Behavioral Health Today

Between Behavior Analysts and Psychologists there’s an overlapping opportunity to help people with a multidimensional approach. In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor is joined by Dr. Kathleen Stengel, a board-certified Behavior Analyst and CEO of Neurabilities, and Dr. Greg Alberts, a neuropsychologist and director of neuropsychology services. Together they discuss the challenges of working together and the benefits in coordinating a multidisciplinary approach to understand somebody in all...

A recent research study looking at prevalence rates of sexual addiction found that 10% of men and 7% of women fell into the clinical range of compulsive addiction. There are a lot of myths and stigma around sex addiction and on this episode Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Stefanie Carnes, president of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and a senior fellow for Meadows Behavioral Healthcare. Together they discuss the importance of looking at this...

Addiction recovery is the process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their fullest potential. In this episode Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Tom Hill, MSW a senior advisor for addiction recovery at National Council for Behavioral Health, encouraging a broader approach to understanding addiction and recovery. Together they discuss the recovery process, the significance in understanding shame, how community is an...

In this episode, Dr. Erin Elmore joins Dr. Graham Taylor in a discussion about treating anxiety. They talk about how to put anxiety into a proper perspective, respond to stress in manageable ways, and how to befriend anxiety and to listen to what it's telling us. The conversation continues with ways to manage our stress by deep breathing, meditation, physical exercise, eating, sleep, gratitude practice, pro social behaviors, and early morning routines. There’s are all tools we can use to...

On today's podcast Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with the founder and director of TogetherWell, Michele Haley, Ph.D. Together, they discuss the importance of workshops, collaboration, and the benefit to therapists by being involved in professional workshops. TogetherWell provides educational workshops for therapist to help manage their practice and stay up to date with best practices, a community for mentor support, and education for early career practitioners. They also offer workshops to help...

Families and the holidays, what could possibly go wrong? In this episode Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Kristen Wilkenson about the relational stress brought on by the holidays and some solutions that can help navigate relational conflicts. Together they discuss differing personality styles, shared goals, empathy building, how to set boundaries and how to craft the language. "If we can focus on our feelings and needs it equips us to have difficult conversations." Berné Brown states “clear...

In part 2 of our conversation, Dr. Graham Taylor continues the discussion with Dr. Jana Martin, CEO of The Trust, and Dr. Lidia Michel around vicarious trauma. In the last episode, we talked about vicarious trauma, its effects, and some of the warning signs that might harm our world view. In today's episode, we discuss preemptive self-care solutions and solutions you can use while in a session with a client. Additionally, we discuss vicarious resilience and the benefits to therapists gained...

In part one of this discussion, Dr. Graham Taylor speaks with Dr. Jana Martin, CEO of The Trust, and Dr. Lidia Michel about vicarious trauma, its effects, and some of the warning signs that it may be harming our world view. Part of a practitioner’s work requires them to listen, to and sit with their patients, and hear to their stories of significant challenge. But there is a cost to this for therapists, a cumulative and a lasting impact on the practitioner. We encourage practitioners to...

Brandon J. Johnson, M.H.S talks with Dr. Graham Taylor about how introspection and empathy are the cornerstones of managing our racism. They discuss how compassion is unequivocally what we need for individuals to understand where some of their racist beliefs are and how we can begin to make impactful change. If we can just make room for the person's experiences, we might find ourselves expanding into a greater shared appreciation for and understanding of what's going on around us and in the...

In this episode, Dr. Graham Taylor talks with Haesue Jo, LMFT and Clinical Operations Manager at BetterHelp about how clients are paired with practitioners in a confidential, efficient, and beneficial way. BetterHelp is the largest online counseling platform. Telemental Health options are available for adults, teens (with consenting adults), and couples therapy through BetterHelp. The accessibility of online counseling is helping to normalize the therapy experience, allowing clients to...

Today Gerry Grossman, LMFT and founder of Gerry Grossman Seminars, joins us to speak on his experience and the lessons learned from successfully advocating change. In 2020 Gerry Grossman successfully lobbied a bill that has helped change the legal landscape for mental health providers doing therapy with minors in California. Gerry talks about lessons learned along the way, and provides advice for those who want to advocate: "Your voice matters. Be patient, persistent, and...

In this episode, Dr. Jorge Petit is a psychiatrist veteran, behavioral health advocate and president and CEO of CBC, speaks with Dr. Graham Taylor about their successful work with providing clients access to services using telehealth or telemental health. Jorge and Graham discuss the measurable successes, and challenges of telemental health including permanent and regulatory relief, administrative flexibility, enhanced workforce capacity, and equitable payment. About Coordinated...

On this episode, Lidia Michel, Psy.D. joins Dr. Graham Taylor in a discussion on trauma stewardship and how to care for those that care for others. Lidia speaks on the guideposts of stewardship: identifying your working role model, minimizing to make time for rest, hypervigilance and awareness of the speed of your work, and recognizing diminished creativity in your work, and ways to add self-care to your routine to be effective in our work. Self-care is critical and really essential to the...

In this episode, Dr. Rick Johnson, PhD joins Dr. Graham Taylor in a discussion surrounding the meaning of, and the inclusion of, spirituality into the therapeutic process. Together they address the meaning of spirituality, the dangers of reactivity, and ways practitioners bring spirituality into the therapeutic process for a greater awareness. There are three parts to us: emotional, physical, and spiritual. Through therapy there is an opportunity to explore and embrace all three sides. When...

Dr. Adriaan Louw, PT, PhD, joins Dr. Graham Taylor on this week’s episode of Behavioral Health Today to help us understand the relationship of pain, our brains, and how practicing mindfulness to change our experience with chronic pain. Pain is very complex; our brain is a big determiner in our pain experience. The best treatment involves an education process to influence the way that a patient thinks about pain. Adriaan shares about the work he’s doing to improve health through digital...

In our final episode of the 3-part series addressing sex trafficking and the work being done by Ho`ōla Nā Pua, Joy Winquist, the director of programs at Ho`ōla Nā Pua joins the discussion with Dr. Graham Taylor. Joy is a clinical social worker advocating for counseling individuals with complex trauma survivors of child abuse, neglect, and trafficking survivors. Throughout this episode we get an understanding of what therapeutic care and a clinician's treatment look like for those coming...

In the second episode of the 3-part series addressing sex trafficking and the work being done by Ho`ōla Nā Pua, Tim Hitchens, the Education Program Manager at Ho`ōla Nā Pua, talks with Behavioral Health Today about gateway traps and sex trafficking (those things that we may not realize, but are contributing to sex trafficking). Together Tim and Graham dispel myths and assumptions surrounding the belief system around sex trafficking and ask for us to be mindful of the impact of our...

The first in a 3-part series addressing sex trafficking and the work being done by Ho`ōla Nā Pua. Jessica Munoz, founder and president, and Tammy Bitanga, Community Outreach Coordinator, join Behavioral Health Today's Dr. Graham Taylor as leaders in the anti-trafficking movement in the Hawaiian Islands. Tammy shares her own story of survival and rise out of her circumstances of early childhood abuse and how it drives her to do the work with Ho`ōla Nā Pua. Today, Ho`ōla Nā Pua has developed...

Humor shifts how we feel, think, act, and impacts our physiology and biochemistry. In this episode, Dr. Steven M. Sultanoff joins Dr. Graham Taylor to explain how humor can be incorporated in the therapeutic relationship to improve the bond between the therapist / client and as a tool for intervention within a therapeutic approach. Humor can be used as a way to unstick our thinking and disrupting painful feelings so we can be more confident in our ability to manage feelings. For more...

In part two of Bold Parenting, Behavioral Health Today takes you behind the therapy door to demystify, and safely help people realize the benefits of treatment. Dr. Erin Elmore joins Dr. Graham Taylor again to talk about the types of clients, beginning steps of assessment, the therapeutic tools, and goal planning treatments for teens and families. Together Erin takes Graham through the full process of patient introduction, her approach to therapy, examples of a session and techniques used,...