Dr. Adam Dorsay, psychologist and host of the SuperPsyched podcast, reflects on attending his 40th high school reunion and argues that reunions can be emotionally activating yet healing, echoing Frank McCourt’s idea that they reveal who you are now and who you were then. He shares key takeaways: many classmates were silently suffering in high school (family problems, neglect, loneliness, anxiety, abuse, substance issues, and even being unhoused), and nearly everyone has since faced humbling life challenges such as divorce, illness, or addiction, creating unexpected similarities and deeper connection. He notes the poignancy of classmates who have died, the energy of reconnecting, and the value of organizers’ choices (outdoor venue, quiet music, good lighting, and photo name tags). He encourages staying in touch sooner than every 10 years and reaching out via social media or Zoom to build friendships.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:28 Why Reunions Matter

00:50 Frank McCourt Wisdom

02:23 The Reunion Reality Check

03:44 Takeaway One Shared Suffering

05:57 Takeaway Two Life Humility

07:17 Distance and Missing Classmates

08:23 Loss and In Memoriam

10:09 The Night’s Energy

11:34 Organizer Tips That Work

12:59 Stay in Touch Sooner

13:51 Final Encouragement and Goodbye

Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and interviews board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Zeshaan Maan about myths and realities of plastic surgery and its psychological impact. Maan explains “plastic” comes from Greek for molding and shaping, and describes plastic surgery as restoring form and function through principles of tissue handling and blood supply. He discusses the demands of training and long operations, self-care, and the team required in the OR and office. Maan frames cosmetic surgery as aligning external appearance with internal identity, citing breast reduction as especially high-ROI for quality of life and explaining motivations and outcomes for breast augmentation and rhinoplasty, including functional breathing benefits. He describes evaluating patient motivations, screening for body dysmorphic disorder and social-media-driven expectations, and declining inappropriate requests. Maan also shares volunteer work operating on children in Israel and the West Bank, and ends by naming empathy as the key skill to reduce conflict.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:28 Why Plastic Surgery

01:44 Meet Dr Zeshaan Maan

02:51 What Plastic Surgery Means

04:06 Choosing the Specialty

06:01 Training and Stamina

08:23 Self Care and Music

09:47 The OR Teamwork

12:52 Psychology and ROI

13:57 Breast Reduction Benefits

15:42 Breast Augmentation Outcomes

17:14 Rhinoplasty Stories

19:35 Form Meets Function

21:05 Screening Dysmorphia

23:14 Social Media Pressures

25:04 When Surgeons Say No

27:39 Humanitarian Reconstructive Work

30:00 Misconceptions and Reality

35:31 Not Just Skin Deep

38:47 Empathy and Farewell

Helpful Links:

Dr. Zeshaan Maan

Dr. Zeshaan Maan LinkedIn

Dr. Zeshaan Maan Instagram

Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and highlights that women have ADHD yet up to 75% may be undiagnosed, then interviews psychologist Dr. Michelle Frank, co-author of A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD. They discuss why girls and women are often overlooked, the relief and grief that can accompany later-in-life diagnosis, and how medication should feel supportive rather than numbing or euphoric amid stigma. Frank describes how ADHD can be misattributed to character, the need to rule out or address co-occurring issues (depression, anxiety, trauma/PTSD, sleep disorders, head injury), and women-specific considerations including PMDD, postpartum risk, and hormonal impacts across the menstrual cycle and menopause. Frank shares her own late-recognized ADHD experiences, masking and imposter syndrome, and notes children with ADHD may receive 20,000 more negative comments by age 10. They outline multimodal supports for a teen diagnosis (curious adults, accommodations, coaching, therapy, family validation), emphasize avoiding shame spirals when symptoms recur, and recommend learning about ADHD, connecting with community, self-compassion, and taking small risks toward vulnerability.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:28 Women and Undiagnosed ADHD

01:09 Meet Michelle Frank

04:21 Late Diagnosis Relief and Grief

07:40 Medication That Fits

08:27 Stigma and Self Blame

11:16 Ruling Out Lookalikes

12:47 Hormones PMDD and Menopause

16:51 Michelles ADHD Journey

22:59 Imposter Syndrome and Masking

27:24 Negativity Bias and Shame

29:05 Susie Treatment Roadmap

34:47 Practical Tips and Connection

36:41 Final Insight Vulnerability

38:13 Closing and Share

Helpful Links:

Michelle Frank, PhD

Michelle Frank, PhD LinkedIn

A Radical Guide for Women with ADHD Book

Dr. Adam Dorsay hosts University of Virginia behavioral scientist and engineering/architecture professor Dr. Lediy Klotz to discuss Klotz’s book In a Good Place on how spaces affect psychology and how people can thrive by making small, actionable changes. They explore habituation and the idea that subtracting (removing obstacles, noise, or clutter) can improve environments, including using available outdoor space differently (like eating outside). Klotz emphasizes agency as a core psychological need, citing a nursing home study where residents allowed to customize their rooms were 50% more likely to be alive 18 months later, and discusses regaining agency when it’s constrained (e.g., sealed hotel windows). They examine space and dominance in negotiation and sports (goalkeepers, Emiliano Martínez), intentional design to foster interaction (Pixar), “space before screen,” and Klotz shares the loss of his daughter Josie and creating “Josie’s Way” as a memorial space.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:28 Why Spaces Feel Good

00:47 Meet Dr Lediy Klotz

02:09 Arrive Early Hack

03:16 The Research Behind It

04:38 Five Years to Write

05:56 Spaces Shape Psychology

07:06 Small Tweaks Big Control

09:04 Subtract to Improve Space

10:04 Eat Outside Reframe

12:08 Designing Outdoor Space

12:56 Office Choices and Agency

15:33 Defining Agency in Space

16:55 Soccer and Agency Lessons

18:31 Goalie Mindset and Space

20:18 Owning the Penalty Area

22:22 Agency Life or Death Study

24:18 Mandela Garden Agency

25:40 Churchill Shapes Commons

26:49 Designing Serendipity

30:01 Digital vs Real Space

31:17 Space Before Screen

32:41 Grief and Boundaries

35:18 Josies Way Memorial

38:50 Spirit Lives in Stories

40:22 Josie Joke Punchline

43:49 Miracle Skill Reaction

46:25 Closing Thanks Farewell

Helpful Links:

Lediy Klotz, PhD

Lediy Klotz, PhD Linked

InIn a Good Place Book

Host Dr. Adam Dorsay interviews developmental psychologist Dr. Alexis Redding, faculty co-chair of higher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and editor of Mental Health in College, about supporting college student mental health. Redding explains the book emerged from connecting experts who cared about students but weren’t in conversation, and argues mental health support matters for student engagement, belonging, retention, and the broader developmental work colleges can foster. Drawing on archival interviews from the 1940s and 1970s and contemporary studies of the classes of 2025–2026, she finds core emotions like loneliness and insecurity during transitions remain consistent across generations, despite changes like COVID and social media. She recommends avoiding a constant crisis narrative, training staff to ask clarifying questions about clinical language, and replacing “kids these days” and “best four years” stories with more nuance and vulnerability.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:49 Meet Alexis Redding

02:16 Why This Book Exists

04:56 Mental Health Pays Off

07:55 Loneliness Then and Now

10:37 Roommate Mirror Effect

13:45 Transitions Shape Wellbeing

16:46 Are Kids Really Different

20:33 TikTok Therapy Language

26:18 Stop the Crisis Narrative

29:29 Ditch Kids These Days

35:26 Archeology and Connection

38:43 Vulnerability as the Skill

43:16 Closing Thanks and Subscribe

Helpful Links:

Dr. Alexis Redding

Mental Health in College - What Research Tells Us About Supporting Students Book

Dr. Alexis Redding Instagram

Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and interviews forensic psychologist Dr. Reid Meloy about myths and realities of narcissism. Meloy describes narcissism as a spectrum like blood pressure, emphasizing healthy narcissism as self-care and resilience, while pathological narcissism involves self-absorption that damages relationships and can become destructive; he also discusses malignant narcissism as intense self-focus paired with paranoia, citing Jim Jones as an example. In relationships, narcissists “live in a world of one,” using partners as mirrors for adulation and lacking reciprocal affection, often prompting partners’ realization they are replaceable. Meloy outlines long-term avenues for change—corrective emotional experiences, intensive psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis—and notes depression and loneliness in midlife can be an entry point for treatment, contrasting egosyntonic vs. egodystonic states. He warns about psychopathy’s dangers, its link to pathological narcissism, lack of treatment, and risks when psychopaths gain power.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:28 Narcissism on a Spectrum

02:48 Healthy vs Pathological Narcissism

05:15 Malignant Narcissism and Cults

08:36 Everyday Relationship Patterns

12:51 Treatment Paths That Help

15:16 Love as Antidote

18:52 Loneliness Depression and Risk

26:18 Partner Trap Trying to Change Them

28:16 Egosyntonic vs Egodystonic

30:32 Psychopathy Warning Signs

33:10 Final Thanks and Subscribe

Helpful Links:

Dr. Reid Meloy

Dr. Reid Meloy Books

Dr. Reid Meloy LinkedIn

Dr. Reid Meloy Facebook

Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and interviews psychologist, professor, and author Dr. Alan Godwin about his book Ties That Bind: Unraveling Stories That Keep Us in the Dark, focusing on how individuals and societies accept untrue “stories” that merely sound true. Godwin shares growing up in segregated Jackson, Mississippi, where his idyllic childhood coexisted with racial terror across town, illustrating collective normalization of dysfunction. He discusses confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and how adults construct self-justifying narratives, contrasting Jonathan Rauch’s “reality-based community” (evidence, epistemic humility, tolerance for ambiguity) with a “story-based fortress” that discards disconfirming facts and becomes both protection and prison. Using clinical examples like “Katie” and modern cases of relatives drawn into conspiratorial information silos, he emphasizes attachment and identity as drivers of collective deception, argues people are often drawn out by relationships more than information, and concludes that humility is the key skill for better truth-seeking.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:52 Meet Alan Godwin

02:42 Growing Up in Jackson

05:43 Stories and Lying

07:46 Bias and Normalization

10:08 Truth Hurts Then Frees

12:37 Reality Based Community

14:46 Story Based Fortress

18:02 Escaping the Fortress

20:14 Katie and Personal Healing

22:00 Harry Potter Blindness

22:50 Accents and Linguistics

23:27 From Self Doubt to Uncle Irving

24:42 Collective Deception Online

26:48 Environment Reveals the Real You

28:57 Information Silos and Gaslighting

30:58 Attachment and Identity Needs

33:57 Sports Fandom as Microcosm

36:14 Crowd Seduction and Nazi Rallies

38:32 Truth Needs Trusted Relationships

40:32 AI Can’t Replace Human Connection

41:41 Humility as the Ultimate Skill

44:35 Closing Thanks and Farewell

Helpful Links:

Dr. Alan Godwin

Dr. Alan Godwin LinkedIn

Ties That Blind: Unraveling Stories That Keep Us in the Dark Book

Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces an episode of SuperPsyched featuring physician Dr. Howard Schubiner discussing his updated book, Unlearn Your Pain, and evidence-based approaches to chronic pain that avoid medication or surgery. Schubiner recounts his path from academic medicine to learning from Dr. John Sarno and explains how pain can persist without tissue damage due to neuroplastic neural circuits shaped by stress, emotion, and life experiences, with pain sometimes worsening via nocebo effects from medical messaging and MRI interpretations. He describes criteria suggesting non-structural pain and research indicating most chronic back/neck pain cases may be neuroplastic despite abnormal imaging. Schubiner outlines treatment steps: accurate diagnosis, education about brain-based pain, pain reprocessing therapy to reduce fear and build safety signals, and emotional awareness and expression therapy to address underlying emotions and trauma, citing clinical stories and randomized controlled trial support.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:28 Chronic Pain Problem

01:13 Meet Howard Schubiner

02:33 Sarno Origin Story

04:37 Sarno Theory Explained

06:53 How Pain Is Learned

11:21 Compassion and Root Causes

12:34 Pain as Social Justice

15:43 Placebo Nocebo Power

19:17 MRI Words and Nocebo

21:09 Adam Sciatica Story

22:27 When Surgery Helps

23:10 Fibromyalgia Is Real

23:17 Neuroplastic Pain Evidence

23:56 MRI Study Contradiction

26:35 Is It All In Head

27:30 Brain Creates Pain

29:12 Back Pain Recovery Story

31:50 Sensitivity And Temperament

34:02 Peacemaker Pain Pattern

35:33 Endometriosis And Boundaries

39:40 Treatment Steps Overview

42:25 Emotional Expression Therapy

45:05 Movement And Farewell

Helpful Links:

Unlearn Your Pain Website

Unlearn Your Pain Book

Episode 84 - Unlearning Your Pain | Howard Schubinder, MD

The Science Behind The Symptoms Podcast

Dr. Adam Dorsay introduces SuperPsyched and interviews leadership consultant Minette Norman about psychological safety and her co-authored book, The Psychological Safety Playbook for Changemakers. Norman defines psychological safety as the belief that in a group you can ask questions, make mistakes, and voice differing views without embarrassment, exclusion, or repercussions, and contrasts it with environments where people agree publicly but dissent privately. They discuss high-stakes consequences of low psychological safety (healthcare errors, the Challenger disaster), organizational costs (reduced innovation and performance, increased burnout and disengagement, reputation management and groupthink), and links to inclusion and hearing from introverts and neurodivergent thinkers. Norman shares practical leadership actions such as redesigning meetings, inviting dissent, asking “What am I missing?”, admitting mistakes, using blameless learning after failures, and sustaining safety through mutual respect; she highlights “the power of the pause” to respond thoughtfully when triggered.

00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched

00:27 Why Safety Matters

03:15 Defining Psychological Safety

05:00 Real World Stakes

06:47 How the Book Happened

11:37 What It Is Not

15:19 The Hidden Costs

21:35 Reputation and Inner Circles

23:34 Building It Day by Day

30:57 Inclusive Meetings for All

36:51 Top Practices to Try

39:30 The Power of the Pause

43:07 Final Takeaways

Helpful Links:

Minette Norman

Minette Norman LinkedIn

Minette Norman Instagram

The Psychological Safety Playbook for Changemakers Book

Dr. Adam Dorsay’s Psychologically Rich TV Picks: Bill Lawrence, Ray Donovan, and Jury DutyDr. Adam Dorsay, Silicon Valley psychologist and host of the SuperPsyched podcast, shares recent TV recommendations he finds psychologically rich. He highlights Bill Lawrence as a hero behind comfort shows like Scrubs and Ted Lasso, praises Lawrence’s new series Rooster with Steve Carell, and recommends the darker, mysterious comedy Bad Monkey starring Vince Vaughn on Apple TV. He discusses Scrubs returning with recreated sets in British Columbia and renewed cast dynamics, noting its modern medical themes and its reputation for medical accuracy. He also enjoys Shrinking for its relationships despite questionable psychotherapy realism. Moving darker, he recommends Ray Donovan for its pitch-perfect portrayal of family dysfunction and standout performances by Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight, comparing its quality to The Sopranos. He closes with Jury Duty, a Truman Show-like semi-reality comedy, and invites listener feedback and subscriptions.00:00 Welcome to SuperPsyched00:27 TV Geek Picks00:51 Bill Lawrence Highlights01:33 Bad Monkey Spotlight02:13 Scrubs Returns03:35 Why Shrinking Works04:34 Going Dark Ray Donovan07:03 Wild Comedy Jury Duty08:18 Wrap Up and Subscribe