the Informed Simplicity podcast

 One of the things that’s important to remember is knowledge is not enough for people to change.

Along the path of life we occasionally bump into exemplars- persons seen from a distance who inspire us by showing us what’s possible. For me, Dr Angela Bethea-Walsh is one of those persons; a highly skilled person of color with a full and diverse career. Because of that, my interview with her was profoundly engaging. I hope you listen as closely as I did, because every other word she speaks is gold. In this episode we cover:

• Her wandering path of success
• An overview of Motivational Interviewing  
• The crucial role of ambivalence in Motivational Interviewing
• And so much more…

If you’d like to learn more about Angela you can check her here. And if you’re in the Georgia area check out her upcoming trainings. 

August 24, 2018: Supervision of MI Practice: http://www.betheacps.com/MI-Workshop-SupEthics-Aug-2018.html

November 9-10: MI Fidelity Coding: http://www.betheacps.com/MI-Workshop-MITI-Nov-2018.html

LISTEN HERE

 

PS. If you enjoyed this episode check out this one. With Lisa Diamond. She’s another powerhouse. 

“Our society does not respect attachment relationships that are neither family nor sexual and I think that’s a fundamental weakness and something that runs counter to what we know about ourselves as a species.”

Lisa Diamond is one of the top researchers in the world on sexual fluidity, the capacity for a person’s sexual orientation to change over time. Talking with her was an acid trip. Every other thing she said blew my mind and opened up whole worlds of questions. What surprised me the most was how quickly the conversation turned towards …wait for it… attachment. 

 In this episode we delve into a bunch of topics such as :

• Sexual fluidity
• The links between attachment and sexuality 
• The importance of nonsexual attachment relationships
• Her ultimate quest to unite the fields of relationship and sexuality
• The numbers on how many people experience fluidity in their sexuality (it’s MUCH higher than you’d think)

Listen here!

ENJOY!

PS. If you enjoyed this episode check out this blog post on sex. It’s my most popular. 

“When you watch your own tapes you’ve got to be so careful to not look for all your mistakes … how we learn is yeah, notice something you may have missed, but also make sure you catch the things you did right. ” Karyn Bristol

For this episode I finally got to sit down and talk with Karyn Bristol. Besides being one of the top EFT bloggers, she’s also an EFT supervisor and founding member of the New Jersey chapter of EFT. 

One of the things that I didn’t expect was how warm she was, even the cadence of her voice lulled me into a sense of, “Oh, yeah, this is what safety feels like.” I imagine this transfers over wonderfully with her clients. Also, look at how she answers questions. Almost every time she starts off saying something like, “That’s a great question, ” or, “I really like how you said that.” I think those are the little things which make therapy flow. In this episode we talk about:  

• Her process of continual supervision
• Her new journey into Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)
• The process of writing, struggling, and now publishing her novel The Truth is a Theory

You can preorder he new novel here and find her author website here.

Click here to listen

PS. If you enjoyed this episode listen to this one next. Also, you might enjoythis blog post about the importance of relationships.

My first guest on the podcast, and little-known wonder, was Katie Gudde. Practicing in the small (but growing) area of Northwest Arkansas, Katie Gudde is, in my humble opinion, one of those hidden Supershrinks, a wonder therapist who has grown her skills through practice and dedication and regularly helps people that stump other therapists.

In this episode we talk about:

• Feeling like a failure and fraud even after years of being in the field
• The cyclical nature of change
• EFT and motivation
• How attachment needs are survival needs, just like hunger and thirst
• Does EFT work with families?
• The dreaded “still face” 

Click here to listen

PS. If you enjoyed this episode check out this blog post. I think it’ll also resonate with you.

I stumbled upon Wesley Little’s blog Becoming A Couples Therapist a few months ago and was dumbstruck. Here was someone who spoke with both passion and precision about couples therapy. Not only was her blog offering specific, actionable steps in helping therapists work with couples, she also spoke with a simplicity that revealed a deep heart for couples in pain. Becoming a Therapist has been my favorite therapy blog ever since. So you can imagine how excited I was when I sat down for our interview.

On Episode 4 we talk about:

• Her favorite therapy blog
• The wisdom behind blogging as a therapist
• How therapy might go slower than you think, and that’s a good thing
• The importance of apologizing to clients
• The three questions she asks to distill emotion
• Why she’s still in supervision, and probably will be forever

Click here to listen

P.s. If you enjoy this episode you should check out my interview with Katie Gudde. She’s also an EFT therapist and talks about EFT. Also check out this blog post– I think you might enjoy it. 

Drs. Kershaw and Wade are, in my my opinion, pioneers of the field. Their approach to therapy which combines neurofeedback and hypnosis puts them on the forefront of innovative change work. In this episode we talk about:

• How they taught me to ask the miracle question
• Jaak Pansepp’s emotional states
• The hidden common factor in therapy
• Alpha/Theta training and it’s connection to hypnosis
• How to know when someone’s in an Alpha/Theta state
• How you brain makes it only cannabis
• Their best advice for students

Click here to listen

P.s. If you want more information you can subscribe to their newsletter here.Also, if you liked this podcast check out this one on Douglas Flemons. There’s a good bridge between his work and theirs. Also check out this letter I wrote you. It’ll make a lot more sense after listening to them. 

Ryan and I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Douglas Flemons. A wonderful therapist and a personal mentor we’ve been talking about hypnosis and change for some time now. A brief therapist in practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Douglas specializes in hypnosis, sex, and suicide.

In this episode we talk about:

• How his approach is a mix of Gregory Bateson’s theory of mind and Daoism
• Why he doesn’t let clients set the goals of therapy (sort of)
• Why Flemons doesn’t encourage clients to use hypnosis
• How he thinks about brief therapy
• The wisdom he took from Olga Silverstein, one of the lost gems of therapy
• Where he and Jack Kornfield agree, and where they disagree
• A case where he deals with a kid’s fear with art therapy, but not really
• Why he doesn’t believe in mentors
• And why he recommends Shunryū Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginners Mind 

Click here to listen

Check out his book Of One Mind. It’s one of the books which changed my life so much I talk about it in my manifesto. If you want a brief summary of his brief approach I recommend his article “Making Symptoms Vanish.”

P.S. If you enjoyed this episode check out this blog post. I think you’d enjoy it.

“Neuroplasticity, which we talk a lot about, is in the frequency domain of the brain. We know it’s not in the chemical because we provide chemicals and they don’t create brain change. They create sedation.”

My talk with Sebern Fisher was phenomenal! What impressed me the most was her honesty. In her book and in the interview she was remarkably candid about her failure to help the most troubled of children, that is until she found neurofeedback. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck with patients who have had horrendously extensive trauma histories then this is the episode for you. In this episode we talk about a LOT. Check out the show notes below.

PS. If you liked this episode check out his episode on how to become a better therapist. It's full of actionable tips.  

Listen here!

 

Show Notes

• Her early work with severely troubled kids
• The role of fear and emotional regulation in therapy
• The wild child video which shows the DRAMATIC changes that can occur with neurofeedback

 

• How trauma informed care is coming into the mainstream. Even Oprah’s talking about it.

 

• How Texas Christian University is Using TBRI to help kids

 

• The importance of neuroscience and how it’s changing the way therapy is conducted
• The periaqueductal grey and the default mood network
• Taking her kids to see Foster Kline 
• Her work with Thich Nat Hanh
• Her view of meditation, hypnosis, and neurofeedback
• The chief work of therapy being making yourself known
• The importance of constraint for the nervous system

This is one of the few times I cannot recommend her book. I loved her book, and my copy is marked, underlined, and dogeared….. BUT the book is highly technical. Still, if you’re just rapt you can order it on amazon.