The Care We Need

Tenay Benes sits down with Amelia K. Wullenschneider, financial professional and living benefits advocate at Basel Financial Group, to hear her decades-long healing journey rooted in adult child of alcoholic syndrome. Amelia's chronic, medically unexplained symptoms — excruciating UTI pain, gut dysfunction, and anxiety — began in childhood and were repeatedly dismissed by specialists who said noth...

Dr. Don Railsback, optometrist and CEO of Vision Care Direct, joins Brett Benes to expose how vision benefit middlemen are eroding the doctor-patient relationships that determine whether care actually works. He reveals why the comprehensive eye exam is one of the highest-return medical procedures available — capable of detecting cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and pre-cancerous tumors before any...

In this episode, Brett Benes sits down with Dr. Anil Bajnath — Founding President of the American Board of Precision Medicine and CEO of the Institute for Human Optimization — to expose the growing gap between what modern diagnostic science can do and what the current insurance system allows. Dr. Bajnath breaks down why standard labs are missing the root causes of complex illness, including enviro...

Breathwork in Bed: Tim discusses the power of breathwork and its ability to override chemical responses in the body, leading to relaxation and connection with oneself and others. He also emphasizes the importance of restoring power to plug back into the body and the wondrousness of how we've been made. Takeaways Breathwork as a chemical override Restoring power to plug back into the body Tim's pro...

Former Australian Special Forces Commando Tim Thomas learned to weaponize sleep in Afghanistan — and spent years afterward losing his own battle with pills, alcohol, and burnout before breathwork changed everything. Now the founder of Breathwork in Bed works with veterans, complex illness patients, and health professionals to help regulate the nervous system and improve sleep through simple, repea...

Dr. Demetria Bolden, health systems researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, breaks down why U.S. healthcare is losing public trust — and why it's not the fault of clinicians or patients. From cardiovascular disparities to the 8-minute visit, she traces how historically inherited systems create outcomes nobody intended, and what it actually takes to rebuild trust from the...

Most health orgs fire the wrong people when change stalls. The real problem stays. The good people leave. The change fails — and nobody knows why. Tenay Benes breaks down the Pyramid of Resistance, a change management framework she developed while serving in Baghdad and has since applied to health, wellness, and human services organizations. Not all resistance is the same. Treating it like it is w...

What if aging isn't inevitable — it's just underfunded? Dr. Bill Andrews has spent over 40 years finding the biological mechanism behind aging and developing a path to reverse it. In this episode, he breaks down the science of telomeres — the cellular "ride tickets" that control how many times our cells can divide — and explains why nearly every major disease, from cancer and heart disease to AIDS...

What if your client’s environment is quietly undoing your care plan? In this episode, Christopher Zdenek reframes ergonomics as a clinical lever—not just comfort. He shows how physical environments shape physiology, behavior, and recovery, especially in complex illness. This conversation is for health, wellness, and human services professionals who see limited progress despite strong interventions...

Jim and Jacquie Vegh, from Family Life Blended, discuss the complexities of making blended families work. They explore themes such as grief, loss, and practical strategies for building cohesive family units, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing marriage and effective co-parenting. The conversation also touches on the gradual process of relationship-building and the impact on children, while...

In this episode, Sarah Lascano introduces quantum biofield therapy as a transformative approach for health and wellness professionals, offering a way to address root causes of chronic health issues that traditional medicine often overlooks. By tapping into the body's biofield, practitioners can enhance healing outcomes, reduce treatment timelines, and provide holistic care that integrates science...

This episode breaks down why complex chronic cases often stall—and what actually helps them move forward. Erin Kleopa shares her 18-year path through chronic pain and food sensitivities, including failed medication approaches and limited results from conventional care. What changed wasn’t a single intervention, but a shift in approach: addressing diet, nervous system patterns, and deeper drivers o...

This episode overviews Benes Companies’ 7 stages of successful complex illness treatment , a framework designed to help health, wellness, and human services professionals make clearer, more strategic care decisions. By mapping where a client is—from crisis stabilization to self-care—teams can better coordinate across disciplines, prioritize the right interventions, and avoid unnecessary complexity...

Health systems and information science expert Tenay Benes covers the implementation of new intake surveys for a more holistic treatment picture, building collaboration teams, empowering clients for action, an example of empowering client journey, prioritizing recommendations for complex illness, and graduating clients to self-care. It emphasizes the importance of information overload, identifying...

For the health, wellness, and human services professionals and organizations tired of losing their top talent, C-Suite Executive Coach Jackie Roby reveals how health and wellness leaders can improve staff retention, and protect their budget while advancing their mission. She shares how mindset, therapy, and personal development work together to build resilient leaders, foster engagement, and stren...

This episode is for the health, wellness, or human services professional who is tired of wasting time processing data that doesn't help them treat complex illness effectively. Complex illness healing and systems expert Tenay Benes emphasizes the importance of context questions for a holistic assessment of a new client. Using stories from her background in military intelligence, Tenay outlines how...

The Keynote reel previews Tenay Benes's Keynote speech where she outlines three of the primary lessons she learned to overcome complex Illness when no one thought she could. This keynote highlights the power to choose differently for those who have been told they have no hope. It explores the transformative vision of war and the unacceptable truth about the impact of complex illnesses on individua...

Systems expert and complex illness healing veteran Tenay Benes explores the importance of small wins in the context of treating complex illnesses, emphasizing the need to track progress and celebrate even the smallest victories. It delves into building capability matrices, the upward spiral of progress, setting low bar goals, client compliance, and the significance of recognizing and celebrating s...

Systems expert Tenay Benes explains how, to truly improve complex illness outcomes, organizations must shift from traditional metrics like profitability and symptom prevalence to a more holistic approach that combines both quantitative and qualitative data. By asking open-ended questions and understanding the underlying reasons behind patient behaviors, professionals can identify opportunities for...

Tenay Benes, a systems strategist with a background in military intelligence, biological science, and human capital consulting, explores why patients often quit complex illness treatment—and how organizations can change that. Drawing on her own experience navigating complex illness, Tenay shows how redefining success, tracking meaningful outcomes, and applying structured systems thinking can trans...

Tenay Benes shares insights on transforming healthcare through systems thinking. By viewing health challenges as interconnected systems, professionals can create comprehensive solutions that address medical, social, and environmental factors. Tenay emphasizes the importance of integrated healthcare, strategic decision-making, and cultural change to support long-term healing. His vision includes "h...

In this episode, transplant survivor Ty Gipson shares how hope, mindset, and collaboration played a crucial role in his surgical recovery and long‑term health journey. For health, wellness, and human services professionals, his story offers deep insight into how psychological resilience intersects with clinical outcomes, especially for patients with complex and chronic conditions. Topics: The role...

Donna Riccardo shares her 40-year journey navigating autoimmune disease and complex health challenges. For health, wellness, and human services professionals, her story provides a rare inside look at what patients experience when conventional approaches fail. In this conversation, we explore: Why patient engagement and life participation matter in healing The emotional and behavioral barriers pati...

Tenay Benes draws on her background in U.S. Army intelligence to explain how systems thinking can help healthcare, wellness, and human services professionals address the growing crisis of chronic illness. In this episode we explore: Why complex illness is fundamentally a systems problem How intelligence frameworks improve decision-making in care coordination Ways organizations can use existing res...

Physician Dr. Rishan Shah shares strategies for helping health, wellness, and human services professionals escape the burnout trap created by administrative overload. In this conversation: How automation and AI can reduce documentation burden Why systemizing your practice improves both provider well-being and patient outcomes The role of offshore staffing and SOPs in modern practices If your team...