Upcoming Episodes

Steven Friedlander, Ph.D., expert on high conflict divorce, and previously on the board of director of the California chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC-CA).  

Steven Hinshaw, Ph.D., author of Another Kind of Madness: A Journey Through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness, The ADHD Explosion: Myths, Medication, Money, and Today's Push for Performance, and The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls From Today's Pressures, as well as faculty and researcher at University of California, Berkeley

Rona Renner, RN, author of Is That Me Yelling?: A Parents Guide To Getting Your Kids to Cooperate Without Losing Your Cool, and host of About Health on 94.1FM KPFA.  

Ryan Vidrine, MD, director of Mindful Health Solutions' OCD Program, and psychiatrist with sub specialty in Interventional Psychiatry [including treatments like Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), esketamine nasal spray, and deep brain stimulation].  

Candice Hargons, Ph.D., director of the Center for Healing Racial Trauma where she and her colleagues provide therapeutic interventions for racially/ethnically marginalized people who are healing from racism, and train clinicians to provide this work.

Celia Falicov, Ph.D., author of Latina Families in Therapy and Multiculturalism and Diversity in Clinical Supervision, as well as co-author of the journal article, Centering the Voice of the Client: On Becoming a Collaborative Practitioner with Low-Income Individuals and Families.  

Molly Baron, M.A., educational consultant, nationally recognized expert on the placement of children, adolescents, and young adults with therapeutic special needs, and author of the article, Therapeutic School Placement: Parallel Process of Change in Children and Their Parents

Mary Jo Barrett, MSW, author of Incest: A Multiple Systems Perspective and Treating Complex Trauma: A Relational Blueprint for Collaboration and Change (Psychosocial Stress Series)  

Recent Episodes

Episode 18 - Coming July 5th

Helping Clients Navigate Stepfamily Relationships, and How "Blended Families” Are Very Different from First-time Families

with Patricia Papernow, EdD

May 28, 2021

In this podcast, Patricia Papernow discusses her experience as both a stepparent and a parent in a stepfamily, and how this led to first a dissertation on stages of development in becoming a stepfamily, and then a life-long interest in studying and working with stepfamilies. She discusses how stepfamilies are different from first time families, particularly regarding the time and space for the couple to develop their attachment and build some common ground and the challenges children face in stepfamilies. She describes the 5 major challenges for stepfamilies: 1) insider/outsider positions, 2) children’s needs, 3) stepparents and biological parents polarizing around parenting tasks, 4) the other biological parents/ex-partner being part of the family system, and 5) navigating creating new shared rituals. She offers concrete, evidence-based guidance about what works (and what doesn’t) to meet these challenges.​ 

Patricia Papernow, EdD is well known for her books Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships, Becoming a Stepfamily, and, with Karen Bonnell, The Stepfamily Handbook From Dating, to Getting Serious to Forming a “Blended Family,” ​as well as the author of dozens of articles and book chapters about “blended families.” Dr. Papernow is a systems and trauma-trained clinician with a special focus on working with families through the divorce and recoupling process. She is a renowned educator teaching about stepfamilies all over the U.S. and the world. She is also the recipient of the 2017 award for Distinguished Contribution to Family Psychology from APA (American Psychological Association).

Episode 17 - Coming June 28th

The Rapid Effectiveness of the New EMDR Flash Technique

with Phil Manfield, Ph.D.

May 21, 2021

In this episode, Phil discusses his career and his early experience with EMDR and how this became a focus of his work as he went on to become an EMDR trainer.  He discusses the controversy around EMDR, and its mechanisms of action, and issues related to research and funding.  He discusses his theory on how EMDR works, and talks about the technique he has developed called the Flash Technique.  He discusses how he has found this technique to be extremely effective in helping clients to effectively process trauma, even faster than traditional EMDR. 

Phil Manfield, Ph.D has been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist since 1975. He has authored or edited five books about psychotherapy and the use of EMDR, including: EMDR Up Close: Subtleties of Trauma Processing, EMDR Casebook, and Extending EMDR: A Casebook of Innovative Applications. He has taught in the US, Canada, Australia, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Currently, he is the Northern California Regional Coordinator for the EMDR International Association. 

Episode 16 - Coming June 21st

​#MenToo - The Unseen Epidemic of Child Sexual Abuse of Boys and Why Boys and Men Don’t Share

with Kelli Palfy, Ph.D.

May 14, 2021

In this episode, Dr. Palfy discusses how her work in law enforcement, specifically investigating and arresting child sexual abusers, led her into a career of psychology.  She discusses how when we think of childhood sexual trauma, we often think of women, although 1 in 6 men were sexually abused prior to age 16.  She explains that of those that were abused, only 5 in 1,000 go on to disclose their abuse, thus giving a sense that this doesn’t happen to boys and may be missed when working with men.  She discusses some of the differences between abuse of boys and women including societal norms of men being protectors (the man of the family) so not telling, fear of being seen as gay or as someone who will inevitably be a child abuser, worrying that they somehow wanted the abuse as males anatomy responses physiologically different during abuse, and ultimately society not making a place for males to be vulnerable, and instead dismissing or shaming them for being too sensitive.  We discuss her work in helping others to understand male experiences of abuse, so that clinicians can be more aware of seeing that this may be part of the reason men are struggling and help them to address their trauma. 

Kelli Palfy, Ph.D. is a psychologist and author, who first started her career as an RCMP officer that specialized in sex crimes. Today, Dr. Palfy works with first responders, male survivors of sexual abuse, and people who are bullied in the workplace. Dr. Palfy authored the book Men Too: Unspoken Truths About Male Sexual Abuse which is based off of her own research and experience in the field. 

Episode 15

​Helping Prevent and Treat Trauma in First Responders and Police Officer’s Experience Post George Floyd

with Joel Fay, Ph.D.

May 2, 2021

In this episode, Joel discusses his work as a police officer, and his decision to become trained as a psychologist, in hopes of making an even greater impact on the people he arrested. Joel discussed his work in Crisis Intervention, working with homeless populations and the training of police officers to work more effectively with mentally ill citizens. He discusses his work with the West Coast Post-trauma Retreat where he works with first responders in an effort to prevent suicide.  Suicide is the leading cause of death for first responders and more officers die from suicide than all other factors combined.  He explains the reticence of first responders to engage in mental health treatment, and the challenges police officers have in finding a supportive clinician.  He and I discussed the murder of George Floyd, the effect on the relationship between police officers and the community, and the subsequent impact on police officers.  He discusses the psychological impact of the riots that followed Floyd’s death.  We also discussed the dynamics that may have played into the lack of action of the other officers at the Floyd incident. We discuss the research of The Milgram Shock Experiment and the Stanford Prison Study where “normal” individuals acted in ways that most would have said they would not have acted but did so in relation to context and authority.  Joel discussed his most recent focus on building resiliency in police officers, and training them as part of the Police Academy, as well as training seasoned officers in connecting to their meaning, influenced by Victor Frankel’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning.  He explained that they also teach the difference between compartmentalization, which is necessary and adaptable on the job, as opposed to suppression, which could lead to bottling up and later spilling over of emotions which could affect a responder’s personal and professional life.

Joel Fay, Ph.D. is a retired police officer who proudly served the force for over 30 years and made a career change, obtaining his Doctorate in Psychology. He now has his own private practice, is the lead clinician for West Coast Post-Trauma Retreat (WCPR), and is the co-founder of the First Responder Support Network, where he is currently the Clinical Director. He also teaches Crisis Intervention Training across California, is the co-author of Counseling Cops, and the author of many articles about emergency service stress. In his private practice, he specializes in working with emergency responders from many different organizations. Dr. Fay has received many awards for his amazing work, including the California Psychological Association 2007 Humanitarian Award and the American Psychological Association 2012 award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Policy and Public Safety Psychology. 

Episode 14

​Effectively Treating Childhood Anxiety Without The Child In the Therapy

with Eli Lebowitz, Ph.D.

April 26, 2021

In this episode, Eli discusses how his background in working in one clinic treating children with anxiety, and another clinic treating significant childhood behavioral problems, lead him to develop his program SPACE.  Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) has been found to reduce childhood anxiety at the same levels as a course of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for children by working directly with the parents.  He discusses how the previous thinking was that children who are not willing to do CBT were not going to be able to benefit from therapy, and yet for behavioral problems there were treatments that were effective by working only with the parents.  He found that treatment for childhood anxiety was based on methods for adults, but was leaving out the important distinction that children look to their parents for help in coping with anxiety provoking situations.  This lead him to develop a treatment that focused on parents changing behaviors in order to not accommodate anxiety, using support as well as communication, and disengaging from the anxiety process in a loving way.  ​

Eli Lebowitz, Ph.D. is the Director of the Program for Anxiety Disorders at the Yale Child Study Center, creator of SPACE (a parent-based treatment program for child and adolescent anxiety and related disorders), as well the author of Treating Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety: A Guide for Caregivers with Haim Omer and Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents, his most recent published work. Dr. Lebowitz's research focuses on the development, neurobiology, and treatment of anxiety with a focus on cross-generational and family influences. ​

Episode 13

Helping the Helpers: Helping the Witnesses of Trauma Move Into Empowered Awareness Through the Witness to Witness (W2W) Program

with Kaethe Weingarten, Ph.D.

April 23, 2021

In this episode, Kaethe discusses the history of developing her conceptualization of four witness positions, and how witnessing effects people differently depending on their sense of empowerment/disempowerment and awareness.  She discusses how she submitted her book, Common Shock: Witnessing Violence Every Day, two days before 9-11 and editors had difficulty understanding the ideas.  By September 13, they deeply understood the experience of witnessing.  She discusses the development of her Witness-To-Witness (W2W) Program, and how it has supported professionals working with adults and children in various stages of the immigration process who suffered as a result of many policies.  Her social justice and larger systemic work helps lawyers, clinicians, childcare workers, and a multitude of other service providers working with people made vulnerable by national, state and local policies.  Her work creates Reasonable Hope.
 
Kaethe Weingarten, Ph.D., is the director of the Witness to Witness (W2W) Program for Migrant Clinicians Network. Dr. Weingarten’s work focuses on the development and dissemination of a witnessing model. One prong of the work is about the effects of witnessing violence and trauma in the context of domestic, inter-ethnic, racial, political and other forms of conflict.  She has published numerous articles, chapters, essays, and books, including her book, Common Shock: Witnessing Violence Every Day, and serves on the editorial boards of five professional journals.  She has taught and spoken in numerous contexts in the United States and internationally, as well as founded and directed the Program in Families, Trauma and Resilience at the Family Institute of Cambridge. 

Episode 12

​Inattentive ADHD Is A Whole Different Disorder & the Task Force To Address It

with Russell Barkley, Ph.D.

April 19, 2021

In this episode, Russell talks about his career in the field of ADHD, and his involvement in a task force seeking to address ADHD, Inattentive Subtype, a separate disorder other than ADHD itself. He discusses Sluggish Cognitive Tempo, and the hypoactive nature, which is very different from the hyperactive and impairment in impulsivity. Russell explains that rather than being overly engaged with the environment, children, adolescents, and adults with SCT are disengaged from the environment, and often find themselves preoccupied with internal thought and experience. He discusses his experience helping families and children with ADHD, and his new book, 12 Principals for Raising a Child with ADHD.  

Russell Barkley, Ph.D. is the author of 12 Principals for Raising a Child with ADHD among several other works about ADHD and defiance in children and adolescents, and ADHD adults. Dr. Barkley retired as a Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center and subsequently worked as a Professor of Psychiatry and Health Sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. Dr. Barkley continues to lecture widely and develop continuing education courses for professionals on ADHD and related disorders, as well as consult on research projects, edit The ADHD Report, and write books, reviews, and research articles.

Episode 11

The DBT Workbook for Alcohol and Drug Addiction: Skills and Strategies for Emotional Regulation, Recovery and Relapse Prevention

with Laura Petracek, Ph.D.

April 17, 2021

In this episode, Laura discusses her career path and her own struggles with bipolar disorder and addiction, and her integration of the 12 Steps and evidence-based therapy such as CBT & DBT.  She explains how the Big Book of AA was written many years ago, and that Bill W.'s original intent was that individuals would be getting therapy alongside doing the twelve steps.  She explained how she is currently writing a book that goes through each step of the 12 steps, and DBT skills to enhance the step work to help those in recovery gain the benefits of evidence-based tools.

Laura Petracek, Ph.D. is a clinician psychologist, speaker, and the author of the Anger Workbook for Women: How to Keep Your Anger from Undermining Your Self-Esteem, Your Emotional Balance, and Your Relationships. Dr. Petracek has over 30 years of experience, specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and other evidence-based therapies for alcohol/substance use, mood disorders, and anger dyscontrol issues. Her other areas of expertise are working with children and adolescents with ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and other learning disabilities. She is also a past clinician at San Quentin Federal Prison, and currently in the process of writing the book Pain is Inevitable; Suffering is Optional: Dialectical Behavioral Skills for Alcoholics & Addicts.   ​

Episode 10

Supporting the Transition of Formerly Incarcerated Parents Into Their Family and Kin Networks

with Veronique Thompson, Ph.D.

April 17, 2021

In this episode, Veronique discusses her career path and her experiences as an African-American woman and how it has influenced her career as a clinical psychologist. She discusses the innovative work being done at the Carl B. Metoyer Center for Family Counseling to help previously incarcerated parents transition through the re-entry process, and to rebuild relationships within the faily system.  She highlights the importance of working with the whole family unity through this process, including the parents, children, and caregivers.  Veronique and I also discuss training issues such as multicultural awareness, and the importance of validation, non-defensiveness, and being open to feedback.  

Veronique Thompson, Ph.D. is a tenured faculty at the Wright Institute in Berkeley and the Clinical Director at the Carl B. Metoyer Center for Family Counseling, East Oakland. There she and her colleagues are piloting a program, the Umoja Reentry Family Unity Project, to support families with formerly incarcerated parents.  She has experience working with adults and families, as well as adolescent status offenders, and her theoretical orientation combines developmental, systems, social justice therapy, and narrative therapy perspectives. Dr. Thompson is a past teaching associate for the University of California, Berkeley in general psychology and minority mental health, as well as a fellow in the Berkeley Teacher Training Program.  In addition to her work mentioned above, she also maintains a private practice.

Episode 9

Helping Transgender Children and Families Navigate Gender

with Shawn Giammatei, Ph.D.

April 12, 2021

In this episode, Shawn discusses his work with families with transgender/non-binary/gender diverse youth.  In discussing his career, he talks about the process of coming out as a transgender man, and his personal experience in the professional community of clinicians.  He explains how the bulk of his work in training clinicians and assisting families is helping them examine how they think about their own gender, and becoming aware of how one knows what his, her or their gender is.  He also discusses his work with families and transgender youth, and the issues that lead him to create the Gender Health Institute in order to provide training to clinicians who were seeking more competency in working with trans clients.  

Shawn Giammattei, PhD is the founder and director of the Gender Health Training Institute and the TransFamily Alliance, and contributor to the edited book, The Gender Affirmative Model: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Supporting Transgender and Gender Expansive Children. Shawn also has a clinical practice specializing in trans young people and their families, and couples therapy. Shawn teaches at Alliant International University in California, School of Professional Psychology and helped develop the Rockway Institute's LGBTQ Human Services Certificate, as well as being the first to teach a semester long Transgender Mental Health course for Psychology graduate students. Shawn does ongoing research in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente and Emery University, doing consultation on issues in trans health.

Episode 8

Consent, Attachment, & Healing Sexual Trauma with Victims & Offenders

with Dossie Easton, LMFT

April 12, 2021

In this episode, Dossie describes her latest endeavor where she and her colleague have been leading six-week group workshops for survivors of sexual abuse, as well as six-week groups for sexual violence offenders.  Among many topics, she discusses the need for broader open communication about sex, consent, and the nuances of working with sexual violence transgressors.  Dossie also discusses her work with individuals in open, polyamorous, and BDSM relationships, and the concepts of attachment, consent, communication, and healing aspects of BDSM. ​

Dossie Easton, LMFT is the author of The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships & Other Adventures, as well as four other books on various aspects of BDSM, sex, and relationships, all co-authored by Janet W. Hardy. Dossie is also a licensed marriage and family therapist in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in working with trauma survivors.  She works iwth alternative sexualities and open relationships, and serves the polyamorous, gender-diverse, and LGBTQ communities. She is also a speaker on the topic of cultural competency with couples and individuals in the BDSM community.  Recently, she has been running separate six-week groups for survivors, and transgressors of sexual abuse called Navigating Consent: Helping Build a More Consensual Future.  

Episode 7

Treating Childhood Anxiety Using CBT, Family Systems, and Hypnosis to Change Process, Rather Than Focus on Content

with Lynn Lyons, LCSW

March 23, 2021

In this episode, Lynn discusses her work with children and families, and how she developed her approach that integrates family systems, hypnosis, and cognitive behavioral therapy.  She discusses working with children and adolescents with anxiety, and how she focuses on the pattern, and helping the clients to see how they are "doing the disorder", and interrupt that pattern, as opposed to focusing on the content of the anxiety.  She identifies what skills the family is needing, and helps them develop those to not let worry and anxiety run the family.  

Lynn Lyons, LICSW is a psychotherapist, author, and speaker with a special interest in interrupting the generational patterns of anxiety in families.  Lynn is the co-author with Reid Wilson of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents and the companion book for kids Playing with Anxiety: Casey's Guide for Teens and Kids. She is the author of Using Hypnosis with Children: Creating and Delivering Effective Interventions and has two DVD programs for parents and children.  Lynn also hosts her own podcast, FlusterClux, where she helps parents and families with anxiety.  She is in private practice in Concord, New Hampshire where she sees families, and she speaks regularly to parent groups, schools, and clinicians.  

Episode 6

Treating Trauma and Moral Injury with Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)

with Robyn Walser, Ph.D.

March 12, 2021

In this episode, Dr. Walser talks about her career and how it lead her to becoming interested in, and becoming a researcher and author in the Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) Approach.  Robyn discusses how ACT resonated with her, and how she has gone on to develop the approach in working with clients with PTSD.  She discusses the concepts of ACT, gives an example of the "chessboard metaphor", and talks about her current work in the area of moral injury, and discusses her recent publications.  Robyn also talks about her application of ACT to couples therapy.  

Robyn Walser, Ph.D. is Director of TL Consultation Services and co-director of the Bay Area Trauma Recovery Center and staff at the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division. As a licensed psychologist, she maintains an international training, consulting and therapy practice. She is an expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has co-authored 6 books on ACT including The Heart of ACT: Developing a Flexible, Process-Based, Client Centered Practice Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and The ACT Workbook for Anger. She also has expertise in traumatic stress and substance abuse and has authored a number of articles, chapters and books on these topics. 

Episode 5

Conducting Research in Private Practice

with Jaqueline Persons, Ph.D.

March 1, 2021

In this episode, Jaqueline Persons, Ph.D. discusses conducting research in private practice and contributing to the scientific literature. One important way clinicians can contribute to research is by   She explains the importance studying of using data from practice settings to examine the role of cultural and other diversity in the treatment process, as many research studies have a lack of cultural diversity in the populations being studied.  Dr. Persons values evidence based treatment and as the director of the Oakland Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center, works with her team to collect data, study the process and research outcome of treatment, and publish their findings in scientific journals.  She discusses her career in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and her work around individualizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for clients.  Dr. Persons talks about the importance of studying whether the evidence -based practices are fitting for clients of nondominant cultures, and really understanding and connecting with clients to find a treatment that works for them.

Jacqueline B. Persons, Ph.D. is the director of the Oakland Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center and works with clients using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  Dr. Persons is author of the book, The Case Formulation Approach to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has published numerous articles and two other books.   Additionally, she is the past president of the Association for Behavioral and of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists, is a clinical professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and has published a video series through the American Psychological Association in which she and her co-authors teach the basic skills of of clinicians to learn Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  

Episode 4

Helping Parents to Use Evidence-Based Principles to Increase Resilience in Children and Teens

with Muniya Khanna, Ph.D.

February 24, 2021

Muniya Khanna, Ph.D., discusses the next step in her career, which is helping get the tools of effective treatment into the hands of parents who want to help their children.  She discusses her career in treatment and research, working with Martin Seligman, Ph.D. researching Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and her work with Philip Kendall, PhD. researching his CBT treatment for children,  Coping Cat.  Muniya tells about her interest in technology, and her work with Phil to make a computer program, and now an online program for kids to learn CBT, which is evidence based and used widely in schools and is now available for parents.  She also discusses her work with University of Pennsylvania where she was on faculty, and participated in the research related to children and OCD, as well as young children and OCD.  She explains that her new passion is in getting the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools for kids into the hands of parents through writing a book for consumers.  She discusses her Worry Workbook, and her upcoming book, The Resilience Recipe: A Parent's Guide to Raising Fearless Kids in the Age of Anxiety, which discusses five evidence based principals of resiliency that are effective transdiagnostically.  

Muniya Khanna, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist specializing in CBT for anxiety disorders and OCD.  Dr. Khanna is a pioneer in web-based mental health research for anxiety disorders. In partnership with her mentor, Dr. Philip Kendall, she developed and tested Camp Cope-A-Lot. She is currently conducting 2 large-scale clinical trials, funded by NIH and NICHD, focused on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments for anxiety in urban public schools.  Dr. Khanna has authored numerous books and research publications, has been on faculty, is on the review board of journals, and boards of the American Psychological Association.  She is Founder and Director of the OCD & Anxiety Institute in Pennsylvania and Research Scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Episode 3

Using Parent-Child Attachment to Create a Secure Base and Overcome Adolescent Depression and Suicide - Attachment-Based Family Therapy, an Empirically Supported Treatment

with Guy Diamond, Ph.D

January 19th, 2021

In this interview, Guy Diamond discusses his personal journal in developing Attachment Based Family Therapy, a proven, effective treatment, that helps adolescents with depression, trauma, suicide, and anxiety, as well as LGBTQ adolescent young adults and their families.  Dr. Diamond discusses how, through clinical practice and research, he and his collogues learned to make those profound, heartfelt moments in family therapy happen more often in a more purposeful, and predictable manner, event in a brief treatment model.  These healing sessions activate the parents’ natural caregiving instinct, matched with the adolescents’ attachment need, to rebond the parent-child, creates a family safety net.  This builds the foundation of trust and connection needed for adolescents to effectively solve problems and overcome life's adversity.  Dr. Diamond discusses how this process oriented, emotionally focused, has been manualized and evaluated in several clinical trials.  Additionally, Dr. Diamond talks about cutting edge treatment development and research with ABFT and adolescents diagnosed with eating disorders.    

Guy S. Diamond Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Associate Professor at Drexel University in the College of Nursing and Health Professions. At Drexel, he is the Director of the Center for Family Intervention Science (CFIS) and the Director of the Ph.D. program in the Department of Couple and Family Therapy. He has received several federal, state and foundation grants to develop and test this model. Dr. Diamond is the author, with his co-authors, Drs. Gary Diamond and Suzanne Levy, of the book, Attachment-Based Family Therapy for Depressed Adolescents, and continues to develop and implement the ABFT model. 

Episode 2

Rethinking the Gender Paradigm in Domestic Violence Treatment

with John Hamel, Ph.D., LCSW

January 17th, 2021

Domestic violence often leads a therapist to determine that couples therapy is "contra-indicated", which may lead to treatment that could be helpful not being utilized.  In this interview, John Hamel, PhD, LCSW discusses what the research tells us, and how his entry into the field of working with men who were domestically violent began with a model that was focused on men enforcing a patriarchy on women, but has evolved to consider the many ways that abuse manifests itself, from escalating conflicts fueled by poor impulse control and communication skills, to a pattern of domineering behaviors intended to control the partner, typically involving a personality disorder.  John discussed how often men are vilified, and women are identified as helpless "victims", although the problem is much more complex.  John explains how working with the couple together, the men individually, or in a group should be assessed, and that actually, working the couple may be a very effective means of repairing the couples' relationship and overcoming violence and anger problems.  

John Hamel, PhD, LCSW has authored several books on domestic violence, including Gender Inclusive Treatment of Intimate Partner Abuse, Family Interventions in Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner and Family Abuse: A Casebook of Gender-Inclusive Therapy, and is currently editing the upcoming book, Beyond the Gender Paradigm: A Legal Primer on Evidence-Based Criminal Justice Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence.  John provides therapy, oversees an anger management program, is an expert witness, teacher, and author.  He has published numerous books, chapters, and peer reviewed research on the topic of domestic violence. 

Episode 1

The New/Old Breakthrough Treatment of Psilocybin Used in Therapy

with James Keim, LCSW

September 28, 2020

Psilocybin (or magic mushrooms as it is commonly called) was researched and used in the treatment of mental health disorder extensively in the 50s and 60s, but stopped as the substance became illegal.  Today, psilocybin has been named a "breakthrough treatment" by the FDA for the treatment of depression and other mental health disorders and is on track to be legalized for medical use.  James Keim, LCSW discussed how psilocybin assisted therapy creates neuroplasticity, and helps clients change their brain.

James Keim, LCSW is the founder of Mimosa Therapeutics, Inc., which uses bioreactors to grow research grade, natural psilocybin, rather than the synthetic psilocybin which is most widespread.  He was the clinical director for Jay Haley and Cloe Madanes, the developers of Strategic Family Therapy, has published his work on Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and heads the Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy's Oppositional and Conduct Disorder Clinic.  James Keim in addition to teaching at the IAP, also teaches family therapy in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.  ​

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