Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Tom Sullivan, a semi-retired business owner who had made a remarkable recovery from a decades long series of medical setbacks and intense chronic pain. He shares how he had to confront his “addiction to anger” to begin the healing process. Then he describes how recently sustained anger over an incident with a neighbor overtook him and tipped him from his happy and healthy life into ill health.

Tom Sullivan is 67 years old, and semi- retired after 25 years of owning and operating a construction company serving remote areas of Alaska for 25 years. He has also been a Seattle area real estate broker, investor/developer for over 40 years. He enjoys boating in the San Juan Islands, skiing, swimming, yoga and daily walks. Married to his high school sweetheart he has 2 sons with 5 grandchildren. He has survived 20 years of chronic pain, 28 surgeries, 3 heart attacks, a stroke, and opioid addiction. Seven years ago he successfully made the transition from suffering chronic pain to the freedom of a chronic pain free existence.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with physiatrist and pain management specialist David Clawsen, MD.  He discusses how the immune response works and the toll it can take on the body over long periods of time. He explores the physiologic, genetic and emotional factors that govern the threat response. He explains how chronic threat in our lives, which continually activates our immune response, can lead to chronic illness and auto-immune disorders. Ultimately, he believes, healing is about not just defending against threats, but getting to a place of safety.

Dr. David Clawsen is a Physiatrist, based in Seattle, with backgrounds in neurologic, cancer, spine and sports rehabilitation, and pain management. He is interested in the different physiologic states that underpin illness and disease versus wellness and health, as determined by whether we are in threat versus safety.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with physiatrist and pain management specialist David Clawsen, MD. He explains how the body’s many defenses against threats evolved from the cellular to the organism level. He details the redundant signaling systems the body uses to coordinate a threat response, and how the immune system provides both defense and healing / repair.

Dr. David Clawsen is a Physiatrist, based in Seattle, with backgrounds in neurologic, cancer, spine and sports rehabilitation, and pain management. He is interested in the different physiologic states that underpin illness and disease versus wellness and health, as determined by whether we are in threat versus safety.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Orthopaedic Traumatologist, Certified Professional Coach, and CEO/Founder of SurgeonMasters, Jeff Smith, MD.  He discusses large and serious problem of physician / surgeon burnout and the principles his team uses to help surgeons avoid and heal from burnout. His approach is customized to the client, focusing on their specific challenges and goals, and creating behavior change that will help them thrive.

Dr. Jeff Smith is a clinically active Orthopaedic Traumatologist, a Certified Professional Coach, and CEO/Founder of SurgeonMasters, a Surgeon Coaching Company which focuses on practice optimization and wellness. For more information, visit the website: surgeonmasters.com

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Orthopaedic Traumatologist, Certified Professional Coach, and CEO/Founder of SurgeonMasters, Jeff Smith, MD. He shares his own experiences with burnout, anger, emotional exhaustion and chronic pain that led him to become a professional coach and form SurgeonMasters so he could help other surgeons avoid and heal from physician burnout.

Dr. Jeff Smith is a clinically active Orthopaedic Traumatologist, a Certified Professional Coach, and CEO/Founder of SurgeonMasters, a Surgeon Coaching Company which focuses on practice optimization and wellness. For more information, visit the website: surgeonmasters.com

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with world renowned surgeon and best-selling author, Bernie Siegel, MD.  He discusses the relationship between emotions and physical health, and how fear can destroy the body if it is persistent. He shares stories that illustrate the insights that can be found in patient drawings that can help with understanding a patient’s emotional landscape and play a pivotal role in the healing process. He also expresses his belief that today’s physicians should be trained to help their patients thrive.

Bernie S. Siegel, MD, is a well-known proponent of integrative and holistic approaches to healing that heal not just the body but also the mind and soul.  He attended Colgate University and studied medicine at Cornell University Medical College. His surgical training took place at Yale–New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veterans Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In 1978 Bernie pioneered a new approach to group and individual cancer therapy called Exceptional Cancer Patients (ECaP), which utilized patients’ drawings, dreams, and feelings, and he broke new ground in facilitating important patient lifestyle changes and engaging the patient in the healing process. He is the best-selling author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and The Art of Healing.  For more information, visit: berniesiegelmd.com.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with world renowned surgeon and best-selling author, Bernie Sigel, MD. He shares stories that illustrate the importance of the relationship between physician and patient. He stresses the key role of understanding the patient’s life situation, challenges, motivations and fears to the healing process, and how patient drawings can often reveal important insights that will help them heal.

Bernie S. Siegel, MD, is a well-known proponent of integrative and holistic approaches to healing that heal not just the body but also the mind and soul.  He attended Colgate University and studied medicine at Cornell University Medical College. His surgical training took place at Yale–New Haven Hospital, West Haven Veterans Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In 1978 Bernie pioneered a new approach to group and individual cancer therapy called Exceptional Cancer Patients (ECaP), which utilized patients’ drawings, dreams, and feelings, and he broke new ground in facilitating important patient lifestyle changes and engaging the patient in the healing process. He is the best-selling author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and The Art of Healing.  For more information, visit: berniesiegelmd.com.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Lisa Goodpaster, founder of the Stephood Project and a Parental Alienation Survivor, Childhood Trauma Educator.  She explains how parental alienation happens following divorce when the mother and father are unable to co-parent. This can create extreme anger in the affected children and result in the formation of deep triggers that lead to negative patterns of behavior that can last a lifetime. She discusses the work she and her team are doing to educate parents and the courts about the problems of parental alienation following divorce and is lobbying legislators for 50-50 co-parenting arrangements. Ultimately, she hopes to work with kids in school to help them understand and control their anxiety.

Lisa Goodpaster is the founder of the Stephood Project, the author of the forthcoming book Surviving Stephood and a Parental Alienation Survivor, Childhood Trauma Educator. She is dedicated to helping bring awareness and hope to all families suffering through the preventable poison of parental alienation and the danger of not co-parenting our kids. For more information, visit: https://stephoodproject.org.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Lisa Goodpaster, founder of the Stephood Project and a Parental Alienation Survivor, Childhood Trauma Educator. A child of divorce, she broke her neck, and suffered for years with over 22 physical symptoms and intense chronic pain. She shares that by reading Back in Control, going through the Hoffman process and working with somatic therapist Kendra Bloom, she discovered the roots of her suffering in her childhood alienation from both her parents by her stepmother and how to use that awareness to heal.

Lisa Goodpaster is the founder of the Stephood Project, the author of the forthcoming book Surviving Stephood and a Parental Alienation Survivor, Childhood Trauma Educator. She is dedicated to helping bring awareness and hope to all families suffering through the preventable poison of parental alienation and the danger of not co-parenting our kids. For more information, visit: https://stephoodproject.org.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Lois Prinz, Certified Hypnotherapist and Hypnotism trainer.  She shares the approach she uses to help clients train their brains to create a better outcome when confronted with any type of pain. She explains that hypnosis is really self-hypnosis and her approach focuses on repetition of thoughts to help create change. This is done through sessions that include setting intentional goals, followed by induction and suggestions.

Lois Prinz, Certified Hypnotherapist and Hypnotism trainer, has over three decades dedicated to working with clients experiencing chronic pain.  She has created a 15 hour digital training entitled, ThinkPainAway.net which is about to be approved by NMNA for continuing education accreditation.  Lois has produced 25 Hypnosis CDs and co-authored The Heart of Hypnosis and Deep Healing Workbook with Dr. Emmett Miller, MD., and is the only Hypnotist holding certification in Nutritional Pain Management.