Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

Dr. David Hanscom talks with Rene Beth Poindexter – an expert in designing collaborative learning environments for social transformation - about the work she is doing and its application in the areas of holistic health and healing. To learn more, visit her websites at: https://www.reneebethpoindexter.com and https://www.livingthepotential.com.

Renee Beth Poindexter is the founder of Living the Potential Network, a collaborative of social entrepreneurs interested in designing authentic learning environments. Her work includes coaching, consulting, and mentoring social entrepreneurs who are courageously choosing to own their purpose and design their legacy with one common goal: Leave the world better than we found it. Her first book, Living the Potential: Engaging the Wisdom of Our Youth to Save the World, invites people who are vested in a positive future to open new pathways for collaboration—where everyone can bring more of who we are to what we do and how we do it, and engage the wisdom of our youth as active participants in co-creating a happier, healthier future for all.

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Joel Konikow, MD, a family practitioner who specializes in treating pain. Dr. Konikow discusses the specific techniques he employs in the treatment of chronic pain that have resulted in successful outcomes for his patients. These include: listening to the patient, expressive writing, and motivational interviews. He believes that pain has meaning for the patient that may go beyond a particular physical condition.

Dr. Joel Konikow graduated from Wayne State Medical School in 1972 and was Board Certified in Family Practice.  He became interested in pain medicine and focused on this for most of his career.  From 2010 to 2018 (when he retired from medical practice) he was part of the team at Swedish Pain Services in Seattle working with patients with chronic pain.  Although they worked in different departments, he worked closely with Dr. Hanscom, using his developing work and ideas to allow patients to find a path to healing their chronic pain.

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Joel Konikow, MD, a family practitioner who specializes in treating pain. Dr. Konikow discusses how his understanding and treatment of pain evolved over time and how the DOC principles changed his practice. He shares the remarkable success he and Dr. Hanscom experienced when they partnered to treat chronic pain patients using this approach.

Dr. Joel Konikow graduated from Wayne State Medical School in 1972 and was Board Certified in Family Practice.  He became interested in pain medicine and focused on this for most of my career.  From 2010 to 2018 (when he retired from medical practice) he was part of the team at Swedish Pain Services in Seattle working with patients with chronic pain.  Although they worked in different departments, he worked closely with Dr. Hanscom, using his developing work and ideas to allow patients to find a path to healing their chronic pain. 

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Kendra Bloom, LMCH, a somatic psychotherapist who specializes in trauma. She discusses how she uses the DOC principles in her practice to help patients heal their pain. She works with patients to separate the pain patterns they experience from who they are and gives them specific ways to use their body to help in the healing process. She shares some remarkable stories of the healing journey her patients have successfully navigated using this approach.

Kendra Bloom, LMHC is a coach and trainer employing the DOC principles in her practice. Her work encourages patients and practitioners to thrive in their approach to chronic physical and emotional pain. As a licensed Somatic Psychotherapist, she combines modern neuroscience with psychotherapy and physical therapies. She believes deeply in this work, and has herself successfully used the process to go pain free. As a DOC Coach, Kendra has specialized in:

helping clients and health practitioners resolve blocks to moving through the processaugmenting their experience for deep and sustainable growth, andenabling people to use treating chronic pain as an opportunity for increased joy and life satisfaction.

Kendra has worked in private practice, as well as taught groups and training workshops for individuals, couples and practitioners. She is now located in San Francisco, California practicing at a holistic psychiatry clinic.

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Kendra Bloom, LMCH, a somatic psychotherapist who specializes in trauma and uses the DOC principles in her practice. Her early practice focused on how emotional, psychological and physical issues interact during treatment. She explains how the DOC framework has changed the way she practices and now incorporates its phases of transformation during therapy – awareness, separation and reprogramming. She shares her own early struggle with anxiety and pain, and how the DOC approach empowered her to move forward and make positive changes in her life.

Kendra Bloom, LMHC is a coach and trainer employing the DOC principles in her practice. Her work encourages patients and practitioners to thrive in their approach to chronic physical and emotional pain. As a licensed Somatic Psychotherapist, she combines modern neuroscience with psychotherapy and physical therapies. She believes deeply in this work, and has herself successfully used the process to go pain free. As a DOC Coach, Kendra has specialized in:

Helping clients and health practitioners resolve blocks to moving through the processAugmenting their experience for deep and sustainable growth, andEnabling people to use treating chronic pain as an opportunity for increased joy and life satisfaction.

Kendra has worked in private practice, as well as taught groups and training workshops for individuals, couples and practitioners. She is now located in San Francisco, California practicing at a holistic psychiatry clinic.

Download a transcript of this podcast.

In this episode, Dr. David Schechter, a pioneer in the practice of Mind Body Medicine, interviews Dr. David Hanscom about the ideas in his new book, Do You Really Need Spine Surgery. Together, they examine the circumstances that often lead patients to undergo unnecessary spine surgery. Dr. Hanscom discusses how the book evolved and provides a detailed explanation of the spine surgery grid tool which can help patients and their care team make more informed surgical decisions. Dr. Schechter shares his thoughts on the spine surgery decision from a mind body systems perspective.

Dr. David Schechter graduated with a degree from Princeton University and studied medicine at New York University. After a residency in Family Medicine, he received a Certificate of Additional Qualifications in Sports Medicine.  Dr. Schechter has been treating chronic pain and other functional disorders with a psycho-education approach for over 25 years in private practice.  He has a credential in Integrative Pain Management. 

In addition, Dr. Schechter is the author of Think Away Your Pain, The MindBody Workbook, The MindBody Audio Program, The MindBody Patient Panel DVD, and the MindBody Workbook for Teens. The last is an educational tool for adolescents to help prevent these disorders later on. You can find additional information at: www.mindbodymedicine.com; www.schechtermd.com;  @pain_md_la (twitter); facebook.com/ThinkAwayYourPain

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. David Schechter, a physician focused on Family Medicine and Sports Medicine, and a pioneer in the practice of Mind Body Medicine.  He was first exposed to Mind Body Medicine as a patient of Dr. John Sarno. He shares the approach he uses with patients suffering from chronic pain and explains how emotions can create a “circuit of pain.” He also discusses the work he is doing with teens in trying to help them understand the impact that emotional health has on their physical health.

Dr. David Schechter graduated with a degree from Princeton University and studied medicine at New York University. After a residency in Family Medicine, he received a Certificate of Additional Qualifications in Sports Medicine.  Dr. Schechter has been treating chronic pain and other functional disorders with a psycho-education approach for over 25 years in private practice.  He has a credential in Integrative Pain Management. 

In addition, Dr. Schechter is the author of Think Away Your Pain, The MindBody Workbook, The MindBody Audio Program, The MindBody Patient Panel DVD, and the MindBody Workbook for Teens.    The first several publications are home educational materials for stress-pain and functional disorders.  The last is an educational tool for adolescents to help prevent these disorders later on in life. You can find additional information at: www.mindbodymedicine.com; www.schechtermd.com;  @pain_md_la (twitter); facebook.com/ThinkAwayYourPain

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks further with Deborah Mellen about her journey through a dark and painful period after suffering a car accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down and the death of her husband two years later from a heart attack. Her father, a Holocaust survivor, counseled her to keep moving forward and never ask “why?” as a way to get through her struggle. During her rehabilitation, she discovered her passion for sailing through the Shake-a-Leg organization in Miami, FL. She felt a sense of freedom and joy when she was on the water. She soon began volunteering with the organization. Building on that, she went on to create the Impossible Dream, Inc. a 501(c)(3) non-profit that offers others with disabilities the healing experience of sailing.

Each summer, Deborah and the Impossible Dream catamaran travel over 4,000 miles from Miami to Maine and back, stopping in over a dozen ports to collaborate with the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals, advocacy organizations, and disability groups. At each stop, the Impossible Dream offers the opportunity to patients, participants, and their families for daysails around local waters at no cost to guests. During the sails, participants, converse with crew members, explore the universal design features of the vessel, and simply enjoy a day out on the water with loved ones. The daysails on the Impossible Dream serve as a foundation for members of the disabilities community to explore innovation, outdoor recreation, alternative rehabilitation, community building, and foster independence. Learn more at:  www.theimpossibledream.org

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In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Deborah Mellen. In 1989 Deborah’s life changed in an instant when she was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident in Italy. Then, two years later her husband died from a heart attack. It was after her injury when she moved to Miami for her rehabilitation that she fell in love with sailing through the organization, Shake-A-Leg, a nonprofit adaptive watersports center located in Miami, FL. She shares her story and discusses how she found the courage and strength to move forward through a dark period, to heal and discover an entirely new life helping others.

It was after finding her community and passion through sailing that Deborah purchased the Impossible Dream - the only catamaran designed from the keel up to be universally accessible. It was out of her vision the Impossible Dream Inc., a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit was born. 

Every summer, Deborah and the Impossible Dream travel over 4,000 miles from Miami to Maine and back, stopping in over a dozen ports to collaborate with the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals, advocacy organizations, and disability groups. At each stop, the Impossible Dream offers patients and their families the chance for daysails around local waters. During the sails, participants converse with crew members, explore the universal design features of the vessel, and simply enjoy a day out on the water with loved ones. The daysails on the Impossible Dream serve as a foundation for members of the disabilities community to explore innovation, outdoor recreation, alternative rehabilitation, community building, and foster independence. Learn more at:  www.theimpossibledream.org

Download a transcript of this podcast.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks about his newly released book, Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? He shares his motivation for writing the book, and how readers can use the tools it provides to make a more informed decision about whether or not to have spine surgery. He also examines the factors that are pressuring surgeons to perform surgeries that offer little hope of relieving a patient's back pain, and can often lead to poor outcomes. For more information, visit: https://backincontrol.com