How A Lawyer-Therapist Turned Trauma Into Tools Any Parent Can Use with Paula Yost

Send us Fan Mail

What does it take to stand up for your family when the system feels stacked against you? We sit down with Paula Yost—both a seasoned attorney and a licensed mental health clinician—to unpack the real skills of advocacy through stories that move from foster care to the NICU and back to the courtroom. Paula’s journey, from first‑generation college grad to mother of four, grounds a conversation that stays clear-eyed about harm while refusing to give up on change.

We start with foster care myths and realities. Paula explains why the system can retraumatize kids yet still be safer than a violent or unstable home, and how a simple fix—transparent sharing of a child’s trauma history—helps foster parents care with precision. Then we shift to preeclampsia, the leading killer of pregnant women in the U.S., and how Paula’s own stroke-level blood pressure at 26 weeks turned into an emergency preterm birth. Her takeaway is blunt and lifesaving: know the signs, trust your gut, and bring someone who will speak up when you cannot.

From the clinic to the courtroom, Paula shows how to advocate without burning bridges. You’ll hear practical scripts for rushed appointments, when to ask for referrals, and how to stay calm and firm so concerns get action. She spotlights the SUN Clinic, a model that keeps substance‑using moms and newborns together under coordinated OB‑peds‑DSS‑therapy care—reducing stigma, improving outcomes, and proving systems can be redesigned to heal. A powerful case study of a woman with schizophrenia, stabilized with the right long‑acting medication and support, shows what recovery looks like when treatment and environment finally align.

Across every topic runs the same message: hope is not naive when it’s informed. If you’re a parent, patient, foster caregiver, or professional trying to do right in a messy world, this conversation offers tools you can use today. If it resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find these life‑saving insights.

Intro for podcast

information about subscriptions

Support the show

Here is the link for Sunday's 4 pm Pacific time Zoom meeting