Humanizing Mental Health

In this episode Trent and Jeremy discuss chronic pain. The book referenced in the episode is "The Way Out" by Alan Gordon and Alon Ziv The psychology of pain is a complex and multifaceted field that seeks to understand the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of pain perception and experience. Pain Perception: Pain perception is the initial stage in the psychology of pain. It involves the...

In this episode Trent and Jeremy are joined by Hailey and Brian Alcorn. They own and operate Medicine Hat Music Lessons. Music has a profound impact on mental wellness, as it can influence our emotions, thoughts, and overall well-being. Numerous studies have explored the therapeutic benefits of music, demonstrating its ability to alleviate stress, reduce anxiety and depression symptoms, enhance mo...

We all have a variety of emotions that we experience. Our society has moved in a direction in which the only acceptable emotions are the so-called positive ones. This is detrimental to our mental health. In this episode Trent and Jeremy discuss why we need to be able to accept and feel all of our feelings.

Have you ever wondered why therapy works for some people sometimes? Other people seem to not benefit. Yet the same person that did not benefit from therapy at another time, even with the same therapist, has dynamic life altering effects. In this episode we explore the idea of motivation as it relates to mental health and to life.

We are joined again today by Jolene Broussard.  Many babies are born in less than ideal circumstances that require life saving medical interventions. These situations often require immediate and sometimes long term interventions that interrupt attachment processes and result in trauma that influences how the child develops. We discuss both the difficulties that are prevalent and the ways we can wo...

In this episode Trent and Jeremy discuss the process of therapy and a common theme that has been happening lately. As therapist we want people to experience transformational change and we reflect on therapy from a therapist perspective and how we might help people moving from "just talking about their problems"

In this episode we are joined by Joeleene Brassard fellow Masters level Social Worker. She provides therapeutic intervention for children who have complex medical needs and their families. Joeleene has seen first hand with her own child, who has an extremally rare medical condition, the difficulty and trauma that happens during medical care. We do not intend to blame or shame the medical system or...

In this episode Trent educates us on a particular methodology of therapy know as internal family systems. According to the IFS institute IFS is a transformative tool that conceives every human being as a system of protective and wounded inner parts lead by a core Self. We believe the mind is naturally multiple and that is a good thing. Just like members of a family, inner parts are forced from the...

We are joined by Courtney Materi. We discuss what it means to heal and about our our journeys towards mental health and wellness. Courtney is in the final practicum of her Master of Arts in Counselling psychology , and has an undergraduate double major degree in Psychology and Philosophy (BASc). Courtney offers experience ranging from working with children with behavioural issues and as an educati...

We are joined today by one of the current Masters level practicum students Michelle Ksenych. Michelle has been practicing for the last 7 years with a bachelor's degree in social work and is currently working on a master's degree in counselling psychology. Today we talk about the spectrum of care that is available in mental health and help people to navigate or negotiate what is the right kind of h...

Jenelle joins us for a conversation about health and healing from an indigenous perspective. Here is an introduction to Jenelle: câk nit ishinihkâson (my name is), Jenelle McArthur. Ahcâhk (spirit name), Chasing Bear. I am from Ocean Man First Nation, Treaty 4 Territory. I am Dakota and Nakota (Sioux, Assiniboine, and Plains Cree). I also have Scottish ancestry, which is where my last name, McArth...

Trent and Jeremy are joined by Lisa Mitchell Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Registered Acupuncturist. This episode introduces Dr. Lisa Mitchell of Points Acupuncture and Herbs at Psynergy! Lisa is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a Registered Acupuncturist. She received her accreditation from The Canadian Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Since graduating, she ha...

In this episode Trent and Jeremy talk about what ending therapy looks like. There are many reasons why therapy ends as there are a variety of variables such as insurance companies, EAP, and other stakeholders. In addition, therapists have large caseloads and their goal is to have their clients resolve their concerns and not need to see them. Sometimes the ending is the therapist's idea and sometim...

Everybody’s talking about post traumatic stress. While traumas in our life cause harm, they also can facilitate growth. In this episode we are joined by Jeremy‘s cousin, Cody Bevans, who sustained a serious injury that was life-threatening, and most people would not have survived. Please join us as he discusses both the impact of that injury in his life and also the growth that occurred for him th...

This episode is about healing trauma and consolidating memories so that they can be put away and the effects of the trauma can be released. In this episode Jeremy describes recent Insight that has unlocked the dissociative memories associated with events that happened in a trauma experience from his childhood. If you have not listened to the “humans behind the mic part one” then you might want to...

Jeremy and Trent discuss the importance of integrating your therapeutic gains through homework. According to Psychology Today: Homework is an important component of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and other evidence-based treatments for psychological symptoms. Developed collaboratively during therapy sessions, homework assignments may be used by clients to rehearse new skills, practice coping st...

Jeremy laments the toxic effects of a world that is increasing in the means and modalities of communication technology. Do you find yourself increasingly frustrated, anxious and maybe even resentful of the number of things you have to keep track of? From multiple email addresses to the myriad of other methods of communication complicating your social integrations. At some point in time these tools...

There's a never expanding Library of self-help books out there. From specific workbooks on dialectical behavior therapy, on how to work through depression or anxiety, to books that are written to educate and inform about mental illness, mental wellness, boundaries, relationships family of origin issues, and the list goes on and on. In this episode we speak about the merits of self-help and bibliot...

In this episode we are joined by Derrick Lillico a colleague that we work with out of the Psynergy Centre.   Derrick’s passion for helping people has always been a part of who he is and we are grateful to have him at Psynergy Centre. Having lived experience growing up with a stutter, undiagnosed mental health and addiction struggles, Derrick brings a wealth of lived experience, knowledge and wisdo...

All health practitioners have an ethical requirement to gain consent when providing health care. Mental health care has some unique dynamics in the process of informed consent. Trent and Jeremy discuss what it means to truly have "informed" consent in mental health care. 

We are joined once more by Leah Fischer who is a psychologist that Trent and Jeremy practice with at Psynergy Centre in Medicine Hat Alberta Canada. Leah has years of experience of working with people from a developmental attachment based perspective. She is certified in providing perinatal therapy. She brings this practice wisdom to our conversation as we discuss the foundations of human mental h...

We are joined once again by Dakota Szola to discuss an area of specialization she has. Dakota has a history of working in the body building arena prior to her work in mental health and she brings an interesting perspective to ideas of how we relate to our body's, how we relate to our feelings, how we relate to our food and the interplay between these variables. 

This is a follow-up episode to our Psynergy Series episode with Annie Anderson. In this episode Jeremy further explores a very specific methodology that Annie practices. We further discuss some of the limits of the western medical model and some of the possibilities that are available  for healing when looking outside of that narrow window. Including possibilities for greater mental health, emotio...

We are joined once again by our colleague Shirley Jones. We elaborate on our discussion we had in her Psynergy Series introduction. We Speak more fully about her method of healing practice and how it expands upon the mainstream views of western medicine practice. https://psynergycentre.ca https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/therapists/trenton-akers-medicine-hat-ab/781175 https://www.psychologytoday...

Understanding Therapy  This is a new series that will be interspersed throughout our coming episodes.  We begin the series with a foundational question: Why Does Therapy work? Trent and Jeremy have seen many people heal and when they heal there is a reason why. Your Mental Health is not predicted by biology. Your mental health is a flexible experience that you have and can be healed and potentiall...