Psych Up Live

As we struggle with the challenge of safely sending children back to school, weighing concern for their social needs while moderating our own anxiety, this episode becomes relevant and important. Sue Badeau, nationally known speaker, writer and consultant for traumatized children brings her perspective of helping children by helping those who care for them. As mother of 22 children with years of expertise with child welfare, the juvenile justice systems, the Council on Adoptable Children, the National and The Child Traumatic Stress Network, she knows the dynamics personally and professionally. She is joined by her daughter, Chelsea Badeau, artist and designer of their new book, Building Bridges of Hope: A Coloring Book For Adults Caring for Children Who have Experienced Trauma. You will hear strategies from research, theory, and clinical experience and tools for bridging hope.

All of us own a life story that reflects a legacy of events we have received from the generations before us and that we will pass on to future generations. In this episode, Elaine Cooper, LCSW, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and author of LET'S ALL HOLD HANDS AND DROP DEAD: Three Generations - One Story, invites us to understand and identify intergenerational trauma and transgenerational trauma, their impact, how we heal and even change the legacy. Drawing upon experience, established research, clinical and group expertise, Elaine Cooper illuminates this topic in a way that will make you reconsider the generational legacy you carry, what it means for your present life, your family, your health, your genetic profile, your strengths, your decisions and the life story you choose to own.You will think about your life differently.

In this episode, Dr. Pauline Boss, esteemed scientist practitioner who coined the term 'Ambiguous Loss,' discusses the meaning of Ambiguous Loss and how it differs from other losses. Drawing upon powerful examples, Dr. Boss discusses physical ambiguous loss and psychological ambiguous loss due to dementia from disease, brain injury etc. She clarifies that Ambiguous Loss is not a result of pathology, but rather the ambiguity of the circumstances of loss. Using examples like the families of 9-11 she describes the understandable impact on a family when a parent is gone but loss cannot be substantiated. With the aim of building resilience rather than pathologizing, Dr. Boss discusses the Psychological Family, the Family Narrative and the ability to engage Dialectical Thinking - 'my husband is both absent and present in our hearts and minds.' Dr. Boss references Victor Frankel’s Importance Of Finding Meaning, Adjusting Mastery Up Or Down and discovering 'New Hope' by risking change.

If you are in a relationship, you have to hear this episode. It will be as enjoyable as it will be strikingly helpful to you and your partner. According to psychotherapist and author, Keith Wilson, if you are in a real relationship and you haven't had a conflict yet – you haven't been paying attention. As Keith describes, violence is the avoidance of conflict. Being able to work through clashes as a couple, offers great potential. With anecdote, metaphor and examples, Keith draws upon 30 years of practice with couples to discuss the steps for regulating conflict. He will invite you to turn off the alarm in your head that scans partner disconnection, know where and how to ask the right questions – be it about an affair or getting up for the kids. He will clarify how to give and get feedback, avoid the four fouls that contaminate any conflict and turn conflict into really knowing, trusting and loving each other. Listen in.

During this pandemic, most people have been grateful for the courage of medical workers. We have heard about the physical demands and emotional burnout they have suffered; but far less about moral injury. In this episode, Dr. Keith Corl, an emergency and critical care physician offers a personal and professional understanding of moral injury of physicians, both before and during COVID-19. Dr. Corl defines moral injury and compares it with burnout and PTSD. Drawing upon examples, he considers the complexity of medical care overseen by a business model and discusses how it compromises the physician-patient relationship. As an associate of Moral Injury of Healthcare, a non-profit organization promoting public awareness and clinician support, he describes the importance of insuring sustainability in committed physicians in view of their present risks of caring. He shares personal ways that he promotes patient connection and care, both for himself and his medical students and staff.

In a culture of cyber-attacks, misinformation, political digital trolling, hacked accounts, cyber-staking and revenge porn, this show invites us to consider our online exposure. In this episode, Dr. Sheri Bauman, author of the new book, Political Cyberbullying: Perpetrators and Targets of a New Digital Aggression, looks closely at the digital world we inhabit and the reality of the negativity and dangers we face. She discusses causes of cyber-aggression, the impact of high-status celebrity and political cyber-aggression, the definition and mobilization of trolls, memes, cyberstalking and exploitative dating sites. She addresses how we can continue to benefit from our digital universe without harm. Very Informative show.

If you are human, it is likely that you have hurt and been hurt by others. What may be less likely is knowing how to find a road to reconciliation or addressing the reality that reconciliation may not be instantly possible or possible at all. In this episode, Keith Wilson, licensed mental health counselor draws upon his years of clinical experience and his book, The Road to Reconciliation: A Comprehensive Guide to Peace when Relationships Go Bad, to offer an understanding of the pitfalls and possibilities of reconciliation. With candor and examples, Keith is upfront with the roles engaged in and sometimes shared by offender and victim. He invites recognition of the complexities and the context, lists the steps of reparation and encourages a personal consideration of one’s responsibility. He clarifies apologies, making amends and the victim’s choice to reconcile– all of which become more painful and possible with partners and spouses. You will be intrigued and informed.

I encored this episode because if offers a striking example of the power of radical empathy to address differences, bias, projections and stereotypes. In this episode, Co-founders, Colum McCann and Lisa Consiglio introduce us to Narrative 4, a global organization headed up by some of the world's most renowned authors, artists and community leaders who use the story exchange across the globe to build empathy and connection with tens of thousands of students in classrooms and communities.. An important expansion of this project, particularly relevant given national and international strife, is “Empathy Into Action,” a campaign that uses the story exchanges to break open historically intractable issues with radical empathy. You will hear how it unfolds in “A Narrative for Gun Awareness” between gun advocates and those who have suffered loss and injury due to gun violence. You will be moved and startled by what you hear.

Whether faced with unforeseeable life circumstances, economic hardship, physical or emotional distress, many people wish that they could re-invent or re-define themselves. Could they dare consider a new line of work, a different relationship, a less addictive way of regulating stress, or a less passive response to controlling others? In this episode, Anita K, author of the book, Behaving Bravely: How to Mindshift Life's Challenges, draws upon her own life, her work as a life coach in the competitive HR world and a wide range of recognized practices for mind and body to address ways to make difficult changes possible. What makes her approach appealing is her bridge from Reflective Practices like Meditation, mindfulness, visualization, affirmations etc. to action plans. Recognizing how difficult this can be, Anita captures the steps in the acronym BRAVE. She discusses and exemplifies how an achievable plan incorporates beliefs, readiness, alignment of steps, vision and engagement.

Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, loss of loved ones, school and business shut-downs and social protest, many adults are stressed. Little ones are also stressed and be it from what they feel in those around them or for completely different reasons, sometimes they are sad. What can parents do? In this episode, Psychologist and esteemed author, Dr. Deborah Serani returns to Psych Up Live with a new children's book, Sometimes When I'm Sad. Beautifully illustrated, it offers the feelings and behaviors of being sad in the words of a little boy. As you will hear in Dr. Serani's discussion and reading of sections, it gives both parent and child a valuable way to express and address sadness. Providing further guidance, Dr. Serani will be discussing: How to spot sadness in a child, ways to reduce sadness and when to seek professional help. She will also address and explain the unique value of bibliotherapy.