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This episode is a companion to my conversation with Chris Burris, creator of Healing Circles. After learning about his approach to bringing Internal Family Systems into group therapy, I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, to experience it for myself.

Over five days, I recorded an audio diary as the experience unfolded — reflecting on what was happening inside me, what was happening within the group, and what I was learning about the power of intentional community. You’ll hear about parts work, group “sculpting,” vulnerability, connection, and the surprising ways a group of strangers can begin to become a healing community.

These are not reflections reconstructed months later. They are my thoughts recorded in the midst of the experience — an attempt to take you with me as I explore a question I’ve become increasingly curious about:

How much of healing happens not just within us, but between us?

Timestamps

0:00 — Why This Audio Diary Exists
2:07 — The Drive To Asheville
3:43 — First Day Norms And Intentions
5:41 — Day Four Fatigue And Doubt
12:22 — Woo Woo Meets Neuroscience
16:35 — My Sculpt And What Changed

Learn more about Chris Burris

Website: www.burriscounseling.com — trainings, workshops, and resources

Book: Creating Healing Circles: Using the Internal Family Systems Model in Facilitating Groups

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Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

Developing Meaning is produced by Sophie Chen, Anya Kleinlein and Dirk Winter and is a production of Consilient Mind LLC. Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz. 

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In this episode, I sit down with Chris Burris — senior lead IFS trainer, trauma therapist, and creator of Healing Circles — after spending five days at his home in Asheville, North Carolina participating in one of his experiential trainings. We explore how Chris brought Internal Family Systems into group therapy and how community can become not simply a source of support, but an active part of the healing process. We dig into intention setting, commitment, group “sculpting,” unburdening, and how an intentional community can help us revisit deeply held beliefs about ourselves and other people.

This interview is followed by an audio diary taking you inside my own Healing Circles experience.

In this episode:

• Chris Burris’s path from family systems work to long-term trauma therapy
• A near-death experience and early experiences that shaped his spiritual curiosity
• Why IFS understands the mind as a system of parts, protectors, and exiles
• Moving from “integration” toward becoming a happier inner family
• What unburdening looks like — and how the body can let go
• How a childhood wound around dyslexia can create a lifelong belief
• What “intentional community” means — and why it matters for healing
• How Healing Circles begin with intentions, commitment, and desired outcomes
• The sacred-item commitment and the importance of staying with the group
• “Sculpting” as a live, experiential map of our internal system
• Reworking the belief that other people are dangerous and unpredictable
• Meaning as fully experiencing life while connecting with other people and nature

Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome: Why Groups Can Heal
05:36 — Introducing Chris Burris & Healing Circles
07:35 — Chris’s Career in Trauma Therapy
15:09 — His Mother’s Illness, Near-Death Experience & Spiritual Curiosity
21:16 — How Different Perceptions Shaped His Path as a Healer
24:49 — The Consultation With Richard Schwartz That Changed His Work
27:56 — IFS: Parts, Protectors & Exiles
36:03 — Dyslexia & Unburdening the “I’m Not Smart” Belief
40:28 — Men’s Circles, Mentors & Intentional Community
44:45 — How Healing Circles Begin: Intentions & Commitment
51:25 — Sacred Objects & Committing to the Group
55:04 — “Sculpting” the Internal System With Other People
59:38 — Healing Relational Trauma: Reworking the Belief That People Are Dangerous
1:03:00 — Meaning & Compassionate Presence
1:09:04 — Chris’s Billboard Advice: Make Time for Nature

Learn more about Chris Burris

Website: www.burriscounseling.com — trainings, workshops, and resources

Book: Creating Healing Circles: Using the Internal Family Systems Model in Facilitating Groups

Subscribe to the Developing Meaning Substack newsletter for updates and behind-the-scenes reflections.

Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

Developing Meaning is produced by Sophie Chen, Anya Kleinlein and Dirk Winter and is a production of Consilient Mind LLC. Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz. 

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This episode is a companion audio diary to my interview with Ted Riskin, recorded while participating in one of his five-day Internal Family Systems (IFS) ketamine-assisted group retreats in Asheville, North Carolina. Over the course of the retreat, I recorded stream-of-consciousness reflections into my iPhone each day as I moved through group process, ketamine journeys, hikes in the mountains, and conversations about healing, anger, meaning, and inner balance.

This episode is more personal and less structured than my usual interviews. Part field journal, part psychological exploration, it captures what it feels like to enter one of these increasingly popular healing environments.

Timestamps

0:00 - Audio Diary Retreat Setup
1:55 - Meeting The Group And The Method
4:19 - Setting Intentions For Inner Balance
5:16 - First Ketamine Journey And Comeback
10:32 - Integration Plus Hikes And Workday
13:14 - Anger Work And Nature Reset
15:14 - Lower Dose Insights And Next Steps

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Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz. Developing Meaning is produced by Consilient Mind LLC.

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In this episode, I sit down with Ted Riskin — social worker, IFS expert, and pioneer of group ketamine retreats — after spending a week at his beautiful home in Asheville, North Carolina participating in one of his experiences. From his unusual path as a computer programmer living in an Ashram to becoming one of the leading voices in ketamine-assisted IFS group therapy, we explore how to work with protectors, why anger deserves more respect than our culture gives it, and how group healing unlocks something individual therapy often can't reach. Plus: why meaning isn't something you find — it's something you create.

In this episode

• What exiles and protectors are and how they shape our inner world
• Why healing means becoming whole — and how IFS gets you there
• From computer programming to debugging the psyche
• How breathwork and non-ordinary states bypass the thinking brain
• Anger as a healthy boundary-setting force — and why suppressing it breeds judgment
• The three ways to work with a protector: push, invite, or pick up the cat
• Why ketamine works like holotropic breathwork — and why Ted combined it with groups
• How group healing reaches wounds that one-on-one therapy often misses
• Outcomes data: what actually changes after a group ketamine IFS retreat
• Meaning as something you generate — not something you find

Timestamps

3:42 - Meeting Ted And His Setting
5:35 - Self Energy And Finding Balance
8:20 - Exiles Protectors And Healing Wholeness
14:00 - From Programmer To Therapist
19:35 - Breathwork And Non Ordinary States
27:43 - Core Energetics And Working With Anger
36:18 - Discovering IFS Through Hypnosis
42:26 - Ketamine As A Path Past Protectors
47:15 - Building The Group Ketamine Model
52:31 - Outcomes Data And What Changes Last
53:49 - Meaning Connection And Modern Life
57:00 - Creating Meaning From A Blank Slate
59:52 - Rapid Fire Questions And Art
1:03:58 - A Depolarizing Message And Where To Find Ted
1:07:06 - What Comes Next On The Podcast

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Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz. Developing Meaning is produced by Consilient Mind LLC.

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Note: This conversation with Dr. Patricia Gerbarg was recorded in August 2025.

In this episode, we explore how breathing patterns reshape the emotional brain, restore a sense of safety, and allow meaning to return to daily life with Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, co-creator of the Breath-Body-Mind program.

From her personal development as a healer to co-creating a global healing community active in trauma hotspots like Ukraine and Rwanda, we explore the science, stories, and practical tools that help people regulate their nervous systems and reconnect with meaning.

In this episode

• Meaning as state-dependent and grounded in safety
• What Breath Body Mind is and why safety comes first
• How vagus nerve signaling links breathing to emotion
• Why talk therapy alone often cannot reach stored trauma
• The sequence: focus → movement → muscle softening → coherent breathing
• Evidence from 9/11 survivors, veterans, schools, and IBD patients
• Programs in Ukraine supporting clinicians, children, and communities
• Rwanda’s community model blending breath, ritual, and narrative
• Restoring connection, agency, and love through breath practices
• How to start with short, safe practices and build consistency

Timestamps

0:14 – Opening Teaser: Breath and Meaning
 1:42 – Host’s Mission and Series Kickoff
 2:39 – Introducing Dr. Patricia Gerbarg
 3:48 – Why Breath Body Mind Exists
 7:31 – Global Growth and Going Online
 12:18 – Scope, Impact, and Ukraine Programs
 16:24 – From Psychoanalysis to Mass Healing
 20:31 – A Child’s Panic to Schoolwide Resilience
 24:20 – Gerbarg’s Public Speaking Breakthrough
 28:18 – Early Life and Path to Psychiatry
 36:58 – Discovering Breath After Illness
 41:04 – How Breathing Shapes Emotion
 47:14 – Publishing the Vagal Theory
 52:59 – Using Breath Clinically for Trauma
 59:22 – Building a Safe, Effective Sequence
 1:03:24 – Focus, Agency, and the Ha Breath
 1:06:07 – Coherent Breathing as the Foundation
 1:11:47 – Evidence From 9/11 to Schools
 1:16:47 – Inflammatory Bowel Disease Trial
 1:22:00 – Why Breakthroughs Lack Headlines
 1:27:04 – Real-World Results in Irish Schools
 1:30:48 – Rwanda’s Community Healing Model
 1:37:18 – Perpetrators, Forgiveness, Reintegration
 1:42:49 – Meaning as Connectedness
 1:47:44 – Rapid-Fire: Love, Art, and Advice

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Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz.
Developing Meaning is produced by Consilient Mind LLC.

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In this New Year’s episode, I explore the very real consequences of last year’s Past Year Review. Most notably, I decided to retire from a beloved community mental health clinic and launch Park West Integrative Psychiatry — sparked by a desire for creativity, continued learning, and a growing belief in integrative trauma-informed approaches such as EMDR, Internal Family Systems, ketamine-assisted therapy, hypnosis, and breath-based practices.

This episode reflects on how intentionally examining meaning and purpose can lead to significant life changes — changes that invite both opportunity and risk, excitement and fear.

To close the episode, I share a recording of my retirement speech from the clinic, which turns into an unexpected sing-along and a fitting ritual for marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Chapters

0:13 — Nerves and a Big Career Pivot
 0:52 — Last Year’s Review and 2025 Intentions
 1:46 — Leaving a Beloved Community Clinic
 2:46 — Why Change Now, and What’s Next
 3:09 — New Directions in Trauma Treatment and Psychiatry
 4:05 — Building Park West Integrative Psychiatry
 5:02 — Fear, Complexity, and Finding Balance
 6:00 — A Cautious Note on Year-End Reviews
 6:20 — Reflections on Podcast Growth
 7:06 — Upcoming Group Therapies and Retreats
 7:54 — Yellowstone Lessons and Old Friends
 8:40 — Gratitude, Global Listeners, and What’s Next
 9:11 — Retirement Speech and Sing-Along

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Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz.
 Developing Meaning is produced by Consilient Mind LLC.

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Happy New Year!  It's time to do a meaning inventory in order to set intentions for 2026.  Toward that end I am re-posting my meaning inventory from last year.  Our next episode will delve into how these unfolded and are leading to major career changes.

This episode invites listeners to engage in a meaningful past year review, turning away from traditional resolutions toward a more insightful approach to personal growth. By exploring the themes of beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and the importance of consilience, Dr. Dirk Winter provides a framework for navigating mental health and self-discovery

We cover:.

• Dissecting the concept of a past year review 
• Sharing personal peaks and lows from 2024 
• Introducing guiding themes for 2025: beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and consilience 
• Exploring the significance of various healing modalities 
• Challenging traditional mental health assumptions 
• Encouraging listeners to conduct their own past year review and set meaningful intentions 

Go ahead, do your past year review, get yourself maybe into some beginner's mind question patterns, look for areas of consilience, or come up with your own ideas or mantras for the coming year.

Them Music by The Thrashing Skumz
Produced by Dirk Winter

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Mike Mandel is a world-leading hypnotist with over 50 years of professional experience. He's performed nearly 5,000 stage shows, trained over 10,000 students at his Toronto hypnosis academy, and co-hosts the Brain Software podcast.

Our conversation bridges hypnosis, Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, pain management, and meaning-making—showing how different healing traditions can discover the same truths about how minds heal.

Whether you're a therapist curious about hypnosis, an IFS practitioner, or simply fascinated by how minds work and heal, this conversation will expand your understanding.

You'll hear:

• The "bungalow model" of ego states and stunning parallels with IFS therapy
• How hypnosis stopped a severe burn from forming (tiny firemen with liquid nitrogen!)
• The history of hypnosis from ancient Egypt to Milton Erickson
• Why you need at least three models of reality (not just one)
• How Mike reframed chronic pain from suffering into a reminder he's alive
• Kitchen surgery stories that will blow your mind
• Rapid-fire questions about meaning, legacy, and what matters most

⚠️ WARNING: Mike starts with a brief hypnotic demonstration. Pay attention—the more you focus, the more you'll experience it. We unpack how he did it at the end.

Key Timestamps

• 05:50 - The Forgetting Demonstration
• 07:28 - Ego States & The Bungalow Model
• 15:23 - IFS & Hypnosis: Stunning Parallels
• 21:50 - The Frozen Baby: A Profound Healing Story
• 35:25 - Pain vs. Suffering
• 40:52 - The Burn Treatment Story
• 45:55 - What IS Trance?
• 56:26 - History of Hypnosis: Mesmer to Erickson
• 1:07:44 - How the Forgetting Demo Worked
• 1:18:18 - Rapid-Fire Meaning Questions

Resources

• MikeMandelHypnosis.com
• Brain Software Podcast

Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS and is NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz.

Produced by Dirk Winter and Caroline Hinton

Brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.

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Joanne Twombly, LCSW and author of Trauma Informed Internal Family Systems, has been treating complex trauma and dissociative disorders for over 30 years. In this conversation, she explores how right-brain modalities such as EMDR, hypnosis, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) can sometimes heal what words cannot. We also discuss the evolution of dissociative disorder diagnoses, the book Sybil and false memory controversies, the limits of traditional talk therapy, and the deeper role of meaning in recovery.

Timestamps
0:00 Welcome to Trauma-Informed Healing
2:57 Understanding IFS and Parts Work
8:40 From MPD to Hypnosis: Joanne's Journey
15:19 Why Traditional Therapy Falls Short
21:07 Dissociative Disorders Explained
29:05 Deep Brain Reorienting and Body-Based Approaches
36:39 Working with Transference and Meaning
48:29 Final Wisdom: Purpose in Healing Work
1:15:54 Episode Closing and Next Month Preview

Produced by Dirk Winter.

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz.

Developing Meaning is NOT medical advice and is not affiliated with any institution.

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What happens when you combine military experience, personal recovery, cutting-edge trauma therapies, and the healing power of nature? Beau Laviolette's remarkable journey answers this question through a story of transformation and purpose.

From the sugar cane fields of Louisiana to the Marine Corps and back again, Beau's path wasn't straightforward. After military service ended unexpectedly due to seizures, he faced addiction struggles that eventually led him to recovery and a calling to help others. This deeply personal experience became the foundation for his approach to trauma healing, combining Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy using the Syzyge method.

Beau takes us through his discovery of these powerful modalities and how they complement each other, particularly when working with complex trauma. While EMDR helps process traumatic memories, IFS provides the framework to understand the protective parts of ourselves that develop in response to trauma. This combination creates a comprehensive approach that addresses both neurobiological and psychological aspects of trauma recovery.

The conversation ventures into fascinating territory as Beau describes his veteran-focused nature retreats. These immersive experiences take healing beyond the constraints of office therapy, allowing veterans to "unplug, connect, and let go" in natural settings. He explains how nature inherently contains qualities that facilitate access to what IFS calls "self-energy" – our core self characterized by compassion, curiosity, and calm.

Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS and is NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz.

Produced by Dirk Winter MD PhD and brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.

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In this episode, I take you inside my experience of learning Internal Family Systems therapy while simultaneously navigating prostate cancer surgery and recovery during the fall and winter of 2023-24.

Through audio diary entries recorded over three months, you'll hear my real-time reflections as I move through an intensive experiential training that forced me to find and confront parts of myself. From the corporate retreat center where it all began to the post-surgical reflections in my bedroom, these recordings capture the disorientation, insight, and healing that unfolded as I allowed myself to be both student and subject.

This episode may be helpful for therapists considering IFS training or for anyone facing illness or supporting someone through health challenges.  It is the final episode in my five part series on my IFS level I training experience.

This episode of Developing Meaning is produced by Dirk Winter and Caroline Hinton and brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.  

Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS and NOT CLINICAL ADVICE.

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Margaret Conley, LCSW, Minister, and IFS Assistant Trainer, joins me to explore how trauma is passed down through families, culture, and society —and how we can heal. Drawing from her own powerful story, Margaret explains the Internal Family Systems (IFS) concept of legacy burdens and how she helps clients release inherited patterns related to race, religion, gender, and family history. This episode is part of my IFS Level 1 training series and offers deep insight into how healing across generations is not only possible—but transforms how we create meaning.

Timestamps
00:19 – Welcome to Developing Meaning
04:50 – Meet Margaret Connolly: Healer and Minister
12:40 – Childhood Trauma to Professional Path
27:20 – Discovering Internal Family Systems
47:30 – Understanding Legacy Burdens
1:04:40 – Creating Meaning Through Curiosity
1:14:10 – The Art of Repairing Relationships
1:19:30 – Final Thoughts: Moving at Speed of Trust

Them music by The Thrashing Skumz.

This episode is produced by Dirk Winter, Fariha Fawziah and Caroline Hinton and brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.

Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

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Can you imagine learning at 35 that you were adopted?  In this episode Ridghaus, my friend and Level I IFS Program Assistant, shares how this discovery transformed his sense of identity and led him to advocate for adoptee rights and communities.

We also explore the profound loss of his 18-year-old son and how he has grieved. Through our conversation, Ridghaus reflects on the "golden threads" that have guided him—moments of insight, connection, and healing. We discuss how Internal Family Systems (IFS) has played a role in his process, helping him hold space for his parts and for others in their own healing journeys.

This episode is part of a series on my Level I IFS training experience, in which I introduce the IFS model (#16), introduce my Lead Trainer Jory Agate (#17). Upcoming episodes will introduce another trainer Margaret Conley (#19), who is an expert in complex trauma and legacy burdens, and then an audiodiary (#20) will follow.  My intention in this series is to share this exciting new model of healing with classically trained therapists and anyone else curious about mental health and meaning.  

• Timestamps:
• 00:00:00 - Introduction to Developing Meaning and Ridgehouse
• 00:05:42 - Early Life: A Misfit in Kansas
• 00:17:28 - Discovering Adoption at Age 35
• 00:30:49 - Facing Unimaginable Loss and Grief
• 00:43:02 - First Encounter with Internal Family Systems
• 01:00:34 - Becoming a Healer: IFS and Identity Work
• 01:11:27 - Plateaus and Valleys of Meaning
• 01:15:33 - Final Reflections on Intention and Starting Over

Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS, and is NOT MENTAL HEALTH ADVICE.

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz.

This episode was produced by Dirk Winter, Fariha Fawziah and Caroline Hinton and is brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.

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This episode invites listeners to engage in a meaningful past year review, turning away from traditional resolutions toward a more insightful approach to personal growth. By exploring the themes of beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and the importance of consilience, Dr. Dirk Winter provides a framework for navigating mental health and self-discovery in 2025.

• Dissecting the concept of a past year review 
• Sharing personal peaks and lows from 2024 
• Introducing guiding themes for 2025: beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and consilience 
• Exploring the significance of various healing modalities 
• Challenging traditional mental health assumptions 
• Encouraging listeners to conduct their own past year review and set meaningful intentions 

Go ahead, do your past year review, get yourself maybe into some beginner's mind question patterns, look for areas of consilience, or come up with your own ideas or mantras for the coming year.

Them Music by The Thrashing Skumz
Produced by Dirk Winter

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The Internal Family Systems (IFS) Level I training is an experiential group learning process that teaches us how to identify and heal traumatized parts of ourselves and others.  In October 2023 I began this training after having recently received a prostate cancer diagnosis.  This episode begins a multi - part series in which I introduce you to fascinating healers I met during my Level I training, beginning with Jory Agate my Lead Trainer.

Jory is a minister, IFS lead trainer, a kind and gifted healer, and so much more.  In this episode she offers a compelling narrative of how IFS therapy reaches beyond conventional boundaries, touching the lives of clergy, trans and queer communities, and trauma survivors. Together, we explore connections between faith and therapeutic healing.  Join me as I begin my journey into the land of IFS and begin to transform into an IFS therapist myself.

Timestamps
00:17 Introducing Jory Agate.
07:30 What is IFS?
12:40 Spirituality and IFS.
15:00 How Jory became a healer.
21:00 How Jory found IFS and healed her trauma.
32:00 Jory describes her professional practice.
36:00 What does a session with Jory look like?
39:00 Connecting IFS, Meaning, and Healing.
47:00 Connecting through shared Exiles, and wrap up.

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This podcast is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.

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Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS) is a type of therapy that views the normal human mind as an internal family of inner conscious beings.  In this episode we unpack the key IFS concepts of 'Exiles,' 'Firefighters,' and the 'Self,' offering insights into how our childhood experiences shape our inner dynamics and how we can harmonize our mental orchestra by putting the 'Self' back into our mind's conductor seat. This episode sets the stage for a multiple episode series that brings you with me into my IFS level I training experience and community.

Timestamps
0:14 - Introducing Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS).
5:30 - Definition of Consciousness and Multiplicity.
9:45 - Historical Perspectives and Evidence for Multiplicity.
12:45 - Exiles and Firefighters.
16:00 - The IFS Self
19:20 - Blending and Unblending.
20:40 - Evidence for the IFS model of the mind.
23:00 - IFS Explanation of Psychopathology.
28:55 - Healing and Rewiring Through IFS.
30:30 - The Unburdening Ceremony in IFS.
31:00 - Bruce Ecker and memory reconsolidation
34:00 - Ten things I like about IFS.
42:00 - A caveat and some disadvantages.

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Dr. Bliss Lewis is a child and adult psychiatrist, expert in integrative and alternative treatments, and creator of Mind Body 7, one of the most innovative and successful group psychotherapy practices in New York.  She learned natural healing approaches as a child in in Russia and Poland, then combined these interests with modern Western medical training at Harvard, Columbia and NYU.   She also has passion for dance, music, yoga, meditation, and her curiosity and creativity have allowed her to build heart-centered practices and holistic wellness communities around these interests. Discover how trauma-informed care, self-compassion, and artistic expression can guide you towards a more fulfilling existence. 

Learn more about Dr. Bliss Lewis at:
https://www.mindbody7.com
https://www.youtube.com/@DrBlissLewis

Learn more about Developing Meaning Podcast at:
https://www.developingmeaning.com

Timestamps
0:00:17 Exploring Integrative Psychiatry With Dr. Bliss-Lewis
0:11:59 Personal Growth Through Dance and Travel
0:27:14 Exploring Integrative Healing Modalities
0:45:49 Building Integrative Psychiatry Group Practice
0:59:52 Exploring Meaning and Life Direction
1:13:00 Meaning and Life Rapid Fire Questions
1:17:02 Finding Meaning Through Values and Self-Compassion
1:23:00 How Bliss Sets her Life Intention

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz

This show was produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

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Please enjoy this guided six minute coherent breathing exercise led by Dr. RIchard Brown, co-creator of Breath Body Mind.

This is a spontaneous demonstration taken out of our longer Episode 12 Interview in order for you to be able to chose the right time and place to do this exercise.

For more information on Dr. Brown's approaches to breathing listen to our full lenght episode 12, or go to www.breathbodymind.com.

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For thousands of years  breathing has been used to heal trauma, optimize health, and build connection.  Dr. Richard Brown has spent his life mastering these techniques, and is also an expert in integrative psychiatry, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia.  He has co-authored over 100 scientific articles, chapters, and award winning books on applying these techniques to heal anxiety, trauma, and optimize health.  Together with his wife, Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, he has co-created the Breath-Body-Mind organization, which trains health care providers in using breathing techniques to heal health workers and trauma survivors all over the world, including places like Ukraine, Rawanda, Sudan, and Turkey.  In this episode you will learn how childhood bullying led him to pursue martial arts, and learn techniques that we all can use to heal, optimize health, and find joy.

For more information visit:
www.Breath-Body-Mind.com and
www.breathbodymindfoundation.org.

Timestamps
00:00:18 - Breath Techniques With Dr. Brown
00:14:06 - Martial Arts Journey Through Life
00:27:06 - Breathing Techniques in Spiritual Practices
00:41:18 - Global Healing Through Breath Practices
00:55:14 - Optimizing Breathing Techniques for Wellness
01:08:58 - Global Impact of Breath Practices
01:15:53 - Transformative Power of Breathing Practices
01:21:09 - Healing Trauma Through Breathing Techniques
01:27:49 - Exploring Breath Practices and Global Impact

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

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Deb Dana is a master healer, teacher,  author, and the creator of a unique polyvagal-informed approach to therapy that is based on The Polyvagal Theory of Dr. Stephen Porges.

In this episode you will learn about the neuroscience of human connection, and how our autonomic nervous system is composed of three distinct internal states that determine how we feel and how we create meaning.

Learn more about Deb Dana's work and workshops at www.rhythmofregulation.com

Timestamps:
00:00:18 Understanding Polyvagal Theory and Nervous System
00:18:07 Early Influences and Therapy Modalities
00:34:15 The Power of Polyvagal Theory
00:50:16 Healing Trauma Through Nervous System
00:56:00 Exploring Mental Health Paradigm Shifts
01:05:38 The Meaning of Life and Connection
01:14:13 Exploring Healing and Connection With Experts

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz

Produced by Dr. Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS.  Learn more at DevelopingMeaning.com.

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Dr. April Minjarez is the only therapist I know who is both experienced at healing infant trauma and an end of life doula.  She is also an expert in multiple trauma healing modalities including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and an amazing mentor, teacher, and healer.

In this episode you will hear how a terrifying experience with gangs in middle school inspired April to become a therapist.  You will also learn how EMDR therapy stimulates healing by reprocessing components of traumatic memories, and how this modality can integrate ketamine journeys.  Also, you will learn April's compelling one word answer to my question about the meaning of life.

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Developing Meaning is NOT MEDICAL ADVICE and NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS

Timestamps
0:19 - Finding Meaning in Therapeutic Modalities
11:31 - Middle School Gang Story
19:20 - Evolution of Therapeutic Modalities
23:32 - EMDR Therapy for Trauma Processing
40:00 - Integrating EMDR and Ketamine
48:51 - Working with Grief and Loss
58:00 - The Meaning of Life According to April
1:02:02 - Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
1:06:00 - Wrap Up and Look Ahead

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When Richard Brockman was seven years old his mother died by suicide.  He went on to become an expert in trauma and suicide, and is now a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia, Psychoanalyst, Playwright, Author and my mentor and friend.   He recently published his memoir, Life After Death: Surviving Suicide, which tells his story of loss and healing from both a first person and a neuroscience perspective.  

In this conversation you will learn much about how to heal trauma from perspectives of story, neuroscience, and meaning.

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Timestamps
0:17 - Healing Trauma and Surviving Suicide

10:43 - Personal Connection's Impact in Psychiatry

25:29 - Questioning Freud's Theories in Therapy

30:15 - Understanding Meaning and Story in Psychology

42:04 - Trauma, Story, and Healing

50:31 - Healing Trauma Through Love and Storytelling

1:04:03 - Healing Trauma and Finding Gratitude

1:10:45 - Taking Steps Towards Healing and Recovery

1:17:38 - Healing and the Meaning of Life

1:26:28 - Appreciation, Friendship, and Future Plans

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In this episode I discuss how a year end review can help us prioritize and plan for the year ahead.  I review what I have learned from this podcast so far and look ahead toward upcoming episodes and topics in 2024.

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz

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"The more efficient a force is, the more silent and the more subtle it is. Love is the subtlest force in the world." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
(quote lifted from Bruce's bio page)

How can you know what type of therapy is most likely to be helpful when the number of psychotherapies is vast and growing ?  

One way is to learn from Bruce Hersey, who has 30 + years of clinical experience and a wide range of expertise, including Ericksonian Hypnosis, Psychodrama, EMDR, IFS, and Coherence Therapy.
In this episode Bruce describes his evolution as a therapist,  and how he found convergent principles between 3 treatment modalities: EMDR, IFS, and Coherence Therapy.  Bruce describes his integrated approach for healing trauma, and how he created the Syzygy Institute, which teaches these methods to therapists.
You will also hear about Bruce’s take on Meaning, and how music and the song Titanium helped him during a challenging time.

Timestamps:
00:00:23 - Intro
00:05:00 - Concilience and EO Wilson
00:15:00 - Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP
00:17:19 - Psychodrama
00:28:00 - EMDR, bringing adaptive and dysfunctional memory networks together
00:34:12 - Power and Challenges of EMDR
00:40:17 - Ego States and IFS in EMDR
00:44:00 - Understanding IFS and EMDR Connection
00:50:52 - Comparing Dual Attention in EMDR and IFS
01:02:00 - Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories
01:14:20 - Caution and Meaning in Healing Therapies
01:19:00 - The Meaning of Life According to Bruce

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff
Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz

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Join me as I share an audio diary of my first encounter with Ketamine, which is a legal psychedelic medication  that can treat depression, trauma and more. 

Set  in the serene Menla retreat center of the Catskill Mountains, this episode describes my participation in a week-long  training program designed to teach mental health clinicians how to utilize the healing power of Ketamine. 

During this immersive experiential training, I become increasingly connected with a team of peers, as we guide each other's Ketamine journeys and learn from a team of expert clinicians led by Dr. Phil Wolfson, Bessel Van der Kolk, Gita Vaid, Licia Sky and Peter Corbett.   This episode may be especially interesting to mental health clinicians who are curious about what it is like to participate in an immersive experiential Ketamine training program.

Timestamps

0:16 - Psychedelic Journey: Welcome to my Audio Diary
11:56 - Tuesday: My First Morning at Menla KAP training, History of Menla
15:00 - Wednesday: Pearls From Our First Full Day
21:39 - Power of Ketamine and Group Dynamics
24:47 - Thursday: My First Ketamine Journey, Bessel's Teaching About Trauma and DMN
36:00 - Friday: Sitting for Others
43:08 - Saturday: My 2nd Journey - IM this time, Combining Breath, Movement and Ketamine
52:00 - Sunday: Sitting a 2nd Time, A Swim with Naga Spirit
55:21 - Meaning and Connection Through Ketamine Journeys

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Music by The Thrashing Skumz

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What would make a successful Columbia Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst fly across the country to write a story about a one-legged wrestling superstar?  What does it mean to be Neurotic, and how can we recognize and change repetitive self-defeating patterns?
 
In this episode we explore unconscious motivations with my friend, colleague and former supervisor, Dr. David Merrill.  Dr. Merrill  describes how he made important life decisions that led him to become a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.  We seek to understand and explain the process of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and how lying on the couch can facilitate introspection.  We also discuss what type of problems psychoanalytic therapy is particularly helpful for, and the importance of honesty, kindness, and courage in psychotherapy. 

As our world becomes increasingly divided and distracting, we reflect on the need for kindness, self-reflection, and listening, as well as the importance of creativity and connection with Nature in finding balance. Buckle up for a captivating discussion that navigates the complexities of the mind, illuminating how psychoanalysis, literature, and introspective journeys shape our understanding of life's meaning.

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Are you curious about psychedelic retreats? Join us for an insider’s perspective with Justin Townsend, CEO of MycoMeditations, the oldest and largest psilocybin mushroom therapeutic retreat center in Jamaica. We discuss the process of safety screening, and the potential of using psychedelics to overcome trauma, ease depression, and reconnect with our authentic selves.
  
Justin shares his personal journey, from tech startups, to the European psychedelic underground, to learning and teaching breathwork and meditation, and then joining MycoMeditations in Jamaica.  Having facilitated thousands of healing journeys, he shares how these retreats can provide unique insights into our individual and collective human condition. We probe the metaphysics of consciousness and healing and examine how psychedelics can influence belief and faith, which can alter our physiology and bring greater understanding and meaning to our lives.
  
 As we conclude our conversation, we reflect on Carl Jung’s concept of Individuation and Integration, and the transformative stories of guests at MycoMeditations. We discuss life and work in Jamaica, and highlight the importance of surrender and authenticity. We invite you to immerse yourself in this captivating world of psychedelic therapy – a world that promises to challenge, inspire, and transform.

Caution: DON'T CONSUME PSYCHELICS WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR PERSONAL TRUSTED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.

Timestamps
0:17 Exploring Psychedelics

13:32 Psilocybin Retreats and Group Therapy

25:49 Background and Path to Psychedelics

40:59 Psychedelics, Mystical Experiences, and Therapeutic Potential

42:15 Roland Griffith's 3 Mediators of Psychedelic Experience

49:55 Bad Trips vs Healing Journeys

53:35 Therapeutic Healing and Transcending Rationality

1:02:16 Approaches to Trauma and Memory

1:05:26 Parental Fantasy Bond Trauma

1:13:49 Exploring Consciousness and Metaphysical Perspectives

1:21:55 Meaning of Life Questions

1:29:59 Carl Jung's Individuation and Integrating Your Shadow

1:32:33 Life In Jamaica

1:39:40 Legacy and Authenticity in Psychedelic Healing

1:45:19 The Concept of Letting Go

1:49:04 Next Episode: Psychoanalysis, Short Story Writing, and Meaning with Dr. David Merrill

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            Dr. Jean Marmoreo has been a family physician for upwards of forty years. For most of those years, she practiced mid-life medicine while breaking marathon records and hiking all around the world. Her speciality shifted in 2016, when MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) was legalized and she became one of Canada’s first MAiD practitioners. Having worked in the end-of-life medical spheres for the past seven years, Jean has witnessed numerous last days and multitudes of family goodbyes. 

            Many believe that denial of death is at the root of human anxiety, and that awareness of our mortality is central to creating meaning.  Join me for a conversation about meaning with one of the most experienced medical professionals in field of end of life medicine. In this episode, Jean and I discuss why people choose MAiD; how MAiD alters the pre-death experience; how MAiD has affected her faith and psyche; and how meaning factors into this complex medical practice.

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

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Many emerging therapies like EMDR, IFS, Somatic Experiencing, and Psychedelics target a client’s “Felt Sense” and “Embodied Knowing” rather than intellectual and cognitive insight.  The term “Felt Sense” was coined by philosopher Eugene Gendlin, who developed a peer to peer therapy process called Focusing in the 1950s.  

Here we present a conversation with Focusing expert Annette Dubreuil on the history, allure, and methodology of this internal psychotherapeutic process. Annette describes her personal connection to Focusing, her experiences as a long-time Focusing facilitator, and her specific teaching process, the Pupa process.  She also describes Gendlin’s Thinking at the Edge method for creativity, and how we can combine knowledge from different fields to enhance creativity and meaning.  Stick around till the end to learn the meaning of life according to Annette Dubreuil and consider whether Focusing may be right for you.

Timestamps

• 3:15 - Definition of the “felt sense”
• 9:30 - Annette introduces Focusing
• 14:00 - Annette’s discovery of Focusing
• 17:30 - Combining Polyvagal Theory and Focusing 
• 23:10 - Giving credit to Eugene Gendlin
•  24:32 - Crossing therapy processes and modalities (“Thinking at the Edge”)
• 26:59 - Combining the 8 C’s of IFS and Focusing 
• 30:10 - Focusing and Heart Energy 
• 32:07 - Annette’s transition from Focusing client to collaborator 
• 35:00 - How empathy factors into Focusing
• 38:00 - Tanya Singer’s meditative monks
• 42:00 - Catastrophic thinking
• 46:27 - Annette’s background 
• 49:20 - Victor Frankl’s 4 Components of Finding Meaning
• 54:36 - “Meaning issue” in Annette’s clients
• 56:40 - Conversation about Dirk and Annette’s shared experience 
• 59:30 - Psychedelics and Focusing 
• 1:01:30 - Annette’s personal focusing practice
• 1:05:00 - Focusing prompts
• 1:06:47 - Rapid Fire questions and wind down

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz

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Have you ever wondered what your psychiatrist or therapist has figured out about life's big questions?  In this first episode adult and child psychiatrist Dr. Dirk Winter begins his exploration of what clinicians have learned about how to build more meaning and purpose into our lives.  Also, Dr. Winter suggests a daily meaning enhancement technique that combines Victor Frankel's 4 components of meaning with hypnotist Mike Mandell's daily questions technique.

Produced by Dirk Winter and Violet Chernoff

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz