Empathy as a Leadership Strategy | Ajit Dodani on Belonging, Burnout, and Self-Awareness

Why Neurodivergent Kids “Fall Apart” After School — Deanna Dow, PhD, an LA Autism Psychologist

On Look for the Helpers, a podcast by Engage Therapy in Agoura Hills, Dr. Blake Brisbois sits down with Deanna Dow, PhD, a clinical psychologist and the founder of Spectrum Psych in Los Angeles. Dr. Dow specializes in autism and ADHD, and she recently came out to the Engage Treatment Program campus in Westlake Village to spend three hours helping our team make our programs more neuro-inclusive. This is that conversation. Her throughline is one every parent, teacher, and clinician can use: a neurodivergent kid who "falls apart" at home isn't being bad. They spent the whole day masking, looking people in the eye, managing their sensory world, holding their emotions in, and they have nothing left when they walk in the door, where you're their safe person. Dr. Dow explains why so many kids (especially girls) and high-IQ adults get diagnosed late, why a diagnosis can land as relief instead of a label, and the reframe that changes everything: your brain is wired differently, and that's not a problem. Blake and Dr. Dow also get into the language that's shifted (identity-first, and "support needs" instead of "high or low functioning"), the myth that autistic people don't want to be social, autistic burnout, and how to adapt good, evidence-based therapy so it actually fits a neurodivergent brain. Warm, practical, and hopeful for anyone raising, teaching, or treating a neurodivergent kid. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:45 Welcome: Dr. Deanna Dow & Spectrum Psych (and training the Engage team) 2:23 The words we use: identity-first language & "support needs," not "functioning" 5:53 Treating mental health, not "curing" autism — and why a specialist matters 9:13 What gets missed: masking, late diagnosis, and why girls slip through 11:13 The after-school meltdown: the invisible work of masking 13:03 "My kid is not bad": diagnosis as relief and the superpower reframe 17:03 Accommodate vs. adapt: routines, sensory breaks & neuro-affirming spaces 23:23 The social-motivation myth & social-skills groups, done right 27:13 Why this work: authenticity, identity & autistic burnout 32:08 The hidden cost of masking, and a warm goodbye Key topics: • Masking and the after-school meltdown: why the tank is empty at home • Why girls and high-IQ adults get diagnosed late • Identity-first language and "support needs," not "high/low functioning" • Diagnosis as relief: "my kid is not bad" • The social-motivation myth, autistic burnout, and neuro-affirming therapy About Engage Therapy Engage Therapy is a clinician-owned, clinician-led practice supporting youth and families across the Conejo Valley, including Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and nearby. Our Engage Treatment Program offers intensive outpatient care for preteens, teens, and young adults. Learn more at engagetherapy.com [https://www.engagetherapy.com] · (805) 497-0605 · @engagetherapy [https://www.instagram.com/engagetherapy/]. Guest: Dr. Deanna Dow, PhD — Spectrum Psych, Los Angeles · spectrumpsychla.com [https://www.spectrumpsychla.com/]· IG @spectrumpsychla [https://www.instagram.com/spectrumpsychla/] This conversation is for education and support, not therapy or medical advice. If you're struggling, you're not alone. You can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time.

Connection Before Correction: Repair, Trauma & Kids' Voices — Maurissa Szilagi, LCSW

Title: Connection Before Correction — with Maurissa Szilagi, LCSW, Attachment & Trauma Therapist Summary: Maurissa Szilagi, LCSW, Ed.M, has spent her career helping families heal attachment wounds, and she comes to the work with rare lived experience: she grew up in foster care and was adopted in her late 30s. In this warm conversation with Adelina Brisbois, LMFT, she makes a case that lands for every parent, not just adoptive ones. You are going to rupture with your kid. The repair is the win. Maurissa describes letting a six-year-old "check" the adult who hurt their feelings, validating before correcting ("connection before correction"), and turning the car ride into an apology tour, because people remember the repairs. She and Adelina talk honestly about the narrative a child of trauma carries (the quiet "I'm not keeping you" that never fully turns off, only turns down in volume), the way the body keeps the score (the amygdala she calls "the jerk of the brain," the acne she came to read as a message), and why caring for yourself is not selfish but the whole job. It is hopeful, practical, and full of permission for any parent who has ever gotten it wrong and wondered if it was too late to make it right. Key topics: • Attachment and repair in parenting • Giving kids a voice and "connection before correction" • The foster/adoptive narrative that never turns off • Turning down the volume on trauma • The body keeps the score (the amygdala, somatic symptoms) • Bodily autonomy and consent with young kids • Self-care as part of the work • Clinician community and collaborative care Guest: Maurissa Szilagi, LCSW, Ed.M — attachment & trauma therapist, The Connecting Therapist (theconnectingtherapist.com [https://www.theconnectingtherapist.com/] · IG/TikTok @theconnectingtherapist [https://www.instagram.com/theconnectingtherapist/]) Resources mentioned: The Body Keeps the Score (Dr. Bessel van der Kolk) · Violet Oaklander (Gestalt child therapy) · Peter Levine / Somatic Experiencing · EMDR · Dr. Tanya Altmann (prior Look for the Helpers guest, on PANDAS/PANS) · Engage Therapy's Reflective Parenting and Mindful Beginnings programs · Support: if you're struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 24/7. Timestamps: (chapters — see YouTube description) Links: engagetherapy.com [https://engagetherapy.com/]· @engagetherapy [https://www.instagram.com/engagetherapy] · (805) 497-0605 Note: This episode is education and support, not therapy or medical advice.

Why Women's Mental Health Is Different — Dr. Brittany Booth, Reproductive Psychiatrist in Westlake Village

Title: Why Women's Mental Health Is Different — with Dr. Brittany Booth, Reproductive Psychiatrist Summary: Dr. Brittany Booth is a reproductive psychiatrist in Westlake Village who works at the intersection of hormones and mental health — PMDD, pregnancy and postpartum, menopause — and at UCLA's Maternal Mental Health Program. With Adelina Brisbois, LMFT, she makes a quietly radical case: so much of what gets women labeled "too much" or "just hormonal" is a normal human response to carrying too much with too little support. They name postpartum rage, grieve the lost "village," and bust the well-meaning myths about psychiatric medication in pregnancy — why stopping a medication that's working can carry more risk than staying on it. Key topics: • Reproductive psychiatry & women's mental health • Postpartum rage and de-pathologizing women's emotions • PMDD, perinatal & menopause hormone transitions • Postpartum isolation & rebuilding the village • Social media & new motherhood • Attachment, anxiety & infant sleep • Psychiatric medication in pregnancy/breastfeeding — myths vs. evidence Guest: Dr. Brittany Booth, MD — reproductive psychiatrist, Westlake Village; UCLA Maternal Mental Health Program website [https://www.brittanyboothmd.com/] · @brittanyboothmd [https://www.instagram.com/brittanyboothmd/] Resources mentioned: UCLA Maternal Mental Health Program (perinatal IOP, Westwood) · PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) · neonatal adaptation syndrome · TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) · SSRIs · Engage Therapy's Mindful Beginnings class for new & expecting parents. Support: If you're struggling, you're not alone. Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) · National Maternal Mental Health Hotline 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), 24/7 · Postpartum Support International 1-800-944-4773. Note: This episode is education and support, not medical advice. Decisions about medication should be made with a qualified clinician. Links: engagetherapy.com [https://engagetherapy.com/] · @engagetherapy [https://www.instagram.com/engagetherapy] · (805) 497-0605

Breaking the Silence on Mental Health — with Harsha Dodani, Chief Heart Officer of EmpathifyU

Title: Empathy Is a Human Skill — Breaking the Silence on Mental Health, with Harsha Dodani Summary: Harsha Dodani has spent years teaching empathy — first in schools, now in boardrooms as the Chief Heart Officer of EmpathifyU. In one of the first times she's shared her family's story out loud, she and her friend Adelina Brisbois, LMFT get honest about the cultural silence around mental health, deciding “the stigma stops with me,” and why “you have to be selfish to be selfless.” They dig into empathy as a human skill, neurodiversity and belonging, breaking generational patterns, and why a rising tide raises all ships. Key topics: • Empathy as a human skill (not a soft skill) • Breaking cultural & generational mental-health stigma • Therapy, shame, and “you don't know what you don't know” • Self-care and boundaries (“selfish to be selfless”) • Neurodiversity, belonging & workplace culture • Raising kids who can speak up; rupture & repair • Community — a rising tide raises all ships Guest: Harsha Dodani — Chief Heart Officer & co-founder, EmpathifyU Resources mentioned: EmpathifyU [https://www.empathifyu.com/] · My Name, My Story / Changemaker Day · Childhood Matters · Violet Oaklander (child-therapy training) · Gary Vee's “Chief Heart Officer” · If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), 24/7. Links: engagetherapy.com [https://www.engagetherapy.com] · @engagetherapy [https://www.instagram.com/engagetherapy] · (805) 497-0605

A Trauma Therapist Took Our Parenting Class — Here's What Surprised Her | Janet Bayramyan, LCSW (Encino)

Janet Bayramyan, LCSW — a trauma therapist and owner of Road2Wellness Counseling in Encino — joined our new Mindful Beginnings program as a parent, alongside her one-year-old son. Mindful Beginnings is for parents and their little ones (walking age through 5), built on the Reflective Parenting curriculum and grounded in attachment theory. It's not a typical parenting class. Instead of only teaching skills to use on your child, it asks how you were parented — and how that shapes the parent you're becoming. Janet talks with Dr. Peggy Matson, LMFT (our Director of Parent Services) and Adelina Brisbois, LMFT about what shifted for her: making room for free play, validating a child's frustration instead of fixing it, the "little-t" traumas that surface when you have a baby, and the quiet power of staying regulated when your child falls apart. They also get into why it's never too late to repair a relationship, and the work Janet does with adults, EMDR, and IFS at Road2Wellness. Chapters 00:00 A therapist on the other side of the room 00:41 Welcome to Look for the Helpers 01:03 Part 1 — With Dr. Peggy Matson: "I thought I knew this" 04:36 Her son, slow-to-warm — and the curriculum 06:25 Taking it home: free play & validating frustration 09:55 Boundaries — with your child, and with your own parents 12:13 Part 2 — With Adelina: two moms, reflecting 14:50 What "mommy & me" misses: the mom's experience 18:00 Little-t trauma and learning to slow down 22:35 Prevention: support parents now, help kids later 24:35 "It felt like magic" — triggers, anger & repair 28:25 Empathy over judgment — and why it's never too late 31:55 New at Engage: grandparent & dad/partner support 34:11 How to explain Mindful Beginnings (hint: it's about you) 37:35 Real moments: the car seat & the bedtime narration 43:30 The oxygen-mask reframe — care for the parent first 47:15 Janet's work: trauma, EMDR, IFS at Road2Wellness 54:29 Why Conejo Valley clinicians lift each other up About Engage Therapy Engage Therapy is a clinician-owned, clinician-led practice supporting youth and families across the Conejo Valley — Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Calabasas, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and nearby. Learn more about Mindful Beginnings and our programs at engagetherapy.com [engagetherapy.com] · (805) 497-0605 · @engagetherapy [https://www.instagram.com/engagetherapy/]. Guest: Janet Bayramyan, LCSW — Road2Wellness Counseling, Encino · road2wellness.co [road2wellness.co] · IG @therapy_with_janetb