A Hero's Welcome Podcast

The Stories That Stayed With Us with Liliana & Maria

• Maria Laquerre-Diego, LMFT-S, RPT-S & Liliana Baylon, LMFT-S, RPT-S • Season 2

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The conversations that shaped our year didn’t push us to work harder. They moved us to be human. We revisit the moments that shifted our lens: naming white supremacy inside everyday clinical decisions, strengthening cultural competence with Latinx clients, and turning judgment into curiosity so the therapeutic alliance can lead. We also reframed the parts of the job that feel “scary.” Subpoenas, high-conflict divorce, and big behaviors became step-by-step, consult-supported tasks that protect our licenses and regulate our nervous systems.

Joy showed up as an ethical practice. A listener-favorite segment on travel hacking reminded us that rest isn’t indulgence. It is the infrastructure that makes good therapy possible. From there, we traced the path toward sustainable careers: mentorship as an attachment relationship, releasing the “pay your dues” myth, and setting down the armor that keeps us guarded. With guests who offer lived expertise and practical tools, we mapped a future where boundaries are clear, play has a seat at the table, and self-compassion is non-negotiable, especially for therapists who are also caregivers.

Season three is on the way, and we’re ready to build on these practices: culturally responsive care, court-smart documentation, nervous system literacy, and a professional identity rooted in our values. Join us as we bridge generations of clinicians, dismantle what no longer serves, and create a community where difference is strength. Subscribe, share with a colleague, and consider: what shifts are you making next year?

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon

Maria:

Welcome, listeners, to our final podcast episode of 2025. I am your co-host, Marie LaCare Diego, and I'm joined by my friend and lovely co-host. That's me, Liliana Bella. Oh, Miss Lovely. I have other words, but they're not always podcast safe.

Liliana:

Prior to this, we were having conversations about my strong boundaries. So that's pretty cool. Eventually we will talk about it. But just how excited is we are ending up season two.

Maria:

Two years of this, Liliana.

Liliana:

It started as of can we just record our conversations to inviting therapists to join us and have conversations? We didn't do a end review for season one. Sorry. We try, but for health reasons, we couldn't just come together and do it. We are healthier. Yeah. Question mark. Question mark. We survived some viruses that came to us in November. But we're here celebrating and reviewing 2025 in a heroes podcast.

Maria:

So amazing. Amazing. Yeah, this is this has gone from like we have some conversations we think we need to share with others to other people have conversations that they need to share with others in our fields. And when we put out the call, the response was just so lovely and so large, right? We were like, maybe we could do one a month. We've got months with two, we've got a couple of months with three snuck in there. And we're just so, so thankful and grateful for our community showing up and sharing all of their lovely wisdom with the rest of us. Um, Liliana, we're not gonna say favorites because we loved all of our guests this year. It's been just so wonderful. But were there a couple of conversations that stood out to you or that you're still thinking about at the end of the season?

Liliana:

There's too many, too many to to count. But I have to say, one of my, and I will say favorites, and I'm gonna get texts later, but one of my favorite, and we have the pleasure of meeting with her a couple of times already, which is Dr. Cadet. Yes. I love her work, I love her book, I love what she stands for. So when she was talking about white supremacy and how it's all around us, I mean that conversation had an impact on me.

Maria:

Yeah.

Liliana:

So I always be thankful to for our colleague Rose, who introduced her work. Yes. And in our book club. In in our book club. So we have the pleasure of discussing her book in our book club and then in our podcast. So her oh god, yeah. Her conversation, her content like lingers. Yeah. And and I cannot unsee what she has made me aware of.

Maria:

Absolutely. That was definitely an eye-opening conversation that stood with us. I also really just appreciated that she kept saying yes, right? Like we were like, hey, we're reading your book. Do you want to come talk to us? And she's like, Yes. Like, hey, we're doing a podcast, but you want to yes. And I think that that's also really brave, right? Like we it's really hard to put yourself out there. And yes, she's published her books and her information is out there, but especially in the year of 2025, it was such a meaningful conversation with her and definitely has changed the way we walk through the world and we see things. I know for myself for sure. If you have not listened to that episode, pause right now and go listen to it because you cannot, you don't want to end 2025 without hearing her bits of wisdom for sure.

Liliana:

Yes. So I would say from that being almost like a serious, which it didn't feel serious. So if you have met me, like that's my kind of conversations, that's why I'm always quiet. But from there, let's take it to the opposite and let's talk about Allison who showed us travel hacking.

Maria:

Oh my gosh, wasn't this such a fun, fun chat? I had not even thought about the brilliance that she does in making travel like affordable and easy to do and enjoyable in such a way that she just I mean, she's living her best life with these travel hacks and the levity that that brings to her. Because the work we do is hard. The world we live in right now is so hard and so heavy. And for her to be like, yes, and you could do that from like a really nice destination. Yes. Excuse me, you're saying where so many points to upgrade? Right. Yeah, being able to like, you know, hack the system, which as therapists, we are all loving the idea of hacking systems and dismantling systems of oppression. And let's let's be honest, travel is so tricky and expensive, and also it can be so healing. And if yeah, if you can learn to to hack the system like she has, oh my gosh, out there living her best life. Yes.

Liliana:

So from there, I'm gonna sum up because I always find that one of the comments that we get is like, how do we deal with the legal system? So this year we have Julie Jacobs and then we have Benice who talk about either spinuts or high conflict divorce. And I was like, Oh, yes, those are always like the most requested topics that we get. And God, they were so good and full of information.

Maria:

Yeah. And it also, though, both of those conversations, I left with a sense of like, oh, this isn't as big and scary as I've it's made out to be. I'm not gonna lose my license over situations like this, and really being able to feel more comfortable taking on cases that feel a little bit more messy, and being able to know that there are resources out there to help us beyond our programming, because our programming did not prepare us. And in the in the year 2025, I and beyond, I think we're just gonna continue to see cases that are legally involved, high conflict divorce, high conflict parenting. I think all of those things have just increased, and I don't see that unfortunately changing anytime soon. No, you're right. So again, if you haven't, please go and listen to them and reach out to them because they have so much information.

Liliana:

Yeah. I have to say, like from there, I and and I have a bias because I read her book before it came out, but Vanessa. Yes, right? When she came and talked about her book talking about the guy to work with Latin X, I was so grateful for her writing that book. I know it's specifically to one niche. If you believe that you're not working with this population, you're lying to yourself. The census is telling you. So her book is a must read from my clinical point of view if you're working with them.

Maria:

That's still that next guide to liberation, is that right?

Liliana:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Maria:

Amazing, amazing. And absolutely the culture blend that we are seeing in you and I live in the southwest. Is Colorado considered the Southwest? And the Southwest-ish. We have a lot, a large population of Latinx, Hispanics, newcomers, right? And it does, they're not just here in the Southwest. So in your communities, I would be really surprised if you're hard pressed to find someone who falls in there. And I think it's really important that we go beyond the you know, bare minimum in terms of our license requirements of cultural competency or humility. That is a book you should pick up. And if you can't get to it right away, you can get to the podcast.

Liliana:

Yes. And follow her on social media.

Maria:

Yes.

Liliana:

Let me see. I was just thinking of our list. I will be grateful to Sybil for talking about unpacking domestic violence.

Maria:

Yes.

Liliana:

That's her jam. You can you know that you can be talking to her and she can unpack it for you and put it in a prison so that you're not so afraid of it. And you can see how you can work with this population, which again, if you believe that you're not, you're lying to yourself. Uh, that's what the census is telling the census, the research is telling us. So yeah, I appreciated her much her conversation in regards to making this topic digestible so that I will not be afraid of it.

Maria:

Yeah. Well, and it goes hand in hand with, you know, when we talked with Robin Gobbel about big behaviors, right? Like that's another, that's another situation that people get really they feel unprepared to handle and they're, you know, they're unsure of how to navigate those kinds of clientele and those situations and sessions. And Robin just has a really nice way of like, yeah, but here's why that's happening, and here's how we again hack their nervous system to understand it and help them learn how to regulate. You know, everyone's got big behaviors. Um, let's be honest. My TikTok feed is full of adults having big behaviors, right? And I thought I thought that was another one that was just like, yes, yeah, we're gonna see more of these sessions, and we want more people to to not be so scared or feel alone in that work.

Liliana:

Yeah. What about Myleen? She talked about culture sensitivity.

Maria:

Oh god.

Liliana:

We had such wonderful conversations about culture this this year, and what an important year to have these conversations. Yeah, I mean, Millie's a delight. She's just a delight. And yeah, and I think being able to talk about this in in a way that is open, but also just really firm, right? Like we we must do better, and it is on us to get that information, right? These conversations are snippets, and we're really hoping that they are the start of you being curious and going and learning more, following these people that we've had these conversations with, picking up the resources that they have shared. Yeah, I think we've had quite a few culturally based conversations this year that were really important and I mean right on time.

Maria:

Yeah, and and we need them. And our hope with our podcast mission is to continue having diverse conversations because that's what we're seeing in our practices. Yeah. Now the la la land, uh, the they keep telling us, uh like, where are those clients?

Liliana:

We do want to hear from the right door. If you've got this caseload of wonderfully just generic presentations, we want to hear from you because what are you doing and how can we also do? But the reality is most of our clinical practices are being just inundated with these really complex cases and situations with our clients that we want you to not feel alone. Really, truly, that's been the driving force of these conversations in this podcast was, you know, we're often even in group practice or big agency work, if you have a situation that is unlike anything else on your caseload, you feel alone and you feel siloed and you have to like figure it out on your own. And we're here to say, nope, no, no, you don't. No, there's lots of us out here dealing with similar, not exactly the same, but very similar things. And you don't have to do this by yourself. There are people who are happy to talk with you, consult with you, and resources that we want to highlight for you.

Maria:

Yeah. So I think even here, right? Like you and I have the conversation of this whole idea of you have to pay your dues and you have to do it alone and you have to sacrifice. We're here to say bullshit. A boo, calling it out. And no, we're gonna change this dynamic. And I think from that, let's take it to Claire, where she did her thesis in attachment and mentorship, which I appreciated the conversation of. Attachment is not just caretaker and child, attachment is not just how we respond in romantic relationships. Attachment can also be transferred to the way that we mentor others. So that idea of authoritarian, you have to pay your dues, you have to sacrifice, like boo, get out. And welcoming what Claire found out in regards to what that looks like in our field.

Liliana:

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and it makes sense if we just say attachment isn't all relationships, period. Yes, right, and she's being able to draw our focus into the the relationship of mentor, mentee, supervisor, supervisee. Because let's be let's be honest. We and we've said this a couple of times in the past two seasons. Our our programming, our our education prepares us for burnout. It does not prepare us for longevity in this career. And part of it comes from that I belief of you must pay your dues. We see clinicians burn out before they even obtain their independent license because they're quote unquote paying their dues. There's a better way to do things. There's more resources, there's some more support, and there's more than enough need for therapists to not fight amongst themselves and hit each other against each other. This idea that we need to really focus on the attachment and the relationship of I know you don't like it, but the more senior therapists bringing in the newer generation and really wanting to protect so that they can last. I mean, I at some point, Liliana, you and I would like to retire from services. To do that, we need the next generation to not burn out and go work somewhere else docking shelves. Yeah. And I think you and I see ourselves as bridges, which is how do we help the generation that we were mentor from and then the new generation, so that one, they learn to talk to each other because they have different values, which makes sense because where they came from, the generation that they came from. But two, is not this whole idea that I love Brene Brown when she talks in her latest book and she's talking about leadership, but she says, just because I came to the table where it was developed by white men doesn't mean I have to leave it as I found it. And the idea is actually to bring diversity. The idea is actually to not leave it the same way that I came across. So I truly believe in the conversations that you and I have privately, which is how do we help so that the older generation does not feel left out and abandoned because there's some wisdom there that we also can take advantage. But also they keep repeating a pattern, a mold that they learn that is not longer working, yet they feel like that's that's what I inherit and that's what I'm supposed to be doing. And the new generation that says, I don't fucking think so. Of yours, I'll go work somewhere else. So, how do we help them navigate these conversations in a way that we can learn from each other? We have so much learning from the to do from the new generation, the same way that we have so much learning to do from older generations.

Maria:

Absolutely. Yeah, and I think I think bridging is a is a great term for that, right? There's a lot of wisdom and we want to honor the work that was done before us. Also, we are really happy to dismantle systems that are no longer working or valid in the world that we live in. The world is changing at such a rapid pace. This newer generation of clinicians, they're not gonna have to do things the way we did them. And thank goodness, thank goodness, right? Like I love that for them. I why why continue the struggle if we don't need to? Yeah. And I think that that's been just I mean, I think you can find that in almost every conversation we've had this season. This idea of we don't have to do this the hard way. If there's a newer way, a better way, a different way, let's try it.

Liliana:

Yes. So I think this is where I appreciated Miranda when she came out and talked about removing your armor. And I was like, girl, you can do a masterclass for a lot of us.

Maria:

Yeah. Well, and it went hand in hand with Maddie's conversation about your authentic professional self and being able to establish that in a way that's true to you and to the work you want to do, not how your program or older mentors may have tried to carve you into.

Liliana:

So I think we can even tie it to, even though Mili went this way, but mainly talk about intergenerational trauma, right? So like understanding where our feel came from.

Maria:

Yes. Understanding their roots and why they did what they did and how it makes sense at that time. Yes.

Liliana:

But then, like, how are we? I don't know, every time that I listen to, I feel like I and I have shared with all of you, I feel like I'm in the matrix. I keep choosing the wrong field. But there's like there's the wisdom choosing the hard path, because that's where the wisdom comes in. Being able to see systems as they are. And Maria and I are MFTs, so we see systems on everything.

Maria:

Everything.

Liliana:

But being able to understand our feel from an intergenerational trauma point of view for for understanding why we armor ourselves, because this feel, as you stated before, set us up to be at service and abuse our service versus seeing us as humans, seen us as individuals with multiple personalities. Please do not use them. Um with multiple roles, with multiple needs, with like it we cannot just be one person and and show up the same way. Like that that's not, I know that's how we see it on the movies, uh in the programs. So thank you for the new programs that are coming out, that they show you the humanistic part of being in our field. But it makes sense, right? And that's why I think I appreciated like every single conversation that we have named so far, because it was a doorway to keep learning and learning and integrating and playing with and going and coming back. And in that, even when Anna came and talked about her book MDR and Centre, and she talked about the importance of playing and externalizing and seeing it and containing it and working it through. Like, I was like, yes, yes, and yes. And I hope that all of you, because not it's not just Anna Gomez talking about this, like Marshall talks about this too.

Maria:

We had conversations with Jared about therapists who are also caregivers and like the dual roles. And then we had Rose who came and was talking about this the mindfulness self-compassion because the work we do is hard. We do wear all of these hats, and we have to be gentle with ourselves and not hold ourselves to these standards that are absolute garbage. They're absolute garbage. We are shifting as professionals in our field to be more authentic to ourselves as a whole person. And I you know, I've mentioned it before. You know, I went to schooling where you know you left yourself outside the therapist door, you entered that room, you were a blank slate. That's we know now that doesn't work.

Liliana:

Maybe it's your favorite program in Apple that you keep asking me to watch.

Maria:

I mean, you have a list of shows to catch up on, my love. But I do think that it's important that we are looking at, you know, our own well-being and and because if we want this to be a profession and a career, not a job, we do have to take care of ourselves and respect our own boundaries once we can identify what our boundaries need to be, right? And being able to have these conversations and they're from all different walks of life in their career field, right? We we were able to meet with so many people, but there have been some common threads through a lot of our conversations, yes, yes, and I think that was the mission, right?

Liliana:

When we started having these conversations, the the idea where I I think you stated beautifully, which is can we have these conversations openly versus having it in a corner? And I was like, girl, yes. First of all, have you met me? And for all of you who have met me and and seen me quiet or capture my serious face, like what the fuck were you thinking there?

Maria:

I mean, we recently had a photo of both of us in general.

Liliana:

Thank you again for capturing how we go into our thinking process. Um but the reality is that yeah, I I think that you and I, one of the reasons why we have these rich conversations is that we can go in so many different directions, just with the word, just with the topic. And I think part of the you know vision when this project came about, we were together, we were taking a workshop about business, and we're like, yeah, we're doing a podcast. That's what was happening. And what is it that we want to have? And and it was like, how do we have these conversations? How do we help systems see beyond the inherent template? How do we expand? How do we keep growing? And even when we say how do we how do you be your authentic self? Well, yeah, how do we do that when there's no template and systems work really hard so that you behave like a robot from dictating what models you should study for dictating you have to follow these standards, which we should, but apparently we have higher standards than even our president. Yes, I went there. I mean, it's the end of the year, no one's gonna start you now. Excuse me, I cannot have felonies, I have to follow ethics, I have to follow and show competency, but sure, let's devalue my degree because you feel whatever, fill in the blank. Yes. So you know, there's a lot that we do in and when we don't have a template for what uh being authentic means for me, when assistants keep telling me, don't be authentic, be a robot, produce how many clients can you see? Be like us, talk like us, only this model, so that we have the same language. This is where the culture comes in in regards to our system wants us to think alike, write alike, treat alike, so that they feel comfortable with what we do. When in reality, what we're learning thanks to neurobiology is that no, difference is good.

Maria:

Difference is great. Being different makes you unique. Think outside the box. And if anything, expressive arts and even play therapy, even though they say something, but ask you for something differently. But the reality is that if we truly believe that we're so unique, and if we truly believe that we get to express ourselves in different ways and everything is welcome, then what we where we are talking about is all these conversations have to have something in common, which is it's inviting you to think outside the box. It's inviting you to be curious about what would your what would you like to put in your template in order for you to be your authentic self? What would that look like? What boundaries, what words, what would be your schedule? Some of you if you're listening when when I'm supervising you and I'm like, actually, no, this can be achievable. Tell me more, like tapping into Claire and attachment and mentorship, like tell me more, and like, okay, let's go figure this out, right? Like, let's externalize it. So we're sort of a revolution.

Liliana:

Is that what is I mean when the two of us get together, we you know, who knows what we're gonna do next. But we do hope and we'd love to hear from you. Did you have a favorite episode? Was there something that stood out to you in this season? Also, if you have a conversation that you would like to have with us, we'd love to hear from you because we're already booking for 2026. We definitely have some exciting conversations coming up, but there's room for more at our table. So we'd love to hear from you. My hope is that you, I know this is like the last day of the year. So as you're celebrating New Year, I hope you take a couple of minutes to decide how you want 2026 to look like for you in your personal life, in your clinical practice, and that you take some inspiration from the lovely people we've had the the incredible opportunity to talk to and decide for yourself what you want 2026 to look like. We can't control everything, but there's a lot of things we can control. And I hope that you take a couple steps to be more authentic to yourself, because I think that's only going to enhance your practice.

Maria:

Yes. So I think with that, right, as we are closing this episode, we we want to say thank you. Thank you for the same. We are grateful for your willingness to sit with complexity, to hear voices that are often overlooked, to stay curious about the worlds that people navigate, not only from a client perspective, but from also from a clinical perspective. Your your presence, you you listening to this podcast is helping us create a community where belonging and understanding becomes possible. Yes, yeah, I've been re-watching Ted Lasso. So, you know, we're gonna be curious and not judgmental. And if you so pass, pass we will always be judgmental.

Liliana:

But the invitation is you can because that's automatic. I'm having a hard time as I'm also reviewing.

Maria:

We're working on Liliana, we're working on it.

Liliana:

Yes, I'm a work in progress, but we all have biases, so we will always be judgmental, right? So it's okay to be judgmental, like if that's the first thing that comes up and the invitation is can you be curious about that judgment? Yeah, yeah. Can we just be curious? Yeah, and I my hope for you listening in coming into 2026 is that you find a harmony between your personal needs and your professional needs that works for you, and that you find some support in that because I know the larger systems don't support that. And even if it's just listening to us once or twice a month that you feel connected, please continue to come back. We're so thankful. We this was uh wouldn't it be fun if we did this? And now look, we're closing out our second season and we've got big, big plans for season three. So please, for season three, continue listening to us, share this podcast with your colleagues. Uh, we're gonna be returning with more conversations. We're gonna be hopefully going into more depth. The more that we learn, the more that we want, because that's who we are. There's gonna be more stories that reminds us what it means to be human across cultures, not from ethnicity, but from settings, ethnicity, and all the roles that we carry. So thank you for listening, and we look forward to you you being here in 2026. Absolutely. So we'll see you next year.

Maria:

Until then.

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Liliana Baylon, LMFT-S, RPT-S

Host
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Maria Laquerre-Diego, LMFT-S, RPT-S

Host