DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Commercialized psychiatric and psychological knowledge encourages us to think of ourselves primarily as consumers and promotes a set of values that suggest some of us have minds or brains that should be ‘fixed’ with particular products or services. These neoliberal values have led to a great deal of institutional corruption and also has been exported beyond the western world across the globe. Many researchers, clinicians and activists have rallied together to fight against medicalized global mental health initiatives which promote a narrow westernized notion of wellness and defined how treatment should look, often at the expense of local healing practices and without the participation of people with lived experience. Justin Karter, couseling psychologist, and research news editor at Mad In America, has spent a long time advocating for epistemic justice in the psy disciplines and helping to expose practices and policies that undermine people’s human rights and agency.

In this episode we discuss:

• how the political and psychological meet within and outside of therapy
• commercialization of psychopharmaceuticals and institutional corruption
• how neoliberalism and capitalist values are embedded in psychiatry
• the global mental health movement and psychiatric export as a neocolonial practice
• the ways in which global advocates with lived experience uniting and fighting back
• the need for epistemic justice, humility, and polyphony
• legal updates from the UN Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• psychological humanities, mad studies, and other exciting emerging disciples of study

Bio: Justin M. Karter, PhD, is a Counseling Psychologist in private practice in Boston and an instructor for the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics at Boston College. He is also the long-time research news editor of the Mad in America webzine. He completed his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2021. Justin does research in critical psychology, critical psychiatry, and philosophy of psychology. He is currently working on a book on the activism of psychosocial disability advocates in the context of the movement for global mental health.

Links:

1. Exploring the Fault Lines in Mental Health Discourse - Mad In America - https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/10/interview-psychologist-justin-karter/
2. Can Psychosocial Disability Transform Global Mental Health? - https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/08/can-psychosocial-disability-decolonize-mental-health-a-conversation-with-luis-arroyo-and-justin-karter/
3. Boston College Psychological Humanities - https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/Psychological-Humanities-Ethics/About.html#tab-mission_and_history
4. Justin’s Research Gate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin-Karter

Resources Mentioned

• Psychiatry Under The Influence by Robert Whitaker and Lisa Cosgrove - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137516022
• Vikram Patel lancet article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02241-9/abstract
• UN CRPD: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-Disabilities.html

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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The language we have for describing mental health challenges and suffering can constrict or expand the realm of possibilities for how we define ourselves. Sascha Altman DuBrul has spent his life challenging mainstream assumptions about mental health, what’s normal and abnormal, and built a community around shifting the narrative. Drawing from his personal experiences of getting locked up in a psych ward, he co-founded a radical mental health support group and media project (The Icarus Project) which proliferated the language of mental health concerns as ‘Dangerous Gifts,’ to be harnessed and worked with rather than obliterated and erased. Today we talk about lessons learned, the challenges and necessity of community organizing, developing ethical values as a provider outside the system, and visions for the future of mental health.

In this episode:02:30 Sascha’s Story & The Icarus Project
07:53 From Punk Rock Subcultures to Radical Mental Health
11:11 Challenges and Transitions in Mental Health Organizing
17:14 Dangerous Gifts and other language
26:46 Using Internal Family Systems to Process Shame
42:35 Self-reflection in Community Organizing
51:30 A Vision for the Future

Bio

Sascha DuBrul is a writer and educator that has been facilitating workshops and community dialogues at universities, conferences, community centers and activist gatherings for more than two decades. From the anarchist squatter community in New York City to the Lacandon jungle of Chiapas, Mexico, to the Earth First! road blockades of the Pacific Northwest, Sascha is a pioneer in urban farming and creative mental health advocacy. He is the co-founder of the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library, the first urban seed library in North America, and The Icarus Project, a radical community support network and media project that’s actively redefining the language and culture of mental health and illness. He is currently working in private practice and raising two children in Oakland, California.

Sascha’s Website & Private Practice: https://www.saschadubrul.com/

Underground Transmissions Substack : https://undergroundtransmissions.substack.com/

The Icarus Project Archive and Resources: https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/about-us

Icarus Project Archive Survey 2024https://forms.gle/3EvDGq7NoyHa2Rzr9

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Are most mental health concerns a result of issues with cellular metabolism? In this episode, I discuss Dr. Chris Palmer’s 'brain energy theory,' which draws on decades of cross-disciplinary research, positing that metabolic dysfunctions throughout the body may underlie various mental health conditions. I explore how mental health, chronic illness, stress, modern lifestyle, and cellular metabolism are all related in an ongoing feedback loop. I review a landmark pilot study from Stanford on the ketogenic diet, and other research supporting this theory. This is a really exciting time for psychiatry as we move beyond neurotransmitter imbalance theories and understand the complex nuances of brain and body health. Studies such as these can promote more agency to make healthy choices and options to intervene at many levels in service of our health.

00:00 Introduction00:26 Challenging the dominant paradigm01:23 The Brain Energy Theory of metabolic health explained06:00 The Role of Cellular Metabolism & Mitochondria11:25 How our environment sets the stage14:16 Nutritional interventions and the ketogenic diet15:42 Case Studies and Research Findings

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

Links

• Brain Energy by Chris Palmer https://brainenergy.com/
• Metabolic Mind https://www.metabolicmind.org/
• Stanford Pilot Trial description: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2024/04/keto-diet-mental-illness.html
• Case study of depression and anxiety: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1396685/full
• Review of Keto for Mental Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11122005/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“Our mental health is a cumulative product of the story of the body.” Why do mental and physical health concerns seem to go hand in hand? At which levels can and should we intervene and develop more agency in our whole health trajectory? Too many people are getting more sick with traditional interventions, but many are taking their power back and finding ways that basic and sustainable changes can change our outcomes. In this episode, I share personal and professional lessons in healing from over a dozen chronic conditions (celiac, depression, IBS, Lyme, anemia, schizophrenia, PMDD, etc.), revealing how they were all connected and how I came to understand the importance of sustainable changes. I am not here to offer a “magic pill” kind of story, but rather to reveal and embrace the complexity of healing and offer a different framework for understanding mind-body health.

In this episode we discuss:

• chronic illness and mental health overlap
• early cascades of symptoms that lead to chronic health crises
• surprising roots causes no one ever told me about
• why getting diagnosed is not enough to determine interventions
• interpreting the body’s messages
• why western world has worse rates of chronic illness and mental health concerns
• determining the most basic and sustainable interventions

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠

Links

• chronic illness rates : https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletter-article/study-chronic-disease-increased-25-percent-over-last-decade
• global chronic disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6214883/
• c section and swabbing : https://www.science.org/content/article/swabbing-c-section-babies-mom-s-microbes-can-restore-healthy-bacteria
• effects of overuse of antibiotics: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4939477/
• pans and step bacteria: https://www.psych.theclinics.com/article/S0193-953X(22)00101-0/abstract

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“A new order will emerge from within the chaos” - Sara Avant Stover

Being human means experiencing loss. If we let it, these moments can propel us towards a deeper, richer inner journey. In this episode of the Depth Work podcast, Sarah Avant Stover shares her profound experiences through many circumstances of grief and heartbreak, detailing the events that led her to write her latest book. She discusses the unique nature of betrayal trauma, the transformative power of grief, and the significance of ritual and communal support in healing. Her exploration into Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and its impact on her is also highlighted. In fact, she was generous enough to demonstrate an IFS session in real time with yours truly

00:06 Sara’s story02:13 Betrayal Trauma and Its Unique Challenges04:14 The Transformative Power of Grief12:16 Navigating the Early + Later Stages of Grief14:51 Collective Grief and Community Healing19:48 The Role of Rituals in Healing25:20 Exploring Internal Family Systems (IFS)32:29 Demonstrating a session - Jazmine’s parts48:35 Understanding Inner Child Dynamics

Bio

Sara Avant Stover is an author, Certified Internal FamilySystems practitioner, and teacher and mentor of women’sspirituality and entrepreneurship. Her work—integratingBuddhism, embodiment, and psychology—has uplifted thelives of countless women worldwide. She has taught atKripalu, 1440 Multiversity, and Shambhala MountainCenter and has been featured in Yoga Journal, HuffPost,Newsweek, Natural Health, and more. She lives in Boulder,Colorado. For more, visit saraavantstover.com.

Links

• Handbook for the Heartbroken: A Woman's Path from Devastation to RebirthBy Sara Avant Stover https://www.soundstrue.com/products/handbook-for-the-heartbroken?variant=43436021809351
• Website https://saraavantstover.com/about
• Programs: https://saraavantstover.com/offerings
• Podcast: https://saraavantstover.com/podcast/

Resources Mentioned

• Jody Day https://gateway-women.com/
• Sobonfu Some https://www.sobonfu.com/
• Daniel Foor https://ancestralmedicine.org/bio/

Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Its becoming more well known that gut health impacts mental health, but with the rise of ‘wellness culture’ how do we separate fact from fiction? Dr. Supriya Rao of Gutsy Girl MD bridges the gap between medicine and lifestyle to give patients simple and effective support for gut health, motility, and nutrition. We talk about the topics patients are often too embarrassed to discuss (elimination!), what trauma has to do with the gut, and the things we can do each day to support ourselves.

In this episode we discuss:

• how gut health is linked to mental health
• the enteric nervous system and trauma
• why it’s important to screen for sexual abuse
• motility and issues with constipation and diarrhea
• simple effective nutrition tips
• 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine
• dispelling wellness myths

Bio

Dr. Supriya Rao (she/her) is a quadruple board-certified physician in internal medicine, gastroenterology, obesity medicine and lifestyle medicine who focuses on digestive disorders, gut health, obesity medicine, and women's health and wellness. She received her undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after which she graduated from Duke University School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine from the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. She went on to complete her fellowship in Gastroenterology at Boston Medical Center. She joined Integrated Gastroenterology Consultants in 2014 and is now a managing partner. She completed further certification in obesity and lifestyle medicine and is the Director of Medical Weight Loss at Lowell General Hospital and runs the Metabolic & Lifestyle Medicine Program at IGIC. She also runs the motility program, which focuses on disorders of the esophagus, irritable bowel syndrome and anorectal disorders. She is passionate about empowering people to improve their health through sustainable changes in their lifestyle. She enjoys cooking, traveling, running, yoga and spending time with family and friends. You can also find Dr. Rao on Instagram @gutsygirlmd.

Links

https://www.gutsygirlmd.com/

Sessions & Information about the host:

Get bonus episodes now on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/

⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Millions of people are put on psychiatric drugs each year. For some, these drugs are desired and effective, but for many, whether taken willingly or by force, they create multiple harmful side effects, long-term health complications, and are incredibly challenging to taper off of. Users of psychiatric drugs also rarely find professional or even peer support for tapering off due to the stigma and discrimination and a false narrative that implies users must remain on them for life. Chaya Grossberg, psychiatric survivor and ally, has supported people for over 15 years in finding alternatives and maintaining their agency, a role that is much needed. After becoming ill and nearly dying from the multiple psychiatric drugs she was prescribed, she decided to slowly taper off with support from the Freedom Center (a peer support organization) and heal the damage done to her body. Now, an activist, community organizer and writer of her book: “Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs”, Chaya shares her wisdom.

In this episode we discuss:

• what it was like to take 7 different psychiatric medications
• how to change and reclaim your narrative
• crisis as a retrieval of life purpose
• what we want young people to know today
• how pharmaceutical companies use non-profits and peer organization to perpetuate propaganda
• why nutrition matters when coming off psych meds
• case studies of successful tapering off
• withdrawal symptoms and the false narratives told about them
• the risk of SI due to being on or coming off psych meds
• taking a basic needs framework

Bio

Author Chaya Grossberg discusses her book Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs about what people go through coming off psychiatric drugs and what helps them. Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs is a manual and workbook for psychiatric survivors and their allies, friends and families. Chaya is not a medical practitioner, does not give medical advice, and supports the autonomy of each individual to make their own decisions on when or whether to come off psychiatric drugs. She advocates for increased options, support and safe spaces for people seeking alternatives to psychiatric drugs.

website: http://www.chayagrossberg.com

Book: Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs: First edition

Resources

the freedom center - https://www.freedom-center.willhall.net/node/463.html

Links

Institute for the Development of Human Arts (mental health training institute) - www.IDHA-NYC.org

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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"When someone says that they want to end their life, it just means that they don't want to be living the life that they're living" (Icarus Project). It’s overwhelmingly common for people to experience a suicidal ideation at some point in their life. As a society, we have to find better ways of preventing or approaching these experiences. Currently, our traditional psychiatric approaches seem to often do more harm than good for folks in vulnerable states. In this episode, I review some of the concerning research around SI interventions, and what we can do better.

In this episode we discuss:

• myths about folks who experience SI
• why structured clinical assessments aren’t predictive of SA
• what traditional mental health systems get wrong about approaching SI
• why there are higher rates of SA after psychiatric hospitalization
• research on efficacy of emergency services
• alternative options when someone’s experiencing SI

Resources

• Institute for the Development of Human Arts : www.idha-nyc.org
• peer run respite centers: https://power2u.org/directory-of-peer-respites/
• Alt 2 Su (australia): https://alt2su-nsw.net/support-groups/
• Alt 2 Su charter https://wildfloweralliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/CHARTER_alt2su_August-edits.pdf

Research:

• safety contracts https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18638213/
• assessments and lack of predictive power https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673-022-10189-5
• post-hospitalization suicide risk https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2629522
• higher risk post emergency services https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-014-0912-2
• coercion survey https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31162700/
• harm disguised as help https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/09/suicide-police-harm-disguised-as-help/
• hospitalization both increased and decreased risk https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37851457/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“When medical doctors or psychiatrists entertain incoherent ideas about the mind and body, they make bad decisions about how to assist us in being well.” - Diane O’Leary. Understanding how the mind and body are connected in mental health and medicine is critical, especially considering that when we fail to do so, many are harmed. Despite drawing on the Biopsychosocial model for the last few decades, psychiatry hasn’t gotten much closer to elucidating the connections between the mind, body, and society. Today, Diane O’Leary explains to us psychiatry’s big philosophy problem and how it leads to huge ethical concerns. In an effort to ‘not be dualists’ psychiatry often tries to lump the mental and physical together, but in doing so, fails to approach clients as ‘holists’. Here’s how we can bring the person back into mental health.

In this episode we discuss:

• why medically unexplained physiological symptoms get labeled as ‘in your head’
• why the way to be a ‘holist’ is not about eradicating dualism or separating mind and body
• why the biopsychosocial model is incoherent and doesn’t do justice to patients
• the roots of bad philosophy in psychiatry
• women’s health and the history of manipulation in psychosomatic medicine
• why psychiatry needs to reevaluate its bioethics and respect patients’ rights and personhood

Bio

Diane O’Leary, PhD is a philosopher whose research focuses on medicine and psychiatry. In particular, she sets out to apply philosophy of mind in a way that helps to clarify what biomedicine and psychiatry are aiming for with holistic practice – and what they should be aiming for. Dr. O’Leary is Professor of Philosophy at University of Maryland Global Campus, and a former visiting researcher at the Center for Philosophy of Science at University of Pittsburgh. She’s a strong advocate for change in the area of psychosomatic medicine, and she’s currently a Public Voices Fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with The Oped Project and Equality Now.

https://www.dianeoleary.com/

Links:

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: www.idha-nyc.org

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠⁠

Resources

• How to be a Holist who Rejects the Biopsychosocial Model https://eujap.uniri.hr/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/17_2_5.pdf
• John Read on the “Bio bio bio model” https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=fc53f77bec3514fe6c66f9216be662a89b78fa27
• Prozac’s rebrand for PMDD to Serafim - https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/04/29/renamed-prozac-fuels-womens-health-debate/b05311b4-514a-4e65-aaa5-434cb2934271/ &https://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2016/11/how-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-was-defined-and-marketed-drug-makers/#:~:text=Lilly rebranded Prozac%2C changing the,feminine-sounding name — Sarafem.

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Sometimes it takes a healing crisis to get to the roots of chronic illness and transform our life into something more sustainable and purposeful. For Fern Olivia, this crisis manifested as an autoimmune thyroid problem - Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis - that forced her to quit her corporate job and led her down a healing path. Since then, she has developed Thyroid Yoga, along with other breath, movement, and vocal practices to support people who desire a more holistic way of dealing with whole-body health concerns.

In this episode we discuss:

• the connections between the thyroid, hormones, and depression
• why hypothyroidism is more prevalent in women and diagnostically overshadowed
• messages from the body and why we ignore or normalize symptoms
• the function of the thyroid, physically and energetically
• the value of mentorship and community support
• learning to not be antagonistic with the body
• body talk practice and how to deeply listen
• blending yogic traditions and holistic nutrition
• using your voice to find your power

Bio

Fern Olivia is an internationally recognized teacher, speaker, and wellness influencer, as well as the founder of Thyroid Yoga®, a unique holistic program that has empowered thousands of women to reclaim their thyroid health and live a fuller, more radiant life. After fainting in the subway in NYC while working for seven years as a Vice President on Wall Street, she left the concrete jungle for the jungle of Costa Rica where she lives and guides retreats. Fern has birthed a new approach to healing through her own education in biomedical engineering and over a decade of experience and certifications in yoga, integrative medicine, breathwork and as a Medical Medium cleanse specialist. She combines targeted yoga sequences, breathwork, vocal activation, somatic intelligence, and brain rewiring to form a whole body approach to health. Through her masterminds, writings, retreats, workshops, and much more, Fern continues to educate and train thousands of women to reclaim their health and live their most fully expressed lives.

Fern's "The Expressed Woman" 21-Day Quest to Confidence:

www.thyroid.yoga/products/theexpressedwoman

Join Fern's Medical Medium & Thyroid Yoga® Cleanse Retreat in Upstate NY this July 10-14: www.thyroid.yoga/products/upstateny

Retreats and Cleanses in Costa Rica: www.thyroid.yoga/cleanseretreat

Websites:

www.fernolivia.com

www.thyroid.yoga

https://embodiedvoicebreathwork.com

Instagram: @fernolivia

Research:

Epstein Barr Virus a possible cause for Autoimmune Thyroid conditions:

1. https://www.palomahealth.com/learn/epstein-barr-virus-thyroid
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5099387/

Thyroid Conditions and Increased Risk of Depression

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9392461/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9025086/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Ever have an existential crisis that made you upend all your beliefs about who you thought you were in life? Abby has, and today she speaks to the power of unlearning oppressive ideologies that we all have inherited, and how patriarchy can seep into all notions of what’s healthy, normal, and how we should live. Abby’s work centers on cultivating shame resilience through allowing ourselves to engage in “belief grief” - giving up toxic beliefs about our roles and identities so we can foster collective liberation. We also talk about bridging generational divides and the gifts that come when we can learn to listen especially to younger folks.

In this episode we discuss:

• the value of existential crises
• getting unstuck from gender roles and refusing to live someone else’s story
• finding your voice in midlife
• how mentors and teachers show up in all places in life - even within your children
• knowing your privilege, cultivating shame resilience and being willing to change your mind
• ‘belief grief’ and letting harmful internalized beliefs go

Abby Kamen's Bio:

I am an artist, author, and energist. With candor and wit, I seek to provide a thought provoking look at generational trauma and the cyclical effects of survivalism. With my art, my writing, and my energetic gifts, I provide an innovative approach to collective healing that will enable all of humanity to create better, together. I live in Louisville, KY.

WEBSITE: abbykamen.com

Resources

What is Belief Grief: https://www.abbykamen.com/belief-grief-defined

Links

Generation We: https://www.abbykamen.com/generation-we

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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They say many therapists get into this work for deeply personal reasons, but not many have held so many roles the way today’s guest, Denise Ranaghan, has. Denise gets real about what it was like being forcibly locked up in a psychiatric institute while in the military, working her way through school to become a therapist, directing community mental health services while being open about her mental health ‘status’ as a peer professional, and then having the courage to leave the system and go off on her own as an activist and therapist in private practice. Denise talks about the double edged sword of relying on oppressive authoritative systems while internalizing self-blame, and the courage it takes to bring a critical consciousness into your work.

In this episode we discuss:

• growing up a ‘troubled teen’
• forced involuntary psychiatric institutionalization
• authoritative abuse and internalizing self-blame
• identifying and de-identifying with the ‘patient’ label
• swallowing vs acting out anger
• moral injury as a provider in the system
• being ‘out’ as a peer working in clinical settings
• self doubt, endurism and developing better boundaries as a therapist
• being a apart of a community and making local changes
• knowing your privilege
• intergenerational collaboration and undoing agism

Bio

Denise Ranaghan shares a powerful personal story of recovery that has driven her 20-year record of service in the mental health field. She has held multiple positions including Residential Manager, Peer Specialist, Director of Wellness Services, Director of Assertive Community Treatment, and Director of Peer Services. In all of her positions she strove to include the peer perspective and vehemently called out oppressive practices, and eventually came to terms with how she was contributing to them. She was one of the first in several agencies who publicly identified as a Peer while in professional roles. She introduced and supported alternative peer run self help groups that challenged the “clinician knows best” belief. Denise has presented on Peer Support, Trauma-Informed Care, Voice hearing, Cultural Diversity, Suicide and The Human Canine connection. She is the author of multiple essays on recovery as well as the book Institutional Eyes which profiles her experience in the military where she was first psychiatrically hospitalized. Presently she has a private practice in Woodstock, NY, she serves on the Ulster County Community Services Board, the Mental health subcommittee and is a member a local Social Justice Committee. She says she has found community with a purpose at IDHA!

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/denise-ranaghan-lake-hill-ny/823460

Resources

Transformative Mental Health Training Institute (international membership) www.idha-nyc.org

Links

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Some of the most egregious harms have been done in the name of “help,” and this is especially true when it comes to forced psychiatric interventions. Investigative journalist, Rob Wipond illuminates the systemic harms of the psychiatric system after experiencing his father attempt to get help and instead of care, be met with coercion and force. As many find out, this is an all too common story. The evidence that psychiatric detention is beneficial to people is lacking, yet rates continue to dramatically rise. From mental health laws and policies, to corruption in pharmaceutical companies, and even political organizations lobbying for more control, all grease the wheels of power and injustice.

In this episode we discuss:

• the politics of forced psychiatric treatment and why it is harmful
• how the evidence on forced treatment is systematically hidden
• the ins and out of mental health laws
• why there’s a higher suicide risk in the weeks after psychiatric hospitalization
• how giving people the label of ‘lacking insight’ is dangerous and false
• several alternative interventions and why we need more advocates
• advice for family members
• the cultural shift that’s needed

Rob Wipond is a freelance investigative journalist who writes frequently about the interfaces between psychiatry, civil rights, community issues, policing, surveillance and privacy, and social change. His articles have been nominated for seventeen magazine and journalism awards in science, law, business, and community issues, and he’s the author of the book Your Consent is Not Required: The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, and Abusive Guardianships.

Links

Rob’s Website: https://robwipond.com/about

Book: Your Consent is not Required: https://robwipond.com/your-consent-is-not-required

Socials:

https://twitter.com/robwipond

https://www.facebook.com/RobWipondAuthor

https://www.youtube.com/user/robwipond

Resources:

• US rates of committment: Lee, Gi and David Cohen. “Incidences of Involuntary Psychiatric Detentions in 25 U.S. States.” Psychiatric Services 72, no. 1 (January 1, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900477
• European rates of commitment: Sheridan Rains, Luke. “Variations in Patterns of Involuntary Hospitalisation andin Legal Frameworks: An International Comparative Study.” Lancet Psychiatry 6, no. 5 (May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS2215-0366(19)30090-2
• Suicidality after hospitalization:Whitaker, Robert. “Suicide in the Age of Prozac.” Mad in America (August 6, 2018). https://www.madinamerica.com/2018/08/suicide-in-the-age-ofprozac/&Simons, Peter. “Involuntary Hospitalization Increases Risk of Suicide.” Mad in America (June 24, 2019). https://www.madinamerica.com/2019/06/involuntary-hospitalization-increases-risk-suicide-study-finds/
• United Nations statement: https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2020/10/statement-mr-dainius-puras-special-rapporteur-right-everyone-enjoyment-highest
• Find all notes, research, and resources list on Rob’s Website

Become a member of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts: ⁠www.idha-nyc.org⁠

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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In popular culture, we tend to think of eating disorders as a reaction to toxic societal messages about our bodies. While this may in part be true, for many people complex trauma is often at the root. Our guest today, Katie Kilbourn, co-founder of a dance company helping people heal through expressive arts, courageously shares about many aspects of eating disorders that are silenced, including the links between addiction, trauma, and eating disorders. We discuss the adaptive coping strategies we develop as a result of trauma, and the double-edged sword of escapism, perfectionism, and control. She also shares about what it's like to navigate pregnancy while recovering from an eating disorder, and why it’s critical for mothers to stay authentic and boundaried in caring for their own mental health.

We also discuss:

• redefining body ‘positivity’ and body ‘neutrality’
• the toxic pressure on dancers and performers
• how eating disorders are like many other addictions
• how pregnancy and motherhood could trigger patterns
• exploding the myth of ‘selfishness’ in motherhood
• the light and shadow of escapism, perfectionism and control
• what makes expressive arts so healing

Bio

Katie Kilbourn was born in Sacramento, California and trained all over the West Coast before she moved and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Dance Performance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After relocating to New York, Katie had the privilege to dance with several companies including Balasole, J/D Dansfolk, and IKADA. From a young age Katie realized there is a generic pressure within the dance community to maintain a specific body type and she realized that many people, herself included, engage in unhealthy behaviors to achieve a certain look. In 2015 she co founded Borne Dance Company with Kianna Moye and together they created a company dedicated to mental health and eating disorder awareness. As someone who has dealt with mental health concerns her entire life, Katie strived to create a company that would inspire body positivity, self appreciation, and the idea of recovery through art. She was a volunteer at the National Eating Disorders Association for over four years and has personal history with mental health and recovery. She has closely worked with therapists and specialists in the mental health field to create content and workshops that are therapeutic, inspiring, and compassionate for the community.

Resources

• Website & Donate to Borne Dance which offers donation based artistic shows, events, and workshops to the public that serves as an educational entity for mental health awareness, healing through the arts, as well as prevention and treatment of eating disorders. https://www.bornedance.com/
• Dance Shows: Feb 24-25 2024 in Sacramento, March 2nd 2024 NYC

Links

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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One of the most overlooked experiences is menopause and perimenopause and impact on mental health. Societally we treat it like a disease or an ‘untapped market’ to sell more products. Many people feel isolated and alone in their mind-life experiences, and for some this can have extreme consequences. Today we have three experts by experience and training talking about how the system fails menopausal people and sharing their lived experiences in approaching this time of life as an incredibly transformative experience.

We also discuss:

• how early trauma and sexual abuse can re-emerge in midlife
• the “second peak” of psychosis
• spiritual emergency and holistic healing
• dealing with mortality and fear of dying
• sacred rage in menopause
• developing new archetypes for the "elder"
• the medicalization of pms and menopause
• hormone replacement therapies, estradial, etc.
• diagnostic overshadowing
• capitalism and the menopause “market”

Bios

Leah Harris is a psychiatric survivor, activist, and independent journalist. Their work examines mental health and disability policy, with a focus on deinstitutionalization and involuntary psychiatric intervention. Leah's writing appears in Truthout, the Disability Visibility Project, The Progressive, and Mad in America; and in the anthologies We've Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health (North Atlantic Books (https://www.wevebeentoopatient.org/⁠) and the forthcoming Mad Studies Reader (Routledge). Their memoir-in-progress, NONCOMPLIANT, traces two generations of psychiatric survivorship and resistance in their family, alongside in-depth reporting and analysis of America's failed mental health policies. https://www.leahiharris.com/

Lynda Wisdo, MA, CYT: Lynda is a survivor of childhood trauma and a menopause/trauma-related Spiritual Emergency. After several years of mind/body healing, she went on to earn an MA degree in Transpersonal Studies and Spiritual Guidance along with certifications in Trauma-Informed Yoga, Transpersonal Hypnosis, Reiki, and Tarot for Women. She has written a memoir about her experience with spiritual emergency titled Menopause in Crisis—When Spiritual Emergency Meets the Feminine Midlife Passage (⁠https://menopauseincrisis.weebly.com⁠) her hope being to offer insights and support to women who may be undergoing similar experiences. She can be reached through her websites at https://lyndawisdo.weebly.com or by email at lyndawisdo@gmail.com

• Trauma & Menopause Conference 2024: Healing the Effects of Trauma Through the Challenges of Perimenopause with Lynda Wisdo, MA, CYT https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/trauma-menopause-conference-2024-the-intersection-of-trauma-menopause-tickets-798528298637

Marie Brown, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist working in private practice and the public mental health system in New York City. She is the current President of the US Chapter of the International Society for the Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis and an original co-founder of Hearing Voices Network NYC. She is co-editor of Women & Psychosis: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (with Marilyn Charles) https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498591935/Women-and-Psychosis-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives⁠ and Emancipatory Perspectives on Madness (with Robin Brown) https://www.routledge.com/Emancipatory-Perspectives-on-Madness-Psychological-Social-and-Spiritual/Brown-Brown/p/book/9780367360160⁠. Website: https://mariebrownphd.com/ Twitter: @BrownMarieC

Resources:

Yale Study on Menopause & Psychosis + All resources mentioned here:

https://www.jazminerussell.com/blog/menopause-trauma-psychosis-holistic-approaches-in-midlife-undoing-patriarchal-conditioning

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“If I don't feel like I fit in to these linear and binary systems, it's because I don't. It's because they're not actually reflective of my true nature.” In our lives, each of us will have experienced some challenges within our bodies, whether related to injury, stress, the pressure of expected ‘norms’, disability, illness, pain, or simply aging. Our relationships to our bodies often reflect internalized oppressive systems that keep us disconnected. Abigail Rose Clarke, a somatic facilitator, tells us the ways she’s come to view our connection to nature and relationship to our bodies as prime ways to push back against systems that were not built for us.

In this episode we discuss:

• navigating disability in an ableist world
• healing after a car accident and navigating the medical industrial complex
• practices for grounding and remembering you are part of nature
• the fallacy of hierarchy
• dealing with emotional resistance
• healing an eating disorder
• the book writing process

Abigail Rose Clarke is a somatic facilitator who currently lives in Western Massachusetts. Using somatics and mindfulness, Clarke teaches people to use the inherent wisdom of their bodies to be in direct conversation with creativity and aliveness, as a way to dismantle oppressive systems and build generative and deeply relational futures. Clarke has worked with people ranging from CEOs and board directors to schoolteachers and parents. She holds a weekly somatic learning space called Anchor Community, and is also the creator of The Somatic Tarot, a method of engaging with the archetype Tarot in ways that are rooted in liberatory practices. Her work is enormously influenced by her study and practice of Embodyoga®, of which she is a senior teacher, as well as her background in kinesiology and psychology.

Links:

• Abigail’s website: abigailroseclarke.com
• Abigail’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigail.rose.clarke/
• Returning Home to Our Bodies (book) https://www.abigailroseclarke.com/books

People Mentioned:Patty Townsend https://www.embodyoga.com/

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen https://www.bodymindcentering.com/about/bonnie-bainbridge-cohen/

Nothing to see here (netflix show) https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/nothing_to_see_here

Andrea Gibson https://andreagibson.org/

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“Cycle-breakers see the pain that flows through their families and say: this pain ends with me.” - Dr. Mariel Buqué

Through family narratives, structural oppression, and inside our bodies, trauma can be passed down through generations. When we are willing to be with the shame, anger, fear, and grief, we may come to recognize that we are carrying the pain of our ancestors. Being willing to face intergenerational pain and trauma can also make us confront present realities of injustice, and in the process, we can become change-makers and cycle-breakers. Dr. Mariel Buqué shares her stories of intergenerational trauma and the ways she has helped clients move through the shame and grief. Her new book: Breaking The Cycle is out now!

In this episode we discuss:

• Mariel’s experiences navigating intergenerational trauma, racism, immigrant status and poverty
• The importance of moving through shame and grief
• Why the nervous system is a big part of trauma healing
• What it means to be a cycle breaker

Bio

Dr. Mariel Buqué is a Columbia University-trained Psychologist, intergenerational trauma expert, and the author of Break the Cycle: a book that focuses on healing wounds of intergenerational trauma. She has been featured on major media outlets including The Today Show, CNN, The Real, and ABC News. You may find her work at www.drmarielbuque.com.

Links

Mariel’s Website: https://www.drmarielbuque.com/

Break The Cycle Book: https://www.drmarielbuque.com/breakthecycle

Resources:

• Breathwork for Trauma Healing [15 min practice] :
• Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Ever been in a relationship or went through a breakup that had you feeling completely confused, disoriented, made you lose trust in yourself and impacted your sense of worthiness? Chandni and I have, and today in a very intimate episode, we discuss what it’s like to get out of emotionally abusive relationships and come out the other side with a whole heck of a lot of clarity, centeredness, and joy. We both agree that while no one is ever to blame for another person’s harmful behavior, yet it also takes two to engage in any relationship and so we find a lot of healing in self-accountability, discussing what made us choose these relationships, and breaking the cycle of trying to earn love or play the role of “fixer”. Chandni has some immense grace and truly powerful perspectives and it was joy to discuss and share our stories.

We also get into:

• the difference between a “shitty breakup” and what commonly gets referred to as ‘narcissistic’ abuse
• if it’s better to go or stay ‘no contact’
• how to get closure without repair
• why we stayed even when we knew it wasn’t right
• chronic health conditions & relationships
• listening to anger and disappointment as a compass
• choosing the right people to surround yourself with
• breaking the cycle of addiction to unbalanced relationships
• when emotional abuse runs through your family
• the joys that come after grieving

Links:

• Study on conscientiousness and relationship success: Lampis, J., Cataudella, S., Busonera, A., & Carta, S. (2018). Personality Similarity and Romantic Relationship Adjustment During the Couple Life Cycle. The Family Journal, 26(1), 31-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480717741689

Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“Whatever happens in the body affects the brain, and what happens in the brain affects the body” - Dr. James Greenblatt.The biomedical model of mental health is critiqued for being “one size fits all” and ignoring multiple pathways that can lead to whole system dysfunction. Dr. James Greenblatt, a psychiatrist and early adopter of the now popularized functional medicine lens to mental health, is working to bridge disciplines in order to treat the individual more holistically and uncover hidden root causes of dysfunction. In this episode, we talk about why different physiological concerns have multiple pathways that manifest in a vast variety of mental health outcomes. For any one person with a mental health condition, it may be rooted partially in trauma, hypothyroidism, vitamin deficiencies, food allergies, celiac disease, diabetes, and so much more. Greenblatt argues for the power of testing many biomarkers and using nutrition to help heal and even taper off of psychopharmaceuticals when possible.

In this episode:

• bridging functional medicine with psychiatry
• treating eating disorders, ocd, anxiety, psychosis, depression, adhd and more
• the impact that food allergies and vitamin deficiencies have on the brain and mental health
• how to treat the individual rather than using a “one size fits all” approach
• coming off of SSRIs and psychotropic medication

A pioneer in the field of functional and integrative medicine, board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, James M. Greenblatt, MD, has treated patients since 1988. After receiving his medical degree and completing his psychiatry residency at George Washington University, Dr. Greenblatt completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Medical School. He served as the Chief Medical Officer at Walden Behavioral Care in Waltham, MA for nearly 20 years and has been an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine. He is the author of eight books, including the best-seller, Finally Focused: The Breakthrough Natural Treatment Plan for ADHD. His updated edition of Answers to Anorexia was released in October 2021 and his newest book, Functional & Integrative Medicine for Antidepressant Withdrawal is available now. He is the founder of Psychiatry Redefined, an online learning platform, dedicated to an evidence-based, personalized treatment model for mental illness.

Links:

• www.PsychiatryRedefined.org

Sessions & Information about the host: JazmineRussell.com

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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It’s common for survivors of trauma to feel pressure to forgive and/or to let go of relationships with family members who have caused harm. There are a lot of unhelpful notions around forgiveness and repair, and it’s easy to feel guilt or shame when we don’t feel ready. Today we discuss how to get out of the binary, redefinging forgiveness. and finding a sense of peace with or without repair.

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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"My Voice is My Channel"

So many of us experience fear around our self expression. We may prefer to be in the role of "curator," helping to uplift other peoples' voices, perhaps, even at the expense of our own. In today's episode, Jocelyn talks all about shifting her relationship to anxiety after transformative experiences with plant medicine, and how energy work, and tending to our own rhythms and cycles help support us in being more fully expressed. Jocelyn has coined the term "tender discipline" which is a beautiful word to describe how we can divest from toxic productivity culture, and invest in ourselves and our relationships to each other in the world around us.

We discuss:

• The power of plant medicine
• The relationship between anxiety and the voice
• Tools for dealing with insecurity and self-doubt around using your voice
• The concept of tender discipline as an antidote to our hyper-growth, speed, and efficiency-fixated culture
• Practical tips for writing and expressing yourself
• Insights into the throat chakra and other energy centers

Links:
General info: https://jkg.co

Finding Your Voice: A practice for sacred self-expression
https://jkg.co/voice

RESET: A cosmic tune-up for your workday
https://jkg.co/reset-course

Hurry Slowly Podcast: https://hurryslowly.co

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“Rage has many facets, and grief cannot be separated from rage.”If you’ve worked in mental health, social work, psychology, healing or mutual aid, you’re likely very aware that this work is unsustainable and often dehumanizing. So, what can we do about it and how can we use our collective power for change? In this conversation, I get to speak with Dr. Jennifer Mullan, a force of nature and founder of Decolonizing Therapy®, a groundbreaking psychological paradigm that seamlessly integrates political, ancestral, therapeutic, and global well-being. As a major disruptor in the mental health industrial complex, Dr. Jenn's work is an urgent call to dive to the root of global and intergenerational trauma, unlocking the wisdom of our sacred rage. In this episode, we delve into the profound impact of ancestral and historical trauma, illuminating the ways in which these wounds reverberate through our collective psyche. Dr. Jenn offers invaluable insights for support workers seeking to shift and politicize their practice.

We discuss:

• The profound impact of ancestral and historical trauma and what decolonizing mental health really means
• How psychology was founded on the co-optation and exploitation of indigenous practices
• Sacred rage as a powerful force for collective transformation
• Practical guidance for navigating the complexities of being a support worker in a eurocentric, capitalist society
• Why mental health can’t be separated from political and spiritual work

Bio:

Jennifer Mullan, PsyD, is a major disruptor in the mental health industrial complex. Her work is an urgent call to dive to the root of global and generational trauma to unlock the wisdom of our sacred rage. Dr. Jennifer Mullan birthed Decolonizing Therapy ®, a psychological evolution that weaves together political, ancestral, therapeutic and global well-being. She is also the creator of the popular Instagram account @decolonizingtherapy and recipient of Essence magazine’s 2020 Essential Hero Award in the category of mental health.

Links:

www.decolonizingtherapy.com

Decolonizing Therapy ® Instagram @decolonizingtherapy

Decolonizing Therapy ® Twitter @drjennyjennm

Decolonizing Therapy ® Youtube @decolonizingtherapy

Pre-order Dr. Jenn’s book here

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: www.idha-nyc.org

Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum: https://www.idha-nyc.org/core-curriculum

.

References:

• Ruth King: https://ruthking.net/
• Mariel Buque : https://www.drmarielbuque.com/
• People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond: https://pisab.org/
• Eldridge Cleaver: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldridge_Cleaver

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“It is incredibly subversive to say that our body has a wisdom of its own, that we can heal and release shame and pain, and trauma.” Luis MojicaWe experience pain and trauma in the body, and it is through the body that we heal from trauma. Luis Mojica, a trauma survivor himself, is a somatic therapist dedicated to sharing the language and practices of the body to help people be in deep authentic relationship with themselves,. In this episode we dive into his story and discovery of the biology of trauma, healing shame, somatics as a decolonial practice, how to work with rather than dominate the body, fawning, and how to find repair in ourselves rather relying on repair in the relationships with those who caused harm.

Also in this episode:

• Luis’ story of being born intersex
• the biology of trauma
• healing shame and the concept of overcoupling
• cycles of rupture and repair
• decoloniality in our relationship to the body - what is relational vs what is dominant dynamic?
• fawning as an ancient physiological response
• how to navigate ‘forgiveness’ and repair with those who have harmed

Links:

Luis' Website: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/about

Finding Safety In Yourself Course: https://www.holisticlifenavigation.com/course-sign-up-2

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Traditional mental health practices and treatment have garnered a lot of critique from concerned clinicians, researchers, and activists. However, when it comes to shifting practice, we have to change what’s being taught in schools, institutions, and non-profits. Mental health education for social workers, clinicians, and even family members, advocates, peers, and care workers has the potential to be truly transformative if we are willing to question our old outdated assumptions. In this episode I speak with Noah Gokul and Jessie Roth, the staff at The Institute for the Development of Human Arts who are leading the next wave of transformative mental health education.

In this episode:

• Why what’s being taught in schools is disconnected from what’s happening on the ground in mental health treatment
• Why providers are burning out and not finding the resources they need
• The #1 thing people say to us when they find IDHA and transformative mental health training

Links:

• IDHA’s Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum (ENROLLMENT OPENS TUESDAY SEPT 5, 2023!): https://www.idha-nyc.org/core-curriculum IDHA’s Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum is a training for people who want to transform how they approach personal and collective healing, gain tangible advocacy skills, and shift broader systems of care. This self-guided, virtual training centers lived experience and is a unique opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge spanning dozens of disciplines, social movements, geographies, and perspectives. Dive into 20+ hours of video content, facilitated by 40+ experts-by-experience and experts-by-training.
• Institute for the Development of Human Arts ⁠www.idha-nyc.org⁠

Articles mentioned:

Time article: https://time.com/6308096/therapy-mental-health-worse-us/

Noah (they/them) is a Queer multidisciplinary artist and educator here to create liberated worlds through art, storytelling, and sound. They grew up in Oakland, CA/unceded Ohlone land, and identify as a trauma survivor with sensitivities to the world around them. They use music and art for meaning-making and the healing of others, integrating these passions into their work as a peer for young adults in a first-episode psychosis program. They have facilitated in a wide variety of settings, at the intersections of anti-oppression, trauma, incarceration, Caribbean ancestry, music, and mental health. Through their incantations they create spaces of radical imagination and possibility.

Jessie Roth is a writer and movement organizer with more than a decade of experience at the intersection of mental health and social justice. She is the Director of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA), a transformative mental health training institute bringing together mental health workers, peers, survivors, activists, artists, and other advocates for education and community development. Inspired by personal and family mental health experiences, Jessie’s work is focused on the healing power of storytelling and the importance of cross-movement organizing for mental health liberation. A longtime IDHA member, Jessie supported the development of initiatives such as Mental Health Trialogue, a forum bridging the perspectives of peers, family members, and providers; and Decarcerating Care, an ongoing panel series discussing the carceral nature of the mental health system, rooted in the voices and experiences of survivors. Her writing has been published in We've Been Too Patient: An Anthology of Voices from Radical Mental Health, the Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine, and the Village Voice. She is also an avid home cook, passionate about the power of cooking as a care-centered creative practice.

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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We are celebrating 1 year and 61 episodes of Depth Work in this very special compilation episode. Hear from clinicians, healers, activists, and experts on the biggest things that need to shift in mental health and society at large as well as visions for change.

Guests and episodes in order:

1. ⁠⁠⁠Noel Hunter⁠
2. DSM
3. Jagger Waters⁠⁠
4. ⁠⁠Issa Ibrahim⁠
5. ⁠⁠Jessie Roth⁠
6. Ana Florence
7. Milta Vega Cardona
8. Kim Wichera
9. ⁠⁠Brittany Quagan⁠⁠
10. ⁠⁠David Levine⁠⁠
11. Holistic Mental Health
12. Rebecca Nidorf
13. ⁠⁠Veronica Agard⁠
14. Leah Pressman & Jay Stevens
15. ⁠⁠Christopher Rhodes⁠
16. ⁠⁠Thabiso Mthimkhulu⁠
17. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Noah Gokul⁠⁠⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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We are celebrating 1 year and 60 episodes of Depth Work in this very special compilation episode. Hear from leaders and experts on redefining mental health, uncovering root causes of concerns, and what truly helps.

Guests and episodes in order:

1. Noah Gokul
2. Asia Suler
3. Sensitivity Is A Gift
4. Elmina Bell
5. Thabiso MThimkhulu
6. Katrina Michelle
7. Daryl Rocco
8. Randall Gates
9. Gifts of Depression
10. Ruby Warrington
11. Jagger Waters
12. Issa Ibrahim
13. Caitlyn Lune
14. Holotropic Breathwork
15. Brittany Quagan
16. Veronica Agard
17. Christopher Rhodes
18. David Levine
19. Noel Hunter
20. Jessie Roth

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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The quality of the questions we ask can drastically shape our lives. We consciously and subconsciously ask questions throughout our day, but how many of these inquiries are really offering generative possibility and how many are simply limiting or keeping us stuck? This is a love letter to asking questions and an exploration into why questions are more important than answers.

Also in this episode:

• The questions that have opened doors for me and have changed me
• why questions are seeds that we plant
• why being compassionately curious is useful for our mental health
• how to frame questions in more generative ways

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download]⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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We've been raised to fear the ‘yes’ within ourselves, our deepest cravings - Audre Lorde

The distrust of our desires and of pleasure is a huge disservice to the world. Because when we are cut off from our deepest desires, from our pleasure, from our sense of satisfaction, how can we really put our life force energy towards meaningful change? In this episode, I talk about cultural toxic beliefs we have around pleasure and desire, and the main fears that pop up when we think about following our authentic desires. I also discuss the value of our discontent in showing us where we might be enduring or self abandoning. Connecting to pleasure and satisfaction in our bodies, learning what that really feels like, helps us point our compass in the direction of more joy for ourselves and our communities.

Also in this episode:

• The consequences of endurism and self abandonment
• what happens when we refuse to ask ourselves “is this really satisfying to me”?
• 2 main fears that crop up around acknowledging desires
• distorted pleasure and addiction vs. embodied pleasure
• learning what enough feels like - embodied satisfaction

Goal Setting for Creatives Course - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/goal-setting-for-creatives/

Notion Life Dashboard Template - https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/life-dashboard-goal-setting-project-managing

Monthly Planning Canva Template - https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/monthlyplanningtemplate

Weekly Planning Canva Template -https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/weeklyplanningtemplate

Resources:

Uses of the erotic by Audrey Lord - https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/11881_Chapter_5.pdf

Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown - https://www.akpress.org/pleasure-activism.html

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Wellness plans and crisis plans (sometimes called psychiatric advance directives) are documents that outline our mental health needs and can even help prevent or avoid a crisis. These plans not only give us the opportunity to self-reflect but also can help us communicate with our community in times of need. No one wants to plan for a crisis, but when we’re struggling, these documents can get us through some of the toughest times and help us maintain agency, self-determination, and support. Whether you’ve used mental health services or want to engage in mutual aid and peer support, wellness plans can be applied. In this episode I discuss 3 types of wellness/crisis plans and how they can be applied within or outside the mental health system.

Also in this episode:

• why wellness & crisis planning is crucial when it comes to avoiding, preparing for, or communicating with community in times of need
• how to create a crisis or wellness plan with examples
• the difference between Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP), Transformative Mutual Aid Practices (T-MAPS), and Psychiatric Advance Directives
• how the system is set up to protect the provider not the client and how crisis plans help us maintain agency
• Using these plans with clients & concrete examples

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: www.IDHA-NYC.org

Resources:

TMAPS - https://tmapscommunity.net/make-your-own-t-map-2/

Wrap Plans - https://www.wellnessrecoveryactionplan.com/what-is-wrap/

Peer Respite Directory- https://power2u.org/directory-of-peer-respites/

Psychiatric Advance Directive Template - https://docs.google.com/document/d/14l5wlpZ1BVYXoH0GUtUbjTgKYxTL5Abe/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=101616156886737959846&rtpof=true&sd=true

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Depression can be a challenging, incredibly painful experience, but it can also pave the path to change and transformation. Experiences of numbness, despair, emptiness, fatigue, loss of meaning and all the things that get labeled as depression are emotional and physiological responses from the body. The question that has always been quite interesting to me is: what is my body trying to tell me through depression? What is the message behind these signals? “Depression makes holes in our theories and assumptions, but even this painful process can be honored as a necessary and valuable source of healing” as psychologist Thomas Moore says. So in this episode we explore depression as complex trauma processing, nervous system overwhelm, a values crisis, a signal of physiological illness, basic needs not being met, a response to toxic culture and society, and a spiritual awakening.

Also in this episode:

• Is there value in the experience of depression?
• What are some of the messages depression may hold for us?
• Does our reductionistic way of viewing depression as something to be eliminated limit our healing capacity?
• What changes in our lives or society could depression stir up if we can be in the experience?

Resources: * Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295132.Care_of_the_Soul * JAMA article on brain-body health - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2804355 * Depression: Integrating Science Culture and Humanities by Dr. Bradley Lewis https://www.routledge.com/Depression-Integrating-Science-Culture-and-Humanities/Lewis/p/book/9780415877213

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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What’s it like to spend 20 years locked up in a psychiatric asylum? Issa Ibrahim knows this intimately. As a survivor of complex trauma, drug-induced-psychosis, sexual and institutional abuse, Issa’s story holds up a mirror to America’s racist and coercive mental health system as a microcosm for our sick society. Through it all, Issa is a memoirist and artist, whose subversive provacative art has been shown in numerous galleries and non-profit spaces. Art and compassion were his pathways out of the asylum and continues to be some of his greatest gifts that Issa shares with the world.

Also In this episode:

• healing grief, shame and complex familial trauma
• liberatory art practices
• surviving institutional abuse in psychiatric institutions and how he got out
• how compassion, forgiveness, and self-reflection can be healing

Issa Ibrahim is a visual artist, author, musician and filmmaker born and raised in Queens, New York. He has exhibited in numerous galleries and non-profit spaces in the greater New York area as well as in group shows at Hofstra University and the Queens Museum of Art in addition to fairs and showcases the Netherlands and South Korea.

Issa has been featured on German Public Television, in the 1999 HBO documentary The Living Museum, by Academy Award winning director Jessica Yu, and the 2015 documentary That Which Is Possible. He was also the subject of an hour-long NPR audio story that won the 2014 Edward R. Murrow Award for Best News Documentary and the 2014 Third Coast Director’s Choice Award

Issa’s 2016 memoir The Hospital Always Wins, published by Chicago Review Press, has the notable distinction of being the first work published by an African American written from behind the walls of a mental institution. Issa is also a member artist represented by Fountain House Gallery in New York City; the premier gallery dedicated to promoting the artwork of artists with mental health issues.

Issa will continue to use his creativity to challenge preconceived and prejudicial ideas in society, combat stigma, expose the realities of our broken mental health system. He wishes to and explore how openness can aid in respecting psychiatric sufferers and survivors who are our fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, friends, neighbors and ourselves.

Links:

Art: https://www.artsy.net/artist/issa-ibrahim

The Hospital Always Wins: https://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/the-hospital-always-wins-products-9781613735121.php

Fountain house : https://www.fountainhouse.org/

Living Museum : https://thelivingmuseum.org/about/

IDHA: ⁠www.idha-nyc.org⁠

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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If we want more Intimacy and connection with others, it requires vulnerability. We all have ways that we protect ourselves from potential rejection, pain, and vulnerability. Many of these self-protection strategies are depely subconscious and picked up in childhood as ways we had to adapt and survive in our life context. But in adulthood they become ways we distance from oursleves, each other, and the world at large. In this episode, I discuss the 11 self- protection strategies outlined by psychologist Stefanie Stahl in her book The Child In You. When we are aware of which self-protection strategies we tend to use most often, we can actively chose differently and cultivate more connection in our lives.

In this episode:

• Projection and repression: the two ways we distance ourselves to avoid pain
• 11 self-protective strategies that our inner child uses to try to stay safe
• ways to heal and become more aware of each strategy

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Links:

• The Child In You by Stephanie Stahl: https://stefaniestahl.com/books

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“If you've come here to help me, then you're wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Lila Watson

Martyrdom, or self-abandoning and self-sacrificing for the sake of a mission or cause, is so highly rewarded in our culture. It can show up in our interpersonal relationships, but also when it comes to our work, our creativity, or ‘purpose’ in the world. We can even start to sacrifice our health and wellbeing for the sake of a ‘mission’ in attempts to prove our worthiness. In today’s episode, I share perspectives around martyrdom and saviordom in life and work and how we can take the pressure off ourselves, stop feeling the need to prove our worth, and take ourselves less seriously with the sustainability of lightness and play and joy.

• the familial and cultural roots of martyrdom
• why playing the savior is a codependent strategy
• the victim, savior, perpetrator drama triangle framework
• why martyrdom is transactional and disconnects us from ourselves and others
• how martyrdom shows up in creativity, work, our mission, and purpose
• ending the game of proving your worthiness through contribution
• being process vs outcome oriented

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Resources:

Karpman Drama Triangle: https://www.karpmandramatriangle.com/

https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/6e5efd05/files/uploaded/Drama

Lila watson - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilla_Watson

Liz Gilbert Interview on Martyrdom - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4THxJpSZZLmIz7TPKcOf5W?si=4486ca107db14aed

Big Magic - https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/books/big-magic/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Celiac disease is an unfortunately common autoimmune disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people. That’s 1%, a HUGE proportion of the population. What's most concerning is that many aren't ware they have celiac often because many of the symptoms are mental health related and treated solely by psychological means. However, we need to rethink this approach. There's a high correlation between celiac, psychosis (and other mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and OCD) and childhood trauma. This is the trifecta that has affected me personally, and many of my clients. So today, I tell you my whole story on finding out and healing autoimmunity and mental health issues.

I also discuss:

• common & lesser known symptoms of celiac
• why you probably won’t notice if you have a gluten allergy
• why going gluten free isn’t always enough
• what role the nervous system plays in it all
• emergent research on links between autoimmunity, inflammation and Mental Health

Research:

• The Inflamed Mind by Dr. Edward Bullmore - https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250318145/theinflamedmind

• Stress & autoimmunity - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29922828/

• Autoimmunity and psychotic disorders - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00131/full

• Childhood stress and autoimmunity - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19188532/

• Gluten psychosis - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26184290/

• Depression and inflammation - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21927805/

• Inflammation and schizophrenia - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26359903/

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Functional medicine and psychoneuroimmunology is on the rise as a more integrative way of understanding the physiological roots of mental health concerns. For decades we’ve been obsessed with the theory that mental health concerns are solely about chemical imbalances in the brain - but that’s not what the research has shown. The truth is much more complex since environmental, societal factors, childhood trauma, gut health, and so much more impact our brain health. In this episode, Dr. Randall Gates, a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist discusses the profound impact of childhood trauma on long-term disease, the intriguing connection between schizophrenia, psychosis, and gluten, and the significance of inflammation in the brain. We talk about why going gluten free isn’t the only fix and why sometimes mental health issues are the primary if not, only, sign of an underlying autoimmune issue. We also delve into obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and PANS/PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections), as well as Hashimoto's disease, the most common autoimmune disorder, often manifesting as brain fog and depression. Moreover, we delve into the potential synergy between functional medicine and psychiatry, and why our current system needs an integrated approach.

We also discuss:

• how childhood trauma makes you more likely to develop an autoimmune condition
• links between schizophrenia, celiac and gluten sensitivity
• brain inflammation and the gut brain connection
• the role of diet and food allergies
• OCD, anxiety and PANS/PANDAS
• Hashimoto's disease
• what tests you may request from your doctor if you’re struggling with mental health concerns
• how functional medicine can work with psychiatry

For the past thirteen years, Dr. Randall Gates, D.C., Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist, has dedicated his life to helping people discover the causes of their chronic health conditions. Shortly after graduating in 2006 with a B.S. in Biology, Dr. Gates started his doctoral program in Chiropractic. During Chiropractic school, he was introduced to Functional Neurology. When he learned about Functional Neurology, everything clicked! He became fascinated/obsessed with neurology and spent much of his free time studying the brain in-depth including its dysregulations and rehabilitation. In 2009, Dr. Gates graduated from Life Chiropractic College West receiving his Doctorate of Chiropractic, as well as being Valedictorian of his class. Simultaneously, he was completing 300 additional credit hours in the field of neurology, and in 2010, Dr. Gates passed the rigorous American Chiropractic Neurology Board Examination. At 28 years old, Dr. Gates attained his designation as a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist- one of five hundred in the world. Dr. Gates has since completed 250 hours of additional training in Traumatic Brain Injuries, Vestibular Rehabilitation and Movement Disorders. He continues to spend countless hours researching conditions that are not well understood, as well as conditions that are treated primarily through pharmacological medications.

Website: https://www.gatesbrainhealth.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3edfdLeVw7tvOTziAnTEew

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity freebie ⁠⁠⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64⁠⁠

Find the links to all cited research from this episode here: www.jazminerussell.com/blog/functional-neurology-mental-health-research

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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“We arise out of the very conditions that will heal us.” - Asia Suler In this episode, herbalist, nature philosopher, and author Asia Suler shares lessons from her journey through chronic pain and illness and the transformative power of the natural world, which she most recently has written about in her new book - Mirrors of the Earth. She is a wise proponent of the importance of depathologizing sensitivity, and celebrating being a highly sensitive person (HSP) as a superpower. We dive into what it looks like to protect and live synergistically with our sensitive nervous systems, establish boundaries, and notice the often overlooked signs of nervous system overwhelm. We discuss practices for reconnecting with ourselves, communicating with plants, and embracing our multidimensionality, as returning to an indigenous remembrance of all things as animate conscious beings.

We also discuss:

• why humans are, in general, highly sensitive mammals
• why gardens serve as good boundary practice
• listening to the messages of chronic illness and pain
• practices for coming back to the self
• how to talk to plants, step-by-step
• motherhood and embracing all our paradoxes

Asia Suler is a writer, teacher, earth intuitive and author of Mirrors in the Earth: Reflections on Self-Healing from the Living World. Asia began her journey after early years of chronic pain and illness. The experience— which pushed her into a deep search for healing, both within and without— led her to the altar of the green world and the creation of One Willow Apothecaries, an Appalachian-grown company that offers handcrafted medicines and educational experiences in herbalism, animism, and earth-centered personal growth. Asia has guided over 20,000 students in 70+ countries through her immersive online programs. Through her work, Asia helps people embrace their own unique medicine through a joyful engagement with the natural world.

Asia’s Website: www.onewillowapothecaries.com Asia’s Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/asiasuler/ Asia’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asiasuler/ Asia’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/asiasuler Asia’s Book: www.mirrorsintheearth.com

Intuitive Plant Medicine Course: https://onewillowapothecaries.com/classes/online-learning/intuitive-plant-medicine/

Asia’s Mothering Depth Substack : https://asiasuler.substack.com

Research:

• Dr. Elaine Aron’s books on being a highly sensitive person: https://hsperson.com/books/

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] ⁠https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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Why are so many mental health professionals, researchers, and activists critiquing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? In this episode, we dive deep into the complexities surrounding mental health diagnoses and explore the limitations and hazards of labeling and codifying human experiences. We look at why researchers have called the DSM “scientifically meaningless” as statistically unreliable and invalid and what this means for those receiving diagnoses. We look at who gets to decide what is normal vs. abnormal human behavior, and why more input is needed from other related fields to truly do justice to the nuances of human emotion and behavior.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Limitations of labeling and codifying human experiences
2. Reliability and validity of the DSM and the absence of biomarkers
3. The development of the DSM and its political underpinnings
4. Why pathologizing can be antithetical to healing

Links:

IDHA - www.idha-nyc.org

Research:

Kate Allsop’s Research in Neuroscience News: https://neurosciencenews.com/meaningless-psychiatric-diagnosis-14434/

Cracked: Why Psychiatry is Doing More Harm Than Good by James Davies

The Reliability of Psychiatric Diagnoses: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2990547/ &

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00101/full

New Version of DSM critique https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/02/new-dsm-coming/

RDOC - https://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-funded-by-nimh/rdoc

JAMA article on other biological factors https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2804355

Once Radical Critiques of Psychiatry are Now Mainstream, So What Remains Taboo? by Bruce Levine - https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/05/05/once-radical-critiques-of-psychiatry-are-now-mainstream-so-what-remains-taboo/

Criticisms of psychiatry: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/its-time-for-us-to-stop-being-so-defensive-about-criticisms-of-psychiatry

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“There's something incredibly dangerous to the status quo about us no longer feeling ashamed for choosing lives that are right for us, and within that choosing to direct our creative life force energy that we all embody into whatever we so choose.” - Ruby Warrington

Today I delve into the complex and often ignored topic of non-motherhood with author Ruby Warrington. Ruby wrote “Women Without Kids” to challenge the prevailing societal narratives surrounding motherhood and unravel the inherent binary thinking that erases the diversity of human relationships and caregiving experiences.

We explore the broad motherhood spectrum, which encompasses women who are unable to have children and those who consciously choose not to. Ruby passionately dissects the harmful effects of pronatalism, an ideology that values parents over non-parents within a colonial capitalist framework.

Throughout our conversation, we emphasize the vital role of non-parents, particularly women, in societal transformation amid the daunting challenges of climate impact and economic collapse. Furthermore, we explore the notion of deviance and shame associated with choosing alternative paths in life and how shedding shame can unleash our creative potential and empower us to challenge the status quo.

Also in this episode:

• breaking down the mommy binary
• undoing the ideology of valuing parents over non-parents within colonial capitalism
• women without kids as a necessary vital part of societal transformation among decimating climate impact and economic collapse
• found family and less hierarchical ways of creating community and family
• what caregiving looks like within and outside the role of motherhood
• social life in berlin and the value of community engagement
• undoing shame of being “deviant” or “other” and taking back our creative potential

Ruby Warrington is creator of the term Sober Curious. Author of the 2018 book and million download podcast of the same title, her work has spearheaded a global movement to reevaluate our relationship to alcohol. Other works include Material Girl, Mystical World (2017), The Numinous Astro Deck (2019), and The Sober Curious Reset (2020). With 20+ years’ experience as a lifestyle journalist and editor, Ruby is known as an astute cultural commentator and true thought leader. She is also the founder of self-publishing incubator Numinous Books. Her new book, Women Without Kids, is out now.

Links:

Ruby’s Website: https://www.rubywarrington.com/

Ruby’s Books: https://www.rubywarrington.com/books/

Women Without Kids Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/women-without-kids/id1642683714

Women without Kids Retreat at Krippalu Center in June https://kripalu.org/presenters-programs/women-without-kids

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame and Insecurity [Free workbook & meditation download] https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/e89cafda64

Research:

Gateway women, Jody Day https://gateway-women.com/

Regretting Motherhood by Orna Donath https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/552538/regretting-motherhood-by-orna-donath/

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Harm Reduction Specialist and Peer Counselor, David Levine, and I discuss the social and political context of the war on drugs in the United States and how drug laws and policies disproportionately affect those who are disenfranchised and most marginalized. David works on the ground helping people who have overdosed on opioids and discusses what true harm reduction means when it comes to mental health and substance use. He also describes gatekeeping, inequity, and hypocrisy when it comes to research and legalization of medicines, and how stigma around drugs often creates more harm than the drugs themselves.

In this episode:

• 3 critical parts to practicing harm reduction in it’s truest form
• what harm reduction looks like on the ground - with case examples
• current life saving harm reduction technologies that stop lethal overdose
• the war on drugs as systemic oppression of marginalized groups
• drug positivity and how we can mitigate risk
• gatekeeping, profit hoarding, and hypocrisy in what we classify and sell as ‘medicine’
• the opioid epidemic in the US
• drug research, patents, FDA approval and the legalization of schedule 1 drugs in equitable and inequitable ways

David Levine, JD is a drug warrior and harm reductionist. Identifying as a person who uses drugs and committed to fighting against War on Drugs, David has worked professionally in Harm Reduction since 2014 in a multitude of settings. He currently works two jobs on the front lines helping people affected by dangers inherent to a black market drug supply in the Bronx through street outreach and engaging overdose survivors in ERs. Email: fromdavidlevine@gmail.com

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: www.IDHA-nyc.org

Links & Research:

MAPS: https://maps.org/about-maps/

Andrew Tatarsky: https://www.centerforoptimalliving.com/

Harm Reduction Coalition - https://harmreduction.org/ Next Distro: https://nextdistro.org/ Alliance NYC: https://alliance.nyc/leshrc

FDA approvals and fee process: “The FDA collected $29 million in fees in 1993, the year after Congress passed the Prescription Drug User Fee Act for the first time. The fees rose to $908 million in 2018. That year, industry fees amounted to about 80% of the money spent on FDA employee salaries for drug reviews, according to the study.” https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/01/14/796227083/fda-approves-drugs-faster-than-ever-but-relies-on-weaker-evidence-researchers-fi”Half of new drug approvals only based on one clinical trial” : https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2758605?guestAccessKey=6c172781-0a0e-4e36-8c5c-a51962ecc2f7

“If you get the message, hang up the phone. For psychedelic drugs are simply instruments, like microscopes, telescopes, and telephones. The biologist does not sit with eye permanently glued to the microscope, he goes away and works on what he has seen.” - Alan Watts

Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

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In this much-requested episode, we explore the topic of shame and blame, how we can become mired in these emotions, whether by taking on too much responsibility or deflecting it onto others. What does centered self-accountability look like and when and why do we engage in both over and under-accountability? We discuss the pitfalls of using the language of ‘victim mindset. ’We delve into the complexities of centered self-accountability and explore the origins of over and under accountability, which are often rooted in childhood trauma. In other words, how do we move forward and find agency, power, and creative potential without ignoring or denying the pain of the past.

In this episode we discuss:

• The impact of over and under accountability on adult relationships and self-trust
• How to recognize these self-protection strategies developed in childhood
• The accountability spectrum and its usefulness in approaching conflict.

Links:

Sessions: www.jazminerussell.com

Research:

The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate https://drgabormate.com/book/the-myth-of-normal/

Accountability Spectrum inspired by Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement, Nathan Shara's chapter on Facing Shame: From Saying Sorry to Doing Sorry https://www.akpress.org/beyond-survival-e-book.html

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“I think in this day and age the field of psychology/psychiatry is our modern day religion come together around these sets of ideas that tells us how we’re supposed to live, what’s right and wrong as far as how we should be and exist in the world” - Noël Hunter

Despite the wealth of research on trauma and what truly helps when people are suffering, the fields of psychiatry and psychology stubbornly cling to pathologizing, dogmatic and harmful ways of approaching mental health which are counterintuitive to healing. The voices of those with lived experience and dissenting clinicians are silenced under a system that aims to uphold the status quo. Clinical psychologist and advocate, Noelle Hunter, knows this better than most. Today we talk about why this field is too stubborn to change, what clinicians can do to really make a difference, and why empathy is most needed now more than ever.

We also discuss :

• the impact of helpful and detrimental therapy sessions
• why defensiveness in the field exists and what we can do about it
• values and ethics as a dissenting clinician
• developing the capacity to be with our own and others’ big emotions
• visions for the future of mental health

Dr. Hunter is a clinical psychologist and an advocate for the rights of people diagnosed with mental disorders. She believes in a trauma-informed, humanistic, approach to understanding problems in living. Her interests include challenging negative attitudes towards individuals experiencing emotional distress, psychosocial perspectives on psychosis, and increasing awareness of the effects of oppression and trauma. Although specializing in trauma, dissociation and psychosis, Dr. Hunter views all problems in living as existing within the context of one’s life and on a continuum of suffering. She has trained in community mental health, state hospital, residential, juvenile justice, and college counseling settings. She has additional training in DBT, Internal Family Systems, trauma sensitive yoga, and other trauma-informed practices. Certifications include: Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), Trauma Art Narrative Therapy, and American Red Cross Training in Disaster Mental Health Services. Prior to studying to become a clinical psychologist, Dr. Hunter was a fledgling actor immersed in improv comedy and made a living for a decade as a personal trainer. These experiences highly influence both her perspective on humanity and mental health, as well as her approach to clinical work. She realized long before entering her studies the importance of relationships and the profound healing effects of humor, comradery, and physical activity. In addition, she realized in working with “the worried well” the continuum on which emotional suffering resides and the extensive suffering that exists due to our current cultural society.

Links:

• Noël’s Website: https://www.noelrhunter.com/
• Noël’s Psychotherapy Practice: https://mindclearpsychotherapy.com/
• Mad in America Blogs by Noël: https://www.madinamerica.com/author/nhunter/
• Self-Paced course by Noël - Trauma, Growth & Resilience: Redefining Trauma-Informed Practice- https://www.idha-nyc.org/trauma-growth-resilience/
• Trauma & Madness in Mental Health Services by Noël Hunter https://www.noelrhunter.com/publications/book/
• Paris Williams’ book Rethinking Madness : http://rethinkingmadness.com/

Join the Institute for the Development of Human Arts : idha-nyc.org

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If you’ve ever felt like you’re “going crazy,” heard voices, or had strange and unusual experiences, you’re not alone. My guest today, Brittany Quagan, a therapist and psychic medium is ultra familiar with all things “spooky” - both in terms of trauma and spirituality. We discuss what it’s like to struggle as an empath, with anxiety, depression, and suicidality as a young adult. We also discuss coming out of the broom closet while working in traditional mental health systems and some pretty amazing research on how to control experiences that most of the clinical world would describe as “psychosis”.

Also in this episode:

• managing & honoring deep feelings and your empathic nature even as it may be rooted in trauma responses and hypervigilence
• grappling with suicidality and hearing voices
• ancestral trauma passed down in our bodies
• parts work and tracing the origin of unhealed wounds
• cognitive dissonance as a psychologist working in the system
• research on voice hearing in a spiritual vs clinical context - the importance of normalization and community

Brittany Quagan is a licensed therapist, intuitive healer, and psychic/medium. Brittany is no stranger to the effects of trauma; the imprint it leaves in our body, how it colors the way we see the world, and the ways in which it leaves us riddled with anxiety, negative thoughts, and a heaviness that feels impossible to break free from. Her own healing journey is what brought her to do this profound healing work with her clients for over a decade now. Brittany guides her clients on an exploration of self, to understand the many parts of ourselves to help us heal, and to create a future full of empowerment.

Find Brittany:

Website: https://www.brittanyquagancounseling.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/brittanyquagan/

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

Links:

ISPS: http://www.isps.org/

It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn: https://markwolynn.com/it-didnt-start-with-you/

Control over Hearing Voices Study (Yale COPE Project Research) : https://www.spirit.research.yale.edu/_files/ugd/1c2146_518b9b207b4e4968b89ebdee509ba7f4.pdf

Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum: https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/43/1/84/2511864?searchresult=1&login=false

Hearing Voices Network Global : https://www.hearing-voices.org/

Lilydale New York: https://www.lilydaleassembly.org/

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“The questions we ask ourselves when we’re in the midst of crises have the potential to either liberate or confine us."

Mental health concerns have multiple roots and many contributing factors. We cannot reduce mental health symptoms to a single cause or origin. We are dynamic human beings, and need many pathways for healing. The term ‘holistic’ is often used to elicit the concept of mind-body integration, however, in this episode, we’ll be discussing what a truly holistic framework for mental health looks like, including the questions we can ask ourselves when we are trying to understand how to navigate mental health concerns.

Also in this episode:

• values and principles of holistic health that mental health field and practitioners can begin to adopt
• de-pathologizing mental health concerns
• 6 questions to ask yourself about root causes influencing your mental health

Links:

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: https://www.idha-nyc.org/

Donate to the Institute: https://idha.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate

Book a session with Jazmine: https://www.jazminerussell.com/book

Research:

Holistic Health Principles:

https://ahha.org/selfhelp-articles/principles-of-holistic-medicine/

Dube, et al(2009). Cumulative childhood stress and autoimmune diseases in adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3318917/

Jeppesen, & Benros, (2019). Autoimmune diseases and psychotic disorders. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00131/full

Read, et al (2005). Childhood trauma, psychosis and schizophrenia: a literature review with theoretical and clinical implications. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00634.x

Yehuda & Lehrner (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: putative role of epigenetic mechanisms

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wps.20568

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Our capacity to authentically relate to one another is shaped not only by our life experiences, early childhood, and attachment, but the broader culture we live in and the myths we pick up from society about what relationships should look like. In this episode, I speak with a trauma-informed couple’s therapist about the qualities of healthy loving relationships, how toxic and transactional societal values shape how we relate, and real-life examples of moving through triggers and developing deeper intimacy.

• Why taking a trauma-informed lens to couples counseling is crucial
• The utility of “attachment styles” and putting it into context of child development and broader societal values
• Learning from “in tact cultures” that values connectedness and belonging from birth
• Transactional relationships and learning to see people beyond the scope of our own needs
• The 5 adaptive strategies we learn in childhood that come up in interpersonal relationships
• How to repair from conflict and deal with our triggers with real case examples
• Using mythology, narrative, and intuition in couple’s work
• Advice for those entering new relationships

Rebecca Nidorf, LCSW-R is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Hudson Valley. Rebecca Has been a practicing clinician for 25 years and part time at Bard College as a clinical supervisor and director of a crisis counseling program for 18 years. She began her career as a complex trauma therapist working with rape and incest survivors. This led to a private practice where she treats individuals and primarily, couples. Rebecca is an integrative therapist who uses teachings from a variety of mentors and practitioners ranging from Esther Perel, Terrance Real, Pia Melody, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D, Francis Weller, Resmaa Menakem, Carol Giligan and many others. Rebecca considers herself to be a consummate student. She feels a sense of soulful gratitude when working with her clients in a therapeutic setting and when she is leading retreats and teaching. Rebecca is grateful for all of the many people who have trusted her with their stories over the course of her career.

Rebecca’s Website: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/rebecca-nidorf-new-paltz-ny/200303

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

Resources:

Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241823.Women_Who_Run_With_the_Wolves

Why Does Patriarchy Persist? by Carol Gilligan https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39971978-why-does-patriarchy-persist

Esther Perel https://www.estherperel.com/

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Recently, as I've been caring for a sick relative in his death process, an old familiar feeling arose for me - the fear and pain of abandonment through loss. As a child of neglect and a trauma survivor, I consider abandonment to be my particular "core wound," a familiar pain or pattern from usually our early years, that arises repeatedly in life in order to be healed. Life gives us many opportunities to work with core wounds, and we can choose to take ourselves through the journey into the underbelly if we want to. In this episode, I take you through my personal intimate process of working with a core wound, and coming to greater acceptance and appreciation of these previously unintegrated parts.

Also in this episode:

• examples of core emotional wounds & how to identify a core wound
• how to know when a core wound is being activated
• dealing with abandonment wounds from childhood neglect
• what to do when you feel stuck or not ready to let go of an emotional wound
• how to deal with self-betrayal and forgiveness

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation :https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

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In all of our relationships, we bring our history, the roles we’ve played, our strategies for belonging, our privilege, and our worldview to the dynamic. In this episode, we get to hear from two deeply reflective mental health workers, who spend much of their time attempting to redefine helping relationships within and outside the system, about their personal experiences with love and relationships. They shed light on their process for communication and the values they share that sometimes also apply to how they show up for friends, family, and their clients.

We also discuss:

• lessons learned from past relationships and examining what you want to do differently
• understanding your role in the family, in society, your privilege and worldview, and how that impacts how you relate
• what it looks like to process and communicate about needs and emotions
• the process of repair after conflict and receiving feedback from a partner with real life examples
• relating to clients authentically as a mental health worker, understanding power dynamics and determining your personal values

Leah Pressman (she/her) and Jay Stevens (he/him) live and work together in New York City with their three cats. Both work as program directors for mobile case management and mental health treatment teams at a non-profit agency.

Leah is a licensed clinical social worker by training, and continuously invests in unlearning unhelpful lessons from her formal education. She’s divorced (literally) from a path that no longer serves her; and has since committed to a life rooted in intentional choices, connection with others, creative expression, justice, and kindness. Leah finds purpose in nurturing her community and building systems that give a sh*. She’s a proud maker of home-cooked meals, crochet, collage, and any and all crafts that inspire her. Leah is an IDHA member and organizer with IDHA’s Training Committee. You can find her on the internet @leah.makesthings

Jay is both a harm reductionist and licensed mental health counselor (perhaps a contradiction of terms). He identifies as a person with lived experience of unhelpful substance use, being unhoused, and incarceration. He leads his team with a Harm Reduction and Decarceration lens to support those who are unhoused and/or living with mental health diagnoses. Jay believes in the foundational power of human connection, and the imperative to explore the link between personal and societal transformation. He dreams of mental health care led by people with lived experience that is community-based and free from surveillance and coercion. He organizes with IDHA and serves as treasurer of IDHA’s board of directors. Jay operates rooflesslove.com.

Links:

Jay & Leah’s Audio Blog: Unlicensed: Radicalizing Continuing Education https://www.idha-nyc.org/post/2023/1/31/unlicensed-radicalizing-continuing-education

rooflesslove.com

Saving Our Own Lives by Shira Hassan: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/61757014-saving-our-own-lives

Dignity of Risk blog post by Jay: https://www.rooflesslove.com/blog/the-dignity-of-risk

Institute for the Development of Human Arts: https://www.idha-nyc.org/

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“As long as there’s breath there’s still hope for a change.” - Daryl Rocco. Addiction is not a moral failing nor an unrecoverable disease. Addiction is often a way we learn to lessen the pain of overwhelming trauma and isolation. In this episode, my dear friend Daryl Rocco shares her story of what it took to get sober after a lifetimes of trauma. She discusses learning to rely on others, surrendering to a higher power, and being willing to feel her emotions.

We also discuss:

• using substances and addiction as a way to numb out and flee from painful emotions
• The role of trauma and abusive relationships
• AA and mandated treatment
• hitting rock bottom and having a spiritual awakening during sobriety
• handling challenging mystical experiences

Daryl Rocco is a licensed vedic astrologer/teacher, ayurveda practitioner, yoga instructor with over 19 years of experience, Reiki Usui 2 energy healer, psychic, and experienced paralegal. In 2004, following a series of life-altering losses, Daryl discovered the yoga mat and its community. As she began to recover, she gravitated naturally toward yoga teacher training and instruction. She became qualified in both vedic astrology and ayurveda not long after she began studying vedic astrology and ayurveda in earnest. Daryl employs the ancient teachings of yoga, ayurveda, and vedic astrology to assist her clients in returning to a state of harmony with themselves, others, and their dharma. She uses spiritual instructions, energy and elemental combinations to assist clients back to their original, balanced, authentic selves. Her ultimate dharmic path is to contribute her energy, time, and support to other practitioners, students of life, and all sentient beings, as service to and of the light comes naturally to her. Daryl's dharma is energetically aligned with her commitment to the conscious community.

Links:

Daryl’s Website: https://www.soulsankalpa.com/

Daryl’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/soul_sankalpa/

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

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“You have a lot of sickness [in the United States] because people are trying to behave in a way that will look “normal,” but that’s one thing the body wasn’t created for: to behave, to be controlled, to live like you are in a prison. “ - Thabiso Mthimkhulu.

What if “going crazy” was part of a larger process? What if it was a message from your body, your ancestors, or a wisdom larger than yourself? Thabiso, a traditional Swaziland Healer who moved to the U.S. in 2020, shares his story about training as a healer in a context where madness wasn’t stopped or something to be fixed, but rather the sign of a bigger calling.

We also discuss:

• answering the “call” to be a healer and what the initiation process is like
• the importance of letting people go “crazy” in order to heal
• growing up in a context where healing, ancestral communication, and mystical experiences are normal
• what healer training is like in Swaziland
• flaws with western psychiatric systems compared to indigenous swaziland healing cultures

Links:

Work with Thabiso: https://www.thabisoheals.com/

Thabiso on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thabisoheals/

Work with Jazmine: https://www.jazminerussell.com/book

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"The only way it works is when you can allow yourself to be like water and take to it." - Christopher Rhodes. Energy healing, psychic work and mysticism is not reserved for a select few, these gifts are available to anyone who desires to engage with it, as many of our ancestors did. Today's magical guest is a fellow psychic and energy healer who also trains others in the craft. We talk about what it's like to "answer the call" as a healer, train in psychic school, and how to trust yourself and your gifts.

We also discuss:

• growing up with spiritual gifts in a catholic household
• sensitivities, challenges, and feelings of not belonging
• courageously answering the call to be a psychic healer and clairvoyant
• what psychic school is like
• the grounding nature of holotropic breathwork
• the value of energy and psychic work

Christopher Rhodes has been studying and practicing in mystic and the healing arts for over 20 years. His experience includes years of intensive structured trainings from a variety of teachers with focuses including healing, therapeutic, and clairvoyant work. He became a director and teacher for a psychic development school for 11 years before he launched his own practice. He is now the founder of Myphoria, where he is in practice as a clairvoyant reader and breathwork facilitator. Christopher enjoys leading people to their own gifts and the magic that occurs while holding space for breathwork and healing. As a teacher he finds joy in bringing the out-of-reach, down to earth. His passion for mysticism drives him to continue exploring new horizons within the magic of the work.

Links:

Christopher's website: https://www.myphoria.com/

Christopher's IG: https://www.instagram.com/myphoria_ig/

Sessions with Jazmine: Jazminerussell.com/book

Resources:

Breath Liberation Society: https://chauna-louise-bryant.mykajabi.com/breathwork-facilitator-training

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“You don’t learn how to not be codependent by avoiding intimate relationships. That’s not the antidote." - Caitlyn Daly. Codependency has little to do with being "dependent" vs. "independent" and much more to do with our attachment wounding and the subtle ways we may subconsciously seek control. Codependency can happen in any connection - friendships, lovers, and partners in any relational style. In today's episode, I speak with my long time best friend, Caitlyn Daly who has spent her life learning the art of eros and intimacy.

This is part 2 of a longer conversation, so if you want to listen to part 1 all about healthy committed friendships, you can hear our story about conflict, repair, the mother wound, and building trust in bonus premium episode 31 of this podcast.

We also discuss:

• Navigating the space between monogamy and polyamory
• Toxic vs healthy monogamy and sexual fidelity
• How to discuss shared values in relationships
• Ending the cycle of Codependency and giving up seeking to control or manipulate our partners via rigidity, fawning, and other strategies
• Healing jealousy, victim mindset, abusive behavior and finding security in ourselves
• Choosing your relational styles based on healing attachment wounding

Caitlyn Daly is a professional dominatrix, performer, and sacred touch provider in Portland, Oregon. Coming of age in the wildest city in the world, NYC, parties, kink, and psychedelia became part of her lifestyle with a true north on personal growth and radical self-expression. In 2016, she began throwing parties for swingers and sex curious to have a safe place to explore. Combining her fascination for the erotic with deep emotional embodiment practices, she pursued training in tantric teachings. Caitlyn loves the home she shares with two partners and is connected to broader community through the pulse of the life force that ties us all together.

Caity's Website : heiresstoeros.com

Links:

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

Resources:

Codependent No More by Melody Beattie https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61865476-codependent-no-more

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"What you risk, reveals what you value" - Jeanette Winterson. Our values inform every decision and aspect of our lives. Knowing what we value is more than a self-help exercise or some words to place on a sticky note in the bathroom. It turns out, not knowing, not acting on our authentic values, or having "junk" values, can actually make us more depressed and anxious. It takes immense courage to act from full integrity. It can mean leaving a relationship, a career, or all that is familiar to us, choosing courage over security, or authenticity over perceived belonging and validation. To take the leap of integrity, we aren't guaranteed a happier outcome, but the risk is often worth it.

In this episode, I discuss:

• The research on links between depression and "junk values"
• Ways we often self-abandon for the sake of perceived belonging, acceptance, approval, or love
• Practical exercises to get clear on our authentic values and get intentional about how we act on them
• What other experts and thinkers have to say about the risk of living in integrity

Links:

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

Research:

Johann Hari: Lost Connections: Uncovering the root causes of Depression and Unexpected solutions https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34921573-lost-connections

Tim Kasser: The High Price of Materialism https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295001.The_High_Price_of_Materialism

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“Grounding” or cultivating feelings of presence and safety in the body is not only about integrating a few practices into your life. There are often very real barriers we face when trying to ground or calm the nervous system, especially for trauma survivors. Grounding isn’t about hugging a tree, it’s about facing the discomfort of landing our full presence and power here onto this earth, when we may have patterns and conditioning that tell us the body is an unsafe place to be. In today’s episode, I discuss common blocks to grounding, the annoying but true things that other healers have taught me about grounding, and crucial lessons I wish I had learned sooner.

Also in this episode:

• why grounding can feel threatening to the body
• 3 turning points for me in admitting why I was avoiding grounding
• stress addiction and coming down off cycles of chaos
• what the nervous system has to do with it

Links: 

Sessions: https://www.jazminerussell.com/book

12 Grounding Practices for Fear Anxiety and Dissociation: https://witty-creator-9045.ck.page/fa99aed366

Reclaiming All Parts of You: Healing Shame Workbook & Meditation : https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

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What does it mean to become an ancestor who is worthy of praise? To leave a legacy? How do we become the kind of ancestor our familial or collective future descendants want to call on? Today’s guest, Veronica Agard, founder of Ancestors in Training, shares her journey realizing what was missing in activist and mental health circles, and her motivation for creating circles where people could explore their lineage and connect with the power of their intuition.

We also discuss:

• The importance of mutual aid and community care
• Navigating grief windows
• Ancestral, spiritual and movement-based healing practices
• The journey in becoming an aborisha in the Ifa tradition
• boundaries with friends as a healer and building trust in relationships
• ancestral reverence and intuitive development

Veronica Agard (Ifáṣadùn Fásanmí) (she/her) is a writer, abọ̀rìṣà, community educator, and connector at the intersections of Black identity, wellness, representation, and culture. She curated the Who Heals the Healer series and the conference of the same name and facilitates the Ancestors in Training educational project.Her words have homes at For Harriet, Black Girl Magik, Life as Ceremony, Black + Well, Redefining Our, and Heritage Journal (among others). Through Ancestors in Training, she is a recipient of a Spring 2022 Reclamation Ventures Grant award for Healing Practices for Grief. Ṣadùn also serves as a member of the Speakers Series with End Rape on Campus, as well as member of the Board at IDHA NYC. With every opportunity, she names the power of storytelling and being believed in. Described as living in the future - Veronica is guided by the past and carries out her dreams in the present.

Find Veronica here:

Ancestors in Training : https://ancestorsintraining.org/

Donate: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ancestorsintraining

Personal Website: http://www.veronicaagard.com/work-with-me

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/verosgotthejuice/ &
https://www.instagram.com/ancestorsintraining/

References:

https://af3irm.org/af3irm/chapters/new-york-city/

https://batjc.wordpress.com/resources/pods-and-pod-mapping-worksheet/

the alter of my soul - Marta Moreno Vega

Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals - Luisah Teish

https://endrapeoncampus.org/speaker-series/about-erocs-speakers/

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It takes courage to own your story, especially for trauma survivors. Jessie Roth shows us, in this episode, the power of storytelling, showing up as your full self with the multiple roles and identities you hold and why it’s important to intentionally straddle frameworks to re-story your experiences as a form of healing. As the director of The Institute for the Development of Human Arts, she’s also a master at facilitating cross-movement knowledge building at the intersections of mental health and social justice. Jessie and I also discuss:

• how to advocate as a family member of someone with mental health concerns
• why “being a voice for the voiceless” gets a lot wrong about autonomy and decision-making in mental health
• what it means to “decarcerate mental health care” and why it’s crucial

Jessie Roth is a writer and movement organizer with more than a decade of experience at the intersection of mental health and social justice. She is the Director of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts (IDHA), a transformative mental health training institute bringing together mental health workers, peers, survivors, activists, artists, and other advocates for education and community development. Inspired by personal and family mental health experiences, Jessie’s work is focused on the healing power of storytelling and the importance of cross-movement organizing for mental health liberation. A longtime IDHA member, Jessie supported the development of initiatives such as Mental Health Trialogue, a forum bridging the perspectives of peers, family members, and providers; and Decarcerating Care, an ongoing panel series discussing the carceral nature of the mental health system, rooted in the voices and experiences of survivors. Her writing has been published in We've Been Too Patient: An Anthology of Voices from Radical Mental Health, the Intima Journal of Narrative Medicine, and the Village Voice. She is also an avid home cook, passionate about the power of cooking as a care-centered creative practice.

Links:

Institute for the Development of Human Arts:

• https://idha-nyc.org/
• Crossroads of Crisis series: https://www.idha-nyc.org/crossroads-of-crisis
• Decarcerating Care: https://www.idha-nyc.org/decarcerating-care
• New resource list on Community Care, Not Coercion: https://www.idha-nyc.org/community-care
• Become a member: https://idha-nyc.org/membership

Find Jessie here: http://www.jessie-roth.com/ & join her "cooking as care" on substack: https://jessieroth.substack.com/

Research/Articles :

• The Power of Speaking for Others by Linda Alcoff: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1354221
• Network to Advance Abolitionist Social Work: https://www.naasw.com/
• 988 suicide hotline: What activists are saying: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/08/04/988-suicide-hotline-national-mental-health-activists-issues/10238276002/
• And Now They Are Coming for the Unhoused: https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/12/unhoused-expand-involuntary-treatment/

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This is one of the most intimate and refreshing conversations I've ever had on childhood sexual abuse. As my guest and long-time best friend of 15 years, Jagger Waters, says, societally, "We tend to treat it like it's a disease rather than an experience." As a comedy writer, she brilliantly sheds light on this topic by intentionally using humor to alchemize one of the most traumatic experiences one can have. We muse on what it's like to not just heal from the experience, to the point where it's nothing but a tiny blip in our life story, but to also use it as a catalyst to become an even more powerful, communicative, confident, sex-positive, and self-aware human.

We also discuss:

• ways in which the impact of childhood sexual abuse is more about betrayal/attachment than the physical/sexual aspects
• the kinds of horrible (and hilarious) responses we've gotten from therapists and others
• how age, gender, and power are deeply interrelated
• whether adult sexual kinks have anything to do with trauma and making a commitment to healthy relationships and sex
• self-translation and how to disclose to partners, therapists, and friends
• what kinds of responses from people are helpful (and not)
• re-defining and communicating your relationship to pleasure
• how to deal with retraumatization
• avoiding victimhood and taking radical self-responsibility
• when to stop going to therapy and follow your own process

Jagger Waters is a Los Angeles based comedy writer, goof ball and amateur roller skater.

Instagram: @glamorousreptile

Twitter: @glamoureptile

Links:

• Reclaiming All Parts of You [meditation & workbook on healing the roots of shame] - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/
• 1:1 Holistic Counseling, Breathwork, and Energy Work Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

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Creating your life like a work of art starts with having a vision and being deeply intentional about what we desire (while also leaving room for the mystery). Modern “goal setting” strategies can feel cold or simply exhausting. I’ve spent a decade researching the best ways to intentionally set goals that are aligned with your values in a way that also feels easy and fun. So in today’s episode I cover my favorite annual reflection and annual planning processes, how to discover and get creative with your 10, 3 and 1 year goals, and how to implement online and paper systems for consistency. You can do these practices anytime, not just around the start of the year but also the start of a quarter, around your birthday, or anytime that you need clarity.

Also in this episode:

• Intentional living and the impact of consistent reflection
• Why we need to start with values and desired feelings
• Annual reflection - the most important questions I ask myself yearly
• Vision casting for 10, 3, and 1 year goals that’s easy and fun
• Avoiding overwhelm with simple monthly and weekly planning to take action on your goals
• The biggest lessons I’ve learned in being intentional in the planning process

Links:

• Goal Setting for Creatives Course - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/goal-setting-for-creatives/
• Notion Life Dashboard Template - https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/life-dashboard-goal-setting-project-managing
• Monthly Planning Canva Template - https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/monthlyplanningtemplate
• Weekly Planning Canva Template -https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/weeklyplanningtemplate

Resources:

Kate Northrup - https://katenorthrup.com/book/

Hilary Rushford - https://elegantexcellencejournal.com/

Danielle LaPorte - https://shop.daniellelaporte.com/pages/desire-map-digital

Leah Goard - https://www.leahgoard.com/

Greg McKeown - https://gregmckeown.com/books/essentialism/

James Clear - https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

Marie Forleo - https://everythingisfigureoutable.com/

Susannah Conway - https://www.susannahconway.com/

Simon Sinek - https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/

Values exercise - https://personalvalu.es/

Core desired feelings list - https://www.spiritandmuse.com/spirit-muse-blog/101-core-desired-feelings-2022

Wheel of life - https://theartofliving.com/planner/start/wheel-of-life/

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It takes radical imagination to envision a future of mental health that is rooted in community support and multiple ways of approaching healing. Noah Gokul is an artist and mental health educator who embodies this concept in all their work. Grounded and affirmed by legacies of activism before us, we discuss what it was like to be peer specialist working in a clinical mental health setting. Noah shares how having a father who was a culturally affirming family therapist impacted their work, and how they use art to explore frameworks for navigating depression and anxiety.

Also in this episode:

• The co-optation of the peer specialist role and how hierarchy can prevent progress
• the importance of knowing the history of mental health activism
• depression as a manifestation of not getting our needs met
• navigating anxiety through art

Noah (they/them) is a Queer multidisciplinary artist and educator here to create liberated worlds through art, storytelling, and sound. They grew up in Oakland, CA/unceded Ohlone land, and identify as a trauma survivor with sensitivities to the world around them. They use music and art for meaning-making and the healing of others, integrating these passions into their work as a peer for young adults in a first-episode psychosis program. They have facilitated in a wide variety of settings, at the intersections of anti-oppression, trauma, incarceration, Caribbean ancestry, music, and mental health. Through their incantations they create spaces of radical imagination and possibility.

IDHA-NYC.org

Events:

Crossroads of Crisis 2022-2023 Trainings - https://www.idha-nyc.org/crossroads-of-crisis

Links:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bindiram/

Bandcamp - https://bindiram.bandcamp.com/music

ReKin Art Collective Berlin - https://moritzjekat.de/re-kin

Inside the spiral created by Noah Gokul - https://vimeo.com/749357163

On Track NY - https://ontrackny.org/

The Icarus Project - https://www.academia.edu/11397502/The_Icarus_Project_A_Counter_Narrative_for_Psychic_Diversity

The Radical Imagination: Social Movement Research in the Age of Austerity by Max Haiven and Alex Khasnabish

The Family Centre NZ- https://familycentre.org.nz/

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People have been experiencing altered states of consciousness since the dawn of humanity, whether it's through plant medicine, meditation, spiritual practices, or spontaneously (in experiences that often get labeled as "psychosis"). We are now starting to understand that altered states of consciousness, no matter the origin, have the capacity to be deeply healing. In this episode, with my good friend and colleague, Katrina Michelle, a psychotherapist specializing in spiritual integration, we discuss different kinds of spiritual experiences, why psychedelic therapies often are faster and more effective than talk therapy, and how people can heal from trauma through altered states.

Also in this episode:

• types of spiritual awakenings and mystical experiences
• psychiatrization of mystical/spiritual states
• psychedelic assisted therapy, mdma therapy, and how and why it works
• harm reduction with psychedelics

Katrina Michelle, PhD, LCSW earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology at Sofia University and her Master’s in Social Work from Stony Brook University. For her doctoral research she conducted a heuristic study on Exploring Resistance to Spiritual Emergence. Her Master’s research focussed on spiritual development within higher education.

Katrina worked as the director of harm reduction for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) at the Zendo Project and served for three years as the executive director of The American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE). Katrina has served as graduate faculty at New York University’s Department of Applied Psychology, Columbia University’s School of Social Work, Fordham University’s School of Social Services, and The Institute for the Development of Human Arts.

Katrina is a member of the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC) and currently working with an international team on research to elucidate adverse psychedelic experiences in order to contribute to evidence-based and trauma-informed integration practices. She is also a founding member of the advisory board for The Fireside Project, a psychedelic peer-support line.

Katrina is the founder and director of The Curious Spirit, a New York-based psychotherapy and coaching practice. She is also creator and producer of When Lightning Strikes, a documentary in progress intended to demystify the awakening process and help create a cultural context for understanding mystical phenomena while normalizing the often challenging elements of this natural human experience.

Research & Links:

http://www.thecuriousspirit.org/

Spiritual Emergency by Stanislav & Christina Grof - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/638137.Spiritual_Emergency

https://maps.org/

https://zendoproject.org/

https://aciste.org/

Support Katrina's Research : https://challengingpsychedelicexperiences.com/

https://www.lucid.news/

https://psychedelic.support/

https://psychiatryinstitute.com/psychedelic/

Book a session with Jazmine: www.jazminerussell.com/book

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There is no such thing as being "too sensitive," we simply live in a world that doesn't honor the gifts of sensitivity. This week we're diving into the various ways we can feel "too sensitive" or reactive to the world around us - emotionally, physically, or spiritually, and the ways in which highly sensitive people often get labeled as mentally ill. We discuss finding the balance between desiring resilience and honoring the crucial messages of our bodies are trying to give us. When we honor these messages and work with the body, we have an opportunity to make the changes necessary for a more sustainable life.

Also in this episode:

• Types of sensitivity and how they can be strengths
• How the trauma response of hypervigilance and empathic feeling can be adaptive but also requires boundaries
• How highly sensitive people get labeled and scapegoated within the family or social system
• The metaphor of "Dangerous Gifts" and the ways in which highly sensitive people can act as the "canary in the coalmine" in society

Links:

• Sessions:www.JazmineRussell.com
• Online Course: Dangerous Gifts : Beyond Symptom and Cure Mentality - https://www.idha-nyc.org/dangerous-gifts/

Research:

• The Icarus Project: A counter narrative for psychic diversity - https://www.mapstotheotherside.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JMH-Icarus-2014.pdf

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When it comes to mental health crises, there are incredible and highly effective healing alternatives to psychiatric institutionalization all over the world! These respite centers offer agency, choice, freedom, and collective care, in place of the dominant “medicate and separate” model. Activists, clinicians, peers, healers, and researchers have been building and uplifting these models for decades, many of which are more cost-effective and keep people out of hospitals for longer or even indefinitely. The issue is, no one is talking about them. Here in Berlin, I got to sit down in person with Kim Wichera, an artist and activist who has spent their life devoted to uplifting alternatives to coercive treatment, and fighting for those who society has left behind.

Also in this episode:

• Disillusionment with the psychiatric system & why it so easily causes harm
• History of Berlin’s anti-psychiatric movement and why there is a deep need for alternatives
• How the respite center Weglaufhaus came to exist as one of two centers in Germany
• Germany vs U.S. mental health system

Links:

www.idha-nyc.org

Resources:

Weglaufhaus- https://weglaufhaus.de/en/

Book anthology gegendiagnose - https://www.edition-assemblage.de/en/books/gegendiagnose/

Bonnie Barstow psychiatry disrupted - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18938352-psychiatry-disrupted

https://www.irrenoffensive.de/

Kimwichera.com

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I’m a multi-passionate person who spent most of my life feeling scattered in a million directions. Such is often the cost of living a really creative life. However, I now truly believe we can feel creative, inspired, motivated, and also prioritize what we value. I believe we can feel at ease at the intersections of our varied desires. For me, it’s not about “discipline”, it’s about getting honest and creating the right context. Here’s my best practical suggestions for clearing out the mental clutter and invoking creativity before we head into a new year.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• how to clean up the open tabs in our brains and unfulfilled projects to make more space for what’s important
• what to do when our motivation and creative energy gets drained
• 5 tangible practices for increasing motivation
• how to prioritize based on your values
• why motivation is less about discipline and more about creating the right environment

Links: 

• Goal Setting for Creatives Course ($30) - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/goal-setting-for-creatives/
• Notion Organization Dashboard for life and project management - https://jazminerussell.gumroad.com/l/life-dashboard-goal-setting-project-managing

Resources:

• Conscious Loving (Useful Exercises) - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/235625.Conscious_Loving

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“For us to truly reach equity we must all be involved in this process of reconnecting and recovering our humanity" - Milta Vega Cardona.

In this episode we discuss:

• Working inside Institutions that abuse power and fighting back from within
• How race became a construct and the core of the hierarchy in the US.
• Why white supremacy isn’t about individual actions, but systemic abuses of power
• The history of the concept of whiteness, the cost of this construct, and its impact on the U.S.
• Reclaiming our humanity through intimacy and vulnerability
• Spiritual connection in anti-racism work

Milta Vega Cardona is a National Anti-Racism / Anti Oppression Consultant providing support in organizing and curating conversations on Race and Racism in the United States, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Her 40 plus years of expertise in the Human Services Field and her 15 years of curating conversations on Race and Racism provide the backdrop to her ability in creating an environment for both BIPOC and White People to take the deep dive into this uncomfortable and often “messy” conversation on Race.

Links:

• IDHA's Virtual Event DEC 4th https://www.idha-nyc.org/2022-festival

Resources:

Milta’s website :https://www.wisdomstrategyinnovation.com/

People’s institute for survival and beyond: https://pisab.org/

Manifestations of White supremacy culture in organizations: https://coco-net.org/white-supremacy-culture-in-organizations/

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In this beautiful intimate conversation with Lilly King, we discuss  the realities of navigating mental and physical health concerns within a fractured health care system in the U.S. We share our best tips for advocating for yourself, navigating the medical industrial complex, talking to doctors, and building a care team. 

Also in this episode:

• Living with Ehlers-danlos syndrome, celiac disease, ibs, and chronic pain
• Childhood illnesses and autoimmunity
• Taking a functional medicine or holistic approach
• Chronic inflammation and its role in mental health issues
• Community support and prevention for chronic illness

Help Lilly get her service dog: Venmo: @Lillking 

LINKS:

Healing as Homecoming Dec 4th 2022 - https://idha.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/idha/event.jsp?event=44

RESOURCES:

• https://communityhealthadvocates.org/ (for NY only)
• https://directlabs.com/
• https://chriskresser.com/
• Edward Bullmore "The Inflamed Mind"
• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39899586-the-inflamed-mind

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This week I got to talk to my friend and colleague, Ana Florence, Brazilian clinical psychologist and researcher, about the impact of globalization, the export of psychiatry from the global north to the south, and what it means to be a clinician dedicated to consistent self-inquiry.

Also in this episode:

• Psychology and human rights activism in Brazil,
• how open dialogue revolutionizes crisis treatment,
• social determinants of health and the power asymmetries between global north and south when it comes to the medicalization of mental health,
• subverting academic spaces by fostering critical doubt, self-inquiry, and tolerating uncertainty.

Dr. Florence is an early career investigator at Columbia University Department of Psychiatry and New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is a Brazilian clinical psychologist fluent in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. As the project manager of the NIMH Early Psychosis Intervention Network -- OnTrackNY Hub -- her current research focuses on early intervention for first-episode psychosis. Other research interests include global mental health and community-based participatory research. She is a person with lived experience.

Links:

• Institute for the Development of Human Arts - https://www.idha-nyc.org/

• Healing as Homecoming Dec 4th 2022 - https://idha.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/idha/event.jsp?event=44

Research:

• Cristian Montenegro- Chilean sociologist discussing the gaze of the global north on the global south - https://sites.google.com/view/crmontenegro/home
• Jose Bleger - Argentinian institutional analyst
• Joana Montcrieff, psychologist and researcher - https://joannamoncrieff.com/
• Interview with Dainius Puras for Mad in America: https://www.madinamerica.com/2020/05/bringing-human-rights-mental-health-care-interview-dainius-puras/
• Global South activism: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10597-022-00959-1.pdf
• https://www.essex.ac.uk/centres-and-institutes/human-rights/research-and-practice/health-human-rights-and-social-justice
• Email: ana.florence@nyspi.columbia.edu

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Many of the wounds, patterns, and emotions we carry in our bodies are not only our own. Some emotional wounds that get conceptualized as personality traits, habits, or norms, are actually inherited ancestral trauma. In this episode we talk about intergenerational/ancestral trauma, using the example of impostor syndrome as rooted in historical oppression. We also walk about elders, getting to know your living ancestors, making ancestor alters, and tangible steps in how to engage in ancestral healing.

Links:

• IDHA's Virtual Healing as Homecoming Event on DEC 4th with Dr. Jennifer Mullen and Dr. Gabor Mate: https://idha.app.neoncrm.com/np/clients/idha/event.jsp?event=44
• Book an energy healing, breathwork, or energy work session: https://www.jazminerussell.com/book

Research:

My Grandmother's Hands by Resmaa Menakem : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34146782-my-grandmother-s-hands

Epigenetic Research: https://onbeing.org/programs/rachel-yehuda-how-trauma-and-resilience-cross-generations-nov2017/

It Didn't Start With You by Mark Wolynn: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26026054-it-didn-t-start-with-you

Ancestral Medicine by Daniel Foor https://ancestralmedicine.org/rituals-for-personal-and-family-healing/

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Why do we get nervous when things start to feel really good? Why does the mind often sabotage moments of Joy or bliss? Joy is a wonderful, expansive state and can also be overwhelming or even terrifying - as Brene Brown says "When we lose our tolerance for vulnerability, joy can be foreboding". We're not talking about happiness or excitement that stems from external circumstances, here we're talking about the kind of joy that can be heartbreaking or knock you off your feet. This episode is all about how we can increase our capacity for Joy regardless of the context of our everyday lives. Feeling joy is a risk, it takes courage. Let's dive in!

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• the difference between happiness and joy
• why joy can feel so terrifying at times
• why joy and grief are connected
• how we can cultivate our capacity for joy

Links:

Reclaiming All Parts of You [meditation & workbook on healing the roots of shame] - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

1:1 Holistic Counseling, Breathwork, and Energy Work Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Resources:

https://www.oprah.com/own-super-soul-sunday/dr-brene-brown-on-joy-its-terrifying-video

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13588356-daring-greatly

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“Don't shrink the power of your cultures and ancestors to fit into oppressive systems” - Elmina Bell

Have you been curious about ancestral healing but unsure how to engage? Most of us have been disconnected from our ancestors through colonialism, but that doesn’t mean we can’t access the wisdom that lives on through us. This week I had the huge privilege of getting to talk with Elmina Bell of Mulema Alchemy.

In this episode, we talk about re-thinking psychiatric diagnoses from a holistic indigenous perspective. We discuss practical ways to engage with our ancestors. We talk about colonial oppression, racism and how we’re each called to do the work of dismantling oppression in different ways according to our unique gifts and calling, how we can re-center spirit in mental health work, de-center whiteness in astrology and how to prepare for the upcoming eclipse season in sidereal Libra.

Elmina Bell (she/they) hails from Indigenous African parents from the Indigenous Bantu Sawa/Subu peoples of coastal, southwest Cameroon in Central Africa, and the Ewe peoples of Togo West Africa and was born and raised in the United States. Elmina is multiply neurodivergent/neuroexpansive person who centers Indigenous holistic psychologies and cosmologies for improved mental health, community building, and for the dismantling of oppressive colonial capitalistic societal systems that are at the root of health and housing disparities. Their work as a trained trauma-informed peer support facilitator, crisis counselor, tropical and sidereal astrologer, sound healer, and medium, is guided by Mulema Alchemy. Mulema means heart in the Indigenous Sawa languages of her parents and she believes in the transformative, alchemical power of the heart.

https://mulemaalchemy.wordpress.com/about-mulema-alchemy/

EVENTS:

Love in the Depths, a symposium held by Depth Psychologists of Color in honor of ancestor bell hooks Saturday October 22nd 10am-12:30 PST

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bell-hooks-love-in-the-depths-registration-382331161797

Hye Won Hye: A Roundtable Decolonizing and Re-Indigenizing Mars Themes by Sankofa Rising Indigenous Astro-Saturday November 12th from 1-4pm EST

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hye-won-hye-a-roundtable-decolonizing-and-re-indigenizing-mars-themes-tickets-437466844107

NOTE FROM ELMINA: Sidereal Astrology actually gave me an opportunity to look at ways I can develop roots and foundational astral interpretations that can be applicable regardless of climate while honoring locality. There’s something foundational in Sidereal that works closely with constellations that were used long ago and shares similarities with fixed stars which is the type of astrology that all indigenous societies used. I talk about this more through Sankofa Rising Indigenous Astro, a community and podcast with Black/POC astrologers using Indigenous cosmologies, healing justice, and decolonial approaches.

Find more at : https://www.instagram.com/sankofarising_indigenousastro/

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It's common to utilize breathing techniques to help with anxiety, slow down the mind, or support relaxation, but breathwork can also be incredibly potent for trauma healing. Holotropic Breathwork is an amazing modality that utilizes breath, embodiment, gentle altered states of consciousness, and emotional expression to create the conditions for any deeply embodied pain that we've held in for years or decades to be released and integrated. 

In this episode you'll learn:

• How holotropic breathwork is specifically useful for trauma processing

• How trauma holding patterns in the body are linked to breath

• How breathwork can help us bravely surrender to uncomfortable emotions

• Who breathwork is not for

• What breathwork taught me as a personal practice and as a facilitator

1:1 Holistic Counseling, Breathwork, and Energy Work Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Research:

More info on holding patterns: Peter Levine's  Waking The Tiger & In an Unspoken Voice

History of Holotropic Breathwork: http://www.dipsu.dk/Holotropic%20Breathwork%20by%20Stanislav%20Grof,%20MD.pdf

Study of breathwork conducted in hospitals: http://metslesvoiles.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/HB.pdf

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Mystical experiences are more common than we may think, but we live in a world that views them as strange, pathological, or only available to a “special” select few. I believe we all have the capacity to tap into the divine and see beyond the veil, if we desire, and that connecting deeply to the world around us through our lived mysticism is a foundational part of healing work. In this episode I’ll tell you how I discovered I was a “witch” or mystic, what precognition as a kid feels like, and how I ground my spiritual practice in my lived experiences without taking it all too seriously.

Links: 

• Energy Healing Sessions: https://www.jazminerussell.com/energy-healing
• 1:1 Healer Mentorship: https://www.jazminerussell.com/store/vv800gul8gykqyp6zikpfo091207vs

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Inner Child work is a practice of getting in touch with your subconscious feelings, beliefs, and wounding that may have been stuffed down since childhood. In inner child work, we have the opportunity to re-learn healthy attachment, develop deeper self-trust, notice and resolve “self-sabotaging” patterns, learn how to hold space for intense emotions and re-parent ourselves.

There’s a lot of information out there on inner child work, so I wanted to give you a primer on some basic “ground rules” I set for myself that make inner child work a bit more gentle and effective, as well as 5 core practices/resources I love.

You’ll learn:

• in which circumstances inner child work is most useful
• the benefits of inner child work for emotion regulation
• basic “principles” or "ground rules" for engaging in inner child work most effectively
• How inner child work can help heal attachment wounds
• 5 foundational inner child practices you may not have tried yet

Links:

Reclaiming All Parts of You [meditation & workbook on healing the roots of shame] - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

1:1 Holistic Counseling, Breathwork, and Energy Work Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Resources:

• Stefanie Stahl : The Child In You -https://stefaniestahl.com/

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The "fertile void" is the concept that moments in life marked by massive transitions, emptiness, lostness, and confusion can also be moments of pure magic and possibility. In fact, feeling confused in areas of life can be a really healthy and wonderful sign that there's so much more waiting for us. We need moments of rest, visioning, and recalibration in order to move forward in integrity. In this episode I discuss lessons I've learned from engaging in "the fertile void" and how to navigate lostness and confusion.

Links:

1:1 Holistic Counseling, Breathwork, and Energy Work Sessions- https://jazminerussell.com/

Resources:

1. Pema Chodron - When Things Fall Apart: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/687278.When_Things_Fall_Apart
2. Kate Northrup 4 phases of creation : https://katenorthrup.com/four-phases-creation-part-three-fertile-void/
3. Fertile Void : https://nikhelbig.at/tag/fertile-void/
4. Perls, F. (1942, 1947). Ego, Hunger and Aggression ISBN0-939266-18-0
5. Perls, F. Gestalt Therapy https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6096473M/Gestalt_therapy

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Anger is one of the most misunderstood and repressed emotions. There are many ways we dishonor our anger culturally and societally, yet there is so much power and wisdom in our anger when we learn ways to express it without causing harm or violence. Here are a few mistakes I’ve made in the process of learning to honor my anger and what I do now to listen to it.

Resources: 

Reclaiming All Parts of You [meditation & workbook on healing the roots of shame] - https://jazminerussell.lpages.co/reclaiming/

Links:

• Love and Rage by Llama Rod Owens - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53133204-love-and-rage
• Sacred Rage by Dr. Jennifer Mullan - https://www.drjennifermullan.com/

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Healing from childhood sexual abuse is far more complex than healing somatically. Often we must confront challenging family dynamics, betrayal, attachment wounds, abandonment, rage, grief, self-blame, guilt, and so much more. In this episode, I talk about the biggest lessons I've learned in healing from childhood trauma.

You’ll learn:

• The complexities around childhood sexual abuse and attachment issues
• Why so many childhood abuse survivors find themselves isolated and without familial support
• Why acknowledging betrayal trauma is a key part of the healing process
• How trauma impacts and gets stored in the body
• How self-trust and personal power can be developed through trauma

Links:

Reclaiming all Parts of You Workbook & Meditation

1:1 Sessions

Research:

• https://www.rainn.org/statistics
• Why family members side with abusers: https://psychcentral.com/lib/reasons-family-members-side-with-sexual-abusers
• Narcissism and sexual violence: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1077801215622575
• Cumulative childhood stress and autoimmune diseases in adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3318917/
• Vagus Nerve and PTSD: https://www.nature.com/articles/tp2017191
• Vagus nerve exercises: https://drarielleschwartz.com/natural-vagus-nerve-stimulation-dr-arielle-schwartz/
• Jennifer Freyd betrayal trauma https://www.jjfreyd.com/books, Research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/betrayal-trauma

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Is there such a thing as healthy distraction when it comes to processing emotions? How do we know if we need a break from healing work? How do we know when to dive in and when to distract from uncomfortable emotions? How do we build capacity and safety in the body so we can engage with pain and emotional processing sustainably? I like to use a framework that emerged from my own healing process to answer these tough questions, especially when it comes to dealing with fear, anxiety, and overwhelm. 

In this episode you’ll learn:

• how to discern when to dive into the healing process, and when it makes sense to ease up and take time away
• why a sense of somatic safety and capacity in the body is crucial to healing
• how the framework of depth vs width work can help you stay grounded in dealing with emotional triggers
• quick questions to ask when dealing with anxiety, fear, and overwhelming emotions

Links

Reclaiming all Parts of You Workbook & Meditation

1:1 Sessions

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Our emotions are vital, and yet we have deep set cultural myths that often prevent us from feeling, expressing, and releasing our emotions. What if the path to healing wasn't learning to "control" or "manage" our emotions, but instead learn to expand our capacity to feel intensity without betraying our self-trust?

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Two ways emotions can get stuck in the body
• How to release resistance around our emotions
• The top 3 cultural myths we have around our emotions
• Why we pathologize ourselves and how we can care for our big emotions differently

Links:

• Reclaiming all Parts of You: Healing the Roots of Shame & Insecurity [FREE workbook & meditation]
• Book a Session (Holistic Counseling, Breathwork or Energy Work)

Research:

• 46 Percent Of Americans Will Meet The Criteria For A Diagnosable Mental Health Condition Sometime In Their Life https://mhanational.org/mentalhealthfacts

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For many social workers and counselors, working in the mental health field is unsustainable and rife with ethical violations. Many of us feel complicit in a system that can often do more harm than good. Here you'll hear my personal experience working in mental health crisis, why I decided to quit, and what I did to contribute to communities and build capacity outside the field.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• what it can be like to work in the public mental health system
• issues with US mental health crisis services and why we lean so heavily on institutionalization
• ways in which racism and oppression permeate mental health diagnoses, treatment, and outcomes
• what you can do as an advocate or mental health worker to make small but impactful changes

Links

Institute for the Development of Human Arts

1:1 mentorship for healers and practitioners

Research

• Social Workers rejecting calls to replace police: https://theappeal.org/social-workers-are-rejecting-calls-for-them-to-replace-police/
• ODD, ADD & Racism : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1044389419842765
• Role of Peer Specialists: https://citylimits.org/2019/02/13/cityviews-is-new-yorks-mental-health-system-listening-to-people-whove-lived-it/
• Parachute Program in NYC for first episode of psychosis: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/20/parachute-therapy-psychosis-new-york-uk
• Open Dialogue Approach to Psychosis: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2003.00403.x
• Institute for Dialogic Practice
• Narrative Psychiatry by Bradley Lewis

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Research showing that the chemical imbalance theory of mental health is a myth has just hit news cycles again, but this is not the first time this theory has been debunked. Many working in the field have known there is little evidence to support this theory, so why is it only recently the public has been informed? How did this myth originate and where do we go from here?

In this episode you’ll learn

• what current research is showing about the lack of evidence for links between depression and serotonin
• the history behind the chemical imbalance theory and how it became popularized
• why psychiatrists and people in the field have know the chemical imbalance theory is a myth for years and why the public wasn't informed
• what this means for antidepressants and psychotropic medication

Links:

Institute for the Development of Human Arts

Research

• The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence (Montcrieff et al). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0.pdf
• Time lag in medical science: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3241518/
• Montcrieff’s response to criticism: https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/07/response-criticism-serotonin-paper/
• Rolling stones article about fueling right wing media: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/ssri-right-wing-attack-joanna-moncrieff-1388067/
• Moncrieff’s Response to Rolling Stone article: https://joannamoncrieff.com/2022/08/03/first-they-ignore-you-then-they-ridicule-you-and-then-they-attack-you/
• Healing by Thomas insel https://www.thomasinselmd.com/healing
• Antidepressant effect rates: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/6/e024886 & https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7418603/
• Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020392
• Other research on chemical imbalance theory & public perception :https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:267045/datastream/PDF/view ,

Books describing history of chemical imbalance theory and over-reliance on pharmaceuticals for mental health treatment

• The inflamed mind by Dr. Edward Bullmore - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39899586-the-inflamed-mind
• Cracked by James Davies - https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cracked/James-Davies/9781639360253
• Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker https://robertwhitakerbooks.com/anatomy-of-an-epidemic/

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In this episode you’ll learn:

• What the biomedical model of mental health is and why it dominates our field today
• Why this model is outdated and what emerging research is showing about the roots of mental health concerns
• The top myths that persist about mental health concerns despite evidence and research against it
• Why it’s time to put aside what we thought we knew about the DSM, diagnoses, psychotropic medication, and the chemical imbalance theory
• Why the United Nations, the old president of the National Institute of Mental Health and top researchers all agree that community mental health is most important

Links:

Institute for The Development of Human Arts

Research:

• Biomedical model and stigma: https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/ijfab.4.1.140 & https://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Abstract/2009/02000/A_Comparison_of_Contextual_and_Biomedical_Models.5.aspx
• Montcrief et al umbrella review of chemical imbalance theory depression and serotonin: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0?s=09
• Healing by Thomas Insel: https://www.thomasinselmd.com/healing
• Biomarkers in Psychiatry: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2820448/
• Antidepressant effect rates: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/6/e024886 &

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7418603/

• UN Human Rights Counsel on rights of persons with disabilities / guidelines https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G17/164/63/PDF/G1716463.pdf?OpenElement
• Client/therapy relationship: https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-3204.38.4.357
• Power Threat Meaning Framework
• Research Domain Criteria (RDoc)
• Psychiatric Diagnoses found scientifically meaningless: https://neurosciencenews.com/meaningless-psychiatric-diagnosis-14434/
• DSM statistically unreliable and invalid: https://www.madinamerica.com/2014/09/how-reliable-is-the-dsm-5/
• Thrive NYC https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2019/02/27/with-opaque-budget-and-elusive-metrics-850m-thrivenyc-program-attempts-a-reset-873945
• Marginalization, structrural issues & mental health: https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06152.x & https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12168

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When we think of a severe mental health crisis, we may think of experiences that get labeled as psychosis, schizophrenia, or other extreme states that require intensive support. But what if these experiences also held rich meaning and opportunity for healing when we can care for them without pathologizing or stripping away autonomy? In this episode you'll hear my personal story of surviving a mental health crisis outside the system, having an intense spiritual awakening, and learning vital lessons about the root causes of mental health concerns.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• what it’s like to survive an experience of “psychosis” from someone who has lived it
• why even the most serious mental health crises can be generative
• how to use multiple frameworks to understand why a mental health crisis happened
• what autoimmunity, trauma, ancestry, spiritual awakening, and structural oppression all have to do with psychosis and mental health crises

Links:

• 1:1 Holistic Counseling Sessions
• Breathwork Sessions
• Energy Healing Sessions

Research:

• The Inflamed Mind by Dr. Edward Bullmore (a book about links between immune system and mental health) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39899586-the-inflamed-mind
• Dube, et al(2009). Cumulative childhood stress and autoimmune diseases in adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3318917/
• Jeppesen, & Benros, (2019). Autoimmune diseases and psychotic disorders. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00131/full
• Jordan, Malla & Iyer(2019). “It’s Brought Me a Lot Closer to Who I Am”: A mixed methods study of posttraumatic growth and positive change following a first episode of psychosis. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00480/full
• Phillips III, Lukoff, & Stone (2009). Integrating the spirit within psychosis: Alternative conceptualizations of psychotic disorders.
• Read, et al (2005). Childhood trauma, psychosis and schizophrenia: a literature review with theoretical and clinical implications. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00634.x
• Ritunnano, Humpston, & Broome (2021) Finding order within the disorder: a case study exploring the meaningfulness of delusions https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348416655_Finding_order_within_the_disorder_a_case_study_exploring_the_meaningfulness_of_delusions

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The field of Mental Health is in need of drastic change, but we need a vision to get us there. What would it look like in practice to build a system that truly transformed those it seeks to serve? What does mental health that is rooted in rights based, peer-centered, and holistic care look like?

In this episode you’ll learn:

• why we are in desperate need for a new vision of mental health care
• what transformative mental health is, in theory and practice
• 3 core ingredients for practicing transformative mental health
• what systemic change really looks like
• what survivor led research and practice can do to change the landscape

Links:

• The Institute for the Development of Human Arts
• Healer Mentorship Program - 1:1 four week mentorship for those wanting to start or expand their private practice

Research:

• Definition of Transformative Mental health and IDHA’s history in developing it https://www.idha-nyc.org/about-idha
• IDHA’s founding memebers: https://www.idha-nyc.org/our-team
• Epistemic Injustice in psychiatry : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5376720/#:~:text=Epistemic injustice is a harm,of one's experiences (interpreting).
• Poverty & mental health : https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-018-0063-2
• Systemic causes of poverty and inequality in mental health: https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/spc3.12168
• Survivor-led research: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09687599.2017.1320270
• From cultural to structural competency: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2665216 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2665217

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Welcome! Here's what we'll be diving into.