The Seed Field

Surveys show that almost half of bisexual folks report experiencing moderate to severe psychological distress in the last year. These rates are roughly double that of straight, gay, and lesbian populations. So why isn’t it being treated as a crisis? In this conversation with the psychologist and researcher Rachel Chickerella, we discuss this mental health crisis; the many factors leading to it; how everyone, and especially mental health professionals, can be bi-affirming; and why it’s important both to face the crisis and, at the same time, to celebrate bi+ joy. --- Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the PsyD in Clinical Psychology [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/psychology/clinical-psychology-psyd-aune/] that Rachel teaches in.  You can read our recent profile of Rachel on Common Thread, “PsyD Core Faculty Helps Students Challenge Power Structures and Bi+ Stigma.” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/psyd-core-faculty-helps-students-challenge-power-structures-and-bi-stigma/] Rachel’s recent publications include “Is It Worth It? A Grounded Theory Analysis of Navigating the Decision to Come Out as Bisexual,” [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356617350_Is_It_Worth_It_A_Grounded_Theory_Analysis_of_Navigating_the_Decision_to_Come_Out_as_Bisexual] “Predictors of Psychological Distress for Bi+ Individuals during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” [https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2024.2313510] and “Janelle Monáe vs. Katy Perry: Depiction of Bi+ Identities and Relationship to Depression and Stigma.” [https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2021.1874586] You can read Rachel’s faculty bio [https://www.antioch.edu/faculty/rachel-chickerella/] to find more of her scholarship. Rachel’s own podcast is Reality Test [https://www.patreon.com/RealityTest]. She co-hosts it with her fellow PsyD faculty member Kate Evarts. (Learn more about Evarts in our Common Thread profile, “For Kate Evarts, Relationships Are ‘The Key to Working Toward Social and Racial justice’” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/kate-evarts-profile/]) This episode was recorded April 10, 2025 via Squadcast and released May 14, 2025.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Team: Jen Mont, Amelia Bryan, and Jonathan Hawkins. Work-Study Assistants: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Dani LaPointe, and Liza Wisner.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Melinda Garland, and Laurien Alexandre. To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity]. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

Today, Antioch University is announcing our next President: Lori Erica Varlotta. In preparation for this announcement, we sat down with Lori for a wide-ranging conversation about what makes Antioch special, her experiences and wisdom drawn from decades as a leader in higher education, and the challenges and opportunities that she, as our next university leader, sees for our institution during a time when colleges and universities across the U.S. are being pressured and threatened in unprecedented ways. --- To learn more about Lori, visit the Incoming President webpage [https://www.antioch.edu/about/new-president-announcement/] on Antioch’s website, where you’ll find the announcement and welcome video, press release, a brief bio, her CV, selected publications, and a form where you can leave a note for the Incoming President.  The two essays referenced in the episode are “Lipstick Leadership in Higher Education” [https://www.chronicle.com/article/lipstick-leadership-in-higher-education/] at the Chronicle of Higher Education and Lori’s blog post on “Experiential Adult Education: Living and Practicing Democracy in Higher Learning.” [https://lorivarlotta.com/experiential-adult-education-living-and-practicing-democracy-in-higher-learning/] This episode was recorded April 28, 2025 via Squadcast and released May 7, 2025.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Assistants: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Dani LaPointe, and Liza Wisner.  Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton, Melinda Garland, and Laurien Alexandre. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

Our society places high value on advanced degrees. So what happens when students are able to claim the growth experiences that naturally occur in the course of a human life—from a career change to an experience of oppression—and bring it into their graduate studies, not just reflecting on what they learned but also earning credits towards their degree? This practice, known as Prior Learning Assessment, has transformative potential, says today’s guest, longtime Antioch faculty member Joe Cronin. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the nuts and bolts of Prior Learning Assessment, examples of how students have used this in their studies, and the educational philosophy that disrupts the teacher-student hierarchy. – – – Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the Individualized Master of Arts [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/education/master-of-arts-humanities/] program. You can also read our page about Prior Learning Assessment [https://www.antioch.edu/admission-aid/admissions/transfer-credit-and-prior-learning-assessment-auo/]. And you can read the profiles of two IMA alums here: “A Champion for Peace,” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/magazine/a-champion-for-peace/] which is about President José Ramos-Horta, and “For Emma Lombardi, Individualized Study Meant Listening to Her Ancestors.” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/ima-profile-on-emma-lombardi/] This episode was recorded March 24, 2025 via Squadcast and released April 16, 2025.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Assistants: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Dani LaPointe, and Liza Wisner.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Melinda Garland, and Laurien Alexandre. To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity]. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

Therapy is so often based around conversation and storytelling that it’s been called “the talking cure.” But recently, mental health professionals have been finding healing power in asking their clients to write down their stories. Can keeping a journal, writing a memoir, or otherwise engaging in “expressive writing” help heal the wounds in our minds? In this conversation with Stephen Southern we talk about trauma, complex PTSD, and whether expressive writing” might offer effective treatment that not only heals past wounds but protects against future ones. – – – Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the programs Stephen teaches in: the low-residency MA in Clinical Psychology [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/psychology/ma-in-clinical-psychology-low-res-la/], the full-residency MA in Clinical Psychology on our Los Angeles campus [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/psychology/clinical-psychology-masters-programs/], and the MA in Clinical Psychology based on our Santa Barbara campus [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/psychology/clinical-psychology-mft-ausb/]. You can also explore the PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision [https://www.antioch.edu/academics/counseling-therapy/phd-in-counselor-education-supervision-low-residency/] based out of our Seattle Campus.  You can find Stephen’s latest paper, “Trauma Autoethnography as a Therapy Process” [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389260471_Trauma_Autoethnography_as_a_Therapy_Process] in the Journal of Loss and Trauma. This episode mentions somatic therapy, a concept expanded on in a previous episode of the Seed Field Podcast: “Using Somatic Therapy to Understand the Trauma in Our Bodies” [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/podcast/s4e2-using-somatic-therapy-to-understand-the-trauma-in-our-bodies/] with Rachele Moskowitz. This episode was recorded March 26, 2025 via Squadcast and released April 2, 2025.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Assistants: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Dani LaPointe, and Liza Wisner.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Melinda Garland, and Laurien Alexandre. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].

When people mention Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion—DEI for short—it’s often in the context of political fights and high-stakes arguments about what universities should and shouldn’t be allowed to do. But what if we backed up and asked, What is the positive case for DEI in higher education? For this episode, we talk to Stephanie Helms Pickett, a scholar and administrator who currently serves as Antioch University’s Vice Chancellor of Equity, Belonging, and Culture. The conversation includes a definition of terms, why universities have an obligation to help all students have a fair chance to compete, and a story about Stephanie’s shocking experience meeting her first college roommate. – – – Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the Office of Equity, Belonging, and Culture [https://www.antioch.edu/about/diversity/].  Read Jasper’s interview with Stephanie from last year on Common Thread [https://commonthread.antioch.edu/interview-stephanie-helms-pickett/].  Stephanie’s latest academic paper is “Say It Loud: Rhythms of Resistance in a Climate of Compliance: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Identity Based Student Center Staff Amid an Anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Legislative Climate,” [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389533372_Say_It_Loud_Rhythms_of_Resistance_in_a_Climate_of_Compliance_Exploring_the_Lived_Experiences_of_Identity_Based_Student_Center_Staff_Amid_an_Anti-_Diversity_Equity_and_Inclusion_DEI_Legislative_Climate] in the Journal of College and Character.  This episode was recorded February 25, 2025 via Squadcast and released March 19, 2025.  The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University Host: Jasper Nighthawk Editor: Nastasia Green Web Content Coordinator: Jen Mont Work-Study Assistants: Stefanie Paredes, Lauren Arienzale, Dani LaPointe, and Liza Wisner.   Additional Production Help: Karen Hamilton,  Melinda Garland, and Laurien Alexandre. To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity]. – – – To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org [http://theseedfield.org]. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/AntiochUniversity].