Behavioral Health Today

Fighting Racism with Introspection - Brandon J. Johnson - Episode 41

Brandon J. Johnson, M.H.S talks with Dr. Graham Taylor about how introspection and empathy are the cornerstones of managing our racism. They discuss how compassion is unequivocally what we need for individuals to understand where some of their racist beliefs are and how we can begin to make impactful change. If we can just make room for the person's experiences, we might find ourselves expanding into a greater shared appreciation for and understanding of what's going on around us and in the lives around us. It's about understanding and loving each other in a deeper way. 

 

To learn more:

Black Mental Wellness Lounge: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCebATdInxniQlf12aJtmDpA

Black Mental Health Alliance: https://blackmentalhealth.com/

Visit PsychHub to take action against racism at: https://psychhub.com/taking-action-against-racism/

The Accessibility of Online Counseling with BetterHelp - Episode 40

In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor talks with Haesue Jo, LMFT and Clinical Operations Manager at BetterHelp about how clients are paired with practitioners in a confidential, efficient, and beneficial way. BetterHelp is the largest online counseling platform. Telemental Health options are available for adults, teens (with consenting adults), and couples therapy through BetterHelp. The accessibility of online counseling is helping to normalize the therapy experience, allowing clients to safely be more comfortable and vulnerable in their therapeutic discussions.

 If you are interested in learning more about BetterHelp, visit: BetterHelp.com

If you are a therapist interested in practicing online with BetterHelp, learn more here.

How a Bill Becomes a Law with Gerry Grossman, LMFT - Episode 39

Today Gerry Grossman, LMFT and founder of Gerry Grossman Seminars, joins us to speak on his experience and the lessons learned from successfully advocating change. In 2020 Gerry Grossman successfully lobbied a bill that has helped change the legal landscape for mental health providers doing therapy with minors in California. Gerry talks about lessons learned along the way, and provides advice for those who want to advocate: "Your voice matters. Be patient, persistent, and perseverative."

For more information on the CA legislative process visit: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/

For information on CAMFT and chapters near you, visit: https://www.camft.org/

Telemental Health Advocacy with Dr. Jorge Petit - Episode 38

In this episode, Dr. Jorge Petit is a psychiatrist veteran, behavioral health advocate and president and CEO of CBC, speaks with Dr. Graham Taylor about their successful work with providing clients access to services using telehealth or telemental health. Jorge and Graham discuss the measurable successes, and challenges of telemental health including permanent and regulatory relief, administrative flexibility, enhanced workforce capacity, and equitable payment.

 

About Coordinated Behavioral Care: The CBC network includes over 50 community based, not for profit, health and human service agencies. During this COVID-19 pandemic, telemental health services have helped the outreach and engagement of their clients to stay connected to services.

 

For more information about Coordinated Behavioral Care (CBC) visit: http://www.cbcare.org/

Information on Emerging Technologies by CBC - document

Telemental health services research - document 

Trauma Stewardship with Dr. Lidia Michel - Episode 37

On this episode, Lidia Michel, Psy.D. joins Dr. Graham Taylor in a discussion on trauma stewardship and how to care for those that care for others. Lidia speaks on the guideposts of stewardship: identifying your working role model, minimizing to make time for rest, hypervigilance and awareness of the speed of your work, and recognizing diminished creativity in your work, and ways to add self-care to your routine to be effective in our work. Self-care is critical and really essential to the longevity, within our careers and for the services that we really want to provide and for us to be effective in our work.

 

For more information about Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky and Connie Burk , visit: https://traumastewardship.com/inside-the-book/

For more information about The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, visit: https://brenebrown.com/books-audio/

For more information on the Positive Psychology Center, visit: https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/

Spirituality and Psychotherapy with Dr. Rick Johnson - Episode 36

In this episode, Dr. Rick Johnson, PhD joins Dr. Graham Taylor in a discussion surrounding the meaning of, and the inclusion of, spirituality into the therapeutic process. Together they address the meaning of spirituality, the dangers of reactivity, and ways practitioners bring spirituality into the therapeutic process for a greater awareness. There are three parts to us:  emotional, physical, and spiritual. Through therapy there is an opportunity to explore and embrace all three sides. When we incorporate the spirituality piece, we can incorporate a greater authentic self to understand the life-affirming beliefs that drive us. 

For more information on Dr. Rick Johnson visit: https://rickjohnsonphd.com/

 

Pain, the Mind, and Psychotherapy with Dr. Adriaan Louw - Episode 35

Dr. Adriaan Louw, PT, PhD, joins Dr. Graham Taylor on this week’s episode of Behavioral Health Today to help us understand the relationship of pain, our brains, and how practicing mindfulness to change our experience with chronic pain. Pain is very complex; our brain is a big determiner in our pain experience. The best treatment involves an education process to influence the way that a patient thinks about pain. Adriaan shares about the work he’s doing to improve health through digital medicine with BehaVR and virtual reality programs to teach patients to understand their pain and become empowered and in control of their pain.

 For more information about Evidence in Motion, a seminar group to teach post-professional courses for healthcare providers, visit: https://evidenceinmotion.com/

If you are a patient looking for more information, visit Orthopedic Physical Therapy Products: https://www.optp.com/

For more information on BehaVR’s Digital Medicine Platform, visit: https://behavr.com/

A Candid Clinician Conversation with Joy Winquist - Sex Trafficking Part 3 - Episode 34

In our final episode of the 3-part series addressing sex trafficking and the work being done by Ho`ōla Nā Pua,  Joy Winquist, the director of programs at Ho`ōla Nā Pua joins the discussion with Dr. Graham Taylor. Joy is a clinical social worker advocating for counseling individuals with complex trauma survivors of child abuse, neglect, and trafficking survivors. Throughout this episode we get an understanding of what therapeutic care and a clinician's treatment look like for those coming through their program. 

 

For more information about Ho`ōla Nā Pua visit: https://hoolanapua.org/

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is (888) 373-7888 or visit: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

Rebecca Bender visit: https://rebeccabender.org/

Rachel Thomas visit: https://www.worldwithoutexploitation.org/survivor/rachel-thomas

Dr. Sue Johnson visit: https://iceeft.com/about-dr-sue-johnson/

Dr. Bruce Perry visit https://www.commcare1.org/post/dr-bruce-d-perry-on-trauma-informed-care

Bessel van der Kolk, MD visit https://www.nicabm.com/faculty/bessel-van-der-kolk/

Polaris Project visit https://polarisproject.org/

Gateway Traps and Demand Reduction with Tim Hitchens - Sex Trafficking Part 2 - Episode 33

In the second episode of the 3-part series addressing sex trafficking and the work being done by Ho`ōla Nā Pua, Tim Hitchens, the Education Program Manager at Ho`ōla Nā Pua, talks with Behavioral Health Today about gateway traps and sex trafficking (those things that we may not realize, but are contributing to sex trafficking). Together Tim and Graham dispel myths and assumptions surrounding the belief system around sex trafficking and ask for us to be mindful of the impact of our actions. 

For more information about Ho`ōla Nā Pua visit: https://hoolanapua.org/

For information about Shared Hope International visit: https://sharedhope.org/

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is (888) 373-7888 or visit: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

Polaris Project visit: https://polarisproject.org/

Culture Reframed visit: https://www.culturereframed.org/

Jackson Katz visit: https://www.jacksonkatz.com/

Demand Abolition visit: https://www.demandabolition.org/

Tony Porter: A Call to Men visit: https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_porter_a_call_to_men

Advocacy, Awareness, and Prevention of Child Sex Trafficking with Jessica Muñoz & Tammy Bitanga - Episode 32

The first in a 3-part series addressing sex trafficking and the work being done by Ho`ōla Nā Pua. Jessica Munoz, founder and president, and Tammy Bitanga, Community Outreach Coordinator, join Behavioral Health Today's Dr. Graham Taylor as leaders in the anti-trafficking movement in the Hawaiian Islands. Tammy shares her own story of survival and rise out of her circumstances of early childhood abuse and how it drives her to do the work with Ho`ōla Nā Pua. Today, Ho`ōla Nā Pua has developed their own crisis hotline, mentoring program, and developing Hawaii’s first residential treatment center for children who have been trafficked.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline is: (888) 373-7888.

If you are in Hawaii and you're looking for help: (808) 435-9555

For more information about Ho`ōla Nā Pua visit https://hoolanapua.org/

For more information about the CSE-it (See-It) Tool visit: https://www.westcoastcc.org/cse-it/

Humor in Psychotherapy with Dr. Steven M. Sultanoff - Episode 31

Humor shifts how we feel, think, act, and impacts our physiology and biochemistry. In this episode, Dr. Steven M. Sultanoff joins Dr. Graham Taylor to explain how humor can be incorporated in the therapeutic relationship to improve the bond between the therapist / client and as a tool for intervention within a therapeutic approach. Humor can be used as a way to unstick our thinking and disrupting painful feelings so we can be more confident in our ability to manage feelings.

For more information:

• Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor visit: https://www.aath.org/
• International Society for Humor Studies visit: http://www.humorstudies.org/
• Dr. Steven Sultanoff and information about humor visit: http://www.humormatters.com/

For CE course information on incorporating humor into psychotherapy visit: https://aatbs.com/integrating-humor-into-psychotherapy-theory-rationale-research

Bold Parenting (Part 2) with Dr. Erin Elmore - Episode 30

In part two of Bold Parenting, Behavioral Health Today takes you behind the therapy door to demystify, and safely help people realize the benefits of treatment. Dr. Erin Elmore joins Dr. Graham Taylor again to talk about the types of clients, beginning steps of assessment, the therapeutic tools, and goal planning treatments for teens and families. Together Erin takes Graham through the full process of patient introduction, her approach to therapy, examples of a session and techniques used, and finally bringing the therapy to a close. The relationship between therapist and patient is a meaningful one and when other life issues or developmental tasks come up, meaningful treatment allows for future consideration.

 

For general information on child therapy visit: www.apa.org

If you would like to find a child therapist visit: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

For more information for parenting tips visit: https://drerinelmore.com/for-parents/

 

If you would like to learn more on Child Development and the Stages of Attachment, we suggest The Developing Mind by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel: https://www.drdansiegel.com/books/the_developing_mind/praise/

Bold Parenting (Part 1) with Dr. Erin Elmore - Episode 29

In part one of a two part series, Dr. Erin Elmore sets the foundation for Bold Parenting, a style of parenting that includes structure and warmth to raising your child. Together, Erin and Dr. Graham Taylor discuss the varying styles of parenting, the different types of child attachments, and the developmental stages of children. The goal of bold parenting is to provide a structure for your child with a clear and high expectations that are consistent, yet flexible so the child may contribute their thoughts and feelings.

You can start today! There is no wrong time to begin this style of parenting. The research has shown children of Bold Parents to be self-reliant, academically successful, and well-behaved.

If you would like to find a child therapist visit: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

If you would like more information for parenting tips visit: https://drerinelmore.com/for-parents/

If you would like to learn more on Child Development and the Stages of Attachment, we suggest The Developing Mind by Dr. Daniel J. Siegel: https://www.drdansiegel.com/books/the_developing_mind/praise/

The Psychology of Pandemics with Dr. Steven Taylor - Episode 28

Author of The Psychology of Pandemics, Dr. Steven Taylor joins Dr. Graham Taylor in a discussion about the current and past pandemics. Dr. Steven Taylor outlines the patterns that occur from a global pandemic, identifies the warning signs of stress and the components of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for symptoms that linger past the COVID-19 Pandemic. Together they identify the issues occurring, possible solutions toward better awareness, and developing the resilience to get through this. Learn to identify the things we can control, seize those, and then the things that are out of our control will likely go much better.

For more information about the impacts of COVID-19 visit: https://coronaphobia.org

Free use self-assessment test to identify the warning signs of stress caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, visit: https://coronaphobia.org/list/

The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale with Dr. Kelly Posner - Episode 27

In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor is joined by Dr. Kelly Posner, the author of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale. Suicide prevention requires finding those who are suffering. The symptoms of depression can lead to suicide and 50% of people who commit suicide have seen their primary care doctor the month before they die. If we can be testing for suicide ideology like we test for blood pressure, we can correctly help those in need. The Columbia Scale questions are prescriptive enough for non-professionals, but flexible enough for the mental health professional to administer it. Suicide is a problem of our shared humanity, but it can be preventable.

For more information about The Columbia Scale/ Columbia Protocol:

• About the Scale: https://cssrs.columbia.edu/the-columbia-scale-c-ssrs/about-the-scale/
• About the Columbia Lighthouse Project: https://cssrs.columbia.edu/

• About the Columbia Protocol App:
- iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/columbia-protocol/id1450966911
- Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.pssolutions.lighthouse&hl=en_US