The Broken Brain

Deshanta Hairston graduated with her degree in Professional Writing before before noticing an alarming lack of an independent bookstore in her community. She remedied this by opening Books and Crannies. Recently she went viral on Twitter, and is here today to tell us about business, bookselling, going big online, and being a Black business owner. Basically she's telling us how to make a dream a reality.  Today's charity of focus is the Alzheimers Association. Learn more and get involved at www.alz.org

This episode is a sample episode of the History of Color Podcast, another show on the Core Temp Arts podcast network. Allegra Alvarado, host and creator of the show, gave me permission to share this episode on the Broken Brain feed. This is episode 4 of her show, and she tells the story of the Black Suffragette movement. Give is a listen and subscribe to History of Color today. This episode is part of the Meet Creative People project, introducing you to creators that you should know. If you know creative people of color or black creators, artists, or innovators please let me know @breakabrain on Twitter. 

Ian Levy is a Professor of Counseling for Manhattan College. When Ian was working as a School Counselor in the South Bronx (New York City public schools) Ian used his talent and experience as a Hip-Hop artist to engage with young people. He joins me today to share some practical examples of his work, as well as to explain what research he is doing into this area.  Ian was kind enough to share the track "Showman," from his latest musical project "And Then It Glistens." You'll hear it as the intro music and then the entire song follows our interview. Check out the entire album on Apple Music or at his website: www.Ianplevy.com  The Broken Brain's featured Charity this week is Upbeat NYC, a nonprofit music education organization for kids. 

Karly Beaumont is the owner and creator of the Core Temp Arts network of podcasts. She joins me to day to tell her story of the work that she does recording, producing, and managing a team of podcasts. Karly has a history of managing nonprofit work, photography, and art. Learn more about her work at www.coretemparts.com This episode is the first in the Broken Brain's Meet Creative People project. I will be introducing you to creators that you should know. If you know creative people of color or black creators, artists, or innovators please let me know @breakabrain on Twitter. 

Sharon Blady is a Superhero, and so are You! Sharon is the former Minister of Health for the province of Manitoba and is a renowned speaker and trainer. She has a remarkable story of her own experiences with mental health, and takes a strengths-based approach to reframing our own characteristics and symptoms using Comics and Pop Culture. Learn more at her website http://www.speak-up.co/, and watch her presentations on YouTube (especially her talk on Hiding in Plain Sight).

Josh Wood, Business Manager for Improving Lives, returns to the show to talk about social distancing and managing healthcare needs during the pandemic. We talk about using technology to work with mental health needs, possible difficulties of isolation, and ways people cope. We are even able to have a chuckle here and there in the midst of all of this craziness. Josh is a wonderful person and a passionate advocate, glad to have him back. Hope that all of you listening are somewhere safe with those you love. Be careful. 

Robert Melillo is an expert in childhood neurological disorders. He is the founder and director of the Brain Balance Centers. He joined me to discuss his background and the methods he uses to help children with ADHD, developmental delay, or who are on the Autism Spectrum. We discuss what parents can do to work with their children at home, especially at this time during the health crises when so many are stuck at home. 

Josh Wood is the business manager for Improving Lives, a medical and mental health support service for patients in Nottinghamshire. Josh helps me understand the needs of the population they serve, obstacles to mental health recovery, and a little bit about the UK health system for good measure. Learn more about this important organization at:  https://www.improvinglivesnotts.org.uk/

Chris Aiken MD of the Mood Treatment Center, and author of the book "Bipolar Not So Much," joins me today to discuss his research and practice in the area of dietary interventions to help with symptoms of Bipolar and Mood Disorder. This is the real deal, medically researched and balanced dietary tips to help reduce symptoms of depression and mania. 

This is a Continuing Education Credit (CEU) training for the Aspire Network of Counselors. Feel free to listen in as well.  Zach Butterfield is a Licensed Counselor and certified in the use of Neurofeedback for psychological therapy. He was kind enough to train the clinicians in our office on the ins and outs of Neurofeedback, and do a live demonstration (which is largely visual, we tried to edit that part down a bit). 

Ketamine Infusion Treatment is an exciting new therapy for the treatment of mood disorders, anxiety, ADHD, and other psychological conditions. Dr. Stephen Mandel is a pioneer in the use of this treatment, and talked to me about the use and results from ketamine therapy in his practice. You can learn more about ketamine and his ongoing practice/research at www.ketamineclinics.com. 

Electro Convulsive Therapy or ECT is an important last resort in the treatment of treatment resistant depression. Mike and Dwight had the chance to sit down with the head physician over the ECT department of the University of Utah Hospital. We discuss stigma, other treatment options, side effects, and the complicated nature of this major psychiatric intervention. 

Lee Messersmith and I discuss the dynamics of restraint in clinical settings, a weird element of intensive psychiatric care. Rerun from a few years ago. 

Rerun of my episode about the African social service organization "Confident Children Out of Conflict," an important organization helping children. I interview Caitlin Cockroft, their publicity and social media director. Go to their website and make a donation today!  

A Rerun of one of our most popular training episodes: Another wonderful training at Aspire for Continuing Education Units (CEU) to help all of us counselors keep our licenses. This one is by Licensed Clinical Social Worker Janet Mitchell.  Janet is an expert in the area of Self Care, which is defined as the ability to increase, improve, and maintain mental health through a healthy lifestyle. More than just a reminder to exercise and eat right, Janet has created some tools and techniques to help us to identify which areas of our life will increase our ability to zone into a meditative or mindful place of health. 

A Broken Brain Classic Rerun! Our Good Buddy Candice Christiansen (owner and Clinical Director of Namaste Center for Healing) joins us to talk trauma, addiction, recovery, and healing. We discuss EDMR, Cognitive Therapy, Exposure, and BOTH of our dogs. 

Psychological studies show that infants have a much deeper and more rich mental life than we have previously believed. As a new father (for the third time) I want to know what my infant daughter is up to, and this interview with Dr. Annette Henderson, a Developmental and Research Psychologist who studies infants at Auckland University, and taught me that she is up to a lot!

Illustrator Steve McDonald is the creator of the coloring books Fantastic Cities and Fantastic Structures. These books are designed particularly for adults, as an exercise in mindfulness and anxiety reduction. Complex coloring is a therapeutic tool that many therapists and individuals are using to increase relaxation and present focused thinking. They are also a fun way to engage with art, especially for those of us who don't always draw that well on our own. Plus, Steve is a fantastic and interesting person. Enjoy our discussion.