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

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Many of those who work in mental health services are personally connected to challenges related to mental health and many have been clients of mental health services.  OICBT clinical psychologist Dr. Stacey Kosmerly joins us for a discussion of the the very important topic of mental health service providers seeking out mental health services themselves.  In this conversation we cover:  the gift of personal development that can often come with providing therapya brief review of rates of psychopathology among mental health providers discriminating between mental health challenges experienced by providers owing to an underlying vulnerability vs. being directly precipitated by providing psychotherapy and how the two interact reflections on problematic interpersonal patterns that can emerge in therapy - especially early in one’s career bearing our responsibility as therapists compassionately as well as through a lens of radical acceptancethe benefits and insights that can come from being a client with respect to the provision of your own services to clientsreasons why those providing therapy might be especially likely to benefit from therapy themselves (activation of attachment systems/schemas, vicarious traumatization, moral injury related to working in mental health system)consideration of some of the barriers to seeking help (confidentiality, dual relationships etcclinician reservations around open talking about their needs/challenges of working in the fieldComments or feedback?  Email the podcast: oicbtpodcast@gmail.comFinding the podcast adds value for you?  We would be very grateful to receive a rating (and especially review) on Apple podcasts!Dr. Stacey Kosmerly is a practicing clinical psychologist at the OICBT. She comes from a training background in Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT). Her current practice consists largely of working to support individuals in their development of skills for more effetely relating to and regulating their emotions and moving towards a more fulfilled life. Her personal and clinical experiences  have left her with a deep belief in the healing that can come from changing our relationship to our emotions.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Host note: Just a quick note that we'll be taking a breather until the fall to enjoy the rest of the short Canadian summer.   Have comments or feedback?   You can reach the show at oicbtpodcast@gmail.com.  Finding the show adds value for you?  A rating (and especially review) on Apple podcasts would be greatly appreciated (and, we really like to hear how the content is landing for you, helping you in your practice, life etc).  Take care and enjoy the episode - one of our favourites to date!Personality disorders can present a significant challenge from the lens of assessment & treatment.  Psychologist, professor, researcher & author, Dr. Lisa Cohen, returns to discuss core themes in her new book The Psychotherapy of Personality Disorders.  In this discussion we cover:  why Dr. Cohen wanted to take on such an ambitious model of personality pathology that includes elements of emergent systems theory, schema therapy, biological psychiatry, evolutionary psychology, attachment theory (among others)her model's very unique conceptualization of differential diagnosis (frequently a great challenge in the context of personality disorders)the central role and utility of emergent systems theory in Dr. Cohen's model of personality pathologyhow her model compares and contrast with other models of personality pathology exploration of the notion that personality pathology reside at the level of interpersonal representations a brief consideration of the evidence for this model of personality pathologyan in-depth consideration of the role of processes related to integration, differentiation & articulation related to managing interpersonal nuance and complexity that can become dysfunctional in the context of personality pathology (with examples to illustrate these principles)discussion of the 5 level model of the mind-brain including examples of specific treatment treatment that map to different levels of the modelhow Dr. Cohen's model informs assessment, diagnosis and treatment personality pathologyspeaking compassionately and realistically about personality pathology through the lens of this modelthe importance of evaluating personality psychopathology in the context of environmental demands (especially those related to the family system).  Dr. Lisa J. Cohen is clinical professor of psychiatry at the Carl Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, working at the Mount Sinai Beth Israel location.  Dr. Cohen has long been involved with clinically relevant research in a wide range of topics relevant to psychiatry and psychology.  Her more recent research domains have included the risk assessment and psychological correlates of suicide, risk factors for and differential diagnosis of personality pathology, the adult psychological sequelae of childhood maltreatment, as well as the childhood antecedents, psychological correlates, subjective experience and psychological burden of individuals with pedophilia.  She has previously researched opiate addiction, bipolar disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder. She has also written on psychological assessment.  Dr. Cohen is an author on over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and two books. Here third book, The psychotherapy of personality disorders was published in 2022.  Dr. Cohen received her PhD in clinical psychology from the City University of New York and performed her pre-doctoral internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City.  She received her undergraduate education at the University of Michigan, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology and another one in Fine Arts.Buy Dr. Cohen's book

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Death & dying are topics that clinicians frequently tackle both directly (as manifested around a fear of death), indirectly (through discussion of questions of meaning, managing pulls towards nihilism) and process-wise, through helping clients manage grief around the loss of a loved one or to process/manage their own impending death.  Medical Anthropologist & podcaster, Dr. Renske Visser, joins us for a discussion of the topics of death & dying.  In this conversation we cover:  what led Dr. Visser towards the study of medical anthropology and the sub-speciality of aging, dying and deaththe experiences that have shaped Dr. Visser's personal reflections on death and dyingthe important distinction between death and dying Dr. Visser's thoughts on the importance of cultural tools in navigating death & dyingconsideration of the inborn psychological tools we may posses for managing death vs. messaging by/distraction of modern societyhow the subjectivity that we bring to our own conceptualizations of death, influences how we talk about, research & generally deal with deathhow attitudes towards death and dying change across the arc of the lifespan and a consideration of how good (or bad) we are at predicting how we will feel about our deaths when the time comes    potential "active ingredients" with respect to what eases the process of dying for people psychologically  (control, place of death etc.)why the notion of “home” (i.e., dying at home) is often so prominent in discussions around end of life and how this applies  to more marginalized settings like mental health institutions, prisons etc.  how the ongoing cultural evolution around euthanasia/medical assistance in dying has influenced attitudes & conversations about dying/deathconsideration of conundrums & observations around extending medical assistance in dying to those with mental disorders the missed opportunities with respect to talking about dying more openlyaspects of our day-to-day life (or way that we lives our day-to-day life) that are profoundly affected by knowledge of our own death that we don’t always (or ever) acknowledge or we could benefit from making more conscious or intentionalFeedback or comments?  Email the show at: oicbtpodcast@gmail.comRenske Visser is a Medical Anthropologist interested in Ageing, Dying and Death. Renske was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has lived and worked in England and is currently living in Helsinki, Finland. She holds a PhD in Social and Policy Sciences from the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath and has done research on parental bereavement in young adulthood, homemaking in later life, ageing in secure environments, and cancer care in prison. Renske is the post-doctoral representative of the Association for the Study of Death and Society. She has a blog entitled Dead Good Reading, where she reviews books on death, dying and the dead, and is co-host of the Death Studies Podcast which is a monthly podcast and a  platform for the diversity of voices in, around and contributing to the academic field of Death Studies. https://www.deadgoodreading.com/

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Investing and management of finances is often a source of considerable distress for many individuals.  Investor, CIO & author, Scott Nations, joins us for a discussion of some of the core themes discussed in his new book, The Anxious Investor.  In this conversation we cover:  why Scott wrote The Anxious Investorthe evolutionary basis of investing behavior   loss aversion as a central driver of irrational behavior in the context of investinglessons from the mathematics of the stock market that can be applied to day-to-day decision making the role of cognitive distortions with respect to irrational behavior and decision making in the context of investing with discussion of specific examplesconsideration of financial tools (e.g., exchange traded funds) that might help investors navigate  their own cognitive distortionsthe psychological reality of "beating the market" and whether investing can truly be a "meritocracy"why it is difficult to learn from previous bubbles that frequently seem so predictable Scott's view of the key behaviors that investors should veer away from, moderate etc. to manage anxiety related to investingevaluation of cryptocurrency, NFTs and other emergent financial entities from a psychological perspectivehow  mood affects investing behavior  a consideration of how AI-driven investing may have changed the psychological landscape for the investora discussion of whether the average retail investor is psychologically positioned to manage their own investment portfolio effectively given the cognitive distortions to be navigated Scott's take on designing the perfect investing mindset  The content contained in this episode is for general information only and should not be regarded as financial or investment advice.  Questions or Feedback?  Email the show: oicbtpodcast@gmail.comScott Nations is the President of Nations Indexes, Inc. and a bestselling author. Scott also spent a decade as a Contributor to CNBC and regularly appears on-air to discuss markets, current economic events, and the outlook for a variety of financial vehicles.   Scott founded Nations Indexes in 2014. Nations Indexes is the world’s leading independent developer of volatility and option enhanced indexes and investment vehicles. Nations Indexes created the methodology used in the Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index (ticker symbol VOLQ). Futures on VOLQ launched on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on October 5, 2020.  Scott is also the developer of the Nations suite of large-cap volatility indexes including VolDex® (ticker symbol VOLI) and TailDex® (ticker symbol TDEX), the first measure of the market’s expectations for a “tail event” or steep drop in prices. In addition to these indexes, Nations Indexes has also created a number of option strategy indexes which combine equity indexes and other underlying asset classes with unique option strategies which generate unique risk/return profiles.  Prior to founding Nations Indexes, Scott was a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and was a market maker and floor manager for a leading index option trading firm.  Scott is the author of A History of the United States in Five Crashes, a general interest history of the five modern stock market crashes (1907, 1929,1987, 2008 and the Flash of 2010) which was published by HarperCollins in June 2017. Scott is the author of Options Math for Traders, published by Wiley & Sons in 2012 which was an Amazon.com bestseller. He is also the author of The Complete Book of Option Spreads and Combinations, published by Wiley & Sons in October 2014. https://www.scottnations.com

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Assessing & treating adult ADHD can be both very challenging as well as highly rewarding for client and clinician alike. Professor, psychiatrist & author, Dr. Sandra Kooij joins us for an in-depth discussion of the assessment and treatment of adult ADHD.  In this discussion we cover:    description of the main symptom clusters of adult ADHD (attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity) and how risk stratifies by various demographic factorsconsideration of the frequent presence of emotion dysregulation with adult ADHDthe challenge of under and over diagnosis in the context of adult ADHDcomorbidity in the context of ADHD and the challenge of differential diagnosisthe relationship between borderline personality and ADHD and why they may reflect the same underlying biological vulnerabilityassessment of ADHD in the context of active substance use, in particular cannabisthe special role that sleep disruption may play in the etiology and maintenance of ADHDthe differentiation between ADHD and cognitive ability and Dr. Kooij's thoughts on the role of cognitive testing in ADHD assessmenthow perfectionism, pleasing etc. - especially in the context of high functioning clients (and in particular, women) - can hide underlying adult ADHDconceptualizing diagnostic situations in which symptoms only become clinically significant later in life (or as life demands grow e.g., starting university, starting a family etc.) - particularly for high functioning clients or clients who grew up in a highly structured/supportive environment the challenge of navigating diagnosis in the context of subsyndromal symptomatology which may be better served by a continuum vs. categorical framework the relationship between hormonal disturbance, dopaminergic imbalance and ADHD in womenthe relationship between cardiovascular disease and ADHD in womenDr. Kooij's suggested resources for clinicians and consumersComments or feedback?  Email the show: oicbtpodcast@gmail.comHost note: We will be offering a 6 week essentials of CBT workshop that I will be facilitating beginning March 24, 2023.  For more information and registration, please visit: https://www.ottawacbt.ca/news.  Sandra Kooij, MD, Ph.D., is a professor at Amsterdam University Medical Center and Head of the Expertise Center Adult ADHD at PsyQ in the Hague, the Netherlands. She has more than 25 years of clinical experience and founded the ExpertiseCenter, the DIVA Foundation (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in adults in 29 languages), The European Network Adult ADHD, and The Dutch Network Adult ADHD.  Her research focuses on ADHD, sleep and health, on women with ADHD and hormonal mood changes during the lifespan, and on ADHD in older people.  She is the author of “Adult ADHD - Diagnostic Assessment & Treatment” (Third Edition) published by SpringerLink.  She is involved in research, treating patients, training professionals, informing the public, publishing articles, books, webinars and podcasts. 

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! The past 2 years appear to have precipitated an unprecedented rise in the dissemination and propagation of misinformation and conspiracy theories, leading to considerable distress and uncertainty around consumers of traditional media platforms as well as social media. Psychiatrist and professor, Dr. Joe Pierre, joins us for an extensive discussion of conspiracy theories in which we cover: Dr. Pierre's thoughts on the nature & severity of challenges involved in navigating the current information landscapean evolutionary perspective around our biological capacity to effectively manage the amount of information we are exposed to on a daily basisDr. Pierre's  assessment of the health of society’s cognitive, emotional and behavioral coping strategies at the present timetools/mindset that we can deploy to effectively navigate the massive amount of (mis)information that is out there.  why psychiatric terminology is often misused and why terms like "mass delusion" and "mass psychosis" are not appropriate terms to describe widespread false beliefs (such as conspiracy theories)how to balance engagement with media to remain appropriately informed without unduly evoking distress and a sense of helplessness/hopelessnessthe environmental and psychological conditions under which people are most likely to be susceptible to misinformation and/or conspiracy theoriespredatory use of misinformation and conspiracy theories by political entities critical consideration of whether conspiracy theories are more prevalent todaythe personality traits and features that reliably predict engagement in conspiracy theoriesdistinguishing between extreme/rigid ideological beliefs and delusionsthe role of the occasional validation of a conspiracy theory (i.e., variable reinforcement) in promoting belief in conspiracies  consideration of the evidence that psychological interventions can be helpful in managing dysfunctional belief in conspiracy theoriesstrategies for mental health professionals and family members to best assist clients who are consumed by a conspiracy theoryFeedback or comments?  Email the show: oicbtpodcast@gmail.com.  A review on Apple Podcasts is always appreciated!Dr. Joe Pierre is a Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is a graduate of MIT, the UCLA School of Medicine, and the psychiatry residency training program at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. He has extensive clinical experience working with individuals with psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, and those with “dual diagnosis.”  He has authored over 100 papers, abstracts, and book chapters related to schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications, substance-induced psychosis, delusions and delusion-like beliefs, auditory hallucinations and voice-hearing, and a variety of other topics including the neuroscience of free will and culturally sanctioned suicide. He also writes the Psych Unseen blog at Psychology Today and is working on a forthcoming book with the same title about the psychology of false beliefs.  Dr. Pierre serves as an expert witness and consultant in forensic/legal cases involving schizophrenia, the intersection of psychosis and religion, delusion-like beliefs and conspiracy theories, and the side effects of antipsychotic therapy. He has also been featured in numerous interviews for print media, radio, television, and a documentary film.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Engaging in regular exercise is a frequent recommendation of mental health clinicians as a way to address symptoms of anxiety & depression; however, despite clients almost universally voicing a strong belief in the benefit of exercise, it is often challenging for clients (and let's be honest, clinicians) to implement.  Professor, neuroscientist and author, Dr. Jennifer Heisz joins us for a discussion of themes contained in her new book "Move the Body, Heal the Mind".  In this discussion we cover:what motivated Dr. Heisz to write her bookthe specific mechanisms by which exercise promotes mental healththe kinds of activities & dosages of exercise that have been found to be effective in promoting symptom reduction, brain health etc.evolutionary lens on the importance of exercisethe evidence/effective size with respect to the link between exercise and mental healthwhy exercise is often one of the hardest behavioural changes to get clients to engage in the importance of exercise evoking some level of physiological stress in order to generate benefits (and how could this could help clients to reframe their experience of discomfort during exercise)employing exposure-informed paradigms to help clients engage in exercisewhy rest & recovery are overlooked, but are very important aspects of trainingcompulsive vs. healthy exercisethe potential benefits of wearables for biofeedback, tracking sleep, measuring stress levels etc. tips for accessing the benefits of exercise when feeling depressed or anxious and energy/willpower may be hard to come bythe emergence of hot/cold therapies as analogs to exercise via hormesis (i.e., gently stressing the body to generate helpful adaptations)Feedback or comments?  Email the show: oicbtpodcast@gmail.comDr. Jennifer J. Heisz is an expert in brain health. She is Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University (ranked Top 25 in the world) and directs the NeuroFit Lab, which has attracted nearly $1 million to support her research program on the effects of exercise for brain health. Dr. Heisz received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience (McMaster) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Brain Health and Aging at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Hospital (Toronto). Dr. Heisz's research examines the effects of physical activity on brain function to promote mental health and cognition in young adults, older adults and individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Many honors and awards recognize Dr. Heisz for her outstanding contributions to research including the Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario and the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award.https://www.jenniferheisz.com

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! While at times a difficult topic to broach, men's mental health reflects an important area of both clinical and research interest.  Moreover, despite the strong emotions that can be evoked by this subject, it is an issue which must be successfully integrated into the current discussion around mental health and wellbeing.  In this wide ranging discussion, professor, author and documentary producer, Dr. Rob Whitley and men's mental health advocate, keynote speaker and panelist, Mr. Jean-Francois Claude join us for a discussion of men's mental health.  In this conversation we cover:  the most common sources of challenge with respect to men’s mental healthcommon misconceptions that clinicians and/or the average lay person may hold with respect to men’s mental healthwhy men’s mental health can feel at times a “radioactive” topic to discusswhy men do not disclose their mental health issues to family and/or health care providers discussion of the term “toxic masculinity” considerations around discussing the realities of men’s mental health without alienating the equally unique circumstances and burdens of other groups, including womenopportunities for men to take responsibility for their mental health at the individual and group level why men are often viewed as disposable (by themselves and others)how men relate to therapy and current norms in the delivery of psychotherapy as well as innovations in the delivery of mental health services for menthe importance of vulnerability in seeking help vs. the reception that men get when demonstrating vulnerability (e.g., military and police clients  and so-called “broken toy” syndrome)Comments or feedback?  Email the show @ oicbtpodcast@gmail.comJean-François Claude regularly shares his lived experience of Persistent Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder as a bilingual mental health keynote speaker and panelist, leveraging the power of storytelling to help reduce the stigma of mental illness. In 2017, for his advocacy work and anti-stigma efforts in the area of men’s mental health, Jean-François was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal by His Excellency the Governor General of Canada, and was named a Leading Canadian Difference Maker for Mental Health by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.Rob Whitley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, and a Research Scientist at the Douglas Research Centre. He is the author of a new book Men's Issues and Men's Mental Health (Springer 2021).  He is currently a Fonds de recherche du Québec-Santé Senior Research Scholar, and an Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He has also held honorary appointments at King’s College London, Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) and Howard University (Washington DC). He has published over 135 academic papers in the field of social and cultural psychiatry; and has written over 100 mental health related articles for lay audiences in diverse venues including Psychology Today, the HuffPost, the Montreal Gazette, the Vancouver Sun and the National Post. Whitley is also a video-producer and script-writer, and has produced several documentaries and short fictional films related to mental health that have been featured in film festivals across North America.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Unfortunately, many mental health clinicians will experience a client’s suicide in the course of their career.  The loss of a client to suicide often reflects  a life changing experience which can require considerable processing to reconcile and reach some kind of understanding.  In parallel, risk assessment can reflect a major source of distress, not only for clinician trainees but likewise for seasoned clinicians.  Clinical psychologist, professor and author, Dr. Lisa Cohen, joins us for a very important discussion around novel ways of conceptualizing suicide and suicide risk assessment which focus on when a client may be at most risk for suicide as opposed to who is at most risk over the course of their lives.  This novel way of conceptualizing suicide may allow for more effective, well-placed interventions as well as augment clinician confidence in their risk assessments.  In this conversation we cover:      the prevalence rates of suicide and how the risk stratifies by age & genderthe most common mental disorder comorbidities of suicidewhat is known about individuals who complete suicide with little to no apparent warning "out of the blue"a brief review of some of the proposed constructs that have emerged for characterizing pre suicidal mental state  (e.g., Suicidal Behaviour Disorder, Suicide Crisis Syndrome, Acute Suicidal Affective Disturbance)how these constructs differ from “longer-term” considerations of predictive risk around suicidality that most clinicians would be familiar with (e.g., hopelessness etc.)how assessment of risk should be undertaken as a function of what is known about shifts in cognitive, behavioural and emotional patterns in the days leading up to a suicide attemptthe kinds of psychotherapeutic or psychiatric interventions that flow from perhaps a higher resolution picture of what the days or hours leading up to a suicide crisis look likemeasures that are available to assess acute riskan overview of the Narrative Crisis Model how clinicians can emotionally relate in a healthy, balanced and sustainable way to the ongoing risk of losing a client to suicidethe value of safety plans/contracts misconceptions that clinicians may be laboring under with respect to the risk assessments they are undertaking Dr. Lisa J. Cohen is clinical professor of psychiatry at the Carl Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, working at the Mount Sinai Beth Israel location.  Dr. Cohen has long been involved with clinically relevant research in a wide range of topics relevant to psychiatry and psychology.  Her more recent research domains have included the risk assessment and psychological correlates of suicide, risk factors for and differential diagnosis of personality pathology, the adult psychological sequelae of childhood maltreatment, as well as the childhood antecedents, psychological correlates, subjective experience and psychological burden of individuals with pedophilia.  She has previously researched opiate addiction, bipolar disorder, & obsessive compulsive disorder. She has also written on psychological assessment.  Dr. Cohen is an author on over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and two books.  Her third book presenting an integrative model of the psychotherapy of personality disorders will be published in 2022.  If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide please go to your local emergency room.  The following resources are also available:  Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566 (24/7), National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (United States): 1-800-273-8255, https://www.opencounseling.com/suici

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Jungian/Depth psychology provides a wonderful framework for exploring questions related to meaning and the self that can at time fall outside of boundaries of what is typically explored in cognitive behavioural therapy.  However, each perspective can offer tools and insights which may enrich the application of the other.  Dr. Sean Fitzpatrick, psychotherapist, author and executive director of The Jung Center in Houston, Texas joins us for a conversation in which we explore:  the origin story of Dr. Fitzpatrick's foray into Jungian/Depthy psychology as well as his experience/training with CBT during his graduate studiesa brief overview of core principles of Jungian/Depth Psychology, including the pivotal role of the self vs. ego, meaning as well as unconscious psychological processesthe role that imagery, fantasy and dreams may play with respect to helping to verbalize emergent ideas about the selfhow CBT clinicians can effectively leverage the use of imagery and fantasy in psychotherapy to explore the emergent selfthe definition of the "shadow" within the Jungian frameworkworking with the "shadow" within psychotherapy to promote actualization of the selfexploration Jung's notion of the midlife passage as a critical developmental process to the actualization of the selfhelping clients to develop flexibility in tolerating aspects of the self which are incongruent with that of the egothe role of symbolism within fantasy/imagery and how to operationalize within the reality of one's own lifeComments or feedback?  Email the show: oicbctpodcast@gmail.comSean Fitzpatrick is a psychotherapist in private practice and the executive director of The Jung Center in Houston, Texas. His book The Ethical Imagination: Exploring Fantasy and Desire in Analytical Psychology was published by Routledge in August 2019. Sean holds masters degrees in religious studies from Rice University and in clinical psychology from the University of Houston — Clear Lake. He received his PhD in psychology, with a specialization in Jungian studies, from Saybrook University. He is a senior fellow of the American Leadership Forum. Sean serves on the board of the Network of Behavioral Health Providers in Houston. He teaches at The Jung Center in Houston and has presented lectures and workshops with a wide range of organizations.