You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist

Ollie had no history of childhood gender dysphoria. But he was lonely, nihilistic, troubled by a legacy of intergenerational trauma he hadn’t yet unpacked, and reckless with his health. In his 20’s, toxic social influences exploited this vulnerability, in combination with Ollie’s guilt over being a man in the #metoo era, naturally fluid gender expression, and increasingly radical political worldview. Several of Ollie's peers offered their opinion that he was trans. One day, an acquaintance asked an unsolicited question: "you're trans, right?" and he thought, "that makes sense.”  Thus began several years of living an exhausting and regrettable lie that eventually fell apart, taking many aspects of his belief system with it.Now 34, his heart is healing and his worldview has matured. Ollie wants to have a family with the love of his life, but cross-sex hormones have permanently ruined his fertility. Yet the clinicians - psychiatrist, endocrinologist and general practioner - who enabled this expressed no remorse when confronted.Listen as Ollie bravely shares intimate details of his story that breaks and warms the heart all at once. This is one of the most touching conversations I’ve had on the podcast to date, and I am honored to be able to share it with you.Oliver Davies is an Australian man born in regional Victoria and now living Melbourne. He lives with his partner and two high-maintenance dogs. Oliver is passionate about history, computing, childhood development, and spirituality. He identified as a trans woman from January 2015 to early 2021. To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

British psychoanalyst Marcus and his wife Susan were among the first whistleblowers at the Tavistock Centre’s Gender Identity Development Service program. Together, Marcus and Susan wrote the book Gender Dysphoria: A Therapeutic Model for Working with Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. On July 28, 2022 - between this episode’s recording on June 13, and its release on September 5 - the Tavistock GIDS center was ordered to close by Spring 2023. This news came in the wake of the findings of the Cass Review, in which Dr. Hilary Cass systematically evaluated the clinic’s treatment protocols and found them unsafe. Marcus and Susan are part of the reason that Dr. Cass began her review.In this conversation, Marcus and I discuss the Tavistock’s long history of ignoring these alarms that have finally reached a turning point. We discuss appropriate, evidence-based, non-invasive approaches to treating gender-related distress, and how these compare with the politicized, experimental, invasive, practices that have become the norm. Marcus expresses his concerns about crucial lacks: of checks and balances, follow-up, honest conversations about suicide risk, and data on long-term outcomes. And we explore concepts from psychodynamic theory, such as the role that projective identification and the splitting off of cognitive dissonance play in power struggles between adolescents and the adults who care for them.Marcus Evans is a British psychoanalyst, author, and one of the first whistleblowers at the Tavistock GIDS clinic. Before retiring from the NHS, he was first a psychiatric nurse and then an adult psychotherapist in the NHS for 40 years. Marcus has a particular interest in the application of psychoanalytic thinking in mental health settings. He was a founding member of the Fitzjohn’s service for the treatment of patients with severe and enduring mental health issues and personality disorders, and a clinical lead in the adult and adolescent services for five years. He is the author of three books: Making Room for Madness in Mental Health; Psychoanalytic Thinking in Mental Health Settings; and Gender Dysphoria: A Therapeutic Model for Working with Children, Adolescents and Young Adults, which he wrote in conjunction with his wife Susan Evans. To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How can a culture obsessed with mental health be so unwell? Dr. McFillin and I explore the problems of diagnostic expansion and over-medicalization; secondary gain from identifying as ill; and the pathologization of normal human emotions. We discuss how evidence-based practices can be valuable, even as we challenge the flaws riddling the medical model of psychology. And we share practical knowledge about health, evolutionary psychology, and resilience to adverse experiences.Dr. Roger K. McFillin is a Licensed Psychologist, Executive Director of the Center for Integrated Behavioral Health, and host of the podcast “Radically Genuine.” Dr. McFillin has extensive experience and expertise in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. He is Board Certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and a Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive Therapy in Philadelphia PA. He earned his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he was the recipient of the Deans Award for Academic Excellence. Follow him on Twitter @DrMcFillin, or Instagram or TikTok @RadGenPod. To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Growing up without a father can leave voids to fill. Like so many other disadvantaged young people, Adam and I both struggled in our searches for meaning, safety, wisdom, and a healthy understanding of masculinity. In this interview, we exchange hard-won perspectives from our process of striving, confronting the problems with identity politics in the process. How does the victim mentality fail even those who have truly experienced hardship? Adam B. Coleman is the author of “Black Victim To Black Victor“, as well as an op-ed writer, public speaker, host of “A Good Faith Space” Twitter Spaces show, and the founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Adam was born in Detroit but raised in a variety of states throughout America. He writes openly about his struggles with fatherlessness, homelessness, and masculinity. He is always questioning the world around him, even if they are uncomfortable questions to ask. He strongly believes that we should all have the ability to speak freely and is now advocating for people who feel voiceless to be heard. He is attempting to help change the narrative and the way we discuss cultural narratives by being honest, humble, and resolute. His articles have been published in The New York Post, Newsweek, The Post Millennial, Human Events, The Federalist, Unherd, ScoonTV, Free Black Thought & Human Defense Initiative. He has also appeared on FOX News, Newsmax, The Hill’s “Rising”, Sky News Australia and numerous podcasts.Follow Adam on Twitter @wrong_speak. Find his book, Black Victim to Black Victor, on Amazon. To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

We evolved to take time-saving mental shortcuts. Split-second snap judgments can even save lives. But what are the pitfalls and drawbacks of such heuristics?Can we really see things as they are, or do we see them only through the filters our modern-day tribes have taught us to look through? If a concept is popular, does that mean it’s correct—or could it be merely contagious? What makes an idea viral, and what protects our mind’s psychological immune system from Trojan horse-styled invaders? And how can assuming we’re wrong help us get closer to the truth?In this thought-provoking interview, Gurwinder and I explore numerous topics related to the fallibility of human cognition and emotional reactivity: logical fallacies and cognitive distortions; Richard Dawkins’ meme theory and Gad Saad’s concept of the parasitic mind; empathy versus theory of mind; evolutionary psychology; modern day internet tribalism; scapegoating; the perception and quarantining of “dangerous” ideas; us-versus-them thinking; the safety-versus-freedom dichotomy, and other values clashes; how reckoning with cognitive dissonance helps us grow; the limits of knowledge; the dark side of compassion; attentional blindness; the Karpman Drama Triangle; Error Theorists versus Conflict Theorists; propaganda; Twitter bans and how to avoid them; how deliberate ignorance can be a skill worth cultivating; plus, Web 3 and the future of the internet. Whether you enjoy heady, mind-expanding conversations, or just love a good British accent, you’re not going to want to miss this one.Gurwinder Bhogal is a writer, programmer, and social media influencer based in the UK. His blog about the interplay between psychology and technology can be found at https://gurwinder.substack.com. Follow him on Twitter @G_S_Bhogal for epic mega-threads on cognition. To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Lisa K Swallow is the co-founder and Executive Director of Crossing Party Lines, Inc., a national nonprofit dedicated to reducing toxic polarization by creating open dialogue between Americans with dissimilar political views. In this interview, she shares a wealth of wisdom derived from helping hundreds of people heal the political divide in their families and communities, exploring insights and tools derived from mindfulness, relational neurobiology, Nonviolent Communication, and Moral Foundations Theory. Trained in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Lisa hadn't considered bringing her work into the political arena until 2016, when politics became personal. That year, a long-awaited reunion with a conservative cousin turned contentious as soon as conversation became political, which it did regardless of what topic they chose. Then, on the second day of her visit Lisa thought to apply her active listening skills and the conversation shifted from toxic to respectful. On returning to her home in Portland, Oregon, Lisa set about identifying the specific skills that lead to civil, productive political conversations. She learned that the key to talking across differences lies in cultivating a curious, open mind and listening to understand why another person’s views make sense for them. Her nonprofit, Crossing Party Lines, provides two crucial services: workshops teaching the concepts and skills and weekly facilitated meetings where members can practice those skills. Her work is rooted in NVC, inspired by the work of John and Julie Gottman and Stephen Stosny, and draws from cognitive science, neurobiology, and evolutionary psychology. Her workshops emphasize mindfulness, active listening, clear boundaries, and understanding the unspoken contracts at play in any conversation.  Lisa has written two books on the subject: her memoir, No One Was Listening, and a workbook, Yes, You can Talk Politics, which makes it possible for anyone, anywhere, to learn the skills for listening and talking across differences. Find Lisa at www.LisaKSwallow.com. Learn more about Crossing Party Lines at Crossingpartylines.com. Follow CPL on Twitter @crosspartylines or Instagram @crossingpartylines.  To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

A lifelong learner, heterodox thinker, and self-taught dabbler in many disciplines, Michael D. C. Bowen brings a wealth of wisdom on the many worlds he has traveled through. After building his career in data engineering and raising his family, he decided to undertake a “martial education” by joining the citizens’ police academy and being trained as a first-responder. What have his life experiences taught him about the process of becoming a fully self-actualized human being?Michael David Cobb Bowen is a writer, data engineer, and entrepreneur. He helped found Free Black Thought, Rights Universal, and the Conservative Brotherhood. Bowen considers himself a wry Stoic and tactical epistemologist. He has been published in Newsweek and was a regular NPR contributor as well as a host at Cafe Utne. His online writing projects on political, cultural and philosophical subjects reach back over 23 years. His latest project, Stoic Observations, focuses on matters of knowledge & power, global frameworks, information theory, and the practical aspects of moving from philosophy to philosophy. His mission is to document the journey of finding the true value of Western Civilization through Socratic dialogue.Follow Michael on Twitter @mdcbowen. Read more about him at mdcbowen.info and check out his blog, Stoic Observations, at mdcbowen.substack.comFollow Free Black Thought @freeblckthought & visit www.freeblackthought.com To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

During his career working in acute mental health facilities, Benjamin helped people in psychotic states. His professional and personal curiosities led him to developing a unique passion for interpreting and exploring dreams. Benjamin is one of those rare gems who’s calm and collected in a crisis, and comfortable exploring the edges of sanity. He believes his autism has aided him in developing his unique skillsets with logic and curiosity. In this episode, we explore the edges of the known, including hallucinations, misophonia, dementia, fantasy, substance abuse, autism, and parts work. Benjamin Davidson (aka “The Dream Wizard”) is a psychological professional. After over 20 years experience in mental health, he now offers eclectic dream analysis through Dreamscapes Podcasts, available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. He also curates, edits and sells historical dream literature. WEBSITE: ~ https://BenjaminTheDreamWizard.comBOOKS:~ https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B08Y69ZSTWPODCAST (multiple platforms):~ iTunes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dreamscapes-podcasts/id1540849884~ Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3zkpNkshZwEHBoPBa0VKqd~ etc.SOCIAL MEDIA:~ Twitter https://twitter.com/WizardBenjamin~ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BenjaminTheDreamWizard/~ Locals https://benjaminthedreamwizard.locals.com/ To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Michelle always knew she was different. As a child, she was socially awkward, and got picked on. She never felt comfortable dressing or acting like other girls. Receiving a professional diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder was an important step in her process of coming home to herself with acceptance and understanding. But the explanation didn’t come soon enough to prevent her from getting lost down the wrong path in her search for the missing narrative. In the process, she was harmed both physically and psychologically.Like so many vulnerable, neurodivergent young adults, in her early 20’s, Michelle turned to the internet for comfort, distraction, belonging, and knowledge. That’s where she was introduced to the concept of questioning one’s gender, and therefore began to question her own. The advice of strangers; the sense of community that she found online and in a trans support group; and a complex ideology that fed her intellect, all led her down the path of cementing a trans identity and deciding to pursue medical procedures that were both irreversible and experimental. Michelle identified as transgender for a period of ten years, during which time she was prescribed testosterone and underwent two medically unnecessary surgeries (mastectomy and hysterectomy). Seven years after being prescribed testosterone, at nearly 30 years of age, she was diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, and post-traumatic stress. She detransitioned a few years later.Now 34, Michelle considers writing to be her primary passion in life. She is currently working on her first book, but in the meantime, she blogs about her post-transition experiences on her Substack, "Some Nuance, Please."somenuanceplease.substack.com To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

As two quirky, strong-minded women who have built our careers on the edges of consciousness, Jessie and I compare notes on our personal and professional experiences with giftedness and sensitivity. What are the unique challenges neurodivergent youth must overcome? How do “abstract-intense” people learn to own our eccentricities while building on our strengths? And how can an over-excitable nervous system lend itself toward a healthy passion for protecting one’s principles?Jessie Mannisto is the founder and editor in chief of Third Factor, a magazine and community for creative, free-thinking individuals trying to chart their unique paths through life. It's grounded in Kazimierz Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration, which emphasizes the process of sorting out one's authentic values and living with increasing integrity. Formerly a leadership analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and Google Policy Fellow, Jessie chose to pursue self-employment as an editor and analyst to allow her maximum flexibility for her entrepreneurial and creative work. www.thirdfactor.orgTwitter: @ThirdFactorMag and @jlmannistoIn this interview I mentioned three books: A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the Twenty-First Century by Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein; The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt; and Hold On To Your Kids by Gabor Maté and Gordon Neufeld. All of these, as well as many other excellent books, are now available on my website at sometherapist.com/bookshop. To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!Learn more about Do No Harm.Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★