Whole Body Mental Health Radio

LIFT (verb): to move something to a higher position; to make something more interesting and enjoyable; to make someone happier.   The weekly LIFT podcast aims to bring perspective and grow resilience through brief mind-body medicine insights and guided mindfulness practices geared for these interesting times.   Mind-body-spirit medicine, stress reduction, positive psychology,  and Eastern contemplative practices.   Mindful Psychiatry and the Mind-Body Mental Health Radio 2020©. All Rights Reserved.

Arwen Podesta MD, ABPN, FASAM, ABIHMis a board certified adult psychiatrist with sub-specializations in addiction medicine, forensic psychiatry, and integrative & holistic medicine. She has a background in biochemistry, complementary medicine and massage therapy. She was excited to successfully merge her intellectual and vocational interests by becoming a medical doctor. She graduated from University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, and then moved to New Orleans for a psychiatry residency at Louisiana State University. She then pursued a fellowshipin Forensic Psychiatry at Tulane University.After Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Podesta was involved with psychiatric care for the most needy anddisenfranchised. She was awarded the Gambit’s 40 Under 40 in 2009. She has been activelyworking in the public sector as Medical Director of ACER and Chief Medical Officer ofLongbranch Recovery, while also consulting with Orleans Criminal Court Intervention (DrugCourt), and Municipal Court Diversion Services. Sh

  Steve Dansiger, PsyD, MFT  Dr. Steve played CBGB and Max’s Kansas City in the late 70s; drank, played drums in a toy rock band and then got sober in the late 80s; became an international educator and rocker again in the 90s; and a sought after clinician, writer and meditation teacher in the 2000s. Dr. Steve has attempted to cure Marc Maron on WTF, become a master EMDR therapist and provider of EMDR Basic Training and Advanced Topics Courses with the Institute for Creative Mindfulness, and with Noah Levine helped set up the premiere Buddhist addictions rehab center, Refuge Recovery Centers. At the center he has developed and instituted the MET(T)A Method and Protocol, a design for addictions agency treatment using Buddhist Mindfulness and EMDR Therapy as the theoretical orientation and primary clinical practice. He is the author of Clinical Dharma: A Path for Healers and Helpers (2016) and avidly blogs and podcasts on topics related to mental health, recovery, and mindfulness. Besides maintaining a private p

Renowned Sex therapist Dr. Alexandra Katehakis gives a great interview that would serve as a primer to any therapist about sex addiction.  Dr. Alexandra "Alex" Katehakis is a published, award-winning author, licensed psychotherapist, and is recognized as a leader in the field of Integrative sex therapy. Katehakis makes regular contributions to publications like Psychology Today and the Huffington Post, has been interviewed by Rolling Stone, Washington Post and the LA Times, has made several television appearances on programs like Inside Hollywood, Spike TV and CNN, and is frequently featured as a prominent expert panelist at sexuality conferences worldwide alongside the likes of Dan Siegel and Christopher Kennedy Lawford.She is the Clinical Director of Center For Healthy Sex, a treatment center based in Los Angeles. Katehakis holds licensure and certification with several different mental health organizations: Certified Sex Addiction Therapist (CSAT) with the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction P

Robin Cooper, MD has been in private practice with a focus on both psychotherapy and medical management throughout her 35 years of practice. She has a clinical appointment of Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at University of California, San Francisco where she has had many different roles in education and supervision. She has always had a parallel interest in treatment and advocacy for services of severely mentally ill, serving on a number of boards including representing the California Psychiatric Association to the state stakeholders’ organization, California Coalition for Mental Health Her interest in issues of climate change impacts on mentally ill derives from her many years of political work on climate change politics specifically working with Citizens’ Climate Lobby, on national legislation on a carbon tax with revenues returned to American families. Her concern for environmental justice ha been has fueled her interest in understanding the differential impacts of climate disruption o

Dr. Lise Van Susteren, a practicing general and forensic psychiatrist in Washington, DC, is an expert on the physical and mental health effects of climate change. In 2011 she co-authored "The Psychological Effects of Climate Warming on the U.S. - Why the US Mental Health System Is Not Prepared". Dr. Van Susteren has served as a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University and has been a consultant to the Executive Branch of the US Government profiling world leaders. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Paris, she practiced medicine in West Africa, at community health centers and homeless shelters in metropolitan Washington DC.  In addition to community organizing on climate issues, Dr. Van Susteren serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Earth Day Network, and is co-founder of "Climate Psychiatry Alliance," a professional group dedicated to promoting awareness and action on climate from

Originally licensed and in successful private practice in California, Michelle Longino was licensed as an LMFT in Louisiana in 2002, when she moved to NOLA. She has over fifteen years of clinical experience working with individual adults, families, and couples. Her treatment orientation is based on sound research and includes cognitive-behavioral, experiential, mindfulness, and training in couples' work. She enjoys helping clients recognize their strengths and develop healthy skills to cope with life's challenges. She is skilled at treating a variety of issues including: anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and anger management.  Michelle talks in depth about her approach to family therapy. 

Cassie Becerra has worked as an Early Childhood Educator for 17 years.  She worked with children from 12 months-6 years in a classroom setting until 2010.  From 2010 until 2015 she cared for two boys; one who was 18 months and the other who was born four months later.  Cassie worked closely with this family as a nanny until both boys began elementary school.  At that point she returned to a school setting and  is currently the Director at Kinder Haus Montessori.   After working with many children of varying ages over the years she began making a correlation between the behaviors of children in response to how their caregivers spoke to them; recognizing that specific wording could easily trigger a defensive or oppositional response in children unintentionally.  She reached the conclusion that it was essential for the adult to first look within themselves to address  their own mood, temperament and body language before a healthy connection could be made and maintained.   After a time of self-reflection Cassie b

Nicole Young graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2007 and immediately began work on the Obama Presidential Campaign. After 2008, she lived in Washington, DC for four years working at the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. Before coming to BECNO, Young served as the Associate Director for Social Justice at the College Board where she worked to evaluate, support, and expand the College Board’s work for students of color. Young received her Master’s Degree in Education Policy at The University of Pennsylvania.   After receiving her doctorate in American Literature at NYU in 2009, Jessie Morgan-Owens served as an Assistant Professor of English at Nanyang Technological University of Singapore. In 2012, Morgan-Owens returned to the US, and joined the Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley College. Of the thirty recipients of the Dean's Award at NYU, Morgan-Owens was one of two graduate students chosen to join the research community at the Human

Chief Executive Officer Else Pedersen has worked for Bridge House / Grace House since 1992. Else is a Licensed Addiction Counselor and holds a Masters of Business Administration. Else became the Chief Executive Officer of Bridge House / Grace House on September 15, 2011. Prior to that date, she was the Executive Director of Bridge House since 2004. Else has extensive knowledge of the inner workings of Bridge House in that she has worked in many departments before becoming the Executive Director, in particular the Clinical Department as a direct provider of services. Else is responsible for the overall management of the organization. Her responsibilities include the development and implementation of all clinical programs and supporting businesses; ensuring clinical program and business objectives are met; and directing and supervising staff.

Janet Lewis, MD is a general psychiatrist in private practice in the Finger Lakes region of New York State and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester. With academic work focused on psychodynamic and spiritual issues, she has been published in the Southern Medical Journal, Depression and Stress, The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The Journal of Integral Theory and Practice, and The Journal of Unified Psychotherapy and Clinical Science. She is a member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry’s Committee on Climate, a founding member of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance and founding member of the Ithaca Therapists’ Climate Group, a study /support /supervision group for therapists around issues related to climate.

Dr. Cabán-Alemán is a board-certified community psychiatrist and professor in the college of medicine of Florida International University (FIU) of Miami, FL. She is the medical director for behavioral health of Student Health Services at FIU and board member of CrearConSalud, Inc., a non-profit addressing mental health education in Puerto Rico. She is a member of the American Association of Community Psychiatrists, the Climate Psychiatry Alliance and the American Psychiatric Association. She serves as APA Representative to Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health andcouncilor of the APA Hispanic Caucus. She participated in the DSM-5 Task Force as an advisor for the Sleep-Wake Disorders Workgroup. She is a graduate of the public psychiatry fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. Area(s) of Interest: targeting systemic and social determinants of mental health, systems-based practices, cultural humility, population-based collaborative care, advocacy for underserved psychiatric patie

Dr. Maestri is a board certified psychiatric clinical pharmacy specialist (BCPP) serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy.  As part of his role, he attends daily rounds in the UMC Behavioral Health Units, working in collaboration with the LSUHSC psychiatry team to provide optimized care to patients with psychotic, mood, and substance use disorders.  He also provides both experiential and didactic learning opportunities to Xavier Pharmacy students in psychopharmacology, substance use, and ethical principles in pharmacy.  His current research interests include improved medication adherence with long-acting injectable antipsychotics, health disparities in antipsychotic prescribing patterns, and the relationship between opioid use and PTSD.

Neuropsychoanalysis is the latest and most exciting revolution in psychoanalysis where the classical psychoanalytic constructs of theory of mind, subconscious, transference and other, are finding their neural correlates. Join us for the interesting show with Dr. W. Scott Griffies M.D., DFAPA. Dr. Griffies is currently an Associate Professor of Psychiatry with Duke Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Medical Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine service at Duke Raleigh Hospital. He is boarded in General Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and is certified in psychoanalysis from the New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute. He recently relocated to Duke from New Orleans where he was faculty at LSU Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship for over 15 years. His main academic and clinical interest has been in the treatment and understanding of psychosomatic patients. While at LSU, he won numerous teaching awards and worked and directed services predominantly focused on psychiatric aspects

Stuart Gitlow, M.D., MPH, MBA, DFAPA, Dr. Gitlow, Past President of the ASAM Board of Directors, is the Executive Director of the Annenberg Physician Training Program in Addictive Disease, which he started in 2005 to ensure medical student access to training that stimulates them to develop and maintain interest in working with patients with addiction. He served as Chair of the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health and serves as ASAM’s delegate to the AMA. Board certified in general, addiction, and forensic psychiatry, Dr. Gitlow has an active private practice.Graduate of MIT and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Gitlow’s psychiatric and public health training took place in Pittsburgh, following which he went to Harvard for his forensic fellowship. Dr. Gitlow formerly produced both Health Channel and ABC programming for America Online. On this show, Dr. Gitlow explains important topics related to addiction, risks, solutions, the opioid crises, medical marijuana, and what may be coming in addiction medic

Dr. Kathy Farah is a Integrative Family  Physican with a primary practice in Western Wisconsin for over 25 years. She believes in empowering patients to improve their health by optimizing their nutrition, exercise and relationships . Dr Farah provides Integrative Consults at Children's Hospital and Clinics in Minneapolis MN. She is a Senior Faculty for the Center for Mind Body Medicine for US and global programs. In the last 6 years,  she has been part of the initiative to share Mind Body skills with Native American communities in Minnesota and South Dakota. The most recent program has been at the Little Wound School on Pine Ridge Reservation in response to the suicide epidemic. Teachers counselors and students from 7 Tribal Schools attended the training and are leading Mind Body groups that also incorporate indigenous wisdom. Donna LaChapelle is an Indian women. She is very proud to belong to a Nation of people who practice and live with a Cultural life way. Her love for her people brought her to the Center

In Drug Dealer M.D., Dr. Lembke masterfully uncovers the unseen forces driving the opioid addiction epidemic in the US.  Dr. Lembke received her undergraduate degree in Humanities from Yale University and her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. She completed a residency in Psychiatry, and a fellowship in mood disorders, both at Stanford, and is currently Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and commentaries, and is author of the book: Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop (Johns Hopkins University Press, November 2016).

Veronique Robins-Brown, M.D., is a psychiatrist in private practice, integrating yoga, mindfulness, nutrition, and psychotherapy into her work with patients. Dr. Robins-Brown is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Tulane, where she facilitates two courses for residents: Integrative Psychiatry and Personal Wellness. Dr. Robins-Brown has deep interest in mindfulness, natural healing techniques, and integrative medicine. She has always been driven by her desire to heal people—and to do so as naturally as possible—constantly exploring new ways to help people heal themselves. During residency Dr. Robins-Brown became a Registered Yoga Teacher and taught yoga to hundreds of psychiatric patients on inpatient units and at the Veteran’s Administration’s Intensive Outpatient program for Substance Abuse in New Orleans. After finishing her psychiatry residency at Tulane University, Dr. Robins-Brown embarked upon a journey across much of the United States and parts of India searching for insight

Psychosomatic conditions include fibromyalgia and other chronic functional pain conditions. These are traditionally hard to treat. In this show, neuropsychoanalysis offers a fresh, effective, and interesting approach to address mind and body.    W. Scott Griffies M.D., DFAPA, is currently an Associate Professor of Psychiatry with Duke Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Medical Director of the Psychosomatic Medicine service at Duke Raleigh Hospital. He is boarded in General Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and is certified in psychoanalysis from the New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute. He recently relocated to Duke from New Orleans where he was faculty at LSU Department of Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine Fellowship for over 15 years. His main academic and clinical interest has been in the treatment and understanding of psychosomatic patients. While at LSU, he won numerous teaching awards and worked and directed services predominantly focused on psychiatric aspects of medical and surgical

Bastion, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is an intentionally designed neighborhood in New Orleans for returning warriors and families with lifelong rehabilitative needs. Through our powerful community model that empowers neighbors as volunteers in a warrior’s care plan, Bastion sustains a thriving recovery from the wounds and casualties of war. Dylan Tête is the Executive Director and founder of Bastion Community of Resilience. He earned a Bachelors of Science in Economics and Systems Engineering at West Point, as well as an MPH at the LSU School of Public Health. During a combat tour in Iraq as second-in- command of an Infantry company, Dylan established multiple recovery projects in collaboration with the Department of State. He moved to New Orleans in 2005 where he managed the construction of several FEMA housing facilities after Hurricane Katrina. Before his most recent position as a civil servant working alongside the New Orleans Deputy Mayor of Public Safety, Dylan was hired by Military.com to assis