Back in Control Radio

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and Oriental Medicine and family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They explain their areas of focus in getting patients beyond “normal limits” to thriving. These include: self-awareness, internal state, connection, work and spirituality. They share their belief that healing can be fostered when we learn to value human connection and authentic sharing above all else. Alona Pulde, MD is a board-certified practitioner of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine & Family Medicine Physician and Dr. Matthew Lederman is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician & CNVC Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication. After ten years of serving Whole Foods Market as corporate Vice Presidents, helping launch their national comprehensive medical & wellness centers, coaching and retreat programs, and integrated hospital and insurance networks, Dr. Pulde and Dr. Lederman moved on to co-found their new venture, WeHeal and their new book Wellness to Wonderful. For more information on Wellness to Wonderful, visit: www.weheal.health/wellness-to-wonderful Explore the WeHeal Platform at: www.weheal.health

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with internist Dr. Matt Lederman and Oriental Medicine and family practitioner Dr. Alona Pulde. They share their approach to healing that begins with understanding the physical and emotional context of the patient and helping them develop awareness about how this affects their health. Learning to deal with uncomfortable emotions and seeing how feelings are generated by needs is key. Their goal is to help patients learn to thrive – to experience joy and be happy. Alona Pulde, MD is a board-certified practitioner of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine & Family Medicine Physician and Dr. Matthew Lederman is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician & CNVC Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication. After ten years of serving Whole Foods Market as corporate Vice Presidents, helping launch their national comprehensive medical & wellness centers, coaching and retreat programs, and integrated hospital and insurance networks, Dr. Pulde and Dr. Lederman moved on to co-found their new venture, WeHeal and their new book Wellness to Wonderful. For more information on Wellness to Wonderful, visit: www.weheal.health/wellness-to-wonderful Explore the WeHeal Platform at: www.weheal.health

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussino with psychological anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Dr. Tamara Turner. She explains the cultural context of the Algerian Diwan community’s approach to healing from pain and trauma through trance dancing. She found that one of the most important factors in making this an effective healing tool was the community’s belief that suffering is an accepted part of being human. The Diwan cultural code discourages talking much about suffering and feeling like a victim. Instead it emphasizes a focus on gratitude as well as a very strong sense of family and community. Trance dancing is a form of community support to help its members release the emotions tied to their suffering so they can heal. Dr. Tamara Turner is a psychological anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who has spent more than 15 years researching the role of music and dance in healing across cultures. Her award-winning research in North Africa focuses on Sufi music and dance rituals designed to deal with inter-generational trauma among Black communities who are descendants of slaves from the trans-Saharan slave trade. As both an academic, international speaker, and musician, she has published extensively across arts and health disciplines and has held research positions in the US, UK, and Europe. For more information, visit: https://kcl.academia.edu/TamaraTurner.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with psychological anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Dr. Tamara Turner. She shares the origins of her award-winning research into the role of dance and healing in North African communities. Her initial focus was on a career in classical music. But she developed an interest in other types of music that eventually led her to study the music of West and North Africa. She discovered that in Morocco and Algeria, certain communities used music and trance dancing as a healing modality for pain and trauma. These healing rituals could last 8-9 hours. The movement of the dance would lead to an altered state and the level of trance ranged from light rapture all the way to complete dissociation. Dr. Tamara Turner is a psychological anthropologist and ethnomusicologist who has spent more than 15 years researching the role of music and dance in healing across cultures. Her award-winning research in North Africa focuses on Sufi music and dance rituals designed to deal with inter-generational trauma among Black communities who are descendants of slaves from the trans-Saharan slave trade. As both an academic, international speaker, and musician, she has published extensively across arts and health disciplines and has held research positions in the US, UK, and Europe. For more information, visit:https://kcl.academia.edu/TamaraTurner.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with pain psychologist, neuroscientist and co-founder of Aivo Health, Melissa Farmer. Or eight years, she has worked with world-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Vania Apkarian on how our brains process chronic pain. She shares the important discoveries resulting from that work including how, over time, the brain shifts the processing from sensory centers to the older emotional learning areas. This is an adaptive strategy that the brain uses to free up threat processing resources. Thus, pain becomes an emotional memory hard wired into our neural circuits. The good news is that this is reversible using techniques we have control over. Melissa Farmer, PhD is one of about 5 people in the U.S. who is both a pain psychologist and neuroscientist. With 16 years of experience working with people who live with hard-to-treat chronic pain. Dr. Farmer was trained at one of the few multidisciplinary pain clinics in North America, at McGill University, where she treated patients with a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and meditation techniques for pain relief. She worked alongside Dr. Apkarian for 8 years contributing to his groundbreaking findings. Dr. Apkarian is a world-renowned neuroscientist and the first scientist to discover that chronic pain is maintained by emotional brain circuits, not tissue damage. His research reveals how the brain contributes to chronic pain and his findings emphasize that emotional learning and memory underlie the long-term suffering of chronic pain. She left the academic research world to co-found Aivo Health together with Dr. Apkarian and a pain patient, driven by the mission to bring effective and compassionate pain care to people who need it. For more information, visit: https://www.aivohealth.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with internationally renowned Ayurvedic clinician, Zeeba Khan. She describes how doshas (mind body spirit compositions) can indicate the types of illnesses or disorders you might be susceptible to. She identifies the 3 doshas – Vata Dosha, Pitta Dosha and Kapha Dosha – and gives examples of what they might signify for health. The first step in working with a client is to diagnose their doshas. From there she will work to bring the most out of balance dosha into balance. To do this, she questions her clients about diet, sleep, stress, what brings them joy and how often they engage in those things. She also asks them why they want to get better. She has discovered there is always an element of forgiveness and compassion in the healing process. Zeeba is an internationally renowned Ayurvedic clinician, meditation teacher, energy healer and motivational speaker who uses holistic treatment to restore her patients’ mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health and to prevent disease and disorders. In particular, she focuses on healing trauma, which often leads to anxiety, depression, feelings of loss, and low self-esteem. She has presented month-long workshops to corporate clients, including some well-known global leaders and has also led meditation and yoga workshops at schools internationally to incorporate wellness education into their curriculum. She is also a leading practitioner with Mindvalley’s Soulvana meditation app. In 2020, she was honored by an invitation to be part of a live interactive session hosted by His Holiness The Dalai Lama on the topic of integrated healthcare and compassion. For more information, visit: https://www.zeebahealing.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with internationally renowned Ayurvedic clinician, Zeeba Khan. She shares the important role her family life played in the development of her Ayurvedic practice. Her mother was Persian and her father was Indian, and in both her parents’ cultures, the kitchen was the pharmacy. Her experiences taught her the important of food, sleep, meditation, gratitude and surrender to a higher power as the foundational elements of resilience, health and healing. Zeeba is an internationally renowned Ayurvedic clinician, meditation teacher, energy healer and motivational speaker who uses holistic treatment to restore her patients’ mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health and to prevent disease and disorders. In particular, she focuses on healing trauma, which often leads to anxiety, depression, feelings of loss, and low self-esteem. She has presented month-long workshops to corporate clients, including some well-known global leaders and has also led meditation and yoga workshops at schools internationally to incorporate wellness education into their curriculum. She is also a leading practitioner with Mindvalley’s Soulvana meditation app. In 2020, she was honored by an invitation to be part of a live interactive session hosted by His Holiness The Dalai Lama on the topic of integrated healthcare and compassion. For more information, visit: https://www.zeebahealing.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Daniel Atkins, an intuitive psychologist. He explains the steps he uses when working with clients to help them start on their healing journey. These include: focusing on the current issue; listening for emotional associations with the pain; encouraging them to explore new possibilities; and using experiential tools like breath work and meditation. His focus is on getting clients to see that their pain doesn’t define them and that it can be the basis for their transformation. Ultimately, he points out, our healing starts and ends with us. Daniel Atkins, Psy.D is an intuitive psychologist and invites individuals and groups of all ages to understand the lineages and layers of emotional trauma they carry. Daniel was trained as a clinical psychologist and personally navigated a 10+ year journey with a misunderstood medical diagnosis. His personal journey led him to seek beyond the traditional bounds of western medicine in order to heal himself and develop the tools to guide others. As a result, Daniel cultivated an integrative practice that incorporates the mind-body connection, the ancestral lineages of trauma, his own style of energy-based medicine, and channeled intuitive wisdom to meet the holistic needs of sufferers in mind, body, and spirit. For more information, visit: https://www.drdanielatkins.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Daniel Atkins, an intuitive psychologist. He talks about his 10+ year personal journey through pain and illness. He explains that he tried traditional Western psychotherapy approaches to heal but found they focused too much on analyzing his early childhood and were unhelpful. His healing began when he started exploring other traditions with a broader spiritual dimension. What he learned drove a major shift in the way he works with clients in his practice today. Daniel Atkins, Psy.D is an intuitive psychologist and invites individuals and groups of all ages to understand the lineages and layers of emotional trauma they carry. Daniel was trained as a clinical psychologist and personally navigated a 10+ year journey with a misunderstood medical diagnosis. His personal journey led him to seek beyond the traditional bounds of western medicine in order to heal himself and develop the tools to guide others. As a result, Daniel cultivated an integrative practice that incorporates the mind-body connection, the ancestral lineages of trauma, his own style of energy-based medicine, and channeled intuitive wisdom to meet the holistic needs of sufferers in mind, body, and spirit. For more information, visit: https://www.drdanielatkins.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Jeff Frankart, physical therapist and founder of The Fix PT clinic. He explains the three components of chronic pain (biological, psychological and social) and shares the details of his approach to treatment. The first step is getting patients to understand how chronic pain works. The next step is having patients move and push up to, but not beyond, their pain threshold. Over time, this helps them desensitize to pain, move their pain threshold and get over their fear of movement. In this sense, he helps them make their pain “accurate.” Jeff Frankart served as a physical therapist and the Chief of Chronic Pain Physical Therapy at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. Army hospital in Germany, from 2010 to 2018. While there, he established a triage system to quickly evaluate and treat several hundred troops a week. The three-week program required no equipment and could be done one-on-one or in groups. After 30 years of service, Jeff retired and founded The Fix PT, a physical therapy clinic he operates with his wife, Carla. His focus is helping clients reduce chronic pain and narcotic use, and improve their mental outlook. He has personally treated more than 50,000 patients in his 25-year career. For more information, visit: https://www.thefixpt.com.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Jeff Frankart, physical therapist and founder of The Fix PT clinic. He talks about his work in the military with combat soldiers to help them recover mobility and reduce opioid addiction. He explains how, using a movement-based systems that only relies on body weight and no equipment, he was able to help them increase their pain threshold, lose their fear of pain and begin their healing journey. Today he uses this same process in his physical therapy clinic. Jeff Frankart served as a physical therapist and the Chief of Chronic Pain Physical Therapy at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. Army hospital in Germany, from 2010 to 2018. While there, he established a triage system to quickly evaluate and treat several hundred troops a week. The three-week program required no equipment and could be done one-on-one or in groups. After 30 years of service, Jeff retired and founded The Fix PT, a physical therapy clinic he operates with his wife, Carla. His focus is helping clients reduce chronic pain and narcotic use, and improve their mental outlook. He has personally treated more than 50,000 patients in his 25-year career. For more information, visit: https://www.thefixpt.com.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Dr. Sue Carter, the former director of the Kinsey Institute and a world-renowned scientist. She talks about oxytocin’s important role in human social behavior. She underscores the fact that oxytocin affects every tissue of the body and is the physiologic basis for pair bonding and relationships. Under stress, the body produces large amounts of oxytocin, and can help us make better judgments about who it is safe to connect with. She shares how her understanding of oxytocin grew out of her research studies on the social behavior of prairie voles. Sue Carter, PhD is the former director of the Kinsey Institute and a world renowned scientist. Her research program has discovered important new developmental functions for oxytocin and vasopressin, and implicated these hormones in the regulation of human connection and early social experiences. She is also studying oxytocin’s implications for controlling stress and chronic pain.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Dr. Sue Carter, the former director of the Kinsey Institute and a world-renowned scientist. She shares how the importance of oxytocin has come to be recognized in the scientific community over time. She discusses the evolutionary history of oxytocin and explains the role that oxytocin plays in lowering inflammation and reducing stress. It also helps the body to build and repair bone tissue and plays an important part in healing processes. Sue Carter, PhD is the former director of the Kinsey Institute and a world renowned scientist. Her research program has discovered important new developmental functions for oxytocin and vasopressin, and implicated these hormones in the regulation of human connection and early social experiences. She is also studying oxytocin’s implications for controlling stress and chronic pain.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with neuroendocrinologist and bestselling author Rob Lustig. He explains the different types of sugar we consume in our diet and how the body metabolizes each type. In particular, he focuses on the dangers of the sweetener fructose and discusses how it results in fatty liver disease and diabetes. The problem with fructose is that it is both toxic and addictive. Our liver has a limited capacity to metabolize fructose. However, it stimulates the production of dopamine which makes us want it more and is why food manufacturers put it into so much of our processed foods. Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and Member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current “anti[1]sugar” movement that is changing the food industry. Dr. Lustig graduated from MIT in 1976, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980. He also received his Masters of Studies in Law (MSL) degree at University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2013. He is the author of the popular books Fat Chance (2012), The Hacking of the American Mind (2017), and Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (2021). He is the Chief Science Officer of the non-profit Eat REAL, he is on the Advisory Boards of the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, the Center for Humane Technology, Simplex Health, Levels Health, and ReadOut Health, and he is the Chief Medical Officer of BioLumen Technologies, Foogal, Perfact, and Kalin Health.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with neuroendocrinologist and bestselling author Rob Lustig. He shares how he first got interested in nutrition when he studied the role of the hypothalamus in driving obesity in pediatric patients with brain cancer. He discusses the symbiotic role of gut bacteria in our digestion, immune response and even the experience of pain. He explains six importance benefits of fiber in keeping the gut microbiome healthy, regulating appetite and protecting the gut. Robert H. Lustig, M.D., M.S.L. is Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, and Member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF. Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with expertise in metabolism, obesity, and nutrition. He is one of the leaders of the current “anti[1]sugar” movement that is changing the food industry. Dr. Lustig graduated from MIT in 1976, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980. He also received his Masters of Studies in Law (MSL) degree at University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2013. He is the author of the popular books Fat Chance (2012), The Hacking of the American Mind (2017), and Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine (2021). He is the Chief Science Officer of the non-profit Eat REAL, he is on the Advisory Boards of the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, the Center for Humane Technology, Simplex Health, Levels Health, and ReadOut Health, and he is the Chief Medical Officer of BioLumen Technologies, Foogal, Perfact, and Kalin Health.Pain, Chronic Pain, Healing,

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Charlie Merrill, a physiotherapist, clinician educator and consultant to startup Lin Health. He outlines his collaborative approach with patients. This begins with a physical assessment to look for a pattern that makes sense. If his findings don’t add up, the pain could be due to psycho-social factors. He uses treatments that interrupt the brain’s reaction and creates new wiring. He changes the physical treatment as the client’s nervous system calms down. Throughout the treatment process, he shares the science of pain with his clients and helps dispel myths about their pain and reduce their fear. He has found that people heal best when they let go of their anger. Charlie Merrill is a Boulder, CO based physiotherapist synthesizing mind/body strategies to treat acute and chronic pain symptoms. He supports clients across the life span, including elite athletes, in un-learning symptoms by addressing their fear about the pain itself as well as fear about the emotions related to life stress and change. In addition to teaching clinicians, Charlie’s work with startup Lin Health is normalizing, scaling, and improving access to the idea and treatment strategies that acknowledge and address the ways in which emotions manifest as physical symptoms. For more information, visit: lin.health.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with Charlie Merrill, a physiotherapist, clinician educator and consultant to startup Lin Health. He shares how he has created a practice of treating chronic pain that is based on building a strong and trusting relationship with the patient. He helps patients understand the dynamics of pain by explaining the issue in a systemic way, reduce their fear and establish greater autonomy in their own healing process. Along the way to developing his current approach, he had to unlearn much of his traditional medical education around the treatment of chronic pain. Charlie Merrill is a Boulder, CO based physiotherapist synthesizing mind/body strategies to treat acute and chronic pain symptoms. He supports clients across the life span, including elite athletes, in un-learning symptoms by addressing their fear about the pain itself as well as fear about the emotions related to life stress and change. In addition to teaching clinicians, Charlie’s work with startup Lin Health is normalizing, scaling, and improving access to the idea and treatment strategies that acknowledge and address the ways in which emotions manifest as physical symptoms. For more information, visit: lin.health.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with author and consultant Gillian Riley. She details the approach she uses to help clients control overeating. Some of the key elements include: getting clients to understand what drives their cravings and why they need to create new neural pathways to control them; developing self-agency and avoiding unsolicited advice; showing them how they can be in charge of their diet and their relationship to food; encouraging them to take small steps and think about how overeating will make them feel afterwards. After teaching a program on quitting smoking for 12 years, Gillian Riley ran her first course on “How to take Control of Overeating” in 1997. She held weekend workshops in London for 20 years, delivered the course through webinars since 2017, and is now about to begin her 18th 6-week online course. Her work has as its focus the extraordinary and often ignored role of the mind in behavior change such as stopping smoking and eating less. For more information, visit: https://eatingless.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom talks with author and consultant Gillian Riley. She explains how we respond to unconscious eating cues with deeply embedded biological responses. She discusses how becoming aware of these hidden cues is the first step to control overeating. Balancing long term and short term rewards is a key to eating less and eating better. A key aspect of her approach is helping clients understand they have freedom of choice over what and how they eat. After teaching a program on quitting smoking for 12 years, Gillian Riley ran her first course on “How to take Control of Overeating” in 1997. She held weekend workshops in London for 20 years, delivered the course through webinars since 2017, and is now about to begin her 18th 6-week online course. Her work has as its focus the extraordinary and often ignored role of the mind in behavior change such as stopping smoking and eating less. For more information, visit: https://eatingless.com/.

In this episode, Dr. David Hanscom continues his discussion with Pam Wirth, a Principal of consultancy Strategic Growth Advisory and founder of Hello Health. She discusses the founding of her company, Hello Health, and outlines the steps to effectively use supplementation for improved health and treatment of a variety of conditions. These include getting tested to determine your gut health and developing a personalized supplementation profile that yields the most effective results for you. Pamela Wirth is a hockey mom, lifelong learner, Carnegie Mellon trained MBA, former public company executive, management consultant, author and health enthusiast. She is Principal of Strategic Growth Advisory consulting for startups to public companies. Additionally, she founded Hello Health with doctor-formulated supplements following a neurodiversity diagnosis of her son and is dedicated to nutrition, education and building a network to help heal more people - particularly those with Neurodiversity, Autoimmune and Autism syndromes. Ms. Wirth enjoys health and wellness, traveling, and helping others, specifically enabling children to feel better from the inside out. She combined these passions along with her experience while living in Europe and Asia with US doctors and other families to write Hello, Health. Ms. Wirth's consulting, life experiences and attention to detail allowed her to work with a number of people and companies with a passion for helping others. For more information, visit: https://www.hello.health.