In The Den with Mama Dragons
Mama Dragons
You're navigating parenting an LGBTQ+ child without a manual and knowing what to do and what to say isn't always easy. Each week we’ll visit with other parents of queer kids, talk with members of the LGBTQ+ community, learn from experts, and together explore ways to better parent our LGBTQ+ children. Join with us as we walk and talk with you through this journey of raising healthy, happy, and productive LGBTQ+ humans.
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Top 10 In The Den with Mama Dragons Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best In The Den with Mama Dragons episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to In The Den with Mama Dragons for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite In The Den with Mama Dragons episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Just the FAQS with Lori, Shauna, and Neca
In The Den with Mama Dragons
02/13/23 • 43 min
In this episode of In the Den , Jen joins past guests Lori Davis, Shauna Jones, and Neca Allgood to answer a handful of frequently asked questions regarding parenting an LGBTQ child.
- How can I be sure my child's identity isn't just a phase, and could I cause harm by supporting them if it is?
- How can I help my child come out to extend family when they're ready?
- How do I prepare my child for the difficult questions that people will ask them?
- Why do I feel so sad?
- Why can't they choose an easier path?
- How do I know if I’m providing enough appropriate support for my child while I’m still trying to learn and process through my own generational teachings
Special Guests: Lori Davis
Lori is a mother to four boys. Parenting her third son Zach, who had a gender nonconforming childhood and now identifies as gay, sent her on a journey looking for support and resources. She found Mama Dragons when Zach was a teen. The support and education there helped her to affirm and celebrate her son. Lori has previously served on the board of Mama Dragons and is currently serving on the PFLAG SLC board.
Special guest: Shauna Jones
Shauna has been an active member of Mama Dragons since 2015. She hates winter, yet still finds herself living in the state of Idaho. Shauna has a husband, three young adult children (one of whom is transgender), a one eyed black lab, and an exuberant golden retriever puppy. Shauna serves on the board of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, Families, and Friends, providing support for parents of queer children and running the youth conference portion of the annual Affirmation International Conference. Shauna loves running and all things rainbow.
Special Guest: Neca Allgood
Neca Allgood is the mother of a transgender son. She is a former President of Mama Dragons, a current Mama Dragons board member, and a former board member of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, families, and friends. Neca and her husband own a small engineering consulting company. She has a PhD in Molecular Biology.
Links from the show:
Family Acceptance Project: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/
Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org
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Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.
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Setting and Keeping Boundaries
In The Den with Mama Dragons
02/06/23 • 50 min
Join Jen and guest Dr. Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen as they explore the sometimes difficult world of setting and keeping boundaries to protect and support your LGBTQ child. From school to church to relatives to friends, there will always be opportunities to practice boundary setting and keeping. Practicing boundaries can be hard, but ultimately allow truer relationships with those we love and allow our LGBTQ child to feel safe and seen and respected.
Special Guest: Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen
Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen is the clinical director and founder of Flourish Therapy, Inc., (Flourish), a behavioral health clinic located in Provo, Utah, which she founded in February 2017 to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ and SSA individuals and their families. Lisa received a B.S. from Brigham Young University in 1990 as university valedictorian (Summa Cum Laude with Honors thesis), an M.S. in 2012 and Ph.D. in 2017, both at BYU, focusing on improving the mental health of LGBTQ+ people in conservative family and community. As part of her graduate programs at BYU, she taught a course on the family proclamation and a course in graduate research and writing. Her dissertation was a quantitative analysis of adolescent emotional self-regulation in 600 families from Seattle and Provo. Her master’s thesis on a preliminary aspect of the dissertation won the national 2013 AAMFT Masters Thesis of the Year Award.
Since 2010 Lisa Hansen has seen clients at the BYU Comprehensive Clinic, the Provo Center for Couples and Families (PCCF), and at Flourish. In 2016, she was invited to be a continuing participant in the Reconciliation and Growth Project, a dialogue group of conservative and liberal therapists and academics forging ideas to bridge divides and educate in various forums in the LGBTQ+/SSA therapeutic community. In 2018, Dr. Hansen won the Outstanding Counseling Supervisor of the Year award from the University of Utah and in 2019, she was awarded Ally of the Year award from the LGBTQ+ organization, Affirmation International.
Lisa Hansen’s interest in the well-being of LGBTQ+ and SSA people is informed by her LDS faith. She was recently released as a member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and she and her husband are the composers of the Primary Children’s song, Nephi’s Courage.
Dr. Hansen has given more than 100 community presentations, articles, and podcasts for universities, clinical mental health organizations, community mental health agencies, school districts and conferences. She lives with her husband in Payson, Utah, where together they made a home for 7 children (and a few extras) and now have 18 grandchildren.
Links From the Show:
- Join Mama Dragons at www.mamadragons.org
- Flourish Therapy: https://flourishtherapy.org/
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org.
If you have a short story, feedback, or any comments we would love to hear from you at 562-344-5010.
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What to Do When Your Child Comes Out
In The Den with Mama Dragons
12/30/24 • 49 min
It isn’t unusual for LGBTQ+ people to decide to come out to their families during the holidays, and we want to help it go as smoothly as possible for everyone.This week In the Den , we’re throwing it back to replay an important past episode, where Jen spoke with Neca Allgood about what to do when your child first comes out to you. They discuss common mistakes and how to avoid them. They also cover what to do when you don’t get things right the first time. It’s an important conversation for parents with LGBTQ+ children of any age.
Special Guest: Neca Allgood
Neca Allgood is the mother of a transgender son. She is a former president of Mama Dragons, a current Mama Dragons board member, and a former board member of Affirmation: LGBTQ Mormons, families, and friends. Neca and her husband own a small engineering consulting company. She has a PhD in Molecular Biology.
Links From the Show:
- Comprehensive, inclusive, shame-free sex ed can be found at Planned Parenthood https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/for-educators
- Join Mama Dragons here: www.mamadragons.org
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you. Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.
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World of Possibility with Sean, Guy, and Emily
In The Den with Mama Dragons
12/11/23 • 69 min
Over the years we’ve heard LGBTQ people say that they didn’t know what life might look like for them as an adult. Many haven’t had LGBTQ role models that provide examples of a potential future, and a lot of fear that parents of LGBTQ children experience comes from the unknown as well. We thought it might be helpful for parents to get to know some of the amazing members of the LGBTQ community, just a few at a time, so that they can provide a realistic view of what life could look like for our children. Today, Jen joins guests Sean Childers-Gray, Guy Berryessa, and Emily English in this episode of World of Possibility .
Special Guest: Guy Berryessa
Guy grew up mostly in conservative Provo, Utah, the fourth of four boys, and attended schools in Provo and briefly in Bangkok, Thailand, before attending college at BYU. He came out at 26 to his father and a year later, after a year of volunteer service in Nigeria, to his mother (who immediately threw up!) and almost everyone else. His parents eventually became great, supportive allies. Guy and Trey, his husband of 26 years, moved to San Francisco in 1997. They adopted their first child in Germany in 2002 and a second in San Francisco in 2010. They currently live primarily in Hawaii, but are often back to their San Francisco home, as their elder daughter attends Sonoma State.
Special Guest: Sean Childers-Gray
Sean Childers-Gray is a transgender man who grew up in Kearns, Utah, and co-founded a charity drag troupe called the Salt City Kings. He has a BA in graphic arts from Stevens-Henager and holds an MFA in media design. He has served as the President of Ogden Pride since 2020. In October 2021, he was honored with the Equality Utah Impact Award for Advancing Transgender Equality. Sean is a graphic designer and writer. He and his wife Sara are raising two queer teenagers, two huskies, and a cat named Todd. As an Educator in Higher Ed for over 15 years, Sean finds advocating for his students at Davis Tech College a priority as he continues his work for the LGBTQ+ community at large.
Special Guest: Emily English
Emily is a writer, teacher, and grant program specialist who lives in Bellingham, Washington. She is passionate about the rights and lives of young queer people. She adores her 5 boys and considers being their mother to be one of the great joys of her life. In her free time, she journals, writes, reads, and loves to go on adventures to odd and obscure places.
Links from the Show:
- Subscribe to Sean’s Substack here: https://seanchildersgray.substack.com/
- Find Sean on IG and X: @s_childersgray
- Sean on Behance: https://www.behance.net/seanchilders-gray
- Sean in PRINT: https://www.printmag.com/author/seanchildersgray/
- Join Mama Dragons today: mamadragons.org
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.
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Words With Friends 8
In The Den with Mama Dragons
10/13/23 • 5 min
Words with Friends episodes are bonus episodes where different members of Mama Dragons provide definitions for LGBTQ related topics. This episode includes the following definitions:
Intersex shared by Becky Johnson
Sex shared by Pam Theron
Gender shared by Barbara Proudfoot
Endosex shared by Rhonda Hill
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Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org.
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Unpacking Conversion Therapy
In The Den with Mama Dragons
10/02/23 • 50 min
Conversion therapy, also referred to as reparative therapy, attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and is not a legitimate form of therapy. Conversion therapy has been denounced by all major medical organizations, but continues to exist and cause harm to LGBTQ people throughout the world. In this episode of In the Den , Jen talks with Dr. Matt Salmon, a psychiatrist and author, about his experiences as a victim of conversion therapy as well as the broader impact of conversion therapy on queer people today.
Special Guest: Matt Salmon
Dr. Matt R. Salmon is a psychiatrist based in Washington, DC, specializing in child, adolescent, and adult mental health and a Master of Health and Public Interest. Matt is the manager of psychiatry at Whitman Walker Health and primarily treats LGBTQ+ young people who have been marginalized by structural bias. Matt's work is deeply influenced by lived experience, which includes growing up queer and neurodiverse in a Mormon household with a Republican congressman dad and undergoing conversion 'therapy' as a teen.
Matt is preparing to publish a book titled Pride & Prejudice: Healing Division in the Modern Family, which serves as both a memoir and a critique of societal norms that often harm LGBTQ+ individuals, especially within religious communities. In it, Matt uses personal and professional experience to advocate for embracing diversity and challenging our own biases so we can heal the divisions that harm us all. The book is set for publication in Spring 2024 and can be pre-ordered at: https://matt-salmon.presale.manuscripts.com.
Links from the show:
Preorder Matt’s book here: https://matt-salmon.presale.manuscripts.com.
Find Matt on IG: https://www.instagram.com/lovemattrs/
Family Acceptance Project: https://familyproject.sfsu.edu/
Join Mama Dragons today www.mamadragons.org
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org.
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Eating Disorders In the LGBTQ Community
In The Den with Mama Dragons
08/28/23 • 51 min
Eating disorders occur at dramatically higher rates within the LGBTQ community than heterosexual/cisgender populations. In this week’s episode of In the Den , Jen talks with Caden Jones about different eating disorders and the intersection of those disorders with queer identities. They discuss the challenges of recognizing an eating disorder and ways to find the best treatment for our LGBTQ child’s disordered eating once we become aware of the problem.
Special Guest: Caden Jones
Caden has a Masters in Counseling Psychology, and is a fourth year PsyD student pursuing a doctorate in counseling psychology at Northwest University. Currently, Caden is a pre-intern for Dr. Monique Lowe, PhD, engaging in neuropsychological evaluation for ADHD, ASD, TBI's and learning disorders. Caden Jones is also an associate mental health counselor at Center for Discovery, offering therapeutic services at Residential, Intensive Outpatient, and Partial Hospitalization levels of care for adults and children of all genders who are pursuing eating disorder recovery. He also runs a private practice in Bellevue offering trauma informed care for individuals and couples. Caden has been in recovery from an eating disorder for over ten years, and seeks to aid others in their healing journey from eating disorders. He is especially passionate about the intricate experience of transness and eating disorders, as the two are often comorbid and compounding.
Links from the Show:
Center for Discovery: https://centerfordiscovery.com/
LGBTQ Eating Disorders: https://centerfordiscovery.com/blog/eating-disorder-discrimination-lgbt-community/
Join Mama Dragons today at www.mamadragons.org
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org.
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Rediscovering Spirituality with Nick Literski
In The Den with Mama Dragons
08/07/23 • 53 min
Many conversations assume that LGBTQ people and religious people are two separate identity groups. There is a heteronormative religious culture that falsely claims that queer people can’t be religious or spiritual. Some queer people absolutely need to walk away from religion in order to heal and become whole, but others are seeking a spiritual path that is different from what they grew up with. Dr. Nick Literski joins Jen on today’s episode of In the Den to talk about how to rediscover a personal spirituality that is unique, expansive, and LGBTQ inclusive.
Special Guest:
Nicholas S. Literski, JD, PhD, is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and a professional spiritual guide. Nick holds a doctorate in Depth Psychology with Emphasis in Jungian and Archetypal Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute, as well as a master’s in Spiritual Guidance from Sofia University. Their research interests include in depth psychological reflections on spirituality, Paleolithic cave art, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Nick’s work has been published in the FARMS Review of Books on The Book of Mormon ; Psychological Perspectives: A Quarterly Journal of Jungian Thought;Immanence: The Journal of Applied Mythology, Legend, and Folklore ; Somatics Magazine-Journal of the Mind-Body Arts and Sciences ; and the recent compilation, The Reality of Fragmentation and the Yearning for Healing: Jungian Perspectives on Democracy, Power, and Illusion in Contemporary Politics . Their recent book, Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration , was published by Greg Kofford Books in 2022.
Links from the show:
- Five Steps to Rediscovering Spirituality as an LGBT Person: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/five-steps-to-rediscoveri_b_8373220
- Dr. Literski’s website: https://www.dancingancestors.com/
- Join MamaDragons today at www.mamadragons.org
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org.
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Mama Dragons History
In The Den with Mama Dragons
07/10/23 • 62 min
During many of our episodes, we drop the name of our organization–Mama Dragons. We answer questions that are asked in our groups, and we discuss the themes that most often show up by those who seek support. However, some people might get connected to the podcast but not understand who the Mama Dragons are. This week, we’re going to talk about where Mama Dragons came from, where we are now, and allow listeners to better understand who we are as an organization and why we do what we do.
Special Guests: Yvette Barrus Zobell, Neca Allgood, Julie Turnbull, Wendy VonSosen, Celeste Carolin, and Cameo Sherman.
Links from the show:
History of Mama Dragons: https://www.mamadragons.org/history-of-mama-dragons
About Mama Dragons: https://www.mamadragons.org/about
Mama Dragons Programs: https://www.mamadragons.org/programs
Shop Mama Dragons: https://www.mamadragons.org/shop-2
Mama Dragons fundraising: https://www.mamadragons.org/s-projects-basic
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at www.mamadragons.org.
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Emmy Awards, Resilience, and Queer Joy
In The Den with Mama Dragons
09/25/23 • 58 min
This week In the Den , Jen sits down with Jeffrey Marx to chat about a variety of topics, including Jeffrey’s fascinating career as a reality television casting director in Hollywood, his journey to winning an Emmy, embracing his body size, and finding queer joy amidst the challenges of life. It’s an episode you won’t want to miss!
Special Guest: Jeffrey Marx
Jeffrey Marx is an Emmy Award-winning casting producer for reality television. Notable credits include HBO’s We’re Here, Love on the Spectrum, MTV’s The Real Word, Nailed It! and more. Before his career in TV, he followed in his mother’s footsteps as a special education teacher. Jeffrey got his start in casting when he was cast as a player in “The Glass House”, which is still streaming on the ABC app. He went toe-to-toe with a very kind Mormon mother over gay marriage on the show and, later that year, became boyfriends with a man from a very devout Mormon family. Although they aren’t together anymore, Jeffrey’s experiences with the LDS community have shaped how he approaches casting queer stories today. Now happily partnered with a non-Mormon boyfriend in Los Angeles, Jeffrey reflects on the dynamics of love, faith, and what “family” means to LGBTQ folks.
Links from the Show:
- Article about Jeffrey: https://metrosource.com/jeffrey-marx-has-a-colorful-path-to-an-emmy/?fbclid=PAAaYRdn_P-B1dDUosbHwoPyHcoRrEJz9NLyvR3T6hsm-Xcsv9Dt49U_usUwM_aem_AVJYuwAcrMH6MCULFtsS5FUdY7fUUrYD4nQJdtzCDWARK2kpQja_Ix2LwbvuY8a_OLQ
- Link to Jeffrey’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/jeffmarxthespot/?hl=en
- Join Mama Dragons: www.mamadragons.org
In the Den is made possible by generous donors like you.
Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today at mamadragons.org.
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FAQ
How many episodes does In The Den with Mama Dragons have?
In The Den with Mama Dragons currently has 119 episodes available.
What topics does In The Den with Mama Dragons cover?
The podcast is about Bisexual, Parents, Parenting, Transgender, Kids & Family, Lgbtq, Lesbian, Podcasts, Gay, Education, Kids and Queer.
What is the most popular episode on In The Den with Mama Dragons?
The episode title 'Words With Friends 11' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on In The Den with Mama Dragons?
The average episode length on In The Den with Mama Dragons is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of In The Den with Mama Dragons released?
Episodes of In The Den with Mama Dragons are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of In The Den with Mama Dragons?
The first episode of In The Den with Mama Dragons was released on Nov 12, 2022.
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