Wise Counsel Podcasts

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Dr. Van Nuys interviews Bruce Ecker, M.A., L.M.F.T. on Coherence Therapy". For many psychotherapists, the peak of satisfaction occurs during breakthrough sessions in which a client experiences a deeply felt shift and then is free of an entrenched behavioral reaction, a mood problem, an attachment pattern, an emotional wound or obsessive cognitions. However, the alchemy that produces such a fundamental shift has been something of a mystery, so they come unpredictably, typically after many months or years of sessions with a client. The guiding principle of Coherence Therapy is that an individual's symptom, normally regarded as pathology or disorder, is actually the sensible expression of an adaptive, unconscious emotional schema learned earlier in life. On an emotional level, symptoms make deep sense. By offering clinicians a clear, explicit map of how profound change occurs, Coherence Therapy helps catalyze the therapeutic process so that genuine client breakthroughs become a more regular and predictable therapeutic outcome.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Dr. Van Nuys interviews Ilan Meyer, Ph.D. on Minority Mental Health". In this Wise Counsel Interview, Dr. Ilan Meyer, Associate Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences at Columbia University, talks about his research on the effects of stress on the mental health of minority populations. For the past 10 years Dr. Meyer has studied public health issues related to minority health. His areas of research include stress and illness in minority populations, in particular the relationship of minority status, minority identity, prejudices and discrimination, and mental health outcomes in sexual minorities, and the intersection of minority stressors related to sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and gender.

In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Peter R. Breggin M.D., a Psychiatrist and a well known critic of what he calls the Psychopharmaceutical Complex. This phrase is a a play on American President Dwight D. Eisenhower's famous phrase, Military-Industrial Complex, taken from his farewell address. Just as Eisenhower warned Americans that their government was in danger of being corrupted by the crushing wealth and influence of military defense contractors, Dr. Breggin has spent his career warning us of the corrupting influence of the pharmaceutical industry which, he believes, has twisted the field of psychiatry and public perceptions of mental health to better serve their economic purposes, much to the detriment of the public's mental health. Dr. Breggin describes examples of drug company's corrupting influence and of psychiatry's capitulation to the drug companies.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Dr. Van Nuys interviews David Wallin, Ph.D. on Attachment in Psychotherapy". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews David Wallin, Ph.D. on Attachment in Psychotherapy. Dr. Wallin describes the history of Attachment Theory, as developed by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, and then later by Mary Main and Peter Fonagy. Attachment refers to the character of the early parent-child relationship from the perspective of the child. In addition to secure attachment (a 'best' outcome), where a child feels secure enough with the parent to be able to balance affiliation with exploration, there are also two 'second best' outcomes, avoidant, and ambivalent in which children choose exploration over affiliation, or vice versa, respectively, and a fourth and least optimal 'disorganized' solution. Implications of childhood attachment style for psychotherapy are discussed.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Dr. Van Nuys interviews Keith Sutton, Psy.D. on Oppositional Defiant Disorder". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Keith Sutton, Psy.D. on Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Dr. Sutton is a California Bay Area based Psychologist who has specialized in family therapy through his private practice partnership with Jim Keim, LCSW (a student of Jay Haley, one of the founders of modern family therapy). Dr. Sutton notes that late childhood is all about individuation, and that some level defiance at this age is age appropriate. The diagnosis of ODD occurs when normal defiance takes on an extreme character resulting in children having problems functioning at home or at school. ODD is about children's need for limit-setting. As children become more anxious about not having limits set upon them appropriate to their needs, they become more likely to act out. Dr. Sutton describes his approach to treating ODD, which involves family and individual meetings, observation of family interactions, parental education and respite, a non-blaming systemic treatment formulation, and an eclectic array of possible interventions, offered with the understanding that several will likely need to be tried as there is no single intervention that always works.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Dr. Van Nuys interviews Kristin Celello, Ph.D. on the History of Marriage in 20th Century America.". Kristin Celello, Ph.D., an historian, is the author of the book, "Making Marriage Work: A History of Marriage and Divorce in the Twentieth-Century United States". The main idea of the book is that public attitudes towards marriage changed radically across the 20th Century, starting at a position best described as "duty", and ultimately arriving at a position best described as "work". This is to say, in the early years of the 20th Century, people endured marriages when they didn't work well there was no marriage counseling and few remedies such as easy access to divorce. By the end of the 20th Century, attitudes towards marriage had shifted from thinking of marriage as something static and relatively unchangeable which needed to be endured to something you needed to work at actively a process that required your focused attention in order to keep it functioning well, and which was capable of being nurtured into better health if it was ailing.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Lorna Smith Benjamin, Ph.D. on SASB and the Structure and Treatment of Personality Disorders". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Lorna Smith Benjamin on SASB and the Structure and Treatment of Personality Disorders. Dr. Benjamin, a psychologist, is the inventor of SASB or Structural Analysis of Social Behavior which is a formal and rigorous coding system for capturing the specific character and nature of a person's interpersonal interactions. Though SASB was originally developed as a way of understanding the social behaviors of monkeys in a laboratory setting, Dr. Benjamin realized many years ago that it would provide an excellent basis for studying personality disorders and helping to identify ways that these complicated and by their nature very social problems could be effectively treated with psychotherapy. For approximately the past 30 years she has rather tirelessly worked to do that, most recently through her development of Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy (IRT).

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ed.D. "Rebecca LaFountain, Ed.D. on Adlerian Psychotherapy". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Rebecca LaFountain, Ed.D. on the topic of Adlerian Psychotherapy. Adlerian psychotherapy is based on the work of Alfred Adler, who is best known as an early disciple of Sigmund Freud who broke away to pursue his own independent line of psychotherapy. Adler is the originator of many psychological concepts that remain popular today, including the the idea that birth order is an important determinant of personality, and the "inferiority complex", although they are not always tightly identified as originating with Adler. Dr. LaFountain reviews Adler's contributions and clarifies frequently misunderstood concepts. As presented by Dr. LaFountain, Adler was a man "ahead of his time" who anticipated hugely popular later developments in psychotherapy including positive psychology, family systems and humanistic person-centered therapy.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Steven Philipson, Ph.D. on Treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Steven Philipson, Ph.D. on the nature and treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD, an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessions (unwanted thoughts accompanied by anxiety) and compulsions (actions carried out in order to neutralize anxiety). Dr. Philipson stresses that there is no thought disorder in ODC and that it is thus not useful to help people to become more rational about their obsessions. Instead, he advocates behaviorally-based exposure therapy treatment which helps people to gradually expose themselves to increasing levels of anxiety so as to unlearn the anxious association in a non-verbal manner. Dr. Philipson has helped popularize the term Pure O which refers to ODC patients whose obsessions and rituals are not easily observable and the interview goes over this concept in some detail.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "William Robiner, Ph.D. on prescription privileges for psychologists". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews William Robiner, Ph.D., ABPP, on the topic of prescription privileges for psychologists.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Barent Walsh, Ph.D. on Self-Injury". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Barent Walsh, Ph.D. on the topic of self-injury, also known as self-harm, self-mutilation and parasuicidal behavior. The most common forms of self-injurious behavior are cutting and burning one's self (with a blade, with fire). The intent of the self-injury is to create tissue damage there is generally no intent to commit suicide. Self-injury is primarily attractive to people who are experiencing strong and painful emotions such as anxiety, depression, shame or anger as a means of regulating and controlling these negative emotions. People who self-injury repeatedly will typically not have available to them better, more functional ways of coping with painful moods.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "John Kihlstrom, Ph.D. on Dissociation". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews John Kihlstrom, Ph.D. about Hypnosis, Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders. Conventional clinical wisdom suggests that a precondition of the more severe dissociative disorders like DID is significant childhood trauma. A causal relationship is implicit in this 'wisdom' to the effect that early trauma is thought to cause later dissociation in susceptible people. Dr. Kihlstrom has specifically examined whether evidence in support of this causal assumption could be generated in the lab. Importantly, he has concluded based on years of doing such research that trauma is not a precondition for developing dissociation disorders. The true cause of dissociative disorders remains unknown, in his view.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. on Suicide". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Thomas Joiner, Ph.D. on the topic of why people committ suicide. Dr. Joiner has proposed a new theory of why people suicide which he believes is more accurate than previous formulations. He proposes three key motivational aspects which contribute to suicide. These are: 1) a sense of being a burden to others, 2) a profound sense of loneliness, alienation and isolation, and 3) a sense of fearlessness. All three of these motivations or preconditions must be in place before someone will attempt suicide.

Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) presents the Wise Counsel Podcast (wisecounsel.mentalhelp.net), hosted by David Van Nuys, Ph.D. "Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. on the History of American Psychotherapy". In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Jonathan Engel, Ph.D. about his book "American Therapy" concerning the history of psychotherapy in America. Though recognizing the technical distinctiveness of three major schools of psychotherapy (psychodynamic, humanistic and cognitive behavioral), and the multiple fields that deliver therapy, Dr. Engel's research suggests that practicing therapists are largely pragmatic and eclectic in their orientations. He emphasizes that effective therapy always involves therapists who can deeply empathize with their patients. Some historical figures important in the history of American therapy including Sullivan and Rogers are discussed, as well as the merits of the technically driven modern and empirically validated therapies which have emerged in the last few decades.

In this edition of the Wise Counsel Podcast, Dr. Van Nuys interviews Jurgen Kriz on the topic of Self-Actualization, a concept central to the humanistic school of psychotherapy, and central to the work of Dr. Carl Rogers who was (and remains) arguably the most important psychologist of that school. Dr. Kriz has recently written a book about self-actualization in which he attempts to bring Rogers' ideas up-to-date by integrating them with modern insights from systems theory (e.g., the basis for the family systems psychotherapy). Self-actualization is not really about self-improvement but instead about the self-organizing principle, which is the idea that people are first and foremost intrinsically (internally) motivated, according to their desires, but that they adapt themselves according to social (external) demands. Accordingly, there is no therapist-set goal in person centered psychotherapy, Instead, Rogerian therapists work to provide their clients with the support and understanding they need to recognize and act upon their own intrinsically present goals. As Kriz says, "You do not need to impose order. You can just help people to facilitate their inherent possibilities".