Shrinks Rap

Dr. James H. Bramson Interviews Psychologist, Family Therapist, and Parenting Educator, Lyn Benson
 
 Lyn Benson has sold out seminars on the subject of Mindful Parenting in Australia. She has also trained internationally in the area of mindfulness. Lyn Benson and Dr. Bramson met back in 2006 and have taught workshops together around the world - including Turkey, Peru, New Zealand, Australia, and Bali. Dr. Bramson has been threatening to pull her out of “retirement” to get the band back on the road again, or at least teach a mindful parenting seminar on-line (due to popular demand).
 
 Lyn was strongly influenced by the work of internationally recognized Australian psychologist, Moshe Lang. Moshe Lang is one of the pioneers of family therapy in Australia and has had a huge influence on Lyn’s work. Over time Lyn’s interests have evolved as she has dedicated herself to teaching parents how to be more mindful. In this podcast, Lyn passionately discusses her own take on gender fluidity, the “coming out” process for non-binary kids, and what every parent should know.
 
 Lyn is funny, intelligent, and heart centered. She has dedicated her career to making sure children grow up learning how to love and accept themselves. Lyn believes that parents (who are truly mindful) can help their children optimize their own self-worth. She emphasizes teaching children to love themselves unconditionally. Lyn extols the importance of parents loving their children for who they are …. and who they are becoming … whether gender fluid, non-binary, gay, straight, or somewhere in between. Lyn also made some pithy comments on the differences between the United States and Australia when it comes to paying for therapy, practicing psychology, the freedom of choice, and the impact of politics on the human condition.
 

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Dr. Gerald Smith has led workshops at the storied Esalen Institute for over 50 years. He is friends with one of its originals co-founders, Michael Murphy, whom he interviewed on an earlier podcast. Jerry attended the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, earning an M.B.A and Doctoral degree in Educational Psychology. Jerry is still a practicing clinical psychologist at the age of 92. And he is as sharp and quick-witted as ever. He has written two books, hosted a T.V. show, and loves leading workshops for couples. Jerry participated in some of the pioneering psychedelic research experiments (in the 1950’s) when it was legal and quite provocative. He reported positive results using psychedelics and discusses some of his own experiences, along with the tremendous benefits and pitfalls of plant and lab-based medicine. Jerry believes psychedelics can expand our perceptual field. He stresses that psychedelics can potentially benefit people suffering from depression, anxiety, and trauma, but that caution is warranted. 

Jerry was also trained by such luminaries as Virginia Satir and Fritz Pearls. He knows he was privileged to know each of them personally and professionally … and pulls back the curtains on what they were really like. In this podcast, Jerry discusses how Psychedelics, Virginia Satir, and Fritz Pearls impacted his perceptual field …. and what matters most at this stage in his life.

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Rafael Cortina & Felicia Carroll Break New Ground

Felicia Carroll, is a Licensed Marriage, Family Therapist and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor in private practice in Solvang, California. She is a natural story teller, child advocate, celebrated Gestalt trainer, and consummate gardener. One could argue that Felicia is the Shel Silverstein of Gestalt Therapy. Her work is the metaphoric “Givingtree” that keeps on giving. Better to consider how to give back, recognize the gifts in all of us, and plant seeds, versus taking from others. Her passion for Gestalt therapy and children recently turned her attention to the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe—particularly, how war impacts children. Felicia is dedicated to helping clients work through their “unresolved situations” versus their “unfinished business.” 

Rafael and Felicia wax metaphors in their dialectic. They discuss the importance of rootedness, interconnectedness in human beings, mushrooms, and redwood trees. Interestingly, fungi are closer to man than plants in their DNA structure and their capacity for motility. Rafael and Felicia also discuss redwood trees and how they are like human beings as they need to stand together to survive. They have a deeply interconnected underground root system. Similarly, human beings survive best when they are deeply rooted. Felicia even noted that human beings and trees communicate in a clever way to protect one another. Trees release pheromones like humans do. In the case of trees, pheromones are released when danger is imminent. It activates their antibodies in order to survive. Human connection or “togetherness” also activates antibodies and bolster our immune system. 

Felicia takes us on on her journey from being a teacher, educator at the Esalen Institute, academic at UCSB, to becoming the Founder/Co-Director of the West Coast Institute for Gestalt Therapy with Children and Adolescents (www.westcoastinstitute.us). In this podcast, Felicia plants seeds in our frontal lobe where some of our best ideas can germinate. 

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Dr. James H. Bramson interviews Dr. Josh Wilson and Eti Valdez-Kaminsky 

What do Naomi Judd, Anthony Bourdain, Robin Williams, Cleopatra, Mark Rothko, and David Foster Wallace have in common? They have all suicided. Suicide is an epidemic during these times of tumult. Obviously, suicide and depression impacts more than celebrities. Depression and suicide impact every, age, race, and gender. Depression and suicide do not revere white privilege, or bow down to someone’s socioeconomic status. Suicidal thoughts and feelings lead to isolation, anhedonia and despair. Depression is an equal opportunity destroyer and disrupter in our society. Depression and suicide can impact every religion, political group, white collar workers, blue collar workers, the educated, uneducated, and everyone in between. Suicide rips apart families and communities. The CDC reports that the financial cost on our society averages 70 billion a year (in just medical and work-loss costs alone). However, the human toll is incalculable. 

 Most importantly, irreplaceable lives (souls) are lost every minute because the general pubic is afraid to discuss death, depression, and suicide. Shame causes suicide to go underground where it becomes the silent killer. Individuals who are suffering do not want to be seen as burdensome. People who suffer the most are often too reticent or afraid to talk about it. It is often the case that people who recognize suicidal tendencies in those they love (or care about) are afraid of acting on what they know. In fact, Dr. Wilson points out in this episode that we lost a human being every 11-minutes (in the United States). So during the course of one Podcast episode (under 60 minutes) we lost 5 to 6 Americans. 

 Dr. Wilson (Co-Founder and President of East Bay Mindfulness Center, Psychology Inc. and West Coast Mindfulness Institute) and Eti Kaminsky (Clinical Director of EBMC, Psychology, Inc.) discuss their unique and shared approach to preventing and treating suicide. They raise awareness regarding the complex and underlying issues surrounding depression and suicide, particularly among our youth. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in individuals aged 10 to 14. It is the second leading cause of death for people aged 25-34 in the United States. This episode concludes by offering everyone hope and a way forward. Dr. Wilson and Eti Kaminsky stress the myriad ways therapy can instill hope, joy, and purpose driven awareness in people who suffer the most. Listeners please note the Suicide Prevention (Lifeline number) - 998. Let us all be life guards or guardians. 

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Rafael Cortina interviews another Gestalt icon - Morgan Goodlander 

Morgan Goodlander is a public speaker, president of the San Francisco Gestalt Institute, and leadership counselor. He has worked in 17 countries and has managed educational programs for the Esalen Institute. Rafael Cortina continues his mission to introduce us to extraordinary thought leaders and influencers throughout the Gestalt world. Many luminaries continue to be pulled into Rafael’s gravitational field and you may ask yourself, when does the man rest? 

In this humorous and riveting podcast, Morgan Goodlander describes growing up Gestalt. He was influenced by a family friend of his dad’s. A man he jokingly refers to as “Socrates.” While others his age were probably more concerned about going to prom and mastering the SAT’s, Morgan had deeper concerns. As a teenager, Morgan was exploring how to apply the theory of Gestalt therapy to his own life. Later on, he observed that it is Gestalt therapy that works best for his clients.

Morgan opines about the repetitive nature of loss throughout history. He explores the role that creativity plays in finding elegant solutions to redundant problems we all face. Problems that are embedded in common losses. He noted that the key losses we must overcome include the loss of our sense of belonging, of prestige, and of the sense of having or being enough. Both Rafael and Morgan discuss the basic tenants of Gestalt in their own dialectic. The role of personal responsibility, experiencing life in the present moment, leading from within, understanding the dialectic between self and others, as well as the dialectic between self and our environment, and learning from our repetitive experiences. Morgan paints the picture of what it is like to be stuck in a “Ground Hog Day” vortex. After listening to this episode, you may think about how to step outside of the self-limiting (ontological and phenomenological) dimensions of life - - that stop you from seeing infinite possibilities for creativity and change.

To connect with Morgan and to learn mora bout him click here
For his YouTube channel click here

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Rafael Cortina interviews John Hovell 

John Hovell is the Co-Founder of Stratactical and is a self-described Relational-Organizational-Gestalt expert. John opines that you “cannot take a group (or organization) where you have not gone yourself.” John learned through his organizational development (OD) practice that you don’t want to make the client wrong but, rather, meet the client halfway. He is most passionate about knowledge development, organizational development, and Relational-Organizational-Gestalt consulting. John pays attention to the small and big details, including what is going on inside his body, within himself, within groups, and between groups. He looks at “levels of system.” Specifically, he looks at the system by considering the following realms: Intrapersonal, interpersonal, subgroup, whole system, bounded system, etc. He likens the OD perspective to Gestalt work. He looks at “self” as an instrument for change and illumination. John discusses his overall purpose: “This body, experience, and consciousness is a gift. My purpose is to share this gift in a relational way.”

To connect with John  via twitter click here
To find out more about John and his work click here 
To learn more about conversational leadership click here 

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Demystifying and Overcoming Fear and Shame: The Odyssey of (Gestalt Luminary) Richard Dennison

Rafael Cortina interviews Richard Dennison 

Rafael is going global again. He is making his virtual way through Europe, and has landed another humble luminary in the Gestalt World, Richard Dennison. Richard hails from the southwest corner of England. Richard Dennison first worked in a psychiatric hospital in London at the ripe old age of 19. He actually found that studying psychology at University was disappointing. It paled in comparison to real human life and relationships. Richard was most curious about how fear and shame impact relationships and how Gestalt work has the real potential to catalyze lasting change.  

Richard confessed that he has had to overcome a traumatic upbringing. He is a self-described lifelong learner. Dennison is an expert in the phenomenological realization of shame, including how it affects trauma and recovery. Richard believes that Gestalt Therapy has many lasting benefits: “Through the process of awareness, the individuals gain an understanding of themselves and their environment. They recognize the potential for change and their capacity to make choices, so that they may live an authentic, and meaningful life.”

To learn more about Richard and contact information click here

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Live from San Diego,  It’s Jim & Rafael (together again) 

People in every generation think they are the ones facing the greatest challenges of all time. Was the Holocaust, Civil War, Armenian Holocaust, Black Plague, Nagasaki and Hiroshima more traumatic than any of our current events? American sociologist Kai Erickson, author of “Everything in Its Path” and international teacher and scholar, Thomas Hubl, are both famous for coining the term “Collective Trauma.” They focus on the shared experience of the collective and why it matters. Trauma that impacts many of us on a collective level can lead to solutions on a global level. It can lead to collective empathy and alignment, e.g., how most of the world has united around Ukraine. Conversely, it can lead to a tsunami of dissociation, PTSD, Alexithymia, thought and emotional dysregulation, wars, factionalism, violence, and suicide.

Jim and Rafael discuss Rafael’s new office and Jim’s office envy. They also go deep by exploring contemporary trauma events on a massive scale, i.e. COVID, the war in Ukraine, the slap heard around the world at the Oscars, inflation, ecological disasters, and the fraying of our social fabric. Collective traumas impact individuals within societies and individuals between societies. It is affecting what therapists are seeing every day. There is a ripple effect. We cannot “unsee” the war in Ukraine on T.V. Just a couple of years ago we were collectively upset about cyber bullying, the lack of a workable vaccine, masks as a political issue versus a health issue, fake news, the election, cancel culture, hate speech on Twitter. Now we are wondering if Elon Musk will take over Twitter and the world and we are on our second booster shot. Now it seems like you cannot even watch an awards show - - without it slapping you hard across the face. 

 Yet, there is good news listeners. Rafael and Jim discuss how we can tap into our most vulnerable parts of ourselves and find our greater self. Yes, we can cultivate gratitude and kindness and still believe that good triumphs evil - - without seeming overly Pollyanna. We can learn to self and co-regulate. There is an opportunity for the collective (not just individuals) to become courageous, resilient, determined, and aware. 

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

To learn more about French Institute of Gestalt Therapy click here
To purchase on of Jean-Marie's books click here 

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

Dr. Jim Bramson interviews Dr. Eric Raimo

Dr. Eric Raimo is an accomplished psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of bipolar disorder. I refer to him as the “Bipolar Whisperer.” Dr. Raimo went to two Ivy’s (the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College, Medical school) and went on to do his residency at the University of California - San Diego (UCSD) Medical School.

He has an outstanding reputation among colleagues and patients. People don’t just like him, they love him. 

I learned about Dr. Raimo’s cutting-edge work with bipolar patients. Among other ways his treatment is unique, Dr. Raimo believes in treating the entire family system, not just the person with the diagnosis. Dr. Raimo has a great command of psychopharmacology, alternative therapeutic interventions, and evidenced-based research. He offers some helpful insights into how these modalities impact patients.

 Dr. Eric takes the stigma out of the illness in this podcast. He cites many famous people who have lived successfully with the disorder. We are familiar with some of the them, including Winston Churchill, Brian WIlson, and Frank Sinatra. However, more recent luminaires have stepped forward to courageously share their experiences. Catherine Zeta-Jones said: “There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help.” Claude Van Damme waxed poetry: “All the commotion around me, all the water around me, moving left and right around me, became like a lake.” Russell Brand described his cycling depression and response to it: “And the image of myself as compromised and inconsistent made me want to withdraw from the world even further.” 

We hope this podcast touches the known and unknown people with bipolar disorder who suffer in silence and feel unnecessarily stigmatized. We also hope to reach the hearts and minds of professionals who may want to treat this population. 

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here