Back in Control with David Hanscom, MD

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Agnes Szymczak – an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Pain Reprocessing Therapy Coach, and Restorative Breathing Coach. She explores the crucial steps in the healing journey, emphasizing the need to disassociate pain from the body and nurture joy. She also explains the integrative approach to pain management, emphasizing the role o...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Agnes Szymczak – an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, She recounts her scoliosis surgery at sixteen and her struggle with chronic lower back pain that started in her early thirties, causing severe limitations and debilitating pain. She tried various treatments without success. After her third child, her pain became intense and disabling. She found th...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Matt Bonin – consultant, speaker and author of Light from Darkness. He discusses how getting a new perspective on his trauma was part of his healing. In his therapy, he went from seeing his story as shameful and belittling to it being empowering and a source of pride. He began to heal when he came to believe that he could heal. He le...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Matt Bonin – consultant, speaker and author of Light from Darkness. He relates the story of his struggle with severe depressive episodes accompanied by a number of physical symptoms. At age 29, he developed functional neurological disorder – and experienced periodic semi-catatonic states where he could not move. His healing started after he found an em...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Lee Canter – founder of Canter & Co. and author of My Migraine Breakthrough. He discusses the skills he learned in his work with Dr. David Schechter to break out of the pain and fear cycle. These included: realizing he could control his healing; learning to think about his symptoms in the context of his life; and using tools like med...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Lee Canter – founder of Canter & Co. and author of My Migraine Breakthrough. He shares his personal battle with severe migraines which he first experienced when he was 13. When he retired after running two successful businesses, he felt useless and without purpose.  His became almost bedridden for 7 years by the symptoms of severe migraine. After takin...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Palmer Kippola – best selling author and certified Functional Medicine Health Coach. She discusses the science behind autoimmune conditions and the body's ability to heal itself. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the physiological response to stress and the role it plays in autoimmune conditions. She also discusses the p...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Palmer Kippola – best selling author and certified Functional Medicine Health Coach. She shares her personal journey with multiple sclerosis (MS) and  discusses the complexities of MS, the importance of hope and optimism in healing, and the limitations of current medical treatments. She also explores the relationship between stress, physiology, and hea...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Michael Hodge – mind / body coach specializing in men’s pelvic health. He explains his four-step process of pain reprocessing therapy – realization to understand what is happening and why; reprocessing to remove fear; release to learn to feel and let go of the emotions; reprogramming to align with your authentic self. His process emp...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Michael Hodge – a mind / body coach specializing in men’s pelvic health. He shares his personal journey with pelvic pain and how it led him to become a pelvic health specialist. He discusses the link between pelvic pain and mind-body principles, and how anxiety and body chemistry can affect pelvic pain. He explores the concept of emotional pain versus...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Joe Klemczewski – founder of The Diet Doc and the pioneer of macronutrient-based food intake tracking. Seeing the struggles that people had with dieting, he began re-engineering diets early in his career. The approach he developed is coaching based and experimental.  It became known as flexible dieting. He works with clients to under...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Joe Klemczewski – founder of The Diet Doc and the pioneer of macronutrient-based food intake tracking. He began participating in sports in high school and this eventually led hm to an interest in physical therapy. When he became a high performance weight lifter and body builder, he developed a deep interest in nutrition. His approach emphasizes the imp...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Kirk Schneider, an integrative existential psychotherapist. He explains the principles and process of his integrative existential therapy practice. He begins by asking the client two questions: How are you presently living? And how are you willing to live? The first question allows the client to explore what is going on. The seco...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Kirk Schneider, an integrative existential psychotherapist.  He shares the early experiences he had that later shaped his approach to his psychotherapy practice.  He describes the impact of his older brother’s untimely death that led him to his first visit to a psychoanalyst at the age of 6. Though he managed this early trauma fairly well, he had a...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with world renowned surgeon and best-selling author, Bernie Sigel, MD.  He discusses how patient drawings offer key insights into how the patient feels about their illness and treatment, as well as key events that have shaped their lives. He shares stories that illustrate these insights and how he used them to help patients tap into their...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with world renowned surgeon and best-selling author, Bernie Sigel, MD. He shares stories that illustrate the importance of the doctor-patient relationship. He stresses the key role of understanding the patient’s story – their life situation, challenges, motivations and fears to the healing process. He expresses his belief that listening to the patient and h...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. David Schechter, a pioneer in the practice of Mind Body Medicine. He shares the approach he uses with patients suffering from chronic pain. He outlines his treatment approach which involves a lengthy interview with the patient to get a fuller understanding of their context, followed up by providing them with a customized resource...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. David  Schechter, a physician focused on Family Medicine and Sports Medicine, and a pioneer in the practice of Mind Body Medicine.  He was first exposed to Mind Body Medicine as a patient of Dr. John Sarno and used that experience to fashion his own mind / body approach to treating chronic pain. He explains the work he is doing with teens and how h...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and Oriental Medicine and family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They explain their areas of focus in getting patients beyond “normal limits” to thriving. These include: self-awareness, internal state, connection, work and spirituality. They share their belief that healing can be fostered when we learn to va...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and Oriental Medicine and family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They share their approach to healing that begins with understanding the physical and emotional context of the patient and helping them develop awareness about how this affects their health. Learning to deal with uncomfortable emotions and seeing how feelings are...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussino with psychological anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Dr. Tamara Turner. She explains the cultural context of the Algerian Diwan community’s approach to healing from pain and trauma through trance dancing. She found that one of the most important factors in making this an effective healing tool was the community’s belief that suffering...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with psychological anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Dr. Tamara Turner. She shares the origins of her award-winning research into the role of dance and healing in North African communities. Her initial focus was on a career in classical music. But she developed an interest in other types of music that eventually led her to study the music of West and Nor...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with pain psychologist, neuroscientist and co-founder of Aivo Health, Melissa Farmer. Or eight years, she has worked with world-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Vania Apkarian on how our brains process chronic pain. She shares the important discoveries resulting from that work including how, over time, the brain shifts the processing from sensory centers to the...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with internationally renowned Ayurvedic clinician, Zeeba Khan. She describes how doshas (mind body spirit compositions) can indicate the types of illnesses or disorders you might be susceptible to.  She identifies the 3 doshas – Vata Dosha, Pitta Dosha and Kapha Dosha – and gives examples of what they might signify for health. The first s...

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with internationally renowned Ayurvedic clinician, Zeeba Khan. She shares the important role her family life played in the development of her Ayurvedic practice. Her mother was Persian and her father was Indian, and in both her parents’ cultures, the kitchen was the pharmacy. Her experiences taught her the important of food, sleep, meditation, gratitude and...