Bear Psychology Podcast

We may believe that asylums are a thing of the past but practices of enforced psychiatric confinement continue today, much to our surprise. Author Wipond, argues that, now more than ever, North Americans are being forced into treatment and involuntarily committed supposedly "for their own benefit."

Rob Wipond's book "Your Consent Is Not Required" gives us a look into the psychiatric practices of forced interventions still in place today in some private and public mental health facilities.

Wipond describes mental health institutions using psychiatric confinement to manage school children; disoriented elderly; quell family conflicts; police the streets; control people in shelters and prisons; "resolve" workplace disagreements; detain protesters; discredit whistleblowers; and shockingly fraudulently increase hospital profits, plus more.

Wipond's book details coercive use of mental health interventions used today in some public and private hospitals, group and long-term care facilities, troubled-teen and residential treatment centers, and even individual's own homes under outpatient commitment orders. He found that these interventions often include surveillance against will, indefinite detention, and powerful tranquilizing drugs, restraints, seclusion, and even electroshock.

Listen to our conversation with investigative journalist & author Rob Wipond as we unpack the common misconception that only "dangerous" individuals get committed and dive into some of the traumatic practices supposedly used to "help" those struggling with mental health complexities.

We explore Rob Wipond findings and research full of alarming true stories and hard data from both the US and Canada's mental health systems.

• For more information about the book visit: https://robwipond.com/your-consent-is-not-required
• To purchase the book visit: https://amzn.to/3ObqdNX
• For more about Rob Wipond: https://robwipond.com/about
• Rob Wipond's Articles: https://robwipond.com/articles

• Rob Wipond's Blog: https://robwipond.com/news
• Contact Rob Wipond: https://robwipond.com/contact

In a house full of turmoil, sometimes the person who you hope has your back may become your enemy. Sisters Ronni Tichenor and Jennie Weaver know this better than most. In their book "Healing Begins with Us" they share their journey in overcoming childhood abuse that pitted the two against one another. In the book they discuss how they healed and strengthened their sibling bond after a tumultuous upbringing.

Listen to our conversation with Ronni and Jennie as we navigate their traumatic childhoods, learn how they broke the cycle of intergenerational abuse, and learn how to begin a family healing process.

Ronni Tichenor has a Ph.D. in Sociology with a specialization in family dynamics and Jennie Weaver is a board-certified family nurse practitioner with experience in mental health.

Their book details the abuse that occurred in their childhood, how they managed to repair their relationship with each other and move forward in life to create their own healthy families.

Listen our conversation with Ronni and Jennie as we discuss how toxic environments can change sibling connections, helpful insight and advice on how to heal from your own painful upbringing, and how to heal tumultuous sibling relationships.

If you are interested in more information about healing family connections after trauma, this podcast is for you.

• For information about the book or authors visit: www.ronnitichenor.com/
• To purchase a book visit: https://amzn.to/4rlV21c
• For more about Ronni Tichenor: www.ronnitichenor.com/about-ronni
• Breaking the Cycles of Trauma and Abuse, Silence and Shame (Ronni Tichenor & Jennie Weaver's Podcast): open.spotify.com/show/0CSnLlxETeMYsAd6UXnraH

• Trauma Resources and Support: www.ontarioshores.ca/resources-support/self-help-resources/trauma-resources-and-support
• More of Ronni Tichenor's Content: www.ronnitichenor.com/free-content
• Book a session with Ronni: www.ronnitichenor.com/book-a-session-1
• Childhood Trauma and Adult Life Relational Issues: www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/love-and-sex-in-the-digital-age/202107/childhood-trauma-and-adult-life-relational-issues

Most of us are stressed these days and don't know how to manage it. While stress is an inevitable part of life, it doesn't have to take over our lives. Dr. Doni Wilson's book "Master Your Stress, Reset Your Health" walks us through identifying our unique type of stress and the best ways to manage it to make stress actually work for us.

Listen to our conversation with naturopath & author Dr. Doni Wilson as we learn how to support our body's needs and chart a path to become resistant to the negative effects of stress.

Dr. Doni Wilson is a naturopathic doctor, certified professional midwife, and certified nutrition specialist. After suffering from migraines herself for over 20 years, she has developed a stress recovery protocol that has helped thousands of patients to overcome their health challenges and achieve wellness.

Dr. Wilson's book details five unique types of stress. She shares with us: how to identify them and create a personalized stress management plan; what happens in our bodies when we're stressed; her trademark three-part stress recovery protocol; how to truly disconnect and take care of yourself; and how to give your body the support it needs to heal from a number of different stress induced ailments (i.e., anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, brain fog, headaches, chronic pain, weight gain, and digestive issues).

Dr. Doni Wilson explores her customizable C.A.R.E. program including Clean eating, Adequate sleep, Recovery, and Exercise and how they can help you resolve underlying causes of stress and free the body from its harmful effects.

Dr. Wilson shares with us lessons and strategies from her own personal journey of recovering from the effects of stress and effective ways she has found to get more energy, feel refreshed, recover from over-indulging during the holidays and generally feel better and more balanced.

If you are interested in Dr. Wilson's tips and tricks on overcoming stress, beating burnout, and getting back to a healthier you, this is for you.

• Dr. Doni Wilson's – 7 Day STRESS RESET (For free with this link!) doctordoni.com/ddpp/stress-reset/
• Dr. Don's - Stress Type Quiz doctordoni.com/quiz/stress-quiz/
• For more information about the book visit: doctordoni.com/master-your-stress/
• To purchase the book visit: https://amzn.to/408t4K6
• For more about Dr. Wilson: doctordoni.com/
• How Humans Heal (Dr. Wilson's Podcast): doctordoni.com/blog/podcasts/

• More of Dr. Wilson's books: https://amzn.to/3Oaznu8
• Dr. Wilson's Blog: doctordoni.com/blog/
• Stress Management Tools: hr.umich.edu/benefits-wellness/health-well-being/mental-emotional-health/learn-more-about-mental-emotional-health/thrive-stress-management-program/stress-management-tools-resources

Are you interested in adding mindfulness, meditation or contemplative exercises into your life to help you manage the demands of daily living or better manage stress and anxiety? If your answer is yes, then this show will prove to be a perfect fit. I am excited myself. I have been a bit lazy with my meditation practice lately and looking forward to getting some guidance myself!

Carla is a lawyer by training but she made a big pivot to wellness and mindfulness teaching. In her mindfulness work, she brings her focused and precise mind to a creative and healing modality using a trauma-informed lens. In her teaching she integrates an awareness of science and neurobiology to help explain why what she is doing works so well.

Listen to our conversation with the remarkable Carla Weinstein (meditation and contemplative practice guide) as we explore with her meaningful work in delivering Trauma Informed Mindfulness practices.

Building on Carla's extensive training in yoga, meditation and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, she has been offering programs through the TraumaPractice.org charity for community-based groups since 2020. Her group programs are the most highly ranked and attended among the charity's participants. We follow up with her today to ask, what has made her approach to trauma informed meditation so useful for those attending her programs?

Carla will broadly cover some of the topics addressed in her course, to help us better understand her approach:

• The Power of Mindfulness: Awareness
• The Impact of Trauma and the Brain and Body + Meditation Through the Trauma Lens
• The Neuroscience of Meditation + The Power of Attention
• Emotional Awareness + Turning Toward
• Aversion, Avoidance, Resistance + The Suffering Equation
• Developing a Healing Attention
• Cognitive Hindrances, Mental Chatter, and Values
• Self Compassion, Resilience and Equanimity

Weinstein shares lessons on how we can each enrich our lives by building a meditation/contemplative practice and what she has learned herself from the work she provides through TraumaPractice.org

• For information about Carla Weinstein and her mindfulness work visit: www.thedropinproject.com/about-2
• What is mindfulness: www.thedropinproject.com/mindfulness
• Offerings from Carla: www.thedropinproject.com/offerings

• Trauma Informed Meditation practices explained. Brother Phap Linh shares how to recognize trauma in ourselves and those around us (plum village): youtu.be/TOutCopkf3E
• Dr. Jeff Terrant, psychologist discusses trauma informed meditation practices and what it means to be trauma informed: youtu.be/qTYTciz3bM4
• Yoga with Adrienne provides a yoga practice for PTSD: youtu.be/TqVSwY8y3UY
• Dr. Bessel van der Kolk discusses 6 approaches to heal from trauma without medication: youtu.be/ZoZT8-HqI64

Not everyone has a picture-perfect childhood. In fact, some of us grow up in homes where our parents need parenting or we have to parent ourselves. Dr. Lindsay Gibson's book "Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents" helps you overcome the crushing role of catering to parents who were (for whatever reasons) not up to the job of parenting.

Dr. Lindsay Gibson is clinical psychologist, author, and assistant professor with a passion for human conflict and helping others develop long-lasting, meaningful relationships.

Dr. Gibson's book helps you to understand how "immature parents" function; learn to resolve guilt or shame when you stop over-helping them; and start to listen to your own needs so you avoid being emotionally drained in the future.

Listen our conversation with Dr. Lindsay Gibson as we explore the effects of emotionally immature parents and how you can recover from the devastating impact of growing up in a neglectful and/or toxic home environment.

Dr. Gibson explains the effect these relationships can have on your emotional autonomy in future relationships including: your ability to identify and express your thoughts and feelings; struggles with setting limits and boundaries with others; as well as the ability to establish rewarding relationships as an adult.

She also explains ways to combat these effects so you can develop enhanced connections and relationships with others.

If you are interested in more information about emotionally immature parents, combating the effects of their toxicity, and how to grow meaningful relationships, this show is for you.

For information about the book visit: http://www.drlindsaygibson.com/books.html

• To purchase the book visit: https://amzn.to/4tu6MQF
• For more about Dr. Gibson: http://www.drlindsaygibson.com/about.html
• Freeing Yourself (Dr. Lindsay Gibson's Online Blog): http://www.drlindsaygibson.com/blog

• 4 signs that a parent is emotionally immature: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/mental-wealth/202111/4-signs-parent-is-emotionally-immature
• More of Dr. Gibson's books: https://amzn.to/4afZfxk
• Gibson answers your questions: http://www.drlindsaygibson.com/readersquestions
• Accessing Emotional Immaturity (questionnaires and resources): http://curioushealing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ACEIP_exercises.pdf

If you have ever fallen into negative patterns of action or thoughts that fail you often AND you identify as male (or know a man you want to better understand) then this self-help guide provides humorous and relevant instruction.

David and Corey write this book together as a patient & therapist duo with insight into the pitfalls and possible strategies to deal with 4 primary destructive patterns that might be getting you or someone you know into trouble.

Listen to our conversation with therapist & co-authors David Coates & Corey Kilpack as we travel with them on their adventure to "Be less Dickish".

Coates is a therapist on a mission to help men figure things out so they are more successful in their relational and life endeavours.

Kilpack is a client who sought therapy to better understand his pitfalls and figure out a roadmap for a way out.

Together this duo have identified the following "douchebag" quadrants (their descriptor not mine!) that undermine one's best act in life. I have used their subtitles which provide more information to help the listener recognize the struggle:

• Aggression / Assertiveness (A-Hole)
• Imitation / Service (Douchebag)
• Victimization / Self-Care (Dick)
• Submission / Surrender ("Pussy)

And in special cases "Piece of S..t"

Adding a touch of humor to each story, the authors describe crass, destructive and non-productive strategies that change overtime to reveal that growth can happen with insight, understanding and new behaviour approaches.

We all have something to learn from their reflection on how these 4 (or is it really 5) characters who become triggered and learn to use the TRACE approach (Trigger, Reaction, Awareness, Curiosity and Experimentation) to increase self-awareness and behave more effectively, as a result.

• To purchase your copy visit: https://amzn.to/4qAXwaH
• Be less Dickish - audiobook: https://www.audible.ca/pd/Be-Less-Dickish-Audiobook/B09CF74X47
• The meaning behind the insulting language in Be Less Dickish: https://youtu.be/GZTi1cHP_KY

• Tips for men who want to improve: https://medium.com/hello-love/5-tips-for-men-on-improving-their-relationships-51f6043ec1b9
• What men really want: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/articles/201203/what-do-men-really-want & https://hbr.org/1993/11/what-do-men-want
• Man's search for Meaning (1946) Viktor Frankl: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning

Surviving a violent or abusive relationship can leave us broken hearted and in need of healing. Dr. Amelia Kelley & Kendall Ann Combs' book "What I Wish I Knew: Surviving and Thriving after an Abusive Relationship" offers strength, guidance and clarity on this difficult life experience.

The book covers how a dangerous relationship can look like a fairy tale at the beginning only to unravel into an abusive and devastating situation that is difficult to leave and hard to rebuild from in the aftermath. Kelley and Combs provide a deep dive into how you got there and how to get out and trust again.

Listen to our conversation with Dr. Amelia Kelley and Kendall Ann Combs as we explore the dangers of an abusive personal relationship and how to free ourselves and heal from this dangerous life path.

Dr. Kelley and Ms. Combs identify various forms of relationship abuse (i.e., physical, emotional, sexual, verbal) and identify strategies for leaving an abusive relationship (i.e., asking for help, seeking support, pre-planning; creating a safety strategy and exiting). They also unpack how to deal with the aftermath of an abusive relationship and learn to thrive after the pain.

Kendall Ann Combs is an author, activist and podcaster. She is a survivor of Intimate Partner Violence herself and recognizes what it takes to get to safety.

Dr. Amelia Kelley, Ph.D. is a Trauma and Crisis Counseling Professor, a trauma-informed therapist, Yoga instructor and author, with a focus on helping others leave unhealthy relationships.

If you are interested in more information about domestic violence, escaping a relationship with intimidation, gaslighting, or control, this talk is for you.

For information about the book visit: https://www.ameliakelley.com/books/

To purchase the book visit: https://amzn.to/4akrrxy

• More about Dr. Kelley: https://www.ameliakelley.com/about/
• More about Kendall Ann Combs: https://kendallanncombs.com/
• High Heels and Heartache (Kendall Ann Combs Podcast about relationship issues): http://highheelsandheartache.com/

If you have struggled with a serious depression or PTSD that does not resolve, even after trying everything, then you might have considered Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy. This might involve a plant medicine like Ayahuasca, Psilocybin or maybe MDMA or Ketamine therapy. Whichever approach you might have investigated you probably have noticed that there are huge costs, very little professional oversight, and possibly the requirement of travelling long distances to remote locations to acquire these treatments. In other words, it is a treatment path that is not easily accessible, and for some, too scary to consider.

Yet, there is gathering evidence that these approaches can be remarkably beneficial for those with treatment resistant mental health symptoms. Jonathan Sabbagh is the founder and CEO of Journey Clinical. The company was founded with his wife Myriam Barthes to address the needs of mental health consumers seeking unique treatments like Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy within a safe and supervised environment, even with your own mental health practitioners. Journey Clinical makes it possible for your practitioner to provide care before, during and after a KAP intervention.

So what is Ketamine/Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy, what are the benefits and what can you expect if you chose this approach? We will cover this and more in this radio show.

If you are interested in more information about psychedelic assisted psychotherapy or want to find a trained therapist who is able to help, this show is for you.

For more information about Journey Clinical: Journey Clinical is a turnkey platform that makes it possible for licensed mental health professionals in private practice to deliver Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) safely and effectively. They act as the therapist's in-house doctor, treatment partner and one-stop-shop for all KAP needs, providing KAP education, new patient referrals, peer consultation groups, marketing support, a robust library of resources and more. https://www.journeyclinical.com/

• More about Journey Clinical: https://www.journeyclinical.com
• The Psychedelics Podcast: https://psychedelicstoday.com/2022/01/14/pt284/
• How Psychedelics Changed my Life – Jonathan Sabbagh: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/psychedelics-ketamine-psychotherapy-mental-health-b1928289.html

It seems clear to me, that if we are constantly striving to experience only pleasure we will certainly land in a hurting world of pain.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (or chemical messenger, which the brain produces) that plays a big role in the experience of pleasure.

Instant hits of pleasure can keep us hooked into a cycle of gratification that results in an escalating need for reward, but instead leads to anxiety and a thirst for satisfaction that is never fulfilled. Our brains produce chemical jolts that can be evoked by emoji text messages; Facebook "likes"; shopping excursions we cannot afford; as well as drugs, alcohol and sex. Many of these reward pathways are more accessible than ever, often keeping us constantly seeking more, without a lasting satiety.

Listen to our conversation with Dr. Anna Lembke, M.D., Psychiatrist, Professor, Author. She is Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She is also the author of bestseller "Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence" as well as "Drug Dealer, MD, How Doctors were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It's So Hard to Stop".

Dr. Lembke's books help us to understand that brain chemicals are involved in a potentially dangerous reward pathway, especially where there is ease of access to ever intensifying stimulants/drugs and other activities that reinforce the pleasure cycle. She explores meaningful strategies for withdrawing from pleasure, bringing balance through pain, or the capacity to tolerate discomfort.

In her book "Dopamine Nation" she shares her own experience of getting hooked into reading paranormal vampire novels which took her down a pathway of ever intensifying reading content. She is a beacon of hope in understanding the complicated and deep struggles of those ensnared in the path of addiction, whatever the brand.

In her Ted Talk on the opioid epidemic and the connection to pain management, she is able to expose some of the drivers to over prescribing opioids, and the dangers related to this. She also goes over some socio-medico alternatives to more opioid prescribing.

She offers insight into the pleasure-pain mechanism and how it is wired into our brains. She also brings recognition towards the fact that in an overabundant world, where we are encouraged to incessantly seek pleasures; we reduce our capacity to remain quiet, content or peaceful within ourselves. She explains that the richest countries in the world have the highest rates of addiction, suicide, and pain.

Her book covers many examples of those struggling with addictions of various kinds and the dangers of avoiding pain of any kind. She describes dopamine fasting and how profoundly beneficial this can be in resetting an overstimulated system to a greater place of balance.

• Anna Lembke, MD: https://www.annalembke.com/
• Ted Stanford University – Dr. Anna Lembke: https://tedx.stanford.edu/lineup/anna-lembke
• Purchase Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence: https://amzn.to/4ag3qJw
• Purchase Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It's So Hard to Stop: https://amzn.to/4kzctbJ
• The Psychology of An Addict Explained by Dr. Anna Lembke: https://youtu.be/2-mWbVNpBMg
• The Social Dilabout: blankemma: https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81254224
• Rich Roll: The Neuroscience of Addiction: https://www.richroll.com/podcast/anna-lembke-623/
• Anna Lembke – Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Lembke
• Daily Motivation – The richest countries have the most misery: https://youtu.be/9Zd9qvJUr-o

• Resetting pleasure/pain balance through Dopamine Fasting Dr. Lembke: https://youtu.be/9Zd9qvJUr-o
• The Social Dilemma – Reclaim your screen time: https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/reclaim-your-screen-time/
• Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Lembke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3JLaF_4Tz8

Dr. Taylor is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University, and the chair of the Transpersonal Psychology section at the British Psychological Society. He is also the bestselling author of The Calm Center, The Leap and the Clear Light. His work has been described by Eckhart Tolle as "an important contribution to the shift in consciousness which is happening on our planet at present."

His new book "Extraordinary Awakenings: When Trauma Leads to Transformation" is perfectly timed for the entrance into a new year with all the potential for hope, growth and self-reflection. The stories in this book explore how the worst experiences in life can open a person up to their most profound growth and life transformation.

If you have pain symptoms that do not resolve easily and are not explained by a recent injury, accident or illness, listen to this conversation.

If you have ever experienced an extreme or life-shattering event you may have also experienced what Steve Taylor describes as "transformation through turmoil", or "shifters", who evolve in their lives in remarkable ways following terrible events.

• Learn more about Extraordinary Awakenings: https://www.stevenmtaylor.com/books/extraordinary-awakenings/
• Purchase Extraordinary Awakenings: https://amzn.to/406WV5H
• Learn more about Steve Taylor's other books: https://amzn.to/3ZuGnEB
• Events with Steve Taylor: https://www.stevenmtaylor.com/events/
• Online programs with Steve Taylor: https://www.stevenmtaylor.com/online-courses/
• Spiritual Growth after Trauma: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10943-020-00980-2#:~:text=(2009)%20found%20that%20trauma%20often,(Park%20and%20Folkman%201997).
• Wikipedia on Post-Traumatic Growth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-traumatic_growt