EP 19: Navigating family relatives, school performances and busy shopping environments during the holidays (50-min): Dr. E answers a handful of holiday-themed mailbag questions from our community. We chat about how to handle family relatives at large family gatherings, tips to give to your child’s teacher ahead of upcoming holiday parties, realistic goals to set for your teen while doing your holiday shopping, and more.

EP 18: Holiday Prep – Recorded Nov ’22 (41-min): The holiday season is here! While it’s a fun and joyous time, it can also be a stressful and overwhelming time for children and teens with Selective Mutism. Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum sits down with co-host Alex Collins to answer some listener questions on how to best prepare yourself, child or teen heading into the holidays.

Ask Dr. E: When to get your child tested, why your teen is leaving their test blank, tips when traveling & more (33-min): In the third installment of our Ask Dr E podcast series, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum answers four wide-ranging questions from our listeners including when to get your child tested, why your teen is leaving their test blank, tips when traveling & more!

EP 17- Live Chat with Teens at CommuniCamp™ (39-min): This episode features a live discussion with Dr. Elisa Shipon Blum and four teenagers at a recent CommuniCamp. The four teens share their individual experiences with Selective Mutism, answering questions, providing advice and recommendations, and serving as a beacon of hope and support to anyone else going through their own journey with Selective Mutism.

EP 16- How to navigate the testing & assessment process at school and accommodate school-related difficulties (73-min): Dr. E sits down with SMart Center Lead Clinician Jennifer Brittingham to discuss ways to navigate the testing and assessment process, what to do when your child has difficulty engaging with peers, how to build comfort with teachers, and more.  

EP 15- Differences between 504 and IEP plans, getting the school on board with treatment, building social skills & more (44-min):Dr. E is joined once again by SMart Center Lead Clinician Jennifer Brittingham to discuss the differences between 504 and IEP plans, ways to get your child’s school staff on board with treatment, how to make progress without a formal 504 or IEP plan, and more. This episode is the perfect primer for the new school year ahead. 

EP 14- Back to School (Recorded Sept. ’22, 71-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum welcomes Jennifer Brittingham LPC, a SMart Center lead clinician and school consultant to the podcast to discuss all things back to school! From preparing your child/teen and their teachers, to the comfort-building strategies that help with progression of communication, to how to educate the school, to determining IEP & 504 plans, this episode is jam-packed!

Ask Dr E – How to apply CBT, build friendships, assess your child’s emotional regulation & more (33-min): In the second installment of our Ask Dr. E podcast series, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum answers five questions relating to teenagers with Selective Mutism and discusses topics including how to apply CBT, help build friendships, assess your child’s emotional regulation, and more. 

EP 13, Preparing for Summer w/ Jennifer Brittingham, LPC:This episode features a great discussion between Dr. E and Jennifer Brittingham – the SMart Center’s Lead Clinician and School Consultant – on what parents can do to prepare their children for the summer months ahead. These next few months will provide individuals with SM with some unique opportunities. There will be untraditional socialization situations with peers, visits with extended family, and may even include a summer vacation to a new, unfamiliar place. Dr E and Jen break all these scenarios down and more in this episode. 

EP 12, Live Chat w/ Parents of Children (Ages 3-8): This episode features a second installation of our live chat with parents. In this episode, we focus the discussion on children ages three to eight with Selective Mutism. This live chat is moderated once again by CommuniCamp Director and Outreach Coordinator, LisaMarie Vargas. Thank you to the parents who joined the show and for engaging in a thoughtful discussion with Dr. Elisa Shipon Blum and LisaMarie!

EP 11, PT 2: THE MISSING LINK with JENNIFER BRITTINGHAM, LPC (49-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum is joined once again by Jennifer Brittingham, LPC to break down Stage 2 of the Social Communication Bridge®, otherwise known as the transitional stage of communication. Here at the SMart Center, we often refer to this stage as ‘The Missing Link’ to treatment. 

EP 11: THE MISSING LINK with JENNIFER BRITTINGHAM, LPC (41-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum is joined once again by Jennifer Brittingham, LPC to break down Stage 2 of the Social Communication Bridge®, otherwise known as the transitional stage of communication. Here at the SMart Center, we often refer to this stage as ‘The Missing Link’ to treatment. 

DR. E’S RECENT GUEST APPEARANCE ON THE PSYCHED TO PRACTICE PODCAST (74-min): A few weeks ago, Dr. Elisa Shipon Blum had the pleasure of joining Dr. Ray Christner and Paul Wagner on the Psyched to Practice podcast. Psyched to Practice is a podcast designed to explore the far reaches of mental health. Dr. E and the podcast’s co-hosts covered a lot of great material on Selective Mutism and we want to bring everything discussed directly to our podcast feed.

Thank you, Dr. Ray Christner and Paul Wagner, for allowing us to bring this amazing episode to our listeners!

ASK DR. E #1 (26-min): If you follow us on social media or receive our monthly newsletter, you’re likely familiar with our ongoing Ask Dr. E segment. “Ask Dr E” is where our community can ask Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum any question they have on any topic relating to Selective Mutism. Since rolling out this segment in 2022, we have received some amazing questions. As a result, we are giving the segment more life by giving it its own series on our podcast feed! These Q&A-type episodes will be released once a quarter, and we can’t be more excited!

EP 10, LIVE CHAT W/ PARENTS OF TEENS (45-min): Dr Elisa Shipon-Blum answers questions from a couple of parents of teenagers that had Selective Mutism. The discussion is moderated by CommuniCamp Director and Outreach Coordinator LisaMarie Vargas. Thank you to both parents who joined the show and for engaging in a thoughtful discussion with Dr. E and LisaMarie!

EP 9, SCHOOL-BASED ACCOMMODATIONS & INTERVENTIONS (75-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum welcomes Jennifer Brittingham, LPC back to the podcast to discuss the general approach to providing effective school-based accommodations and interventions and why it’s important to have them. 

BONUS EP, LIVE Q&A PANEL @ COMMUNICAMP (73-min): This bonus episode features a live Q&A panel that was recorded at a recent CommuniCamp. In this episode, Dr. Elisa Shipon Blum moderates a five-guest panel of former patients and parents of patients who share their journey overcoming Selective Mutism.

EP8, HOLDIAY PREP (40-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum sits down with co-host Alex Collins to answer some listener questions on how to best prepare yourself, child or teen heading into the holidays.

EP7, The QUAD (99-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum welcomes Jennifer Brittingham, LPC, back on the podcast to discuss the prevalence of eating, sleeping, toileting, and behavioral difficulties associated with Selective Mutism – otherwise known as the ‘QUAD’.

EP6, MEDICATION (37-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum uses this month’s podcast episode to explain the reasons to consider the use of medication as an adjunct in the treatment of Selective Mutism. The SMart Center receives questions on this topic all the time. “Should I use medication?” “For how long should I use medication?” “What type of medication should I use?” “What’s the dosing of medication to use?” “When can I ween off?” “How do I ween?” Dr. E answers all of these questions and more in this month’s episode.

EP5, BACK TO SCHOOL W/ JENNIFER BRITTINGHAM LPC (70-min):  Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum welcomes Jennifer Brittingham LPC, a SMart Center lead clinician and school consultant to the podcast to discuss all things back to school! From preparing your child/teen and their teachers, to the comfort–building strategies that help with progression of communication, to how to educate the school, to determining IEP & 504 plans, this episode is jam-packed!

EP4, THE SOCIAL COMMUNICATION BRIDGE® (BONUS FAQ; 61-min): We received so many questions after our two-part episode on The Social Communication Bridge® that we decided to record a BONUS episode and answer some of them! Dr. E and co-host Alex Collins answer ten questions over the course of this 61-minute episode.

EP4, THE SOCIAL COMMUNICATION BRIDGE® (PART 2; 26-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum continues her discussion on The Social Communication Bridge®. Dr. E and co-host Alex Collins discuss how to ‘transition’ from nonverbal to verbal communication, key strategies within the school setting, how to bridge up or down to reduce anxiety, and much more!

EP4, THE SOCIAL COMMUNICATION BRIDGE® (PART 1; 35-min): Learn all about Dr. Elisa Shipon–Blum’s popular visual tool, the Social Communication Bridge©. Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum and co-host Alex Collins discuss how and why the Bridge was developed, how to determine an individual’s stage of communication on the Bridge, key strategies to progress across the Bridge, the importance of respecting which stage an individual is on the Bridge, and much more!

EP3, COMORBIDITIES OF SELECTIVE MUTISM W/ DR. VERA JOFFE (Part 2; 38-min): Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum continues her conversation with Board Certified Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychologist Vera Joffe Ph.D., P.A.. Dr. E and Dr. Joffe discuss bilingual/multiculturalism, being an immigrant, social anxiety, auditory processing, and more!

EP2 S-CAT®: A Whole Person Approach (44-min) – On this episode of Unspoken Words, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (‘Dr. E’) goes into detail about the philosophy and strategies that make up S-CAT®, her evidence-based Social Communication Anxiety Treatment® approach. Dr. E also unpacks the WHYs of Selective Mutism that are essential to understanding what is causing and maintaining the condition. This whole person approach respects an individual’s unique needs and their stage of social communication.

EP1 More Than Mutism (26-min) – In the first episode of Unspoken Words, Dr. Shipon-Blum describes how she got to where she is today and why Selective Mutism (SM) is such a misunderstood diagnosis. She is so excited to be sharing her expertise with you! Welcome to Unspoken Words.