a fascinating, highly specialized psychological landscape. We often celebrate the deep, non-verbal bond twins share, but clinically, that "womb-mate" connection can sometimes stall a child's individual identity development.

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney Lynn sits down with Dr. Margot Lewis, a licensed clinical psychologist, military veteran, and founder of Twinsight Therapy. As an identical twin...

We talk a lot about clinical frameworks and evidence-based psychological theories on this show. But today, we are stepping out of the clinic and straight onto the playground to talk about the real-world execution of mental health: community.

In this special bonus episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with Tessa Metiva, the founder of the Denver-based Cool Mom Collective and host of the Mama’s Got the Mic podcast. When Tessa found herself pregnant in 2024 and lacking a local support system, she didn't wait around for a village to appear—she built one from scratch. What started as an 1...

Have you ever packed up your car for a weekend getaway with a baby or toddler, looked at the literal mountain of gear, and wondered: Is this even worth it? For most parents of young children, standard travel isn't a vacation—it’s just parenting in a different zip code. The cognitive and logistical mental load required to keep a toddler safe, fed, and sleeping on the road is enough to cause full-blown parental burnout before you even arrive at your destination.

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney Lynn sits down with Lana McClure, foun...

Inside the Episode: The Referee vs. The Coach

The 4 Rs: How to Spot the "Referee" in You

Chris identifies the four signs that you’ve slipped into a reactive, referee mindset. When we are in this mode, we focus on rules and punishment rather than growth.

This episode is the deep breath every modern parent needs. We live in a world where we are bombarded with "prescriptive" parenting advice at every turn—if we don’t use the right script or the right reward chart, we’re told we’re failing. But what if the goal isn't perfection, but simply being "good enough"?

I’m joined by Katie Linn, LCSW, a Denver-based therapist and the creator behind @YourTherapistMomFriend. Together, we pull back the curtain on the "Shame Spiral" of parenting, discuss why high-achieving parents struggle so much with the unpredictability of kids, and why modeli...

Biology 101: The Two Halves of Your Cycle

Lauren breaks down the month into two distinct phases, driven by our "lead actor" hormones:

The "...

Guest: Dr. Lindsey O’Brennan, Licensed Psychologist & Founder of Morningstar Wellness

On paper, they look perfect. Straight A’s, varsity spots, and a resume that would make a CEO jealous. But for many high-achieving teens, the cost of functioning at such a high level has quietly become too great.

In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with longtime colleague and performance expert Dr. Lindsey O’Brennan to discuss the "concoction" of achievement and anxiety. They dive into the subtle but vital difference between healthy striving and rigid high achievement, and what happens to a teen’s identi...

Have you ever felt dismissed by your child's school? Your child’s teacher reports they are well-behaved and hitting benchmarks, yet the second they hit the front door at home, they explode into a "whirlwind" of meltdowns.

In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with Hannah Higgins, LCSW, a former school social worker and neurodivergent advocate, to demystify the phenomenon of masking. Hannah shares her "both sides of the table" perspective to help parents understand why kids hold it together at school only to crumble at home (often called After-School Restraint Collapse). We dive into the legal di...

Guest: Annie Close, Pediatric Occupational Therapist & Founder of OWN Pediatric Therapy

Potty training is often treated like a high-stakes behavioral exam, but what if the struggle isn't about "willpower" at all? In this episode, Dr. Courtney sits down with pediatric pelvic health expert Annie Close to discuss why so many families hit a wall with potty training. We dive deep into the physiological "puzzle pieces"—like pelvic floor tension and chronic constipation—that can trigger a child’s fight-or-flight response and lead to those frustrating "sneaky" accidents.

Inside the Episode:

"Their behavior is a longing for connection."

If you’ve ever found yourself in a "boiling point" moment—where a simple request turns into a door-slamming explosion—then this episode is your permission slip to stop being a "Fixer" and start being an Anchor.

In this conversation, I’m joined by Emma Abel Loach, M.Ed., Ed.S., LMFT, the Clinical Director at Thrive Couple and Family Counseling Services and a triple-certified supervisor in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). We slow down the "Family Cycle" to look at the unspoken stories happening under the surface of our most...

“I looked, and I don’t see a tie.”

For many parents, this sentence is the beginning of a long, frustrating journey of chasing symptoms like fragmented sleep, chronic gas, and delayed motor milestones without ever finding the root cause.

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney Lynn sits down with Dr. Kayla Culbertson, a pediatric Occupational Therapist and specialist in tethered oral ties. Dr. Kayla shares her own "in the trenches" story of how an oral tie release for her son resolved 8 days of constipation and changed his nervous system overnight.

We m...

Morning stress, "tummy aches," and the desperate plea to stay home—school refusal is one of the most taxing challenges a family system can face. In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney Lynn is joined by Dr. Alex Littleton to discuss the "School Refusal Trap." They dive deep into why our well-intentioned efforts to ease a child's distress can inadvertently reinforce their anxiety. Using the framework of the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) protocol, they provide a roadmap for parents to move from "managing" the morning crisis to becoming a "Secure Base" for their child's re...

“I feel like I’m failing on all fronts.” “I’m always the one left out.”

If you are a member of a stepfamily, you know that the word "step" often carries a heavy weight. Between the Disney stereotypes of evil step-parents and the internal feeling that your family was born from a place of "brokenness," it is incredibly easy to get stuck in a state of high-alert. We try to "manage" the dishes and the schedules, but we often forget to look at the Human Being right in front of us.

In this episode of Kids Thes...

“Is this decision going to break my child?”

When a family faces divorce, parents often spiral into intense fear and shame. We worry that our choice to pursue a healthier life will dismantle the Secure Base we’ve worked so hard to build. But as we often say at IBH: our children don’t need us to be perfect; they need us to be regulated, honest, and present.

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney sits down with Dr. Karalynn Royster—child psychologist and creator of the Kids First Co-Parenting System—to move parents from...

“If I just try harder, my child wouldn't need this.” “I can exercise my way out of this depression.”

As parents, the pressure to "optimize" our families often turns us into "Human Doings" who are stuck in a state of high-alert. We treat clinical struggles as personal failures. But what if the path to a healthier family wasn't through perfection, but through balance?

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney sits down with Sara Nudd, PMHNP, founder of The Mama Co-op. Sara shares her incredible "in the trenches" journey from being a 21-year-old mom navi...

“Mommy, my tummy hurts.” It’s the phrase that can derail a morning and send a parent’s stress levels through the roof. When medical tests come back "normal" but your child is still in pain, where do you turn?

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney sits down with Dr. Cat Naclerio, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Digestive Health Institute. They pull back the curtain on the GI issues to explain the fascinating science of the brain-gut axis. Dr. Cat explains why our brains and guts are essentially "text messaging" each other a...

Did you know that 90% of your child’s serotonin—the "feel-good" neurotransmitter—is actually made in their gut, not their brain?

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney sits down with functional and integrative medicine expert Dr. Laura Vanston to demystify the "gut-brain connection." We often think of anxiety as a "head problem," but Dr. Laura explains why it is a bi-directional highway. When the gut is inflamed or the microbiome is out of balance, it sends distress signals straight to the nervous system, often keeping our kids (and ourselves) stuck in a state of "fight...

“I’m stupid.” “I’m going to fail.” “If I don't get an A, I'll never get into college.”

As parents, hearing our children engage in negative self-talk can trigger our own "Internal Critic." We feel the urgency to fix it, to argue against it, or to problem-solve the pain away. But what if our "fix-it" mode is actually closing the door on connection?

In this episode of Kids These Days, Dr. Courtney sits down with Dr. Kathleen Diaz to define what negative self-talk actually is—and why "unhelpful self-talk" might be a more effective term. We dive deep...

Navigating the school system can feel like learning a foreign language. Between IEPs, 504 plans, MTSS, and specialized educational jargon, parents often find themselves overwhelmed and unsure of how to get their child the support they actually need.

In this episode, Dr. Courtney is joined by Rachel Schopp, a K-12 veteran, former administrator, and educational consultant. Rachel acts as a "translator" for families, helping them cut through the noise and move from guessing to becoming informed, powerful advocates.

If you’ve ever wondered if your child’s ADHD or anxiety warrants a formal plan, or if you’...