OCD Explained: Intrusive Thoughts, Compulsions & ERP Therapy What if everything you thought you knew about OCD was only part of the story? Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is often misunderstood, reduced to excessive cleaning, organizing, or checking. But for many people, the most exhausting battles are the ones nobody can see. In this episode of Beyond the Window, La Ventana's Chief Clinical Officer, Sharon Wolner, welcomes Andrew Cohen, LMFT, founder of Cohen OCD Therapy, for an eye-opening conversation about intrusive thoughts, hidden compulsions, and the surprising ways OCD can influence everyday life. Drawing from his own personal experience and years of clinical work, Andrew challenges common misconceptions and explores why OCD is so frequently misdiagnosed, how loved ones can unknowingly reinforce the cycle, and what makes effective treatment different. Whether you're navigating OCD yourself, supporting someone you love, or simply curious about how the mind works, this is a conversation worth hearing. About Our Guest: Andrew Cohen, LMFT Founder of Cohen OCD Therapy, specializing in OCD, anxiety, and evidence-based treatments. Website: https://www.cohenocdtherapy.com/ Phone: (805) 464-6865 About La Ventana Treatment Programs La Ventana provides compassionate, individualized treatment for mental health challenges, substance use, and co-occurring disorders. Website: https://laventanatreatment.com/ Phone: (800) 560-8518 *Beyond the Window: Real conversations. Deeper understanding. A different per

What really happens behind the closed doors of addiction treatment? And what happens when saving someone's life becomes more important than following the rules? In this unfiltered episode of Beyond the Window, La Ventana Treatment Programs' Chief Clinical Officer Sharon Volner sits down with longtime colleague and Director of Detox and Chemical Dependency Services Gwendolyn Cassella for a conversation filled with raw honesty, laughter, heartbreak, and unexpected revelations. After more than a decade of working side by side, these two women are pulling back the curtain on the realities of addiction recovery and mental health treatment. Gwendalyn shares unforgettable experiences from her time working as a sober coach on reality television, including moments when the demands of production collided with the realities of helping someone struggling with addiction. Together, they explore the growing dangers of fentanyl, the complicated relationship between trauma and substance use, and why completing treatment doesn't necessarily mean the journey to recovery is over. They also share deeply personal experiences that shaped their careers, the emotional challenges of working in the recovery field, and the surprising ways music can help people reconnect with themselves. What does it really take to help someone who has lost hope? And how do the people doing this work find the strength to keep going? This isn't a polished conversation about recovery. It's an honest look at the people, experiences, and difficulties

What if your insomnia isn’t only a sleep problem? In this episode of Beyond the Window Podcast, La Ventana Treatment Programs Chief Clinical Officer Sharon Volner, LMFT, sits down with longtime colleague Anita Kaplan, LCSW, to explore the connection between trauma, chronic insomnia, anxiety, PTSD, and the nervous system. Anita specializes in trauma work using EMDR and shares how experiences we may not traditionally label as “trauma” can continue affecting us years later. Emotional neglect, not feeling seen or loved, an overly critical parent, relationship loss, work stress, divorce, and other major life transitions can sometimes leave lasting emotional and physiological patterns. They discuss why two people can experience similar events and respond very differently, why comparing your trauma to someone else’s can interfere with healing, and why making space for painful experiences can be an important part of recovery. The conversation then turns to chronic insomnia and what may be happening when traditional sleep-hygiene advice isn’t enough. Anita explains how anxiety about sleep can become part of the problem itself. Tossing and turning, watching the clock, worrying about how you’ll function tomorrow, and trying to force yourself to sleep can further activate an already stressed nervous system. Sharon and Anita also discuss CBT-I, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, EMDR, nervous-system regulation, consistent sleep routines, and practical techniques for creating a healthier relationship with sleep. Anita even walks Sharon through an EMDR-inspired resourcing exercise using the butterfly hug, bilateral tapping, visualization, breathing, the container exercise, and a peaceful-place exercise to demonstrate ways people can practice calming the nervous system. In This Episode • What trauma can look like beyond major catastrophic events • Childhood emotional neglect and attachment wounds • Why people sometimes minimize their own trauma • PTSD and complex PTSD • How EMDR therapy works with difficult or “stuck” experiences • Traditional EMDR sessions versus longer EMDR intensives • The connection between trauma and chronic insomnia • Why the nervous system can become stuck in fight-or-flight • How anxiety about sleep can perpetuate insomnia • What CBT-I is and how it approaches sleep difficulties • Why your bed can become associated with wakefulness and anxiety • The “half-hour rule” for getting out of bed when you can’t sleep • The importance of consistent sleep and wake routines • Negative thoughts and beliefs surrounding sleep • EMDR resourcing skills for calming the nervous system • The butterfly hug and bilateral stimulation • The container and peaceful-place visualization exercises • Why practicing regulation skills before you desperately need them matters • The importance of healing through connection • Anita’s upcoming women’s trauma group About Anita Kaplan, LCSW Anita Kaplan is a licensed clinical social worker practicing in Westlake Village, California. She works with adults experiencing depression, anxiety, PTSD, complex PTSD, trauma, and insomnia. Her practice incorporates EMDR therapy, trauma-focused treatment, insomnia work, individual therapy, and longer EMDR intensive sessions. Learn more about Anita at: AnitaKaplanLCSW.com About La Ventana Treatment Programs If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health challenges, trauma, or substance use, you don’t have to navigate it alone. La Ventana Treatment Programs provides personalized, compassionate care focused on the whole person. 🌐 Learn more: https://laventanatreatment.com 📞 Call (800) 560-8518 Real people answer 8am–8pm, seven days a week. About Beyond the Window Beyond the Window Podcast explores mental health, trauma, recovery, relationships, treatment, and the experiences that shape the way we think, feel, and heal. Subscribe and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Trauma Lives in the Body: How EMDR Can Help Trauma doesn’t always look like trauma. Sometimes it shows up as anxiety, panic attacks, headaches, stomach problems, hypervigilance, physical tension, or reactions to sounds, smells, places, and situations that seemingly come out of nowhere. In this episode of Beyond the Window, we sit down with Norine Vander Hooven, LCSSW, trauma specialist, EMDR consultant, and owner of Westlake Trauma and Resilience, for an in-depth conversation about how unresolved experiences can continue to affect both the mind and the body. Noren explains the difference between “big T” and “little t” trauma and why experiences that may have seemed like a normal part of childhood can continue influencing us years later. She breaks down EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, including bilateral stimulation, resourcing, identifying root memories, processing negative beliefs, body scans, and what the healing process can actually feel like. The conversation also explores how trauma can become connected to sensory triggers, why some people dissociate, how early attachment experiences may shape emotional responses, and why successful trauma treatment doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting what happened. Instead, the goal can be reaching a place where the memory no longer carries the same emotional or physical intensity. We also move beyond individual therapy to discuss the emotional toll that trauma work can take on mental health professionals, including compassion fatigue, burnout, vicarious trauma, and the importance of meaningful self-care. In this episode:  How trauma can hide behind anxiety and panic   “Big T” vs. “little t” trauma   How trauma can show up physically in the body   What EMDR is and how bilateral stimulation works   The eight phases of EMDR therapy   Identifying root memories and negative beliefs   Trauma triggers involving sound, smell, touch, and environment   Dissociation, stabilization, and resourcing   Sand tray therapy and combining therapeutic approaches   What successful trauma healing can look like   Working with suicide loss and severe trauma   Compassion fatigue and burnout among therapists   Why therapists need their own support and self-care   Training and mentoring the next generation of clinicians   Healing retreats and creating space for mental health professionals to reset  Whether you’re navigating trauma yourself, supporting someone you love, or working in the mental health field, this conversation offers a deeper look at what healing can mean and why our experiences can remain in the body long after the immediate danger has passed.  Need support? If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health challenges, trauma, or substance use, you don’t have to navigate it alone. 📞 For more details about our process at La Ventana, call (800) 560-8518. Real people answer 8 am–8 pm, seven days a week. Beyond the Window Podcast | La Ventana Treatment Programs

Content note: This episode includes candid discussion of depression, grief, burnout and suicidal ideation. In this episode of Beyond the Window, La Ventana Clinical Director Jennifer Enriquez, LMFT, sits down with entrepreneur and mental health advocate Karen Cormier. Karen is a franchise owner with Team Referral Network who helps entrepreneurs grow their businesses through relationships. She is also a former La Ventana residential client who entered treatment in 2022 after cumulative grief, anxiety, depression and professional burnout left her unable to function. Karen openly shares what it felt like to reach rock bottom, step away from the business and people she cared for, and finally focus on her own healing. She and Jennifer explore the difficult work of residential treatment, the importance of continuing care and why recovery is not something a person simply completes. In this conversation: How cumulative grief and chronic burnout contributed to Karen’s mental health crisis The difference between staying busy and developing healthy coping skills What residential mental health treatment felt like during Karen’s first weeks Why grief does not follow a predictable timeline or a simple set of stages How pain and gratitude can exist at the same time The warning signs Karen now watches for when she is becoming overwhelmed Why boundaries, rest and turning off notifications are essential parts of her recovery Practical tools that supported her healing, including walking, time in nature, sound baths, grounding activities and community The importance of step-down care through PHP, IOP and continued support How friends can support someone who is struggling by taking meaningful action instead of waiting to be asked Karen’s emotional reaction to seeing a photograph from her first day in treatment The transformation from feeling lost and hopeless to becoming resilient, grateful and “perfectly imperfect” Karen’s story offers a powerful reminder that healing does not require perfection. It requires honesty, support, self-awareness and the willingness to keep putting one foot in front of the other. About the guest Karen Cormier is a franchise owner with Team Referral Network, an entrepreneur, connector and advocate for speaking openly about mental health. By sharing her experience with grief, burnout and treatment, Karen hopes others will recognize that they are not alone and that asking for help can be the beginning of getting their lives back. About Beyond the Window Beyond the Window is presented by La Ventana Treatment Programs. The podcast features honest conversations about mental health, trauma, substance use, recovery and the experiences that shape the healing process. Get support If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health challenges, trauma, substance use or co-occurring conditions, La Ventana Treatment Programs provides personalized treatment and multiple levels of care. Visit LaVentanaTreatment.com or call (800) 560-8518 for a complimentary clinical assessment. This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment.