SuperPsyched with Dr. Adam Dorsay

Sex and teens. The topic can be super uncomfortable, overwhelming, and even scary to both parents and adolescents. If you’re a parent or a guardian of a teen, this episode is a must. So much has changed on the sexual landscape. There’s porn, hookup culture, social media, and so many other influencing factors. How do you talk to your adolescent to keep them safe and making good decisions? What do t...

It takes a lot to be a leader. It takes more to be a great leader. And it takes an incredible commitment to be an outstanding leader. What is that thing that can make the difference? While there are many qualities that contribute to being a great leader, possibly the most salient is being incredibly aware or conscious. And that's where this episode’s guest comes in. Carter Phipps wrote a book call...

I love stories that blow my mind and this interview contains a few: imagine going to Stanford, playing football there for four years and after graduation, getting recruited to the San Francisco 49ers and, on the same year, entering medical school at Stanford! Wait, what? Starting with the 49ers and entering medical school at the same time? How is that possible? My guest, Dr. Milt McColl, played fo...

When you think of great leadership, what qualities come to mind? Three qualities are consistently at the top of my list: integrity, the ability to think flexibly, and the desire to serve others to the best of one’s ability. My guest on this episode is the embodiment of all three. Santa Clara County District Attorney, Jeff Rosen, is the elected Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the sixth-largest co...

Swimming can be meditative and yet, it can also be quite a lonely sport. As my guest says, when we are underwater, we are in a state of sensory deprivation. We cannot hear much, smell much, feel much, taste much, or see much. Instead, we are left to our thoughts, emotions, and sometimes, our pain. It is a sport in which we are up close and deeply personal with our psyches.  And, whether we swim or...

If you’ve ever gone on a long car trip, you may have seen some cool things. But what’s it like if you do that trip at three miles an hour by foot? My guest on this episode has actually walked from his home in Northern California all the way to Chicago—a full 2,100 miles and, for the step counters, that’s 4.2 million steps!  He has also walked from his home to Mexico and several other extreme...

Imagine you are on your way to a special occasion at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try. It’s a fancy place that required booking months in advance, so you won’t be returning soon. When you arrive and see the menu, there are many items that love to order. Then, the waiter arrives and shares the daily specials. All of them sound incredible! After careful consideration of the spectacular optio...

At some point in our lives—perhaps in science class—most of us have run an experiment. But how many of us have used ourselves as experimental subjects in our own studies? My guest on this episode, New York Times Bestselling author, AJ Jacobs (www.ajjacobs.com), has conducted experiments with himself as the subject numerous times and he writes about them in hilarious and often profound ways. For ex...

Cults…they’re scary, predatory, and life-sucking. Perhaps you know someone who was in a cult. These days, with loneliness at an all-time high, our basic human desire to feel connected and belong can make us vulnerable.  Pair that with the nefarious and novel ways cults can reach out through the Internet, we are more threatened than ever by their presence. Truly, anyone can be a victim of a charism...

Have you ever noticed that even though childhood was a long time ago, on some level, it feels like it was yesterday? In some cases, we recall positive experiences. In others, we remember our hurts and, even worse, our traumas. On this episode, we will be talking about trauma and some ways you can help reduce its harmful effects. Dr. Mark Forman is a psychologist and the author of a book called “Th...

Have you ever wondered what a dog was thinking? I know I have and, amazingly, today's guest has some answers. Dr. Gregory Burns (http://gregoryberns.com/) is a neuroscientist who holds both a doctorate in medicine as well as a Ph. D. in biomedical engineering. He is a professor of psychology at Emory University and has found a way to comfortably place dogs in a functional MRI machine to discover w...

The expert on this episode is the perfect person to explain how and why pets are so good for us. Carol Novello was CEO of Humane Society Silicon Valley and now serves as CEO and founder of an organization called Mutual Rescue (https://mutualrescue.org/). Simply put, Carol is amazing. She earned a Harvard MBA, worked for years in the corporate sector, and then pivoted to devote her life to addressi...

Ok, I’ll admit it—I spent a lot of my youth fantasizing about being a Rockstar.  You know, singing with the car stereo and imagining being on stage...it was my dream.  I’m guessing I wasn’t alone. I imagine you too have probably fantasized about being a rock or pop star at least once in your life. But what’s it actually like to be a Rock star?  What goes into writing major hit songs...

There are lots of misconceptions about forgiveness. What is it and what is it not? Why is forgiveness an important skill and how do we get good at it? And what if we believe we can’t or don’t want to forgive? These, and many other questions, will be fielded by one of the world’s leading experts in the study and the science of forgiveness. Dr. Frederic Luskin (https://learningtoforgive.com/about/)...

Have you ever done something and then afterwards asked yourself, “Why the heck did I do that?” It can be as if we have an angel and a devil on our shoulders giving us good advice and bad. What if we actually thought of ourselves as having several different parts within us rather than just the two? Some of those parts we like, and some we don’t. For those that we don’t, it can be like a nasty game...

What does it take to be a great employee? And if we zoom out, what are practices that companies can use to help employees flourish? These, and other questions are answered by my expert Human Resources guest who is the ideal person to address them. Lissa Minkin is VP of People and Workplace at Tile (https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/about-tile). She has played instrumental roles at several companies...

When you hear the word “hypnosis,” what do you imagine? Perhaps you imagine a well-dressed doctor with a heavy Viennese accent with a pocket watch swinging back and forth. Perhaps you imagine a person on stage entertaining an audience. But what really is hypnosis? And how can it help us lead healthier and more fulfilling lives? These questions and more will be answered by my guest, Dr. Jeffrey Zei...

What does it take to survive and ultimately thrive after horrible trauma? Today’s guest, my friend, Dydine Umunyana, was a young child in 1994 during the Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. She is a woman who has faced and dealt with severe trauma. Yet, she found healthy ways to ultimately return to a place of love, trust, and safety. How did she do that? We will find out. Her book, Embracing S...

Relationships with our significant others are often hard and even scary. What if there was a technology that could change all of that? The good news is that my guests, Dr. Harville Hendrix and Dr. Helen Hunt (https://harvilleandhelen.com/) have created that technology and it’s called “Safe Conversations.” (https://safeconversations.com/) I use this technology to help couples in my practice and I d...

Boundaries—we all have trouble with them at times. And for some of us, we are so unaware of our own role in how people treat us, we may go our entire lives not really living by our own rules or expressing what’s important to us. Here to shed a light on taking back our lives through boundary setting is Nancy Levin (https://nancylevin.com/), a Master Coach and bestselling author of several books inc...

When it comes to sex, how smart are you? Do you know what it takes to create a good sex life? If you would like to become more erotically intelligent, this episode is for you and my guest has the answers. Dr. Alexandra Katehakis (www.alexkatehakis.com) is a certified sex therapist who serves as the Director of the Center for Healthy Sex in Los Angeles. She is the author of Erotic Intelligence and...

First the bad news: grief is inevitable. Now the good news: you can learn skills to grieve well. David Kessler, who has been described as the world’s foremost expert on the topic, is interviewed and he shares some of his tips on how to deal with this part of life. I am confident you will want to listen to this episode and learn from him. In addition to owning www.grief.com, he has received high pr...

Why do we need wisdom in our lives? And how can it help us during times of uncertainty? Dr. Michael Meade can help answer these big questions. He is a renowned author, scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. The New York Times has said he writes “brilliantly” and that “He is a master.” A luminary in the field described his work as, “Magical and profound, unlike anyone else one is likel...

What psychological skills does it take to play at one’s best in the NBA—even contributing to winning five NBA Finals? What leadership skills does that same person need to go on to coach his team to five NBA Finals—winning three of them? What team building skills are needed? Listen in to this compelling conversation with one of the most successful NBA coaches and players of all time, Golden State W...

This is the second part of how storytelling impacts our psyche. Joel ben Izzy the perfect person to share his insights, wisdom, and the travails of his own life that allowed him to write one of the finest books (and one I give to clients regularly), The Beggar King.  You can find Joel and learn about his work here: https://www.storypage.com/ Book Link: https://amzn.to/3Jau5ct This is an affiliate...