Ashley Leonard highlights her extensive experience leading mentoring programs in chicago, and how it builds connection and belonging in students and teachers. We explore the benefits of mentoring and its relationship to improved academic and emotional outcomes for adolescents.

Guest:
Ashley Leonard. Education for 23 years. Counselor at Langston Hughes in Roseland Neighborhood of Chicago, IL. She has been a counselor for 15 years. Program Ambassador for Erika's Lighthouse. Speaks for their program which is free. Also do part time therapy, at Olive Branch Associates.

To connect with Ashley, please email:
aleonard3@uchicago.edu

To learn more about mentoring, please explore the following:
https://toandthrough.uchicago.edu/research

Timestamps:
4:00 – Personal Story – What Led You to Exploring Mentorship?
7:30 – Concept – Social Capital to Connect to Experiences
9:45 – Personal Story – How did you start the To & Through Program?
13:15 – Concept – Adolescence is the 2nd Most Important for Child development
13:15 – Research - Life course epidemiology: recognizing the importance of adolescence (Viner et al., 2015)
17:22 – Concept – What can mentorship look like in a high school?
18:30 – Concept – Mentors Need Understanding Adolescent Issues
19:22 – Concept – Mentors Benefit from Encouraging While Having High Expectations
20:00 – Concept – Mentoring Takes Time Commitment
21:20 – Benefits – Relationships (Belonging) are the Foundation for Success Academically
22:00 – Research - The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research - Foundations for Young Adult Success Report
22:00 – Research - The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research - Investing in Adolescents
24:20 – Strategy – Strength Based Conferences
27:00 – Research – The Impact of Student–Teacher Relationships on Black Middle School Boys (Leverett et al., 2022)
28:30 – Student Strategy – Finding Mentors – Ask For Help!
28:30 – Parent Strategy – Exploring Mentors – Formal Mentorship Programs Help, Especially for Post-Secondary Work
34:20 – Parent Strategy – Exploring Mentors – Ask Other Parents about Partnerships
38:30 – Student Strategy – Build Your Board of Directors
46:00 – Idea – How to Start a Mentorship Program
47:10 – Personal Strategy – Music & Walks

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/

Korey Wade:
@koreywade / @sphereofhiphop
Available now wherever you stream/download music.
Bandcamp: https://sphereofhiphop.bandcamp.com

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast

Dr. Cottone explores the ideas of tribalism and how it offers benefits and drawbacks around human connection. He emphasizes how identifying with a group can help people connect, survive, and have positive feelings, while having the potential to harm others.

Guest:
John G. Cottone, Ph.D., is a psychologist in private practice and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry within the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. His research—on psychotherapy outcome, executive functioning and the neurological correlates of schizophrenia—has been published in acclaimed peer-reviewed journals, including Archives of General Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. He has a youtube channel called MindCube 3D. He has contributed to Psychology Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post and is the author of several books included: Who Are You? Essential Questions for Hitchhikers on the Road of Truth and Z-score: How a Statistic Used in Psychology Will Revolutionize Baseball.

To learn more about Dr. Cottone, please visit:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-cube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcuWgaynspx77K4vavXIRfw
mindcube3d@gmail.com

Timestamps:
5:00 – Personal Story – What Brought Dr. Cottone into Exploring Tribalism
8:00 – Personal Story – Stepping Outside Tribes
8:55 – Book – Sapiens : a brief history of humankind (Harari, 2014)
9:30 – Reference – Tribalism: How to Be a Part of the Solution, Not the Problem (Cottone, 2025)
10:20 – Concept – Impact of Critiquing Your Own Tribe (Truthtellers and Traitors)
12:00 – Research – ‘They Saw a Protest’: Cognitive Illiberalism and the Speech-Conduct Distinction (Kanahan et al., 2011)
13:50 – Concept – Our Fist Tribe is Our Family
17:30 – Concept – Tribalism & Resources/Survival
17:47 – Research – Threat and the Rise of Fear Politics and Tribalism (Hobfoll, 2019)
19:00 – Concept – What Can Tribalism Look Like Day to Day?
22:10 – Research – Being part of a group can create positive feelings (Research)
23:40 – Benefit – You Can Make Connections with Other People in New Places
26:30 – Benefit – Decrease Loneliness, Increased Feelings of Empowerment
28:00 – Concept – Positive Benefits of Tribalism
29:50 – Concept – Options to Act on the Excesses of Your Tribe
34:00 – Dangers – Turning a Blind Eye to Your Tribe (Denial)
37:00 – Concept – How to Sit with Cognitive Dissonance from Your Tribe
42:30 – Student Strategies – Being Flexible to Making New Connections
51:30 – Story – Story of Shibboleth & Tribalism
54:50 – Parent Strategies – Emphasize Time and Perspective
58:00 – Research – Social connection as a key target for youth mental health (Birrell et al., 2025)
64:00 – Emotional Practice – Meditation & Spirituality

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
DJsNeverEndingStory: https://djsneverendingstory.bandcamp.com/

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast

In this In Practice Episode, Audra leads a conversation about Resilience, emphasizing the power of stories to explore resilience. She shares her professional stories helping parents and teens to create safe spaces for resiliency in stressful situations.

Guest:
Audra Lancaster is a District leader for school counselors in the State of Virginia.
Audra is an accomplished VCU graduate with a master's degree in Education, School Counseling. She has returned to VCU in pursuit of her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision to continue her lifelong work in providing comprehensive services and leadership in this field. With over 16 years in education, both in K-12 and Higher Education, Audra has worked intensively to serve her community as a counselor, educator, advocate, leader, and administrator (district leader in the state of VA). Along the way, she has supported her students, families, clients, and colleagues as they set out to grow personally and professionally. Audra currently serves as the district leader for School Counseling in a large school district in the US.

To learn more about Audra Lancaster, please visit:
https://www.noirecoaching.com/coach

Timestamps:
4:30 – Personal Story – What Connected Audra to Exploring Resilience
7:00 – Concepts – Important Ideas on Resilience
9:10 – Idea – How to Create Spaces for Resilience
12:30 – Research - Pain and emotion: a biopsychosocial review of recent research (Lumley et al., 2012)
13:20 – Concept – Responding Differently to the Same Difficulties
15:30 – Themes for Resilience Skills – Community, Opportunities, Choice
19:50 – Parent Strategies – Creating Safety to Explore Options and Next Steps
25:30 – Professional Story – A Professional Story on Resilience in Real Time
32:10 – Student Strategies – Using Your Support Network (Co-Regulation)
33:10 – Student Strategies – Having A Community
35:00 – Book - Restorative Circles in Schools: A Practical Guide for Educators - Second Edition
35:00 – Concept – Building Community to Navigate Future Distress
37:30 – Professional Story – Building Connections to Have Support
40:00 – Concept – No One Size Fits all for Resilience
42:00 – Concept – Nuance in Resilience
45:00 – Research - Population vs Individual Prediction of Poor Health From Results of Adverse Childhood Experiences Screening (Baldwin et al., 2021)
46:00 – Concept – ACEs score is limited in predicting poor health at the individual level
49:00 – Concept – Parenting Changes Developmentally from Providing Safety to Providing Skills
52:00 – Research – Effectiveness of resilience-based interventions in schools for adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis (Llistosella et al., 2023)
53:00 – Personal Strategy – Connection w/ People

Special thanks to musical artists:
Psalm Trees: https://psalmtreesbeats.bandcamp.com/
Gas Lab: https://gas-lab.bandcamp.com/music

To provide suggestions for new topics in future episodes, visit:
present-mind.org/podcast