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In Episode 40 of the podcast, I speak with author and therapist Natasha Senra-Pereira about her riveting memoir, Talk Therapy is Not Enough. We chat about her journey of healing, including her work with alternative therapy approaches, including somatic healing, Internal Family Systems, (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) EMDR, psychedelics and more. It’s a fun book and conversation, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed chatting with Natasha.   https://privatetherapytoronto.ca/ https://www.amazon.com/Talk-Therapy-Isnt-Enough-Psychotherapists/dp/1951692217 https://www.talktherapyisntenough.com/

In this episode, me and the amazing Sacha Mardou (known as Mardou in her comic books), discuss her contribution to art and mental health via her ifscomics.com, her previous books (here and here), and her forthcoming memoir. We discuss her personal path to healing (which also comes by way of anxiety), and how the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model and her description of her sessions via art has led to some serious healing. I really enjoyed this chat, and I hope you do to! Also mentioned: https://www.facebook.com/groups/585991565326793 Mardou on Patreon Mardou on instagram

In this episode, I talk with philosopher Kieran Setiya about his very new book, Life is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way. We discuss hope, pain, illness, moral philosophy, stoicism, grief, FOMO, and much more. Enjoy!   Kieran’s Podcast: https://anchor.fm/kieran-setiya   Kieran’s Website http://www.ksetiya.net/   Kieran’s Twitter https://twitter.com/KieranSetiya?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

In a bit of a departure for the podcast, this episode goes local, and explores how community mental health operates at a single organization, San Mar Family and Community Services in Boonsboro, Maryland. San Mar provides a diverse collection of services, including foster care support and outpatient mental health. My guests are CEO Keith Fanjoy and Director Jerica Washington, who explain the ins and outs of this special organization, including the philosophy of "Wraparound" services that inform much of its approach to community well being. Enjoy!   - https://sanmarhope.org/ - https://besterhope.org/ - https://jebcenter.com/ - Program Overview

In this episode, I discuss a variety of practice that seeks to take the "meditator" out of meditation. Loch Kelly, author and meditation teacher, introduces us to a kind of meditation that helps us awaken immediately and without strenuous effort. Enjoy our conversation, and find out more about Loch at his website, or through his book.

In this episode, I speak with author and science journalist James Kingsland about his newest book, "Am I Dreaming?: The Science of Altered States, from Psychedelics to Virtual Reality, and Beyond". We discuss how our brains behave under the influences of these alternative realities, and what the scientific community has found about their therapeutic benefits.    Am I Dreaming? Plastic Brain Blog

In Episode 34, we welcome Dr. Judson Brewer back to the podcast to understand anxiety and worry as a habit, and how to unravel them. Dr. Jud uses neuroscience to identify the ways that mindfulness can help us unlearn unskillful behaviors like worrying, and let curiosity disenchant our minds with the experience of ruminative habit loops   https://www.amazon.com/Unwinding-Anxiety-Science-Shows-Cycles/dp/0593330447

Join me in conversation with Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor, associate professor of psychology at University of Arizona, and expert in the neuroscience of grief and loss. We discuss what happens to our brains when we lose those close to us, and how to explain grieving behavior, including what makes it so challenging. We also dispel some myths about the grieving process and add nuance to the conventional wisdom around what to expect during the "normal" grieving process.  The Grieving Brain

Join me for another fun and informative conversation with Dr. Patricia Zurita Ona to talk about her latest book, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for High Achieving Behaviors. We talk about ACT, mentorship, anger, shame, when emotions fuse with identity, fear of failure, the scope of perfectionism, how perfectionists see their self worth, how perfectionism can be socially acceptable   Book link: https://www.amazon.com/Acceptance-Commitment-Perfectionism-High-Achieving-Behaviors/dp/0367369222 Other books mentioned:  https://www.amazon.com/When-Anger-Hurts-Quieting-Within/dp/1572243449

Buckle your seatbelts! In this incredible interview with Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of the now popular therapeutic method Internal Family Systems (IFS), we talk about the world he has discovered inside his and his patients' minds, whether to understand these descriptions as useful metaphors for deep work or as bona fide depictions of the characters that live in our minds! To boot, Dr. Schwartz helps me find an exile of my own. This episode is unlike anyone ever recorded on the podcast before -- I hope you enjoy!    IFS Institute The Book: No Bad Parts

People talk a lot about compassion these days. But how do you cultivate it? And why would you want to? On this episode, I sit down with Sara Owens Woodard, PhD, psychologist, consultant and teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT). CCT is a Stanford developed, 8 week course on how to cultivate more compassionate in your own life -- toward yourself, your loved ones, and even the guy on the street. Enjoy!   https://www.compassioninstitute.com/ https://saraowenswoodard.com/

Please enjoy my conversation with best selling author and memoirist Christie Tate as we discuss her book, Group: How One Therapist and Circle of Strangers Saved My Life. We discuss shame, secrecy, therapy, sex, and more. Books and other links from our conversation: Christie's Book Her reccomendations:  Chronology of Water Heavy Love and Trouble Christie's Instagram

In Episode 28, me and Dr. Z (aka Patricia Zurita Ona) discuss all things anxiety, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the limits of positive psychology, how to get unstuck with a nifty grounding exercise, and her own origins and relationship to anxious thoughts. Also, we recorded a video! https://contextualscience.org/ https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/ https://twitter.com/DrZ_behaviorist  https://amzn.to/32G7Skj  

In Episode 27 of the Anxiety Book Club, we chat once again with the very wise, and very fun to talk to -- Eowyn Ahlstrom -- mindfulness instructor and author of a recently published book of poetry, Mindscapes: Practice Poems. We discuss her poetry, the histrionics of the mind, the mental peace that can be cultivated through dedicated practice, the paradoxes encountered while sharing our lives with others, compassion, kindness, and so much more. I hope you enjoy the episode, and if you want to read all of Eowyn’s poems, you can find the book for sale on her website here, or in Kindle version here. 

In episode 25, I talk with Adam Chekroud about the mental health tech company he co-founded in 2016, Spring Health. They offer behavioral health treatment to clients through their employers. Spring Health is harnessing the power of data science and statistics to give mental health providers more information about how to treat incoming clients to maximize a successful outcome. We talk about the state of mental health in the US, what companies like Adam's are doing to improve it, and what the future holds. It's an optimistic picture, so please tune in!   https://www.springhealth.com/   Research paper: exercise and mental health

Is managing our anxiety all about meditating on a cushion? Exercising? Sleeping well? Having our needs met? Hanging out with loved ones? Being supported by our community? Living a life of purpose and meaning? According to this month's author, Hala Khouri, it involves bits and pieces of all those things. Listen here for a discussion about the many elements that can help us heal from anxiety and emotional disregulation, and about the mythology of trying to heal all on our own. Resources mentioned in the show: Hala's Website Peace From Anxiety Lost Connections The upside of stress The Book of Joy

In Episode 23, we explore the practice of non violent communication -- a way of speaking that can help foster understanding, reduce confusion and help us get our needs met. Plus, mindfulness. Our guest, Oren Jay Sofer, is a veteran meditator and instructor, author and creator of mindfulness content for popular apps such as 10% Happier.   https://www.orenjaysofer.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Say-What-You-Mean-Communication/dp/161180583X

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Dennis Tirch, a compassion focused clinical therapist and all around mensch, who has managed to bring an enormous amount of kindness and caring attention to the world of anxiety treatment and exposure and response prevention. Through years of clinical practice, he manages to marry eastern and western psychology to treat patients in a way that focuses on helping them activate their in-born compassion systems. This episode is an absolute gem; please listen and share!  Song at the end, "Mushroom Princess Dance Master", credit to Dr. Tirch.   Tirch Keynote on Compassion at IOCDF Compassion for Voices Video Tirch Home The book! Compassionate Mind Guide

Welcome to Episode 21! In this episode, we explore three different acronyms and practices, DARE, DEAF, and RAIN, which can really help upset minds during a difficult experience. Warning: this is a very practical episode! RAIN PDF RAIN meditations and resources DARE Book Sally Winston's book, includes DEAF

In this episode, my guest Dr. John Shook helps us get acquainted with one of the leading figures in psychology and philosophy in the 20th century, William James. We talk about emotions, the brain and pragmatism.  You can find Dr. Shook on Youtube by searching for "John Shook Humanism" or contact him via email at jshook@pragmatism.org. The book can be found on Amazon, here.