Category: Season 1

Episode 4 – Welcome to Your Brain – Emotional functioning is rooted in the brain. There are three different brain states connected to specific areas in your brain that can help us better recognize what others need when upset or escalated. Nikki and Chad walk through the Pre-Frontal Cortex, the Limbic System, and the Brainstem and talk about the three brain states related to those areas within the brain: The Executive State, The Emotional State, and The Survival State. After an imaginary walk through the woods, they illustrate how and why children (and adults!) become escalated and why it is so difficult to calm back down once we do. Chad and Nikki share tips for how to respond to each of the three states and how to keep yourself regulated in the process and then discuss how these brain states are linked to childhood mental health concerns.

Episode 4 – Welcome to Your Brain – Scrambled: The Children‘s Mental Health Podcast

Calming down an escalated child (or adult) is not an easy task. In episode 4, Nikki & Chad share some techniques that will help you get everyone involved on the same track, and a in a more peaceful place.

Show Notes

For more information about The Brain State Model check out Conscious Discipline to learn more about the Brain State Model, browse their blog for helpful tips and discover products for you and your kiddos.

For more information about how to respond to your children with a whole-brain approach, check out the book No Drama Discipline: The Whole Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson.

Episode 3 – If Emotions Could Talk Our children’s 5 core emotions are talking to us. Do you know how to listen? Chad & Nikki discuss those emotions, why they are important, and how listening can help you understand an anxious child. Disney Pixar’s movie about emotions, Inside Out, is streaming on Disney Plus.

Episode 3 – If Emotions Could Talk – Scrambled: The Children‘s Mental Health Podcast

Our children's 5 core emotions are talking to us. Do you know how to listen? Chad & Nikki discuss those emotions, why they are important, and how listening can help you understand an anxious child.

Episode 2 – Something to Talk About delves a little deeper into the meaning behind this podcast. Why is there a stigma associated with mental illness? How do we get rid of that stigma? How do we start the conversation? Who should be part of the conversation? Chad and Nikki tackle these questions and more in episode 2 of Scrambled: The Children’s Mental Health Podcast.

Episode 2 – Something to Talk About – Scrambled: The Children‘s Mental Health Podcast

This episode delves a little deeper into the meaning behind this podcast. Why is there a stigma associated with mental illness? How do we get rid of that stigma? How do we start the conversation? Who should be part of the conversation?

Show Notes:

Bruce D. Perry MD, PhD and Oprah Winfrey: What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, find it here. 

In Episode 1, you‘ll meet the co-hosts of the podcast, Nikki Shields and Chad Douglas. You‘ll find out who they are, and why they are so passionate about children‘s mental health issues. Plus, get a breakdown of what will be discussed in Season 1 of Scrambled: The Children’s Mental Health Podcast.

Episode 1 – Introducing Scrambled – Scrambled: The Children‘s Mental Health Podcast

In episode 1, you‘ll meet the co-hosts of the podcast, Nikki Shields and Chad Douglas. You‘ll find out who they are, and why they are so passionate about children‘s mental health issues. Plus, get a breakdown of what will be discussed in Season 1 of Scrambled: The Children's Mental Health Podcast.

Show Notes:

Thanks for checking out Scrambled: The Children’s Mental Health Podcast. This is the introductory episode. Here, you’ll hear more about who the hosts are, and why they are involved with wanting to “normalize” a conversation about childhood mental health. Nikki Shields is a licensed clinical professional counselor, specializing in childhood mental health. Not only is this what she does for a living, but she also lived it. In episode one, you’ll hear Nikki talk about a couple of traumatic events she had as a child, and how she always felt “yucky” when she was younger. It wasn’t until she was an adult that she realized she actually had an anxiety disorder the entire time. Chad Douglas spent 22 years as a television broadcaster, and found a niche talking about taboo topics through storytelling. He has done stories on suicide prevention, childhood cancer, miscarriage, and more. One of his last stories before he left his TV career was on childhood anxiety. He is also the parent of a child with anxiety. Together, Chad and Nikki want to start a conversation, and help more people understand that childhood anxiety, and other mental illnesses are real. They plan to do this podcast with personal stories, professional tips, and at times, a little humor.