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Welcome to episode EIGHT of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast.

I am thrilled to bring you Moira Mikolajczak, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, and a Professor of Medical and Health Psychology at the University of Louvain in Belgium, co-creator of the Parental Burnout Scale. In this episode, Mikolajczak and I explore the field of parental burnout and how her research carries significant implications for mothers and those that support them professionally. “Parental burnout is a syndrome that affects parents exposed to chronic parental stress in the absence of sufficient resources to compensate,” she writes. Our conversation is validating and encouraging - it truly illustrates that burnout is a “WE” problem, not a “ME” problem and leaves me feeling inspired that we can re-imagine Motherhood together.

Episode Summary:
The rates of burnout are on the rise. With Mothers doing more with less, there is a clear recipe for burnout. Between systemic failures, unrealistic cultural expectations, and our own personal history and the personality of our child, burnout lurks just around the corner for so many Mothers. Is there a way to prevent it? How do we treat it? Who is most at risk? This conversation is NOT intended to shame anyone - rather to bring awareness to the potential outcomes of parental burnout when left unaddressed and unsupported (clinically and otherwise). This conversation is full of research, hope and validation through and through, with the overall intention that parental burnout becomes more than another trendy, self-care marketing tactic in the Motherhood space - and instead is seen and understood with nuance, complexity and holistically…as it so much a symptom of being a mother, mothering within Patriarchal Motherhood today. This conversation is crucial to better understanding our mothering experience today. It’s from this knowledge and Mikolajczak’s research, that we can re-imagine Motherhood together.

Additional episode resources:
https://www.burnoutparental.com

Moira Mikolajczak’s full bio:
Mikolajczak is the mother of a little Louise, a Doctor of Psychological Sciences, and a Professor of Medical and Health Psychology at the University of Louvain in Belgium. Moïra is a leading figure in the field of parental burnout, a subject she has been studying since 2015 in collaboration with Isabelle Roskam. Together, they initiated a large research program aiming to shed light on the nature, causes, consequences and treatment of parental burnout. They founded the IIPB, an international research consortium on parental burnout that now includes 50 countries. With the collaboration of their team, the consortium and many researchers (and parents!) around the world, they have developed this field of research and published the results of their work in numerous scientific articles and several books for parents and professionals. They also co-direct the Training Institute for Parental Burnout and the Parental Burnout Research Lab, reference centers for parental burnout.

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Welcome to episode SEVEN of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast.

I am thrilled to bring you Tracy Sidesinger, PsyD a clinical psychologist, trained in Jungian and relational psychoanalysis, that is bringing a feminist lens into psychotherapy. In this episode, Sidesinger and I explore the concept of matrescence as opportunity versus a potential experience of trauma for a mother. We examine the invitation that such a period of transformation can have on us, as Mothers and as women more holistically - thus then diving into the concept of maternal subjectivity. Our conversation inspiring, thought-provoking and reconnecting - she left me believing that there is opportunity for wholeness as Mothers and indeed, we can re-imagine Motherhood together.

Episode Summary:
The question of identity often is paramount in matrescence. Who am I? What kind of a Mother am I? How can I reconnect with myself outside of being a Mother? In this episode, Sidesinger explains the theory of maternal subjectivity and the invitation that is, becoming a Mother: one that allows for us to reflect on our own past experiences, see ourselves as part of and apart from our children and how we exist outside of Motherhood. We tend to have a very narrow view of Mothers, especially as defined by patriarchal Motherhood - so what would it look like to see Mothers as full humans - capable and deserving of entire fulfilling lives outside of being Mothers? What does it mean for Mothers to explore this expansion themselves and then furthermore, bring their children into this idea as well? Sidesinger is a wealth of knowledge and truly brings a deeply reconnecting and feminine lens to this space. This conversation further challenges the constraints of Patriarchal Motherhood and indeed, allows us to…re-imagine Motherhood together.

Additional episode resources:
https://nycdepthpsychology.org/publications
https://www.instagram.com/nycdepthpsychologist
https://nycdepthpsychology.org/
Stay tuned for future writing retreats: https://nycdepthpsychology.org/writing-retreats

Tracy Sidesinger’s full bio:
Tracy Sidesinger, PsyD is a clinical psychologist in New York. She earned her doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary studying the intersection of psychology, religion, and attachment. From there she went on to study Jungian and Relational psychoanalysis in New York at the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association and The William Alanson White Institute, respectively. A mother herself, she also uses personal experience along with thousands of hours with patients to bring a feminist lens back to psychotherapy.

In her writing, Dr. Sidesinger challenges gender norms in culture and psychoanalysis and she has also been invited to speak across the country on the new frontier of psychoanalysis from a feminist critical, community-based lens.

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Welcome to episode SIX of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast.

I am thrilled to bring you Christine Carrig, M.S.Ed. a Montessori educator and writer in residence with Khora Lab. In this episode, Carrig and I explore the intersection of child-development and maternal development and what it could mean for us, individually and collectively, to bring mothers more into focus. Carrig’s unique perspective as a Montessori educator and administrator brings into curiosity how child-centered we really need to be in order for our children to develop healthy attachments with us as Mothers - as well as how much we need to give of ourselves to our children. Our conversation was validating, normalizing and encouraging - she left me believing that indeed, we can re-imagine Motherhood together.

Episode Summary:
“If only I would have known…” say so many mothers as they reflect on their initiation into Motherhood, “Maybe I would have had more grace for myself, more compassion.” Carrig’s honest account of her own matrescence will leave you feeling validated as you reflect on your own experience becoming a Mother - not to mention, her experience was so much a catalyst for further exploring the theory of matrescence for herself (like so many of us!). Bringing in her expertise of child-development, Carrig suggests that Mothers need a focus of their own - from research and policy to culture change. If Mothers are centered, then, ultimately, children are too. We further explore the nuances of attachment and gentle parenting - leaving you, hopefully, with a breath of fresh air and an expanded perspective - maybe even more grace for yourself. I believe these are the crucial conversations we need to have that challenge Patriarchal Motherhood and indeed, allow us to…re-imagine Motherhood together.

Additional episode resources:
You can subscribe to her Substack or follow her on Instagram@christine.m.carrig.

Christine Carrig’s full bio:
Christine Carrig, M.S.Ed, is the founding director of Carrig Montessori School in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. With a background in early childhood development, she has been a Montessori educator and administrator for the past 18 years. After studying under Dr. Aurelie Athan she became the Writer in Residence for the Khora: Maternal and Reproductive Psychology Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University where she focuses on the intersection between maternal development and child development. Her writing has been featured in Postpartum Support International, Scary Mommy and Business Insider. She lives in Queens, NY with her husband and their four children.

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Welcome to episode FIVE of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast.

I am thrilled to bring you Miriam Liss, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who has studied maternal guilt and shame AND so much more. In this episode, Dr. Liss and I explore the difference between guilt and shame and WHERE it comes from for so many mothers. We also explore the main parenting ideology deeply influencing maternal shame today - intensive mothering. What happens when being a “good enough” mother is a moving target and yet, we continue to attempt to live up to it? Our conversation left me with hope - hope that shame doesn’t have to be an experienced norm of Motherhood if we can continue to Re-Imagine Motherhood together.

Episode Summary:
Liss is one of the contributing developers of the Intensive Parenting Attitudes Questionnaire looking at how parents are impacted by this central patriarchal normative Motherhood ideology - intensive mothering. Stemming from her research, we discuss how shame contributes to mothers feeling deeply alone in their lack of “enoughness” in their role as Mother. Additionally, we look at how incorporating compassion into our experience as Mothers might help us alleviate the shame we feel. We dabble into many feminist off-shoots of this broader conversation, looking at traditional gender roles in parenting and feminist mothers and some of their experiences. It’s a conversation you don’t want to miss as we continue to Re-Imagine Motherhood together.

Correction: "Pamela" Hays is Sharon Hays re: "The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood" and Annette Lareau coined “concerted cultivation” and Peggy Orenstein uses the term “Half Changed World” in her book Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids & Life in a Half Changed World.

Additional episode resources:
Maternal Guilt and Shame: The Role of Self-discrepancy and Fear of Negative Evaluation

Development and Validation of a Quantitative Measure of Intensive Parenting Attitudes

Dr. Miriam Liss’ full bio:
Miriam Liss, Professor of Psychology at University of Mary Washington. She is a clinical psychologist and has conducted research on feminism, body image and objectification, parenting, division of labor, work-family balance. She is the co-author of Balancing the Big Stuff: Finding Happiness in Work, Family and Life, published by Rowman and Littlefield press. She is the co-author of a forthcoming textbook on the Psychology of Women that will be published by Norton. Dr. Liss has also published research in the area of autism and developmental disorders as well as sensory processing sensitivity, and self-injurious behaviors. Many of Dr. Liss’ publications and presentations are with UMW student co-authors, and she enjoys mentoring students to do research that is of publishable quality.

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Welcome to episode FOUR of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast - a GIFT for you on Mother’s Day!

I am thrilled to bring you Victoria Bailey, Ph.D., the creative, inspiring artist-scholar that uses poetry and creative writing as a form of activism. In this BONUS Mother’s Day episode, Dr. Bailey reads one of her latest poems, “All The Ways, Always–An Ode to Mother Blame”. Grab your tissue and expect to feel seen, heard, validated in your experience of Mothering today and then inspired and with conviction that indeed, Mothers hold the power of change within themselves and that love, acceptance, respect and kindness can be the pillars of Re-Imagining Motherhood for ourselves and one another.

Episode Summary:
Dr. Bailey’s work leaves me speechless - and it was a given that her poetry needed to be shared on Mother’s Day with us all. In this episode, Dr. Bailey shares her poem and then, after I collect myself from the raw emotion her words reveal in me, we further discuss her intention behind her creative writing and her hopes for what it means for ALL of us to Re-Imagine Motherhood together.

Additional episode resources:
You can find Dr. Bailey’s co-edited book, “Coming Into Being” on the Demeter Press website here and other poems published via this journal.

Dr. Bailey’’s full bio:
Dr. Victoria Bailey is a feminist artist-scholar. She is passionate about creative writing, creative-critical practice-based research, motherhood studies, and feminism – particularly matricentric feminism – and how these topics, methods, and related issues can and do intersect with, and impact, each other. She has a Creative Writing PhD by practice from Teesside University, UK, the research for which focused on reclaiming and representing the herstory of single mothers in fiction, inspired and informed by motherline stories. She also has an MA in Women’s Studies from the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of York, UK. Her research for this program focused on the representation of single mothers in Canadian news articles.

Dr. Bailey’s poetry has been included in a wide range of publications including anthologies, journals, and magazines. She is co-editor, along with Dr. Andrea O’Reilly and Dr. Fiona Joy Green, of the Demeter Press anthology Coming Into Being: Mothers on Finding and Realizing Feminism, which includes her short collection of poetry, “Colostrum.” Her non-fiction writing has been included in feminist magazines Herizons and the f word, and she wrote about single parenting for Calgary’s Child magazine for over a decade. She has also designed and delivered creative writing courses and workshops focusing on mothers, motherlines, and writing. Dr. Bailey is also a feminist mother of three, a yoga teacher (she is the author of the yoga text, Sharing Sadhana), and she loves libraries, dogs, tea, and long walks in equal measure.

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Welcome to episode THREE of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast!

I am thrilled to bring you Helena Vissing, Psy.D., the incredible mind behind the theory of maternal bodyfulness. In this episode we discuss her experience as a psychodynamic and somatic experiencing practitioner lending her clinical expertise to mothers in the perinatal period - yet her unique perspective also expands the more traditional clinical practice to include the lens of matricentric feminism, trauma and the body.

Episode Summary:
We dive into so much goodness - from WHY we need one another - in all disciplines - to come together to explore, challenge and critique Motherhood to her groundbreaking theory of maternal bodyfulness and so much in between - including exploring more deeply matricentric feminism. This episode will leave you "daring to believe" that we can find agency in our experience of Motherhood and that when we work towards empowered mothering, connecting with ourselves as women and mothers and the felt bodily experience. Mothering is an embodied experience, one that allows us to resist Patriarchal Motherhood - you'll have to listen to some of Vissing's nuggets of gold as they hold within them such wisdom and power!

Additional episode resources:
You can learn more about Helena Vissing's work here.
IG: www.instagram.com/helenavissing
And find her book, Somatic Maternal Healing here.

Dr. Helena Vissing’s full bio:
Helena Vissing is a Licensed Psychologist certified in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) in private practice in California. She practices psychodynamic and trauma-informed somatic psychotherapy as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. Dr. Vissing is experienced as Adjunct faculty at several graduate institutions, including Reiss-Davis Graduate School, Antioch University, and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She also has experience offering consultations and trainings for perinatal providers. She has published book chapters and articles on the topic of the psychology of motherhood. Dr. Vissing has written a book on her somatic and psychodynamic model for treatment of trauma in the Perinatal Period titled Somatic Maternal Healing: Psychodynamic and Somatic Trauma Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health (Routledge). She has done psychodynamic training at the C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and the Saturday Center for Psychotherapy. She is also host on the New Books in Psychoanalysis podcast and on the editorial board of the International Journal of Body Psychotherapy.

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Welcome to episode TWO of the Re-Imagining Motherhood podcast!

I am thrilled to bring you Fiona Joy Green, Ph.D., the brilliant scholar behind Feminist Mothering and Feminist Mother Work. In this episode we discuss mothering as an act of empowerment, social change and resistance to patriarchal normative Motherhood. Dr. Green is a wealth of knowledge full of wisdom to inspire you on your quest to Re-Imagine Motherhood.

Episode Summary:
We dive into the concepts of Feminist Mothering and motherwork, as well as the importance of knowing and/or reconnecting with your feminist Motherline. If Motherhood is oppressive, then mothering can be empowering as Rich once explained - this episode aims to inspire you to feel into your mothering in ways that are aligned with YOUR values, YOUR hopes for the future and YOUR intentions to be part of social change for future generations!

Additional episode resources:
You can find many of Dr. Green’s publications on the Demeter Press website linked here.

Dr. Fiona Joy Green’s full bio:
Dr. Fiona Joy Green (she/her) is a cisgender temporarily able-bodied feminist mother who believes in the power of revolutionary feminist motherwork. She is a white settler and holds the position of Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Winnipeg, located within Treaty No. 1 Territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) and Nehiyaw (Cree), and the homeland of the Métis. Dr. Green is the author of Practicing Feminist Mothering (ARP) and co-editor of eight Demeter Press collections that address ever-changing feminist parenting practices and maternal pedagogies. Recent titles include Mothers, Mothering and COVID-19: Dispatches from a Pandemic (2021), Parenting/ Internet/ Kids: Domesticating Technologies (2022), Coming into Being: Mothers on Finding and Realizing Feminism, (2023) and two forthcoming co-edited collections, The Mother Wave: Theorizing, Enacting, and Representing Matricentric Feminism (2024) and Revolutionizing Motherlines (2025).

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In this short episode, I bring you the summarized, "bite sized" version of episode 1 with Andrea O'Reilly.