Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

While self-care is widely acknowledged as being critical to effective and sustainable engagement in the provision of mental health services, it is an area of focus that is frequently neglected by mental health professionals for a variety of complex reasons.  Co-founders of the website Intentional Therapist, Drs. Karen Dyck & Melissa Tieseen, return to Thoughts on Record to discuss workplace hazards that mental health professionals must navigate.  We also review fundamental aspects of self-care necessary to effectively navigate these hazards.  In this discussion we cover:    

General 'workplace hazards' that must be navigated by mental health professionals including:

• Patient behaviours
• Working conditions
• Emotional depletion
• Psychic/interpersonal isolation
• Complexity of therapeutic relationships
• Personal disruptions

Impact of the pandemic on therapists and their practice:

• The need for continuous adjustments/managing uncertainty over the past 1.5 years
• Teletherapy-specific impacts on clinician well-being (but also considering emergent opportunties)
• Overall impact on therapists' well-being

Combatting the hazards (especially within the context of the current pandemic) - The 4 C’s of Self-Care:

• Community/Connection
• Compassion
• Courage
• Creativity

Dr. Karen Dyck completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of South Dakota and currently works in private practice in Oakbank, Manitoba.  She is also presently the Executive Director of the Manitoba Psychological Society.  Before shifting to private practice, Karen spent the bulk of her career working within the Rural and Northern Psychology Program at the University of Manitoba’s Department of Clinical Health Psychology, and is a former chair of the Rural and Northern Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association.  

Dr. Melissa Tiessen completed her doctoral degree in clinical psychology at McGill University and currently works in private practice in Ottawa, Ontario.  Melissa also previously worked in the Rural and Northern Psychology Program at the University of Manitoba, as well as has served as the Education Director for the CPA, overseeing the organization’s accreditation and continuing education activities.  

Karen and Melissa both have a longstanding interest in self-care and workplace wellness initiatives.  Recognizing that there are so many female mental health professionals, like themselves, who are trying to balance careers with additional caregiving roles, in 2019 Karen and Melissa co-founded Intentional Therapist.  Their mission is to help female mental health professionals stay healthy and happy through intentional, creative, and playful self-care. 

https://www.intentionaltherapist.ca

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

In many contexts - both in-person and online - it can often feel like reasonable behaviour, the ability to constructively disagree, and basic kindness are in short supply.  Award-winning science journalist and author, Melissa Wenner Moyer, joins us to discuss some of the themes in her new book How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes.  In this discussion we cover:

• a consideration of the evidence that parenting is failing children and creating an increase in bad behaviour  
• features of the current environment that could be selecting for/promoting bad behaviour among children
• Melinda's reflection on what has changed the most for children growing up in the 70s or 80s vs those who have been raised in the last 10 to 15 years  
• the critical link between generosity and success
• impulse control & emotion vs. self-esteem as the primary driver of a child's sense of self-worth and contentedness
• the key role of bearing responsibility and managing adversity (in reasonable doses) in creating tolerable adults
• the value of providing children with frank, direct feedback while remaining attuned to the overall attachment with your child
• how to talk about lying with children and to work through contradictions that children may notice in their parent's behaviour around lying on a near-daily basis 
• Melinda's thoughts and words of encouragement for parents who are worried that they are not living up to their ideal as parents

Melinda Wenner Moyer is a contributing editor at Scientific Americanmagazine and a regular contributor to The New York Times, Washington Post, and other national magazines and newspapers. She is a faculty member in the Science, Health & Environmental Reporting program at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her first book, How To Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes, was published in July 2021 by J.P. Putnam’s Sons. Melinda was the recipient of the 2019 Bricker Award for Science Writing in Medicine, and her work was featured in the 2020 Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. She was also awarded a 2018 Alicia Patterson Foundation fellowship. Moyer’s work has won first place prizes in the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, the Folio Eddie Awards and the Annual Writing Awards of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. It has also been shortlisted for a James Beard Journalism Award, a National Academy of Sciences Communication Award and a National Magazine Award. She has a master’s in Science, Health & Environmental Reporting from NYU and a background in cell and molecular biology. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband, two children, and her dog.

https://www.melindawennermoyer.com
Melindawmoyer.substack.com

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

Hello everyone - hope you are well!  We just wanted to quickly let you know that we’ll be taking a scheduled break for the rest of the summer and will be back with new episodes in the fall - we’ve got lots of great guests lined up and we’re really looking forward to those conversations!  

Just as a quick reflection, it’s been such a joy recording and putting out the podcast - we’re so grateful to each and every guest for their contribution to the journey that we’ve been on with the podcast which is basically trying to get just a little bit closer to understanding the unbelievably complex phenomenon that is human psyche.  Hopefully we've been making a little bit of headway there.  

At last count there were over 2.5 million active podcasts on the Apple podcast platform - that is an absolutely huge amount of content to choose from.  We are so delighted & humbled by the number of listeners who have chosen to devote a little bit of their bandwidth to the content that we have been producing.  Thank you so much for listening.  We really hope you enjoy the rest of season 2!

If you’ve been enjoying the content, leaving a review on Apple podcasts would be tremendously helpful - it’s a major benchmark that helps potential guests gauge the podcast.  It’s also a great way for us to get feedback and to get a feel for how the content is resonating.  Passing the podcast along to a friend or colleague is also always appreciated.   

Well, that’s it for now - looking forward to picking up the conversation in September!

Take good care,

Dr. Pete Kelly & the team at OICBT
https://www.ottawacbt.ca/
https://twitter.com/ottawacbt

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

Finland is consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world by the United Nations.  Author & journalist, Katja Pantzar, who has written extensively about the potential wellness promoting aspects of the Finnish ethos in The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu (as well as her upcoming book Everyday Sisu: Tapping into Finnish Fortitude for a Happier, More Resilient Life) joins us for a discussion of: 

• a brief overview of some of the features of the Finnish lifestyle that contribute to wellness
• reflections on Katja's journey back to her ancestral Finland
• Katja's lifelong struggle with depression & anxiety and how she has found healing in the Finnish lifestyle
• the definition, origin and day-to-day application of the concept of Sisu and why it is so central to the Finnish mindset 
• finding strength in vulnerability and realistic expectations
• Finnish society's stance towards mental health
• the therapeutic benefits of cold (ice bath) and hot treatments (sauna) for psychological well-being and the cultural and psychosocial significance of the sauna to the Finns
• the generally active lifestyle enjoyed by many Finns and the potential implications for wellness
• the role that exposure to nature can play in the maintenance of wellness 
• how alternating exposure to prolonged periods of light and darkness influences the rhythm of Finnish life and how it may affect the national mindset

Host note: this episode is dedicated to all the wonderful Finns who have shown me so much kindness and hospitality over the years, especially the Häkli and Bensky families. 

Katja Pantzar is a Helsinki-based writer, editor and broadcast journalist. Raised in Canada, with stints in New Zealand and the UK, Katja writes on a variety of topics ranging from wellbeing and mental health to sustainability, social issues, inclusivity, design, travel and business. She is currently working on her second book about sisu, a unique Finnish form of grit in the face of challenges, big and small. Everyday Sisu: Tapping into Finnish Fortitude for a Happier, More Resilient Life will be published by Penguin Random House US in February 2022. It’s a follow-up to her first sisu book, The Finnish Way: Finding Courage, Wellness and Happiness Through the Power of Sisu which was published in 22 territories around the world during 2018 and 2019 and translated into 20 different languages. She has been a regular contributor to Blue Wings, the inflight magazine of Finnair, and worked as a freelance broadcast journalist (TV, radio and web) with Yle News at the Finnish public broadcasting corporation, and as an occasional Helsinki correspondent for Monocle 24. Her articles have appeared in  newspapers ranging from the Globe and Mail (Canada) to magazines such as Elle (Denmark). Katja is also the author of two guidebooks to the Finnish capital, Helsinki by Light (Siltala/2015) and 100 things to do in Helsinki (Siltala/2017). Katja holds a master’s degree in International Journalism from the City University of London (England) and a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Simon Fraser University (Canada).

https://twitter.com/KatjaPantzar

https://www.instagram.com/katjapantzar/

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

While we typically take constructing and making sense of our internal and external world for granted, the brain employs a sophisticated mapping system to help construct, organize & navigate a functional and workable reality.  Author and neuroscientist, Dr. Rebecca Schwarzlose, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for an in-depth discussion of some of the core themes in her new book Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain - And How They Guide You.  In this discussion they cover:

• what a brain map is and why our brain (or brains in general) are organized in this fashion 
• why spatial representation of the world is generally conserved in a brain map 
• how and why adverse early life events can influence or modify the development of brain maps
• implications of brain maps for artificial intelligence as well as virtual reality and other immersive  experiences (e.g., watching a movie)
• how brain maps across various sensory modalities are combined
• how external factors such as environment, culture etc. can influence brain mapping 
• the importance of neuroplasticity in brain mapping
• the role brain maps could play in the formation of consciousness
• the role and activation of brain mapping in body memories reported by clients who have experienced trauma   
• a number of fun and speculative questions with respect to implications of brain maps related to extrasensory perception, meaning, morality etc.   
• some of the potential implications of brain maps for clinicians

Rebecca Schwarzlose is a neuroscientist at Washington University in St. Louis. Schwarzlose is the recipient of many accolades including the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award. Among her notable scientific accomplishments is the discovery and naming of an entire new brain region (the fusiform body area). She holds a PhD in neuroscience from MIT and has served as chief editor of the scholarly journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences. She lives in St. Louis.  Brainscapes was supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology.

https://gardenofthemind.com/
https://sites.wustl.edu/children/people/rebecca-schwarzlose/
https://www.amazon.ca/Brainscapes-Warped-Wondrous-Written-Brain/dp/1328949966

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

Once considered a fringe topic, aliens and the possibility of alien encounters are now the subject of considerable mainstream media attention.  Pulitzer Prize winning journalist & author, Ralph Blumenthal, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for a discussion of his new book The Believer:  Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack.  In this discussion they cover:   

• how Ralph became interested in the area of UAPs/UFOs, alien abductions & Dr. John Mack’s investigation of these phenomena 
•  a brief outline of the news coverage Ralph has done in this area including recent groundbreaking articles that he has written for the New York Times 
• a brief portrait of Mack and his journey into investigating alien abduction
• consideration of alien abductions from a psychological/psychiatric lens (i.e., possible differential diagnoses such as parasomnia, psychosis, delusional disorder & substance use)
• Mack's investigation into whether experiencers had a psychological/personality profile more predisposed to fantasies, suggestibility & beliefs in the paranormal   
• Mack's conceptualization of the abduction phenomenon with respect to a physical vs. psychological experience
• elements common to reported alien abductions, reported prevalence rate, possible culturally bound-features of reported experiences & universal features of reported abduction experiences
• Ralph's impression if whether in isolation or in aggregate Mack had anything in his personal context that dovetails with or explains his interest in these encounters
• Ralph's reflection on whether there were any major mistakes that Mack made that set his investigations back
• the hypothetical link between the UAP/UFO phenomenon and consciousness with a consideration of ongoing psychedelic research 
• societal psychological reaction to increased reporting of UAP/UFO phenomenon in the mainstream media 

Host note: a big thank you to my very good friend, Michael Leblanc, for his excellent thoughts, suggestions & insights around questions and areas of focus for this episode.

Ralph Blumenthal, a Distinguished Lecturer at Baruch College of the City University of New York, was an award-winning reporter for The New York Times from 1964 to 2009, and has written seven books on organized crime and cultural history. He led the Times metro team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of the 1993 truck-bombing of the World Trade Center. In 2001, Blumenthal was named a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to research the progressive career and penal reforms of Warden Lewis E. Lawes, “the man who made Sing Sing sing.” The book on Warden Lawes, Miracle at Sing Sing, was published by St. Martin’s in June, 2004. During the coronavirus pandemic he has contributed articles to The Times and other publications, worked from home on his Baruch Archives blog, “An Adventure in Democracy”, and given virtual talks on his new book, “The Believer: Alien Encounters, Hard Science, and the Passion of John Mack.”  Blumenthal earned a Guggenheim Fellowship (2001), a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Alumni Award (2001), and the Nieman Foundation’s Worth Bingham Prize for distinguished investigative reporting on USAir crashes. (1994.) He was inducted into the C.C.N.Y. Communications Alumni Hall of Fame in May 2010. Since 2010 he has taught journalism in the summer program of Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N.H., and in 2010 was named a Distinguished Lecturer at Baruch College where he taught journalism and currently oversees historic collections in the Newman Library Archives.

https://www.ralphblumenthal.com/

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

Accurately mapping the "truth" of one's life is essential to crafting effective coping from a variety of perspectives.  Renowned psychotherapist & author,  Jon Frederickson, MSW, joins us for an in-depth discussion around some of the core themes of his book The Lies We Tell Ourselves, as well as a broader discussion of the therapy process in general.  In this discussion we cover:  

• Jon's theoretical orientation/basic framework for understanding clients
• how the pursuit of the truth became so central to his view of the function of psychotherapy and his book “The Lies We Tell Ourselves”
• defining "truth" in psychotherapy
• the common ways in which people lie to themselves via defences, denial & projection
• how defences are established 
• common signs & clinical presentations aligned with a lack of truth in a client's day-to-day life
• the mystery inherent in each human being and what this means for both empathy and boundaries
• the unique challenges of mid-life from a psychological perspective
• how to promote truth and change in a client's life while remaining aligned with the client
• assessing when and how it is time to terminate therapy
• signs that clinicians should be seeking assistance from a psychotherapist to address personal/relational/developmental issues that could be impacting upon clinical effectiveness
• how intolerance of anxiety can prevent clients from benefiting from psychotherapy and how to address this
• how resistance in one’s life can function as a compass to find meaning

Jon Frederickson, MSW, is on the faculty of the Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) Training Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry. Jon has provided ISTDP training in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, India, Iran, Australia, Canada, the U.S., and the Netherlands.  He is the author of over fifty published papers and four books, Co-Creating Change: Effective Dynamic Therapy Techniques, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Learning to Listen from Multiple Perspectives, The Lies We Tell Ourselves, and Co-Creating Safety: healing the fragile patient. His book, Co-Creating Change, won the first prize in psychiatry in 2014 at the British Medical Association Book Awards, and it has been published in Farsi, Polish, and Slovak, and is currently being translated into Hebrew and Spanish. His book The Lies We Tell Ourselves has been published in Polish, Farsi, Norwegian, and Danish, and is currently being translated into German. 

He has DVDs of actual sessions with patients who previously failed in therapy at his websites www.istdpinstitute.com and www.deliberatepracticeinpsychotherapy.com  

There you will also find skill-building exercises designed for therapists. He writes posts on ISTDP at www.facebook.com/DynamicPsychotherapy . 

His forthcoming skill-building book for therapists, Healing Through Relating, will come out in 2021.

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

Anxiety is a normal and necessary component of the human experience; however, under some circumstances normal psychological processes related to anxiety can unwittingly become entrenched in "habit loops" that can keep an individual stuck.  New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change, Dr. Jud Brewer, joins us for a fascinating discussion of his novel model of anxiety as described in his new book  "Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind”.  This discussion includes a consideration of:  

• the evolutionary value of emotions and Dr. Brewer's perspective on when and how normally adaptive anxiety can evolve into a self-defeating habit  
• the mechanism by which anxiety and associated cognitive processes & behaviours can unwittingly turn into bad habits
• a consideration of whether rates of anxiety are actually rising and features of our modern lifestyle that could be contributing to such a trend
• the value and utility in tolerating uncertainty
• an in-depth review of Dr. Brewer's model for understanding and treating anxiety including conceptualizing anxiety as a habit loop as well as leveraging awareness to allow individuals to become attuned to the actual vs. predicted awards of engaging in anxiety habit loops
• the addiction-like dynamics surrounding the cognitive & behavioural experience of anxiety (e.g.,  “wanting” vs. “liking”)
• why willpower, substitution, stimulus control & environmental manipulation are strategies that are oversold with respect to their ability to affect change
• the importance of finding the "bigger, better offer" to derail anxious habit loops & why Dr. Brewer feels mindfulness, curiosity & kindness are critical in this respect
• a brief consideration of how his model dovetails with traditional CBT 

Dr. Jud Brewer is a New York Times best-selling author, neuroscientist, addiction psychiatrist, and thought leader in the field of habit change. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, where he also serves as an associate professor. He is the executive medical director at Sharecare Inc. and a research affiliate at MIT. Dr. Brewer has developed and tested novel mindfulness programs for habit change, including treatments for smoking, emotional eating, and anxiety. His new book is called “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind”

https://drjud.com/
Follow Dr. Jud Brewer on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

It is well-known that creative, meaningful undertakings can provide a powerful pathway to healing following a traumatic experience.  Internationally renowned aquascaper, author, YouTube creator and aquarium plant expert, George Farmer, joins host Dr. Pete Kelly, C.Psych for a wide-ranging discussion around how he found his healing from childhood and military trauma through his passion for aquascaping.  In this discussion they cover:  

• a brief overview of the art & science of aquascaping
• George's reflection on his journey into aquascaping as a counterpoint to his experience in the military from a values, authenticity & meaning perspective
• the impact of trauma he experienced while serving with the UK's Royal Air Force in Afghanistan on his psychological & physical well-being
• the unexpected moral injury that followed from this experience, how it contributed to him choosing to end his military career, and the enduring experience of this moral injury
• George's reflection on the types of maladaptive coping that can manifest in the wake of unresolved trauma based on his lived experience 
• the dual role that psychotherapy & aquascaping played in helping George to escape the darkest period of his life
• the importance of finding meaning, learning how to tolerate discomfort to heal from trauma, and how tolerating discomfort is critical to living a values-driven, purposeful life
• humility, a sense of awe & tapping into processes larger than oneself as a vehicle for further facilitating healing from trauma & remaining values driven in one's actions
• constructively managing positive & negative feedback that comes with a prominent, public-facing persona
• George's creative process and how he solicits feedback from trusted individuals to help to refine his editing process
• the difficult, but rewarding creative journey behind his book "Aquascaping"and unintended positive consequences of managing during COVID-19 lockdown from a time-management perspective
• George's reflection on his relationship with social media, self-care, healthy routines/habits & exercise
• George's "relentless" pursuit of gratitude & discipline and how he operationalizes this on a day-to-day basis
• the lost art of maintenance and finding joy & meaning in process

George Farmer is an internationally renowned aquascaper, author, YouTube creator and aquarium plant expert from the UK. After an eventful 14 years in the Royal Air Force as an Armourer, which included working on Harrier Jump Jet ejection seats, Tornado aircraft missile systems and a 6 month bomb disposal tour in Afghanistan; he made the transition from a part-time aquarium hobby into a full-time career in aquascaping.  George co-founded the UK Aquatic Plant Society in 2007 and has had hundreds of magazine articles and photos published world-wide. Pre-COVID he travelled around the world giving keynote addresses and practical workshops, showcasing the beautiful art of aquascaping.  George is passionate about promoting aquascaping through his unique blend of educational and inspirational content, and is a huge advocate of the therapeutic value that aquascaping has brought to his own and many other lives, helping with various mental health issues such as PTSD, depression and anxiety. His new book, Aquascaping, is available from all major bookstores.

Website - www.georgefarmerstudios.com
Youtube - www.youtube.com/gf225
Instagram - www.instagram.com/georgefarmerstudios
Facebook - www.facebook.com/georgefarmerstudios
UKAPS - www.ukaps.org/forum

Comments or feedback? Send us a text!

For many parents, cultivating a secure and nurturing attachment with their children is among their highest parenting priorities.  However, establishing, maintaining and fostering this attachment can be a challenge when environmental conditions are poor and/or when the parent's resources are negatively impacted by stressors, illness or other demands.   OICBT Clinical psychologist, Dr. Jennifer Karp, C.Psych, joins us for an in-depth discussion of how to cultivate a secure attachment with your child and why it matters.  In this discussion, we cover: 

• how the area of parent-child attachment became an area of interest for Dr. Karp, including the influence of the book "The Power of Showing Up" by Daniel Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson on her parenting perspective
• a brief review of the major findings around attachment derived from the well-known "strange situation" experiment as a well as a brief review & summary of the major attachment styles  
• implications for parent-child attachment on outcomes for children in adulthood
• a review of the ways in which the attachment style formed in childhood can play out in adulthood from an interpersonal/psychological lens
• the role of neuroplasticity in forging/modifying attachment  
• the role of parent-child attachment in fostering emotion regulation in the child
• a description of Siegal & Hartzell's notion of the "low road" and "high road" (from their book Parenting From the Inside Out) when it comes to parent processing of information when triggered by interactions with their children, with examples and suggestions around how to stay on the "high road"
• how to provide necessary corrective feedback to children while maintaining a secure attachment
• how to form a secure attachment with your children if you did not have a secure attachment as a child with your own parent(s)
• the kinds of attachment injuries that are the most problematic between a parent and a child
• ways to improve child self-regulation and promote independence from an attachment lens
• how can parents provide effective, attachment-informed parenting while stressed, fatigued or overwhelmed

ICYMI: Dr. Karp's previous appearance on Thoughts on Record on Becoming a Resilient Parent: https://www.buzzsprout.com/811163/3777035

Dr. Jennifer Karp is a clinical psychologist who provides treatment for children, adolescents and parents. She offers individual child and adolescent therapy to address a range of difficulties such as anxiety, depression, behaviour problems, ADHD, interpersonal challenges and parent-child relational conflict. She maintains a particular interest in working with clients suffering from anxiety conditions and OCD. Dr. Karp also offers parent consultation and emotion coaching support. In addition to therapy, she provides psycho-educational assessments to children and adolescents in order to evaluate learning disabilities, ADHD and gifted status.  In addition to CBT, Dr. Karp has training and experience in other approaches including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). In addition to providing individual therapy and assessment, Dr. Karp is currently involved in the training and supervision of psychologists in supervised practice.