psyd mft
Punk drummer then Songwriter then Dharma Practitioner then Social Justice Educator then EMDR/Trauma/Addiction Therapist then Author/Podcaster now simultaneously...
I was honored to be asked by the creators of Mindworks to add some helpful content to their App. Mindworks is a non-profit created by some amazing meditators – check them out here. And please join me on the App for my talks The Psychology of Addiction and Insight is the Answer to Addiction.
I had the distinct pleasure this past week to lead intensive MET(T)A Protocol trainings with the staff at Roots Through Recovery, an outpatient program in Long Beach, CA that has traditionally utilized mind, body, and spirit-centered approaches to support recovery both from substance abuse and primary mental health issues. It was fantastic to sit with clinicians, counselors and administrative staff alike and talk about the importance of trauma-focused programming, clinic culture, and utilizing EMDR and Mindfulness for healing and long term recovery.
I know a lot of folks who wish they could meditate more and build more mindfulness practice into their everyday lives, but it's not always easy to do. Creating an established spiritual space in your home can really support a regular spiritual practice. Forbes recently interviewed me and a few other spiritual and business leaders about how to create sacred spaces in your home. Lot of great tips in here - take a look!
Even in California, the land of sunshine, it's difficult for many of us to deal with the increase of darkness during the winter months. My friend at Forbes, Amanda Lauren, spoke with me recently about Seasonal Affective Disorder and the ‘winter blues.’ Check out her article HERE.
Amanda Lauren reached out to me after sitting with me at a Dharma talk, and we spoke of how to keep a practice going at home. It is not an easy task, it is one that I have struggled with and every single practitioner I know has struggled with. I am glad Amanda told her story with honesty, and I hope our dialogue helps people to normalize the experience of that struggle and allow them to access meditation on a daily basis...
I have been on Paul Gilmartin's Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast, and he provides an amazing service to all those who deal with these issues... and here on I, Survivor he shares his own story with Jenna and Wagatwe. At the end, I follow up on Paul's story with some more information and guidance about getting help with this type of trauma. I am so grateful for all these podcasters, and for the opportunity to help out as I am able.
My latest interview with Safe For Work on the Wondery podcast network: Liz and Rico invited me back to talk about workplace burnout... signs, symptoms and solutions. Both of them were honest with their own struggles with it, and I feel like we had a very fruitful conversation on the topic...
Click through or download for a listen.
I have been teaching mindful anger management for over 20 years now, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever write the book version of it… But now I have. This is a workbook that can be used individually or as part of group work to discover and enact an anger management program for oneself that is anchored in Mindfulness.
I’m excited about the release of the book November 6, 2018 and I am also excited to be thinking and talking about this subject in this way at this time. I am looking forward to seeing where this book leads me, and I am very much looking forward to hearing how people might be helped and have their suffering eased in these pages.
ORDER YOUR COPY OF
MINDFULNESS FOR ANGER MANAGEMENT
ON AMAZON TODAY!
Jenna Brister and Wagatwe Wanjuki are the hosts of an amazing new podcast about the survivors of trauma... I was given the opportunity to spend some time with them after listening to Carol Miller's account of her successful healing with EMDR therapy from the memories and symptoms from a plane crash when she was 16 years old. Hopefully the message regarding trauma focused care, mindfulness and the power of EMDR therapy grows a little bit each time there is a conversation like this about it. Thanks also to producer Abbie Swanson for bringing me in...
My talk may have not been so much about pizza and the eternal as it was about feeding ourselves through applying the 8 fold path in our lives and the impermanent nature of things, but pizza and the eternal were certainly part of how I made my point. The dharma was taught to me over the years as containing all things, and all things can be our teachers. Always glad to have the opportunity to sit with the Against The Stream sangha and to share some of that dharma.
Anna David's new book The Miracle Morning for Addiction Recovery came out yesterday. I am honored to have my personal morning routine included amongst the dozen examples in the pages of this very helpful book --- mornings are my favorite time and I think they are a crucial factor in creating sustainable recovery. Well worth a read! Congratulations Anna David and her three coauthors Hal Elrod, Joe Polish & Honorée Corder!
My latest interview with Safe For Work on the Wondery podcast network features a conversation on addiction in the workplace. Matt Ritter, Liz Dolan and I talk about information intervention, substance abuse prevention, wellness programs, and how to handle a coworker with a problem.
Click through or download for a listen
I have become part of the team at Wondery podcast network, appearing as a guest on Safe For Work with hosts Liz Dolan and Matt Ritter. I have been recording more episodes and am looking forward to continued collaboration with the show and the network.
I take a call at the end of the show from a caller having trouble with the erratic behavior of a boss...
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I have become part of the team at Wondery podcast network, appearing as a guest on Safe For Work with hosts Liz Dolan and Matt Ritter. We discuss the impact of personal grief, loss and trauma on the workplace and on the individual within the workplace. I have been recording more episodes and am looking forward to continued collaboration with the show and the network.
Click through or download for a listen
The latest issue of the EMDRIA Journal, a peer reviewed publication for EMDR Research and Practice, includes a very positive review of our book EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma-Focused Care. Jamie and I are thrilled that the reviewer seemed to resonate with all the aspects of the book that we were hoping would be meaningful for the reader. The informal feedback we are getting along with reviews like this one has only strengthened me and Jamie in our resolve to have clinicians turn toward the implicit and explicit mindfulness elements of EMDR therapy in order to make the shift from trauma-informed to Trauma-Focused care.
Last August I conducted a half day retreat at Seattle's own Rebel Saints Meditation Society. The talks were recorded and three of them are available on their website, iTunes and GooglePlay. It was the first retreat where I began talking about that which I now seem to land on consistently, the availability of practice in every moment, in every situation, in every thought, every feeling state. Reading the biography of Dipa Ma profoundly touched me, and linked in with my years of Zen training to remind me in the deepest of ways that this practice is not just about sitting on a cushion. This is a way of life. And so, in the face of adversity, in the face of dukkha, in the face of nibbana, we practice.
VoyageLA.com has a series called LA's Most Inspiring Stories. They display them by neighborhood, as the focus is on people's work lives and the services they offer around the city. Being that my main office location is now in Larchmont, I was profiled as an inspiring story from Hollywood. The interview made me aware of something... I have now been here more than 15 years, and it is very much my home. So as I described my work life and my hopes and plans for the future, it made me feel good to think of how I have worked across this city now much like I did in NYC. It has been harder to navigate, literally, with the many miles I put on my car as opposed to the thousands of subway rides during my New York life. But the moral of the story in the end is that I have been able to be of service to a great many people in the greater Los Angeles area, and I look forward to many more opportunities to come -- on the East side from my home office, to Larchmont with my private practice, to Venice as Refuge Recovery Centers moves to the West Side. And of course, more will be revealed...
Dr. Tamer and Dr. Simon invited me to spend over an hour on a show called White Coat by satellite network Al Karma talking about PTSD and EMDR therapy. It was a wonderful opportunity to share my passionate belief that healing is possible through mindfully applied EMDR psychotherapy. In a sense the show allowed me to provide some of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 work of psychoeducation about PTSD and trauma focused treatment, as well as discussing some of the Phase 2 resourcing that can help people to heal and to prepare for trauma resolution. The video is cued up here to where I begin talking specifically about EMDR therapy, and I am most grateful to Dr. Tamer for providing in vivo translation into Arabic for his mostly Arabic speaking audience... Al Karma is a satellite network that reaches over 14 million people worldwide... one wonderful bit of synchronicity was that my coauthor Jamie Marich was in Dubai providing EMDR training in Arabic (courtesy of co-trainer Layla Asamarai) at the very same time I was on this program...
Live show on Alkarma tv channel - Jan. 20, 2018 Host: Dr. Tamer Meshel Guest: Stephen Dansiger Psy.D.MFT اضطرابات ما بعد الصدمة وعلاجها - معطف أبيض - قناة الكرمة بث مباشر على قناة الكرمة التلفزيونية - 20 يناير 2018 أعداد وتقديم: د.
Its been a few years since we talked with microphones on, but Marc Maron and I have never stopped talking to each other. Recently, we spent some time actually practicing mindfulness and working on his trauma, and then we sat down to have a conversation for a new episode of WTF. We talked about my new book, EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma-Focused Care, trauma, recovery, Buddhism, the new world order and everything in between. I really enjoy talking with Marc in general, but with microphones on is a special treat for me. So glad to share some of the dharma, some of the trauma resolution and some of the ongoing banter that has been my life with Marc...
Back in August I gave a talk at Against the Stream that just came out on the ATS podcast. I utilized the koan of the Wind and the Flag to establish a foundation for practice, and then went to my notes from my unrecorded November 9, 2016 talk to see what was still in play since then. I was being honest when I said that I don't remember much of that Wednesday talk after the discombobulating events of the night before... so the talk was finally given in the context of time having passed, and in the context of - is it the wind, is it the flag, or is it your mind that is moving. As the world continues to stay volatile, it seems that practice becomes more and more crucial every day if we are to end or transform suffering at all. Hope maybe this talk helps ease some suffering...