The Work Room: Recent Episodes
Dr Lila Flavin & Dr Garseng Wong
Dr Lila Flavin and Dr Garseng Wong, two early career psychiatrists, take you into the work room to share what they've learned about the mind, emotions, and mental illness. They've found this knowledge to be an incredibly powerful tool in their own lives and they hope you'll join them on the path of working with the mind. Come get curious with them!
Questions, thoughts, or suggestions? Send a message to theworkroompodcast@gmail.com
Lila and Garseng discuss the idea of terminations. They chat about the role that a termination plays in the therapy relationship and model it with the podcast as they share the break they are taking. Thank you listeners for your support!
Lila and Garseng chat with their co-resident Sharon Madanes, psychiatrist and painter. They chat about Sharon’s lifelong journey towards this dual career, how her art and her clinical work inform each other, and the value of carving out time for her art.
Lila and Garseng chat with Dr. Mike Natter (@mike.natter) about his non-traditional path into medicine as an artist, his use of art as a teaching medium and as a coping tool for the tough experiences in medicine, and his humanistic approach to patient care.
Lila and Garseng chat with hematologist-oncologist and writer Dr. Laura Vater (@doclauravater) about how she navigates tough emotions as a doctor, how she found herself advocating for medical trainee wellness, and how her writing allows her to slow down with herself and her patients.
Lila and Garseng dig into the show “Euphoria” and chat about its depiction of mental health and addiction. They also discuss antisocial personality disorder through the character of Nate Jacobs. Spoilers and some mature content ahead!
Lila and Garseng chat about Lila’s newest piece, “Goodbye Stethoscope”, and along the way touch on the value of uncertainty and flexibility, on self-disclosure as a therapist, and on the experience of being on both sides of the patient-therapist relationship.
Lila and Garseng unpack season one of “Succession” as they chat about the role of narcissism in a family structure. Note: spoilers and some mature themes ahead.
Lila and Garseng chat about the show “Inventing Anna,” and where to draw the line between healthy and unhelpful narcissism. Note: some show spoilers ahead.
Lila and Garseng chat about how they see personality and when it becomes a disorder, with a focus on narcissism as a teaser for the rest of the season.
Lila and Garseng chat with Dr. Jessi Gold on her journey into psychiatry, how she navigated becoming a freelance writer, and her motivation to being open about her own mental health in her writing.
Lila and Garseng chat about the low side of the mood spectrum. They distinguish 4 similar but subtly different emotions and where thinking traps can sneak in and affect these feelings.
Lila and Garseng chat about cognitive distortions. They discuss the different levels of thoughts, why distortions might come up, some examples of cognitive distortions, and ways to work against them.
Lila and Garseng chat about different types of trauma and their symptoms. Lila shares her recent work and the two discuss how taking the time to understand a person’s backstory can change your perspective.
Lila and Garseng chat about the act of compartmentalizing emotions in the workplace. They discuss how emotions can be put away either consciously or unconsciously into compartments, the potential pitfalls that can come up, and their own strategies for using this technique in a productive way.
Lila and Garseng explore the idea of naming emotions. They discuss why emotions are tough to name and sit with, the consequences of pushing emotions away, and benefits of facing emotions head on.
Lila and Garseng talk about cognitive-behavioral therapy, the connection between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and how these noticing can be used to help facilitate change.
Lila and Garseng talk about how they think about goal setting as therapists. They discuss what makes a goal useful, what a SMART goal is, and how to be patient in your pursuit of goals. They share what it means to take a strengths-based approach in order to zoom out from the things that are now going well.
Lila and Garseng talk about the idea of radical acceptance. Garseng shares how he used it with family disagreements. Lila shares how she used it to maintain joy in writing. The two discuss when radical acceptance might not be so helpful when supporting others.
For more information, check out Tara Brach's book Radical Acceptance.
This week, Garseng and Lila discuss dialectical thinking. Lila shares how she used it to deal with hard feedback. Garseng shares how he uses it to allow different sides of himself to come out. They both share how they use it in the hospital when working with other teams.
For more information, check out Marsha Linehan’s books on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.
Lila and Garseng talk about why they chose to become psychiatrists. They dig into the question 3rd year medical students dread that residents can’t stop asking, why residents love to give med students advice, and when this advice can be unhelpful.
Lila and Garseng introduce you to the work room. Garseng shares his early career aspirations and how he found his way into psychiatry. Lila shares how she pivoted from primary care to mental health. They're making this podcast to be a companion to you where ever you are in the journey of learning about your mind and starting feeling better.