Hope & Healing delivers exactly what the name promises in the form of honest and meaningful conversations with people from around the country who are making a difference through creative and inspirational work. Join host Matthew Butte, executive director of Children's Center in Vancouver, Washington and find the healing and the hope to refuel your day and make the world feel a little brighter.
Dr. Ken Duckworth of NAMI Says Mental Health Experts Are All Around Us
The National Alliance on Mental Illness’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ken Duckworth, says university degrees and scientific studies on mental illness are valuable. But they’re not the only ways to gain expertise. People who have lived with mental illness, people who have had front row seats to the struggles of close family members, have the educational benefit of lived experience, should be highly valued in our society. Dr. Duckworth’s book, You Are Not Alone: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health―With Advice from Experts and Wisdom from Real People and Families” features conversation and wisdom from over a hundred regular people who share their stories.
1 Jul 2025
The Incredibly Valuable Volunteers of Children’s Center
Volunteers Denise Burgoyne and Brian Thompson discuss their experiences and contributions at the Children's Center, highlighting the organization's significant impact on the community in this interview episode.
13 Jun 2025
Dr. Jessi Gold on Openness, Vulnerability, and the Medical Environment
Dr. Jessi Gold discusses her mental health journey and the stigmas she faces within the medical field, highlighting the shared vulnerability between clinicians and patients in this interview.
4 Jun 2025
Dr. Courtney Tracy, “The Truth Doctor”, Opens Her Door to Social Media
Dr. Courtney Tracy, a social media mental health expert, discusses her mission to disseminate mental health advice and her personal experiences with mental health, in an interview with Matthew Butte.
21 May 2025
The Hilarious Author Jenny Lawson and the Value of Openness
Jenny Lawson is a journalist, blogger, and the author of several New York Times best-selling books, including Broken (in the Best Possible Way), Furiously Happy, and Let’s Pretend This Never Happened. In this candid and, at times, very funny interview, Jenny talks about the healing power of being open about her longtime struggles with depression and anxiety. “There is an incredible freedom that comes from being honest about your struggles,” she says. “And that allows other people to be honest about theirs.”
10 Apr 2024
Al Vecchione on a Lifetime of Helping Those in Need
Al Vecchione is the founder and clinical director of The Francis Foundation, a private non-profit in Vermont that serves people with extremely challenging behavior. He’s also founder of the Francis Foundation Learning Center and co-founder of the Vermont Crisis Intervention Network. He’s been a trainer for Children’s Center, teaching how the body is the battleground where struggles around trauma, mental health and developmental disabilities are played out. In this engaging interview, Al shares with Children’s center Executive Director Matthew Butte some of the insights and lessons he’s learned over a lifetime helping people.
3 Apr 2024
Soul Shop’s Michelle Snyder on Hope and Suicide Prevention
Michelle Snyder is the executive director of Soul Shop, an organization that conducts trainings and workshops aimed at suicide prevention for faith community leaders. Michelle has been part of educational residencies all over the country, either conducting them herself or dispatching trained facilitators to address the growing problem of suicide and the ongoing challenge of a society that would often prefer to look the other way. In this honest and moving conversation with Matthew Butte, executive director of Children’s Center, Michelle talks about the hope that she has and the hard work still to be done.
27 Mar 2024
Hope and Healing Inside Children’s Center
In this episode, instead of talking to some of our favorite people around the country, we stay home and talk with some brilliant bringers of hope and healing right here at Children’s Center. Ashley Hernandez and Sarah Stahl are two of our in-house therapists doing amazing work with young clients. They tell Matthew Butte, executive director of Children’s Center, about the challenges and deep, profound rewards of working with the people who come to Children’s Center for help. Therapy can be hard work for client and clinician alike but Sarah and Ashley bring intelligence, heart, and creativity to the situation and can help make it a positive experience for everyone involved.
20 Mar 2024
Maggie Smith on the Healing Power of Poetry
Maggie Smith is one of the most popular and acclaimed American poets, with numerous poetry anthologies and a memoir to her name. Maggie is perhaps best known for Good Bones, a poem that has been read on network television, at Lincoln Center by Meryl Streep, and in a thousand memes distributed all over the internet. She sits down for an interview about mental health and the written word with Children’s Center Executive Director Matthew Butte, who has long been inspired by the power and potential of poetry.
5 Mar 2024
John Moe on Openness, Honesty and Jokes
John Moe is a podcaster and speaker based in Saint Paul, Minnesota and the author of The Hilarious World of Depression. He believes that open and honest conversation about mental illness is one of the best paths available to removing the stigma around the issue and helping society find some healing. He also believes that humor definitely has a place in discussions of mental health. In this interview with Children’s Center’s Matthew Butte, John tells of his own journey and what he’s learned about helping himself and helping others.
Who has been a guest on Hope & Healing with Children’s Center
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Denise Burgoyne
Brian Thompson
Dr Jessi Gold
Dr Courtney Tracy
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
15
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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