Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories | Psychotherapy, Trauma, and Psychedelics

Dr. H sits down with Dr. Usha Udupa, a Colorado-based child and adolescent psychiatrist, to explore the complexities of working with patients in the context of the family.  They discuss topics such as:

How and when family members should be included in treatment
What if the patient refuses family involvement
When the identified patient isn't the problem
How and when to break confidentiality, especially with substance abuse
What are the hidden stories behind what people believe about meds
Why so many young men are failing to launch
What to do when one or more family members don't believe in treatment


Dr. H talks all things ADD/ADHD, meds/stimulants, treatment options
https://anchor.fm/apositivepodcast/episodes/Episode-24-Everything-ADDADHD--Medication--with-Dr--Craig-Heacock-e1fj85m

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BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

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This is the second in our two part series on adoption and attachment wounds.  Ridg and his girlfriend Rebecca got pregnant when he was 19, and they made the difficult decision to give their son up for adoption.  Fast forward 16 years, and  Ridg is 35, married to another woman,  with their own biological children…and he’s about to have his world torn apart by a stunning revelation.

Six Word Adoption Memoirs
https://vimeo.com/161846105

https://vimeo.com/211568644

Ridghaus on IG-- @ridghaus

BFTA on Instagram. @backfromtheabysspodcast
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BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

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This is the story of Shae, who was adopted as a baby from South Korea and raised in Wichita Kansas in a family of Swedish descent.  From her initial attachment wounds, subsequent heartbreak, and later a shocking revelation in late adolescence, Shae's inner light and resilience guided her to where she is today— a mother, a business owner, an adoptee voice of strength and compassion.

To reach out to Shae directly: poetseoul@gmail

Adoptee Voices-- Supporting adoptee storytelling
https://adoptee-voices.com

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BFTA/ Dr. H
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Autumn was assigned male at birth, but she sensed from a very young age that something was not right.  This is her journey through denial, awakening, and then transitioning both hormonally and surgically. Autumn brings a fascinating and thoughtful perspective to this whole arena of gender and identity, and she and Dr. H explore the various ways we might think and talk about gender.


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BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

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Dr. H distills down his 20 years of clinical experience into just under an hour of musings, lessons learned, and insights.


"Sometimes the why really isn't crucial" (Essay from the NYT about addiction)
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/19/health/psychology/19essa.html

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Devin found out the hard way that psychedelics can have a very dark side. This is a story of discovery and of joy…of connection and dancing and jam bands….and it’s also a story of two psychotic breaks, sexual assault, and the eventual grinding realization that psychedelics demand respect. Devin speaks out  so that others might avoid her mistakes and take seriously the imperative of having a safe container for psychedelic exploration and therapy.

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BFTA/ Dr. H
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ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) has long been the last stop for severe and treatment resistant depression, but now there are at least two other good options for those who don't respond to meds and therapy.  Dr. Dan Fisher, an ECT expert, founder of Colorado's Guerra Fisher Institute , and Craig's go-to psychiatrist for tough cases, joins BFTA to discuss how and when to think about ECT vs  ketamine vs TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) .

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BFTA/ Dr. H
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Expectation, set, setting, dosage, and route of administration provide the context and scaffolding for psychoactive drugs. An IV morphine drip can make unbearable pain completely manageable, while IV heroin, which is immediately converted to morphine once it crosses the blood brain barrier, destroys tens of thousands of lives a year.  A benzodiazepine such as lorazepam, when taken orally at sensible doses, can stop a panic attack in its tracks, yet snorting or injecting benzodiazepines, or mixing them with alcohol, can lead to complete blackout and terrible consequences.  Taking psilocybin mushrooms with friends out in nature vs at night alone in the darkened streets of an unfamiliar city vs with a trained trauma therapist in a healing setting—- the resulting risks, benefits, and experiences are mind-blowingly different.

In today’s story we hear Graham’s long and winding road with various drugs and alcohol in the context of childhood trauma and bipolar disorder, with a particular emphasis on his complicated relationship with ketamine. For years, he used and abused massive quantities of ketamine, yet now he has transitioned to using ketamine in a therapeutic context with Dr. H, and the experience of ketamine, the consequences, and the end results are just shockingly different….all because of expectation, set, setting, dosage, and manner of administration.

Audio note: Graham's emotional support dog makes some intermittent appearances on his microphone

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As we are now coming to realize the impressive potential of psychedelics to treat trauma and depression, we also have to face the fact that they are still illegal. This reality has led to an explosion of underground therapy, a Wild West where anyone can set up shop as a shaman or therapist or healer and the buyer must beware.

Some people are finding healing in the underground psychedelic world, while others are encountering ethically-challenged and/or naive underground practitioners who are causing more harm than good.  Here Dr. H sits down with Sarah, an underground therapist who is  doing this important work in a mindful and ethical way.

Sarah has been doing underground psilocybin work for seven years and comes from a place of her own severe childhood trauma, a journey where she found healing with psilocybin and was then compelled to offer this path to others. Sarah and Dr. H explore whom she works with and why, how she thinks about psilocybin in the therapeutic toolkit, how other underground therapists get themselves into trouble, and finally she offers wisdom about how one might enter into underground therapy in a thoughtful way.

BFTA on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/backfromtheabysspodcast/

BFTA on Facebook
@Back From The Abyss Podcast

BFTA/ Dr. H
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Body dysmorphia is the disorder of imagined ugliness, a type of delusional OCD that can lead to severe depression, eating disorders, compulsive body alterations, and suicidality.  As a young child, Georgina was a "cute kid", not particularly self-conscious, and able to move through her world without undue pain. With the onset of adolescence, however, her self-image changed completely-- she suddenly found her face horribly ugly, she felt helpless and hopeless, and she frantically tried to find ways to cope.

Here Georgina shares her story of recovery from body dysmorphia and an eating disorder, a long and winding path from Health and Wellness Instagram fame while compulsively exercising and restricting to the hard work of showing up in therapy to rediscovering her non-judgmental inner child during a psilocybin journey.  Georgina and Dr. H also explore orthorexia, atypical anorexia, intuitive eating, and the concept of healing through embodiment.

Georgina Berbari is a writer and photographer living in NYC
https://www.georginaberbari.com

Dr. Hillary McBride's new book "The Wisdom of Your Body"
https://hillarylmcbride.com/the-wisdom-of-your-body/

BFTA on Instagram
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@Back From The Abyss Podcast

BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/

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