DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast

Millions of people are put on psychiatric drugs each year. For some, these drugs are desired and effective, but for many, whether taken willingly or by force, they create multiple harmful side effects, long-term health complications, and are incredibly challenging to taper off of. Users of psychiatric drugs also rarely find professional or even peer support for tapering off due to the stigma and discrimination and a false narrative that implies users must remain on them for life. Chaya Grossberg, psychiatric survivor and ally, has supported people for over 15 years in finding alternatives and maintaining their agency, a role that is much needed. After becoming ill and nearly dying from the multiple psychiatric drugs she was prescribed, she decided to slowly taper off with support from the Freedom Center (a peer support organization) and heal the damage done to her body. Now, an activist, community organizer and writer of her book: “Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs”, Chaya shares her wisdom.

In this episode we discuss:

• what it was like to take 7 different psychiatric medications
• how to change and reclaim your narrative
• crisis as a retrieval of life purpose
• what we want young people to know today
• how pharmaceutical companies use non-profits and peer organization to perpetuate propaganda
• why nutrition matters when coming off psych meds
• case studies of successful tapering off
• withdrawal symptoms and the false narratives told about them
• the risk of SI due to being on or coming off psych meds
• taking a basic needs framework

Bio

Author Chaya Grossberg discusses her book Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs about what people go through coming off psychiatric drugs and what helps them. Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs is a manual and workbook for psychiatric survivors and their allies, friends and families. Chaya is not a medical practitioner, does not give medical advice, and supports the autonomy of each individual to make their own decisions on when or whether to come off psychiatric drugs. She advocates for increased options, support and safe spaces for people seeking alternatives to psychiatric drugs.

"When someone says that they want to end their life, it just means that they don't want to be living the life that they're living" (Icarus Project). It’s overwhelmingly common for people to experience a suicidal ideation at some point in their life. As a society, we have to find better ways of preventing or approaching these experiences. Currently, our traditional psychiatric approaches seem to often do more harm than good for folks in vulnerable states. In this episode, I review some of the concerning research around SI interventions, and what we can do better.

In this episode we discuss:

• myths about folks who experience SI
• why structured clinical assessments aren’t predictive of SA
• what traditional mental health systems get wrong about approaching SI
• why there are higher rates of SA after psychiatric hospitalization
• research on efficacy of emergency services
• alternative options when someone’s experiencing SI

Resources

“When medical doctors or psychiatrists entertain incoherent ideas about the mind and body, they make bad decisions about how to assist us in being well.” - Diane O’Leary. Understanding how the mind and body are connected in mental health and medicine is critical, especially considering that when we fail to do so, many are harmed. Despite drawing on the Biopsychosocial model for the last few decades, psychiatry hasn’t gotten much closer to elucidating the connections between the mind, body, and society. Today, Diane O’Leary explains to us psychiatry’s big philosophy problem and how it leads to huge ethical concerns. In an effort to ‘not be dualists’ psychiatry often tries to lump the mental and physical together, but in doing so, fails to approach clients as ‘holists’. Here’s how we can bring the person back into mental health.

In this episode we discuss:

• why medically unexplained physiological symptoms get labeled as ‘in your head’
• why the way to be a ‘holist’ is not about eradicating dualism or separating mind and body
• why the biopsychosocial model is incoherent and doesn’t do justice to patients
• the roots of bad philosophy in psychiatry
• women’s health and the history of manipulation in psychosomatic medicine
• why psychiatry needs to reevaluate its bioethics and respect patients’ rights and personhood

Bio

Diane O’Leary, PhD is a philosopher whose research focuses on medicine and psychiatry. In particular, she sets out to apply philosophy of mind in a way that helps to clarify what biomedicine and psychiatry are aiming for with holistic practice – and what they should be aiming for. Dr. O’Leary is Professor of Philosophy at University of Maryland Global Campus, and a former visiting researcher at the Center for Philosophy of Science at University of Pittsburgh. She’s a strong advocate for change in the area of psychosomatic medicine, and she’s currently a Public Voices Fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with The Oped Project and Equality Now.

Sometimes it takes a healing crisis to get to the roots of chronic illness and transform our life into something more sustainable and purposeful. For Fern Olivia, this crisis manifested as an autoimmune thyroid problem - Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis - that forced her to quit her corporate job and led her down a healing path. Since then, she has developed Thyroid Yoga, along with other breath, movement, and vocal practices to support people who desire a more holistic way of dealing with whole-body health concerns.

In this episode we discuss:

• the connections between the thyroid, hormones, and depression
• why hypothyroidism is more prevalent in women and diagnostically overshadowed
• messages from the body and why we ignore or normalize symptoms
• the function of the thyroid, physically and energetically
• the value of mentorship and community support
• learning to not be antagonistic with the body
• body talk practice and how to deeply listen
• blending yogic traditions and holistic nutrition
• using your voice to find your power

Bio

Fern Olivia is an internationally recognized teacher, speaker, and wellness influencer, as well as the founder of Thyroid Yoga®, a unique holistic program that has empowered thousands of women to reclaim their thyroid health and live a fuller, more radiant life. After fainting in the subway in NYC while working for seven years as a Vice President on Wall Street, she left the concrete jungle for the jungle of Costa Rica where she lives and guides retreats. Fern has birthed a new approach to healing through her own education in biomedical engineering and over a decade of experience and certifications in yoga, integrative medicine, breathwork and as a Medical Medium cleanse specialist. She combines targeted yoga sequences, breathwork, vocal activation, somatic intelligence, and brain rewiring to form a whole body approach to health. Through her masterminds, writings, retreats, workshops, and much more, Fern continues to educate and train thousands of women to reclaim their health and live their most fully expressed lives.

Fern's "The Expressed Woman" 21-Day Quest to Confidence:

www.thyroid.yoga/products/theexpressedwoman

Join Fern's Medical Medium & Thyroid Yoga® Cleanse Retreat in Upstate NY this July 10-14: www.thyroid.yoga/products/upstateny

Retreats and Cleanses in Costa Rica: www.thyroid.yoga/cleanseretreat

Websites:

Ever have an existential crisis that made you upend all your beliefs about who you thought you were in life? Abby has, and today she speaks to the power of unlearning oppressive ideologies that we all have inherited, and how patriarchy can seep into all notions of what’s healthy, normal, and how we should live. Abby’s work centers on cultivating shame resilience through allowing ourselves to engage in “belief grief” - giving up toxic beliefs about our roles and identities so we can foster collective liberation. We also talk about bridging generational divides and the gifts that come when we can learn to listen especially to younger folks.

In this episode we discuss:

• the value of existential crises
• getting unstuck from gender roles and refusing to live someone else’s story
• finding your voice in midlife
• how mentors and teachers show up in all places in life - even within your children
• knowing your privilege, cultivating shame resilience and being willing to change your mind
• ‘belief grief’ and letting harmful internalized beliefs go

Abby Kamen's Bio:

I am an artist, author, and energist. With candor and wit, I seek to provide a thought provoking look at generational trauma and the cyclical effects of survivalism. With my art, my writing, and my energetic gifts, I provide an innovative approach to collective healing that will enable all of humanity to create better, together. I live in Louisville, KY.

They say many therapists get into this work for deeply personal reasons, but not many have held so many roles the way today’s guest, Denise Ranaghan, has. Denise gets real about what it was like being forcibly locked up in a psychiatric institute while in the military, working her way through school to become a therapist, directing community mental health services while being open about her mental health ‘status’ as a peer professional, and then having the courage to leave the system and go off on her own as an activist and therapist in private practice. Denise talks about the double edged sword of relying on oppressive authoritative systems while internalizing self-blame, and the courage it takes to bring a critical consciousness into your work.

In this episode we discuss:

• growing up a ‘troubled teen’
• forced involuntary psychiatric institutionalization
• authoritative abuse and internalizing self-blame
• identifying and de-identifying with the ‘patient’ label
• swallowing vs acting out anger
• moral injury as a provider in the system
• being ‘out’ as a peer working in clinical settings
• self doubt, endurism and developing better boundaries as a therapist
• being a apart of a community and making local changes
• knowing your privilege
• intergenerational collaboration and undoing agism

Bio

Denise Ranaghan shares a powerful personal story of recovery that has driven her 20-year record of service in the mental health field. She has held multiple positions including Residential Manager, Peer Specialist, Director of Wellness Services, Director of Assertive Community Treatment, and Director of Peer Services. In all of her positions she strove to include the peer perspective and vehemently called out oppressive practices, and eventually came to terms with how she was contributing to them. She was one of the first in several agencies who publicly identified as a Peer while in professional roles. She introduced and supported alternative peer run self help groups that challenged the “clinician knows best” belief. Denise has presented on Peer Support, Trauma-Informed Care, Voice hearing, Cultural Diversity, Suicide and The Human Canine connection. She is the author of multiple essays on recovery as well as the book Institutional Eyes which profiles her experience in the military where she was first psychiatrically hospitalized. Presently she has a private practice in Woodstock, NY, she serves on the Ulster County Community Services Board, the Mental health subcommittee and is a member a local Social Justice Committee. She says she has found community with a purpose at IDHA!

Some of the most egregious harms have been done in the name of “help,” and this is especially true when it comes to forced psychiatric interventions. Investigative journalist, Rob Wipond illuminates the systemic harms of the psychiatric system after experiencing his father attempt to get help and instead of care, be met with coercion and force. As many find out, this is an all too common story. The evidence that psychiatric detention is beneficial to people is lacking, yet rates continue to dramatically rise. From mental health laws and policies, to corruption in pharmaceutical companies, and even political organizations lobbying for more control, all grease the wheels of power and injustice.

In this episode we discuss:

• the politics of forced psychiatric treatment and why it is harmful
• how the evidence on forced treatment is systematically hidden
• the ins and out of mental health laws
• why there’s a higher suicide risk in the weeks after psychiatric hospitalization
• how giving people the label of ‘lacking insight’ is dangerous and false
• several alternative interventions and why we need more advocates
• advice for family members
• the cultural shift that’s needed

Rob Wipond is a freelance investigative journalist who writes frequently about the interfaces between psychiatry, civil rights, community issues, policing, surveillance and privacy, and social change. His articles have been nominated for seventeen magazine and journalism awards in science, law, business, and community issues, and he’s the author of the book Your Consent is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships.

Links

In popular culture, we tend to think of eating disorders as a reaction to toxic societal messages about our bodies. While this may in part be true, for many people complex trauma is often at the root. Our guest today, Katie Kilbourn, co-founder of a dance company helping people heal through expressive arts, courageously shares about many aspects of eating disorders that are silenced, including the links between addiction, trauma, and eating disorders. We discuss the adaptive coping strategies we develop as a result of trauma, and the double-edged sword of escapism, perfectionism, and control. She also shares about what it's like to navigate pregnancy while recovering from an eating disorder, and why it’s critical for mothers to stay authentic and boundaried in caring for their own mental health.

We also discuss:

• redefining body ‘positivity’ and body ‘neutrality’
• the toxic pressure on dancers and performers
• how eating disorders are like many other addictions
• how pregnancy and motherhood could trigger patterns
• exploding the myth of ‘selfishness’ in motherhood
• the light and shadow of escapism, perfectionism and control
• what makes expressive arts so healing

Bio

Katie Kilbourn was born in Sacramento, California and trained all over the West Coast before she moved and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Dance Performance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After relocating to New York, Katie had the privilege to dance with several companies including Balasole, J/D Dansfolk, and IKADA. From a young age Katie realized there is a generic pressure within the dance community to maintain a specific body type and she realized that many people, herself included, engage in unhealthy behaviors to achieve a certain look. In 2015 she co founded Borne Dance Company with Kianna Moye and together they created a company dedicated to mental health and eating disorder awareness. As someone who has dealt with mental health concerns her entire life, Katie strived to create a company that would inspire body positivity, self appreciation, and the idea of recovery through art. She was a volunteer at the National Eating Disorders Association for over four years and has personal history with mental health and recovery. She has closely worked with therapists and specialists in the mental health field to create content and workshops that are therapeutic, inspiring, and compassionate for the community.

Resources

One of the most overlooked experiences is menopause and perimenopause and impact on mental health. Societally we treat it like a disease or an ‘untapped market’ to sell more products. Many people feel isolated and alone in their mind-life experiences, and for some this can have extreme consequences. Today we have three experts by experience and training talking about how the system fails menopausal people and sharing their lived experiences in approaching this time of life as an incredibly transformative experience.

We also discuss:

• how early trauma and sexual abuse can re-emerge in midlife
• the “second peak” of psychosis
• spiritual emergency and holistic healing

• dealing with mortality and fear of dying
• sacred rage in menopause
• developing new archetypes for the "elder"
• the medicalization of pms and menopause
• hormone replacement therapies, estradial, etc.
• diagnostic overshadowing
• capitalism and the menopause “market”

Bios

“If I don't feel like I fit in to these linear and binary systems, it's because I don't. It's because they're not actually reflective of my true nature.” In our lives, each of us will have experienced some challenges within our bodies, whether related to injury, stress, the pressure of expected ‘norms’, disability, illness, pain, or simply aging. Our relationships to our bodies often reflect internalized oppressive systems that keep us disconnected. Abigail Rose Clarke, a somatic facilitator, tells us the ways she’s come to view our connection to nature and relationship to our bodies as prime ways to push back against systems that were not built for us.

In this episode we discuss:

• navigating disability in an ableist world
• healing after a car accident and navigating the medical industrial complex
• practices for grounding and remembering you are part of nature
• the fallacy of hierarchy
• dealing with emotional resistance
• healing an eating disorder
• the book writing process

Abigail Rose Clarke is a somatic facilitator who currently lives in Western Massachusetts. Using somatics and mindfulness, Clarke teaches people to use the inherent wisdom of their bodies to be in direct conversation with creativity and aliveness, as a way to dismantle oppressive systems and build generative and deeply relational futures. Clarke has worked with people ranging from CEOs and board directors to schoolteachers and parents. She holds a weekly somatic learning space called Anchor Community, and is also the creator of The Somatic Tarot, a method of engaging with the archetype Tarot in ways that are rooted in liberatory practices. Her work is enormously influenced by her study and practice of Embodyoga®, of which she is a senior teacher, as well as her background in kinesiology and psychology.

Links:

“Cycle-breakers see the pain that flows through their families and say: this pain ends with me.” - Dr. Mariel Buqué

Through family narratives, structural oppression, and inside our bodies, trauma can be passed down through generations. When we are willing to be with the shame, anger, fear, and grief, we may come to recognize that we are carrying the pain of our ancestors. Being willing to face intergenerational pain and trauma can also make us confront present realities of injustice, and in the process, we can become change-makers and cycle-breakers. Dr. Mariel Buqué shares her stories of intergenerational trauma and the ways she has helped clients move through the shame and grief. Her new book: Breaking The Cycle is out now!

In this episode we discuss:

• Mariel’s experiences navigating intergenerational trauma, racism, immigrant status and poverty
• The importance of moving through shame and grief
• Why the nervous system is a big part of trauma healing
• What it means to be a cycle breaker

Bio

Ever been in a relationship or went through a breakup that had you feeling completely confused, disoriented, made you lose trust in yourself and impacted your sense of worthiness? Chandni and I have, and today in a very intimate episode, we discuss what it’s like to get out of emotionally abusive relationships and come out the other side with a whole heck of a lot of clarity, centeredness, and joy. We both agree that while no one is ever to blame for another person’s harmful behavior, yet it also takes two to engage in any relationship and so we find a lot of healing in self-accountability, discussing what made us choose these relationships, and breaking the cycle of trying to earn love or play the role of “fixer”. Chandni has some immense grace and truly powerful perspectives and it was joy to discuss and share our stories.

We also get into:

• the difference between a “shitty breakup” and what commonly gets referred to as ‘narcissistic’ abuse
• if it’s better to go or stay ‘no contact’
• how to get closure without repair
• why we stayed even when we knew it wasn’t right
• chronic health conditions & relationships
• listening to anger and disappointment as a compass
• choosing the right people to surround yourself with
• breaking the cycle of addiction to unbalanced relationships
• when emotional abuse runs through your family
• the joys that come after grieving

Links:

• Study on conscientiousness and relationship success: Lampis, J., Cataudella, S., Busonera, A., & Carta, S. (2018). Personality Similarity and Romantic Relationship Adjustment During the Couple Life Cycle. The Family Journal, 26(1), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480717741689

“Whatever happens in the body affects the brain, and what happens in the brain affects the body” - Dr. James Greenblatt. The biomedical model of mental health is critiqued for being “one size fits all” and ignoring multiple pathways that can lead to whole system dysfunction. Dr. James Greenblatt, a psychiatrist and early adopter of the now popularized functional medicine lens to mental health, is working to bridge disciplines in order to treat the individual more holistically and uncover hidden root causes of dysfunction. In this episode, we talk about why different physiological concerns have multiple pathways that manifest in a vast variety of mental health outcomes. For any one person with a mental health condition, it may be rooted partially in trauma, hypothyroidism, vitamin deficiencies, food allergies, celiac disease, diabetes, and so much more. Greenblatt argues for the power of testing many biomarkers and using nutrition to help heal and even taper off of psychopharmaceuticals when possible.

In this episode:

• bridging functional medicine with psychiatry
• treating eating disorders, ocd, anxiety, psychosis, depression, adhd and more
• the impact that food allergies and vitamin deficiencies have on the brain and mental health
• how to treat the individual rather than using a “one size fits all” approach
• coming off of SSRIs and psychotropic medication

It’s common for survivors of trauma to feel pressure to forgive and/or to let go of relationships with family members who have caused harm. There are a lot of unhelpful notions around forgiveness and repair, and it’s easy to feel guilt or shame when we don’t feel ready. Today we discuss how to get out of the binary, redefinging forgiveness. and finding a sense of peace with or without repair.

"My Voice is My Channel"

So many of us experience fear around our self expression. We may prefer to be in the role of "curator," helping to uplift other peoples' voices, perhaps, even at the expense of our own. In today's episode, Jocelyn talks all about shifting her relationship to anxiety after transformative experiences with plant medicine, and how energy work, and tending to our own rhythms and cycles help support us in being more fully expressed. Jocelyn has coined the term "tender discipline" which is a beautiful word to describe how we can divest from toxic productivity culture, and invest in ourselves and our relationships to each other in the world around us.

We discuss:

• The power of plant medicine
• The relationship between anxiety and the voice
• Tools for dealing with insecurity and self-doubt around using your voice
• The concept of tender discipline as an antidote to our hyper-growth, speed, and efficiency-fixated culture
• Practical tips for writing and expressing yourself
• Insights into the throat chakra and other energy centers

“Rage has many facets, and grief cannot be separated from rage.” If you’ve worked in mental health, social work, psychology, healing or mutual aid, you’re likely very aware that this work is unsustainable and often dehumanizing. So, what can we do about it and how can we use our collective power for change? In this conversation, I get to speak with Dr. Jennifer Mullan, a force of nature and founder of Decolonizing Therapy®, a groundbreaking psychological paradigm that seamlessly integrates political, ancestral, therapeutic, and global well-being. As a major disruptor in the mental health industrial complex, Dr. Jenn's work is an urgent call to dive to the root of global and intergenerational trauma, unlocking the wisdom of our sacred rage. In this episode, we delve into the profound impact of ancestral and historical trauma, illuminating the ways in which these wounds reverberate through our collective psyche. Dr. Jenn offers invaluable insights for support workers seeking to shift and politicize their practice.

We discuss**:**

• The profound impact of ancestral and historical trauma and what decolonizing mental health really means
• How psychology was founded on the co-optation and exploitation of indigenous practices
• Sacred rage as a powerful force for collective transformation
• Practical guidance for navigating the complexities of being a support worker in a eurocentric, capitalist society
• Why mental health can’t be separated from political and spiritual work

Bio:

Jennifer Mullan, PsyD, is a major disruptor in the mental health industrial complex. Her work is an urgent call to dive to the root of global and generational trauma to unlock the wisdom of our sacred rage. Dr. Jennifer Mullan birthed Decolonizing Therapy ®, a psychological evolution that weaves together political, ancestral, therapeutic and global well-being. She is also the creator of the popular Instagram account @decolonizingtherapy and recipient of Essence magazine’s 2020 Essential Hero Award in the category of mental health.

Links:

“It is incredibly subversive to say that our body has a wisdom of its own, that we can heal and release shame and pain, and trauma.” Luis Mojica We experience pain and trauma in the body, and it is through the body that we heal from trauma. Luis Mojica, a trauma survivor himself, is a somatic therapist dedicated to sharing the language and practices of the body to help people be in deep authentic relationship with themselves,. In this episode we dive into his story and discovery of the biology of trauma, healing shame, somatics as a decolonial practice, how to work with rather than dominate the body, fawning, and how to find repair in ourselves rather relying on repair in the relationships with those who caused harm.

Also in this episode:

• Luis’ story of being born intersex
• the biology of trauma
• healing shame and the concept of overcoupling
• cycles of rupture and repair
• decoloniality in our relationship to the body - what is relational vs what is dominant dynamic?
• fawning as an ancient physiological response
• how to navigate ‘forgiveness’ and repair with those who have harmed

Links:

Traditional mental health practices and treatment have garnered a lot of critique from concerned clinicians, researchers, and activists. However, when it comes to shifting practice, we have to change what’s being taught in schools, institutions, and non-profits. Mental health education for social workers, clinicians, and even family members, advocates, peers, and care workers has the potential to be truly transformative if we are willing to question our old outdated assumptions. In this episode I speak with Noah Gokul and Jessie Roth, the staff at The Institute for the Development of Human Arts who are leading the next wave of transformative mental health education.

In this episode:

• Why what’s being taught in schools is disconnected from what’s happening on the ground in mental health treatment
• Why providers are burning out and not finding the resources they need
• The #1 thing people say to us when they find IDHA and transformative mental health training

Links:

We are celebrating 1 year and 61 episodes of Depth Work in this very special compilation episode. Hear from clinicians, healers, activists, and experts on the biggest things that need to shift in mental health and society at large as well as visions for change.

Guests and episodes in order:

We are celebrating 1 year and 60 episodes of Depth Work in this very special compilation episode. Hear from leaders and experts on redefining mental health, uncovering root causes of concerns, and what truly helps.

Guests and episodes in order:

The quality of the questions we ask can drastically shape our lives. We consciously and subconsciously ask questions throughout our day, but how many of these inquiries are really offering generative possibility and how many are simply limiting or keeping us stuck? This is a love letter to asking questions and an exploration into why questions are more important than answers.

Also in this episode:

• The questions that have opened doors for me and have changed me
• why questions are seeds that we plant
• why being compassionately curious is useful for our mental health
• how to frame questions in more generative ways

Wellness plans and crisis plans (sometimes called psychiatric advance directives) are documents that outline our mental health needs and can even help prevent or avoid a crisis. These plans not only give us the opportunity to self-reflect but also can help us communicate with our community in times of need. No one wants to plan for a crisis, but when we’re struggling, these documents can get us through some of the toughest times and help us maintain agency, self-determination, and support. Whether you’ve used mental health services or want to engage in mutual aid and peer support, wellness plans can be applied. In this episode I discuss 3 types of wellness/crisis plans and how they can be applied within or outside the mental health system.

Also in this episode:

• why wellness & crisis planning is crucial when it comes to avoiding, preparing for, or communicating with community in times of need
• how to create a crisis or wellness plan with examples
• the difference between Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP), Transformative Mutual Aid Practices (T-MAPS), and Psychiatric Advance Directives
• how the system is set up to protect the provider not the client and how crisis plans help us maintain agency
• Using these plans with clients & concrete examples

Depression can be a challenging, incredibly painful experience, but it can also pave the path to change and transformation. Experiences of numbness, despair, emptiness, fatigue, loss of meaning and all the things that get labeled as depression are emotional and physiological responses from the body. The question that has always been quite interesting to me is: what is my body trying to tell me through depression? What is the message behind these signals? “Depression makes holes in our theories and assumptions, but even this painful process can be honored as a necessary and valuable source of healing” as psychologist Thomas Moore says. So in this episode we explore depression as complex trauma processing, nervous system overwhelm, a values crisis, a signal of physiological illness, basic needs not being met, a response to toxic culture and society, and a spiritual awakening.

Also in this episode:

What’s it like to spend 20 years locked up in a psychiatric asylum? Issa Ibrahim knows this intimately. As a survivor of complex trauma, drug-induced-psychosis, sexual and institutional abuse, Issa’s story holds up a mirror to America’s racist and coercive mental health system as a microcosm for our sick society. Through it all, Issa is a memoirist and artist, whose subversive provacative art has been shown in numerous galleries and non-profit spaces. Art and compassion were his pathways out of the asylum and continues to be some of his greatest gifts that Issa shares with the world.

Also In this episode:

• healing grief, shame and complex familial trauma
• liberatory art practices
• surviving institutional abuse in psychiatric institutions and how he got out
• how compassion, forgiveness, and self-reflection can be healing

Issa Ibrahim is a visual artist, author, musician and filmmaker born and raised in Queens, New York. He has exhibited in numerous galleries and non-profit spaces in the greater New York area as well as in group shows at Hofstra University and the Queens Museum of Art in addition to fairs and showcases the Netherlands and South Korea.

Issa has been featured on German Public Television, in the 1999 HBO documentary The Living Museum, by Academy Award winning director Jessica Yu, and the 2015 documentary That Which Is Possible. He was also the subject of an hour-long NPR audio story that won the 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Documentary and the 2014 Third Coast Director’s Choice Award

Issa’s 2016 memoir The Hospital Always Wins, published by Chicago Review Press, has the notable distinction of being the first work published by an African American written from behind the walls of a mental institution. Issa is also a member artist represented by Fountain House Gallery in New York City; the premier gallery dedicated to promoting the artwork of artists with mental health issues.

Issa will continue to use his creativity to challenge preconceived and prejudicial ideas in society, combat stigma, expose the realities of our broken mental health system. He wishes to and explore how openness can aid in respecting psychiatric sufferers and survivors who are our fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, friends, neighbors and ourselves.

Links:

If we want more Intimacy and connection with others, it requires vulnerability. We all have ways that we protect ourselves from potential rejection, pain, and vulnerability. Many of these self-protection strategies are depely subconscious and picked up in childhood as ways we had to adapt and survive in our life context. But in adulthood they become ways we distance from oursleves, each other, and the world at large. In this episode, I discuss the 11 self- protection strategies outlined by psychologist Stefanie Stahl in her book The Child In You. When we are aware of which self-protection strategies we tend to use most often, we can actively chose differently and cultivate more connection in our lives.

In this episode:

• Projection and repression: the two ways we distance ourselves to avoid pain
• 11 self-protective strategies that our inner child uses to try to stay safe
• ways to heal and become more aware of each strategy

“If you've come here to help me, then you're wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Lila Watson

Martyrdom, or self-abandoning and self-sacrificing for the sake of a mission or cause, is so highly rewarded in our culture. It can show up in our interpersonal relationships, but also when it comes to our work, our creativity, or ‘purpose’ in the world. We can even start to sacrifice our health and wellbeing for the sake of a ‘mission’ in attempts to prove our worthiness. In today’s episode, I share perspectives around martyrdom and saviordom in life and work and how we can take the pressure off ourselves, stop feeling the need to prove our worth, and take ourselves less seriously with the sustainability of lightness and play and joy.

• the familial and cultural roots of martyrdom
• why playing the savior is a codependent strategy
• the victim, savior, perpetrator drama triangle framework
• why martyrdom is transactional and disconnects us from ourselves and others
• how martyrdom shows up in creativity, work, our mission, and purpose
• ending the game of proving your worthiness through contribution
• being process vs outcome oriented

Functional medicine and psychoneuroimmunology is on the rise as a more integrative way of understanding the physiological roots of mental health concerns. For decades we’ve been obsessed with the theory that mental health concerns are solely about chemical imbalances in the brain - but that’s not what the research has shown. The truth is much more complex since environmental, societal factors, childhood trauma, gut health, and so much more impact our brain health. In this episode, Dr. Randall Gates, a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist discusses the profound impact of childhood trauma on long-term disease, the intriguing connection between schizophrenia, psychosis, and gluten, and the significance of inflammation in the brain. We talk about why going gluten free isn’t the only fix and why sometimes mental health issues are the primary if not, only, sign of an underlying autoimmune issue. We also delve into obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and PANS/PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections), as well as Hashimoto's disease, the most common autoimmune disorder, often manifesting as brain fog and depression. Moreover, we delve into the potential synergy between functional medicine and psychiatry, and why our current system needs an integrated approach.

We also discuss:

• how childhood trauma makes you more likely to develop an autoimmune condition
• links between schizophrenia, celiac and gluten sensitivity
• brain inflammation and the gut brain connection
• the role of diet and food allergies
• OCD, anxiety and PANS/PANDAS
• Hashimoto's disease
• what tests you may request from your doctor if you’re struggling with mental health concerns
• how functional medicine can work with psychiatry

For the past thirteen years, Dr. Randall Gates, D.C., Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist, has dedicated his life to helping people discover the causes of their chronic health conditions. Shortly after graduating in 2006 with a B.S. in Biology, Dr. Gates started his doctoral program in Chiropractic. During Chiropractic school, he was introduced to Functional Neurology. When he learned about Functional Neurology, everything clicked! He became fascinated/obsessed with neurology and spent much of his free time studying the brain in-depth including its dysregulations and rehabilitation. In 2009, Dr. Gates graduated from Life Chiropractic College West receiving his Doctorate of Chiropractic, as well as being Valedictorian of his class. Simultaneously, he was completing 300 additional credit hours in the field of neurology, and in 2010, Dr. Gates passed the rigorous American Chiropractic Neurology Board Examination. At 28 years old, Dr. Gates attained his designation as a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist- one of five hundred in the world. Dr. Gates has since completed 250 hours of additional training in Traumatic Brain Injuries, Vestibular Rehabilitation and Movement Disorders. He continues to spend countless hours researching conditions that are not well understood, as well as conditions that are treated primarily through pharmacological medications.

“We arise out of the very conditions that will heal us.” - Asia Suler In this episode, herbalist, nature philosopher, and author Asia Suler shares lessons from her journey through chronic pain and illness and the transformative power of the natural world, which she most recently has written about in her new book - Mirrors of the Earth. She is a wise proponent of the importance of depathologizing sensitivity, and celebrating being a highly sensitive person (HSP) as a superpower. We dive into what it looks like to protect and live synergistically with our sensitive nervous systems, establish boundaries, and notice the often overlooked signs of nervous system overwhelm. We discuss practices for reconnecting with ourselves, communicating with plants, and embracing our multidimensionality, as returning to an indigenous remembrance of all things as animate conscious beings.

We also discuss:

• why humans are, in general, highly sensitive mammals
• why gardens serve as good boundary practice
• listening to the messages of chronic illness and pain
• practices for coming back to the self
• how to talk to plants, step-by-step
• motherhood and embracing all our paradoxes

Asia Suler is a writer, teacher, earth intuitive and author of Mirrors in the Earth: Reflections on Self-Healing from the Living World.  Asia began her journey after early years of chronic pain and illness. The experience— which pushed her into a deep search for healing, both within and without— led her to the altar of the green world and the creation of One Willow Apothecaries, an Appalachian-grown company that offers handcrafted medicines and educational experiences in herbalism, animism, and earth-centered personal growth. Asia has guided over 20,000 students in 70+ countries through her immersive online programs. Through her work, Asia helps people embrace their own unique medicine through a joyful engagement with the natural world.

Why are so many mental health professionals, researchers, and activists critiquing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? In this episode, we dive deep into the complexities surrounding mental health diagnoses and explore the limitations and hazards of labeling and codifying human experiences. We look at why researchers have called the DSM “scientifically meaningless” as statistically unreliable and invalid and what this means for those receiving diagnoses. We look at who gets to decide what is normal vs. abnormal human behavior, and why more input is needed from other related fields to truly do justice to the nuances of human emotion and behavior.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Limitations of labeling and codifying human experiences
2. Reliability and validity of the DSM and the absence of biomarkers
3. The development of the DSM and its political underpinnings
4. Why pathologizing can be antithetical to healing

Links:

“There's something incredibly dangerous to the status quo about us no longer feeling ashamed for choosing lives that are right for us, and within that choosing to direct our creative life force energy that we all embody into whatever we so choose.” - Ruby Warrington

Today I delve into the complex and often ignored topic of non-motherhood with author Ruby Warrington. Ruby wrote “Women Without Kids” to challenge the prevailing societal narratives surrounding motherhood and unravel the inherent binary thinking that erases the diversity of human relationships and caregiving experiences.

We explore the broad motherhood spectrum, which encompasses women who are unable to have children and those who consciously choose not to. Ruby passionately dissects the harmful effects of pronatalism, an ideology that values parents over non-parents within a colonial capitalist framework.

Throughout our conversation, we emphasize the vital role of non-parents, particularly women, in societal transformation amid the daunting challenges of climate impact and economic collapse. Furthermore, we explore the notion of deviance and shame associated with choosing alternative paths in life and how shedding shame can unleash our creative potential and empower us to challenge the status quo.

Also in this episode:

• breaking down the mommy binary
• undoing the ideology of valuing parents over non-parents within colonial capitalism
• women without kids as a necessary vital part of societal transformation among decimating climate impact and economic collapse
• found family and less hierarchical ways of creating community and family
• what caregiving looks like within and outside the role of motherhood
• social life in berlin and the value of community engagement
• undoing shame of being “deviant” or “other” and taking back our creative potential

Harm Reduction Specialist and Peer Counselor, David Levine, and I discuss the social and political context of the war on drugs in the United States and how drug laws and policies disproportionately affect those who are disenfranchised and most marginalized. David works on the ground helping people who have overdosed on opioids and discusses what true harm reduction means when it comes to mental health and substance use. He also describes gatekeeping, inequity, and hypocrisy when it comes to research and legalization of medicines, and how stigma around drugs often creates more harm than the drugs themselves.

In this episode:

• 3 critical parts to practicing harm reduction in it’s truest form
• what harm reduction looks like on the ground - with case examples
• current life saving harm reduction technologies that stop lethal overdose
• the war on drugs as systemic oppression of marginalized groups
• drug positivity and how we can mitigate risk
• gatekeeping, profit hoarding, and hypocrisy in what we classify and sell as ‘medicine’
• the opioid epidemic in the US
• drug research, patents, FDA approval and the legalization of schedule 1 drugs in equitable and inequitable ways

David Levine, JD is a drug warrior and harm reductionist. Identifying as a person who uses drugs and committed to fighting against War on Drugs, David has worked professionally in Harm Reduction since 2014 in a multitude of settings. He currently works two jobs on the front lines helping people affected by dangers inherent to a black market drug supply in the Bronx through street outreach and engaging overdose survivors in ERs. Email: fromdavidlevine@gmail.com

In this much-requested episode, we explore the topic of shame and blame, how we can become mired in these emotions, whether by taking on too much responsibility or deflecting it onto others. What does centered self-accountability look like and when and why do we engage in both over and under-accountability? We discuss the pitfalls of using the language of ‘victim mindset. ’We delve into the complexities of centered self-accountability and explore the origins of over and under accountability, which are often rooted in childhood trauma. In other words, how do we move forward and find agency, power, and creative potential without ignoring or denying the pain of the past.

In this episode we discuss:

• The impact of over and under accountability on adult relationships and self-trust
• How to recognize these self-protection strategies developed in childhood
• The accountability spectrum and its usefulness in approaching conflict.

Links:

“I think in this day and age the field of psychology/psychiatry is our modern day religion come together around these sets of ideas that tells us how we’re supposed to live, what’s right and wrong as far as how we should be and exist in the world” - Noël Hunter

Despite the wealth of research on trauma and what truly helps when people are suffering, the fields of psychiatry and psychology stubbornly cling to pathologizing, dogmatic and harmful ways of approaching mental health which are counterintuitive to healing. The voices of those with lived experience and dissenting clinicians are silenced under a system that aims to uphold the status quo. Clinical psychologist and advocate, Noël Hunter, knows this better than most. Today we talk about why this field is too stubborn to change, what clinicians can do to really make a difference, and why empathy is most needed now more than ever.

We also discuss :

• the impact of helpful and detrimental therapy sessions
• why defensiveness in the field exists and what we can do about it
• values and ethics as a dissenting clinician
• developing the capacity to be with our own and others’ big emotions
• visions for the future of mental health

Dr. Hunter is a clinical psychologist and an advocate for the rights of people diagnosed with mental disorders. She believes in a trauma-informed, humanistic, approach to understanding problems in living. Her interests include challenging negative attitudes towards individuals experiencing emotional distress, psychosocial perspectives on psychosis, and increasing awareness of the effects of oppression and trauma. Although specializing in trauma, dissociation and psychosis, Dr. Hunter views all problems in living as existing within the context of one’s life and on a continuum of suffering. She has trained in community mental health, state hospital, residential, juvenile justice, and college counseling settings. She has additional training in DBT, Internal Family Systems, trauma sensitive yoga, and other trauma-informed practices. Certifications include: Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), Trauma Art Narrative Therapy, and American Red Cross Training in Disaster Mental Health Services. Prior to studying to become a clinical psychologist, Dr. Hunter was a fledgling actor immersed in improv comedy and made a living for a decade as a personal trainer. These experiences highly influence both her perspective on humanity and mental health, as well as her approach to clinical work. She realized long before entering her studies the importance of relationships and the profound healing effects of humor, comradery, and physical activity. In addition, she realized in working with “the worried well” the continuum on which emotional suffering resides and the extensive suffering that exists due to our current cultural society.

Links:

If you’ve ever felt like you’re “going crazy,” heard voices, or had strange and unusual experiences, you’re not alone. My guest today, Brittany Quagan, a therapist and psychic medium is ultra familiar with all things “spooky” - both in terms of trauma and spirituality. We discuss what it’s like to struggle as an empath, with anxiety, depression, and suicidality as a young adult. We also discuss coming out of the broom closet while working in traditional mental health systems and some pretty amazing research on how to control experiences that most of the clinical world would describe as “psychosis”.

Also in this episode:

• managing & honoring deep feelings and your empathic nature even as it may be rooted in trauma responses and hypervigilence
• grappling with suicidality and hearing voices
• ancestral trauma passed down in our bodies
• parts work and tracing the origin of unhealed wounds
• cognitive dissonance as a psychologist working in the system
• research on voice hearing in a spiritual vs clinical context - the importance of normalization and community

Brittany Quagan is a licensed therapist, intuitive healer, and psychic/medium. Brittany is no stranger to the effects of trauma; the imprint it leaves in our body, how it colors the way we see the world, and the ways in which it leaves us riddled with anxiety, negative thoughts, and a heaviness that feels impossible to break free from. Her own healing journey is what brought her  to do this profound healing work with her clients for over a decade now. Brittany guides her clients on an exploration of self, to understand the many parts of ourselves to help us heal, and to create a future full of empowerment.

Find Brittany:

“The questions we ask ourselves when we’re in the midst of crises have the potential to either liberate or confine us."

Mental health concerns have multiple roots and many contributing factors. We cannot reduce mental health symptoms to a single cause or origin. We are dynamic human beings, and need many pathways for healing. The term ‘holistic’ is often used to elicit the concept of mind-body integration, however, in this episode, we’ll be discussing what a truly holistic framework for mental health looks like, including the questions we can ask ourselves when we are trying to understand how to navigate mental health concerns.

Also in this episode:

• values and principles of holistic health that mental health field and practitioners can begin to adopt
• de-pathologizing mental health concerns
• 6 questions to ask yourself about root causes influencing your mental health

Links:

Our capacity to authentically relate to one another is shaped not only by our life experiences, early childhood, and attachment, but the broader culture we live in and the myths we pick up from society about what relationships should look like. In this episode, I speak with a trauma-informed couple’s therapist about the qualities of healthy loving relationships, how toxic and transactional societal values shape how we relate, and real-life examples of moving through triggers and developing deeper intimacy.

• Why taking a trauma-informed lens to couples counseling is crucial
• The utility of “attachment styles” and putting it into context of child development and broader societal values
• Learning from “in tact cultures” that values connectedness and belonging from birth
• Transactional relationships and learning to see people beyond the scope of our own needs
• The 5 adaptive strategies we learn in childhood that come up in interpersonal relationships
• How to repair from conflict and deal with our triggers with real case examples
• Using mythology, narrative, and intuition in couple’s work
• Advice for those entering new relationships

Rebecca Nidorf, LCSW-R is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Hudson Valley. Rebecca Has been a practicing clinician for 25 years and part time at Bard College as a clinical supervisor and director of a crisis counseling program for 18 years. She began her career as a complex trauma therapist working with rape and incest survivors. This led to a private practice where she treats individuals and primarily, couples. Rebecca is an integrative therapist who uses teachings from a variety of mentors and practitioners ranging from Esther Perel, Terrance Real, Pia Melody, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D, Francis Weller, Resmaa Menakem, Carol Giligan and many others. Rebecca considers herself to be a consummate student. She feels a sense of soulful gratitude when working with her clients in a therapeutic setting and when she is leading retreats and teaching. Rebecca is grateful for all of the many people who have trusted her with their stories over the course of her career.

Recently, as I've been caring for a sick relative in his death process, an old familiar feeling arose for me - the fear and pain of abandonment through loss. As a child of neglect and a trauma survivor, I consider abandonment to be my particular "core wound," a familiar pain or pattern from usually our early years, that arises repeatedly in life in order to be healed. Life gives us many opportunities to work with core wounds, and we can choose to take ourselves through the journey into the underbelly if we want to. In this episode, I take you through my personal intimate process of working with a core wound, and coming to greater acceptance and appreciation of these previously unintegrated parts.

Also in this episode:

• examples of core emotional wounds & how to identify a core wound
• how to know when a core wound is being activated
• dealing with abandonment wounds from childhood neglect
• what to do when you feel stuck or not ready to let go of an emotional wound
• how to deal with self-betrayal and forgiveness