On and Off The Spectrum
How do families react, respond and reorganize after receiving a potentially life altering physical or mental health diagnosis, either for themselves or for someone they love? Dr. Esther Hess and Dr. Ann Kirsch, two experienced and well-known psychotherapists offer strategies, guidance and realistic hope through some of the toughest times that families can face.
Episodes
32 episodes
Al in the Classroom: The Benefits and the Challenges
Drs. Hess and Kirsch have a very passionate discussion about the realities of AI in the classroom and its effect on the capacity for our Nation's children to learn and be creative.
The Need for Certified Divorce Coaches in the Neuro-Diverse Community
Drs. Hess and Kirsch meet with Mary Ann Hughes, a certified divorce coach for the neuro-diverse community, who describes her role as a mediator to assist families who are ending partnerships but need support so that they can continue to partner...
Guerilla Mode: Neuro-divergent strategies for a neuro-typical world
Drs. Hess and Kirsch speak with Ella Dawley about the workbook that she has created that addresses the needs of both neuro-divergent and neuro-typical young adults as they navigate workplace, school and interpersonal challenges. Issues address ...
Overcoming Being Underestimated
Drs. Hess and Kirsch meet up with Mary and Ryan Heller, a remarkable mother/son team. Mary believed in her son's innate intelligence despite a severe diagnosis of autism level 3. But even she was blown away when her son's world opened up with s...
The Forgiveness Experiment
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with author Rabbi Yisrael Barneth as he describes his own process of writing a book that fundamentally offers a self-reflective strategy to forgive those in our lives who have done us wrong, be it another person, s...
Unsuccessful Suicide: The Long Road to Recovery - Part 2
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down for a very frank discussion with Avraham Zeren, a former soldier in the Israel Defense Force. Avraham speaks openly about the course of severe PTSD that resulted in an unsuccessful suicide attempt and the long road...
Unsuccessful Suicide: The Long Road to Recovery - Part 1
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down for a very frank discussion with Avraham Zeren, a former soldier in the Israel Defense Force. Avraham speaks openly about the course of severe PTSD that resulted in an unsuccessful suicide attempt and the long road...
A Field Trip: The Hospital of Emotions
Drs. Hess and Kirsch have an adventure to share with their viewing audience. A visit to a pop-up art Exhibit, the Hospital of Emotions in downtown Los Angeles, is an experience not to be missed.------------------A Temporary Pop-U...
Overcoming Learning Disabilities on Route to a PhD
Drs. Hess and Kirsch interview Dr. Madeline Wolf as she shares her life story. Inhibited by lifelong learning disabilities and stuttering, she was nonetheless a person of grit and determination. She met an educational therapist in graduate scho...
Understanding and Treating Porn Addiction on the Internet - Part 2
This episode is the second part of Drs. Hess and Kirsch discussion with expert Naomi Afriat, LCSW, on the timely and understandable disconcerting subject of internet porn addiction; it's origins, impact on individual and family life and course ...
Understanding and Treating Porn Addiction on the Internet - Part 1
Drs. Hess and Kirsch discuss the timely and understandable disconcerting subject of internet porn addiction; it's origins, impact on individual and family life and course of treatment with leading expert in the field, Dr. Naomi Afriat. Tonight ...
Where Have All The Male Therapists Gone?
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Dr. Seth Kurzban, a community mental health social worker. based in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Kurzban approaches this question from his own personal and professional experience and relates the way children are bein...
An Inclusive House of Worship: Our Conversation with Pastor Joshua Hernandez Montoya
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down this evening with pastor Joshua Hernandez Montoya who leads God's Pueblo; a bi-lingual, inclusive and all inviting Christian church that offers support to the neuro-divergent community, to those who are gender flui...
Dr. Laura Hernandez: A Pediatrician Who Meets Her Patients Where They're At
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Dr. Laura Hernandez, a very knowledgeable and thoughtful pediatrician, addressing the complexities of raising today's child. She also addresses her experience as a clinician of color and how her patients ackno...
Think Again Foundation: A Foundation of Hope for Families with Children Recovering from Cancer
Drs. Hess and Kirsch interview Dr. Patty Kerrigan, founder and CEO of Think Again Foundation. An organization that offers families the necessary support services during and following recovery from cancer treatment.
The Relief of a Mid-life Diagnosis of ADHD
In this episode of On and Off the Spectrum, David Richmond joins Drs. Hess and Kirsch from the UK to share his deeply personal journey toward a mid-life diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For years, David lived with patterns...
Overcoming oral defensiveness: Supporting the neuro-diverse dental patient
Drs. Hess and Kirsch meet with pediatric dentists Bernard Gross and Michael Kleinman who offer tips and strategies to support the special needs child and their parents navigating oral phobias and sensory sensitivities.
Binge Eating Disorder: Discovery and recovery
Drs. Hess and Kirsch sit down with Ilana Zackon with a candid conversation about her own experiences with Binge Eating Disorder. She enlightens the audience to how common eating disorders are ignored or misdiagnosed and how she fought her way b...
Adoption Competency: How to Distinguish Normal Developmental Challenges from Adoption-Trauma Behaviors
Dr. Esther Hess and Dr. Ann Kirsch together discuss the complex issues of how adoption trauma often manifests itself as maladaptive survival strategies, with guidance for differentiating these maladaptive behaviors from age-appropriate developm...
Depression, Medication and Pregnancy: Separating Fear from Fact
The pros and cons of anti-depressant medication during pregnancy are thoughtfully explored as Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie discuss the quandary that women often find themselves in; what to do if you want to get pregnant, think you might be pregnant an...
Healthy Parenting Tips in a Technologically Complex World
Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie discuss a recent article written by Rahm Emmanuel, on the specific strategies that he and his wife used to raise their three children. Offered are tips that minimize technology at the dinner table, stress the importance of...
The Hidden Risks of AI for Vulnerable Minds
Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie together discuss the merits and the dangers of unregulated AI as it relates to excessive exposure and tech addiction within the special needs population. Please note: This episode includes discussion of ...
Fact not Fiction: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Vaccines and Medication
Dr. Esther Hess and Dr. Ann Kirsch conduct an in-depth conversation with noted child psychiatrist Dr. Milena Kaufman, exploring the concerns raised by parents as they navigate current best practice recommendations for caring for their children ...
Beyond First Impressions
Why Diagnoses Don't Define Potential: Dr. Ann and Dr. Estie sit down with inventor and entrepreneur Taylor Cole for an insightful and at times hilarious discussion that refines the saying 'Don't Judge a Book by its Cover'. A candid discussion t...
The Misdiagnosis of ADHD: Alternative Causes and Strategies for Families
A lot of times ADHD masquerades as something else. Drs. Hess and Kirsch discuss among themselves various conditions mimicking ADHD and offer tips and strategies from their own case files to clarify what is really going on in the brains of our c...