Sheila Hamilton interviews Manna Abraham, a former CFO and trauma mentor who created the EMPR method, to discuss trauma-informed practices. Manna shares her background as a chartered accountant and CPA, and explains how her experiences working with diverse teams across different cultures led her to develop her own method for helping high performers lead with inner peace. Corporate America doesn’t often talk about how to release stored tension, outdated stories, or behaviors that are plaguing today’s leaders. Manna Abraham’s work embodies healing beyond talk therapy.
Dr. Leslie Dobson, an expert on forensic psychology, has spent her career at the intersection of mental health, the legal system, and people who have been accused of crimes and behavior. She studies and attempts to understand people like Nick Reiner, who is accused of murdering his parents.
Dr. Dobson offers timely, salient advice for families living with a violent, aggressive, or disturbed teenager or adult.
Blaming Loved ones. Part Two.
For decades, families have often been seen as part of the problem when a loved one is in psychiatric crisis. Parents and relatives are sometimes blamed — implicitly or directly — for their child’s or family member’s distress. But many clinicians and researchers are rethinking that narrative, recognizing the ways systems, stress, and biology all play a role, and that families can be essential allies in healing.
Today we’re talking with two leaders who have each worked to reshape how we think about collaboration and compassion in psychiatric care.
Dr. Stuart Ablon, Director of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital and a leading voice in collaborative problem solving, has focused on moving from blame to understanding in how we approach challenging behaviors.
John Puls, a psychotherapist and clinical director with extensive experience in inpatient and family-centered treatment, has written and spoken about systemic change in psychiatric care and how clinicians can better partner with families rather than pathologize them.
Blaming loved ones, Part 1.
For decades, families have often been seen as part of the problem when a loved one is in psychiatric crisis. Parents and relatives are sometimes blamed — implicitly or directly — for their child’s or family member’s distress. But many clinicians and researchers are rethinking that narrative, recognizing the ways systems, stress, and biology all play a role, and that families can be essential allies in healing.
Today we’re talking with two leaders who have each worked to reshape how we think about collaboration and compassion in psychiatric care.
Dr. Stuart Ablon, Director of Think:Kids at Massachusetts General Hospital and a leading voice in collaborative problem solving, has focused on moving from blame to understanding in how we approach challenging behaviors.
Dr. John Puls, a psychotherapist and clinical director with extensive experience in inpatient and family-centered treatment, has written and spoken about systemic change in psychiatric care and how clinicians can better partner with families rather than pathologize them.
Holidays
This is a revisit to a show we did in 2019.
Dr. Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff talk about navigating the holiday season, and dealing with internal and external stress.
It is a very organic discussion as it just "happened" while we were still rolling audio from another show. We took the conversation as a gift and used it as a show... it's the season of gift giving and receiving after all.
Enjoy.
Todd Weatherly is a therapeutic consultant at StuckerSmithWeatherly, and the host of the podcast, Head Inside Mental Health. What is a therapeutic consultant and why is it so important for families navigating mental health crisis to have access to someone who understands the mental health system, different modalities of treatment, and what the right form of care is for someone who is resisting treatment.
Dr George Bonanno joins us again to talk about his book, The Other Side of Sadness, What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life after Loss. Bonanno’s research on grief mirrors his work on trauma, and argues that all of us, even those enduring sadness and profound loss, possess a surprising ability to be resilient.
Dr. George Bonnano is professor of clinical psychology and director of the Loss Trauma, and Emotion lab at Columbia University. In The End of Trauma, Bonanno argues that most of what we think we understand about trauma is wrong. It is not nearly as common as we think, and people are overwhelmingly resilient to adversity. Prepare for a conversation that may overturn everything you thought you know about PTSD and how people respond to hardship
A revisit episode from 2023.
Long before Sheila started the podcast Beyond Well she found herself feeling depressed, lethargic and sluggish during the winter months. Seasonal affective disorder in the Pacific Northwest is a serious challenge. Here, she talks to the host of City Cast about the evidence-based strategies she used to recover.
Enjoy.
Hollywood therapist Dr. Nicki Monti never thought she was worthy of love and led a roller coaster life through
Childhood trauma, addiction, violence, divorce, and widowhood. Then, she did the work of learning to love herself and find her happily even after. Dr. Monti explores the self-esteem issues of kids who have had abusive or neglected childhoods, emotional blackouts, and why opting for hallucinogenic fixes without therapy might be worse than doing anything at all.
Dr. Eugene Lipov is a physician researcher and board-certified anesthesiologist who specializes in intervention-based pain management in the Chicago area. He is best known for his treatment of PTSD using a technique called stellate ganglion block (SGB).
The God Shot, is the upcoming book from Dr. Eugene Lipov and Lauren Ungeldi. It takes readers inside a medical awakening that’s upending everything we thought we knew about trauma.
John Puls. Violence and young men.
Dr. John Puls returns for an in depth conversation on violence and young men. Dr Puls specializes in the treatment of adolescent and young adult men and speaks to the factors creating more withdrawn, reactive, and explosive young men.
Samantha Rose is an Emmy award winning tv writer, author, and a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter who collaborates with experts, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders.
Her book, bravely honest and inspiring, explores her mother’s suicide and her reflections on grief, resilience, and searching for answers that help heal.
Ross Szabo is the Director of Wellness at the Geffen Center and one of the most sought-after mental health speakers and trainers on college campuses. He offers valuable insights on young adults, male violence, and the state of adolescent mental health.
Should your next therapist be an AI chatbot?Not so fast. Ian Kreitzberg is a Puck News reporter specializing in technology and AI. He recently tried out a new app claiming to be “A Therapist in Your Pocket.”Kreitzberg talks with Sheila about the trend toward AI chatbots dispensing advice, along with its potential risks and benefits: Among the benefits: Greater accessibility, early detection, personalized treatment plans and support for therapists. Among the risks: AI does not replace human empathy, a critical component of the therapeutic relationship.It may provide dangerously inaccurate or harmful recommendations. Privacy and data security: AI is not bound by the same privacy regulations as licensed clinicians.And Algorithmic bias: All models are trained on existing data, which can reflect and amplify societal biases based on race, gender, or socioeconomic status.
Cristi Bundukamara, known as Dr. B, is a passionate mental health professional dedicated to helping others build resilience and take control of their mental well-being.Dr. B’s personal grief is as profound as her career, shaped by the loss of three children and her husband. Cristi’s practice is strengthened by decades as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, helping people overcome their most profound traumas and personal losses. In this interview, Dr. B. talks about spiritual growth from loss, cognitive behavioral therapy, somatic techniques for healing, and the use of ketamine assisted therapy.
Author Kelly Sundberg joins Sheila to talk about her new book, ’The Answer is in the Wound. Sundberg wrote the intimate essay collection after leaving an abusive marriage. She details the lasting effects of trauma and PTSD on survivors in a nonlinear method that relied on scholarship, spirituality, tattoos and journaling. For anyone who has suffered domestic abuse, intimidation or sexual coercion, The Answer is in the Wound, is one woman’s unusual path to survivorship.
John DeGoey is a certified financial planner and portfolio manager who joins us to talk about finances and mental health. There is no greater contributor to mental health problems than lacking the basic necessities: food, shelter, clothing and comfort. John offers his thoughts on the biggest threat to our financial security and how we can begin viewing our financial security more productively.
Adolescent mental illness is spiking—and it’s not just hormones or “kids these days.” Dr. John Puls, one of the nation’s top adolescent mental health practitioners, joins Sheila to break down the real forces driving this crisis. From high-potency THC in today’s marijuana to the isolating grip of social media, from pandemic-born loneliness to the toxic influence of the “manosphere” on young men, Puls pulls no punches. If you’re a parent, guardian, or anyone who cares about the mental health of the next generation, this is the conversation you can’t afford to miss.
Dr. Dobson returns to the show to talk about child sex predators and the difficulty of prosecuting them. Dr. Dobson’s work as a forensic psychiatrist helps her understand both the mind and motivation of child sex predators. In this episode, Dr. Dobson talks
*Epstein Files
*Motivations of Child Sex Predators
*What prevents most children from coming forward
*Why child sex predators are difficult to catch in the digital age