Shows
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast104. Being an Anti-Racist Clinician: On Moral Injury, Resistance and the Future of Psychiatry with Rupi Legha“Your questioning and critiquing is everything that is needed for 2025 and beyond. And if or when it is construed [by the system] as as a deficiency, unprofessionalism, or ineptitude, I hope that by priming people to keep their eyes open for those responses, it can be more of a collective yawn.” - Rupi LeghaIn this episode I’m joined by Rupi Legha, psychiatrist, educator, and scholar-activist—whose work radically interrogates the role of psychiatry in upholding racial injustice. Together, we explore what it means to be an anti-racist clinician in a field that silences dissent, punishes disclosu...2025-04-1849 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast103. The Link Between Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)/Hypermobile Spectrum Disorders & Anxiety and Nervous System Dysregulation with Derik Anderson20% of the population is on the hypermobile spectrum and can struggle with chronic pain because of it. At the more extreme end of the spectrum is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic disorder that affects not not muscles and joints but the whole body in ongoing feedback loops. Perhaps most significantly, 80% of people with EDS have generalized anxiety. Most doctors or practitioners seeing people with vague symptoms from chronic pain, allergies, SIBO, IBS, brain fog, POTS, autoimmunity, anxiety, and more are often unaware that EDS can be the cause. Even less know about holistic ways to intervene in the cycle...2025-03-1454 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast102. Healing Traumatic Brain Injuries & Chronic Pain with Kayleigh StackOur brains are one of the most adaptable and dynamic parts of the body. Brain injuries, however, can disrupt all facets of our lives from personality to relationships to how we move through the world. Even a minor concussion can have lingering effects to mood and executive functioning and attention that can slip under the radar. On this episode, I’m joined by a lived experiencer of traumatic brain injuries, Kayleigh Stack. She shares her story, not sparing any of the ups and downs and talks about managing pain and easing the nervous system.In this episode we...2025-03-0758 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast101. Rethinking Assumptions Within Psychiatry & Developing Conceptual Competence with Awais Aftab“Any movement that aspires to be critical must be self-critical. There is value in approaching 'critical' not as an identity, a label, or a dividing line, but rather as a mode of engagement, as a virtue of philosophical and scientific thought. Critical psychiatry, if it is to embody this virtue, can only do so by insisting that it is a 'theory in the making' and by demonstrating continuous self-criticism, questioning, re-examination, and exploration of new possibilities.” - Awais Aftab, Conversations in Critical PsychiatryTo move beyond binaries in mental health, we must complicate questions such as...2025-02-171h 17DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast100. Remembering Where You Come From: Thoughts on the United States from an Indigenous Ancestral Healer of Zulu and Swazi Lineage, Thabiso Mthimkhulu“One thing that I want people to understand is that if you live in America, you live in a business and you are a customer in that business.” - Thabiso Mthimkhulu
I’m really exited to have Thabiso Mthimkhulu back on the podcast for a follow up conversation. Our discussion on “Redefining Crazy” and how we think about mental health was one of the most popular episodes on Depth Work to date. In this episode, Thabiso and I talk about the roles of metaphor and symbol in the mind-body relationship in sickness and indigenous views of learning to let the...2025-02-071h 07
Women's Motorsports Network PodcastCompetitive Family Track Rivalry with Jazmine Reames RobertsSend us a textJazmine Reames Roberts, a dedicated racer since the tender age of five, has been a prominent figure at New Paris Speedway in Indiana since 2019. Growing up in a racing-enthusiastic family, Jazmine faced the rigors of sibling competition, particularly intense when racing against her father and brother in the same class. She recounts how her father's deft maneuvering once bested her on the track, while her brother's unyielding focus on winning adds an extra layer of rivalry. Despite these challenges, Jazmine embraces her role as a trailblazer for young girls in motorsports, finding joy...2025-01-2232 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast99. Creative Liberation: The Intersection of Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and Gender Queer Experiences with Lyo-Demi GreenBuilding visions towards a liberatory future will take creative power, vulnerability, radical imagination, and the capacity to honor difference in all its beauty. Lyo-Demi exemplifies this courage and power in their writing and poetry: “My diagnosis of “bipolar disorder,” in my opinion, is both a sensitivity towards and reaction to traumas (both personal and systemic) that yields strength, creativity, and passion, and my diagnosis of “gender dysphoria”…well that just makes me fabulous.” (From essay: Not Confused, Not Crazy) As we ‘reinvent the world,’ many of us have to wade through the nuances of adopting or rejecting labels, and find ways to suppo...2025-01-1753 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast98. Does Mental 'Illness' Have a Purpose or Function? Madness as an Adaptive Strategy with Justin Garson“I wish somebody had presented these ideas that what we call mental disorders, they're not like diabetes. They're not like cancer. They're more like fever or pain. They're meaningful responses to something going on in your life. And they are part of your inner self trying to tell you to look more closely.” - Justin Garson
If you’ve ever felt as though there may be a purpose or function to the experiences that get labeled as a ‘mental illness’, you’re not alone. Justin Garson spent his career advocating for the idea that madness should not be seen as p...2024-12-091h 15DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast97. Rethinking ‘Madness’ : Mad Studies, Sanism and the Politics of 'Normal' with Alisha Ali, Bradley Lewis and Jazmine RussellHave you ever felt frustrated by the narrow, rigid ways we’re encouraged to think about mental health and experiences considered ‘madness’? Whether you are a person with mental health experiences and feel discouraged by the lack of options or support, a family member or clinician concerned by the way people are treated, a scholar who wants to think outside the box, or an activist combatting discrimination, you may be excited to hear about a field of study. In this very special episode, Dr. Alisha Ali, Dr. Bradley Lewis, and I discuss the emerging field of Mad Studies and the way...2024-11-221h 08DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast96. Understanding ‘Delusional’ Beliefs: How Compassion and Curiosity can Help a Polarized Society with Lisa BortolottiIn everyday life, we might label irrational, illogical, or absurd beliefs as ‘delusional’, and dismiss the person who expresses them on these grounds. This tendency is common when it comes to conspiracy beliefs or beliefs held by individuals labeled with psychosis, where such views are frequently pathologized. But can beliefs themselves really be pathological? What if they can also be meaningful, informative, and important? We all hold some beliefs that, to others, might appear “delusional.” Communicating more effectively with those whose beliefs differ radically from our own is a crucial skill to develop.
Dr. Lisa Bortolotti, philosopher and auth...2024-11-081h 00DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast95. Disability Identity, Chronic Illness and Community: Owning Your Story with Sarah Napoli“It is valuable for our culture and our society to work towards disability rights, disability justice, and a disability inclusive lens, because it's going to benefit all of us.”- Sarah Napoli
Each of us, at some point in life, will have some type of disabling experience whether that’s from natural aging, illness, burnout, trauma, accidents or structural factors. Building communities of care and mentorship, and undoing ablism is integral to our collective sustainability and wellbeing. In today’s episode, disability activist Sarah Napoli and I talk about visible vs. invisible disability, why chronic illness and experien...2024-10-251h 04DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast94. Embracing Wholeness through Existential Kink & Shadow Work with Carolyn Lovewell“As long as we insist that we absolutely don't want dark, freaky, unpleasant things, a major part of our full spectrum human curiosity gets cut off, repressed, denied, and made unconscious.”- Carolyn Lovewell, Existential Kink
With the rise in popularity of shadow work, inner child work, and healing unconscious pain and trauma, many are eager to explore the depths of our wholeness. However, a willingness to do this work requires an acceptance of the dark, “yucky”, and uncomfortable things that can be hard for us to forgive or acknowledge in ourselves. Carolyn Lovewell wrote “Existential Kink,” a hallmark b...2024-10-1859 min
Mad in America: Rethinking Mental HealthMultiplicity and Mad Studies: An Interview with Jazmine RussellJazmine Russell is the co-founder of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA), a transformative mental health training institute, and the host of the Depth Work Podcast. As a writer, educator, and scholar, Jazmine works at the intersection of mad studies, critical psychology, and neuroscience. Her work is deeply informed by her lived experiences surviving complex trauma, psychosis, and an autoimmune disease. Jazmine's focus extends to the intersection of mental health and chronic illness, particularly exploring the overlap of psychosis, trauma, and autoimmunity. This has led her to bridge critical neuroscience communities with the mad...2024-08-2845 minMad in America: Rethinking Mental HealthMultiplicity and Mad Studies: An Interview with Jazmine RussellJazmine Russell is the co-founder of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA), a transformative mental health training institute, and the host of the Depth Work Podcast. As a writer, educator, and scholar, Jazmine works at the intersection of mad studies, critical psychology, and neuroscience. Her work is deeply informed by her lived experiences surviving complex trauma, psychosis, and an autoimmune disease. Jazmine's focus extends to the intersection of mental health and chronic illness, particularly exploring the overlap of psychosis, trauma, and autoimmunity. This has led her to bridge critical neuroscience communities with the mad...2024-08-2845 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast93. Neoliberalism and the Global Export of Psychiatry: Toward Epistemic Humility with Psychologist Justin KarterCommercialized psychiatric and psychological knowledge encourages us to think of ourselves primarily as consumers and promotes a set of values that suggest some of us have minds or brains that should be ‘fixed’ with particular products or services. These neoliberal values have led to a great deal of institutional corruption and also has been exported beyond the western world across the globe. Many researchers, clinicians and activists have rallied together to fight against medicalized global mental health initiatives which promote a narrow westernized notion of wellness and defined how treatment should look, often at the expense of local healing prac...2024-08-1653 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast92. Shaping Countercultural Mental Health Narratives: From Anarchist Punk Rock Subculture To Radical Therapist Values with Sascha Altman DuBrulThe language we have for describing mental health challenges and suffering can constrict or expand the realm of possibilities for how we define ourselves. Sascha Altman DuBrul has spent his life challenging mainstream assumptions about mental health, what’s normal and abnormal, and built a community around shifting the narrative. Drawing from his personal experiences of getting locked up in a psych ward, he co-founded a radical mental health support group and media project (The Icarus Project) which proliferated the language of mental health concerns as ‘Dangerous Gifts,’ to be harnessed and worked with rather than obliterated and erased. Today...2024-07-261h 02DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast91. Is Schizophrenia a Metabolic Problem?: Research Update on Nutritional InterventionsAre most mental health concerns a result of issues with cellular metabolism? In this episode, I discuss Dr. Chris Palmer’s 'brain energy theory,' which draws on decades of cross-disciplinary research, positing that metabolic dysfunctions throughout the body may underlie various mental health conditions. I explore how mental health, chronic illness, stress, modern lifestyle, and cellular metabolism are all related in an ongoing feedback loop. I review a landmark pilot study from Stanford on the ketogenic diet, and other research supporting this theory. This is a really exciting time for psychiatry as we move beyond neurotransmitter imbalance theories an...2024-07-1924 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast90. The Mental Health - Chronic Illness Overlap: Surprising Root Causes & Ways to Intervene“Our mental health is a cumulative product of the story of the body.” Why do mental and physical health concerns seem to go hand in hand? At which levels can and should we intervene and develop more agency in our whole health trajectory? Too many people are getting more sick with traditional interventions, but many are taking their power back and finding ways that basic and sustainable changes can change our outcomes. In this episode, I share personal and professional lessons in healing from over a dozen chronic conditions (celiac, depression, IBS, Lyme, anemia, schizophrenia, PMDD, etc.), revealing how they...2024-07-1245 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast89. Transforming Heartbreak, Betrayal, and Grief with Sara Avant Stover“A new order will emerge from within the chaos” - Sara Avant Stover
Being human means experiencing loss. If we let it, these moments can propel us towards a deeper, richer inner journey. In this episode of the Depth Work podcast, Sarah Avant Stover shares her profound experiences through many circumstances of grief and heartbreak, detailing the events that led her to write her latest book. She discusses the unique nature of betrayal trauma, the transformative power of grief, and the significance of ritual and communal support in healing. Her exploration into Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and...2024-06-2156 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health PodcastPodcast Update! Here's What You Need To Know...https://depthwork.substack.com/2024-05-3102 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast88. The Power of Gut Health, Motility & Simple Nutrition with Supriya RaoIts becoming more well known that gut health impacts mental health, but with the rise of ‘wellness culture’ how do we separate fact from fiction? Dr. Supriya Rao of Gutsy Girl MD bridges the gap between medicine and lifestyle to give patients simple and effective support for gut health, motility, and nutrition. We talk about the topics patients are often too embarrassed to discuss (elimination!), what trauma has to do with the gut, and the things we can do each day to support ourselves.
In this episode we discuss:
how gut health is linked to mental heal...2024-05-3142 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast87. Finding Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs with Chaya GrossbergMillions 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...2024-05-1750 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast85. Suicide Prevention: What Traditional Mental Health Care Gets Wrong"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 th...2024-04-3022 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast84. The Mind-Body Problem in Psychiatry: How to Be A Holist with Philosopher Diane O’Leary“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 ethi...2024-04-2659 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast83. Healing Thyroid Autoimmune Issues Using Holistic Practices with Fern OliviaSometimes 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, an...2024-04-1958 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast82. Building Bridges Across Generations with Abby KamenEver 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 whe...2024-04-0557 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast80. From Disillusionment with Mental Health Treatment to Collective Power with Therapist Denise RanaghanThey 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...2024-03-0851 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast79. Why Forced Psychiatric Interventions are More Common Than We Think with Journalist Rob WipondSome 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 lobb...2024-03-011h 31
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast77. Eating Disorders, Addiction & Complex Trauma: Using Expression to Heal with Katie KilbournIn 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...2024-02-0938 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast76. Menopause, Trauma & Psychosis: Holistic Approaches in Midlife & Undoing Patriarchal Conditioning with Leah Harris, Lynda Wisdo & Marie BrownOne 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”...2024-02-021h 09
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast74. Returning Home to Our Bodies: Somatic Practice & Undoing Ableism with Abigail Rose Clarke“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 ba...2024-01-1245 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast73. Healing Intergenerational Trauma & Being a Cycle Breaker with Mariel Buqué“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 interg...2024-01-0546 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast71. Healing after an Abusive Relationship and Breakup with Chandni & JazmineEver 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 w...2023-12-211h 24
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast69. Functional & Integrative Psychiatry: Nutrition & Mental Health with James Greenblatt“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 vas...2023-12-0136 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast68. To Forgive or Let Go of Family Members Who Have Caused HarmIt’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.
Get bonus episodes on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/
Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of S...2023-11-2426 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast67. Your Voice as Your Channel: Sacred Self-Expression & Tender Discipline with Jocelyn K. Glei"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...2023-11-031h 08
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast65. Decolonizing and Politicizing Our Mental Health Practice with Jennifer Mullan“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 wo...2023-10-201h 22
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast64. The Somatics of Trauma with Luis Mojica“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...2023-10-0653 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast63. The Future of Mental Health Education with Noah Gokul & Jessie RothTraditional 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...2023-09-0156 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast61. Best of Depth Work Part 2: Holding a Personal and Collective Vision for ChangeWe 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:
Noel Hunter
DSM
Jagger Waters
Issa Ibrahim
Jessie Roth
Ana Florence
Milta Vega Cardona
Kim Wichera
Brittany Quagan
David Levine
Holistic Mental Health
Rebecca Nidorf
Veronica Agard
Leah Pressman & Jay Stevens
Christopher Rhodes2023-09-011h 17
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast60. Best Of Depth Work Part 1: Redefining Mental Health & What Truly HelpsWe 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:
Noah Gokul
Asia Suler
Sensitivity Is A Gift
Elmina Bell
Thabiso MThimkhulu
Katrina Michelle
Daryl Rocco
Randall Gates
Gifts of Depression
Ruby Warrington
Jagger Waters
Issa Ibrahim
Caitlyn Lune
Holotropic Breathwork
Brittany Quagan
2023-08-221h 14
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast59. Asking Better Questions: Compassionate Self-Inquiry & Questions That Have Changed MeThe 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...2023-08-0420 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast57. Desire As a Compass & Honoring DiscontentWe've been raised to fear the ‘yes’ within ourselves, our deepest cravings - Audre Lorde
The distrust of our desires and of pleasure is a huge disservice to the world. Because when we are cut off from our deepest desires, from our pleasure, from our sense of satisfaction, how can we really put our life force energy towards meaningful change? In this episode, I talk about cultural toxic beliefs we have around pleasure and desire, and the main fears that pop up when we think about following our authentic desires. I also discuss the value of our disc...2023-07-2831 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast56. Creating Wellness Plans to Rally Community in Times of NeedWellness 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, well...2023-07-2133 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast55. Depression as a Messenger: Decoding the Deeper Purpose, Meaning and Healing PotentialDepression 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 Thom...2023-07-1446 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast54. Surviving Twenty Years in a Psych Hospital & Cultivating Creative Liberation with Issa IbrahimWhat’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.
...2023-07-071h 09
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast53. Unlearning Inner Child Self-Protection Strategies for Deeper Connection and VulnerabilityIf 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...2023-06-3016 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast51. Undoing Martyrdom & Self-Sacrifice: Feeling ‘Enough’ in our Relationships and Work“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...2023-06-2333 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast50. Autoimmunity, Psychosis & Trauma: The Role of Inflammation in Mental HealthCeliac disease is an unfortunately common autoimmune disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people. That’s 1%, a HUGE proportion of the population. What's most concerning is that many aren't ware they have celiac often because many of the symptoms are mental health related and treated solely by psychological means. However, we need to rethink this approach. There's a high correlation between celiac, psychosis (and other mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and OCD) and childhood trauma. This is the trifecta that has affected me personally, and many of my clients. So today, I tell you my whole story on fi...2023-06-1629 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast49. The Physiological Roots of Mental Health: A Functional Medicine Approach to Autoimmunity & Childhood Trauma with Randall GatesFunctional 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 betw...2023-06-0954 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast48. Tending to Our Nervous Systems: Healing Chronic Pain & Communicating with Plants with Asia Suler“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...2023-06-021h 03
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast47. The Problem with Mental Health Diagnoses: Critiques of the DSM in 2023Why 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 nuan...2023-05-2739 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast46. How Women Without Kids are Transforming Society with Ruby Warrington“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...2023-05-1953 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast45. Harm Reduction, Capitalism, Psychedelics & The Opioid Epidemic: Fighting The War On Drugs with David LevineHarm 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.
2023-05-121h 31
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast44. Centered Self-Accountability: Undoing The Impact of Shame & BlameIn 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 pote...2023-05-0521 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast42. How Psychology & Psychiatry Fall Short: Science vs. Ideology with Trauma Specialist & Clinical Psychologist Noël Hunter“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 exp...2023-04-2858 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast41. Hearing Voices, Empath Struggles, and Healing intergenerational Trauma with Psychic Therapist Brittany QuaganIf 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 a...2023-04-1454 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast40. Holistic Mental Health : What Are The Roots of Mental Health Concerns?“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 underst...2023-04-0727 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast39. Trauma-Informed Relational Healing: Building Connectedness In Romantic Partnerships & Society With Rebecca NidorfOur 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 c...2023-03-311h 14
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast38. Working with Core Emotional Wounds: An Intimate Process for Getting UnstuckRecently, 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...2023-03-2437 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast37. Two Mental Health Workers In Love: On Communication, Processing Conflict, and Learning from the Past with Leah Pressman & Jay StevensIn all of our relationships, we bring our history, the roles we’ve played, our strategies for belonging, our privilege, and our worldview to the dynamic. In this episode, we get to hear from two deeply reflective mental health workers, who spend much of their time attempting to redefine helping relationships within and outside the system, about their personal experiences with love and relationships. They shed light on their process for communication and the values they share that sometimes also apply to how they show up for friends, family, and their clients.
We also discuss:
lessons le...2023-03-171h 24
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast36. Navigating Addiction, Trauma, & Sobriety Through a Relationship to Spirit with Vedic Astrologer Daryl Rocco“As long as there’s breath there’s still hope for a change.” - Daryl Rocco. Addiction is not a moral failing nor an unrecoverable disease. Addiction is often a way we learn to lessen the pain of overwhelming trauma and isolation. In this episode, my dear friend Daryl Rocco shares her story of what it took to get sober after a lifetime of interpersonal and intergenerational trauma. She discusses learning to rely on others, surrendering to a higher power, and being willing to feel her emotions.
We also discuss:
using substances as a way to numb out...2023-03-1057 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast35. Redefining “Crazy” & The Initiation Process with Swaziland Healer Thabiso Mthimkhulu“You have a lot of sickness [in the United States] because people are trying to behave in a way that will look “normal,” but that’s one thing the body wasn’t created for: to behave, to be controlled, to live like you are in a prison. “ - Thabiso Mthimkhulu.
What if “going crazy” was part of a larger process? What if it was a message from your body, your ancestors, or a wisdom larger than yourself? Thabiso, a traditional Swaziland Healer who moved to the U.S. in 2020, shares his story about training as a healer in a context wher...2023-03-0358 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast33. Psychic & Intuitive Development : Answering the Call to Use Your Magical Gifts with Christopher Rhodes"The only way it works is when you can allow yourself to be like water and take to it." - Christopher Rhodes. Energy healing, psychic work and mysticism is not reserved for a select few, these gifts are available to anyone who desires to engage with it, as many of our ancestors did. Today's magical guest is a fellow psychic and energy healer who also trains others in the craft. We talk about what it's like to "answer the call" as a healer, train in psychic school, and how to trust yourself and your gifts.
We also d...2023-02-2451 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast32. Healing Codependency, Toxic Monogamy, and Attachment Wounds with Polyamorous Professional Dominatrix Caitlyn Lune“You don’t learn how to not be codependent by avoiding intimate relationships. That’s not the antidote." - Caitlyn Lune. Codependency has little to do with being "dependent" vs. "independent" and much more to do with our attachment wounding and the subtle ways we may subconsciously seek control. Codependency can happen in any connection - friendships, lovers, and partners in any relational style. In today's episode, I speak with my long time best friend, Caitlyn Daly who has spent her life learning the art of eros and intimacy.
This is part 2 of a longer conversation, so if you w...2023-02-171h 03
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast31. Building Trust in Intimate Friendships: Conflict, Repair, Authenticity, and Commitment with Caitlyn LuneThere is no cap to the depth and intimacy of our friendships. Yet most of us never learn that we can have this kind of intimacy outside our romantic relationships. In today's episode, you'll hear a vulnerable, real life story of conflict and repair in my friendship with Caitlyn Lune, professional dominatrix and communication nerd, who I have learned so much from when it comes to healing attachment wounds and building trust in friendships.
We also talk about:
Early childhood experiences impacting our attachment styles
Bisexuality in female friendships
Authentically relating
Undoing the mother wound and mo...2023-02-1758 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast30. Knowing Your Authentic Values & Living in Integrity"What you risk, reveals what you value" - Jeanette Winterson. Our values inform every decision and aspect of our lives. Knowing what we value is more than a self-help exercise or some words to place on a sticky note in the bathroom. It turns out, not knowing, not acting on our authentic values, or having "junk" values, can actually make us more depressed and anxious. It takes immense courage to act from full integrity. It can mean leaving a relationship, a career, or all that is familiar to us, choosing courage over security, or authenticity over perceived belonging and v...2023-02-1018 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast29. Grounding & Feeling Safe in Your Body“Grounding” or cultivating feelings of presence and safety in the body is not only about integrating a few practices into your life. There are often very real barriers we face when trying to ground or calm the nervous system, especially for trauma survivors. Grounding isn’t about hugging a tree, it’s about facing the discomfort of landing our full presence and power here onto this earth, when we may have patterns and conditioning that tell us the body is an unsafe place to be. In today’s episode, I discuss common blocks to grounding, the annoying but true things tha...2023-02-0330 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast28. Becoming an Ancestor Worthy of Praise with Veronica AgardWhat does it mean to become an ancestor who is worthy of praise? To leave a legacy? How do we become the kind of ancestor our familial or collective future descendants want to call on? Today’s guest, Veronica Agard, founder of Ancestors in Training, shares her journey realizing what was missing in activist and mental health circles, and her motivation for creating circles where people could explore their lineage and connect with the power of their intuition.
We also discuss:
The importance of mutual aid and community care
Navigating grief windows
Ancestral, spiritual and movement-based he...2023-01-2755 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast27. Narrative Healing: Reclaiming Your Story & The Power of Cross-Movement Organizing in Mental Health with Jessie RothIt takes courage to own your story, especially for trauma survivors. Jessie Roth shows us, in this episode, the power of storytelling, showing up as your full self with the multiple roles and identities you hold and why it’s important to intentionally straddle frameworks to re-story your experiences as a form of healing. As the director of The Institute for the Development of Human Arts, she’s also a master at facilitating cross-movement knowledge building at the intersections of mental health and social justice. Jessie and I also discuss:
how to advocate as a family member of some...2023-01-2056 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast26. A Candid Conversation on Childhood Sexual Abuse, Radical Self-Responsibility & Kink with Jagger WatersThis is one of the most intimate and refreshing conversations I've ever had on childhood sexual abuse. As my guest and long-time best friend of 15 years, Jagger Waters, says, societally, "We tend to treat it like it's a disease rather than an experience." As a comedy writer, she brilliantly sheds light on this topic by intentionally using humor to alchemize one of the most traumatic experiences one can have. We muse on what it's like to not just heal from the experience, to the point where it's nothing but a tiny blip in our life story, but to also...2023-01-131h 50
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast25. Creating Your Life Like a Work of Art: Visioning & Goal Setting The Easy WayCreating your life like a work of art starts with having a vision and being deeply intentional about what we desire (while also leaving room for the mystery). Modern “goal setting” strategies can feel cold or simply exhausting. I’ve spent a decade researching the best ways to intentionally set goals that are aligned with your values in a way that also feels easy and fun. So in today’s episode I cover my favorite annual reflection and annual planning processes, how to discover and get creative with your 10, 3 and 1 year goals, and how to implement online and paper systems...2023-01-0650 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast24. Legacies of Activism, Being a Peer Specialist, and Radical Imagination with Noah GokulIt takes radical imagination to envision a future of mental health that is rooted in community support and multiple ways of approaching healing. Noah Gokul is an artist and mental health educator who embodies this concept in all their work. Grounded and affirmed by legacies of activism before us, we discuss what it was like to be peer specialist working in a clinical mental health setting. Noah shares how having a father who was a culturally affirming family therapist impacted their work, and how they use art to explore frameworks for navigating depression and anxiety.
Also in...2022-12-3053 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast23. Psychedelic Assisted Therapy, Spiritual Emergence, and Altered States with Katrina MichellePeople have been experiencing altered states of consciousness since the dawn of humanity, whether it's through plant medicine, meditation, spiritual practices, or spontaneously (in experiences that often get labeled as "psychosis"). We are now starting to understand that altered states of consciousness, no matter the origin, have the capacity to be deeply healing. In this episode, with my good friend and colleague, Katrina Michelle, a psychotherapist specializing in spiritual integration, we discuss different kinds of spiritual experiences, why psychedelic therapies often are faster and more effective than talk therapy, and how people can heal from trauma through altered states.2022-12-2343 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast22. Sensitivity Is A GiftThere is no such thing as being "too sensitive," we simply live in a world that doesn't honor the gifts of sensitivity. This week we're diving into the various ways we can feel "too sensitive" or reactive to the world around us - emotionally, physically, or spiritually, and the ways in which highly sensitive people often get labeled as mentally ill. We discuss finding the balance between desiring resilience and honoring the crucial messages of our bodies are trying to give us. When we honor these messages and work with the body, we have an opportunity to make the...2022-12-1619 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast21. Building Psychiatric Alternatives: The WeglaufHaus in Berlin with Kim WicheraWhen it comes to mental health crises, there are incredible and highly effective healing alternatives to psychiatric institutionalization all over the world! These respite centers offer agency, choice, freedom, and collective care, in place of the dominant “medicate and separate” model. Activists, clinicians, peers, healers, and researchers have been building and uplifting these models for decades, many of which are more cost-effective and keep people out of hospitals for longer or even indefinitely. The issue is, no one is talking about them. Here in Berlin, I got to sit down in person with Kim Wichera, an artist and activist who...2022-12-0958 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast20. Practices for Invoking Creativity & Motivation for Multi-Passionate PeopleI’m a multi-passionate person who spent most of my life feeling scattered in a million directions. Such is often the cost of living a really creative life. However, I now truly believe we can feel creative, inspired, motivated, and also prioritize what we value. I believe we can feel at ease at the intersections of our varied desires. For me, it’s not about “discipline”, it’s about getting honest and creating the right context. Here’s my best practical suggestions for clearing out the mental clutter and invoking creativity before we head into a new year.
In this ep...2022-12-0221 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast19. Deconstructing Institutional Racism & Reclaiming Our Heart-Centered Humanity with Milta Vega Cardona“For us to truly reach equity we must all be involved in this process of reconnecting and recovering our humanity" - Milta Vega Cardona.
In this episode we discuss:
Working inside Institutions that abuse power and fighting back from within
How race became a construct and the core of the hierarchy in the US.
Why white supremacy isn’t about individual actions, but systemic abuses of power
The history of the concept of whiteness, the cost of this construct, and its impact on the U.S.
Reclaiming our humanity through intimacy and vulnerability
Spiritual connection in anti...2022-11-251h 20
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast18. Chronic Health Conditions and Navigating The U.S. Medical Industrial Complex with Lilly KingIn this beautiful intimate conversation with Lilly King, we discuss the realities of navigating mental and physical health concerns within a fractured health care system in the U.S. We share our best tips for advocating for yourself, navigating the medical industrial complex, talking to doctors, and building a care team.
Lilly’s work is largely interdisciplinary. She loves chatting with people about nutrition, health advocacy and how to navigate US healthcare. Her diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome has further ignited her desire to help people work around the many roadblocks in privatized healthcare. Find her on inst...2022-11-1847 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast17. Global Mental Health & Human Rights Activism with Brazilian Psychologist Ana FlorenceThis week I got to talk to my friend and colleague, Ana Florence, Brazilian clinical psychologist and researcher, about the impact of globalization, the export of psychiatry from the global north to the south, and what it means to be a clinician dedicated to consistent self-inquiry.
Also in this episode:
Psychology and human rights activism in Brazil,
how open dialogue revolutionizes crisis treatment,
social determinants of health and the power asymmetries between global north and south when it comes to the medicalization of mental health,
subverting academic spaces by fostering critical doubt, self-inquiry, and tolerating uncertainty.
2022-11-1149 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast16. Healing Ancestral Trauma & Impostor SyndromeMany of the wounds, patterns, and emotions we carry in our bodies are not only our own. Some emotional wounds that get conceptualized as personality traits, habits, or norms, are actually inherited ancestral trauma. In this episode we talk about intergenerational/ancestral trauma, using the example of impostor syndrome as rooted in historical oppression. We also walk about elders, getting to know your living ancestors, making ancestor alters, and tangible steps in how to engage in ancestral healing.
Links:
Get bonus episodes on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/
IDHA's Virtual Healing as Homecoming Event on DEC 4th with Dr. Jenn...2022-11-0431 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast15. Building Our Capacity for JoyWhy do we get nervous when things start to feel really good? Why does the mind often sabotage moments of Joy or bliss? Joy is a wonderful, expansive state and can also be overwhelming or even terrifying - as Brene Brown says "When we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy can be foreboding". We're not talking about happiness or excitement that stems from external circumstances, here we're talking about the kind of joy that can be heartbreaking or knock you off your feet. This episode is all about how we can increase our capacity for Joy regardless of the...2022-10-2820 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast14. Indigenous Holistic Psychologies and Ancestral Wisdom with Elmina Bell“Don't shrink the power of your cultures and ancestors to fit into oppressive systems” - Elmina Bell
Have you been curious about ancestral healing but unsure how to engage? Most of us have been disconnected from our ancestors through colonialism, but that doesn’t mean we can’t access the wisdom that lives on through us. This week I had the huge privilege of getting to talk with Elmina Bell of Mulema Alchemy.
In this episode, we talk about re-thinking psychiatric diagnoses from a holistic indigenous perspective. We discuss practical ways to engage with our ancestor...2022-10-211h 31
She is....PodcastJourney with Jesus Series: “We gotta do better”This episode was super special with my friend Lauren Russell. We had so much fun, but truth and reality was revealed at the same time. Take a lesson as we dive deep!2022-10-1859 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast13. Holotropic Breathwork For Emotional Release and Trauma IntegrationIt's common to utilize breathing techniques to help with anxiety, slow down the mind, or support relaxation, but breathwork can also be incredibly potent for trauma healing. Holotropic Breathwork is an amazing modality that utilizes breath, embodiment, gentle altered states of consciousness, and emotional expression to create the conditions for any deeply embodied pain that we've held in for years or decades to be released and integrated.
In this episode you'll learn:
How holotropic breathwork is specifically useful for trauma processing
How trauma holding patterns in the body are linked to breath
How breathwork can help u...2022-09-3020 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast12. Normalizing Mystical ExperiencesMystical experiences are more common than we may think, but we live in a world that views them as strange, pathological, or only available to a “special” select few. I believe we all have the capacity to tap into the divine and see beyond the veil, if we desire, and that connecting deeply to the world around us through our lived mysticism is a foundational part of healing work. In this episode I’ll tell you how I discovered I was a “witch” or mystic, what precognition as a kid feels like, and how I ground my spiritual practice in my live...2022-09-2327 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast11. Inner Child Work: Foundational Practices & PrinciplesInner Child work is a practice of getting in touch with your subconscious feelings, beliefs, and wounding that may have been stuffed down since childhood. In inner child work, we have the opportunity to re-learn healthy attachment, develop deeper self-trust, notice and resolve “self-sabotaging” patterns, learn how to hold space for intense emotions and re-parent ourselves.
There’s a lot of information out there on inner child work, so I wanted to give you a primer on some basic “ground rules” I set for myself that make inner child work a bit more gentle and effective, as well as 5...2022-09-1641 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast10. The Fertile Void: Navigating Confusion, Lostness, and EmptinessThe "fertile void" is the concept that moments in life marked by massive transitions, emptiness, lostness, and confusion can also be moments of pure magic and possibility. In fact, feeling confused in areas of life can be a really healthy and wonderful sign that there's so much more waiting for us. We need moments of rest, visioning, and recalibration in order to move forward in integrity. In this episode I discuss lessons I've learned from engaging in "the fertile void" and how to navigate lostness and confusion.
Links:
Get bonus episodes on substack! https://depthwork.substack.c...2022-09-0931 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast09. Honoring Anger and RageAnger is one of the most misunderstood and repressed emotions. There are many ways we dishonor our anger culturally and societally, yet there is so much power and wisdom in our anger when we learn ways to express it without causing harm or violence. Here are a few mistakes I’ve made in the process of learning to honor my anger and what I do now to listen to it.
Resources:
Get bonus episodes on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/
Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafd...2022-09-0226 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast08. Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse & Complex TraumaHealing from childhood sexual abuse is far more complex than healing somatically. Often we must confront challenging family dynamics, betrayal, attachment wounds, abandonment, rage, grief, self-blame, guilt, and so much more. In this episode, I talk about the biggest lessons I've learned in healing from childhood trauma.
You’ll learn:
The complexities around childhood sexual abuse and attachment issues
Why so many childhood abuse survivors find themselves isolated and without familial support
Why acknowledging betrayal trauma is a key part of the healing process
How trauma impacts and gets stored in the body
How self-trust and per...2022-08-2645 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast07. When & How to Deal with Emotional Triggers: Depth Work vs. Width WorkIs there such a thing as healthy distraction when it comes to processing emotions? How do we know if we need a break from healing work? How do we know when to dive in and when to distract from uncomfortable emotions? How do we build capacity and safety in the body so we can engage with pain and emotional processing sustainably? I like to use a framework that emerged from my own healing process to answer these tough questions, especially when it comes to dealing with fear, anxiety, and overwhelm.
In this episode you’ll learn:
how...2022-08-1921 minDEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast06. Increasing Emotional Wisdom and Our Capacity To FeelOur emotions are vital, and yet we have deep set cultural myths that often prevent us from feeling, expressing, and releasing our emotions. What if the path to healing wasn't learning to "control" or "manage" our emotions, but instead learn to expand our capacity to feel intensity without betraying our self-trust?
In this episode you’ll learn:
Two ways emotions can get stuck in the body
How to release resistance around our emotions
The top 3 cultural myths we have around our emotions
Why we pathologize ourselves and how we can care for our big emotions differently
...2022-08-1336 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast05. Making Impactful Changes in a Fractured System: Why I Quit Working in Public Mental HealthFor many social workers and counselors, working in the mental health field is unsustainable and rife with ethical violations. Many of us feel complicit in a system that can often do more harm than good. Here you'll hear my personal experience working in mental health crisis, why I decided to quit, and what I did to contribute to communities and build capacity outside the field.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
what it can be like to work in the public mental health system
issues with US mental health crisis services and why we lean so he...2022-08-1332 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast04. The History of the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Mental HealthResearch showing that the chemical imbalance theory of mental health is a myth has just hit news cycles again, but this is not the first time this theory has been debunked. Many working in the field have known there is little evidence to support this theory, so why is it only recently the public has been informed? How did this myth originate and where do we go from here?
In this episode you’ll learn
what current research is showing about the lack of evidence for links between depression and serotonin
the history behind the chemical im...2022-08-1331 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast03. Beyond the Biomedical Model: 5 Myths about Mental Health Diagnoses & TreatmentThe biomedical model of mental health, which posits mental health issues are purely biological and only treatable with medication, has dominated the field for the last 40 + years without much evidence to justify it. Many concerned psychiatrists and psychologists argue that this model is outdated and ignores the complex interplay of social, cultural, institutional, and other factors that contribute to mental health issues. Recent research shows that the roots of mental health concerns are much more complex. Despite this, many myths about mental health concerns persist, even in the face of mounting evidence against them. It's time to put aside...2022-08-1335 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast02. The Root Causes of "Psychosis”: Mental Health Crisis as An Opportunity for HealingWhen we think of a severe mental health crisis, we may think of experiences that get labeled as psychosis, schizophrenia, or other extreme states that require intensive support. But what if these experiences also held rich meaning and opportunity for healing when we can care for them without pathologizing or stripping away autonomy? In this episode you'll hear my personal story of surviving a mental health crisis outside the system, having an intense spiritual awakening, and learning vital lessons about the root causes of mental health concerns.
In this episode you’ll learn:
wh...2022-08-1343 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast01. What is Transformative Mental Health?The field of Mental Health is in need of drastic change, but we need a vision to get us there. What would it look like in practice to build a system that truly transformed those it seeks to serve? What does mental health that is rooted in rights based, peer-centered, and holistic care look like?
In this episode you’ll learn:
why we are in desperate need for a new vision of mental health care
what transformative mental health is, in theory and practice
3 core ingredients for practicing transformative mental health
what systemic change really looks li...2022-08-1321 min
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health PodcastWelcome to DEPTH Work!Welcome! Here's what we'll be diving into.
Get bonus episodes on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/
Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.2022-08-1201 min
Date BetterThe Journey of Nurse to Entrepreneur feat. Jazmine, RN, BSNIn today's episode, I chat with Jazmine Green, RN, BSN about her journey from Mother-Baby/Nursery RN to FULL-TIME entrepreneur. Jazmine discovered early on in her nursing career that she wasn't one to punch the clock for someone else's dreams for the rest of her life. Tune in to hear how an incident after one of her night shifts made her quit her job to protect her family and start her journey as an entrepreneur. Jazmine is the owner of Nurse Life Brand, an online nursing boutique and a BLS Instructor. More from...2020-05-2641 min
Talk Is DeepTalk Is Deep S2 Episode 5: Jazmine RussellTalk is Deep is back with an all new episode! Nathanael interviews the lovely Jazmine Russell, a teacher in Arizona and it's a great convo. Listen as they discuss the educational ups and downs, pet peeves, her passion for teaching and hilarious stories in between. Nathanael also reveals a funny Borat story so check it out. You can follow Nathanael on IG: https://www.instagram.com/nathanaelbutlerofficial/ and on twitter @ Check out @MyTalkIsDeep: https://twitter.com/MyTalkIsDeep?s=09 and be sure to like and subscribe. Thank you!
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Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talkisdeep/support2020-04-101h 04