Theo A. Cope holds his MA and Ph.D. in Psychology. He is a certified Family Consultant and a Positive Psychotherapist (PPT) with certification granted by the World Association of Positive Psychotherapy in Wiesbaden, Germany. PPT is a trans-cultural and cross-cultural therapeutic method, which began in 1968 by Dr. Nossrat Peseschkian. Dr. Cope is also a Certified Stress Surfing trainer, a modality created by Dr. Ivan Kirillov and based on PPT.

Dr. Cope works with individuals, couples, and families. He has worked with these psychological realities: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, sex and alcohol addictions, stress, cultural adjustments, bipolar disorder, ADHD, as well as relationship challenges and skill enhancements, among others.

To learn more about Dr. Cope or purchase his book, check out the links below.

https://calm-international.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19227565-fear-of-jung

Today's episode was recorded in September, shortly after the Suicide Awareness Panel. Mark Allan Karanja Ngina is a writer, blogger, podcaster, and journalist. He is the creator of the Piquing Duck blog, which focuses on The Far East Queer Perspective. He is one of the leaders of the Queer community here in Beijing, China. 

You can find his blog at piquingduck.com. Make sure to follow him on Instagram @piquingduck on Twitter @spacedisruptor. 

Today I talked with Megan. Megan co-founded Project A as a way to use her experiences to help people heal from traumatic experiences. Today Megan and I discussed the impact of violence, how it can look different than people think, and many other topics. 

It's time for Season 3!!! 

Here are three phrases that are making communication with ourselves and each other more difficult. 

3. Selfish/Self-Centered 1:18

2. I'm the only one... 9:08

1. Who am I too/Who is she too... 20:35

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, I interviewed Rachel George. An expat therapist here in Beijing, China. She is the owner of Heart in Mind Coaching. 

Originally from Houston, Texas, Rachel George is a therapist and life coach. Although fairly new to the expat life, she has found China to be that place where her heart truly feels at home. A firm believer in speaking her truth, no matter if her voice shakes, Rachel is committed to working with others to not only find their passions but live and relish in them fully. A lover of all things carbs, she spends her days empowering students to realize their limitless potential in her role as a school counselor, and her nights silently planning to change the world, one heart at time.

This week, we are going to discuss Week 1 of the Women’s History Month Calendar.  This calendar is a bit different from last months. I added a category and removed one. This month, I want to focus on showing appreciation to others as well as education. 

Time Stamps

Day 1: Rest and Recharge: 1:00

Day 2: Write yourself a Love Letter: 2:01

Day 3: Start A Convo: Body Image: 5:35

Day 4: Frida Kahlo: 21:20

Day 5: Portrait of Lady on Fire: 24:18

In this episode, I discuss the topics from the fourth and fifth weeks of the calendar. We talked about movies, books, black codes, and discrimination. And I give my final thoughts on how I feel the calendar went. I hope you enjoy the show.

Time Stamps

Week 4

Day 20: Black Codes: 0:55

Day 21: Alice Coachman: 4:13

Day 22: The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes: 6:16

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Langston-Hughes

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes

https://poets.org/poet/langston-hughes

https://www.amazon.com/Ways-White-Folks-Stories-Classics/dp/0679728171

Day 23: How Gender and Race discrimination are different: 8:06

Day 24: Rest and Recharge: 18:35

Day 25:  Missouri Compromise: 21:10

Day 26: Love and Basketball: 22:43

Week 5

Day 27: Henrietta Lacks: 26:51

Day 28: Spoken Word: 30:25

In this episode, I discuss the topics from the third week of the calendar. We talked about movies, books, reconstruction, and cultural appropriation. I hope you enjoy the show.

Time Stamps

Day 13: Cultural Appropriation: 0:45

Day 14: Take a Social Media Break: 13:16

Day 15: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates: 13:56

Day 16:   Benjamin Davis Sr.: 21:58

Day 17: Reconstruction: 24:06

Day 18:   Selma: 28:40

Day 19: Black Hosted: 40:11

In this episode, I discuss the topics from the second week of the calendar. We talked about movies, books, supreme court cases, and microaggressions. I hope you enjoy the show. 

Time Stamps

Day 1: Waiting to Exhale: 0:45

Day 2: Gwendolyn Brooks: 3:30

Day 3: "The Other Black Girl" by Zakiya Dalila Harris: 5:17

Day 4: What are microaggressions: 8:07

Day 5: Self Care 27:13

Day 6: Loving vs. Virginia: 28:18

Day 7: When the Levees Broke by Spike Lee: 34:15

In this episode, I discuss the topics from the first week of the calendar. When I was deciding what books, movies, and people to list for the month, I wanted to focus on how black people see the world. I wanted to show that we aren’t monoliths. That while some of our experiences are shared, some are different, so I wanted to paint the picture of educated, informed, and successful people. Often when we see movies that win Oscars or get the most screen time, they’re about the struggle of people within the community that paints our lives as one way. This then impacts the way we are seen globally because those movies become what people who may never meet black Americans reference when they think of us. The number of people I have met that have told me that Gone with the Wind is their favorite movie and that they don’t understand why black people are complaining about slavery because the characters in the movie are happy is entirely too high for my comfort level. No, it’s not black America’s job to go out and correct these misconceptions, but we can offer an assist by highlighting movies, books, and people that better explain our situation in its totality. That focuses on our accomplishments as well as the struggles. In all things, balance.

Time Stamps

Day 1: "How We Fight For Our Lives" by Saeed Jones: 2:35

Day 2:  Plessy Vs. Ferguson: 5:00

Day 3: How to be an Ally: 13:08

Tip 1- Know your privilege: 17:30

Tip 2- Actively Listen: 17: 44

Tip 3- Speak up not over: 19:02

Tip 4- Let us speak: 20:00

Tip 5- Apologize when you mess up: 21:00

Tip 6- Ally is a verb: 21:30

Tip 7- Respect Safe Spaces: 26: 15

Tip 8- Remember issues are always present: 27:45

How to ask Questions: 29:18

Day 4: Know your boundaries: 33: *Check the episode "What Boundaries"

Day 5: Emmett Till: 34:50