The Broken Brain

Comedian Paul Morissey joins the show today to discuss the importance of laughter, comedy, and the ways we connect through humor. He also shares his own philosophy of living and working as an artist. Among Paul's professional appearances are his work on Dry Bar Comedy, The Late Show with David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and headlining the 4th of July Armed Forces Entertainment Tour for US Troops in Iraq. This episode is cohosted by London Smith, Actor, Podcaster, Comedian, MD, and creator of the Jock Doc Podcast.

The use of psychedelic substances in mental health treatment has been studies for many years. Modern use of Ketamine, explored in past episodes, has become common enough to be evaluated as a best practice treatment and is beginning to gain ground with insurance reimbursement. The use of MDMA and Psilocybin mushrooms in treatment of Depression, PTSD, and other disorders is showing fascinating results in research. Chris Tittle is a psychotherapist in Sisters Oregon, and is educated and certified in the use of psychedelics in mental health management. He joins the program to discuss current theories, research, and training for mental health clinicians in this area. Follow Chris' work and private telehealth practice at https://motivatedmentalperformance.com/ --- Follow the Broken Brain on Facebook and Twitter @breakabrain, or on IG @brainiacsahoy. If you want to help keep the virtual lights on, check out www.dwighthurst.com/support

What will it be like when I walk into my first session of Eye-Movement-Desensitization-Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy? Why would I look for this? How can it help me? This episode is a theoretical and practical description of how EMDR is conducted, what issues it addresses, and what you should expect from this powerful technique in healing from trauma. Kathleen Brennan is a trauma-informed psychotherapist who practices EMDR Therapy in Nashville Tennessee. She is a frequent guest on The Broken Brian. You can follow her work at www.kathleenrbrennan.com Consider becoming a patron of the arts by helping The Broken Brain! Check out options at www.dwighthurst.com/support

Karly Beaumont returns to the show to discuss the ins and outs of working in the Nonprofit field. We discuss how nonprofit organizations identify, address and solve problems, tips about working in a challenging field, and the way that Karly brings her talent for filmmaking and podcasting to help in her specific work. This episode is ideal for anyone curious about how nonprofit agencies work, those already working in the sector, or those interested in pursuing a career in nonprofit or human services work. Karly is the founder of the Core Temp Arts network of podcasts, the network that includes The Broken Brain. She is also the host of "That Pop This Life" and "Talking Shondaland," which you can follow at www.coretemptarts.com.

This is a segment that was pre-recorded for the live event for Opioid Awareness on 8/31, but was not used that day due to a time crunch. You can also view the full video of this interview on the Broken Brain YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/brokenbrainpodcast Ryan Luis Rodriguez, friend of the show, is here to talk about the depiction of addiction in movies, specifically when it is done respectfully or more accurately, to discuss the problematic use of substance abuse in fiction, and share specific movies that deals well with this complex issue. Ryan shares his own feelings with addiction while sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of cinema. Follow Ryan's podcasts, "One Track Mind" and "The Reels of Justice."

Attachment theory and understanding our own styles of attachment are foundational to mental health, and one of the most important elements of our psychology. At the same time very few people outside the mental health field talk about it, and unfortunately does not come up in treatment circles often enough. Thais Gibson is a Pastoral Counselor, Therapist, and expert in Attachment Theory. She provides education and techniques for people to understand their own attachment styles, and what to do when an attachment style is insecure from trauma or life experiences. She joins the program today to share her techniques and perspectives. To learn more about Thais and her work go to: www.personaldevelopmentschool.com. If you would like to support The Broken Brain go to www.dwighthurst.com/support to see the various ways you can help the show.

Part 2 of our efforts to provide more meaningful diagnostic information for Batman's Rogue Gallery. We dive right into it this time and ask questions like: Is this villain even mentally ill? Are the stories using bias and public perception of mental illness, sometimes in an exploitive way? What's Arkham's deal anyway? And more. Christian and Dwight Hurst take a deep dive and consider some lesser talked about goons from the list of Batman's enemies. Get invovled with the podcast by going to www.dwighthurst.com/support and learning the ways you can help the show to keep the virtual lights on.

Happy Batman Day! Every September 16th we all (at least those who observe) celebrate the creation of Batman in 1939. Christian Hurst, widely known as Dwight's brother, joins to talk about the use of psychological disorders in the Batman stories. This leads to chatting about the basis of diagnosis, representation of mental illness in media, bias, and a lot of side stepping into other superhero and cultural topics. Stay tuned for PART 2 for more discussion of your favorite members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, AND check out @brainiacsahoy on Instagram to see more specific diagnosing and treating of these characters as part of the series "Arkham Asylum Internship." Go to www.dwighthurst.com/support to see all the ways you can support the program on one page!

It's Batman month on the Broken Brain! Watch for new Batman Mental Health episodes and video clips on social media links. To start us off, this episode is a replay of an episode from June 2022, around the release of the film "The Batman." Sharon Blady is the perfect CoHost for this episode. We take a look at this representation of Batman, which above all is a story of trying to discover hope in the face of loss, trauma, and pain. ------- Go to www.dwighthurst.com/support to see various ways to support the show Instagram @brainiacsahoy Facebook www.facebook.com/breakabrain Twitter/X @breakabrain

This is a Patreon Exclusive episode, released in July on the Patron-Only feed. Become a supporter on Patreon to hear this and other special episodes like this one. Dalin & Dwight return to talk about the third episode of the Netflix series, and newest iteration of Anne of Green Gables, "Anne With An E." The discussion covers acceptance, trauma, social anxiety, social change, feminism, and more!