Beyond Well with Sheila Hamilton

Mike Schmidt is running for Multnomah county district attorney with one of the most multi-dimensional views toward the criminalization of the mentally ill we’ve ever heard. Mike’s experience as an inner city school teacher informs his sense of justice and rehabilitation.

Dr. Brian Goff and Dr. Jenna LeJeune debate the nature of #self-care and whether the notion of self care has a negative impact on  people’s lives because it singles out your “self” from all the other selves you love (people, pets, work partners, etc.)  Jenna argues to  be sure to include you always in the group of people you are caring well for, using the skills of LovingKindness Meditation, Brian is more  open to the notion of #selfcare as it can help people who might otherwise have restricted or denied themselves love and compassion a gateway to care.

Do “Trigger warnings” and “Safe Spaces” really keep us safe? Dr Jenna LeJeune and Dr. Brian Goff discuss the dangerous trend toward identifying feelings as painful and thoughts as dangerous and harmful.  But what are meant to be “safe-spaces” turn into echo chambers, shutting down any diversity of perspective or thought. New research suggests that trigger warnings may actually result in increased anxiety and Increased stigmatizing beliefs.

C. Lamar Frizzell, CEO of Cedar Hills Hospital, has worked in the field of behavioral healthcare for over 20 years. Most recently, Frizzell held a similar role at Willow Creek Behavioral Health located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Frizzell brings practical experience as a line-staff member and is educated in the fields of both Mental Health and Divinity In this interview, Sheila talks with Frizzell about the enormous pressure facing psychiatric hospitals because of an explosion of people in crisis. There are never enough beds, care is complicated, and psychiatric doctors and nurses are in short supply. Frizzell’s personal history growing up in a home where mental health problems were abundant informs his compassion and empathy for people in crisis.

What makes a meaningful life? How Can we all live lives of purpose, focusing on who and what matters most to us regardless of whatever difficulties we are facing? These are the questions at the heart of Beyond Well cohost Jenna LeJeune, Ph.D. and her partner Jason Luoma, Ph.D.'s new book Values in Therapy" A Clinician's Guide to Helping Clients Explore Values, Increase Psychological Flexibility, and Live a More Meaningful Life. In this very personal episode of Beyond Well, Jenna and Jason offer some of their ideas on what it means to live a value based life and how doing so can bring a sense of meaning, purpose, and vitality to our everyday lives.

Nastashia Minto is an author, poet, and spoken word artist with the Soul of a Southern Pastor. In this interview, Nastashia talks about finding faith while abandoning her religion and delivers two of her stunning spoken word performances.

This is one of the most relevant conversations you’ll hear if you hunker down from late November until the New Year. The holiday blues are often a barometer of the stories we tell ourselves about what we should have, and compare those narratives to stories about what others seem to have. We invite you to a discussion on what some view as the hardest time of the year.

Cassidy Quinn is one of the most beloved Northwest news and entertainment personalities. As host of a tv news program, Tonight with Cassidy, a radio show and a popular Youtube channel, Cassidy barely has time to sleep. In this episode, Cassidy talks about what it took to finally admit that she was suffering from depression and anxiety, and how she lives well despite her diagnosis.

Israel Nebeker is the founder of Blind Pilot and a singer/songwriter whose music now reaches millions of fans. In this episode, Israel talks about confronting one of the darkest periods of his life by wandering into the Black Forest in Germany—with no path to follow and not sure if he would ever find his way out. It was only by confronting his loneliness, his fear, and his belief that he was powerless to change the dynamic that he experienced a significant awakening.    This interview was voted one of our favorites by the Beyond Well Team because of how open, authentic and vulnerable  Israel and his music is. Don’t miss it.

As an actor on the hit series American Vandal and someone who is constantly in the public eye, Kiah Stern has no plan B. She’s working plan A with an intensity and focus rarely talked about when people dream of becoming a star. We talk with Kiah about how best to deal with a barrage of “feedback,” solicited or not. From her body to her hair to her various film and tv roles, Kiah (who played Jenna Hawthorne in Season Two of American Vandal) has developed specific techniques for how to deal with solicited and unsolicited feedback. In this episode, Kiah explains her love/hate relationship with social media, how she incorporates audition like techniques in her everyday life, and when she says no to external feedback.