Mindful Things: A Mental Health Podcast

Jeff talks to Dr. David J. Alperovitz about how anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and ARFID are diagnosed and treated. David also provides an overview of eating disorders, shares tips for recognizing key warning signs, and answers audience questions.
David J. Alperovitz, PsyD, is currently the program director of McLean’s Klarman Eating Disorders Center. He also has over 25 years of experience working at McLean Hospital, primarily with individuals with OCD, eating disorders, trauma histories, and dissociative symptoms.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: mclean.link/psk
– Read the episode transcript: mclean.link/m9g
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Jeff Szymanski about hoarding disorder, its warning signs, and options for treatment. They also discuss the evolution of the diagnosis, how it started as a subtype of OCD, and its current diagnostic criteria. Additionally, Dr. Szymanski shares resources, organizations, and researchers doing work in the field today.
Jeff Szymanski, PhD, served as the executive director of the International OCD Foundation for 15 years following his role as the director of psychological services at McLean’s OCD Institute. Dr. Szymanski is a lecturer on psychology at Harvard Medical School and the author of the book “The Perfectionist’s Handbook.”
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/6nn
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/i5j
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Kathryn Eve Lewandowski about both schizophrenia and the different types of bipolar disorder. Eve shares overviews on both disorders, tips for spotting their signs and seeking treatment, and answers audience questions about successfully supporting someone living with these conditions.
Kathryn Eve Lewandowski, PhD, is the director of clinical programming at McLean OnTrack™, a program for young adults in the early stages of psychotic disorders. She is also a member of the International Society of Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Targeting Cognition Task Force and the International Consortium Investigating Cognition in Bipolar Disorder (ICONIC-BD).
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/eks
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/o2o
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Karen Jacob about how borderline personality disorder is diagnosed and treated. The two discuss causes and symptoms of BPD, as well as some misconceptions that are widely held about the illness. Karen also provides tips for supporting someone living with the condition and answers audience questions.
Karen Jacob, PhD, is the program director of McLean’s residential treatment program for individuals with borderline personality disorder and other severe personality disorders. Her clinical training has been primarily in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), mindfulness, mentalization, dialectical behavior, and biofeedback therapies.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/uwp
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/x9i
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Mills Smith-Millman about proven strategies for supporting the mental well-being of students in kindergarten through high school. They discuss mental health training options for school professionals, and Mills answers audience questions about common mental illnesses impacting children and adolescents.
Mills Smith-Millman, PhD, is a staff psychologist with the McLean School Consultation Service, which trains educators and school mental health staff around Massachusetts in the use of scientifically proven mental health interventions. Dr. Smith-Millman specializes in improving the delivery of mental health services to students in K-12 schools.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/pep
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/jqz
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Sarah Ketchen Lipson about common mental health concerns for college students and they discuss tips for recognizing and addressing these challenges and the conditions they can lead to. Jeff also asks Sarah some audience questions about typical campus resources for students who are struggling.
Sarah Ketchen Lipson, PhD, EdM, is an associate professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health and Principal Investigator of the Healthy Minds Network. Her research focuses on mental health and service utilization in college populations.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/8if
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/5ia
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Matthew A. Robinson about PTSD, DID, and other trauma-related disorders. Dr. Robinson also debunks common myths about these conditions and covers the evidence-based treatment methods to ensure that people are able to manage their symptoms and live rewarding lives.
Matthew A. Robinson, PhD, is co-director of McLean’s Outpatient Trauma Clinic, provides individual, group, and couples treatment for trauma and dissociative disorders, is also an instructor in psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and is an investigator on grant-funded, cutting-edge research.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/p8o
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/o76
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Nathaniel Van Kirk about both the helpful and unhealthy ways we respond to perceived and imagined threats. Nathaniel offers tips for recognizing different panic and anxiety disorders, when to seek help, and answers audience questions.
Nathaniel Van Kirk, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, specializing in severe anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and trauma/PTSD. He is the director of psychological services at McLean’s OCD Institute.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/c70
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/vvh
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Guvenek-Cokol about the challenges that children and teens face in today’s world and the impact they can have on their mental health. They discuss the warning signs that parents can look out for that can differentiate “normal” teenage troubles from more worrying concerns and how to go about asking for help.
Perihan Esra Guvenek-Cokol, MD, is a double board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. Specializing in emerging mental illness in teens and young adults. She is the medical director for McLean’s Child and Adolescent OCD Institute and STAR, an outpatient program for teens and young adults.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/o6w
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/s8b
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2024 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.

Jeff talks to Dr. Anna Precht about dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT. They discuss the logistics of what DBT is, and what makes it different from other treatment options such as CBT. They mention ways that clinicians can become properly trained in DBT, and how individuals seeking treatment can find properly certified clinicians. They also discuss the history of DBT, its current applications, and what its future may look like.
Anna Precht, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and the program director of McLean’s adolescent dialectical behavior therapy program for young men. She has extensive experience treating adults and adolescents using DBT in both individual and group settings. Dr. Precht is particularly interested in the treatment of borderline personality disorder and self-injurious behaviors.
RELEVANT CONTENT:
– More about the episode: https://mclean.link/g9t
– Read the episode transcript: https://mclean.link/3n6
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The McLean Hospital podcast Mindful Things is intended to provide general information and to help listeners learn about mental health, educational opportunities, and research initiatives. This podcast is not an attempt to practice medicine or to provide specific medical advice.
© 2023 McLean Hospital. All Rights Reserved.