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In this episode of The Voyage Cast Top Three, Eddie breaks down the stories shaping mental health care in America — where headlines, codes, and cash collide.

• Why federal prosecutors dropped charges against AMA whistleblower Dr. Eithan Haim, and what his case reveals about silencing dissent.
• How the hidden CPT Editorial Panel — stacked with insurance executives — decides which therapy and psychiatric treatments “count” for coverage.
• What the AMA’s latest annual report shows about its true financial engine, and why that raises questions about who they really serve.

At the center of all three stories is one fragile thread: trust. Trust in science, in clinicians, and in the healthcare system itself. Without it, patients delay care, turn to social media for answers, and mental health outcomes suffer.

🎙️ The Voyage Cast Top Three — bringing you the headlines that shape your headspace, because mental health doesn’t stop at the therapy door.

👉 Don’t miss an episode — hit Follow and leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review so more listeners can find the show.

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What do the Founding Fathers have to do with your marriage? More than you might think.

In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Eddie Eccker takes wisdom from Madison, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, and Hamilton—and shows how their words about duty, ambition, and friendship speak directly into modern relationships.

Marriage isn’t about two perfect people. It’s about two imperfect humans drafting their own constitution: a set of principles that keep love steady when emotions run high, resentment threatens, or ambition collides.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

✔️ Washington on why duty is the soil where joy grows

✔️ Adams & Jefferson on why lasting love is rooted in friendship

✔️ Franklin on discernment, grace, and repair

✔️ Hamilton on resentment as a cruel master if you avoid hard conversations

✔️ Madison on aligning ambitions instead of letting them clash

✔️ Practical tools backed by research: gratitude rituals, money dates, phone-free zones, and repair strategies

Nations rise on principles, not personalities—and so do marriages.

👉 If this conversation resonates, share it with someone you care about, leave a 5-star review, and subscribe to The Voyage Cast for more help beyond the office, for the days when life demands more than a session.

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The Voyage Cast | Top 3 Mental Health News

For decades, we’ve been told that psychology and self-improvement alone are enough. But what if resilience — real healing, real flourishing — requires something more?

In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Ed breaks down the top three stories in mental health and why they matter for your life:

🧠 The Neuroscience of Spirituality

Research from Lisa Miller (Columbia University) and Andrew Newberg (Thomas Jefferson University) shows that practices like prayer, meditation, awe, and worship don’t just make us feel better — they literally rewire the brain, protect against depression, and foster recovery from trauma.

📱 Gen Z’s Surprising Shift

Often called the most anxious, screen-addicted generation, some young people are quietly pushing back. Studies from Barna and Springtide reveal that many are logging off social media and rediscovering faith, family, journaling, nature, and community. And with it? Greater happiness, stability, and belonging.

🔺 Maslow’s Missing Piece

Most of us learned Maslow’s hierarchy of needs ends with self-actualization. But late in life, Maslow changed his mind. His final insight — confirmed by later scholarship — was that the true pinnacle is transcendence. Without it, self-actualization collapses into self-absorption. With it, suffering becomes meaningful, and joy becomes stable.

✨ Key Theme: Resilience doesn’t come from turning further inward. It comes when we lift our eyes beyond ourselves.

Why Listen?

Whether you’re a therapist, parent, leader, or someone wrestling with your own mental health journey, these stories reveal how science, culture, and psychology all point to the same truth: we are wired for transcendence.

🎧 Tune in for clarity, encouragement, and challenge — and leave with new insight into how healing really happens.

Join the Conversation

What stood out to you in these stories? Have you seen spirituality or transcendence shape resilience in your own life? Do you notice Gen Z reaching for more rooted practices where you live?

👉 Share your thoughts and feedback using this Link, and use the link for "sharing your questions" at the top of the page. Your voice may even be featured in a future episode. 

subscribe, rate, and share it. 

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Do your emotions ever feel like the ultimate truth? In this episode of The Voyage Cast, host Eddie Eccker, LMFT, unpacks why our feelings are powerful signals, but terrible dictators. Drawing on years of clinical experience, Ed explores how emotional reasoning shapes marriages, friendships, and even our culture online.

You’ll hear:

• Why emotions matter—but don’t always equal reality.
• How couples get stuck in the “pursue/withdraw” cycle and how to break free.
• The hidden attachment cries underneath anger, silence, and defensiveness.
• How influencers, celebrities, and the halo effect sway our emotions and distort truth.
• Practical steps to test feelings, name needs, and aspire to truth together.

This episode blends humor, real therapy room stories, and grounded wisdom to help you navigate love, conflict, and culture with more clarity and connection.

👉 Perfect for anyone looking to strengthen their marriage, relationships, or emotional health in a world where feelings often shout louder than facts.

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In this episode of The Voyage Cast Top Three, Eddie Eccker unpacks three powerful stories shaping the future of mental health:

1. Meta’s AI scandal — How Facebook’s chatbots crossed the line into dangerous intimacy with children and vulnerable adults, and why loneliness makes simulated connection so risky.
2. AI and grief — The surreal case of Patricia Oliver speaking with an AI recreation of her son, Parkland victim Joaquín “Guac” Oliver, and even CNN’s Jim Acosta interviewing the AI on air. What does this mean for grief, healing, and unresolved mourning?
3. Psychedelic hope — A psilocybin-based treatment shows rapid relief for postpartum depression, offering not just clinical breakthrough but cultural reflection on the hidden struggles of new mothers.

Eddie explores each story through a therapeutic lens—connection, rumination, shame, and healing—inviting listeners to reflect on what it really means to be human in a world where technology and medicine increasingly mediate our deepest needs.

💬 Have a story or experience connected to these themes? We’d love to hear from you. Contact info is in the show notes.

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Why do so many couples stay stuck in the same painful patterns—even when they say they want change? In this episode of The Voyage Cast, Ed unpacks the hidden force called secondary gain: the subtle rewards we get from staying in dysfunction.

From avoiding conflict by scrolling on your phone, to blaming your partner so you never have to look in the mirror, to clinging to comfort, finances, or social image—the payoffs of pain are real. And they’re often what keep marriages circling the same arguments for years.

Drawing on real therapy work, cultural examples like Succession’s Shiv and Tom, and insights from the docuseries Couples Therapy, Ed shows why repair stalls until these “hidden benefits” are named. Because you can’t heal what you’re still profiting from.

Whether you’re married, dating, or reflecting on past relationships, this conversation will challenge you to see the subtle ways you might be protecting pain instead of pursuing intimacy.

👉 The Voyage Cast—offering help beyond the office, for the days when life demands more than a session.

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Got a question or story to share? Record your message and send it in—we might feature it and answer it on the next episode!

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The Voyage Cast Top Three

In today’s Top Three:

• Illinois becomes the first state to mandate mental health screenings for all students — but with Big Pharma fingerprints on the test, is this protecting kids or feeding a system that overdiagnoses and overmedicates?
• Two cancer drugs show shocking potential in reversing Alzheimer’s in mice — could hope for memory restoration finally be on the horizon, and what does that mean for families right now?
• Colorado sex offender Solomon Galligan walks free after an attempted child abduction — thanks to mental health law loopholes. Is it time to bring back secure psychiatric hospitals?

From classrooms to labs to courtrooms, Ed cuts through the headlines with clarity, compassion, and challenge — asking the bigger question: are we really protecting the vulnerable?

🔗 Share this episode, subscribe for future Top Three updates, and join the conversation.

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Resentment & Release, Part 3: Living Beyond the Offense — Practical Steps to Reclaim Your Story

In this final installment of the Resentment & Release series, we turn from understanding and forgiveness to the hardest part, actually moving forward. Resentment may have shaped your story, but it doesn’t have to define it.

We’ll explore:

• Why living beyond an offense is more than “forgiving and forgetting”
• The psychological cost of staying stuck in old wounds
• Practical, research-backed steps to build new patterns of freedom and resilience
• How forgiveness opens the door, but release allows you to reclaim your future

This episode brings the series full circle—taking you from the prison of resentment, through the struggle of forgiveness, to the practice of release that restores meaning and agency to your life.

If you’ve ever felt trapped by old pain or wondered how to live free without minimizing what you’ve endured, this episode is for you.

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Forgiveness is often misunderstood—and for many, it can feel impossible. In Part 2 of Resentment & Release, we explore why letting go can feel like losing control, why grief and anger are valid parts of healing, and why forgiveness is never about excusing harm or staying in unsafe situations.

This episode features the extraordinary real-life story of Mary Johnson, a Minneapolis mother whose only son was murdered. After twelve years of carrying grief and anger, Mary made the remarkable decision to meet—and eventually forgive—her son’s killer. Their journey from tragedy to reconciliation shows that while forgiveness is not quick or easy, it can lead to unexpected healing and connection.

Through Mary’s story and practical insight, we’ll unpack:

• Why resentment can feel like power, but actually keeps us trapped
• The difference between reconciliation and personal release
• How grief and anger both have a place in the healing process
• Why forgiveness is not a requirement for healing—and may never be the right path for some
• How to set healthy boundaries while processing past pain
• A guided reflection to help you explore what you’re still carrying

This conversation is for anyone holding on to hurt, whether from a small slight or a life-altering betrayal. You’ll find compassion, realism, and tools to help you heal—at your own pace and in your own way.

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Part 1 of 3: The Prison We Build — Understanding Resentment

What if the thing keeping you stuck isn’t what they did, but what you’re still carrying?

In this powerful first episode of The Voyage Cast, host Eddie Eccker unpacks the quiet captivity of resentment, how it forms, why it lingers, and what it’s secretly costing you. This isn’t just about anger. It’s about identity, pain loops, and the emotional armor we wear when forgiveness feels impossible.

You’ll discover:

• Why resentment is more than leftover anger—it’s a recycled narrative
• The physiological toll of reliving betrayal (backed by brain science)
• The hidden emotional payoffs that keep us stuck in bitterness
• How family dynamics and cultural myths shape our resistance to forgiveness
• When the pursuit of justice becomes a trap
• A short, guided reflection to help you name what you’re still carrying

Whether you’re working through a relationship wound, a long-held grudge, or the ache of something unresolved, this episode offers an honest, empathetic starting point.

Resentment & Release is a 3-part series helping you move from emotional rehearsals to real healing.

Mentioned:

• Dr. Robert Sapolsky — Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers
• Voyages Counseling — Therapy & Neurofeedback | voyagescounseling.com

Subscribe now and share with someone you love… or someone you’re still mad at.

#Resentment #EmotionalHealing #MentalHealthPodcast #Forgiveness #TheVoyageCast #TraumaRecovery #LettingGo #Counseling

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Got a question or story to share? Record your message and send it in—we might feature it and answer it on the next episode!

This podcast is a labor of love, and you can help us keep it going strong. Join our Patreon community and become a key part of what makes it all possible.

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