Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Music is an under-explored tool with respect to the provision of psychotherapy as well as the crafting of peak experiences.  Clinical counsellor, performance coach and opera singer, Dr. Fiona McAndrew, joins us for an eclectic, wide-ranging discussion in which explore:Fiona's alternating journey between psychology and music a window into the psychological life of a top tier opera singermusic as tool to evoke and access emotions and spiritual experiences the emotional transaction between performer and artist Fiona's research on peak experience and peak states including a fascinating recounting of her own seminal peak experience while performing translating learnings from peak experience in the performing arts to the therapeutic domain  consideration of the evolutionary significance of peak experience and the utility for exploring one's sense of selfreflections on providing therapy to highly creative individuals a brief meditation on the beauty inherent to the human voice the appeal and utility of depth psychology, especially for managing dialectics and tolerating internal dissonance the unique challenges and opportunity of the mid-life passageFeedback or comments?  Email us: oicbtpodcast@gmail.comDr. Fiona McAndrew is a clinical counsellor and performance coach working internationally online and in person in central Helsinki. She holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne in Music Performance Psychology and a Master of Counselling (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) from Monash University, Melbourne which she integrates with a Jungian, depth psychology perspective to help a range of clients in the corporate world, elite athletics, professional performing arts, music, film and advertising. This experience is underpinned by training and publication as a research psychologist (B.A.Hons) (University of Western Australia) and professional performing arts training at the elite Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London (PG.Ad.Dip.,Opera). She is also a trained Creativity Coach and holds a Certificate to administer the personality test, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).Fiona’s special interest in positive psychology and performance grew out of her 25 year career as an international opera singer performing solo roles to critical acclaim for major festivals, opera houses and film. Until 2020, she was Deputy Head of Opera and Classical Voice as well as a lecturer in Musical Theatre at the well- known multi-arts conservatoire Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and is a frequent performance consultant at conservatoire and universities in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.In 2020 she re-trained in counselling and her Masters research focussed on anxiety in mid-life women and chronic pain conditions. Her previous doctoral research into peak states of consciousness, looked at the ways in which music, language and movement in the communal experience of theatre can provide the conditions for the experience of awe that lies "beyond words".Fiona’s diverse range of experience and skills and a network of international referrals and contacts, allows her to offer a creative, confidential space for clients to address issues and develop clarity in their working and personal lives. The term idir from the Irish language meaning between, refers to the creative space between client and therapist and between clients and their creative challengess.https://idircreativecounselling.com/Email: fmmcandrew@gmail.com

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Mental health professionals have increasingly been seeing clients seeking services related to anxiety and depression stemming from serious, negative changes that have been occurring in our climate.  Psychologist and professor, Dr. Susan Clayton, who is one of the world's authorities on how the environment impacts upon psychological factors joins us for a discussion in which we cover: how the environment & climate impacts upon psychological well-being and functioning generallya working definition of climate anxiety (and associated terms which are frequently used in this context)the prevalence and nature of clinically significant climate anxiety and whether our current level of anxiety about the environment should even be considered disordered given the challenges we are facinga historical & evolutionary perspective on our attunement to the environment as humans and why it is hard for us to make realistic threat appraisals the pull for current climate challenges to evoke nihilism and the role grief work could potentially play in contending with emergent distress related to the climateother forms of psychological symptoms that we know can originate from climate change aside from anxietyhelping individuals to identify resources that will augment their sense of effective copinglinking a sustainable stance towards the environment with core human values and meaning  Dr. Clayton's suggestions around effective coping for those experiencing climate anxietyComments or feedback?  Email the show at: oicbtpodcast@gmail.com?  Finding value in the podcast?  A review or rating on your platform of choice is always appreciated!Susan Clayton , Ph.D., is the Whitmore-Williams Professor and Chair of Psychology at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Dr. Clayton’s research examines people’s relationship with the natural environment, how it is socially constructed, and how a healthy relationship with nature can be promoted. She has written about the effects of climate change on mental health, and has developed a scale to assess climate anxiety. She is author or editor of six books, including Identity and the Natural Environment, Conservation Psychology, and Psychology and Climate Change, and is currently the editor of the Cambridge Elements series in Applied Social Psychology and on the editorial board for journals such as the Journal of Environmental Psychology and Sustainability. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology, she was a lead author on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Shame is among the most powerful of human emotions and can drive a number of both functional and dysfunctional behaviours.  Sheila Rubin, MA & Bret Lyon, Ph.D., join us for a comprehensive discussion of many of the themes in their new book Embracing Shame - How to Stop Resisting Shame & Turn it into a Powerful Ally.  In this discussion we cover: why they wanted to write this booka theoretically driven and evolutionarily informed definition of shameshame as a "binding" emotion that helps to de-intensify emotional reactions to stressors common reactions to shame (anger in, anger out, avoidance, withdrawal)healthy vs. unhealthy shameshame as potentially a developmental wound and how this manifests in adultsworking with clients who harbour shame but who are emotionally over-regulateddiagnosing the impact of shame within interpersonal interactionsSheila Rubin, MA, LMFT, RDT/BCT, and Bret Lyon, PhD, SEP, are co-creators of the Healing Shame–Lyon/Rubin Method and founders of The Center for Healing Shame. Through their in-person and popular online trainings, they have taught hundreds of psychotherapists throughout the world how to more effectively identify and work with shame. They live together in Berkeley, CA. For more, visit healingshame.com. 

Dr. Jeff Perron, psychology expert, discusses the psychology of happiness, including defining happiness within the human condition, the tension between schema-driven behaviors and values, integrating mode work into treatment, resolving conflicts between values, and developing a compassionate self. The importance of evidence-based practices in psychology, blue zones and community, and adaptive schemas are also explored.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! For many clinicians body dysmorphic disorder or BDD is shrouded in mystery and can be an intimidating and tricky presentation to try and conceptualize and treat.   Physician, scientist, educator, and author, Dr. Katharine Phillips,  who has spent her career caring for patients, mentoring/teaching, and conducting groundbreaking scientific research on BDD joins us for a discussion in which we cover:  what BDD is and how it affects individualssubtypes of BDDthe special concern around insight in BDDdevelopmental experiences and factors related to temperament that might predispose someone towards BDDthe current gold standard treatment for BDD,  the typical response rate and the role medication can/should medication play in the overall strategy  challenges issues related to differential diagnosisadvice for family members concerned about a loved one with suspected or confirmed BDDComments or feedback?  Email the podcast at: oicbtpodcast@gmail.com Finding the podcast of value?  Please consider leaving a rating a review on your platform of choice.  Dr. Phillips graduated with honors from Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School. She did her psychiatry residency at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She is currently Professor of Psychiatry, DeWitt Wallace Senior Scholar, and Residency  Research Director at Weill Cornell Medical College.Dr. Katharine Phillips is a physician, scientist, educator, and author who has spent her career caring for patients, mentoring/teaching, and conducting groundbreaking scientific research on body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Her research studies on BDD have identified and elucidated many aspects of this common and severe disorder, and she has developed and tested treatments, both medication and therapy, for BDD. Her scientific studies on BDD were continuously funded by the National Institute of Mental Health for more than 20 years.Dr. Phillips has received many honors and awards for her research, clinical work, and other academic contributions. Her awards include a Special Presidential Commendation from the American Psychiatric Association and the Outstanding Career Achievement Award from the International BDD Foundation for her research studies on BDD.Dr. Phillips has more than 350 scientific publications (original scientific articles, reviews, letters, and book chapters). She has written or edited 11 books on BDD and other topics, including the first book on BDD. Dr. Phillips has given more than 600 international, national, and local presentations for professionals, including more than 130 Grand Rounds.Dr. Phillips has served on many national boards and committees. She is an elected Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. She is a member of numerous editorial boards, the American College of Psychiatrists, and the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and the International BDD Foundation. From 2002-2006 she chaired the National Institute of Mental Health's Interventions Research Review Committee (Scientific Review Group).To disseminate information about BDD and other topics, Dr. Phillips has done more than 500 media interviews. She has been interviewed by the New York Times, London Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Time Magazine, Newsweek, CNN, the BBC, National Public Radio, and many other media outlets. She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC, the Today Show, and Good Morning America.https://www.katharinephillipsmd.com/

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Hello everyone - hope you are well!  We just wanted to quickly let you know that we’ll be taking a scheduled break for the rest of the summer and will be back with new episodes in the early fall.It’s been a real joy recording and putting out the podcast - we’re so grateful to each and every guest for their contribution to the path that we’ve been on with the podcast which is basically trying to get just a little bit closer to coming to grips with the unbelievably complex reality of the human experience. At last count there were over 3 million active podcasts on the Apple podcast platform - that is, of course, an absolutely huge amount of content to choose from.  We are so delighted & humbled by the number of listeners who have chosen to devote a little bit of their bandwidth to the content that we have been producing.  We have seen quite a sizable growth in the podcast over the past 8 months and we want to thank you for your support.  If you’re relatively new to the podcast, we hope you are enjoying the content we have to offer.  If you have been enjoying the content, leaving a review on Apple podcasts would be tremendously helpful - it’s a major benchmark that helps potential guests gauge the podcast and I can tell you for a fact that the warm feedback to date has really helped with the growth of Thoughts on Record – we’re a relatively small, independent podcast and having solid reviews really helps potential guests cut through the noise of the countless invitations they receive.  It’s also a great way for us to get feedback and to get a feel for how the content is resonating.  Passing the podcast along to a friend or colleague is also always appreciated.  If you have comments or feedback, you can always reach us at oicbtpodcast@gmail.com – we’d love to hear from you with any suggestions for guests or topics you might have!  I’ve really enjoyed interacting with those who have reached out so keep the emails coming!Well, that’s it for now - looking forward to picking up the conversation in the fall!Take good care,Pete, on behalf of the OICBTwww.ottawacbt.ca

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Strength in vulnerability combined with an internal sense of safety are among the most powerful psychological tools that one can curate to promote wellness and healthy boundaries.  Four-time Olympian, speaker & author, Silken Laumann, joins us for a very special discussion where we cover:  a brief overview of Silken's story and her rise to prominence nationally and internationallyfinding an "extra gear" with respect to performance and the balance between connecting with the reality of one's situation & processing difficult emotions while remaining goal driventhe importance of vulnerability with respect to promoting and maintaining mental wellness as well as connection with othersSilken's perspective on the impact of adverse early life experiences on the formation of self-esteem, coping, attachments, detection of threat etc.  the challenge (and sometimes imposibility) of maintaining attachments with important figures in our life and the critical importance of boundariesnavigating guilt that can arise from detaching from significant others who are felt to present a challenge to one's own wellness the power of an apologypros and cons of using intensive/high-level exercise/activity to assist with emotion regulation & growth of self-esteemwhy Silken has taken such a strong stance around being vulnerable in sharing her story and how it informs the ethos of her charity UnsinkableSilken's lens on cultivating vulnerability in the service of sharing your story and what must be in place psychologically for this to be a safe, healthy & healing process the importance of clearly and honestly assessing one's needs in the service of self-carean overview of Silken's charity, Unsinkable, and it's core of storytellingthe myths and realities of the mental health of elite athletes the perhaps unexpected challenge of achieving great success early in life and the challenge of transitioning out of elite athletics Four-time Olympian Silken Laumann is one of Canada’s most inspirational leaders, a best-selling author, and a child and mental health advocate. Silken’s Olympic story is legendary and inspirational. As reigning world champion, Silken fought back from a devastating rowing accident, to win a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.  In her best-selling memoir, Unsinkable, Silken shines a spotlight on all the obstacles she has encountered and overcome. Silken speaks candidly about her athletic success and triumph over physical adversity, but also the intense personal challenges of her past and the fierce determination she applies to living a bold and successful life today. Silken is the founder of Unsinkable, a multimedia non-profit organization that uses story-telling and lived experience to move people further along their mental, physical and spiritual journey.https://www.weareunsinkable.com/Host note: A very special thanks to Jennifer Elia for facilitating this conversation!

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Despite being among the most common of mental disorders that a clinician is likely to encounter, major depressive disorder presents both the client and therapist with a considerable amount of complexity and nuance to navigate with respect to conceptualization and treatment.  Leading international expert in major depressive disorder, Dr. Keith Dobson, joins us for an in-depth exploration of depression where were cover:  a brief overview of what  depression is and how it affects individualsfeatures of depression to be aware of that do not necessarily fall within the diagnostic framework but that would nonetheless be useful for clinicians to keep in mind when assessing clientshow depression is conceptualized from a cognitive behavioural perspectivethe developmental experiences that might predispose someone towards depressionconsideration of “at-risk” temperaments associated with development of depression the evolutionary origins of depression exploring the concept of complicated grief vs. depression some of Dr. Dobson's reflections on the conceptualization of depression based on his extensive experience in studying depression gender and depressionchallenges related to differential diagnosis discussing medication with client in the context of psychotherapy depression in the context of trauma gold-standard psychotherapy for depression and the integration of stepped care principles Dr. Dobson's is a Professor Emeritus of Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary, where he has served in roles such as Head of Psychology and Director of the Clinical Psychology program. His research has focused on both cognitive models and mechanisms in depression, and the treatment of depression, particularly using cognitive-behavioural therapies. He is also a Principal Investigator for the Opening Minds program of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, with a focus on stigma reduction related to mental disorders in the workplace. Further, he has written about developments in professional psychology and ethics and has been actively involved in various organizations, having served as President of the Canadian Psychological Association, the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, the International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy, and the Canadian Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. He has also received numerous prestigious academic awards and was recently named as an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Many clinicians pride themselves on practicing within an evidence based framework; however, within psychology the influence of pseudoscience and pop psychology has been at times problematic and even harmful.  Psychologist, professor & author, Dr. Hupp joins us to discuss his recently edited book Investigating Pop Psychology: Pseudoscience, Fringe Science & Controversies.  In this conversation we cover:   why Dr. Hupp wanted to put together this bookthe state of psychology & clinical psychology as a science considering recent challenges around the so-called replication crisisconsideration of potential factors that have contributed to the evolution of pseudoscience in psychology, including human factorsthe quality of the information landscape (news, social media, click bait) at the present time and how this might contribute to the propagation of pseudoscienceexploring the potential impact of "pop psychology" on the current research funding landscapewhen misinformation in the sphere of pop psychology goes from being light entertainment to being potentially harmfulfeatures of human psychology that make us predisposed to fall for pseudoscience, including confirmation biaswhat clinicians should keep in mind with respect to the critical consumption of informationdifferentiating between pseudoscience and when the scientific method is employed in more “fringe” areasadvice for those who want to study within a fringe areareadily recognizing false claims/charlatans/hidden agendas etc.Dr. Hupp's favourite examples from the book that illustrate the principles discussed balancing exploring novel areas of investigation that could yield fascinating results while remaining firmly grounded in scientific principles, critical thinking, testable hypotheses - when it might be worth taking “flyers” on strange or novel ideasStephen Hupp, PhD, is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His books include Investigating Pop Psychology (with Richard Wiseman), Investigating Clinical Psychology (with Jonathan Stea), Pseudoscience in Therapy (with Cara Santa Maria), and Dr. Huckleberry’s True or Malarkey? Superhuman Abilities: Game Book for Skeptical Folk. 

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman returns for an encore discussion on Thoughts on Record to discuss his most recent book Spellbound, which explores the untapped potential of our unconscious minds. In this conversation we cover:defining of our conscious and unconscious mindswhy Dr. Lieberman wanted to write this bookgetting to know what wants, needs & agendas our unconscious mind might haveunpacking the wisdom of fairy tales about the unconsciousshadow work: what the shadow is, the Jungian notion of shadow work and the value it might have through the lens of your bookwhat are archetypes, why do we have/need them and “where” do they reside within the structure of the psyche of the unconscious mind  the notion of the fascination with someone being perhaps, in part, related to our seeing a universal archetype in that personwhy integration such an important process for adults to engage inthe gift and burden of awareness leveraging the desires of the unconscious as a compass with respect to where to take one’s lifeknowing when we have aligned vs misaligned the will of our unconscious and conscious mindDaniel Z. Lieberman, MD is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University, where he has earned awards for both teaching and research. He studied the Great Books at St. John’s College and attended medical school at New York University. He is the coauthor of the international bestseller The Molecule of More, which has been translated into 20 languages, and the author of the recently published, Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind. Dr. Lieberman has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and leading psychiatric textbooks, and has provided insight on psychiatric topics for the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Commerce, and the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy.https://www.danielzlieberman.com/