Physical and mental health are deeply connected, yet the medical field too often treats these as entirely separate domains. Deana Batross says that this is unfortunate, because medical procedures (like heart transplants) often have psychological side effects, and mental health conditions (like complex PTSD) often have physical causes. Luckily, Deana is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners trained in the biopsychosocial model that sees the patient as a whole person. In this conversation, Deana discusses how she thinks about trauma, shares how her students in Antioch University’s Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner program study this topic, and discusses her work advocating for greater access to physical and mental healthcare.
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Visit Antioch’s website to learn more about the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program that Deana chairs. You can also visit the main page for the Graduate School of Nursing and Health Professions.
If you’d like to listen to a related podcast episode, try our conversation with the psychologist Stephen Southern about expressive writing's potential for treating complex PTSD: “Therapists Are Using Creative Writing to Treat Complex PTSD—and Build Resilience”. You may also be interested in our conversation with the therapist Rachele Moskowitz about somatic approaches to therapy: “Using Somatic Therapy to Understand the Trauma in Our Bodies”.
This episode was recorded September 22, 2025 via Squadcast and released November 5, 2025.
The Seed Field Podcast is produced by Antioch University
Host: Jasper Nighthawk
Editor: Nastasia Green
Producer: Karen Hamilton
Work-Study Assistants: Dani LaPointe, and Liza Wisner.
Additional Production Help: Amelia Bryan, Jonathan Hawkins, Melinda Garland, Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, Gina Calcamuggio, Jenny Hill, Kati Skon, and Laurien Alexandre.
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To access a full transcript and find more information about this and other episodes, visit theseedfield.org. To get updates and be notified about future episodes, follow Antioch University on Facebook.
