For many federal workers, federal employment used to represent pride in public service, professional identity, community, and stability, along with a sense that established rules and procedures would provide some measure of security.
When that sense of security was disrupted by massive federal workforce terminations and layoffs that began in early 2025, the psychological consequences were often severe.
In this Ready Living Podcast episode, Roz Beroza, LCSW-C, shares how she recognized an urgent unmet need, which led to the creation of Therapy4Feds, an online network of mental health providers offering services to discharged federal workers at no or reduced cost.
The network includes psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, licensed professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists who volunteer their expertise.
Roz talks about how mental health support can be an important part of dealing with the unique circumstances of destabilizing job loss among federal workers, a loss that affects not just the workers themselves, but also their family members and loved ones.
This episode looks at the connection between work, identity, public service, and mental health, offering a clearer understanding of the emotional impact of massive job loss and the resources available through Therapy4Feds to help former federal workers navigate it all.
Our trauma doesn’t define who we are, says trauma recovery educator Barb Varcl Smith.
Drawing from her own experience growing up in communist Czechoslovakia amid political persecution, poverty, and prolonged uncertainty, she explains how the mind develops protective responses that help people survive difficult environments, but that are often maladaptive in the long run. These survival responses become deeply embedded, shaping relationships, self-worth, decision-making, and everyday behavior long after the original circumstances have passed.
Rather than criticizing ourselves, however, we should ask “What is this behavior or thought trying to protect me from?” She describes the trauma responses of fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and what she calls “fake resilience,” the appearance of functioning while remaining emotionally disconnected. She also discusses inherited patterns, learned behaviors, and the ways children absorb emotional environments from those around them.
She explains how rebuilding inner strength, self-love, intuition, wisdom, and purpose can help people reconnect with who they are beyond trauma. She also shows how individual healing can create ripple effects throughout families and future generations, helping break generational cycles. She offers a structured framework for recovery, showing how healing can move people beyond survival and toward living with greater freedom and intention.
People are feeling a lot of stress and insecurity around work these days, says award-winning workplace mental health expert Ken Dolan-Del Vecchio, and it’s fundamentally because too often they’re treated not as valued members of an organization in their own right, but merely as something from which to extract productivity.
With 30 years of experience, including nearly two decades overseeing behavioral health at a Fortune 500 company, he has seen workplace culture at both its best and worst. The worst includes employees who feel undervalued and disposable, supervisors who are promoted without being adequately prepared to lead, and senior leaders quietly planning the next round of layoffs while publicly claiming people are their greatest asset. The best, he argues, starts with something simpler than most organizations realize, namely a good immediate supervisor who understands that workplace health spans physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and financial wellbeing.
He takes a clear-eyed look at why somewhere between 50% and 85% of Americans report being unhappy at work, and warns against tying one’s identity too closely to a particular job or title.
He’s sharply critical of layoffs as a standard corporate response to financial pressure, referencing Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of Dying for a Paycheck, whose research shows that mass layoffs generally don’t improve stock prices, hurt productivity, destroy institutional knowledge, and damage those who remain.
Drawing on his own experience of being laid off from a position he loved, he shares the importance of focusing equally on three things: the job you’re contracted for, the ongoing work of stewarding your own career, and the managing of your personal finances. The last of the three, he notes, is especially critical in the United States, where the absence of a strong social safety net can quickly escalate financial vulnerability.
How power is viewed is also fundamental to workplace health. Ken draws a distinction between “power over,” namely domination, ranking, and punishment, and “power with,” which rests on shared responsibility, collaboration, and the belief that different perspectives make organizations stronger rather than harder to control. Leaders and organizations that operate from the second model tend to grow their collective strength, he argues.
Ken earned his bachelor’s degree in bio-psychology at Cornell University and his master’s degree in social work at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He completed a three year intensive post-graduate program in family therapy at The Multicultural Family Institute in Highland Park, New Jersey.
After a near-fatal battle with mental illness, Barbara Louise Brennan is grateful to be alive. Now 16 years well, she is a renowned change maker, stigma disruptor, and workplace mental health solutions expert.
In this episode, she opens up about her early struggles, how she rebuilt her life, and the importance of breaking down the stigma around mental illness. “If I can come back…anybody can do it,” she says.
She argues that we need to expand the discussion around mental health to include the broader context of people’s lives, not just the symptoms illness present. She emphasizes that individuals are more than their problems and wants people to see that mental illness is something they can move through or manage, rather than something that defines them.
She stresses that while we have made significant strides, the work of reducing stigma is far from over. Language, understanding, and compassion are key in creating a world where seeking help for mental health is as accepted as seeking help for physical health, and where stigma no longer stands in the way of recovery.
She has advised influential bodies like the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Health Service Executive, and the Irish National Office for Suicide Prevention, and lectured at institutions like Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University. Today she focuses on helping create supportive and inclusive work environments, working with organizations to develop strong, employee-friendly mental health policies that go beyond compliance.
Barbara’s story is a powerful testament to resilience and recovery, offering hope to anyone navigating their own mental health journey. It’s filled with expert advice on how to grow, heal, and thrive.
In a world where pushing to the brink of burnout and beyond is often the norm in pursuit of success, what led a former policy and political advisor to shift course and embrace a life of health and well-being?It’s a question that challenges us to identify what truly brings meaning to our lives and invites us to consider how we might redirect our talents from a purely achievement-oriented focus towards a life that combines service of others with personal well-being.
This episode’s guest is Laurie A. Watkins, a former policy and political advisor in the Obama administration, author of the health and wellness book Go From Stressed to Strong, Founder & President of Sunshine L.A.W. Consulting, and Founder of The Cook’s Collective.
After suffering a burnout in 2008 while working in national politics, she learned the importance of prioritizing one’s physical and mental health. She traded in a stress-filled and unhealthy lifestyle for one that enabled her to flourish, strengthening her ability to serve others. As a social impact leader and catalyst for change, she now helps other people do the same.
It was during her own health journey that she recognized the important role food plays in nourishing both body and mind. After getting to know celebrity Chef José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides meals to people at the front lines of humanitarian, climate, and community conflict, she was inspired to co-found The Cook’s Collective which champions systemic changes that prioritize the mental health and well-being of people who work in the food and beverage industry.
In this episode, Laurie shares how from a young age she learned to speak up when something was wrong, why taking care of yourself isn’t selfish, and why we don’t need to sacrifice well-being in pursuit of an impactful and meaningful life. She also talks about the very special role her companion animal plays in her life.
Anger is often seen as a destructive force, something to be feared and avoided. Yet, beneath its fiery exterior lies a powerful tool capable of driving change and even fostering creativity. Understanding and harnessing anger can unlock a new realm of possibilities, turning this misunderstood emotion into a source of strength and inspiration.
He explains that anger is fundamentally an emotional response comprising thoughts, physiological arousal, and action tendencies. He delves into the cognitive aspects of anger, highlighting how thoughts of fairness, injustice, and even revenge can accompany this emotion.
He also highlights the societal biases that affect how different groups are perceived when expressing anger, noting that marginalized individuals often face unfair consequences for their anger.
He discusses how the intensity and frequency of anger, along with its impact on the individual and others, determine whether it is problematic. He encourages people to be aware of how their anger affects their loved ones and to seek professional help if necessary. But he suggests avoiding therapists who recommend outward physical expressions of anger as a way to feel better, arguing that things like rage rooms don’t work.
While sometimes anger is misplaced, Dr. Martin points out that it can arise from genuine experiences of poor treatment or injustice, making it a legitimate and appropriate response. He calls on people to recognize the power of anger and harness it for constructive purposes.
