Anxiety Book Club

Buckle your seatbelts! In this incredible interview with Dr. Richard Schwartz, creator of the now popular therapeutic method Internal Family Systems (IFS), we talk about the world he has discovered inside his and his patients' minds, whether to understand these descriptions as useful metaphors for deep work or as bona fide depictions of the characters that live in our minds! To boot, Dr. Schwartz...

People talk a lot about compassion these days. But how do you cultivate it? And why would you want to? On this episode, I sit down with Sara Owens Woodard, PhD, psychologist, consultant and teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT). CCT is a Stanford developed, 8 week course on how to cultivate more compassionate in your own life -- toward yourself, your loved ones, and even the guy on the...

Please enjoy my conversation with best selling author and memoirist Christie Tate as we discuss her book, Group: How One Therapist and Circle of Strangers Saved My Life. We discuss shame, secrecy, therapy, sex, and more. Books and other links from our conversation: Christie's Book Her reccomendations:  Chronology of Water Heavy Love and Trouble Christie's Instagram

In Episode 28, me and Dr. Z (aka Patricia Zurita Ona) discuss all things anxiety, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the limits of positive psychology, how to get unstuck with a nifty grounding exercise, and her own origins and relationship to anxious thoughts. Also, we recorded a video ! https://contextualscience.org/ https://www.thisisdoctorz.com/ https://twitter.com/DrZ_behavior...

In Episode 27 of the Anxiety Book Club, we chat once again with the very wise, and very fun to talk to -- Eowyn Ahlstrom -- mindfulness instructor and author of a recently published book of poetry, Mindscapes: Practice Poems. We discuss her poetry, the histrionics of the mind, the mental peace that can be cultivated through dedicated practice, the paradoxes encountered while sharing our lives with...

In episode 25, I talk with Adam Chekroud about the mental health tech company he co-founded in 2016, Spring Health. They offer behavioral health treatment to clients through their employers. Spring Health is harnessing the power of data science and statistics to give mental health providers more information about how to treat incoming clients to maximize a successful outcome. We talk about the sta...

Is managing our anxiety all about meditating on a cushion? Exercising? Sleeping well? Having our needs met? Hanging out with loved ones? Being supported by our community? Living a life of purpose and meaning? According to this month's author, Hala Khouri, it involves bits and pieces of all those things. Listen here for a discussion about the many elements that can help us heal from anxiety and emo...

In Episode 23, we explore the practice of non violent communication -- a way of speaking that can help foster understanding, reduce confusion and help us get our needs met. Plus, mindfulness. Our guest, Oren Jay Sofer, is a veteran meditator and instructor, author and creator of mindfulness content for popular apps such as 10% Happier.   https://www.orenjaysofer.com/ https://www.amazon.com/Say-Wha...

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Dennis Tirch, a compassion focused clinical therapist and all around mensch, who has managed to bring an enormous amount of kindness and caring attention to the world of anxiety treatment and exposure and response prevention. Through years of clinical practice, he manages to marry eastern and western psychology to treat patients in a way that focuses on helping th...

Welcome to Episode 21! In this episode, we explore three different acronyms and practices, DARE, DEAF, and RAIN, which can really help upset minds during a difficult experience. Warning: this is a very practical episode! RAIN PDF RAIN meditations and resources DARE Book Sally Winston's book, includes DEAF

In this episode, my guest Dr. John Shook helps us get acquainted with one of the leading figures in psychology and philosophy in the 20th century, William James. We talk about emotions, the brain and pragmatism.  You can find Dr. Shook on Youtube by searching for "John Shook Humanism" or contact him via email at jshook@pragmatism.org . The book can be found on Amazon, here .

  Apparently, compassion and self-compassion are important parts of a mindful way of living. It's not just your attention that counts, but the quality of that attention. Is your focus like a deadly sniper? Or a loving teddy bear? Some strange combination of both?   In this episode, Shauna Shapiro, PhD helps us understand how the two are connected, and how she was able to cultivate both in her own...

Do you have a sticky mind? Like the floor of a movie theatre? Like your sourdough ball before it has time to rise? In this episode of the Anxiety Book Club, we have a conversation with Dr. Sally Winston, where we dive deeply into issues of reassurance seeking and compulsive checking, both difficult symptoms of an anxious or obsessive mind. Specifically, we talk about the treatment of OCD -- specif...

Are our feelings true? Are they reliable? Does honoring them lead us to pleasure or pain? Or is it more complicated than that? In this episode of the Anxiety Book Club, I am joined by fan of the podcast and longtime friend Nigel Tu, to discuss Robert Wright's incredible Why Buddhism is True, a candid and scientifically compelling account of the psychological mechanisms and benefits of following th...

Are your standards “high beyond reach or reason”? Well, you may be suffering from perfectionism. In some areas of my life, I have paid an enormous cost because of my inability to see what is plainly good enough. I hope that in today’s conversation with Dr. Martin Antony about his book, When Perfect Isn’t Good Enough , you will find some entertainment and perhaps also something helpful if you strug...

Ever wondered what makes us uniquely human, and why it sucks so much? Dr. Mark Leary, professor emeritus of psychology from Duke University, explains the evolutionary history of human being's ability to worry, regret and generally understand themselves in the third person. The Book Mark at Duke Mark's Blog at Psychology Today Character & Context Magazine

"Fat", "Overweight", "Living in a larger body". What are these terms and what do they have to do with your health? This conversation with Rebecca Hill, PsyD grad student at Nova Southeastern, follows on from last month's episode with Christy Harrison. We discuss her soon to be published research manual (fingers crossed) about how medical professionals should engage people at all weights and sizes....

Listen to us discuss diets and why they are bad.  The book: https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Diet-Reclaim-Well-Being-Happiness-Intuitive/dp/0316420352 Christy's website: https://christyharrison.com/

Join me in a conversation with Dr. Susan Campbell, psychologist, relationship coach and author of this month’s books — Getting Real and Five Minute Relationship Repair . We talk about how to be authentic in our relation to ourselves and others through thoughtful, heartfelt speech that prioritizes our needs and helps us successfully navigate distressing situations with our friends, family and signi...

Join me and Dr. Jud as we explore the science behind mindfulness and how we can leverage it to intervene in the carrying out of bad habits in our own lives, learning from his research in treating smoking, cocaine use, anxiety and other addictions. Find out more about Dr. Jud at his website  or the book, The Craving Mind .

Listen to me talk about The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris, a book about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The book:  https://amzn.to/3dquaHq . 

A conversation on mindfulness, meditation and much more with Eowyn Ahlstrom, M.Ed.,  Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor and assistant director for community and online programs at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University. Learn about the basics, and some of the nitty gritty, too!   Eowyn's Website Mindfulness at Brown University

Episode 8 - A conversation on insomnia with Colleen Ehrnstrom, PhD. Break free from the struggle of insomnia with a CBT/ACT therapist with a terrific workbook on the subject, End the Insomnia Struggle.   The book Colleen's Practice Other links mentioned: Colleen Carney , Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia

Listen to my chat with Rebecca Hill, a clinical psychology graduate student at Nova Southeastern University. Books: Upwards  Upside ,  Learned Optimism , Flourish Instagram: RachelTuchman , evelyntribole

Learn essential skills for self compassion, introspection, and nurturing! Shed the shame of overeating and learn to connect with yourself. Julie Simon helps us understand the disconnect that many emotional eaters feel, and how to provide comfort for ourselves without food. When Food is Comfort The Emotional Eater's Repair Manual Julie's website