The Resilient Father

In this episode Myles Chisholm joins us to share and talk about  his personal experiences  with psychedelics. We discuss the fascinating mental health benefits of these compounds and review the promising world of combining psychedelic treatment, with mental health counselling. 

This episode shares some of the most effective recent techniques your host has found for reducing stress and improving emotional regulation. These are highly effective at calming down, feeling better and coping in challenging situations and, might just be perfect for any holiday challenges you might be expecting from the present, past and future.

This episode reviews the great and powerful Encanto. Cavan discusses the psychology of the nuanced portrayal of intergenerational trauma and it's effect on families. 

Internal conflict, how often do we hear people say a part of me wants this but another part of me wants that? How is it that we can come to struggle so much  with our own emotions. We are taught to control ourselves with reason from a young age, tamp down our feelings, but what if, in focusing  our efforts on control and logical understanding, we neglect and hurt a critically important piece of our mind that makes up who we are?  

Andrew Dreosto returns for the third time to discuss a key  lesser known piece of  emotional mental health, psychological avoidance. Are you avoiding your problems? Is there something that makes you scared or anxious you're putting off? Do you spend a significant amount of time trying to control, distract from or change your negative feelings? We discuss how approaching and dealing directly with problems and emotions promotes mental health and decreases anxiety/mood issues.

In this episode we explore why children seem to love being thrown, swung, spun around, climbing jumping, riding and sliding and how these things help to grow the brain and support development.

This episode covers neurofeedback, a unique therapy that uses a combination of specialized measuring equipment and live computer feedback, to help people retrain unhelpful patterns of brain activity. Cavan reviews some of the unusually interesting history of this therapeutic field, discusses the benefits and provides some insight on how to find a qualified practitioner. 

This episode of the resilient father features the one and only Don Edwards, Cavan's very own father. The man who helped shape him into the person and parent he is today. We talk about his philosophies on life, looking back on parenting with the benefits of wisdom and, share some gems about embracing both. 

This episode explores the psychological mechanisms of therapy. How is it that sitting down and talking through your feelings with a professional stranger can actually improve your mental health? We discuss some of the misconceptions around therapy and share just how practical counselling can actually be.  Cavan reviews the overall science and cognitive mechanisms of how therapy results in positive changes in mental wellbeing. 

In this episode we discuss the powerful  therapeutic modality of CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy).  A research based form of counselling that focuses breaking down our ways thinking  and behaving in order to make conscious changes to improve mental health. This form of counselling is highly practical, focusing on taking effective action to change how the internal structures of your mind and the resulting and choices you make impact wellbeing. CBT is highly recommended for any dad who is interested in trying therapy but unsure where to start.