It's Not Just In Your Head

Public school teacher, poet and host of the CDerickVarnVlog talks to Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad and Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi regarding public education in the USA. Part 2 of this conversation is a patron only episode. Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to episodes, our discord server, and monthly reading/discussion groups. References: CDerickVarnVlo...

TESA Collective (Toolbox for Education and Social Action) is a worker-owned co-op that designs games and tools for social justice organizations. TESA consciously engages in ethical, social change practices that intend to create healthier communities. TESA’s  games have been played in over 30 countries by more than 200,000 people. Titles include STRIKE!, Space Cats Fight Fascism, Rise Up: The...

Returning guest David Cobb chats with Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad and Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi about Dishgamu Humboldt, a first-of-its kind community land trust for the Wiyot tribe. References: https://www.shareable.net/how-to-give-the-land-back/ Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain e...

Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad and Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi discuss the provisional ruling that could lead to abortion being outlawed in more than half of US states, overturning a 1973 landmark decision which made abortion legal. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to epis...

Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad talks with Emily Guendelsberger, author of 'On the Clock'. "Across three jobs, and in three different parts of the country, Guendelsberger directly took part in the revolution changing the U.S.  workplace. Offering an up-close portrait of America's actual essential  workers, On the Clock examines the broken social safety net as  well as an economy that...

The Troubled Teen Industry (TTI) is big business in the USA but how do they operate? Do they work? Co-host Ikoi offers a broad overview and then talks with EJ about their first hand experiences and the impact it has had on their life & mental health. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain ea...

"Despite the doom and gloom of financial crises, global terrorism, climate collapse, and the rise of the far-right, a number of leading intellectuals (Steven Pinker, Hans Rosling, Johan Norberg, and Matt Ridley, among others) have been arguing in recent years that the world is getting better and better. Extreme poverty is nearly eradicated, violence is at historic lows, and only mass pessimis...

What's the difference between Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy? How does Hypnotherapy work, if at all? Psychotherapist & Hypnotherapist Harriet Fraad answers listeners questions alongside Ikoi, a Substance Abuse Councillor. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to episodes, our d...

We chat to returning guest Alfie Bown about his new book 'Dream Lovers: The Gamification of Relationships'. We discuss and uncover how Technology, Culture and Politics shapes our wants, needs and desires in ways that are often unexamined. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access &nbsp...

Psychotherapist James Barnes, author of the opinion piece 'Current Psychedelic Therapies Use Flawed Models of the Mind' joins Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad and Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi to discuss how Relational Therapy could be a better fit for Psychedelic Assisted Therapy. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon....

Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad presents various problems with the concept of disease encapsulated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.  However Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi offers a series of  rebuttals and alternative view points to Harriet's criticisms. It’s an  interesting discussion from two different perspectives and if you have  any thoughts about this episode feel free to email u...

A qualified social worker and dating & relationships educator, lalalaletmeexplain has spent her career working in the public and voluntary sector helping people to work through, or leave, f**ked up relationships, to change negative patterns of behaviour, and to develop self-love. She left her 15 year career in the public sector in 2018 to bring her professional knowledge to social media and ha...

Ruthless competition, sexual harassment, crushing student debt, parental pressure, loneliness & working class exclusion ... the pursuit of knowledge meets the reality of a Neo-liberal education in the 21st century. We spoke to four different people about their experiences in the academic world, their expectations and the problems they faced. Despite the opening paragraph above, it's not all ba...

Substance abuse councilor Ikoi talks to Carl Erik Fisher, addiction psychiatrist and author of 'The Urge: Our history of addiction'. Carl draws on his own experience as a clinician, researcher, and alcoholic in recovery to trace the history of addiction that’s troubled us for centuries. His book shows us how addiction has come to be deeply misunderstood and stigmatized in our times, despit...

Cynthia Cruz, author of 'The Melancholia of Class: A Manifesto for the Working Class' joins Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad and Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi to discuss the 'invisibility' of class, the cost of assimilation into the middle class, eating disorders, substance abuse and many other issues. 'To be working-class in a middle-class world is to be a ghost. Excluded, marg...

Psychotherapist Harriet Fraad and Substance Abuse Councillor Ikoi have a broad ranging discussion with Tyson Yunkaporta, author of 'Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World'. “Tyson Yunkaporta belongs to the Apalech Clan from Western Cape York and is a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledges at Deakin University. He has worked extensively with Aboriginal languages and in Indi...

We welcome back Susan to discuss her life and work, specifically with Justice For Workers: 'The movement for decent work is growing. Workers  in unstable, low-wage and precarious jobs are demanding justice. The  pandemic is demonstrating what we already know - workers need decent  wages, decent hours, paid sick days, equal pay, and labour laws that  protect us all. While this g...

We talk to Tracey Higgins about Paranoid Schizophrenia and her book 'The Girl on the Bridge: A Memoir', which chronicles her survival of severe childhood abuse and achieving a complete recovery without medication. References: The Girl on the Bridge: A Memoir: https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Bridge-Memoir-Tracey-Higgins-ebook/dp/B09CKYP4FW Tracey's website, for educational purposes only: https://www.fu...

Harriet and Ikoi take a look at the social conditions of the USA with a diagnostic angle. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to episodes, our discord server, and monthly reading/discussion groups. References: A short (and entertaining) video by '1Dime' about Modern Monetar...

We chat with Jon Bailes author of  'Ideology and the Virtual City', a book exploring modern society and the critical value of popular culture. He describes how ‘neoliberal’ ideology in today’s societies dominates our economic, political and cultural ideals, with an entertaining exploration of narratives, characters and play structures in some of today’s most interesting videogames. We discuss...

Harriet examines how and why we might want to use Marxist analysis in our personal lives. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to episodes, our discord server, and monthly reading/discussion groups. References: Class struggle on the home front: https://www.goodreads.com/book...

We talk with physician and (now retired) trauma-informed psychotherapist Susan Rosenthal about how the label of 'mental illness' is unique to Capitalism and it's pathological need to individualize 'disorders'. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to episodes, our discord ser...

A broad ranging discussion covering care worker conditions, dying for your boss, profit in healthcare, abusive healthcare professionals, mental health stigmatization, male suicide, why it can suck to be a boy, borderline personality disorder and medication issues surrounding chronic pain. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon....

Harriet takes a dive into the different ideas and history surrounding Identity Politics. Email us with feedback, questions, suggestions at itsnotjustinyourhead@gmail.com . Become a patron at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to gain early access  to episodes, our discord server, and monthly reading/discussion groups. Links: Mistaken Identity - Race and Class in the Age of Trump by Asad Haider:...

We speak to Dr Alfie Bown about the role videogames play in our mental health and our lives. Are they a modern day opiate for the masses or are they something more? Alfie is Lecturer in Digital Media Culture and Technology at Royal Holloway in London. Alfie also writes journalism for places such as The Guardian, The Paris Review, The Independent, New Statesman and Newsweek. Email us with feedback,...