Revelations in Self-Mastery and Holistic Wellness with Matt Plutko

When was the last time you felt truly aligned—mind, body, and spirit working in harmony? For too many of us, that sense of wholeness feels increasingly elusive in a world that treats our physical and mental health as entirely separate domains.

Matt Plutko, co-founder and Director of Wellness at Revelations Counseling and Wellness, joins us to share a perspective on healing that bridges this artificial divide. "Studies show exercise has the same effect on the brain as Prozac," Matt explains, highlighting the science behind their integrated approach. What makes Revelations stand out is their refusal to simply place bandages over symptoms—instead, they dig deep to identify and address root causes. In this conversatin Matt introduces his self-mastery framework. Using the  metaphor of wagon wheels creating ruts in dirt roads, he illustrates how our unconscious behaviors carve neural pathways that keep us stuck in patterns we don't even recognize. True transformation begins by "filling in those ruts" so we can steer our lives in new directions. This isn't about perfection or avoiding setbacks—quite the opposite. Matt advocates developing what he calls "anti-fragile confidence," where "the worse it gets, the more committed we become to doing what we need to do."

Perhaps most powerful is Matt's guidance for anyone feeling stuck: "There's never a perfect time to start, so start today." He reminds us that growth happens just beyond our comfort zone, and consistent small steps—even imperfect ones—create lasting change. "It's okay to stink at something," he shares with refreshing honesty, "it's not okay to skip it."
Ready to move beyond therapy as usual and discover an approach that honors your whole self? Visit the show notes below for links to Matt's self-mastery program and additional resources from Revelations Counseling and Wellness. What small step will you take today to create a new path forward?

👉 Visit the Revelations Counseling & Wellness Website

⭐️ Self-Mastery — Revelations Counseling & Wellness

📸 Connect with @revelationscw on IG

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Revelations Approach
• 1:21 Holistic Integration of Mental and Physical
• 3:23 Breaking Patterns and Creating New Ones
• 6:49 Self-Mastery Defined: Thriving Through Setbacks
• 11:32 Owning Your Identity and Agency
• 15:20 Taking The First Step Today
• 23:40 Closing Thoughts and Resources

Transcript

Sherry: 0:00

Welcome back to This is It, where we're all about small wins, big growth and making life work even when it feels like it's falling apart. Today's guest is someone who understands how transformational healing can be, because he's built a space where that kind of healing happens every day.

Sherry: 0:16

We're joined by Matt Plutko, co-founder and Director of Wellness at Revelations Counseling and Wellness. Matt's heart for whole person care is the foundation of the work being done at Revelations. We'll explore what makes the Revelations approach different, how they're helping people move through some of life's toughest seasons, and then we'll dig into Matt's powerful Self-Mastery Program, a pathway to realignment, intentional living and freedom from old patterns. So whether you're in the thick of burnout, looking to reconnect with yourself, or just curious about what growth can look like in practice, you're in the right place, so let's get into it.

Sherry: 0:51

Matt, welcome. Your work aligns with our belief that true change starts from the inside out, and sometimes at rock bottom. We love the way that you help people rewrite their inner script, shift their identity and take back their agency, one step at a time. So today we thought we would start with the foundations of Revelations Counseling and Wellness and then later on to talk about your specific self-mastery program.

Matt Plutko: 1:17

Yeah, absolutely. First off, thanks so much for having me. This is a great opportunity and I'm really excited. Revelations started started back in January and it started mainly as a mental health counseling, but we saw a real gap in the space where studies show that exercise has the same effect on the brain as Prozac and Ritalin do, and that scientists are now calling the gut the second brain and that what you eat has a direct effect on your gut microbiome has a direct effect on your gut microbiome. So we're working to create a space where somebody can feel extremely comfortable coming in and, in an integrated approach, address both mental and physical at the same time.

Sherry: 1:56

So it's going beyond therapy into a much more holistic approach.

Matt Plutko: 2:00

Yeah, exactly that's right.

Jodi: 2:01

You really can't have one without the other.

Matt Plutko: 2:02

Yeah, exactly. No, they're all so connected right. So we're looking to really impart confidence and behaviors and get them the ability and the knowledge to take things and do it on their own.

Sherry: 2:22

It sounds like breaking the patterns that we find ourselves caught in and creating new ones.

Matt Plutko: 2:24

Yeah, I like to equate it a lot of times whenever I talk to people to the old time wagons with the big wooden wheels. When they go down these dirt roads, they create these huge ruts in the road. Those ruts are what we've created in our brains, basically with the behaviors that we don't even know that we're doing sometimes, and so our goal is to start to fill in those ruts so we can move that wagon into a new path.

Sherry: 2:47

Yeah, I feel like a lot of times that doesn't happen until you wreck the wagon.

Matt Plutko: 2:52

Yeah.

Sherry: 2:52

You're in the same ruts, and then you can only keep that up for so long and the wheels fall off, and I think a lot of times that's what puts somebody on a path that might lead to a place such as your organization. I'm wondering how do you help people who find themselves in a deeper crisis mode into some sort of clarity on changing the trajectory that they may not even have been aware that they were on, until something tragic or unfortunate happens to disrupt life as you knew it?

Matt Plutko: 3:23

Yeah, I think that's where the integrated approach really comes into play, because I look at mental health counseling as more of an acute type of reaction to where you're trying to identify a specific situation or instance that causes some type of trauma. Then moving into the self-mastery, that's whenever we start to really impart ancient stoic wisdom of being able to control what you can control and working with the things that you can't. I think that's a piece that's missing a lot, instead of just not paying attention to what you can't control, figuring out how to have it work for you. So that's where we can try to start to combine the two together and we're really starting to see some interesting successes.

Sherry: 4:07

Yeah, and understanding what even is in our control, because sometimes we say to ourselves I'm only going to focus on what I can control, but then understanding what that actually is is a whole other concept.

Matt Plutko: 4:20

So Viktor Frankl said it best, right? There's a gap between stimulus and response and we go back to that a lot, that the only thing that we truly have control over in life is that gap and how we respond to a certain stimulus.

Sherry: 4:35

Yeah. Yeah, it's key. We're not able to control some of what happens in life, but we are in charge of how we respond. Our last podcast guest, Dr. Kovatch, also was stating about Viktor Frankl's book too, so we definitely have to link to that one in the show notes. Before we dive into that self-mastery program a little bit deeper. You already talked about this a little bit, but I wanted to just get a broader picture of the holistic approach. What does that look like? What are all the different services that are available? I want to make sure that we give a broad overview of the types of services that go into being a holistic service provider.

Matt Plutko: 5:13

Yeah, absolutely. Currently we have five full-time mental health counselors. We'll do all different types of counseling. We do EMDR therapy. We do ADHD assessments. We have a pediatric division where we'll see kids as young as four in terms of a mental health counseling side. From a wellness perspective, I'm a certified personal trainer, so we do personal training, mainly program development, where we try to create programs that people can do on their own to try to eliminate variables from them actually being able to do it. We have a registered dietitian on staff, we have the self-mastery mindset stuff, so we go the whole gambit. I'm also certified as a correctional exercise specialist, so seeing people after physical therapy, trying to identify root causes and movement patterns to be able to address specific imbalances to be able to help people maintain healthy movement.

Sherry: 6:23

I love that it's not putting a bandaid on things. It's finding sustainable

Matt Plutko: 6:27

It's like driving your car down the road and hearing a loud noise in your car and instead of going to get it fixed to identify what the actual issue is, you just turn the radio up.

Sherry: 6:34

Moving into segment 2, I'd like to talk about the Self-Mastery program. Matt, if you would tell us a little bit about exactly what is self-mastery and how is this different from traditional counseling?

Matt Plutko: 7:05

Self-mastery to me is an everyday, all-day thing. I look at self-mastery in three terms. We define it as flourishing by putting your virtues in action. We look to develop what we call anti-fragile confidence, which is basically the worse it gets, the more committed we become to doing the things that we need to do.

Sherry: 7:26

And then- yeah, it's like that already happened. It happened Exactly, so now what?

Matt Plutko: 7:31

And a lot of times people get in situations where they have a rough day and, instead of being committed to doing that thing that they know they want to do, they just make an excuse and they say oh, it was a rough day, so I'm going to have that drink or I'm going to eat that thing or I'm going to do this. So the harder it gets, the more committed you become. And then a big key to it is it's preparing for and embracing setbacks as inevitabilities, right, and then what we say is we want to reflect on those with a flashlight instead of dwell on them with a hammer, say is we want to reflect on those with a flashlight instead of dwell on them with a hammer.

Sherry: 8:13

So we want to learn from those setbacks, to grow and move forward instead of beat ourselves up. Yeah, cause it's. You're right, it's inevitable, it's a part of life. These things are going to happen, unfortunately, but it's what you're doing in between the storms of life that help you get through them. Whenever they do come the hard part that I find you know like right now I'm going through something hard and I think some people are like am I like detaching from the situation?

Jodi: 8:36

Well, sometimes you have to pull back with a wide lens right.

Sherry: 8:39

Yeah, how does that connect with... I know that when people go through like a treatment program or whatever, you learn that it's important to feel your feelings. So how do we say this is not about suppressing your feelings, this is not about detaching, but it's more about being prepared for when the storms come and that helps you get through it. Yeah, Is this making any sense?

Matt Plutko: 9:01

Yeah, it absolutely does. I think that there's like we said, setbacks are absolutely inevitable and most people don't accept that fact that they're going to fail and they're going to take steps backwards. The key to self-mastery is learning and reflecting from those to then get better the next time. We always say it's okay to fail. It's not okay to fail two times in a row. So if you get kicked off, in the same way correct.

Matt Plutko: 9:29

If you get taken off the path, how quickly can you get up and get back on and then not make the exact same mistake again? It's like somebody that is trying to eat better. They're going to have birthday cake if it's their birthday, but the next day they're not going to go in that freezer and grab that second piece of cake that they normally would. And they have to be okay with the fact that they're going to have it because it's their birthday and they should be able to have it.

Sherry: 9:55

Yeah. Right, but when you're on that pathway of that self-mastery, as you said, you're creating a better likelihood that you will be successful.

Matt Plutko: 10:03

Correct, because you're creating new habits by not reinforcing the old ones. So by not doing it that second day, you're creating a new habit that it's okay to do it every once in a while, but you're not going to do it again. And then, each time you have a setback and you reflect, you just become that much stronger.

Jodi: 10:22

Yeah, and I think when you continue to do it as you get stronger, then when you hit the really bad pitfalls, the really bad days, it's a little bit easier to not fall into those ruts again.

Matt Plutko: 10:36

Exactly yeah.

Sherry: 10:37

And it's reducing the mental chaos that you rudiment about things and improves your thought hierarchy, the steps that you put in place to get through those hard things.

Jodi: 10:48

Yeah, does that touch upon helping people reclaim their identity and sort of ownership and agency over your lives?

Matt Plutko: 10:58

Yeah, we like to break down life into three specific areas of energy or yourself, work or your career, and then relationships or love, and what we try to do is we try to create our own identity within those three areas and then identify the virtues that will help us achieve that identity, because, at the end of the day, we have complete control over our actions towards working towards that identity right? So we set these targets as this identity of who we want to be in those three key areas of life, and then we work towards it by knowing that, no matter what happens again going back to Victor we control the response to whatever stimulus is put in front of us.

Sherry: 11:46

Yeah, and that's your light post. Exactly, that's your guide, that's what you keep coming back to to keep your mindset on the right frame. And I think a lot of times we go through life not really fully aware of how much agency you actually do have over the life that you're living in, the life that you create along the way through your patterns, and I think once you understand how much really is in your control, even though it's hard, or we don't allow ourselves to take that step back and reflect right.

Matt Plutko: 12:16

Life is so crazy that we get caught up in it. One of the things that's important is getting people to take control of their time instead of having their time control them right, and it's extremely important for us to focus on the beginning of the day and the end of the day as the time that people have more control over what they do, and if you can own your AM and PM bookends, then you set yourself up to have more success through the chaos of the middle of the day.

Sherry: 12:47

Right. And then when the big scary things do show up at some point, it's that shifting from a victim mindset towards this thing happened. This might really suck right now, but I'm going to find my way through it and somehow you grow.

Matt Plutko: 13:02

Yeah, it's literally about that process. I tell people all the time. Nobody's ever written a book about what the view from the top of Mount Everest looked like.

Matt Plutko: 13:09

It's always about the journey up, right and so

Sherry: 13:13

in the moment when it's happening, it's a natural response to be like why, why is this happening? But when you're going through a program such as something that you're doing there, the bad thing still really sucks, but you're better able to pick yourself back up again.

Matt Plutko: 13:28

We're using it as fuel to get better is what we're doing.

Sherry: 13:33

Yeah, love that. Okay, transformation stories- We'd love one. If you have one or two for us, anonymously, of course.

Matt Plutko: 13:42

There was an individual that was working with one of our counselors for about a month and one day he just kind of walked into my office with this individual and just introduced me. We started having a conversation and it was a former athlete that was older in age, who had some issues with his shoulder, wasn't able to really do the things he used to do. We started talking about exercise being like baking a cake, where it takes the exact amount of ingredients, the exact time and the exact temperature to create a good cake and if you try to add more ingredients or you try to increase the temperature, you're not going to get the best result right. So we redefined what a successful workout was for this individual and after working with me for a month, he is in a much better place right now, where he no longer felt like he needed to have those interactions with the counselor for the depression. I think it highlights the power of movement Whenever you do the proper type of movement, the impact that it has for a lot of people. They feel like to transform, to change the way they look. The more they do, the better, but that's very rarely the case and it's about prescribing the correct amount for the individual. One of the things that separates us, I believe, is how specific we are to the individual and what their program looks like

Sherry: 15:21

As it should be, because we are all different and that's the thing we all try to fit ourselves into boxes and you know, subscribe to this program because it worked for

Jodi: 15:30

yeah,

Sherry: 15:31

abc

Jodi: 15:31

I'm thinking back to

Sherry: 15:33

doesn't mean it's

Jodi: 15:34

spin classes.

Jodi: 15:36

I, I keep going, but I can't do all the things that the instructors up there telling us to do and I still just pedal and do my thing, yeah, but the movement is, yes, is the key.

Sherry: 15:50

I try to keep myself accountable, to never miss a Monday sort of thing to like set the tone for the week. But part of this podcast is an exercise in accountability for myself. Absolutely not doing it right now, so I'm just putting it out there. I'm coming clean, but there is so much value in the movement. Earlier on in my whole medical journey that was literally my job was to make sure that I moved my body every day, no excuses, and I can tell my own mental state when I've been off track as far as the movement, that is something that I do question.

Jodi: 16:22

What do you do? Because I occasionally do have bouts of depression, and when it sets in and the grip is hard, it's nearly impossible for me to force myself to exercise, even though I know in my logical brain I know I'm going to feel a hundred times better. There will come a moment when my brain just doesn't want to let me do that. And now I've gone through it and I know what to do because I've already been there and I know it's time to get a therapy session or do the things. But do you see that you have to do the mental health piece first or all at the same time? Or how do you incorporate all that?

Matt Plutko: 17:02

I don't think there's necessarily a progression. I think that a lot of it starts from mental health perspective of it because, quite frankly, it's easier. The way that I like to look at it is that's a commitment in probably one hour at the most a week. Right, your nutrition. You have to focus on every second that you're awake. So those things, they take more time and it's about starting off doing it in a way that is almost impossible to not be able to do it. So whenever you're in a situation where you know you should be doing something but there's a depression that's causing you to not want to, then it's as simple as going outside and walking for five minutes and just doing something.

Sherry: 17:44

I say that five minutes. You don't have to commit to an hour, even if I just put on my shoes and open the door, and then you end up doing more than you.

Matt Plutko: 17:52

At the end of the day, consistency is the most important thing whenever you're trying to develop a habit. I read something today and it stuck with me. It was talking about consistency and developing habits and it literally said it's okay to stink at something, it's not okay to skip it. So that's where I am with spin.

Matt Plutko: 18:12

Meaning yeah, Meaning. If you want to create a habit, it's about actually doing it. If you do it really bad one day because you're not feeling it, it's okay. There's been studies that people that just put their shoes on and walk into a gym and then walk back out and they do that for a week are more consistent a year from then than the people that are all gung-ho to get in there January 2nd because they have these crazy resolutions. It's just about, like I said, trying to fill up those ruts and create new ones.

Sherry: 18:43

I love that. One little caveat there. I think about a family member who is severe pain and severe mobility problems and somebody like that who might not physically be able to go out and go for a walk. What exists, Are there other options that somebody in that particular circumstance might be an entry point or a starting point for someone who is in severe physical pain?

Matt Plutko: 19:11

I think the best place to start is by training your breath and doing some really focused breathing. It leads to I say meditation, and I don't mean sitting on the floor with your legs crossed for two hours without opening up your eyes, but it's just about being present in your own thoughts and just some very intentional breaths. And then being present in your thoughts can have the same type of effect. In the very beginning, there's going to be things that are going to limit you, but at the end of the day, there's always something you can do. It's just about finding the people that can tell you the right things to do and not going out on your own and trying to figure out not asking chat, gpt what I'm supposed to do, because you're not going to get the right answer.

Sherry: 19:58

Yeah, yeah. What would you say to someone who feels stuck but wants to change?

Matt Plutko: 20:03

I would say there's never a perfect time to start, so start today, okay. And when you feel stuck and you want to change, we need to look at stacking small wins on top of each other and not look at what the outcome is. It's about that compound effect of one little thing done over and over again makes such a big difference. It's important to understand that growth only happens right outside of your comfort zone, so you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, but understand that you can take one step forward into growth or one step backward into comfort. I would just say start today, because there's never a great time.

Sherry: 20:51

Yeah, I love it. It's like what they say about planting a tree. Best time to plant a tree was yesterday. The next best time is today.

Jodi: 21:00

So how can?

Sherry: 21:00

people. Where can people learn more about the self mastery program? If someone feels that this might be a path that they are interested in exploring, the best place to start is to go to our website, revelationscounselingwellnesscom.

Matt Plutko: 21:26

Set up a free consultation to be able to just have a little bit more in depth of a conversation on what the goals may be, what they may be looking to get out of it, what they're doing here, and then from there we can take it in as many different directions as possible. A lot of what we've done started off as a dedicated self-mastery program, but it's turned into imparting the mindset from self-mastery into body transformations and health transformations in terms of getting people to help with their blood markers or people that were pre-diabetic no longer being diabetic, and dealing with some of the GLP-1 peptides like Ozempic and Wegovy out there. So it's endless, but it all starts with the mind. That's the best place to start.

Jodi: 22:08

Do you work with health insurance programs.

Matt Plutko: 22:11

Yeah, we are in network with all the major insurance providers. That is mainly on a mental health side and some of the actual dietician stuff, the stuff that I do. I consider it an investment in somebody's future. Right.

Sherry: 22:29

Yep Got to invest in yourself. Your health is your wealth.

Jodi: 22:32

As far as conditions, is there a particular set that you see more frequently? You talked about an athlete losing, having a shoulder injury. I know a lot of older people who now can't do things that they used to do, and I think to myself, boy, that probably would be hard from an identity perspective, right, and boy, it would be good to find a counselor that could also help you learn how to move your body in a better way. So, do you see, do you know what I'm saying?

Matt Plutko: 23:01

Yeah, we'll see the gambit when We've set ourselves up from a mental health perspective to have between the five counselors. They all kind of have their specialties but they're all very well-rounded and some of them may be very averse in addiction but they are still very capable of doing an ADHD assessment or having people help them cope with a loss or anxiety. From a wellness perspective, we'll see the gambit. I worked with somebody today that has very bad arthritis in her knee, an older lady. I was able to put together a program that she did for two weeks and she said she can't believe how much better she feels already and that she hasn't thought that she could move this way and she would ever be able to move that way again. So we'll do that. We'll see athletes that are recovering from ACL injuries that need some corrective exercise. So we have the capabilities to see pretty much the entire gambit.

Sherry: 24:01

That's fantastic. That's awesome. I had another question about the self-mastery program. What is the cadence If somebody were to be working with you? I think you have a four-week intensive and a 13-week intensive.

Matt Plutko: 24:13

Yeah, so that's the starting point. We put that out there as giving people a general idea of what we could do. But during these conversations and these consultations we decide what's going to work best for the individual.

Sherry: 24:29

Again individualized.

Matt Plutko: 24:30

We say that 13 weeks is a great starting point to be able to really dive into the specifics and ultimately cement those behaviors, that confidence and the knowledge to then be able to do things on their own. My goal is to, within 12 to 13 weeks, give them enough to be able to then go and do things on their own.

Jodi: 24:53

That makes sense. Sure, sure, I love it. I will say the best rehab facility I have ever witnessed was one that followed something similar to what you're doing, matt, and that they do incorporate the diet and the exercise, and you don't see it very often, and it is a fantastic approach.

Matt Plutko: 25:13

Yeah, well, thank you.

Sherry: 25:14

Well thank you, matt. That's a wrap on this episode and what a powerful conversation it's been. Matt Plutko laid out a real life roadmap for taking back your agency, showing how small, intentional steps can lead to big transformation. Let this episode remind you you're not powerless and your next step matters. Be sure to check out the show notes for links to Matt's self-discovery program and other resources from Revelations, Counseling and Wellness. You'll also be able to find more tools for growth, organization and resilience at thrivingyinzers. com, because support should be practical, accessible and made to meet you where you are. Until next time, keep going and growing, because this is it.

Sherry: 25:54

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing shared on this podcast should be considered professional advice. Thriving Insers LLC, its hosts or any associated parties are not liable for any actions taken or consequences arising from the information provided. The views expressed by the hosts. Thank you. Nationwide at the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Dial 988 to connect with the trained crisis counselor for free and confidential support. If you are local to the Pittsburgh area, resolve Crisis Services offer 24-7 crisis intervention and stabilization services to all Allegheny County residents. You can reach them by calling 1-888-796-8226. If you are struggling with mental health, addiction, grief or any other serious personal challenges, we encourage you to seek support from a qualified professional.