Joanne Ketch, LPC-S, LMFT-S, LCDC

07/25/2026

Spent Friday night hunting ghosts under the bed with a flashlight. Which, as it turns out, is excellent preparation for a Saturday full of therapy sessions. 😄

Seriously though...This weekend reminded me that we spend a lot of time talking about stress, but not nearly enough time talking about transitions.

Less than an hour before crawling into a blanket fort, I was sitting with adults talking about trauma, stress, and healthy coping. The next morning, I was back in my office becoming Dr. Jo again. This video discusses executive stress through the lens of context switching.

Our brains pay a price every time we switch roles. Executive. Parent. Caregiver. Partner. Grandparent. Friend.

Maybe you're not as exhausted as you are because you're doing too much. Maybe you're exhausted because you've had to become so many different versions of yourself today.

What's the hardest transition in your day?

🎥 Watch here: https://youtu.be/REuW0XH5lKU

(P.S. The ghosts were eventually located. They were hiding under the bed exactly where my 3½-year-old suspected they would be. 👻🔦)

Have you ever finished your workday feeling completely exhausted be...

07/21/2026

As therapists, we often help clients identify patterns before they become crises.

Yet outside the therapy office, many people don't recognize chronic stress until it's affecting sleep, relationships, concentration, or emotional regulation.

Stress isn't just something we "feel."

It changes the way our brains make decisions.

In my newest educational video, I use a familiar workplace concept, the Performance Improvement Plan, to explain how chronic stress can quietly undermine healthy coping and why understanding the system matters more than blaming the person.

Whether you're a clinician, client, or simply interested in the science of behavior change, I hope you find it helpful.

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Is your stress management system actually working...or is it quietl...

07/14/2026

Therapy Thought of the Week

When most people think about stress management, they think about coping skills.
Deep breathing.
Exercise.
Meditation.
Journaling.

Those are all valuable.

But one of the strongest findings in the research on resilience is something we often overlook:

Healthy social connection.

Your nervous system was never designed to carry chronic stress alone.

That doesn't mean everyone needs a large social circle or the same type of support. In fact, one of the most important parts of therapy is helping people identify the relationships, communities, and routines that genuinely help their nervous system feel safe, supported, and connected.

Sometimes that's family.

Sometimes it's a faith community.

Sometimes it's a recovery group.

Sometimes it's one trusted friend.

And sometimes it's a monthly poker game that's lasted nearly twenty years.

This week's video shares a personal story that illustrates why meaningful connection is far more than a "nice to have." It's part of how our brains and bodies recover from stress.

If you've been feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or like you're carrying everything on your own, I hope it encourages you.

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What does poker have to do with recovery? More than you might think...

07/13/2026

Executive Stress isn't a character flaw. It's a brain trying to solve a stress problem.

07/08/2026

I've been sober for 35 years.

Over the years, I've had people ask me why I don't talk more about AA in my videos. That's a fair question, especially since it's where my own recovery began.

A conversation during a recent TikTok Live finally convinced me it was time to answer.

This isn't a debate about recovery programs. Quite the opposite.
It's a conversation about why I teach the way I do today, how my perspective has grown over the years, and why I believe recovery is bigger than any one tool.

Whether you're in AA, another recovery community, or simply interested in understanding people a little better, I hope you'll give it a watch.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Someone asked me a question on TikTok Live that completely changed ...

07/07/2026

I've been working on this week's YouTube video, and somewhere along the way I realized I wasn't making a video about boredom anymore.

I was making a video about something else entirely.

Have you ever had one of those moments where a random memory from 30 years ago suddenly makes sense because of something you learned yesterday?

That happened to me while writing this.

It took me from a state park in Colorado...to visits with my parents before and after I got sober...to a conversation about why chronic stress changes the way we experience ordinary life.

I don't know if this one will resonate with everyone, but it definitely changed the way I think about something I've been talking about with clients for decades.

I'd love to know what you think.

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Have you ever had a free afternoon...and couldn't think of a single...

07/04/2026

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the urge to reach for an old coping strategy seems to come out of nowhere?

It often doesn't.

One of the things I discuss with clients is that our brains are incredibly good at recognizing patterns. Years after a habit has ended, a familiar combination of sights, sounds, activities, or even emotional states can briefly activate an old neural pathway.

That doesn't mean you've failed.
It doesn't mean you're "back to square one."
It means your brain remembers.

In my newest video, I share a personal story from more than 20 years into sobriety that changed the way I think about triggers, stress, and recovery. We also explore why boredom, stress, fatigue, and loneliness can sometimes be more powerful triggers than people or places.

Whether you're working on recovery, managing anxiety, healing from burnout, or simply curious about how the brain learns, I hope you'll find it helpful.

🎥 Watch here: https://youtu.be/lz8fgKe-dis

I'd love to hear what stood out to you.

Is boredom really the problem... or is it a symptom of something mu...

07/01/2026

If you've ever lived through a home renovation, you already know the construction isn't always the hardest part.

It's the disruption.

The constant decisions.
The mess.
The unexpected expenses.
The loss of your normal routines.
The feeling that your life is living in organized chaos.

Our house has become the perfect real-life example of something I teach all the time: Executive Stress.

Sometimes the biggest problem isn't the renovation. It's what chronic stress does to our thinking, our emotions, our relationships, and the ways we try to cope.

This video is part renovation story, part life lesson, and hopefully a reminder that you don't have to wait until life is "finished" to take care of yourself.

I'd love to hear what renovation, literal or figurative, you're living through right now.

🎥 Watch here: When Your House Is Falling Apart... and So Is Your Capacityhttps://youtu.be/RDMb8ibG_Jk

What if the biggest source of stress isn't a crisis... but constant...

06/30/2026

Every year around the Fourth of July, I check on my military clients, veterans, first responders, and others for whom fireworks aren't simply fireworks.

That got me thinking about something much bigger.
Our brains are always learning.

Sometimes that's exactly what keeps us alive. Sometimes it's also why certain sounds, places, emotions, or even the end of a workday can trigger stress or the urge to reach for old coping strategies.

In this week's video, I talk about PTSD, Executive Stress, alcohol, and why I think we've been asking the wrong question about triggers.

As Professional Wellness Month and PTSD Awareness Month come to a close, this also serves as a bridge into July and National Anti-Boredom Month. We'll spend the next several weeks unpacking what triggers really are, where they come from, and what they're actually trying to tell us.

I'd love to hear what resonates with you after you watch.
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Fireworks aren't the trigger. They're just the stimulus.Every Fou...

06/28/2026

I'm excited to officially invite you to two new spaces I've created.

Over the past year, I've been refining the language, resources, and educational content that have become the foundation of my work around Executive Stress and alcohol. I wanted to create a place where professionals could learn, ask questions, and have thoughtful conversations without shame, judgment, or pressure.

Now I have both.

📘 Follow my business page, Sober in the C-Suite with Dr. Jo, for videos, articles, neuroscience-informed education, and practical tools designed specifically for professionals and leaders navigating Executive Stress and alcohol use.

🤝 Join the Executive Sober Blueprint™ Community, my free private Facebook group.

This community was created for executives, business owners, entrepreneurs, attorneys, physicians, healthcare providers, first responders, educators, helping professionals, leaders, and other high-achievers who are looking for a different kind of conversation about stress, alcohol, and sustainable change.

Professionals often carry unique pressures that aren't always understood. Leadership can be isolating. Careers, licenses, reputations, and responsibilities can make it difficult to seek support openly. Many people spend their days solving everyone else's problems while quietly struggling with chronic stress, burnout, or an increasing reliance on alcohol to cope.

You deserve a community that understands those realities.

One of the values that guided the creation of this group is recovery inclusivity.

There isn't just one right way to change your relationship with alcohol (and other unhealthy coping.)

Whether you're sober curious, taking a break, cutting back, newly sober, maintaining long-term recovery, participating in a mutual-help program, working with a therapist, using medication-assisted treatment, or simply looking for healthier ways to manage Executive Stress, you'll find a respectful community that welcomes different experiences and perspectives.

Inside the group you'll find:

• Professionally developed educational resources grounded in neuroscience, behavioral science, and more than 35 years of clinical experience.

• Practical tools to help you manage Executive Stress, burnout, perfectionism, emotional regulation, and the habits that support lasting change.

• Thoughtful conversations with other professionals who understand the demands of leadership, responsibility, and high-performance careers.

• A private, respectful community where discretion, curiosity, and evidence-informed discussion come first.

My hope is that this becomes more than another Facebook group.

I hope it becomes a trusted place where professionals realize they aren't alone, discover practical tools that actually work, and build lives and careers they no longer need to escape from.

I'd love to have you there. Please follow the page, join the community, and invite someone who might benefit.

Because alcohol is rarely the whole story. Understanding the stress behind it is where lasting change begins. https://www.facebook.com/Sober.in.the.C.Suite/