The Trauma & Mental Health Report Podcast

In this episode, Trauma and Mental Health Report writer Nikita Baxi speaks with Dr. Chloe Paidoussis-Mitchell, a grief and trauma psychotherapist based in the U.K, about dealing with identity loss during grief. Her new book The Loss Prescription: A practical roadmap to grief recovery, published by HarperCollins, uses her decades of clinical experience to develop recovery tools and exercises not only for identity loss during grief, but for many other aspects of loss as well.

In this episode, Trauma and Mental Health Report writer Taylor Alves speaks with Summer Krause, a licensed professional counsellor and certified alcohol and drug counsellor, who has worked with youth and adults dealing with trauma and addiction. In her work she runs individual and group counselling through Seeking Safety groups which focuses on teaching people safe coping skills. Summer has background in the juvenile justice system and witnessed that trauma is often the missing piece people skim over when talking about addiction. In this podcast we talk about trauma, addiction, and the gaps in treatment.

Join us as we delve into the groundbreaking introduction of Canada's 988 help hotline. We explore its pivotal role in reshaping mental health services, enhancing accessibility, and providing immediate aid to those in need. Expert insights and discussions illuminate the transformative impact of this vital resource on mental health support in Canada.

On today's episode, Jasleen Ghuman of The Trauma and Mental Health Report interviews Paul Scanlon who focuses on mentorship and courses on communication, leadership and personal development. He has committed his life to helping people and organizations not to get stuck in old versions of themselves. He speaks to tens of thousands live annually and many more through his online and social media platforms. We dive into how mentoring has empowered himself and others, the benefits it has had on the individuals who attend, if Paul has ever experienced performance anxiety while being on stage, and how one can overcome performance anxiety.

Mental Health challenges are at an alltime high right now with people still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and the risk of a recession due to the economic crisis as a result from the pandemic. With this comes the need for more available and affordable mental health services and resources. In this interview we speak with mental health advocate for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Judy Brunton, for her perspective. In this episode we discuss various challenges, resources, and support for mental health. Judy shares her own story with how she got started, what work she has done, and how events such as the pandemic have impacted mental health supports in general. She also highlights the significant need for mental health stigma to be addressed and for more affordable mental health services. With the economy struggling to recover from the pandemic, the need for mental health supports and fundraisers for affordable programs is needed now more than ever. Check out Judy’s Youth Mental Health Fundraiser for CMHA, as well as her Fundraiser Facebook Page.

In today’s episode, Trauma report writer Emma Puric speaks with Elma Linz Kanefield, a renowned performer, psychotherapist and life-coach who founded The Juilliard School’s Counseling Service in 1986. Elma has over thirty five years of experience in counselling dancers, actors, musicians, and more. In her book Hamlet’s Mirror, Elma explores the challenges and promises of performance culture, as well as four performing personality types she has identified through her work.

On this episode Trauma and Mental Health writer Jasleen Ghuman talks with Babette Rothschild and Vanessa Bear, to discuss the topic of trauma and recovery and their new workbook “8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery”. We talk about the resources that are available for recovery, the importance of recovery and creating individualized recovery plans for trauma survivors.

Debates continue to be had regarding MAiD for mental illness in Canada, however, most of the information is not easily accessible. As conversations continue to be had regarding this topic, it’s important understand how MAiD for mental illness impacts people and our society and our local community. In this episode, Trauma and Mental Health Report writer Abigail Ramos speaks with Sherry Moran, a retired lawyer and federal government executive who has served on a number of charitable and non-profit boards of directors over the past 25 years, including that of Dying with Dignity Canada. Moran is an active voice within the national mental illness advisory group in addition to her role at Dying with Dignity Ottawa Chapter's advocacy committee. The conversation focuses on an overview of what MAiD for mental illness is, the good it can provide, possible drawbacks, and shedding some light on key issues that have been discussed regarding MAiD for mental illness.

In today’s episode, Trauma report writer Emma Puric speaks with psychoanalyst, psychotherapist, writer, and social critic Dr. Susie Orbach. Dr. Orbach joins us to discuss how feminist theory and psychoanalysis informed her thinking about women’s body-image, the internalization of unrealistic beauty standards via mass marketing, the impossible message behind anti-aging campaigns, and how women can come together to create a visual culture which appreciates and reflects the diverse nature of beauty and bodies.

The recent surge of psychedelic research has sparked a growing interest in psychedelic-assisted therapy using psilocybin to treat various mental health conditions including addiction. In this episode, Trauma Report writer Michelle Kim discusses this approach in detail with Dr. Albert Garcia-Romeu from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine at the Center for Psychedelic & Consciousness Research. Dr. Garcia-Romeu works in the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and is also a Guest Researcher at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Neuroimaging. Tune into our podcast to learn more about the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for addiction treatment.

Amidst the current uprising in Iran, led by its courageous and resilient women, many other human rights related concerns have also begun to be brought to light. In this episode, a Trauma Report writer sat down with Arsham Parsi, an Iranian-Canadian LGBTQ rights activist, to discuss the dire lack of rights faced by members of the LGBTQ community in Iran. Parsi provides insight on what an average day can look like for an Iranian LGBTQ citizen, common misinterpretations we often hear about the conditions of human rights in Iran, and the power that unity holds to help Iranian youth battle through the revolution.

In this conversation, Temple Grandin shares insight on how parents, teachers, and doctors can help autistic youth flourish by focusing on activities that work around their strengths. Temple emphasizes the importance of gaining work experience and skills that challenge an autistic child just enough so that they gain important life skills which apply to other areas. The importance of trades and practical courses in school is discussed, as exposure to a variety of activities can inspire a future career. Finding meaning in work is discussed as well, along with the different types of minds that are seen in autism.

In this episode, Trauma Report writer Daniel Sanchez Morales speaks with Lauren Shannan, Immigration consultant; Bonny Gajjar, International Student; and Sebastian Vasquez, International Student; about the mental health challenges of being an international student. Through this podcast episode, participants explore the major challenges that they have faced while studying abroad and how this has impacted their vision of mental health resources within post-secondary institutions. Additionally, Lauren provides with an immigration and legal outlook about international students coming to Canada.

In this episode, Trauma Report writer Chiara Gianvito speaks with Amy Camilleri Zahra, a Maltese disability and women’s rights activist, academic, and public speaker. Their conversation centers around Camilleri Zahra’s research on counsellors’ understanding and perceptions of disability that has revealed a need for greater training and accessibility. Camilleri Zahra also shares her lived experiences that have led her to drive social change in these areas. Follow along or read the transcribed audio here.

It is understandably difficult to imagine how something as light as humour can be useful in dealing with something as heavy as depression, anxiety or trauma. However, The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humour has made it their mission to help people understand how humour can be an effective therapeutic tool to help individuals struggling with mental health challenges. Trauma Report writer Hannah Mugford sat down with Steven Sultanoff, a clinical psychologist and one of The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humour’s past presidents, to learn more about therapeutic humour and how it can have a positive impact on mental health and well-being. Check out The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humour’s website!

We all like to think that we are capable of perfect reason and making decisions purely from a logical perspective. What many of us fail to recognize is that our reasoning is always linked to our physical feelings. If you ever wondered why judges are more likely to be lenient after lunch or why we may react differently to the same message delivered by people we feel differently about, listen to this episode, where Trauma Report writer Jenna Zorik interviews the cognitive scientist, Professor Vinod Goel, about his new book, “Reason and Less: Pursuing Food, Sex, and Politics.” Tune in as Professor Goel discusses how our feelings and sensations affect our reasoning ranging from inability to control what we eat to refusing to get vaccinated.

Trauma Report writer Elizabeth Liu speaks with clinical psychology Dr. Sally Chung in this episode exploring the concept of intergenerational wealth not just as physical assets, but as knowledge and wisdom on how to navigate systems integral to society. Understanding the barriers that immigrant families face is important, as the lack of knowledge in educational, economic, and power systems can hold great disadvantage across generations. In addition, individuals who encounter these barriers often grow up facing the additional challenge of integrating multiple cultural identities. Dr. Chung explains how we can bridge these gaps through community, awareness, and providing accessible services.

In this episode, Trauma Report writer Fatmah Jahim speaks with Dr. Craig Malkin, clinical psychologist, lecturer at Harvard and author of “Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing & Coping with Narcissists”. He has over 20 years of experience in helping families, couples and individuals heal and overcome difficult emotions. His unique and practical approach to helping people break out of painful experiences in addition to his research based work makes him an integrationist: he uses different techniques and schools of thought to help individuals. Moreover, he is an expert on narcissism and has developed The Narcissism Test, derived from his Narcissism Spectrum Model which offers individuals a sense of where individuals may fall in the narcissism spectrum. Dr. Malkins also shares important parts of his book with the audience and further explains the term he coined “echoism”.

In this episode, Trauma Report writer Daniel Sanchez Morales speaks with Amanda Coombs, clinical psychologist and instructor of the First Aid for Mental Health training at the Mental Health Commission of Canada. As a Black single mother, Amanda provides an overview of the training and how she has been able to support BIPOC folks in acquiring skills to respond to mental health crises. Coombs touches on the importance of taking into account folks’ backgrounds when sharing this knowledge, as well as how the program encourages sentiments of unity and trust in her community. Subscribe to our channel on iTunes and Spotify!

In our second installment of our two-part interview, Trauma Report writer Samantha Mason talks with the Honourable Mr. Justice Richard D. Schneider, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D., LL.B., LL.M., C.Psych. to discuss the process of decriminalizing the mentally ill and how we can move forward using what we have learned in the mental health courts to provide those who are accused with a more supportive justice system. Listen to Part 1 of our interview here.