Welcome back to Mentally Flexible! My guest today is Dr. Dennis Tirch. He is a clinical psychologist and Founding Director The Center for Compassion Focused Therapy. He has been described as one of the country's foremost leaders in compassion training in evidence-based psychotherapy. Dr. Tirch is an author of 6 books and numerous peer reviewed articles on mindfulness, acceptance and compassion. He also has a rich personal history of spiritual practice that we dive into in this podcast. I was so happy to discover Dennis and his work as he has such a beautiful way of integrating eastern wisdom with western science.

In this episode we explore:

- The development of Dennis’ spiritual interests and practices
- How he navigated intense transformative experiences
- Integrating spirituality into his clinical psychology endeavors 
- The difference between challenges and agony
- How to live in the world while being spiritually awake
 -Staying compassionate in the face of immense suffering of strangers
- The value in compassionately recognizing our own hypocrisy
- Starting your inner work from where you rather than where you think you should be
- We end with Dennis leading a guided compassion focused meditation Learn more about Dr. Tirch and the Center for Compassion Focused Therapy: http://www.mindfulcompassion.com/

Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DennisTirchPhD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drdennistirch/

Follow me on Instagram for bonus content: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/
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Dr. Dennis Tirch | Eastern Wisdom, Western Mind

Join psychotherapist Tom Parkes as he has meaningful conversations to help you build mental flexibility. Each episode will explore topics related to psychology, mental health, and creativity. With an open mind and a sense of curiosity these conversations will help you better understand yourself, others, and the world around you.&nbsp;

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Mental Health

My guests today are Brian Thompson, PhD and Brian Pilecki, PhD, two of the authors of ACT-Informed Exposure for Anxiety 
 Brian L. Thompson, PhD, is a licensed psychologist; and director of the anxiety clinic at Portland Psychotherapy in Portland, OR. He specializes in working with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, and has published research in these areas. 
 Brian C. Pilecki, PhD, is a clinical psychologist at Portland Psychotherapy who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, trauma, and matters related to the use of psychedelics. Brian also has extensive experience in the areas of mindfulness and meditation, and incorporates them into his therapy with clients. He is an active researcher and has published on topics such as anxiety disorders, mindfulness, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. 
 Some of the topics we explore include:
- How both Brians were first introduced to ACT
- What inspired writing ACT Informed Exposure for Anxiety
- The importance of willingness in exposure work
- The types of challenges people face where exposure may be helpful
- How exposure can be fluidly integrated into a much broader scope of clinical challenges
- Helpful and unhelpful ways to consider values in exposure work
- Exposure Hierarchies vs Menus 
- Overlaps and differences between traditional habituation and ACT approaches to exposure ————————————————————————— Portland Psychotherapy: https://portlandpsychotherapy.com/ ACT-Informed Exposure for Anxiety: https://a.co/d/5qAh5O7 ————————————————————————— Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible: 
 You can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexible 
 Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988 
 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/ 
 Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth

Dr. Brian Thompson & Dr. Brian Pilecki | ACT-Informed Exposure

My guest today is Dr. Marina Rosenthal. Marina is a licensed psychologist dedicated to serving high-conflict couples. She earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oregon, where she received extensive hands’ on supervision and further honed her skills in the VA system working with veterans and their partners with concurrent and complex struggles. Marina now runs a private practice and is thoroughly trained in Integrative Behavioral Couple Therapy (IBCT), an empirically supported treatment which has many similarities to ACT. Some of the topics we explore include:
- How Marina got into working with high-conflict couples
- The tendency to pathologize partners in order explain relationship issues
- Finding a balance between acceptance and change
- How individual therapy can sometimes sabotage a relationship
- The difference between high-conflict and abusive relationships
- Ways to build awareness and understand function in conflict patterns
- Some common relationship myths
- Working through the decision to stay together or split up
- And some examples of how high-conflict couples can successfully grow and heal

 ————————————————————————— Marina’s website: https://www.drmarinarosenthal.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarinarosenthal/ ————————————————————————— 
 Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible: 
 You can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexible 
 Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988 
 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/ 
 Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth

Dr. Marina Rosenthal | High Conflict Couples

My guest today is Diana Hill, PhD. Diana is a clinical psychologist, international trainer, and sought-out speaker on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and compassion. Host of the podcast Wise Effort with Dr. Diana Hill and author of The Self-Compassion Daily Journal, The ACT Daily Journal, and the upcoming book Wise Effort, Diana works with organizations and individuals to develop psychological flexibility so that they can grow fulfilling and impactful lives. Some of the topics we explore include:
- The value in stretching outside of our comfort zone
- Ways to help carry the heaviness in life 
- Fears related to being more self-compassionat
- Diana’s process of releasing a new book while also navigating personal challenges
- How we can minimize our difficulties and struggle to ask for help
- Dealing with the pain of past regrets and forgiving ourselves ————————————————————————— Diana’s website: https://drdianahill.com/ The Self-Compassion Daily Journal: https://a.co/d/aBwmnIM ————————————————————————— Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible: 
You can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexible 
 Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988 
 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/ 
 Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth

Dr. Diana Hill | Self-Compassion for Wise Effort

My guest today is Dr. Steven C. Hayes. Steven Hayes is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno and President of the Institute for Better Health, a 45-year old charitable organization dedicated to better mental and behavioral health. With 47 books and nearly 700 scientific articles published, Dr. Hayes is one of the most cited psychologists in the world as he continues to innovate in the field of psychology. He is the developer of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

 Some of the topics we explore include: 
- The launching of the PsychFlex and Mindgrapher apps
- How this opens the potential for 24/7 integration of treatment
- The ways we can better attend to often ignored client issues
 - The limitations of the DSM and its history
- Moving away from a one size fits all approach to treatment
- The current development of new data sets and statistical methods
- Hope for the future of behavioral health and helping people 
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 Dr. Steven Hayes’ Website: https://stevenchayes.com/ PsychFlex: https://psychflex.com/signup/ A Liberated Mind: https://a.co/d/aGBpF8S 
 ————————————————————————— 
 Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible: 
 You can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexible 
 Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988 
 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/ 
 Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth

Dr. Steven C Hayes | Moving Beyond the DSM

My guest today is Anna Lembke, MD. Dr. Lembke is a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. A clinician scholar, she has published more than a hundred peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and commentaries. She sits on the board of several state and national addiction-focused organizations, has testified before various committees in the United States House of Representatives and Senate, keeps an active speaking calendar, and maintains a thriving clinical practice. Her new book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence was an instant New York Times Bestseller,  and explores how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world.

 Some of the topics we explore include:
- Dr. Lembke’s path through medical school and psychiatry training
- Early lessons learned about substance use and addiction
- The neurobiological overlap between addictive and compulsive behavior
- How Dr. Lembke navigates some of the highly stimulating parts of the modern world
- Childhood development and technology 
- The way compulsive overconsumption can lead to a dopamine deficit state
- What it’s like having Dopamine Nation be so well known 
- What matters most to Dr. Lembke in her life today

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 Dr. Lembke’s Website: https://www.annalembke.com/ Dopamine Nation: https://a.co/d/5VQODAp 
 ————————————————————————— 
 Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible: 
 You can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexible 
 Please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988 
 Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/ 
 Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truth

Dr. Dennis Tirch | Eastern Wisdom, Western Mind

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