ReConceive

Deborah and Tracy interview Richard Forrist, Pilates instructor, dancer, musician, and actor, about mental health and Pilates training. Trauma, including toxic elements of mainstream culture, affect movement and posture as well as how we view our bodies. Richard helps us discuss how the everyday trauma of living in modern society changes how we hold our bodies and how that translates into pain, loss of balance, and weakness. Pilates restores these by distilling movement and posture into their essence, allowing our bodies to experience learning and change. Special attention is given to therapists and all helping professionals who can greatly benefit from regular Pilates training.

Deborah and Tracy discuss their preparation processes for doing therapy. We like to say, Your session begins before you arrive, because we are getting ourselves ready, both individually, and as a team, to be our most effective selves in session. We focus on meditation and movement practices that help them, individually, get ready for a day of working with clients. We also discuss joint practices for getting ready as co-therapists to do a co-therapy session. Tracy explains muscle testing as part of his preparation process both before and during a session. Learn more about muscle testing here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3259988/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCYK8EcxAcw https://www.wagnerchiro.com/your-body-is-talking-are-you-listening-muscle-testing-as-a-way-to-talk-to-communicate-with-the-body/

Deborah and Tracy discuss teachers, mentors, and friends who've provided support and frameworks for understanding the work . . . and life.

As we continue looking at how therapists can take better care of themselves, we take a look at in-session emotional dynamics. Experts have long said we must feel the emotion of trauma in order to heal it. Deborah and Tracy discuss the body mind system and why it's important to be able to perceive emotion as a physical sensation in order to process information in trauma recovery.

In this episode, Deborah and Tracy talk with Elizabeth Austin about her Affective Movement Therapy practice in St. Louis. Beth helps people learn to feel calmer and more alive by encouraging organic movement in her therapy sessions. While “dance” looks different for everyone, both therapist and client access more emotion, resilience, and personal authority through even the smallest intentional movements. Practitioners can model (and learn) play by dancing in session.

Therapist Loneliness Loneliness is associated with a variety of health problems and shortened life span (Hawkley, 2022; Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010). Deborah and Tracy visit again with Doug Shirley, professor at The Seattle School, about the loneliness of the psychotherapist: both the individual factors - and the systemic issues of our profession - that make helpers more likely to be lonely. We talk about how helpers of all stripes can address the problem of loneliness in our own lives and in the profession at large. Learn more here: Hawkley, L. C. (2022). Loneliness and health. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 8. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41572-022-00355-9 Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2010). Loneliness matters: A theoretical and empirical review of consequences and mechanisms. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 40 (2). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3874845/

Be the Change As a helper, do you believe you make a difference in the wider world? Or do you see yourself operating on an individual scale, helping people improve their lives but not creating large-scale differences. In 1969, activist Carol Hanish wrote, “The personal is political.” This statement became a center point for feminist psychotherapy in the 70s and beyond. Deborah and Tracy talk about the politics of doing therapy. While most therapists probably believe what we do is apolitical, therapy is always political. We either reinforce or challenge the status quo within the dominant culture. So we helpers need to examine our values and look at how the work we do supports the values we hold. To learn more: Cushman, Philip (1995). Psychotherapy as Moral Discourse. In Cushman, P. (1995). Constructing the Self, Constructing America. DaCapo Press. Totton, Nick (2006). The Politics of Psychotherapy: New Perspectives. New York: Open University Press.

In this episode, Tracy and Deborah talk about their new therapy model: ReConceive Therapy, which combines psychotherapy (including EMDR, art, and relational methods) with neuromuscular therapy, dance, and movement lessons. After years of collaboration, conversation, and study, we’re putting our methods together to create more powerful therapy that is also easier to conduct. By teaming up in session, we believe our clients will get a fuller and more rounded experience of improvement, and we’ll be able to demonstrate physiological signs of change in the moment. As research on co-therapy suggests, we can address aspects of trauma together that get lost when either of us works solo. We can bridge the inevitable referral-follow-up gap. Also, we can support each other’s biobehavioral states through limbic resonance as we work with clients, as a team, versus as two individual clinicians. Learn more about co-therapy here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6694756/ https://www.apadivisions.org/division-49/publications/newsletter/group-psychologist/2013/04/co-therapist?_ga=1.121842755.932961816.1458676062zs Kosch, S.G., Reiner, C.A. The co-therapy relationship: Mutuality, agreement and client outcome. J Contemp Psychother 14, 145–157 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00946312

CRISIS INTO CREATIVITY Every professional helper experiences an existential crisis at some point in their career. Some kind of loss, trauma, or major illness triggers a sense of meaninglessness, one’s worldview upended. But internal chaos can lead to creative change. Deborah and Tracy talk with Dr. Jeremy Vincent, forensic psychologist and author of 26.2 Miles: How running alone showed me I was never really alone at all. Jeremy writes about marathon training, the practice and discipline leading him to make new connections and strengthen old ones. His memoir is a story of tribe: how reaching for connection can create a new life. Find Jeremy’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/26-2-Miles-Running-Showed-Really-ebook/dp/B09NWGDBBK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SLVO2IOI70WN&keywords=26.2+miles+Jeremy+vincent&qid=1665274900&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=26.2+miles+jeremy+vinc%2Caps%2C266&sr=8-1 Read more about existential crisis here: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/ways-to-overcome-an-existential-crisis/ https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.822.4150&rep=rep1&type=pdf Read more about chaos and creativity here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/is-it-beautiful/201910/creativity-and-chaos

Going Rogue: Doing therapy counter-culture Mainstream healthcare and human services takes a shape we’ve all come to expect. One helper and one helpee, in a room for 45 minutes (or less, if it’s medicine), sitting, talking about the problem. The helper repeats this as many times as possible in a given work day, and the formula focuses almost entirely on the client or patient as the person in need of evaluation and rehabilitation. The same basic model applies to education. But what if this old model gave way to a new helping paradigm? One where we collaborate, support each other moment-to-moment, and concentrate on a mutually life-affirming process of healing? Therapists need each other in order to stay oriented and alert, co-regulate biobehavioral states, and share the heavy emotional load of hearing and working with client distress. We get ideas and energy from each other and we keep each other out of trance . . . so why not work together? Deborah and Tracy talk about reversing burnout and reinvigorating practice through interdisciplinary co-therapy and propose a new model for it. Read more about co-therapy here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270172164_The_Experience_the_Gift_in_a_Model_of_Co-Therapy https://familytherapybasics.com/blog/best-practices-for-co-therapy

The (Re)Connected Therapist: How We Thrive Episode Two Description We all need human connection in order to thrive (actually to survive). But therapists and other caregivers often report feeling isolated and lonely, doing our work behind a closed office door, tending to others but having little time, energy, or resources to tend our own needs for close relationships.This episode focuses on relational connection and the neuroscience of human connections. Deborah and Tracy interview guest, Dr. Amy Banks, psychiatrist and neuroscientist with Wellesley Centers for Women. Read more about Amy here: https://amybanksmd.com/about/ Dr. Banks is the author of several books, including . . . Four Ways to Click: https://www.amazon.com/Four-Ways-Click-Rewarding-Relationships/dp/0399169199/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2CH3NTWCGUCGB&keywords=four+ways+to+click&qid=1656797239&sprefix=four+ways+to+%2Caps%2C153&sr=8-1 Wired to Connect: https://www.amazon.com/Wired-Connect-Surprising-Between-Relationships/dp/1101983213/ref=asc_df_1101983213/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312407247347&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6323583804074780587&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9023808&hvtargid=pla-564443516824&psc=1 Fighting Time (with Isaac Knapper): https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Time-Amy-Banks-ebook/dp/B08QW8T2PF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1M4PUDF5XI38Y&keywords=fighting+time+amy+banks&qid=1662686348&sprefix=fighting+time%2Caps%2C420&sr=8-1

Everyone dissociates: We have many episodes of zoning out, tuning out, or numbing out during every day. Much of that dissociation is normal and some even helps us be more productive. But do you know what dissociation looks like on you? Our culture conditions us to separate ourselves from sensory and emotional experience, to eat foods that numb our awareness, to multitask, and to skate along the surface of life, doing things, but not really being present for the feeling and sensory experience of them. If you work in a helping capacity, this matters, not just for the richness of your own life, but also for your ability to be a calm, grounded presence for those you serve. In this episode, Deborah and Tracy interview Dr. Chris Carver, psychotherapist, counselor educator, musician, and podcast host about all the forms of dissociation we experience and how to know when our “trancing out” is helpful or unhelpful. Find out more about Chris Carver here: https://www.couragetobecounseling.com Find out more about dissociation here: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzGqQSPzJjTSKMwsDJXVPplBVfMN?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1.1 https://artomalley.com/articles/six-stages-of-the-shutdown-dissociation-continuum-associated-with-complex-trauma/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6296396/

Numerous studies point to regular writing as a way to improve our health and well-being. Given burnout in healthcare professionals, writing offers an affordable way to move stress and emotion onto the page, clearing our minds for more creative and enjoyable work. In this episode, Deborah and Tracy interview author, professor, and writing coach, Dr. Etta Madden, about the practice of regular writing for healing and apply the writing concepts to helping professionals. Find out more about Etta and her writing here: https://www.instagram.com/ettamadden/ https://english.missouristate.edu/EttaMadden.aspx https://sunypress.edu/Books/E/Engaging-Italy Read more about writing as a way of healing here: https://juliacameronlive.com https://www.google.com/books/edition/Writing_as_a_Way_of_Healing/AogZ_MlbSnYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover https://www.amazon.com/Opening-Writing-Down-Third-Expressive/dp/1462524923 https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B006H19H3M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGL8VFITIC21&keywords=the+artists+way&qid=1663610134&s=books&sprefix=the+artist%2Cstripbooks%2C126&sr=1-1

Why Therapists Drink, with Stephanie Zucchini Healthcare professionals have a particular risk for substance abuse and other addictive behaviors (overeating, overwork, overshopping), because of the stress of our schedules, the pressure to perform perfectly, and the emotionally intense nature of the work itself. The COVID-19 pandemic has made helpers and healers even more vulnerable to over-reliance on alcohol or other drugs to cope. It’s also difficult for therapists, physicians, and nurses to admit the true extent of substance use because of fear of policing by governing boards. Deborah and Tracy interview Stephanie Zucchini, family therapist and substance abuse counselor, about addiction, how it develops, how it changes us, how our work is compromised, and what we can do about it. Learn more about Stephanie Zucchini here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-zucchini-4b2085109/ https://deborahlcox.com/about/ Resources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7319914/ https://alcohol.org/professions/medical-professionals/ https://ct.counseling.org/2021/11/women-and-alcohol-drinking-to-cope/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2265282/ https://www.smartrecovery.org https://imis.counseling.org/store/detail.aspx?id=78109

We suck: Listen to our sad, sucky, stupid podcast We all have days where we feel completely incompetent, an utter failure, worthless, and we want to hide under a rock. Something starts us off on a foul note. We feel tired or under-the-weather - or we have an experience with a client, patient, or student that feels way “off.” Tracy and Deborah talk about these kinds of days, why they happen, and what to do about them. https://ct.counseling.org/2017/03/facing-fear-incompetence/ https://ct.counseling.org/2019/07/the-pretend-professional/ https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/insights/what-s-wrong-me-i-don-t-belong-here https://www.weareteachers.com/teacher-imposter-syndrome/ https://psychcentral.com/lib/therapists-spill-what-i-do-when-a-client-is-stuck

5. The Village of the Therapist: How to Make One and Why You Need It Episode Five Description Deborah and Tracy interview Dr. Doug Shirley, therapist and associate professor of counseling psychology at The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. https://theseattleschool.edu/faculty-staff/directory/shirley-doug/ We talk about how difficult it is for helping professionals, especially counseling types, to form friendships and supportive peer relationships with each other, and also the barriers to intimacy that many of us experience. https://ct.counseling.org/2012/02/why-counselors-make-poor-lovers/ Current research points to loneliness as a serious health problem for the population at large. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/20/nyregion/loneliness-epidemic.html Healthcare professionals of all types often suffer loneliness and isolation as a product of our work and lifestyle. https://scientonline.org/open-access/clinicians-stress-and-loneliness-a-review.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5581877/ Helping professionals need peers and professional peer groups to help with: burnout-prevention, practice-building, referral-making, learning new ideas, and general support. Given our difficulties with bonding and creating connection with other providers, we offer a series of strategies for cultivating those relationships. Ultimately, building a team of other healers who work in diverse settings adds dimension to our work and energy to our personal and professional lives.

Vitality and the Ventral Vagus: Using Polyvagal Theory to Help Therapists Feel Better, with guest, Paul Wickersham, LPC How can we feel better while working with our clients/patients or students? Deborah and Tracy discuss polyvagal theory with Paul Wickersham, a neurofeedback practitioner and psychotherapist in private practice in Springfield, Missouri. Helpers need to be calm and grounded while working with others. But the work often requires sitting, holding still, and keeping emotional “space” for clients or patients who are frightened, depressed, or even combative. The work can be both emotionally and physically treacherous. Polyvagal Theory, originated by Dr. Stephen Porges, provides a new understanding of the vagus nerve(s) and its role in nervous system regulation and dysregulation. Attention to the therapist’s own nervous system allows us to bring home our energy, learn, and regain focus while face-to-face with someone whose difficulties seem overpowering. Knowing how to activate the “ventral vagus nerve” helps therapists and all helpers regulate our own nervous system functioning, and get calmer and more grounded. We focus on how to attend to our own nervous system states and how this makes therapy easier and our days feel better overall. Learn more about Paul and his practice here: http://springfieldneurofeedback.com/about Learn more about the theory here: https://www.stephenporges.com And here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-trauma/202206/polyvagal-theory-approach-understanding-trauma

Your Brain on Movement: Neuroplasticity for the Healer Deborah and Tracy interview Erin Cooper Owens, a practitioner of neuromovement. Erin trained in the Anat Baniel Method (ABM), or Neuromovement, a holistic approach to human functioning that holds the premise that movement is the language of the brain. Erin lives and teaches in Springfield, MIssouri, where she helps her clients with all types of pain, focus, sleep, and movement issues. In this interview, we focus on the many applications of neuromovement, including the improvement of mental health. Therapists and other helpers can become involved in their own neuromovement practice to counter the effects of sedentary workdays, address pain issues, and develop greater creativity and clarity of thought. Learn more about Erin Owens here: https://moveyourbrain.com. Read more about ABM here: https://www.anatbanielmethod.com To learn more about Anat Baniel, ABM, and movement as the agent of profound physical, emotional, and cognitive change, check out these books. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NLKV22/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 https://www.amazon.com/Kids- Beyond-Limits-Awakening-Transforming/dp/0399537368/ref=sxts_entity_rec_bsx_s_def_r00_t_aufl?content-id=amzn1.sym.a36c3969-f821-4d5b-a8e8-be129cf4aa4a%3Aamzn1.sym.a36c3969-f821-4d5b-a8e8-be129cf4aa4a&crid=3K0TXZAQQHJ4R&cv_ct_cx=anat+baniel&keywords=anat+baniel&pd_rd_i=0399537368&pd_rd_r=d4836f81-dbca-44eb-b778-676c766

Tracy and Deborah discuss relationship, connection, and limbic resonance as aspects of self-care for helpers. Because our relationships shape our brains and our biobehavioral states, we need awareness of how we're affected by each person in our family, friendship circle, and workplace. Using literature on love, attachment, and relational connection, we tell stories of belonging, isolation, and our health.

As a global community, we witness rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm skyrocketing in the wake of more than two years of unprecedented stress and need. Helpers (caregivers, therapists, healthcare workers, teachers, and even parents) face more demands than ever, often working hours of concentrated, solo emotional labor each day. We see helpers suffering their own health crises and burnout. So, who and what helps the helper? The fields of neuroscience, art, fitness, and physiology bring us insights never before available. But how do we utilize the burgeoning information to move from burned-out, overwhelmed, and lonely to inspired, thriving, creating, and connecting? ReConceive answers these questions with a focus on profoundly different self care. ReConceive probes connectedness for everyone navigating the mental health pandemic, especially those who work in helping professions. Connectedness means rediscovering closeness in relationships and becoming familiar with our bodies. Deborah Cox, psychologist, and Tracy Maxfield, neuromuscular therapist and body psychotherapist, explore new methods for working with our clients, and ourselves, through movement, art, and love. In this first episode, Deborah and Tracy introduce their work and why they want to help the helpers. They discuss burnout and beyond, giving sneak peeks into upcoming conversations. ul li a href =https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642/a /li lia href=https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642/a/lili a href =https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642/a /lilia href=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/16/well/mental-health-crisis-america-covid.html action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Articlehttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/16/well/mental-health-crisis-america-covid.html action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article/a/lilia href=https://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwidehttps://www.who.int/news/item/02-03-2022-covid-19-pandemic-triggers-25-increase-in-prevalence-of-anxiety-and-depression-worldwide/a/lilia href=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/16/well/mental-health-crisis-america-covid.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/16/well/mental-health-crisis-america-covid.html/a/lilia href=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8348388/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8348388//a /lilia href=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7602766/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7602766//a/lilia href=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10447-019-09382-w.pdfhttps://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10447-019-09382-w.pdf/a