
When a tree falls twice-- OCD, emotional neglect, and resilience
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories | Psychotherapy, Trauma, and Psychedelics
02/17/20
•38m
About
Comments
Featured In
The root system of a tree is its hidden protection against the harsh realities of wind and drought and disease. For people, loving and healthy childhood attachments are our central hidden protection against the inevitable losses and tragedies of life. But what happens when these early attachments aren't safe and secure?
Jami's childhood emotional neglect and abuse and profound loneliness left her attachment roots shallow and damaged, yet her inner fire and natural resilience helped her to grow up strong and healthy despite the childhood challenges. When the winds of loss and grief started to blow, she came toppling down, twice. This led to a long list of failed treatments, benzodiazepine dependence and its horrors, and even a brief course of ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) when seemingly all other options had failed.
And today, she again stands strong and tall, a testament to her refusal to give up and to relationships that have helped to scaffold her and compensate for those early traumas.
Adverse childhood experiences and effects on long-term resilience and risk of chronic illness
https://www.acesconnection.com/blog/got-your-ace-resilience-scores
Major depressive episode vs "nervous breakdown"
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-everyone-became-depressed/201309/bring-back-the-nervous-breakdown
Ketamine vs ECT
https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/home/topics/mood-disorders/depressive-disorder/short-term-treatments-for-depression-ketamine-vs-ect/
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Previous Episode

Bright and Shiny and Exciting!
January 31, 2020
•32m
Life is much better on Adderall, until it's not.
In this episode, Dr. H and Dan Ronken, a Boulder-based psychotherapist and addiction specialist, explore the double edged sword of stimulants. Using Dan's ADHD and addiction story as a launching point, they explore questions including: Do stimulants make us smarter and more productive? What is the saliency circuit and why is it so relevant here? Are some stimulants safer than others? Can they safely be used by people in active addiction or in recovery? What behavioral strategies are helpful with ADD? Can you ever get that same dopamine rush without drugs? They then transition to the question of whether ketamine therapy is safe for people in recovery.
Dan Ronken
https://www.inclusionrecovery.com
Dan's Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/danronken
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Next Episode

MDMA and the Inner Healer
March 1, 2020
•78m
After a nightmarish sexual assault at age 15, Mitch's life felt over. Wracked by daily dread, panic, and a desperate longing to die, he eventually found his way 22 years later to the MAPS trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for severe PTSD.
In this astonishing account, Mitch describes how MDMA was able to reactivate his innate healing intelligence to allow him to go directly into the hottest fires of his trauma with a powerful shield of openness, safety, self-compassion, and trust. Mitch describes the actual "how" behind MDMA-assisted therapy and why it shows such promise for the future of trauma treatment.
MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)
https://maps.org
Dr. H interview on Therapy Chat podcast about working with MDMA
https://baltimoreannapolispsychotherapypodcast.libsyn.com/218-understanding-the-research-on-psychedelics-with-trauma-survivors-with-dr-craig-heacock
BFTA in the top psychedelic podcasts of 2020!!
https://blog.feedspot.com/psychedelic_podcasts/
MDMA and inner healing intelligence
https://maps.org/news/bulletin/articles/383-bulletin-winter-2014/5427-a-conversation-with-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-researchers-winter-2014
https://maps.org/news/bulletin/articles/435-maps-bulletin-winter-2018-vol-28-no-3/7515-cultivating-inner-growth-the-inner-healing-intelligence-in-mdma-assisted-psychotherapy-winter-2018
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted




