Behavioral Health Today

The Post-Pandemic Development Gap in Early Childhood with Dr. Shaana Berman – Episode 205

In this post-pandemic environment, students have dealt with trauma. They have dealt with a lot of familial instability and security. Because of this, children are coming into school developmentally stunted and not ready to learn. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Shaana Berman.  Shaana is a board-certified Behavior Analyst with over 20 years of experience, working directly with children who have autism and other conditions that impact behavior and learning. Together Shaana and Graham discuss the developmental gaps and behavior in early childhood, the importance of school as a safe space for children can get their needs met, evaluating student’s readiness to learn, issues pertaining to the absence of social interaction, and other ways to support students. There is hope that we can heal. If we can understand the residual leftovers from this pandemic and find ways we can cultivate a readiness to learn, there is an opportunity within both the school and the family systems to help kids catch up.

 

For more information about Dr. Shaana Berman, please visit: https://metamindmagic.com
Connect with Dr. Shaana Berman on Instagram @metamindmagic, or  visit: https://www.instagram.com/metamindmagic

Holistic Coaching, Ayurvedic Medicine, & Your Life Purpose with Vish Chatterji – Episode 204

When we are aligned with our inner calling that's when things begin to flow. Things come to us because there's an openness. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Vish Chatterji. Vish provides holistic life coaching for executives and small business owners on how to create personalized daily routines in nutrition, exercise, scheduling, and sleep to nurture fulfilling work, joy, and life harmony. Vish is the author of The Business Casual Yogi: Take Charge of Your Body, Mind, and Career which teaches how to create micro-rituals for optimal health and leadership success. Together Graham and Vish discuss the parallels between yoga wisdom and coaching wisdom, how a coach becomes a facilitator for the coachee’s innate wisdom, the process of walking clients through their path toward greater awareness, and the importance of our connection to our true selves. The ultimate karmic test is when a challenge comes your way, and when you can just sit through it, you’ve passed that test and that challenge won’t happen again.

 

For more information about Head & Heart Insights, please visit: https://www.headandheartinsights.com

To learn more about The Business Casual Yogi by Vish Chatterji, MBA & Yogrishi Vishvketu, Ph.D., please visit: https://businesscasualyogi.com

Connect with Vish on social media:

• On Instagram at Business Casual Yogi, or visit: https://www.instagram.com/thebusinesscasualyogi/
• On LinkedIn, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vish-chatterji-b3b2681/
• On Facebook at Business Casual Yogi, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/businesscasualyogi
• On YouTube at The Business Casual Yogi, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJZQxBbwd6SaRR9y0aUmoLw

Radical Emotional Acceptance with Dr. Alex Wills– Episode 203

What if our painful, uncomfortable emotions are actually our best friends and they're there to help us? How would life be different? How could life be better? In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Alex Wills. Alex is a board-certified psychiatrist and author of Give a Fuck Actually, Reclaim Yourself with the 5 steps of Radical Emotional Acceptance. Alex is a graduate of the Sackler School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship training in Hawaii with additional training from Columbia University. He is the owner of Perma Mental Health, a private psychiatric practice with offices across Idaho. Alex’s clinical days are spent using the Radical Emotional Acceptance method to help patients heal from issues ranging from past traumas to interpersonal struggles in their marriages. Give a F*CK, Actually is based on that experience. Together Graham and Alex discuss the concept of radical emotional acceptance, creating that shift in mindset that we can learn from our painful emotions, and the five steps outlined in the book of radical emotional acceptance process.

 

For more information about Give a F*CK, Actually by Alex Wills, please visit: https://radicalemotionalacceptance.com

For more information about the Give a F*CK official store, please visit: https://radicalemotionalacceptance.com/shop

 

Men’s Health, Depression, and Male Suicide with Dr. John Ogrodniczuk– Episode 202

There's about 30,000 people committing suicide in the U.S. each year. If we took a full airplane, 300 people, that's a hundred airplanes per year going down. That's 52 weeks. That's two planes per week going down. And no one's saying this is alarming. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. John Ogrodniczuk. John is the founder of HeadsUpGuys, a leading online resource for supporting men with depression. John is also a Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Psychotherapy Program at the University of British Columbia, one of North America’s largest medically based psychotherapy training programs. He’s also past president of the North American chapter for the Society for Psychotherapy Research. His research focuses on a wide variety of topics including men’s mental health, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and personality disorders, which has led to more than 300 publications. He also maintains a private practice through Optimum Life Consulting. Together Graham and John discuss the creation of HeadsUpGuys, the impact of suicide and overwhelming statistics on male suicide, the signs and symptoms that lead to suicide ideation, the need to reconceptualize masculine socialization and importance of mental health literacy. We know that suicidal ideation is transient. So, if we can get support to men to help them through these transient periods when they feel disconnected, we can help them turn things around and get them a path to a better life and give them hope.

 

For more information about HeadsUpGuys, please visit: https://headsupguys.org

To watch Josh’s story of recovery on HeadsUpGuys, please visit: https://headsupguys.org/depression-suicide-video-story/

Take a self test to get a better sense of the symptoms of depression, please visit: https://headsupguys.org/mens-depression/self-check/

If you are a Friend or Family and would like to learn how to support someone with suicide ideation, please visit: https://headsupguys.org/for-supporters/

If you would like to find a therapist, please visit: https://headsupguys.org/depression-tips/find-a-therapist/

Treating Chronic Pain with Pain Reprocessing Therapy with Dr. Jaimee Arnoff – Episode 201

For many suffering from chronic pain it is challenging to re-trust your body, but with Pain Reprocessing Therapy it is possible to explore that sensation and welcome it. In this episode, Dr. Erin Elmore speaks with Dr. Jaimee Arnoff. Jaimee is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in CBT and Pain Reprocessing Therapy. She brings 10 years of both clinical and lived experience to her work, treating children, adolescents, and young adult clients who experience anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. In her own journey of chronic pain, Jaimee was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia and Fibromyalgia, in addition to multiple other conditions that cause inflammation and related nerve pain. Together Erin and Jaimee discuss using Pain Reprocessing Therapy to create new neural pathways that promote safety within the body, the common challenges experienced by those living with chronic pain, steps to reprocessing pain, and the success of PRT with clients as a complement during their pain journey.

 

For more information about Jaimee and BFF Therapy, please visit: https://www.bfftherapy.com

For more information about Pain Reprocessing Therapy and finding a directory of PRT certified therapist, please visit: https://www.painreprocessingtherapy.com

For more information about Pain Reprocessing Theray and the Pain Psychology Center, please visit: https://www.painpsychologycenter.com

Finally, for more information about Flowly, the biofeedback app, please visit: https://www.flowly.world

Clinicians Series: Parental Tips to Communicating with Your Teen with Michael Klinkner, LCSW – Episode 200

Today, we’re celebrating our 200th episode of Behavioral Health Today! In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Michael Klinkner. Michael is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 22 years of experience helping children, adolescents, and adults in therapy. Michael has specialty training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Neurolinguistic Programming. Currently, Michael is working with Evolve Counseling in Arizona where he treats a variety of issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and ADHD, focusing primarily on children, teen, and adolescent populations. Together Graham and Michael discuss the current pressures of teens, how to have tough conversations, connecting with your child by building routines into your day, a foundation for your child’s consumption of social media, and the importance of family values and the discussion of those as a family system. All behavior is communication, but if we can give them a different way to do it by coaching the parents up and tooling them, we can see changes actually occur.

 

For more information about Michael Klinkner and Evolve Counseling, please visit: https://www.evolvecounselingaz.com

Connect with Michael on Instagram at michael_klinknercouseling, or visit: https://www.instagram.com/evolvecounseling_AZ/

Finally, connect with Michael on Facebook at michaelklinknercounseling, or visit: https://www.facebook.com/michaelklinknercounseling

Applying Motivational Interviewing & Understanding Our Biases with Marya Wright, LCSW – Episode 199

Our social landscape in our environment contributes to the biases that we hold. So self-examination work is really important to understand yourself so you can understand others in a deeper empathetic way. The spirit of motivational interviewing can be used in such a way that can lower barriers of the systems that we work in as to interface with clients, support the clients where they're at, and find a way to curate change that will be longstanding. In this episode, Dr. Erin Elmore speaks with Marya Wright, LCSW. Marya is a nationally distinguished social worker, consultant, international trainer, and facilitator with experience in organizational leadership, child welfare services, and curriculum development. She is the President and CEO of Wright Community Services, LLC, a company that strives to empower system-involved families through awareness, services and education while also providing consultation, training, and system specific facilitation to agencies that services these communities.

 

For more information about Marya Wright Consulting, please visit: https://www.maryawrightconsulting.com

For more information about Wright Community Services, and their community resources and storefront, please visit: https://www.wrightcommunityservices.com

For more information about Motivational Interviewing in Social Work Practice by Melinda Hohman and contribution by Marya Wright, please visit: https://www.maryawrightconsulting.com/press-room

For more information about the article White Supremacy by Tema Okun, please visit: https://www.dismantlingracism.org/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture.pdf

Maintaining Your New Year’s Resolution Using Motivational Interviewing with Pam Pietruszewski, MA – Episode 198

How are people most motivated? They're motivated by feeling invested, having that engagement, being in the same head space as the person helping them and having their thoughts considered. In this episode, Dr. Erin Elmore speaks with Pam Pietruszewski, MA. Pam has more than 30 years’ experience designing and implementing programs to integrate behavioral health and primary care services. Her work includes the program Getting Candid: Framing the Conversation Around Youth Substance Use Prevention funded by the CDC, and DIAMOND, a depression care management program that received the 2010 Gold Award from the American Psychiatric Association. Pam holds a master’s degree in counseling and psychological services and is a member of the national Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Together Erin and Pam discuss the spirit of motivational interviewing, the power of reflective listening, change talk, and how to use motivational interviewing to maintain your new year’s resolutions. The normal natural evolution of any self-improvement is tracking the small steps along the way. And Motivational Interviewing helps facilitate that.

 

For more information about Motivational Interviewing, please visit: https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/service/motivational-interviewing/

For more information about The Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainings (MINT), please visit: https://motivationalinterviewing.org

For more information about National Council for Mental Wellbeing, please visit: https://www.thenationalcouncil.org

Part 2: Moral Opportunity and Engaging with Your Societal Position with Brian Lowery – Episode 197

This episode resumes our conversation with Dr. Graham Taylor and his guest Brian Lowery. In our last episode, we asked what if we could change the word privilege into something different that wasn’t so reactionary, and defined privilege as aspirational, almost virtuous opportunities, that strives for collective transcendence. We discussed how defensiveness and the feelings of guilt, shame, and avoidance toward our privileges deprives us of a richer life. And how appropriately identifying our privileges will direct our actions to steward our lives in creating a better world. And lastly, we discussed what a more just and equitable world would look like, allowing differences between people to contribute to society and their natural talents to flourish because of equitable access. And how in modern times, we should have a minimal level of life quality. We’ll resume our talk today by discussing societal organization and the collective production of social goods. It’s important to remember the way things are, are because we’ve structured it this way. We live in the society that we’ve created. So, if we conditioned it, we could recondition it to something better.

 

For more information about Brian Lowery and his podcast Know What You See, please visit: https://www.knowwhatyousee.com

For more information about Selfless by Brian Lowery and his new book, please visit:https://www.harpercollins.com/products/selfless-brian-lowery

For more information about articles and other media content by Brian Lowery about race, equity, and privilege, please visit: https://www.knowwhatyousee.com/media-page

For more information about Brian Lowery and Stanford Graduate School of Business, please visit: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/brian-lowery

Part 1: Moral Opportunity and Engaging with Your Societal Position with Brian Lowery – Episode 196

If you could change the word privilege, given its recent incendiary tendency, so that it wouldn't be so reactionary, what word would you choose that might invite and allow a conversation between folks that might be a little more inviting, a little bit more engaged, and a little bit more inclusive? In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Brian Lowery. Brian is a professor of Organizational Behavior and a Social Psychologist by training at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Brian is driving an initiative to shape enlightened and purposeful leaders for a diverse society. Brian’s research examines the operation of racial attitudes below the threshold of consciousness and the perception of inequality. He has been published in major scholarly journals such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Law and Human Behavior. Together Graham and Brian discuss how identifying privilege can direct our actions and provides an opportunity to improve ourselves and our community. They discuss how defensiveness and the feelings of guilt, shame, and avoidance towards privilege deprives us of a richer life. And lastly, they discuss what a more just and equitable world would look like and how in current times, we should have a minimal level of life quality. We will resume this conversation in our next upcoming podcast.

For more information about Brian Lowery and his podcast Know What You See, please visit: https://www.knowwhatyousee.com

For more information about Selfless by Brian Lowery and his new book, please visit:https://www.harpercollins.com/products/selfless-brian-lowery

For more information about articles and other media content by Brian Lowery about race, equity, and privilege, please visit: https://www.knowwhatyousee.com/media-page

For more information about Brian Lowery and Stanford Graduate School of Business, please visit: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/faculty/brian-lowery

 

Clinicians Series: Affirming Care with Steven Haden, MSW – Episode 195

Envision: You offers programs for parents, caregivers, and clinicians that tailors content to create identity-affirming and culturally relevant care. Their programs aim to co-create healing spaces that validate identity and help to understand different experiences. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Steven Haden, MSW. Steven is the CEO and Co-Founder to Envision: You, a non-profit that works to improve the behavioral health outcomes of the LGBTQ+ community by addressing the disparity in the care they receive. Steven is a Certified LGBTQ+ Affirming therapist, Mental Health First Aid Instructor, and public speaker on issues related to behavioral health concerns from the perspective of lived experience. Through Envision: You, Steven has helped lead an initiative to implement a multi-media public awareness campaign and no-cost virtual behavioral telehealth services to increase access to LGBTQ+ affirming care. Together Graham and Steven discuss the various programs of Envision: You: How to Have the Talk, Q is for Questioning, Finding Hope, IDEA Initiative, the Mental Health Action Toolkit, and the Affirming Care course. They also discuss updates on the You: Flourish app, currently in development. Envision: You is working every day to help create communities that are safer and more welcoming to members of the LGBTQ+ community. There is hope and there are people that care about you members of the community.

 

For more information about Envision: You, please visit: https://www.envision-you.org

For more information about the You: Flourish app, please visit: https://you-flourish.com

If you’re looking to initiate conversation and learn how to have “the talk”, please visit: https://www.envision-you.org/how-to-have-the-talk

For more information about Q is for Questioning, please visit: https://www.envision-you.org/q-is-for-questioning

For more information about Affirming Care and training, please visit: https://www.envision-you.org/lgbtq-behavioral-health-training

Healing Power of Psychedelic Psychotherapy with Natalie Liberman LCSW LMFT – Episode 194

 

A snake that is unable to shed its skin does not deserve to live. We know those traumatic memories are imprinted in our sensory and emotional nodes leading to trauma getting stuck in our neural network that alters aspects of our lives that we may not even be consciously aware of. With the advances in clinical trials on psychedelic substances and psychotherapy, research has shown that psychedelics with the guidance of a therapist can be used as tools to reach our secondary consciousness and release deep traumas held deep within our minds. To share her personal experiences with the inclusion of psychedelics Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Natalie Liberman, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Natalie has been a faculty at Gerry Grossman Seminars (since 2012), and an Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine University, Graduate School of Education and Psychology (since 2015). In her private practice, Natalie works with an array of clients dealing with substance abuse, trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, career and life transitions, sexual problems, social anxiety disorders, communication issues, self-esteem, and general quality of life issues. Today's show is going to be more of a human-interest-focused show as we discuss with Natalie, her life, her personal growth, and her work in therapy. In the words of Natalie, “I haven't had a journey that was not impactful and I've never experienced things that felt out of control. Every journey that I had been on, had provided me such an impactful insight for myself to be able to see who I am.”

 

Connect with Natalie Liberman on Instagram @insight_with_natalie or visit:

https://www.instagram.com/insight_with_natalie/

Or email Natalie at natalie@insightwithnatalie.com

For more information about How to Change your Mind by Michael Pollan, please visit: https://michaelpollan.com/books/how-to-change-your-mind/

For more information about This is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan, please visit: https://michaelpollan.com/books/this-is-your-mind-on-plants/

For more information about Fantastic Fungi on Netflix, please visit: https://www.netflix.com/title/81183477

For more information about Another Self on Netflix, please visit: https://www.netflix.com/title/81380432

For more information about It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn, please visit: https://markwolynn.com/it-didnt-start-with-you/

For more information about the Psychedelic Somatic Institute, please visit: https://www.psychedelicsomatic.org

Working with Latinx Populations with Dr. Lisa Sanchez-Johnsen – Episode 193

Working with the Latinx population, we try and work within those cultural values. We don’t want to necessarily change anybody’s values and respect is a key component in Latinx culture, but we want to work with their cultural values and help them to interpret in a new way. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Lisa Sanchez-Johnsen. Lisa is an academic leader in the areas of health equity and multicultural and Latinx health and she has 30 years of experience conducting research and clinical work with Latinxs, Blacks, and other ethnic minorities in culturally competent health behavior assessments and interventions. Lisa is an Associate Professor and the Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Family Medicine at Rush Medical College at Rush University Medical Center. She is also the Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Workgroup in the Department of Family Medicine, as well as Core Faculty and Director of Integrated Behavioral Health & Wellness, DEI, and Research in the Rush-Esperanza Family Medicine Residency Program. She also has an adjunct Associate Professor position in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2008, Lisa received the Distinguished Professional Early Career Award from the National Latino Psychological Association based on her research, her teaching, her clinical practice, service, and mentorship as it relates to Latino Health. Together Graham and Lisa discuss the use of Latinx, Latino, Hispanic, etc. as an identity, the noteworthy medical health, and mental health-related issues, the acculturation of stress, Latinx worldviews, the importance of within-group differences, and the importance of understanding ethnic identity and cultural values. One of the things we get to do as practitioners is, we get to kind of shade in and develop with them a greater appreciation for who they are within the context of their family, their community, and their cultural heritage.

 

For more information about Rush University Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, please visit: https://www.rushu.rush.edu/rush-medical-college/departments/family-preventive-medicine

To connect with Dr. Lisa Sanchez-Johnsen on LinkedIn, please visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanchez-johnsen-lisa-5525962a

To connect with Dr. Lisa Sanchez-Johnsen on Twitter follow @DrlisaSJ, or visit: https://twitter.com/DrlisaSJ

Part 2: Clinicians Series: Perinatal Mental Health with Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy, LMFT – Episode 192

This episode resumes our conversation with Dr. Graham Taylor and his guest Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy, LMFT. In our last episode, we discussed the common challenges of people who have experienced pregnancy-loss, Infertility, birth trauma, donor conception, and surrogacy adoption. Graham and Tracy shared some of the experiences for the non-pregnant partner and the importance of making space for their feelings, the importance of trauma-informed care of the medial system and how the process of pregnancy is, in itself, a traumatic experience. And finally, we discuss how to enter a relationship and help clients work through exercises and strategies when someone is really struggling from grief. We’ll resume our talk today by discussing the sacred space of therapy and creating an environment that welcomes vulnerability.

 

 

For more information on Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy and TGN Therapy, please visit: https://tgntherapy.com

For more perinatal resources found on TGN therapy, please visit: https://tgntherapy.com/perinatal-resources

For more information about Postpartum Support International, please visit: https://www.postpartum.net

Part 1: Clinicians Series: Perinatal Mental Health with Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy, LMFT – Episode 191

In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy, LMFT. Tracy brings both lived and clinical experience to today's show, including difficulty conceiving infertility, high-risk pregnancy, traumatic delivery, infant pregnancy loss, and pregnancy after loss. Tracy is a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified perinatal mental health professional. She works with individuals, parents, and families throughout their reproductive and family starting journey. Tracy has become a fierce advocate of perinatal and reproductive mental health with the goal of supporting and empowering other women, individuals, parents, and families. Together Graham and Tracy discuss the common challenges of people who have experienced pregnancy-loss, Infertility, birth trauma, donor conception, and surrogacy adoption. They shared some of the experiences of the non-pregnant partner and the importance of making space for their feelings, the importance of trauma-informed care of the medical system, and how the process of pregnancy is, in itself, a traumatic experience. And finally, they discuss how to enter a relationship and help clients work through exercises and strategies when someone is really struggling from grief. We will resume this conversation in the second part of this clinician’s series episode.

 

For more information on Tracy Gilmour-Nimoy and TGN Therapy, please visit: https://tgntherapy.com

For more perinatal resources found on TGN therapy, please visit: https://tgntherapy.com/perinatal-resources

For more information about Postpartum Support International, please visit: https://www.postpartum.net