11/09/2025
Tomorrow on PsychoBabble I'll be chatting with Amy Ridings LPC-MHSP and returning guest Melissa Crim M.Ed., LPC-MHSP. We'll be processing our experiences as therapists in the midst of rising authoritarianism and fascist vibes.
Before becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC-MHSP), Amy worked as a Legislative Aide in Congress and as the Legislative Director for the American Humane Association. She got to Capitol Hill via an undergraduate degree in International Relations with minors in German and History, interning at the Tennessee State Legislature as well as working on a Congressional Political Campaign.
After having her second child (and WAY too many pets!), Amy switched gears and moved into the healing field as a mental health therapist. She has been able to integrate the 2 worlds of politics and therapy via a lens of working with clients to figure out what is the motivation underneath the behaviors, what are the core values at play, and how to communicate more effectively. Her work at the American Humane Association also dovetailed with her interest in political systems because it evaluated the roots of violence and lack of empathy and how that manifests systemically.
A Nashville-based clinician since earning her M.Ed. at Vanderbilt University (1992), Melissa Crim is an NBCC-approved continuing-education provider, offering workshops and trainings nationwide and holds licenses in eight states. Her forthcoming book, The Wild Edges of Grief – Wandering the Terrain of Love and Loss, arrives later this fall. Melissa brings radiance, rootedness, and deep care to her work with clients, groups, and communities. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she is especially attuned to supporting those reconstructing beliefs and identities after harmful religious systems or difficult family dynamics. She supports LGBTQIA+ clients, people healing from religious trauma, and anyone navigating grief, estrangement, identity shifts, or major life decisions. Her work moves between the therapeutic, the creative, and the esoteric. Through her Wild and Wise framework, she invites people to reclaim their untamed selves while drawing on elemental wisdom—earth, air, fire, and water—as companions for healing and transformation.
Shaped by a lifelong kinship with the natural world, she finds solace in forests, rivers, and mossy paths; in the steady rhythm of paddle boarding; in singing and dancing; and in gathering with loved ones. She lives in Nashville with her partner, her 18-year-old son, Hope the Doberman, Lola Winifred Pants the chihuahua, and Van Halen the beloved bearded dragon.
Tomorrow at noon only on wxnafm.org.
