Episode #612: Derk Grooten

Dr. Robert Jaffe is a licensed psychotherapist and wellness coach with more than 40 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and high-achieving professionals create meaningful and lasting change. Based in Encino, California, he works with therapy clients throughout the state and provides coaching to clients around the world. Over four decades of practice, Robert has observed a recurring pattern: some of the most driven, capable, and accomplished people are also carrying the heaviest invisible burdens. On the surface, they may appear to have everything together — successful careers, strong families, respected positions, and impressive accomplishments. Beneath that success, however, many are exhausted, unable to fully relax, struggling with unhealthy coping mechanisms, or constantly performing for the people around them while quietly running on empty. Robert's work challenges the assumption that these struggles are simply problems of willpower or discipline. Instead, he explores how they can be rooted in deeply established nervous system patterns. The same characteristics that often contribute to professional success — relentless drive, hyper-vigilance, resilience, and the ability to continually push through discomfort — can eventually contribute to burnout, disconnection, and destructive habits. His approach focuses on helping people upgrade their internal operating system. Robert combines traditional psychotherapy with clinical hypnotherapy, somatic awareness, and subconscious repatterning. Rather than working exclusively with the conscious, thinking mind, his approach examines the deeper nervous system responses and behavioural patterns that can keep people trapped in cycles of stress and reactivity. He is also the creator of Habit to Mastery, a 12-week group program designed specifically for high-performing men who are ready to move beyond simply managing stress and begin transforming their relationship with it. The program helps participants develop tools to regulate stress, interrupt cravings and reactive behaviours, and replace habits that deplete them with intentional rituals that support their performance, relationships, and leadership. At the heart of Robert's work is a broader conversation about men's mental health, achievement, and the hidden cost of high performance. While conversations about success often focus on productivity, discipline, ambition, and results, Robert believes considerably more attention needs to be paid to what those achievements can cost internally. His work invites high-performing men to examine not only what they are accomplishing, but what their pursuit of success is doing to their health, relationships, and sense of connection. After more than four decades working directly with people navigating these challenges, Robert brings both clinical experience and practical perspective to conversations about stress, burnout, habits, emotional regulation, subconscious patterns, men's mental health, and sustainable high performance. His message is ultimately about redefining what high performance looks like: not simply achieving more, but developing the internal capacity to sustain success without sacrificing well-being along the way.

Julie Tylman is an entrepreneur, business leader, and co-founder of GroupTogether, a global group gifting platform transforming how individuals, teams, and organizations celebrate life's important moments. With a diverse professional background spanning finance, technology, sales, and business strategy, Julie has spent more than a decade helping build GroupTogether from a simple idea inspired by everyday frustration into an international business operating across Australia and the United States. The inspiration behind GroupTogether came from a familiar experience: the time, money, and coordination involved in organizing children's birthday gifts. After spending years navigating the birthday party circuit, Julie recognized an opportunity to simplify the process of organizing group gifts. Together with her co-founder, she set out to create a platform that would make collective gifting easier, more convenient, and more meaningful. What began as a solution for families and local communities has evolved into a global platform used by individuals, small teams, and thousands of companies. GroupTogether allows users to pool contributions for gifts, create collaborative greeting cards, and coordinate celebrations for everything from birthdays and teacher appreciation to employee recognition, workplace milestones, and corporate gifting programs. As co-founder, Julie plays a central role in the company's financial and operational leadership. Her responsibilities extend well beyond managing the numbers behind the business. She oversees corporate governance, financial strategy, product pipeline considerations, fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and payment operations across two countries with distinct regulatory environments. Julie also serves as a critical link between GroupTogether's marketing and engineering teams, helping align business objectives with technological development and customer needs. As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the business landscape, she has become increasingly focused on understanding AI and working alongside her team to integrate it into company processes, improve operational efficiency, and increase productivity.

Hillary Zio is a restaurant owner, wine educator, consultant, and two-time author with more than 20 years in the wine and hospitality industry. She is the owner of Isola Wine & Tapas in New York’s Hudson Valley and the author of The Unfiltered Guide to Working in Wine and Still Working in Wine: Twenty Years Later. After two decades of building a career around wine, from restaurants and education to entrepreneurship, Hillary now speaks candidly about what it really takes to build a business, take calculated risks, reinvent yourself, and create a career and life on your own terms. 

Derk Grooten is a Prince George resident and military veteran from Holland, who works as a Radiation Therapist for the BC Cancer Agency for the North. Derk also recently launched a personal training business called DERK GROOTEN FITNESS. Derk is also highly involved with the Wheelin’ Warriors of the North and an advocate of the benefits of living in Northern British Columbia. Originally from the Netherlands, Derk Grooten is a Radiation Therapist who has been with BC Cancer - Prince George for the past 10 years.Derk was inspired to work in healthcare as it allowed him to work with technology while also using his abilities to care and connect with people. When asked what his proudest accomplishment was, Derk responded that being able to make connections through work and the many volunteer opportunities outside of the workplace has allowed him to establish himself and his family into the community.

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For Steffani Symons, better known as “Shef Steff,” food is more than nourishment—it is a universal language that brings people together, creates lasting memories, and has the power to transform an ordinary moment into something extraordinary. Based in Southern California, Steffani is a professional private chef, luxury culinary stylist, entrepreneur, and media creator who has built her career around a simple but powerful philosophy: great food should do more than satisfy an appetite—it should inspire connection, creativity, and joy. As the founder of Shef Steff Curated Experiences, she specializes in delivering beautifully crafted culinary experiences for private gatherings, luxury vacation rentals, and special events throughout San Diego and Temecula. Combining culinary expertise with artistic presentation and a passion for hospitality, Steffani transforms dining into an immersive experience that engages the senses and leaves a lasting impression. But her creativity extends far beyond the kitchen. Steffani has developed a distinctive approach to food and entertainment by exploring the powerful relationship between food, music, and human emotion. Through her imaginative concept of pairing recipes with carefully selected songs and musical styles, she demonstrates how the right soundtrack can transform the cooking experience, elevate a meal, and create meaningful connections around the dinner table.

Jon Gegenheimer, a longtime practicing attorney, elected court official, and published author whose novels explore the intersections of law, history, morality, and human nature.From the critically acclaimed The Griffin Murders to his latest book, Churchill vs. Hitler: The Untold Golf Match that Changed History, Jon combines intellectual depth with compelling storytelling, inviting readers to rethink history, leadership, and the choices that shape our world.What happens when a lifetime spent examining truth, justice, and human behaviour becomes the foundation for powerful storytelling?For Jon Gegenheimer, the answer lies at the intersection of law, history, psychology, and the extraordinary complexities of the human condition.A longtime practicing attorney, elected court official, and accomplished novelist, Jon has built a career navigating the delicate boundaries between right and wrong, truth and perception, and justice and power. His professional experiences have given him a unique perspective on human nature—one that fuels his passion for creating intellectually provocative fiction that challenges readers to question the world around them.As the author of four published novels—The Griffin Murders, The Canon Code, The Second Hill, and Churchill vs. Hitler: An Alternative History Novel—Jon has established himself as a storyteller unafraid to confront difficult questions. His writing explores the darker corners of human motivation, the influence of powerful institutions, the mysteries of faith, and the consequences of decisions that can change lives—or even the course of history.

As British Columbians head to the polls, one issue continues to loom large across the North: the future of forestry. This week on On The Brink, we break down the provincial election, the challenges facing B.C.'s forest industry, and what all of it means for workers, families, and communities that depend on the sector. It's a conversation about jobs, policy, and the uncertain road ahead.

Tim Kelly is a real estate investor, bestselling author, and high-performance coach who helps driven people stop leaving results on the table. Tim Kelly is a former Navy Chief, a Senior Managing Partner at Kelly Housing Group — where he's been involved in nearly 2,000 units — and a Board member at ADPI. But beyond the assets and accolades, Tim works with high achievers who are hungry for their next level — whether that's more clarity on where they're going, more courage to make the moves, or more energy to sustain the pursuit.

Catherine Duncan is an integrative spiritual consultant and first-time author. Her new book Everyday Awakening was released in July 2023. After two near death experiences, Catherine left a lucrative corporate job with Time Magazine to study theology and become a chaplain at a Level 1 trauma hospital and later a hospice chaplain accompanying thousands of people at end of life. Today, Catherine runs a private practice counseling attorneys, doctors, business executives, and people searching for more. She helps people open into their true nature and live from their heart and soul. Everyday Awakening shares gleanings from Catherine's personal life, client work, and most importantly, what it means to be fully alive. Her book, endorsed by Mel Robbins,  is "your roadmap for living a fully engaged life."