Shows
College Is Fine, Everything's Fine#64 Talking Through Tension: How to Navigate Value Differences in Close RelationshipsCollege is a critical period where students are exploring and solidifying their values and their identities. Polarizing social topics, like religion, politics, social justice, are often at the core of these developing identities. Now more than ever, polarization on these issues is worsening, and deeply impacts the lives of college students. Exploring these tensions on and off campus can feel daunting, and often leads students chronically swinging from avoidance to activism. We get it. There are so many tough conversations to be had with people we care about. In this week’s episode we avoid avoiding, and discuss how...2025-05-0528 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#63 Party Smart: A Psychologist's Guide to College Drinking and Drug UsePut down that red Solo cup and listen in as we talk with Dr. James McOwen, clinical director of the Addiction Recovery Management Service at Massachusetts General Hospital. In this eye-opening chat, we dive into the real deal about college drinking and drug culture.What you'll learn in this episode:What percentage of college students drink, and when does it slip into a problem drinkingTips for partying smart if you do choose to drinkWhy pizza is your drinking allyIs drinking the same for men and women?Is drinking too much the only sign of a drinking...2025-04-2230 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#62 From Panicking to Planning: Problem Solving with Dr. Lindsay TulchinUp until college, a lot of our problems are solved for us. Whether its the high school teacher who notices you are falling behind pulling you aside after class to offer help, or your parents cleaning your room for you when you're feeling overwhelmed. College is the first time our independent problem solving skills are put to the test. Unfortunately, many students skip the problem-solving part and go straight to panic mode. If you are feeling overwhelmed and having a hard time approaching problems on campus, this microdose episode is your guide to trying to get your college life to...2025-04-1625 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#61 How to Brew Success: A Conversation with Marc Reede, author of The Coffee CodeLove coffee *and* looking for that next great job or internship? You're in luck. In this episode, we’re diving deep into the world of building important job connections with none other than Marc Reede, serial entrepreneur and author of The Coffee Code. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a successful career, one conversation at a time, make sure to listen in as Marc shares:How to turn informal connections into job leadsWhere to find the great jobs (hint: It's not on LinkedIn)The importance of recognizing who's in your "court side seats"Why it's...2025-04-0326 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#60 Microdose on DBT's F.A.S.T. Skill: Keeping Your Self-Respect in RelationshipsIn today’s episode, we’re following up on our previous microdose episode on the G.I.V.E. skill and diving into its counterpart, the F.A.S.T. skill. The F.A.S.T. skill is designed to help you build strong relationships while maintaining healthy boundaries. It's a balancing act: You don’t want to burn yourself out by giving too much to others without considering your own needs. Here are the key letters of F.A.S.T.:F = Fairness: Be fair to yourself and others. Your perspective matters just as much...2025-03-1810 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#59 Microdose on DBT's G.I.V.E. Skill: How to Build and Maintain Healthy Relationships in CollegeIn this week's microdose episode, we sit down to discuss the G.I.V.E. skill from DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), which helps individuals build and maintain positive relationships. Whether you are navigating a conflict with your roommate, trying to make new friends, or wanting to build a better relationship with your parents, the G.I.V.E. skill can help increase the likelihood that others will view you positively after your interactions with them. The skill involves four key components:- being Gentle- acting Interested...2025-03-0716 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#58 From High School to College: A Guide to Navigating Shifts in the Parent-Child Relationship with Drs. Annalise Caron and Suzanne AllenSaying goodbye to your parents is often the last thing most college students are thinking about when they tackle their “to do” list before moving in on campus. In an earlier episode, we sat down with college students who shared their experiences with relationship shifts at home. In this week’s episode, we sit down with not one, but two expert psychologists to explore the challenges and growth opportunities that arise for the parent-child relationship when young adults head off to college. They provide valuable insights for both parents and students on how to maintain strong, supportive relationships during t...2025-02-2537 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#57 Microdose on DBT’s DEAR MAN: Mastering the Art of Asking for What You Want with Dr. Sameena GrovesIn today’s microdose episode, we dive deep into one of the most powerful tools in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – the DEAR MAN skill. We welcome Dr. Sameena Groves, a clinical psychologist and DBT expert, to explore how this assertiveness technique can help navigate tough conversations, set boundaries, and communicate effectively during your college years (and beyond).Dr. Groves walks us through the steps of DEAR MAN, which is an acronym for:Describe: Lay out the facts without judgment.Express: Share how the situation impacts you emotionally.Assert: Ask for what you want or say no to s...2025-02-1422 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#56 Beyond the Books: as a Key to College Success with Dr. OnyeSo much of childhood education is about learning academic skills to get into college and very little is on the personal and social skills required to thrive in college. In this week’s episode we sit down with Dr. Ifeanyi Onyejiji, founder of Onye Speaks. Dr. Onye shares about his work developing a motivational and culturally relevant curriculum aimed to help students learn the “soft skills” that are often missing in K-12 education. Dr. Onye’s holistic approach highlights the importance of the development of self-advocacy, career self-efficacy, and self-awareness skills in order to help students feel more confident an...2025-01-2334 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#55 Holding On and Letting Go: Relationship Shifts in CollegeCollege can be a tough transition for many reasons; you’re on your own for the first time, have to find a new circle of friends, and you have an enormous amount of freedom that comes with being an adult. One thing that often is not thought about enough, though, is how being at college can cause shifts in your relationships off campus. Balancing personal growth and navigating relationship changes at home can become a source of tension and stress. In this week’s episode, we sit down with three college students who explore the complex relationship changes that h...2025-01-1031 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#54 Microdose Episode: What’s the Deal with Gratitude?With Thanksgiving around the corner, most of us are gearing up for our annual “attitude of gratitude.” And while many of us appreciate and experience this seasonal thankfulness, we often forget the *daily* power of gratitude and how it can help shift our moods. In this microdose episode, we discuss the science behind gratitude, share simple ways to incorporate daily gratitude practices to keep your mood afloat, and talk about how to use this practice when the going gets tough. Resources: https://www.calm.com/blog/gratitude-exercisesWant to share your story, give us fee...2024-11-2215 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#53 Microdose Episode: The Magic of MetaphorsBy the time you have gotten to college, you have probably been exposed to metaphors. Whether you are telling your friends "you are drowning in work" or you're sitting in an English 101 class, metaphors are literally everywhere. In this week's microdose episode, we discuss how metaphors can be important life shortcuts. We sit down and share some of our favorites and how they're powerful tools that can help us learn and grow. Want to share your story, give us feedback or offer up an episode idea? Reach out! We'd love to hear from you. Insta: @col...2024-10-3020 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#52 The Friendship Matrix: A LifeHack for Building Healthy Friendships in CollegeCollege makes it very easy to find friends. You’ve got loads of time, your pick of social events, party ready dorm rooms, and hard classes to bond over. But for many students, finding friends isn’t the problem. The challenge is finding quality friendships. Introducing the “Friendship Matrix,” a lifehack to help you build healthy and fun friendships in a new, fun way. Make sure to listen to this episode if you want to:Find out whether you believe in the friendship myth about what a “good friend” meansDiscover how different friend “vibes” meet different nee...2024-10-1622 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#51 Is Greek Life Worth It?If your school has Greek Life, at some point you have asked yourself is rushing worth it? From movies to family and friends, there are A LOT of opinions about rushing. And although rushing is exciting, it's also incredibly stressful and daunting. We know it is an important decision freshmen are often trying to make, especially when you are trying to make friends and find a community on campus. In this week's episode, we hear from college students who have got their letters already or are currently rushing on their college campuses. We will break down what factors...2024-09-2727 min
she persistedMINI: Thrive in Your College Social Life Through DBT!Welcome to the new Mental Health Minis series! Every other Monday, we will feature a 5-minute mini-episode with content from a past She Persisted episode. This week’s guests are Dr. Sarah Olivo and Dr. Liz Seidler— two clinical psychologists and hosts of the College is Fine, Everything is Fine podcast who've helped students navigate the highs and lows of college for over a decade. In this mini-episode, you'll learn how to navigate your social life in college and a DBT skill you can try to set boundaries in your relationships. To listen to the full episode, clic...2024-09-1705 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#50 Fall into Focus: Embracing a Beginner's MindsetSo long sweet summer... by now many of you are back on campus. Some of you may be thrilled, others may be terrified. Whether you are a freshman or a returning student, being mindful of how your mindset may influence your academic year is a critical tool to get you off to a healthy start. To launch our podcast return, we thought it would be helpful to re-air one of our most downloaded episodes on the expectations versus realities of campus life. Transitioning into the semester after summer can leave us feeling unfocused and unsure. In this ep...2024-09-0432 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#49 Microdose Episode: How to Practice P.O.I.S.E. When Things Get Tough in CollegeBy now most of your finals are over, and hopefully you are making plans for a fun summer. We wanted to end this season with a microdose episode that will get you through any tough moments you may have over the summer and to keep in your mind when you get back on campus in the fall. Whether you are going through a break-up, disappointed with your semester grades or confused about your future career, using effective coping skills will help you weather any emotional storm. You might not be in control of the tough times, but you have a...2024-05-2306 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#48 Microdose Episode: Don’t be a M.E.S.S. On CampusWhether you are finishing your finals or are a HS senior getting ready to transition to college, we wanted to end this year’s season with two microdose episodes with tips on how to manage college stress. When you are burned out, overwhelmed, and feel like the wheels have really fallen off, you can really feel like a M.E.S.S. While we can’t guarantee a stress-free college experience, we can guarantee that paying attention to these 4 letters will keep your head above the emotional waters. In this microdose episode, we share four areas tha...2024-05-1605 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#47 Work Smarter Not Harder with Dr. Jessica SternOnce again we got so lucky to have today’s guest, Dr. Jessica Stern, a psychologist, advisor and consultant for Wondermind, Doctor Radio, and SELF Magazine. It’s pretty clear that she not only teaches ways to be more productive in your life, but she also practices some of these tricks herself because this woman is crazy productive!This week’s episode is for you if you:*Feel like your hustling but never feel like your work is finished*Want to learn why you procrastinate...2024-05-0626 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#46 Beating Imposterism with Dr. Jill Stoddard“I don’t belong here.”“Everyone else knows what to do.”“When will people figure out I’m an imposter?”This is the third episode in our shame series, and it helps answer one of the questions we get asked most. “Am I the only one who feels like an imposter at college?”Well, we brought out a real heavy hitter when we interviewed Dr. Jill Stoddard, veteran psychologist, podcaster and author of Imposter No More. I mean, did we nail it or what? Tune in if you:Have ever wondered “...2024-04-2525 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#45 How to Bounce Back from Social Mistakes with Dr. Colleen LangWe’ve all been there. The hot-headed comment to a friend, the accidental text to the wrong group, a late-night DM sent under less than sober circumstances…The shame and embarrassment that can happen when we’ve made these kinds of mistakes can make you want to hide in your room for the rest of the semester. But Dr. Colleen Lang is here with some good news and essential how-tos when it comes to bouncing back from those “social suicide” moments. Listen in as Dr. Lang shares:Common thin...2024-04-0231 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#44 Microdose on Overcoming Shame and EmbarrassmentOut of all the emotions we have, shame (and its cousin, embarrassment) tends to feel the worst. And since it feels the worst, it often makes us act in some ugly and super unhelpful ways. We tend to yell, hide, blame and injure - both ourselves and people we care about - when we feel shame. This microdose episode kicks off our “Shame Series,” where we describe:what the emotions of shame and embarrassment are, when we tend to feel these emotions,how we can tell whether our em...2024-03-2119 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#43 Your Campus Guide to NutritionBusy schedules, late nights, and erratic sleeping patterns often lead to inconsistent eating habits in college. A diet of ramen, pizza, and endless supplies of coffee is the norm on many campuses. We know that taking care of your body is just as important as getting a 4.0 (and maybe the key to getting one), but college life often makes it difficult to avoid bad eating habits. As two former college students who may have not made the wisest dining choices, we knew we had to find an expert on nutrition for this episode. This week we sat down with R...2024-02-1633 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#42 A Social Media Roadmap: Tips from Growing Up in Public author Dr. Devorah HeitnerSocial media gets a bad wrap, and sometimes that’s fair (hello “Text Neck Syndrome” and ties to loneliness, depression and body image issues). But social media isn’t going anywhere, and we think it’s time for a more balanced discussion. There is no one better to guide us than Dr. Devorah Heitner, author of Growing Up in Public. She has researched this topic relentlessly, drawing on hundreds of interviews with not only parents and educators, but kids, teenagers and young adults. Dr. Heitner isn’t here to shake her finger but to instead provide a roadmap for h...2024-01-3030 min
The College Parent PodcastHow to Manage the College Admissions and Acceptance Process - Part TwoWelcome to the College Parent Podcast!
On this week's episode, RDs Gail Martin and Elisabeth Bordulis, interview Dr. Liz Seidler, and Dr. Sarah Olivo, two clinical psychologists who host the College is Fine, Everything is Fine podcast about, "How to Manage the College Admissions and Acceptance Process."
Let's dive into part two of this two-part episode!
2024-01-1919 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#41 Finding Clarity: A Conversation with Dr. Patrice BerryHappy 2024! We couldn’t be more excited to have @drpatriceberry help us start the new year. Dr. Patrice Berry is a psychologist, author, and all around kick-ass person who has brought her smarts to social media. She’s *so* good at giving quick and sound advice on Tik Tok that Harvard School of Public Health #HarvardChan selected her as one of the top mental health content creators IN THE COUNTRY.So yes, she has some pretty snazzy credentials, but what we really love about her is the quality, integrity and warmt...2024-01-1130 minThe College Parent PodcastHow to Manage the College Admissions and Acceptance Process - Part OneWelcome to the College Parent Podcast!
On this week's episode, RDs Gail Martin and Elisabeth Bordulis, interview Dr. Liz Seidler, and Dr. Sarah Olivo, two clinical psychologists who host the College is Fine, Everything is Fine podcast about, "How to Manage the College Admissions and Acceptance Process."
Let's dive into part one of this two-part episode!
2024-01-0519 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#40 Home for the Holidays: How to Balance New Freedoms With Family ExpectationsHi crew! We did something a little different this week. In Sarah's "other life," she runs Lumate Academy, the training and education department for Lumate Health. (Check it out! LumateHealth.com) She recently sat down with veteran child and adolescent psychologist Dr. Anne Marie Albano to share tips with parents on how navigate their college freshman's first long visit home. If you're about head back and think your parents/caregivers could use some tips, make sure to share this episode with them!To get a "gist sheet" of the topics discussed:https://lumatehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12...2023-12-1959 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#39 Hookup vs. Hookup Culture: Do You Know the Difference?The S word. No, not the one that adds a dollar to Sarah’s swear jar, the other one: sex. A topic drilled into our heads in health class with catchy phrases like “no means no.” But beyond one unit in a single semester course, sex probably hasn’t been mentioned by any adults in any great detail ever again (except maybe your parents, eww…). Don’t worry, in this episode we are not going to bore you with biology or anything close to that. Instead we want to talk about a topic we all have mixed feelings and numerous que...2023-11-2932 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#38 NoSo November: Why It May Be Time to Take Some Space from Social MediaWhen was the last time you logged onto Tik Tok, Instagram or Snapchat? We bet many of you reading this were engaged in one of these platforms within the past few minutes. A recent study found that the average college student spends 17 hours/week on social media, with most spending 2-3 hours per day on these platforms. Studies show that staying so highly connected online and being exposed to enormous amounts of content can take a serious toll on your mental health, relationships and your productivity. In this week’s episode we sit down with Maddie Freeman, a ju...2023-11-1425 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#37 Walk With Me: Dr. Matthew Kane Shares a Message of PerseveranceIn this week’s episode, we tackle the incredibly important topic of race on campus. We were so lucky to have author and psychologist Dr. Matthew Kane guide us through this conversation with such a level of depth, warmth and intelligence. Yes, Sarah and Dr. Kane discuss his book Walk with Me, which highlights stories of black men navigating the COVID pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. Just as importantly, Dr. Kane shares why their stories are equally important today, helping us understand why we need to pay more attention to the experiences of people of color in co...2023-11-0229 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#36 Sadie Sutton Tells You How to Put DBT to Good Use on CampusSadie Sutton, intrepid mental health advocate and host of the She Persisted podcast, also happens to be a college student at UPenn. But it took guts, hard work in therapy, and a lot of support to get to where she is today. Now she freely shares the skills she learned from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), both how to use DBT skills when you’re struggling, as well as bite-sized tips for how to handle just about any roadblock that can happen in a typical college semester. Her work is truly ins...2023-10-1740 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#35 Back to Life, Back to RealityWe’re back for our “second semester” of this podcast! Lots of transition on our end. Sarah moved to a new town and Liz is mourning the loss of her fun-girl summer. And we know that getting back into the habit of “college” is a transition, too. Even if you were counting down the days to get back on campus, switching from home to school can be stressful. We wanted to share our top 3 tips (and a bonus tip) for getting back into the swing of things:In this episode you’ll hear ways to: ...2023-09-2636 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#34 The Cost of Hustle Culture and Its Unrealistic Expectations of Resiliency: A Conversation with Emi NietfeldThe expectations of college students have never been greater. It’s a perfect storm of pressures that can set college students on a fixed path towards dissatisfaction and burnout. College students are often shaped into deprioritizing their own needs by overworking and focusing on achieving successful outcomes. In this week’s episode we speak with Emi Nietfeld, mental health advocate, journalist and author of the book Acceptance, a memoir. Tune in to hear Emi discuss:The college application process The cost of overemphasizing resiliency How to balance personal p...2023-06-0228 min
she persisted149. How to THRIVE as a College Student aka YOUR ULTIMATE COLLEGE TOOLKIT feat Dr. Olivo & Dr. Seidler#149 Today's guests are Dr. Sarah Olivo and Dr. Liz Seidler— two clinical psychologists and hosts of the College is Fine, Everything is Fine podcast who've helped students navigate the highs and lows of college for over a decade. In this episode, we discuss why college students can benefit from using DBT skills, how to manage your emotions, understand others’ states of mind, and use your wise mind as a college student, common dialectics that college students deal with, specific DBT skills for college students on reducing emotional vulnerability, improving relationships, and self-advocacy, and advice for college freshmen who are stru...2023-05-2952 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#33 Microdose Episode Part 3: Actual vs. Hypothetical WorryNow that you know the worry myths to look out for, the next step is to figure out whether your worry is actual or hypothetical. This is easier said than done. But knowing the difference is key. Why? Because knowing the difference leads you to the most effective way to manage it. We promise this will make sense once you listen. You will leave this episode with a worry decision tree to help you categorize what type of worry you are struggling with and then what action steps are most beneficial. Resources:Worry Fact Sheeth...2023-05-2310 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#32 Microdose Episode Part 2: Five Worry MythsWe’ve never heard someone say they enjoy worrying. And yet, there are a lot of secret beliefs about why worrying is helpful. If you’re holding onto these beliefs, chances are it’s going to be harder for people to help you worry less. So let’s get ahead of that and tell you five things people often believe about worry:It’s the same as problem solving.It motivates me.It shows I care.It helps me prepare for bad feelings in the future.It keeps bad things from happening (superstition).You might be surprised to know th...2023-05-1909 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#31 When You Mix College With ADHDADHD might have more myths surrounding it than any other diagnosis. What words do you think of when you hear those four letters? The answer probably depends on the messages you got from your friends, family and community. And it might depend on whether you know you have it or simply think you might. Either way, college has a way of having us rethink what we learned at home. And hopefully we can help you think a bit more openly about what ADHD really is and how it might look on campus. In this episode, we talk t...2023-05-0835 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#30 A Student’s Guide to Managing Stress in CollegeIt would be hard to find a college student on campus right now who isn’t stressed for some reason. A recent survey found that half of all college students report severe psychological consequences to stress. This survey also reported high rates of unhealthy coping behaviors in response to stress. April is Stress Awareness Month and we wanted to take some time to ask students two questions: 1. Why is college so stressful? 2. And what helps manage college stressors? In this episode you will hear from several college students reporting on the reasons college is stressful for them and the...2023-04-2614 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#29 Microdose Episode Part 1: Stress vs. AnxietyOne of our student ambassadors asked us what the difference is between typical stress and more problematic anxiety. We're going to go even further and give you a few microdose episodes to talk about this difference *plus* what to do with some of your stickier worries. In this episode we talk about what the differences are and whether it matters. If this feels like it's up your alley then subscribe/stay tuned for our next microdose episodes where we break down common beliefs about anxiety that actually make it stick around, and what you can do with a...2023-04-1903 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#28 Type C Personality: Do You Set Yourself on Fire to Keep Others Warm?We’ve all heard of the Type A personality. We can picture that assertive go-getter pretty easily. Type B? Imagine that laid-back friend who can let things go. But did you know there is also a Type C? Well, there is, and our guests Dr. Kore Nissenson and Anna White are here to shine a light on it. It is a wonderful thing to be a good friend, to help someone in need, and to consider others’ feelings. When this goes too far, it can start to feel like a heavy load to carry all of this compa...2023-03-2925 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#27 Undecided: How to Navigate Tough Choices in CollegeFrom choosing what campus you land on, to your major, and what relationships you make, college is full of difficult choices. And if you are anything like Liz, where deciding what to watch on Netflix can be too overwhelming, deciding what to do with the rest of your life seems like an impossible decision. A recent study found that almost half of all recent college graduates regret their majors. Research shows that unhappiness with majors and career choices is directly linked with stress and performance pressure. On top of feeling the pressure to achieve great things, there is an ad...2023-03-2038 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#26 Therapy Demystified Part 2: A CBT Session in ActionLast week we gave you a bird’s eye view of a first therapy session. Now the fun part. What does a cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) therapy session look like when you start to do the work? What kinds of questions get asked? Do you need to share your deepest darkest secrets? What if you don’t *know* why you feel the way you do?Liz and Sarah break down the key ingredients of CBT, such as:*Looking at how thoughts, actions and our body signals work together ...2023-03-1038 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#25 Therapy Demystified Part 1: What Goes On Behind the “In Session” SignAdmit it, if you’ve never been in therapy before then you’re a little curious about what goes on inside the therapist’s office. And if you’re thinking about therapy, walking into that office for the first time can be intimidating if you don’t have a clue what it’s like. Media often portrays therapy as lying on the couch confessing your deepest darkest secrets. Friends don’t always share what their therapy is like. And parents might have no clue.Well, what if you could be a fly on the wall of a therapy sessio...2023-03-0437 min
The Type C PersonalityCollege is Fine Podcasters!On this episode, we interview the wonderful Dr. Sarah Olivo and Dr. Liz Seidler, founders of the College is Fine podcast. They are two clinical psychologists who aim to share actionable advice for college students on how to find balance, use humor in the struggle, and access their own mental compass. We cover Type C traits in college students and how they coach these clients - they also share great self care advice!
Here's where to find them: www.collegeisfinepodcast.com - @collegeisfinepodcast on Instagram - College is Fine podcast on all standard podcast platforms.
T...2023-02-2830 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#24 How College Culture Has Normalized Drug Use: A Psychiatrist’s Break Down of Study Drugs and Why You Should Just Say NoThe past few years have led to some pretty drastic global changes, and as a result college students are experiencing higher levels of stress compared to decades prior. As the expectations of college students escalate, and a competitive, uncertain job market post graduation looms, students are seeking ways to stay afloat under increasing academic pressure. A recent study showed that at least 20 percent of college students self-report that they are consuming medications not prescribed to aid them in their studying. Even more concerning is that college students are often combining these medications with other illicit and licit drugs. In th...2023-02-2330 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#23 Why Choose Sleep Part 2: Realistic Pro Tips for Getting Great Sleep in CollegeOur last episode taught you a lot about the “why” of getting good sleep. This episode is all about the “how.” We sit down with sleep expert and clinical psychology professor, Dr. Ellie McGlinchey to help create a realistic and simple guide on how to sleep better in college. Don’t worry, she reassures us that you can still have fun in college and get the rest you need. Spoiler alert! Dr. McGlinchey is a fan of darties, napping and caffeine. Tune in to hear about:What does good sleep do for us?The dos and don'ts of napping Ho...2023-02-1726 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#22 Why Choose Sleep Part 1: How Sleeping Well is Critical to Thriving in CollegeA recent study showed that over 70% of college students are getting consistently less than 7 hours of sleep a night. That’s not a great number, especially when you consider that healthy sleep habits are linked to higher college GPAs. So if sleep is so important to doing well in college, why is it often at the bottom of the priority list?Sleeping is underrated in college and is usually saved for the weekends after a long week of studying and a weekend of celebrating your academic efforts. To make matters worse, college students are oft...2023-02-1027 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#21 Microdose on Opposite Action: Learn How to Turn Down EmotionsRaise your hand if you’ve had a shaken up soda bottle explode on you. No fun, right? When under stress our mind is like that bottle of soda, building pressure until we’re on the verge of exploding. With the emotional challenges and academic pressures college can bring, many students choose to ignore or distract from heavy feelings. (Hey, been there, done that.) Pressure builds then bam, you explode. In this micro-episode, we discuss the Dialectical Behavior Therapy skill called opposite action. This is the skill for you if:*your emoti...2023-02-0217 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#20 Be Body Positive: How to Create a Positive Body Mindset in CollegeFlat stomachs. Chiseled abs. Eating clean. Messages about what our bodies should look like come at us a mile a minute. And college is a time when your relationship to your body can be extra challenging. How many of you feared the “Freshman 15” even before you stepped foot onto campus? Well, how about we “chisel” away some of the negative assumptions we have about how our bodies should look. (See what we did there?)It is *normal* for our body to change shape and size during these four years. And it’s normal to have troub...2023-01-2635 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#19 Your Emotional Savings Account: Learn Ways to Buffer Against College Stress by Balancing Life’s “Withdrawals” With Skills “Deposits”Most college students are aware that they 1) have a bank account, and 2) you have to deposit money into this account if you’re going to make a lot of withdrawals. Too many withdrawals? Yup, here comes that “low balance” alert. But how often are we paying attention to our “emotional bank balance”? In this week’s episode, we discuss the importance of depositing and accumulating positive emotions to build up an emotional reserve. Stressors in college are unpredictable and at times unrelenting. When you start noticing you are having a lot of withdrawals to your mood, you...2023-01-1923 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#18 How to Bust Through Winter Blues: Tips from a Top CBT ExpertFact: Seasonal changes impact our mood. And unless you happen to enjoy the colder and shorter days, your mood is going to take a hit in the winter. The good news? We can take action so we don’t slip into a dark place.In this week’s episode we talk to a renowned Cognitive Behavioral Therapy expert, Dr. Simon Rego. Dr. Rego is the Chief of Psychology at Montefiore Medical Center and the author The 10-Step Depression Relief Workbook, which gives you active steps to ward off low mood. And a...2023-01-1337 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#17 The Art of Savoring: Learn How to Amplify the Positivity in Your LifeWe’ve all savored a meal. You can picture in your mind. Anticipating that good bite, getting the dopamine hit when it hits your stomach. But savoring life can be just as delicious.But what is savoring exactly? To put it simply, it’s the practice of fully feeling, enjoying and extending the positive moments and memories in our lives. You can savor the past (reminiscing), the future (anticipating) or the present (absorbing a good moment). Savoring is a cousin to its very (understandably) hyped cousin gratitude, which asks you to ad...2023-01-0543 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#16 Follow Your Wise Mind Into the New Year: Learn the DBT Three States of Mind and Use Them to Clarify Your 2023 GoalsFollow Your Wise Mind into the New Year: Learn the Three States of Mind and Use Them to Clarify Your 2023 Goals We made it! This week is our final episode for 2022. As absolute beginners in this podcast game, the past six months have been filled with dialectics, frustrating and rewarding, absolutely draining and incredibly exciting. As we reflect on this past year, we realize that our venture is not unlike beginning a new chapter at college in the way we bounced between the three states of mind:wanting to give up when we got stuck (emotion m...2022-12-2926 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#15 Check your ID: How to Pivot When You Can No Longer Put “College Athlete” (or “Summa Cum Laude” or “Musician”) on Your ResumeCollege can often present a fork in the road. Do I play college sports or do I join the world of “NARPs” (Non-Athletic Regular Person)? For some the choice is easy. There is no scholarship on offer, or they’d rather attend a favorite university over a scholarship at a school that isn’t right for them. For others, the choice is made for them, like when injuries force medical retirement.And then of course there are students who make the hard, or perhaps really easy, choice to step away from college sports. Perhaps it’...2022-12-2144 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#14 The Life of the College Athlete: How Current Students Are Redefining Mental Toughness, Challenging Their Limiting Beliefs, and Trying to Find Balance Between Self-Care and Team CommitmentYes! Today we’re getting to the core of our college sports series: current and former student athletes themselves. In today’s episode we talk to current athletes on what the college experience is like for them. And we’re going to guess that a lot of the things they spoke about will sound familiar to anyone who feels the multi-pronged pressure of college life. Simply switch out “sports” for “job” or “scholarship requirements” or “advocacy,” to name a few. We’ve heard a lot of students talk about the college triangle, with sleep, studying and friends each on a separate point...2022-12-1332 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#13 The Mind of the College Athlete: Hear What Famed Sports and Performance Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader Tells Us About How to Succeed On and Off the FieldAre you a college athlete? You need to hear this. Are you a student who’s never touched a ball, like Sarah? You need to hear this, too. We know that college-student athletes face intense pressures: performing at the top of their sport, navigating branding opportunities, earning a degree, building friendships, and all while trying to have fun. Oh yeah, and sleep. Non-athletes have a ton to juggle as well. What is the secret to students reaching peak performance and still winning in other areas of campus life? This week we m...2022-12-0144 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#12 The College Experience as a Student-Athlete: The Coach PerspectiveImagine playing the sport you love, having a built-in community, and earning a degree at the same time? In many ways that sounds amazing, but is that the whole picture? This week we start our student-athlete series with Dan Rickard, the assistant coach of the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball team at State University of New York at Stonybrook. Dan brings the perspective of coach and player. Not only has he been coaching for 19 years, but he was also on the court as a Seawolve as an undergraduate. Since Dan is on the front lines, we wanted to...2022-11-1847 min
College Is Fine, Everything's Fine#11 The Pandemic Personality Paradox: How Two Years of Disappointment, Loneliness, and Pivoting Has Fast-Tracked Personality Change Among Young Adults, and How To Find the Silver LiningsCovid. Ugh. We all have pandemic news fatigue by now. And although Covid may not be the headline of campus conversations anymore, our student interviews have shown us there’s always something about the pandemic written in the fine print. College student mental health has taken a hit in some obvious, and in some not-so-obvious, ways. In this episode, we discuss a research study highlighted by the NY Times that suggests significant personality change has occurred as a consequence of the pandemic. And these changes are most significant in young adults. Overall, young adults were found to be l...2022-11-1031 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#10 Take It or Leave It: 2 Members of College Band Seeing Double Share Challenges and Successes of Balancing Friendship, Sudden TikTok Fame and, Oh Yeah, Having to Pass All Their ClassesWe are thrilled to share a special interview with you this week. Mike (guitarist) and Ali (singer), two members of the talented band Seeing Double, share how they find balance in their multilayered life: student, musician, bandmate, friend. And with their song “Leah” going viral on TikTok, the title of one of their *other* songs “Take It Or Leave It” takes on new meaning. Hear how the band handles a fork in the road: taking fame and burnout or leaving that for friendship and well-being. Mike and Ali open up about how being vulnerable with bandmates and setting s...2022-11-0142 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#9 Microdose on Being Effective: How Practicing Acceptance Can Help You Be Skillful When The Environment is Too PowerfulWe often predict that our college years are finally going to be the time that we have the ability to be fully autonomous. And while the transition to college is filled with unregulated freedom, college students still face challenging social situations that make them feel powerless. Maybe a professor is unwilling to be flexible with a request you are making, or your roommate is unwilling to problem solve ways you can have friends over in your room. There are tons of challenging situations that come up in college where the power of the environment is...2022-10-3010 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#8 Microdose on Building Your Social Muscle: How Practicing Social Skills Can Help You Tackle New and Challenging Relationships on CampusCollege is a petri dish of new situations and new relationships. Maybe you’re meeting your new teammates, hesitating to introduce yourself to students in your dorm, or avoiding talking to that professor who has a reputation for snark. And since it’s all so new, you likely haven’t had many chances to practice the social skills that are important in these situations. Social skills are like muscles. They feel sore when you’re straining them for the first time, and they’ll atrophy if you don’t use them enough. (Ahem, Covid)Just because you d...2022-10-2811 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#7 Microdose on Intense Emotions: How Regulating Your Emotions Can Help Improve Your Interpersonal SkillsAll of us feel emotions, and it’s a fact that it’s one of the most vital factors that drives us. But emotions are complex. Every day our daily experiences can impact them. The weather, our favorite song on the radio, or an instagram post you see– all of these can affect our mood, and change the way we feel and impact how we think. The problem comes when we allow our feelings to automatically influence how we deal with others. When our emotions become intense they make it extremely difficult for us to access effective social skills. W...2022-10-2108 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#6 Microdose on Values: How Knowing Your Values Can Help You with Indecision in RelationshipsIn Episode 4, "Why It Can Be Hard to Find Your People, And Keep Them," we talked about how indecision can make us feel stuck in some relationships. Our guests touched on a few ways times they've come to a relationship fork in the road:"I don't know which friend group to prioritize.""Do I go out with a group that I’m not clicking with just to say I have plans?""Should I stay with my high school sweetheart?""Is this a truly toxic friendship, or do I need to be more forgiving?"When people can’t make...2022-10-1907 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#5 Two Tried and True Ways to Combat Socially Anxious ThoughtsOk, so we all agree that making friends was easier when we were younger. We were spoon fed neighborhood friends, teammates, fellow band members. Then comes college and you start from scratch. Last week we talked about the 5 ways students can struggle to make friends, and/or to keep them once they do. In a follow-up to Episode 4, we narrow in one of the most common friendship obstacles: worry thoughts. Two college students open up about the anxious thoughts they experience in friendships. You’ll hear them talk about:Self-judgements (“I’m too shy.”)fear of rejection...2022-10-1233 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#4 Why It Can Be Hard to Find Your People, and Keep Them (5 Interpersonal Effectiveness Obstacles)Finding your people in college isn't always easy. Keeping them? Sometimes that’s even trickier. On today's episode, we talk to our first expert guest, Professor Amy DiBernardo. She’s a licensed clinical social worker, an instructor at New York University and a former J.Crew junkie (emphasis on former). We chat about the 5 obstacles we see on campus that keep our clients stuck in a whole range of social situations:1) Not knowing what to do (lack of skill)2) Thoughts getting in the way (worry thoughts, “what if’s”)3) Big emotions (being too dysregulate...2022-10-0437 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#3 Finding Balance in the Extremes: Part 2 (Dialectics)Are you seeing dialectics everywhere now? It is Part 2. We are back hearing from more students about the common dialectics they experience during the college years. In this episode we speak with a freshman and senior in college and see the interplay between the discourses of "carpe diem" and "focus on your future". They speak about how difficult it can be to navigate the social demands of college. Some common themes were: -struggling with feeling excluded and included at the same time, -making new friends while also maintaining past friendships, and -navigating a romantic break...2022-09-2638 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#2 Finding Balance in the Extremes: Part 1 (Dialectics)College is a time of extremes. Incredible freedom and intense pressure. Loving your independence and missing pieces of home. So many new people to meet, yes! And so many new people to meet, nooooo! In psych speak we call these extremes "dialectics," the idea that two seemingly opposite truths can be occurring at the same time. This is a big topic so we're breaking it down a bit. In this episode (Part 1), we talk to "K," a rising junior at a liberal arts college who describes some of the extremes she faces. We'll also share so...2022-09-1726 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's Fine#1 Expectations and Realities (Beginner's Mind)How many of you have heard that "college is the best 4 years of your life?" And sure, that can be true. But man it can throw you when the picture you had in your mind doesn't match what you deal with day-to-day. And it's lonely when you think you're the only one who's surprised by all the things college brings.On today's episode, our guests share the expectations they had going into freshman year versus the realities they face now. We look at how "fortune telling" and going in with "expert mind" can set us up for...2022-09-0931 minCollege Is Fine, Everything's FineWelcome to the "College Is Fine, Everything's Fine" PodcastCollege can be...Really social, and pretty lonely.A time of amazing freedom, and a total pressure cooker.The best years of your life, except when it's not.We're Dr. Sarah Olivo and Dr. Liz Seidler, two clinical psychologists who've helped students navigate the highs and lows of college for over a decade. In this podcast, we listen to your stories and use them as our guide. Hear us give actionable advice to students just like you who are trying to balance work and fun, manage the pressures of school, and feel at home in...2022-07-2801 min