Rich Thoughts, Poor Jokes
Latest Episodes
Welcome to Rich Thoughts, Poor Jokes. A mostly-serious show where two mental health professionals work together to teach you about having security, freedom, and luxury, in EVERY area of your life. Dr Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis coach you on the path to mental wealth, covering topics from sex and relationships, communication and self-care, work and parenting, and so much more.
60 Seconds to 60 Minutes: Real Self-Care Ideas You Actually Have Time For
Not enough time for self-care is usually not the real problem. In this episode, we break down specific ideas across 30 seconds, five minutes, 20 minutes, and 60 minutes so you can actually use what you have.
Self-care doesn't have to be a ritual you build up to. A 20-second hug has oxytocin science behind it. A gratitude practice done consistently rivals antidepressants in research. Getting one real thing crossed off a list, the kind that actually stays crossed off, counts. These are not hacks. They're just what it looks like when you take your time seriously, even in small amounts.
If You Were Your Own Best Friend: Self-Awareness, Self-Compassion, and Self-Care
Most self-care efforts fail for the same reason: we skip the inner work first.
In this episode, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis continue the self-care series by going beneath the surface to two things that have to come before any practice can last: self-awareness and self-compassion.
What Self-Care ACTUALLY Means (And What it Doesn't)
Self-care is everywhere, but most of what passes for it online is surface-level at best. Today, let's go deeper on what self-care actually is, why it has to be personal, and how to know if yours is working.
In this episode, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis open a new series on self-care, wealth, and investing in yourself. They challenge the popular shorthand around self-care and offer a more useful, individualized framework for understanding what it really means.
Executive Functioning Skills for Prioritizing, Planning, and Follow Through
Why do planning, time management, and productivity feel so hard even when you know what needs to be done?
In this episode, we break down practical executive functioning skills that support follow through. In this episode, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis explore advanced executive functioning skills related to prioritizing, planning, organization, time management, and monitoring progress. The conversation focuses on why productivity often breaks down and how small, practical adjustments can make goals easier to reach.
Why is Getting Started SO Hard?
Why is it so hard to get started, stay regulated, or slow yourself down in the moment?
In this episode, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis focus on three executive functioning skills that shape everyday behavior: activation, emotional regulation, and behavioral self control. Together, they explore why starting tasks can feel so difficult, how emotions can take up more space than we expect, and what happens when reactions move faster than intention.
Memory, Focus, and Why Multitasking Fails
Episode 2 of our four part series on executive functioning. Why is it so hard to remember things, stay focused, or follow through even when you care?
In this episode, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis take a closer look at three core executive functioning skills: memory, focus, and mental effort. Together, they explore how working memory actually functions, why multitasking strains the brain, and what really affects our ability to stay alert and engaged.
Why You’re Not Lazy: Executive Functioning Explained
What if the reason you struggle with focus, follow-through, or motivation isn’t laziness or lack of willpower?
In this foundational episode, Dr. Roxy Riefkohl-Cook and Dr. Stephanie Ellis break down what executive functioning actually is: the mental skills that help you plan, focus, regulate emotions, and follow through in daily life.
What Does it Take to Build Work Resilience?
We're wrapping up our series on Work Wealth by focusing in on how you can develop (and maintain!) resilience in the workplace.
The Secrets to Good Communication at Work
It's a classic podcast team-up episode! And by that we mean: "go back and make sure you've listened to the communication series, because it's the perfect pairing for this laser focused lesson on communicating at work". Let's talk about boundaries, listening, self-awareness, and so much more.
What is the Solution to Overwhelm and Burnout?
Overwhelm and burnout. We all know them, we've all experienced them. But how do they happen? And, just as important, how do we address them? Let's dig into not just what change would look like, but what SUSTAINABLE change could look like in our lives.
The Secret to Creating "Work Wealth"
The average American spends a quarter of their year at work, but oftentimes our work life is the LAST place we think about making changes to improve all other aspects of our life. In our new series, we dig into practical ways we can unlock "work wealth" and live fuller, more secure lives as a result.
Five Critical Conversations (to Make You a Communication Super Hero)
Good communication is just like anything else in life: practice makes perfect. Today, we're digging into five crucial types of practical conversations you can have to help level up your communication skills.
Communication: Say What You Mean, & Feel Good About It!
It's time to learn how to how to speak with authority, confidence, and authenticity. This episode, Drs. Riefkohl-Cook and Ellis dig deep into practical strategies to help you level up your communication skills and ensure that you are HEARD.
Common Sense Isn’t Common (in Communication)
You'd think that, with a name like "Common Sense", sense would be, well, more common. But when it comes to communication with others, common sense is anything but.
Join us as we figure out how to identify and bridge communication gaps, examine "intention" vs "impact", and help identify how poor communication can cost you and what you can do to overcome it.
Listeners Win – The Secrets to Great Communication
What in the world is "communication wealth"? How do I even know if I'm a good communicator? Wait, what do you mean that good communication means that I have to listen too??
Those area probably all questions that you've had at some point, so let's get into it with the first episode of our Communication series: "Listeners Win".
Cats Don't Like Leashes
Sexual passion and intimacy can't happen if the environment to foster it hasn't been created. How can we be attentive to what lights the fire (and what smothers it!) to ensure an environment that creates the most fertile ground is present in our lives?
Work, Sex, Kids. Can They Coexist?
How in the world are we supposed to be able to even find time for sex, let alone prioritize it, when our lives are so busy with other commitments? Is it even possible? We dig into all of that and more in this week's episode.
