Ask me a question or let me know what you think! "Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women." -Maya Angelou As we cross the threshold from 2025 into 2026, this episode invites you to pause, reflect, and choose a different way forward—one rooted in values rather than willpower. Opening with Maya Angelou’s reminder that when one woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women, we explore how values guide our decisions, actions, and sense of meaning acro...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “Self-care is how you take your power back.” — Lila Delia 🧠 In This Episode Why purpose = values + committed action (from an ACT perspective)How values differ from goals — and why that matters for long-term wellbeingWhat happens in your brain after 50–90 minutes of focused workWhy breaks improve productivity, creativity, learning, and memoryWhat doesn’t count as a break (hint: scrolling your phone)How micro-breaks support your prefrontal cortex...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! In this episode of The Modern Creative Woman, Dr. Amy Backos continues the conversation on creating more chill holidays by exploring the neuropsychology of choice, habit, and tradition. She weaves personal reflection with brain science to offer listeners both compassion and practical insight into why the holidays can feel so overwhelming—and how meaningful change is actually possible. Dr. Backos begins by normalizing the gap between intention a...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! The Process Is the Way: How to Actually Enjoy Your Holiday Season In this episode, Amy shares the surprising truth about the exact right moment to pause, relax, and return to yourself: when you feel way too busy to do it. If you’ve ever sprinted through December—overspending, overcommitting, overperforming, and quietly drowning in guilt, stress, or “holiday hustle”—this conversation is your invitation to stop treating the holidays like a finish...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! In this episode, Dr. Amy Backos takes you inside a moment every creative woman knows too well—the quiet drift away from our creativity and, in many ways, from ourselves. What begins as a blank page or stalled idea can quickly snowball into self-doubt, overwhelm, or a nervous system stuck in self-protection. But this isn’t a personal failure—it’s biology, psychology, and lived experience converging. For 20 grounding minutes, Amy unpacks why we s...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! In this week’s episode, Dr. Amy Backos invites listeners into a grounding and honest conversation about the power of values—especially as we head into a season filled with expectations, pressure, and anticipatory anxiety. Using the Buddha’s teaching on the “drunken monkeys” mind as a starting point, Amy explores how our restless, swirling thoughts can pull us away from what truly matters… unless we intentionally return to presence. Amy breaks d...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! "Creativity itself doesn't care about results. The only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and let whatever happens happen next without fussing too much about it. Work like a monk or a mule or some other representative metaphor for diligence. Love the work. Destiny will do what it wants with you regardless." - Elizabeth Gilbert Support the show Explore the Modern Creative Woman Community https://moderncreativewoman....

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right.” - Aung San Suu Kyi In this episode, Dr. Amy Backos invites you to rethink your relationship with creativity, success, and even everyday life. Amy explores how our attachment to outcomes—whether in art, parenting, or personal growth—can limit our sense of fulfillment and agency. Through stories from her own art practice, her time as a student in art critiques,...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “Extending yourself in compassion to another human being changes the nature of your relationship. The acknowledgment of one human being to another is what bonds, strengthens, and expands the human connection.” — Oprah Winfrey Empathy is one of the most beautiful, natural instincts we have as human beings — and one of the most misunderstood. Support the show Explore the Modern Creative Woman Community https://moderncreativewoman.com Free Go...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “The environment is where we all meet. Where all of us have a mutual interest. It is the one thing all of us share.” - Lady Bird Johnson In this episode, Dr. Amy Backos, psychologist and art therapist, explores the powerful relationship between your environment and your psychological well-being. Drawing from behavioral science, art therapy, and design psychology, Amy unpacks how your physical, social, media, and internal environments infl...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! The body remembers the bones. Remember the joints. Remember even the little finger remembers. Memory is lodged in pictures and feelings in cells themselves." -Clarissa Pinkola, Estes Episode Summary: In this episode, Dr. Amy Backos explores embodied cognition — the scientific and soulful understanding that our bodies think, remember, and know in ways beyond words. From the comforting scent of freshly baked bread to th...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! "Play is the state of mind that we can use in our creative process to our advantage." Jessica Walsh Grab your Modern Creative Woman Manifest Here! Support the show Explore the Modern Creative Woman Community https://moderncreativewoman.com Free Goodies and Subscribe to the Monthly Newsletter https://moderncreativewoman.com/subscribe-to-the-creative-woman/ Connect with Dr. Amy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dramybackos/

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! "Is this hot or not hot?" Skylar Collé holds a dual Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and Art Therapy, and she is currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Sexology. Her research focuses on the 4-D Wheel as a tool for embodied, liberated, and decolonial healing. Skylar’s work brings together instinct and intellect, neuroscience and intuition, moving at the intersection of ritual and evidence-based therapy to support deep transformation ...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! "Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day." – Henri Nouwen This week on The Modern Creative Woman Podcast, Dr. Amy shares reflections from hosting a benefit tea party for I Support the Girls and how small, simple acts of service can ripple out into meaningful change. Then we dive deep into the psychology of wonder and awe — what they are, how they shape our perception of the world, and why openness ...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “I would sooner live in a cottage and wonder at everything. Then live in a castle and wonder at nothing.” Joan Windmill Brown Hope is not just a feeling — it’s a practice, a mindset, and a vital ingredient for healing and growth. In today’s episode, Dr. Amy Backos explores the psychology of hope and how we can intentionally cultivate it in our lives. You’ll learn: ✨ Why hope is the first and most important step toward feeling better...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “It is only a thought and thoughts can be changed.” - Louise Hay In this powerful episode of The Modern Creative Woman Podcast, Dr. Amy Backos dives into one of the most liberating concepts from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): defusion – the skill of seeing your thoughts as just thoughts, not facts. Using a personal story about flying first class for the first time, Dr. Amy illustrates how fused thought...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night.” -Marilyn Vos Savant Join your Modern Creative Woman retreat here: https://moderncreativewoman.com Special bonus for podcast listeners - reserve your spot in the retreat and as an added bonus, you get a month long workshop inside The Modern Creative Woman. This episode is all about cultivating the habit of Wonder and Awe - fee...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “If we're by ourselves, we come to feel crazy and alone. We need to make alternate families of small groups of women who support each other. Talk to each other regularly, can speak their truths and their experiences, and find they're not alone in them. And that other women have them too. It makes such a huge difference.” -Gloria Steinem, writer, political activist, feminist icon How ca...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! “Knowing what you don't want is just as important as knowing what you do want.” -My Mom It's my mom's birthday today and I thought I would share 12 of the truisms she taught me growing up and how many of them are backed by science. Support the show Explore the Modern Creative Woman Community https://moderncreativewoman.com Free Goodies and Subscribe to the Monthly Newsletter https://moderncreativewoman.com/subscrib...

Ask me a question or let me know what you think! This episode is just you and me. I thought it would be a great time for us to catch up on what's happening and let you know what I've been up to. It will be a little bit of a different episode...rather than talking with you about art therapy and creativity, I hope to let you know me a little more. I'm talking about a month in Paris, lingerie, what book my anti-racism group is reading, my latest book, how I write, and what is happening with my k...