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

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! While most psychotherapists identify with one predominant theoretical orientation, in practice it is common for clinicians to adopt an "eclectic" approach that aligns with the varied lens/interests a clinician might hold as well as to meet the varied needs of clients.  Consultant, coach, author and podcast host, Imi Lo, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly for a very wide-ranging discussion of a variety of topics related to psychotherapy including:   Imi's preferred theoretical orientation, conceptual framework and why she has chosen to focus on work with emotionally intense and highly sensitive peopleblending psychodynamic and CBT principlesa brief discussion of the schema therapy model, with a focus on mode workthe judgment that can be inherent in the conceptualization of personality disorderscurrent conceptualizations of mental illness and the functional utility of "symptoms"the inner lives of highly sensitive, intense peoplethe notion of emotional "over-control" and a brief consideration of the utility of RO-DBT in this contextnavigating & integrating the ongoing tension between champions of "vulnerability" vs "radical self-responsibility"Imi's reflection on process-related aspects of therapymanaging emotional depletion to avoid burnoutreflections on principles of acceptance, and not resisting one's experience (for clinician and client, alike)description of, and navigation of the so-called "midlife passage" some overall thoughts on current areas of interest and growth in psychotherapyImi Lo is a consultant for emotionally intense and highly sensitive people. She is the author of Emotional Sensitivity and Intensity, available in multiple languages, and The Gift of Intensity. Imi is the founder of Eggshell Therapy and Coaching, working with intense people from around the world.  Imi has practised as a social worker and therapist in London (U.K). She has trained in mental health, psychotherapy, art therapy, philosophical counseling, and mindfulness-based modalities. She works holistically, combining psychological insights with Eastern and Western philosophies such as Buddhism.  Imi’s credentials include a Master in Mental Health, Master of Buddhist Studies, Graduate Diploma in Psychology, Bachelor of Social Science in Social Work, Certificate in Logic-based Therapy, and an Advanced Diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy. She has received multiple scholarships and awards including the Endeavour Award by the Australian Government. She has been consulted by and appeared in publications such as The Psychologies Magazine, The Telegraph, Marie Claire, and The Daily Mail.eggshelltherapy.com

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Dreams have long been a source of fascination, mystery & intrigue, yet there is now an abundance of scientific evidence to shed light on the origins, nature, and purpose of this captivating aspect of the human experience.  Sleep neuroscientist Dr. Sidarta Ribeiro, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for an in-depth consideration of many of the themes explored in his book The Oracle of Night: The History & Science of Dreaming.  In this discussion they cover:      what led Dr. Ribeiro to write The Oracle of Night and the meaning behind the titlethe definition of a "dreaming" and the functions dreaming may servethe underlying neuroscience of dreaming parallels between dreams and what is experienced during psychedelic experienceswhy emotions in dreams can feel so incredibly intense compared to that which is experienced when awakethe science behind lucid dreaming and tips on how to become proficient in lucid dreamingthe symbolic meaning and utility of dreams, both individually and collectively the evolutionary significance of dreaming and why has it created an adaptive advantagethe negative impact of modernity on the quality and nature of dreams and our ability to recall/utilize dream contenthow to better remember dreams and become attuned to dream content how acute sleep deprivation can act as an "anti-depressant" in the context of severe depressionthe importance of REM sleep for emotion regulationDr. Ribeiro's thoughts on the biggest unanswered questions in the field of dream study, including how dream content is selected by the brain Dr. Sidarta Ribeiro is a founder and vice director of the Brain Institute at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, where he is also a professor of neuroscience. He received a PhD in animal behavior from The Rockefeller University. Sidarta is the author of The Oracle of Night: The History and Science of Dreaming, his fifth book, and a contributor for Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil´s largest newspaper.  He is a Member of the Latin American Academy of Sciences (ACAL) since 2016, he is associate editor of the journals PLoS One, Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience and Frontiers In Psychology - Language Sciences. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Latin American School for Educational, Cognitive and Neural Sciences and the Center for Research, Innovation and Education in Neuromathematics (NeuroMat). He served as secretary of the Brazilian Society of Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC) from 2009-2011 and was a member of the Brazilian committee of the Pew Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences between 2011 and 2015.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! While many parenting books and websites emphasize the critical role of the parent in influencing a child's behaviour, it is frequently overlooked that all children possess a genetically driven temperament which exerts a powerful influence not only on the child's behaviour, but on the behaviour of their parents.  Dr. Danielle Dick, joins us for a discussion of some of the core ideas contained in her new book The Child Code: Understanding Your Child's Unique Nature for Happier, More Effective Parenting.  In this discussion we consider: Dr. Dick's motivation for writing The Child Code despite the current wealth of parenting books availablea definitive description of the influence of genes on our behaviour, along with a consideration of the actual ability of parents to influence life outcomeshow the heritability of the traits actually goes up over the lifespan owing to self-selection into environments that resonate with our traits.introduction to the "Big Three" dimensions of temperament: Extraversion, Emotionality & Effortful Controlexamples of how to leverage understanding of a child's temperament to optimize the parenting approach to promote "goodness of fit"the surprising consequences of parent and child being "over matched" on certain dimensions of temperament tips for parents to manage guilt & distress arising from challenges around fit with one's child, despite an abundance of unconditional lovethe difference between temperament and disorder and when parents should consult a mental health professionalDr. Dick's suggestions for managing the complex task of parenting across independent households in the wake of a separation or divorce - especially where  different parenting styles are presentstrategies for helping parents to understand the impact of their own temperament on perceptions of their childDanielle M. Dick, Ph.D., is the distinguished Commonwealth Professor of Psychology and Human and Molecular Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she directs a research institute on behavioral and emotional health. She is an internationally recognized and award-winning expert on genetic and environmental influences on human behavior. Dr. Dick has received grant funding totaling in excess of $25 million from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and private foundations. She has more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, and has won numerous national and international awards for her work.https://www.danielledick.com

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of psychotherapists were forced to migrate their practice to teletherapy or secure video.  While many have embraced this new mode of practice and have even found enhancements to their delivery of therapy, others are eager to return to the office or adopt a hybrid model.  Dr. Hannah Zeavin, author of the The Distance Cure: A History Teletherapy, joins us for a conversation around the history of teletherapy as well as systems-level implications for the wide adoption of teletherapy. In this conversation we cover:     the biggest misconceptions that psychotherapists are likely to labouring under with respect to the history and deployment of teletherapya discussion of the reality of every therapeutic exchange - whether virtual, in the office or otherwise - being mediated in some respect and existing within a "frame"the evidence-base around teletherapy3rd party payers stance towards teletherapy and whether a distinction between in-office therapy and teletherapy remains relevantthe dysfunctional focus on "activities" vs "outcomes" in an insurance-driven mental health system and how teletherapy could unwittingly accentuate this dynamicconsideration of therapy-process related factors in the context of teletherapy (e.g., client seeing the clinician within their home environment & vice versa)implications of the the appification/commodification of mental health services via digital platformsthe dangers of "batch processing" and "gamification" in the provision of therapy within a commodified mental health systemthe potential for the digital distribution of services to create “winner takes all” outcomes and the danger of a cost leader further commodifying mental health via call-center models or similarPotential unintended consequences of national licensure around the commodification of mental health services Dr. Zeavin's thoughts on the questions clinicians and practices should be grappling with right now in the context of tele therapyHannah Zeavin is a Lecturer in the Departments of English and History at the University of California, Berkeley and is on the Executive Committee of the University of California at Berkeley Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, and Society and on the Executive Committee of the Berkeley Center for New Media. Additionally, she is a visiting fellow at the Columbia University Center for the Study of Social Difference. Dr. Zeavin’s first book, The Distance Cure: A History of Teletherapy is now out from MIT Press, with a Foreword by John Durham Peters. She is at work on her second book, Mother’s Little Helpers: Technology in the American Family (MIT Press, 2023).  Dr. Zeavin serves as an Editorial Associate for The Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association and is a co-founder of The STS Futures Initiative. Other work has appeared in or is forthcoming from American Imago, differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Real Life Magazine, Slate, The Washington Post, Logic Magazine, and beyond. Dr. Zeavin received her B.A. from Yale University in 2012 and her Ph.D. from the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! While trauma perpetuated by traumatic loss or imminent threat to one’s life is familiar and salient to most psychotherapists, the pervasiveness & severity of trauma precipitated by "moral injury" experienced during and/or after a trauma is frequently underestimated and overlooked as a factor that can exacerbate and/or maintain PTSD.  Internationally recognized expert in PTSD, psychologist, researcher & author, Dr. Brett Litz, joins us for an interview around the Adaptive Disclosure (AD) psychotherapy protocol.  In this episode we cover:  the nuances involved with conceptualizing and treating operational stress injuries among military personnel, including a review of the biggest misconceptions that clinicians unfamiliar with this population might harbour and how this could impact treatmentthe definition of a moral injury and an overview of the two major types of moral injury (i.e., moral injury "self" & moral injury "other")consideration of the "moral" emotions of shame & anger in the context of moral injurychallenges of treating moral injury as well as subtle or overt signs that a client might be affected by a moral injurythe origin of Adaptive Disclosure (AD) and where it departs from other CBT-based trauma therapies such as Prolonged Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Processing Therapythe basic theoretical framework/some of the core assumptions of Adaptive Disclosuredescriptions of some of the core therapeutic interventions in Adaptive Disclosurethe unique challenges of delivering any psychotherapy - including Adaptive Disclosure - within the context of a military population (e.g., over control, overregulation)  a brief outline of the next iteration of Adaptive Disclosure - Adaptive Disclosure Enhanced (ADE), which emphasizes to an even great extent increased flexibility in provision of therapy, an emphasis on functioning (as opposed to symptoms) and integration of compassion trainingDr. Litz is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological and Brain Sciences and is also the Director of the Mental Health Core of the Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiological Research and Information Center at the VA Boston Healthcare System. Dr. Litz is internationally recognized as an expert on PTSD, military trauma, and the early intervention and treatment of trauma, traumatic loss, and moral injury.  Dr. Litz recent work entails the development and validation of a new measure of moral injury as a multidimensional outcome (the Moral Injury Outcome Scale; a public domain scale available by emailing Dr. Litz) and conducting a VA funded multi site clinical trial testing an expanded version of Adaptive Disclosure on Veterans with PTSD. Adaptive Disclosure is a flexible multidimensional psychotherapy that employs different strategies to target threat-based, loss-related, and moral injury-related trauma. Dr. Litz has over 370 peer reviewed publications and is a fellow of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, the American Psychopathological Association, and the Association for Psychological Science.https://www.bu.edu/psych/people/litzb/http://www.guilford.com/books/Adaptive-Disclosure/Litz-Lebowitz-Gray-Nash/9781462523290

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! While self-care is widely acknowledged as being critical to effective and sustainable engagement in the provision of mental health services, it is an area of focus that is frequently neglected by mental health professionals for a variety of complex reasons.  Co-founders of the website Intentional Therapist, Drs. Karen Dyck & Melissa Tieseen, return to Thoughts on Record to discuss workplace hazards that mental health professionals must navigate.  We also review fundamental aspects of self-care necessary to effectively navigate these hazards.  In this discussion we cover:    General 'workplace hazards' that must be navigated by mental health professionals including:Patient behavioursWorking conditionsEmotional depletionPsychic/interpersonal isolationComplexity of therapeutic relationshipsPersonal disruptionsImpact of the pandemic on therapists and their practice:The need for continuous adjustments/managing uncertainty over the past 1.5 yearsTeletherapy-specific impacts on clinician well-being (but also considering emergent opportunties)Overall impact on therapists' well-beingCombatting the hazards (especially within the context of the current pandemic) - The 4 C’s of Self-Care:Community/ConnectionCompassionCourageCreativityDr. Karen Dyck completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of South Dakota and currently works in private practice in Oakbank, Manitoba.  She is also presently the Executive Director of the Manitoba Psychological Society.  Before shifting to private practice, Karen spent the bulk of her career working within the Rural and Northern Psychology Program at the University of Manitoba’s Department of Clinical Health Psychology, and is a former chair of the Rural and Northern Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association.  Dr. Melissa Tiessen completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at McGill University and currently works in private practice in Ottawa, Ontario.  Melissa also previously worked in the Rural and Northern Psychology Program at the University of Manitoba, as well as has served as the Education Director for the CPA, overseeing the organization’s accreditation and continuing education activities.  Karen and Melissa both have a longstanding interest in self-care and workplace wellness initiatives.  Recognizing that there are so many female mental health professionals, like themselves, who are trying to balance careers with additional caregiving roles, in 2019 Karen and Melissa co-founded Intentional Therapist.  Their mission is to help female mental health professionals stay healthy and happy through intentional, creative, and playful self-care.  https://www.intentionaltherapist.ca

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! In many contexts - both in-person and online - it can often feel like reasonable behaviour, the ability to constructively disagree, and basic kindness are in short supply.  Award-winning science journalist and author, Melissa Wenner Moyer, joins us to discuss some of the themes in her new book How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes.  In this discussion we cover:a consideration of the evidence that parenting is failing children and creating an increase in bad behaviour  features of the current environment that could be selecting for/promoting bad behaviour among childrenMelinda's reflection on what has changed the most for children growing up in the 70s or 80s vs those who have been raised in the last 10 to 15 years  the critical link between generosity and successimpulse control & emotion vs. self-esteem as the primary driver of a child's sense of self-worth and contentednessthe key role of bearing responsibility and managing adversity (in reasonable doses) in creating tolerable adultsthe value of providing children with frank, direct feedback while remaining attuned to the overall attachment with your childhow to talk about lying with children and to work through contradictions that children may notice in their parent's behaviour around lying on a near-daily basis Melinda's thoughts and words of encouragement for parents who are worried that they are not living up to their ideal as parentsMelinda Wenner Moyer is a contributing editor at Scientific Americanmagazine and a regular contributor to The New York Times, Washington Post, and other national magazines and newspapers. She is a faculty member in the Science, Health & Environmental Reporting program at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her first book, How To Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, was published in July 2021 by J.P. Putnam’s Sons. Melinda was the recipient of the 2019 Bricker Award for Science Writing in Medicine, and her work was featured in the 2020 Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. She was also awarded a 2018 Alicia Patterson Foundation fellowship. Moyer’s work has won first place prizes in the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, the Folio Eddie Awards and the Annual Writing Awards of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. It has also been shortlisted for a James Beard Journalism Award, a National Academy of Sciences Communication Award and a National Magazine Award. She has a master’s in Science, Health & Environmental Reporting from NYU and a background in cell and molecular biology. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two children, and her dog.https://www.melindawennermoyer.comMelindawmoyer.substack.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 fall - we’ve got lots of great guests lined up and we’re really looking forward to those conversations!  Just as a quick reflection, it’s been such a joy recording and putting out the podcast - we’re so grateful to each and every guest for their contribution to the journey that we’ve been on with the podcast which is basically trying to get just a little bit closer to understanding the unbelievably complex phenomenon that is human psyche.  Hopefully we've been making a little bit of headway there.  At last count there were over 2.5 million active podcasts on the Apple podcast platform - that is 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.  Thank you so much for listening.  We really hope you enjoy the rest of season 2!If you’ve 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.  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.   Well, that’s it for now - looking forward to picking up the conversation in September!Take good care,Dr. Pete Kelly & the team at OICBThttps://www.ottawacbt.ca/https://twitter.com/ottawacbt

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! Finland is consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world by the United Nations.  Author & journalist, Katja Pantzar, who has written extensively about the potential wellness promoting aspects of the Finnish ethos in The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu (as well as her upcoming book Everyday Sisu: Tapping into Finnish Fortitude for a Happier, More Resilient Life) joins us for a discussion of: a brief overview of some of the features of the Finnish lifestyle that contribute to wellnessreflections on Katja's journey back to her ancestral FinlandKatja's lifelong struggle with depression & anxiety and how she has found healing in the Finnish lifestylethe definition, origin and day-to-day application of the concept of Sisu and why it is so central to the Finnish mindset finding strength in vulnerability and realistic expectationsFinnish society's stance towards mental healththe therapeutic benefits of cold (ice bath) and hot treatments (sauna) for psychological well-being and the cultural and psychosocial significance of the sauna to the Finnsthe generally active lifestyle enjoyed by many Finns and the potential implications for wellnessthe role that exposure to nature can play in the maintenance of wellness how alternating exposure to prolonged periods of light and darkness influences the rhythm of Finnish life and how it may affect the national mindsetHost note: this episode is dedicated to all the wonderful Finns who have shown me so much kindness and hospitality over the years, especially the Häkli and Bensky families. Katja Pantzar is a Helsinki-based writer, editor and broadcast journalist. Raised in Canada, with stints in New Zealand and the UK, Katja writes on a variety of topics ranging from wellbeing and mental health to sustainability, social issues, inclusivity, design, travel and business. She is currently working on her second book about sisu, a unique Finnish form of grit in the face of challenges, big and small. Everyday Sisu: Tapping into Finnish Fortitude for a Happier, More Resilient Life will be published by Penguin Random House US in February 2022. It’s a follow-up to her first sisu book, The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu which was published in 22 territories around the world during 2018 and 2019 and translated into 20 different languages. She has been a regular contributor to Blue Wings, the inflight magazine of Finnair, and worked as a freelance broadcast journalist (TV, radio and web) with Yle News at the Finnish public broadcasting corporation, and as an occasional Helsinki correspondent for Monocle 24. Her articles have appeared in  newspapers ranging from the Globe and Mail (Canada) to magazines such as Elle (Denmark). Katja is also the author of two guidebooks to the Finnish capital, Helsinki by Light (Siltala/2015) and 100 things to do in Helsinki (Siltala/2017). Katja holds a master’s degree in International Journalism from the City University of London (England) and a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Simon Fraser University (Canada).https://twitter.com/KatjaPantzarhttps://www.instagram.com/katjapantzar/

Comments or feedback? Send us a text! While we typically take constructing and making sense of our internal and external world for granted, the brain employs a sophisticated mapping system to help construct, organize & navigate a functional and workable reality.  Author and neuroscientist, Dr. Rebecca Schwarzlose, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for an in-depth discussion of some of the core themes in her new book Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain - And How They Guide You.  In this discussion they cover:what a brain map is and why our brain (or brains in general) are organized in this fashion why spatial representation of the world is generally conserved in a brain map how and why adverse early life events can influence or modify the development of brain mapsimplications of brain maps for artificial intelligence as well as virtual reality and other immersive  experiences (e.g., watching a movie)how brain maps across various sensory modalities are combinedhow external factors such as environment, culture etc. can influence brain mapping the importance of neuroplasticity in brain mappingthe role brain maps could play in the formation of consciousnessthe role and activation of brain mapping in body memories reported by clients who have experienced trauma   a number of fun and speculative questions with respect to implications of brain maps related to extrasensory perception, meaning, morality etc.   some of the potential implications of brain maps for cliniciansRebecca Schwarzlose is a neuroscientist at Washington University in St. Louis. Schwarzlose is the recipient of many accolades including the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award. Among her notable scientific accomplishments is the discovery and naming of an entire new brain region (the fusiform body area). She holds a PhD in neuroscience from MIT and has served as chief editor of the scholarly journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. She lives in St. Louis.  Brainscapes was supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.https://gardenofthemind.com/https://sites.wustl.edu/children/people/rebecca-schwarzlose/https://www.amazon.ca/Brainscapes-Warped-Wondrous-Written-Brain/dp/1328949966