Women Strong

In this very moving and honest interview, Shelly Dutch and Amanda share their personal stories of recovering from addiction and co-occurring mental health conditions. Themes that are highlighted include: addiction is a chronic, relapsing, emotional, spiritual, and physical medical condition that requires lifelong attention and treatment; predisposition to addiction can run in families; substance use disorders often co-occur with other mental health symptoms including but not limited to anxiety, depression, disordered eating, self-esteem challenges, trauma, and other co-occurring addictions; addiction impacts the entire family and community, and family members have their own healing work to do alongside their loved ones with addiction; women in particular face unique challenges re: prioritizing self-care and obtaining treatment for addiction; a holistic treatment approach (body-mind-spirit-family-& more) can help recovery; there is lots of hope for recovery from addiction, and mentors/community support can make a huge difference in maintaining successful, long-term recovery from substance use disorders and many other mental health conditions!
Shelly Dutch has dedicated her working life to people seeking recovery and their families. She has built community and tools to support long term recovery including founding Connections Counseling LLC, founding Recovery Foundation (a 501(c)(3) to support individuals seeking recovery), co-founding the non-profit recovery focused Horizon High School, and co-founding the TMS Center of Madison for medication resistant, severe depression. Shelly emphasizes mentoring, service, accountability, and personal connections as keys to recovery. Shelly strengthens local recovery supports via partnerships with various community organizations, staff training and development, and relentless support of internship and fellowship training with local and national institutes of higher learning. In 2018, Ms. Dutch was recognized by the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) as the Mel Schulstad professional of the year.
Amanda is a yoga instructor, businesswoman, mother, and a phenomenal mentor to other women at Connections Counseling.
Connect with Shelly and her team here:
https://connectionscounseling.com
This episode was edited by Kai of "Fam Band" and is dedicated to Jordon of "Frankly Speaking". You can listen to both of these talented musicians/bands on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or check them out here:
https://www.famband.co
https://www.franklyspeakingmusic.org
If you'd like to watch the complete video of this interview and be present on live interviews like this one in the future, sign up for the Women Strong membership at womenstrongtogether.com!

Betsy Crouch (AKA "Coach Sizzle") is the founder of Sizzle Consulting. Betsy has coached thousands of individuals as a life and executive coach, and has facilitated hundreds of group workshops for businesses and teams as a consultant. In this interview Betsy shares about the "superpower" of recognizing and shining light on the "sizzle" in ourselves and others. Betsy is playful, wise, compassionate, and gives lots of inspiration and tips to utilize along this human journey of life that we all travel together.

This interview was particularly helpful and impactful for me (Dr. Brooke) personally. I embraced Coach Sizzle's recommendation to start a "Clue Paper" and write down all of the times I felt alive and lit up! And guess what, my Clue Paper (I named it my "Sizzle Sheet") listed loads of things related to the Women Strong program, lots more related to spending time laughing and playing with my friends and family and being outdoors doing physical activities, things related to self-exploration and personal development, but only one thing related to my main occupation (I love seeing my patients, but the rest of my clinic responsibilities were consuming my life, not leaving much leftover time for my Sizzle!). As a direct result of my Sizzle Sheet, I took action to cut my clinical workload down dramatically which completely transformed my work-life balance, leaving much more time for the things that bring out my sizzle! Thank you SO much Coach Sizzle, for your positive contribution to me and to those lucky enough to come into your orbit!
Disclaimer: If you don't want to hear Dr. Brooke and Coach Sizzle re-live (in great detail) one of their college soccer games from 1997, or if you're a serious Ohio State fan, you might want to begin listening to this interview after the first 4 minutes!

Connect with Betsy (Coach Sizzle) here:
sizzleconsultingllc.com
Unlock Wisdom
Align with Purpose, Deepen Connections, Engage all Voices
@coachsizzle on instagram
If you'd like to watch the complete video of this interview and be present for live interviews like this one in the future, sign up for the Women Strong membership at womenstrongtogether.com

Doreen Horan is a grief specialist who shares so many useful tips and action steps to help us cope and move through periods of grief and transition. This interview took place on May 22nd, 2020, and there is a video of Dr. Nicole and Doreen's conversation on the Women Strong Facebook page: facebook.com/womenstrongtogether (if you'd prefer to watch these ladies talk vs. just listening).
Connect with Doreen here:
[email protected]
www.3hopefulhearts.com
www.wholeness.com
If you'd like to be present for future Women Strong live expert interviews, visit our website at www.womenstrongtogether.com to sign up for the Women Strong membership!

Amy Newmark, best-selling author, publisher, and editor-in-chief of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, drops some serious wisdom in this interview focused on her recent book, Your 10 Keys to Happiness! Amy describes this book as her "love letter" to the Chicken Soup readers, her pre-retirement synthesis of all that she's learned after decades of editing Chicken Soup for the Soul. Amy has read tens of thousands of stories about everyday people's unique coping strategies, and in this wonderful book, she has compiled 101 stories (plus personalized introductions from Amy on each concept) that illustrate the following Keys to Happiness:
Gratitude
Practicing Forgiveness
Helping Others
De-cluttering
Making Me-Time
Positive Thinking (NOT Toxic Positivity)
Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone
Spending Time in Nature
Being True to Yourself
Pursuing Your Passion
Amy shares stories from the book, as well as several stories from her own personal experiences utilizing these easy-to-implement and evidence-based techniques for boosting happiness. BONUS: At the end of this interview, Amy also shares the one key to happiness that she didn't include in the book!
Purchase Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness here:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3AkGXI2

B&N: https://bit.ly/3wQQF43

Bookshop.org: https://bit.ly/3AI4fcb

Check out Chicken Soup for the Soul books, pet food, educational resources, streaming service, and connect with Amy here:
https://www.chickensoup.com/
(sign up for the chicken soup for the soul newsletter to receive a daily story)
@chickensoupsoul on social media
@amynewmark on social media
http://www.amynewmark.com/
This episode was edited by Kai of "Fam Band" - check out his family's music here:
https://www.famband.co/
If you'd like to be present on live interviews like this one in the future, sign up for the Women Strong membership at:
https://www.womenstrongtogether.com/

This interview features Alie Sweany-Rich, a nature-art guide and the founder of Wild Roots Studio, who offers nature-art classes for children and adults, women's circles, and more. Alie inspires us with a beautiful conversation about the many therapeutic benefits of creativity, nature, art, community, self-care, and women connecting with one another as we travel life's many seasons.

"Alie Sweany-Rich is an Earth Artist, Ceremonialist, Herbalist, Nature-Art Guide and Founder of Wild Roots Studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. She offers soulful nature-based art workshops, custom rituals and art installations aimed to support & strengthen our connection to nature and explore our wild creativity. She is endlessly inspired by the peace, joy, and soulfulness that nature stirs in one’s heart. She believes that nature art is a powerful vehicle to support us in syncing with our natural rhythms and helps us feel more in tune with the seasons and cycles that hold us. Alie believes creativity is medicine for the soul, as it allows us to quiet our mind chatter and let our wild, inner voice talk through our hands. Creating something with intention from the heart is truly our purest offering out into the world."

Connect with Alie here:
http://www.wildrootsstudio.com/
If you'd like to be present on live interviews like this one in the future, sign up for the Women Strong membership at:
https://www.womenstrongtogether.com/