Therapy stops being mysterious when you realize it’s less about fixing your thoughts and more about learning to feel safe in your own body.

Dr. Andrew Fix sits down with psychotherapist Lauren Goldberg, LCSW, for an honest look at psychotherapy and what actually helps people feel better. They talk about mental health beyond labels, how the body plays a crucial role in healing, and why anxiety isn’t a flaw to eliminate but a signal to understand.

What if success at work has been your safest place to hide? What if your body already knows what your mind keeps avoiding? Lauren shares how curiosity, consistency, and a grounded therapeutic relationship can turn those questions into real progress.

This conversation reframes therapy as practice, not performance—a clear, human reminder that growth comes through presence, honesty, and small moments of awareness that build lasting change.

Quotes

• “As therapists, our personal work is very congruent with our work with clients. So, I use my own self-exploration to become a better tool for my clients” (10:53 | Lauren Goldberg)
• “We expect there to be this beginning, middle and resolution to what we are going through. And there isn’t always. What it often is, is we’re dealing with something and then the resolution is actually how to be with it in a different way.”(23:40 |  Lauren Goldberg)
• “What I don’t do is tell people what they should do. I don’t give advice. It’s a very open-ended dialogue. I do a lot of educating, particularly about the nervous system. But I think for any good therapist, you’re doing a lot of educating about why one is now doing things the way that they’re doing based on their history.” (29:05 |  Lauren Goldberg)
• “The coming up and coming down is what builds resiliency. And that’s what we want to build in therapy. That’s what we want to build in PT.” (48:11 |  Lauren Goldberg)
• “If you’ve tried therapy before and it did not feel like a good fit, please try again. It truly is like dating. You have to figure out who’s a good fit for you.” (49:51 | Lauren Goldberg)

Connect with Lauren Goldberg:

Visit The Secure Base Mental Health, LLC 

Follow Lauren on Instagram

Follow Lauren on Facebook

Links

SideKick Tool

Movemate: Award-Winning Active Standing Board

15% off Promo Code: DRA15

RAD Roller

Revogreen

HYDRAGUN 

Athletic Brewing

20% off: ANDREWF20

Connect with Physio Room:

Visit the Physio Room Website

Follow Physio Room on Instagram

Follow Physio Room on Facebook

Andrew’s Personal Instagram

Andrew’s Personal Facebook

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

The post 198. You Don’t Have to Do It All Alone | Lauren Goldberg appeared first on Physio Room.

Congratulations, CrossFit athlete! Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or a first-time Open participant, completing the Open workouts is a remarkable achievement. Now, as we transition to the next stage of the competition, the quarterfinals, it’s time to focus on refining your skills and maximizing your performance and prepare for quarterfinals. 

1. Celebrate Your Accomplishments:

Before diving into the next phase of competition, take a moment to celebrate your achievements in the Open. Whether you hit new personal records, conquered challenging movements, or simply pushed yourself to new limits, acknowledge your hard work and dedication. Reflect on your progress and use it as motivation as you prepare for the quarterfinals.

2. Assess Your Performance in the Open:

Reflect on your performance in the Open and identify areas where you excelled and areas where you can improve. Whether it’s improving your strength, refining your technique, or enhancing your conditioning, use your Open performance as a guide for your quarterfinals preparation. Set specific goals and targets to focus your training and track your progress leading up to the competition.

3. Focus on Recovery and Nutrition:

Prioritize recovery and nutrition to support your training and optimize performance leading up to the quarterfinals. Incorporate recovery modalities such as mobility work, stretching, foam rolling, and adequate sleep into your routine to prevent injury and promote recovery. 

If you’ve encountered any lingering injuries or discomfort during the Open, take proactive steps to address them. Given the intensity of the last workout, which involved heavy gymnastics and thrusters, it’s essential to prioritize self-care to ensure you’re performing at your peak. Don’t wait until it’s too late – take care of yourself now to optimize your performance and stay in top condition for the challenges ahead. We are here to help! 

Here is a good read on how to bullet proof your back. 

https://youtube.com/shorts/k-7SQlrO4DY?si=XFHFDxKF4pY8kufT

https://youtube.com/shorts/j1bV41gRRAs?si=bqSX7zquPi84COu5

https://youtube.com/shorts/2BpLGQFMzIY?si=4uxjG6eAGMTZfPYS

4.  Fine-Tune Your Training Program:

Based on your assessment, develop a customized training program that addresses your strengths and weaknesses while preparing you for the demands of the quarterfinals. Incorporate a balanced mix of strength training, skill work, conditioning, and recovery to ensure comprehensive preparation. 

5. Understand the Quarterfinals Format:

Familiarize yourself with the format of the quarterfinals. Most gyms will have you complete this on your own time. Grab other athletes and some judges and make a game plan.  Pay attention to movement standards, time domains, and any equipment specifications to ensure you’re fully prepared for each workout.

As you prepare yourself for your quarterfinals journey, remember that you’ve already accomplished something remarkable by completing the Open. Now, with the opportunity to showcase your abilities in the quarterfinals, it’s time to channel your hard work and dedication into success. 

Trust in your preparation, stay focused on your goals, and approach each workout with confidence and determination. Whether you’re aiming to qualify for the next stage of competition or simply aiming to challenge yourself, embrace the opportunity for growth and enjoy the journey ahead. Good luck, and may you rise to the occasion and achieve your best performance yet in the quarterfinals!

The post Congratulations on Completing the Open! Here’s Your Guide to Prepare for Quarterfinals Success appeared first on Physio Room.

Yikes. We’ve been there. 

Let’s talk about why you might have some shoulder or neck issues.

When your shoulder gets irritated, three things happen.

1. Guarding

Naturally, as humans, we don’t like pain, so we end up trying to guard it. When your peck gets tight, it pulls your shoulder forward. 

2. Elevation

On the other side of that, if you use your upper trap muscle, that elevates it and you’re walking around with a raised, tight trap. 

3. Deltoid guarding

Deltoid pain on the side of your shoulder feels like someone is punching you. Imagine you make a fist, and your knuckles turn white because there’s no blood supply. 

When you’re guarding a muscle like your deltoid, you ache because there’s no blood supply. 

What we want to do is hit the reset button on this process when you’re experiencing shoulder pain. 

In order to start alleviating some of these symptoms and put yourself in a better postural position and get stronger, we want to use the lower trap. 

The fibers in your lower trap can pull the shoulder blade down and in. We want to use these more. 

When the fibers in your lower trap start pulling up, that’s when you start feeling tension. You start getting tension headaches at the back of your head and behind the eyes, and many other issues.

We see this ALL of the time at Physio Room. People are referred in with shoulder issues and it’s really a neck issue. Or vice versa. 

It’s not always a cookie cutter issue, and there are SPECIFICS to your own body. Not all shoulder and neck pain is created equal.

Now, let’s talk about the rotator cuff. 

When people have rotator cuff issues, the space between their humerus and scapula bones get smaller, and the supraspinatus muscle gets pinched.

When this happens, we see syndromes like impingement syndrome or uncomfortable rubbing to a breaking point. 

Surgeons might shave the bone, but one of the BEST things that you can do is strengthening your rotator cuff. 

If you combine this rotator cuff strength with pulling your lower trap DOWN and IN, your upper trap gets less tight and you’ll see less irritation and dysfunction in that zone. 

The goal here is to set your body up into a better postural position. 

Surgery, drugs and injections are not necessarily the answer here. You can avoid that by catching this pain early on!

View our full YouTube video tutorial here to learn more about these muscles, bones, and how to navigate this shoulder and neck pain issue. 

If you have questions or want to learn more, give us a call at 720.316.9974. 

The post OUCH. Got Sharp Shoulder Pain? Here’s Why… appeared first on Physio Room.