Diving into Healing

Be honest - We pick terrible times to address tough topics with our kids - at the moment! We know it, and yet we persist.

Parental stress & anxiety causes us to rush really important parenting moments. The language and the tone of our communication have an immediate and direct impact on how our children and teens hear (or ignore) our messages. Parents are always seeking guidance on how to approach certain loaded topics with their teens, but in this episode, Dr. Adria O'Donnell will show us that the WHEN may be just as important.

Dr. Adria O’Donnell is a licensed clinical consulting psychologist, mother, and summer camp behavioral consultant. She brings 20 years of clinical experience and provides practical, direct tips as to how to improve your parenting skills.

In the episode, Guest Alexandra Brown discusses EMDR as a method of treatment for trauma focusing on the bottom-up approach.

Alexandra Brown is the Founder of Thrive In Life Therapy. She created this group practice focusing on fully integrating mental health with physical fitness/movement. Alexandra believes in using trauma-informed care to heal individuals, their families, and their communities. She focuses on both the top-down approach to therapy as well as the bottom-up approach to focus on the mind/body connection.

In this episode, we will explore the endocannabinoid system's role in health and disease relating to mood, stress, resilience, pain processing, and sleep with our guest today, Dr. Michelle Sexton. She formally studied the endocannabinoid system for six years through her fellowship at the University of Washington and has continued her research into the health effects of cannabis at UCSD.

Dr. Michelle Sexton is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at UCSD in the Department of Anesthesiology. She graduated from Bastyr University in 2008 and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington, where she formally studied the endocannabinoid system for six years. Her NIH-funded pre-doctoral and postdoctoral research on cannabinoids and their roles in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration investigated cannabis use and its impact on inflammatory markers. She has continued her research into the health effects of cannabis at UCSD. Prior to medical school, she was a midwife and herbalist for 15 years. Dr. Sexton has presented her research internationally and published 18 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Sexton’s clinical practice, research, and teaching focus on the endocannabinoid system and the roles for integrative medicine, including cannabis, to treat a range of conditions across the lifespan. She is a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, the International Association of Cannabinoid Medicine, the American Association of Naturopathic Doctors, and the Society of Cannabis Clinicians. She maintains a medical practice in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego, CA. When not caring for patients or pursuing research, you can find her in the garden, playing music, playing with grandchildren, swimming, or riding her bike to the beach for a surf session!

In this episode, Eszter Kalman, LCSW, PMH-C discusses maternal mental health, its prevalence, risks, symptoms, prevention, and treatment. Especially focusing on Postpartum Depression and Anxiety.

Eszter Kalman is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in Perinatal Mental Health, and she is in private practice in San Diego, CA. Eszter was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. After living in Rome, Italy for four years - where she met her future husband, she moved to beautiful, sunny San Diego, CA in 2011. After her own struggle with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety, she decided to switch careers to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She went back to school to get her master’s degree at SDSU. While she has worked with a diverse population people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, her mission has always remained the same: helping those struggling emotionally and mentally during pregnancy and postpartum.

She has been a helpline volunteer for the Postpartum Health Alliance of San Diego and Postpartum Support International for many years.

On her Instagram account, you can find several educational posts, videos on maternal/parental mental health, IG handle @goldentearstherapy

She is a mother of two, a 9-year-old talented, athletic boy and a pandemic toddler girl. Eszter enjoys traveling around the World with her family, obsessed with shows like Shark Tank and everything from Gordon Ramsay. Exploring and being active in the parks and beaches of San Diego is a must for her, as well as her morning latte twice a day.

Dr. Tahirih Moffett discusses and explores her work with People of Color (POC). She defines common challenges POC face in their lives, including race based trauma, internalized racism, imposter syndrome, and respectability politics. She explores ways POC can take care of themselves and how therapists can provide therapeutic and inclusive care.

Dr. Moffett received a Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2018. She completed her predoctoral psychology internship at the University of San Diego and her postdoctoral residency at University of California, San Diego. Prior to beginning her doctoral program in clinical psychology, Dr. Moffett received her Master’s Degree in Social Work (MSW) at Columbia University in the City of New York, and had a career as a neonatal intensive care registered nurse for many years.

Dr. Moffett seeks to provide a safe, warm, collaborative and inclusive space for her clients. She believes this is vital in helping her clients feel comfortable to share and process their concerns and worries so that they can make sense of them and better manage them. Dr. Moffett’s work also focuses on helping her clients build a healthy relationship with life challenges - using their personal values to guide them. Dr. Moffett is passionate about supporting clients with marginalized identities. She is deeply concerned about social justice issues and how they may impact one’s suffering. Dr. Moffett’s approach is holistic lens and integrates intersecting identities. Her therapeutic orientations include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic, and mindfulness and self-compassion based techniques.

Dr. Moffett loves the SoCal weather. So much so that she often goes hiking, or to the beach to relax, nap, and bask in the sun. Dr. Moffett enjoys reading novels, including fiction and history, and watching a good television show or movie. She considers herself to be a lifelong learner which is why historical books tend to captivate her. She is a lover of dancing and karaoke nights. Dr. Moffett also just really loves to laugh, as humor can be so healing.

[email protected]

Website: www.drmoffett.com

Psychology Today Profile: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/tahirih-moffett-san-diego-ca/968508

NPR - Code Switch: For personal knowledge and developing competence of race related issues

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/

The Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema: For tips on coping with race based trauma

https://open.spotify.com/show/59qdhjnDyxcb02StZi2jtv

Dr. Shibley discusses how she became involved in psychological evaluations for US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and immigration court and how mental health professionals can play an important role in helping this diverse and often disempowered population of immigrants and their families.

Dr. Mariela G. Shibley is a clinical and forensic psychologist with a private practice in San Diego, California. In addition to specializing in issues related to acculturation, immigration, and trauma, she is a leading expert in conducting psychological evaluations for USCIS and Immigration Court. She has conducted and supervised over 2,000 such evaluations and provided court testimony, training, and education on immigration and mental health. A regular guest speaker at conferences of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Dr. Shibley is recognized for her knowledge and expertise in this area. She is the founder of PsychEvalCoach, an online training program for mental health professionals, and her book, Conducting Immigration Evaluations, is scheduled to be released in April 2022.

The link for the training program is www.psychevalcoach.com and the book:

Conducting Immigration Evaluations: A Practical Guide for Mental Health Professionals.

https://www.routledge.com/Conducting-Immigration-Evaluations-A-Practical-Guide-for-Mental-Health/Shibley-Holt/p/book/9780367689988

On today’s show, we have Registered Dietitian Susan Zelenak who will be talking about the various types of eating disorders, such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating disorder, and Orthorexia. We will also discuss a few warning signs to look out for and treatment options.

Susan Zelenak is a registered dietitian who obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in foods and nutrition from San Diego State University. She then completed her dietetic internship through Utah State University as well as her Master of Dietetics Administration degree with an emphasis on dietetic management.

Susan is passionate about helping patients on their journey to recovery. She has worked with adolescents and adults in residential and outpatient settings since 2017. Susan takes pride in creating a supportive space for individualized care centered around the principles of Intuitive Eating and aligned with the Health at Every Size® (HAES) approach.

Susan is currently the secretary for the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP) San Diego chapter and Mental Health Resource Professional on Behavioral Health Nutrition (BHN).

Guest Host Dr. Monica Hinton

Guest Dr. Janina Scarlet

Nearly 40% of trauma survivors drop out of therapy because they find it “too distressing.” Many also might struggle with being able to trust their therapist or find a way to express what they are going through. When trauma survivors turn to loved ones for support, many are invalidated or shamed about their reactions to their traumatic experiences. As a result, many trauma survivors experience pervasive feelings of loneliness.

Some scientists call loneliness the new epidemic, while others dub loneliness “The New Smoking.” Worldwide loneliness rates have skyrocketed prior to the COVID pandemic and continue to do so. In addition to the global spikes in suicide rates, loneliness has been found to negatively impact the human immune and cardiovascular system in a similar way as smoking a pack of cigarettes per day or daily alcohol abuse.

Hence, many trauma survivors turn to TV shows, books, movies, or video games for comfort as a way of managing loneliness and finding a sense of connection and belonging, especially when lacking these kinds of meaningful connections in real life. The connections that many trauma survivors forge with fictional TV shows, books, and video game characters can serve as meaningful social support systems. 

Many therapists and educators might believe that playing video games, reading comic books, and watching television shows are harmful to people’s well-being. Thus, many well-intentioned providers and/or family members might discourage and even criticize the trauma survivor’s reliance on fictional connections for comfort without realizing their potentially life-saving nature. 

However, more recent studies demonstrate that video games and television shows have helped people to better manage their mental health during the COVID pandemic, as well as during major life stressors, such as when undergoing a loss or a major surgery. Other studies show that popular culture can help people to become more compassionate, feel less lonely, and be more likely to engage in helping behaviors. This is where Superhero Therapy comes in.

Superhero Therapy (ST) refers to incorporating popular culture into evidence-based therapy (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, EMDR, DBT, and many others) to destigmatize the client’s mental health experience and promote engagement in treatment. Above all, Superhero Therapy aims to assist the client in becoming their own version of a superhero in real life (IRL), fostering posttraumatic growth and being more willing to engage in treatment-related practices. 

Capes are optional.

Dr. Janina Scarlet is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, author, TEDx speaker, and a full-time geek. A Ukrainian-born refugee, she survived Chernobyl radiation and persecution. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 12 with her family and later, inspired by the X-Men, developed Superhero Therapy to help patients with anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Dr. Scarlet is the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award by the United Nations Association for her work on Superhero Therapy.  Her work has been featured on Yahoo, BBC, NPR, Sunday Times, CNN, CW, ABC, The New York Times, Forbes, and many other outlets. She regularly consults on books and television shows, including HBO’s The Young Justice. She was also portrayed as a comic book character in Gail Simone’s Seven Days graphic novel. Dr. Scarlet is the Lead Trauma Specialist at the Center for Stress and Anxiety Management and with the Pop Culture Hero Coalition.

She authored ten books and has written chapters for fourteen others. Her books include Superhero Therapy, Harry Potter Therapy, Therapy Quest, Dark Agents, Super-Women,  It Shouldn’t Be This Way, and many others.

Guest Host Dr. Devon Berkheiser

On December 7, The United States surgeon general warned that young people are facing “devastating” mental health effects because of the challenges experienced by their generation, including the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some ways our professionals can help educate and engage parents to recognize the signs and symptoms to receive the care their child deserves.

Dr. Alejandra Postlethwaite is a board-certified community, adult, adolescent, and child psychiatrist, and an assistant clinical professor in the UC San Diego Department of Psychiatry.

After completing medical school at the Universidad Autonoma of Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, she lived and worked in San Juan Teitipac, Oaxaca, as a family practitioner. She received her psychiatric training at Harvard Medical School and UC San Diego, her child and adolescent psychiatric training at UCLA, and her psychoanalytic psychotherapy training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. Her research career has focused on childhood trauma and parental bonding in the Hispanic population. She has been honored with several awards, including UC San Diego Chair Research Award, UC San Diego Medical Student Teaching Award, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Chief Resident Leadership Travel Award, the APA Minority Fellowship Award, UCLA Gertude R Greenblatt, MD Award for humanity work, and the American Psychoanalytic Association Fellowship Award.

Alejandra is actively involved in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Diversity and Culture Committee, the California Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (ACAP) and San Diego ACAP Chapters, for which she is president-elect. She was the behavioral health services director for La Maestra Community Health Center prior to joining Neighborhood Healthcare, where she continues to work with medically underserved children and families. She is also a staff psychiatrist at Rady Children's Hospital's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services inpatient unit, and a professor for first-year UC San Diego medical students. Prior to her work at federally qualified health care clinics, Dr Postlethwaite, was the associate training director for UC San Diego's Community Psychiatry Fellowship Program.

Dr. Jon Deam discusses a common-sense approach to diagnosis, understanding when symptoms are improving or not, available treatments, and the ultimate struggle with robbed motivation when feeling down.

Jon Deam, MD, is an experienced psychiatrist and telemedicine mental health provider at Aveo Wellness based in San Diego, California. For Dr. Deam, it all started with a question, namely, what do I want? And what does anyone want, for that matter? After years of working with people from all walks of life, faiths, creeds, and nationalities, Dr. Deam stumbled on a simple but challenging answer: to be loved, to be accepted, and to be connected to those we choose to love and accept. 

The first step in that journey was growing up and being educated in Florida. Curious and motivated, Dr. Deam ended up with two bachelor’s degrees, a love of travel after schooling in Scotland, and a clear direction for his life: to help. After graduating from Florida State University College of Medicine, the first new medical school in the United States in 25 years, he made the leap from sunny Florida to snowy Boston to train at Boston University for his psychiatry residency. 

Always drawn to those with stories, Dr. Deam has spent his career helping people navigate transitional, and sometimes painful, steps in life. Some of those stories have been joyful, some touched with sadness, and some touched by serious mental illness in need of treatment. 

Having lived and worked across all four corners of this country, Dr. Deam has seen we aren’t that different after all. The cities change, but the stories are the same. From being the lead doctor on inpatient units, treating those with serious mental illness, to comforting a new mother overwhelmed in a routine appointment, the lesson is clear and lasting: Connect. Grow. Be you.