The Catalyst Podcast

About The Catalyst Podcast

A weekly podcast and newsletter, The Catalyst is Chestnut Health Systems’ platform for sharing ideas, insights, and innovation that advance public health and strengthen systems of care. Rooted in Chestnut’s decades-long commitment to direct care, prevention, research, and education, The Catalyst highlights real-world solutions that support whole-person health, foster resilience, and help individuals, families, and communities reach their full potential. It reflects the full scope of Chestnut’s work—from direct care and community‑based services to research, prevention, recovery, and policy‑relevant insight. - Chestnut Health Systems™ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health through a comprehensive approach that includes direct service delivery, prevention, research, training, and system improvement. For decades, Chestnut has worked to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice—helping individuals thrive, strengthening organizations, and supporting healthier communities. The Chestnut corporate office is in central Illinois, with clinical locations in Belleville, Bloomington, Granite City, and Maryville, IL and De Soto and Hillsboro, MO; prevention and recovery services are offered in dozens of counties in Illinois; and Lighthouse Institute research offices are located in Chicago and Bloomington, IL, Euguene, OR, and remote researchers across the United States.

Publisher

The Catalyst Podcast

Category

health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Oct 2024

Latest episode

3 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

85 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Nov 2026

   Recovery, Resilience and Resurgence in Indian Country.

   Rod Robinson has spent more than 40 years in the helping profession, specializing in addiction recovery across Indian country. He has served as a therapist, administrator, educator, and policymaker for private provider groups, tribes, and both state and federal agencies. He led the Indian Alcohol and Drug Abuse office at SAMHSA and most recently directed the Pathway to Wellness Recidivism Reduction Initiative for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He is now leading Lifeline, LLC, which provides coaching, counseling, and consulting.Highlights:Why “Indian” and “Indian country” are preferred terms, vs. “Native American,” particularly in the lower 48 states. The education system’s poor representation of Indigenous stories and the need for greater balance and for challenging negative stereotypes. The 7th Generation prophecy, explaining that the current generation’s role is to prepare the environment for healers to emerge among all nations—work reflected in efforts such as the Eastern Shoshone Tribe’s Doya Natsu Healing Center.The broad range of customs among Indian tribes, and the need to approach each with respect and deference. How alcohol was historically used as a tool to gain power and land, and the root causes of alcoholism across Indian communities. The shift from conventional treatment models toward more innovative approaches centered on healing and teaching.

2. 

   27 Oct 2026

   Tapping Through Trauma: the Proven Benefits of EMDR Therapy

   Dr. Laurel Parnell, founder of the Parnell Institute, teaches a client-centered, attachment-focused, innovative, and culturally sensitive approach to the treatment of trauma using EMDR therapy that includes the whole person—body, mind, heart, and spirit. She specializes in EMDR and has authored seven books on the subject. In this discussion, we cover:What EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is and how it works.What Attachment-Focused EMDR means.When she first encountered EMDR and what made her decide to dedicate so much of her career to it.Why EMDR, despite endorsement by the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association and decades of research behind it, still isn’t as widely known as CBT in the U.S., including common misconceptions that have hindered its broader embrace.Several of her books, including Tapping In and Releasing What Isn’t Yours, and how they bring resource-tapping techniques to a wider global audience.How you can tap in the privacy of your home or while waiting to be seen by your dentist.You can find Dr. Parnell's books here: https://shorturl.at/ZYXFs

3. 

   20 Oct 2026

   Finding the Groove: On Trust, Listening, and Leading Through Changee

   Joining us on this executive leadership edition of the Catalyst Podcast is Stephen DaRe. The theme of our conversation is how a former Navy musician, recovering CFO (his words), and the CEO of Chimes - a $300 million dollar nonprofit with 3,500 employees serving more than 26 thousand people with disabilities and mental health challenges across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C - builds trust, develops people, and leads through constant change. We discuss: A theme that weaves through the conversation is how his background as a musician informs his leadership style. His journey from the military, a career in managed healthcare finance, to crossing over into nonprofit leadership at Chimes, including several pivotal moments and their impact on his career arc. The challenges of managing a highly complex organization with four separate lines of business: special education schools, traditional intellectual disability services, day habilitation programs, and federal contracts through the AbilityOne program (which provides extensive janitorial, custodial, and facilities maintenance operations through federal partnerships, making them one of the region's largest employers of people with severe disabilities).When he stopped being “the numbers person who happens to lead” and started being “a leader who happens to understand numbers,” and the implications of this transformation.The influence of Patrick Lencioni’s work (“Five Dysfunctions of a Team”), emphasizing the importance of vulnerability-based trust, accountability, and shared vision in building effective teams. The lessons he’s drawn from General Stanley McChrystal’s writing on special operations and how they shaped his leadership philosophy. Empathy and listening as core leadership skills, and how they tie back to being a musician (to be precise, anchoring bands as a drummer and percussionist). How he earns his team’s trust, what they need to do to earn his, the importance of shared values, including the organization’s core value: “having fun” (which, as you’d expect, is more than playing Twister in the break room). Bonus content for those gearing up for Halloween: Steve shares the terror of crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, considered one of the scariest bridges in the country.

Who has been a guest on The Catalyst Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Michael Allen
• Dr Christopher R Larrison
• Dr Joel Bennett
• Casey Sarapas
• Jennifer Ramey Smith

Podcast Authority Score: 35 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

70

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.