For many mental health clinicians, crafting resilience is an afterthought to managing the day-to-day demands of their professional life.  Psychologist, consultant & author, Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier, joins us to discuss some of the themes explored in her new book: The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health. the ethos behind the Resilience Plan  what is burnout and what makes someone vulnerable some of the unique traps around burnout that are laid for clinicians in private practice /mental health, including the temperament of ..read more

Music is an under explored tool with respect to the provision of psychotherapy as well as the crafting of peak experiences.  Clinical counsellor, performance coach and opera singer, Dr. Fiona McAndrew, joins us for an eclectic, wide-ranging discussion in which explore: Fiona's alternating journey between psychology and music  a window into the psychological life of a top tier opera singer music as tool to evoke and access emotions and spiritual experiences  the emotional transaction between performer and artist  Fiona's research on peak experience and peak states including ..read more

For many clinicians body dysmorphic disorder or BDD is shrouded in mystery and can be an intimidating and tricky presentation to try and conceptualize and treat.   Physician, scientist, educator, and author, Dr. Katharine Phillips,  who has spent her career caring for patients, mentoring/teaching, and conducting groundbreaking scientific research on BDD joins us for a discussion in which we cover:   what BDD is and how it affects individuals subtypes of BDD the special concern around insight in BDD developmental experiences and factors related to temperament that might predispo ..read more

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 early fall. It’s been a real joy recording and putting out the podcast - we’re so grateful to each and every guest for their contribution to the path that we’ve been on with the podcast which is basically trying to get just a little bit closer to coming to grips with the unbelievably complex reality of the human experience. At last count there were over 3 million active podcasts on the Apple podcast platfor ..read more

Strength in vulnerability combined with an internal sense of safety are among the most powerful psychological tools that one can curate to promote wellness and healthy boundaries.  Four-time Olympian, speaker & author, Silken Laumann, joins us for a very special discussion where we cover:   a brief overview of Silken's story and her rise to prominence nationally and internationally finding an "extra gear" with respect to performance and the balance between connecting with the reality of one's situation & processing difficult emotions while remaining goal driven the importanc ..read more

Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman returns for an encore discussion on Thoughts on Record to discuss his most recent book Spellbound, which explores the untapped potential of our unconscious minds. In this conversation we cover: defining of our conscious and unconscious minds why Dr. Lieberman wanted to write this book getting to know what wants, needs & agendas our unconscious mind might have unpacking the wisdom of fairy tales about the unconscious shadow work: what the shadow is, the Jungian notion of shadow work and the value it might have through the lens of your book what are archetypes, why d ..read more

While OCD is a generally a very recognizable form of mental disorder, there are many nuances and complexities with respect to both its treatment and diagnosis. Psychologist, professor & author, Dr. Christine Purdon, joins us for a deep dive on OCD in which we cover:   what OCD is and how it affects the individual and family members  how is OCD usually conceptualized from a cognitive behavioural perspective the developmental experiences that might predispose someone towards OCD genetic and temperament based risks associated with OCD the trajectory of OCD symptoms over the lifespa ..read more

Despite typically being scientifically-minded individuals, many clinicians have often wondered about aspects of the human experience that defy rationale explanation, but yet feel profoundly meaningful.  Psychiatrist and author, Dr. Bernard Beitman, joins us for a discussion of many of the core themes in his book Meaningful Coincidences: How & Why Synchronicity and Serendipity Happen.  In this conversation we cover:   what has driven Dr. Beitman's interest in researching coincidence the necessary and sufficient conditions or characteristics to call an experience a formal coi ..read more

At the moment there is no more talked about neurotransmitter than dopamine. Our collective obsession with dopamine has led to a huge amount of content generated around so-called “dopamine fasts”, how to leverage dopamine for motivation, worries about dopamine-driven addiction to devices, pornography, food etc.  In addition, there is a tremendous amount of confusion and misunderstanding around what dopamine actually does within the brain, especially with respect to the experience of pleasure.  Professor, psychiatrist and author, Dr. Daniel Z. Lieberman, joins us for a discussion of th ..read more

Imposter syndrome combined with the somewhat curious & paradoxical phenomenon of over-identification with being a clinician is a familiar combination for many psychotherapists.  Drs. Melissa Tiessen & Karen Dyck of the Intentional Therapist join us for a discussion of these important barriers to clinician well-being.  In this conversation we cover:    imposter syndrome & ill-suited syndrome the rigours of the profession vs. the personal and coping resources the majority of clinicians are able to bring to bear to manage these demands dangers of unaddressed impos ..read more