In medical school I learned DBT was the gold standard for BPD.
In residency I discovered there were other equally effective therapies: TFT, MBT
In practice, a commonality has dawned on me: no insurance wants to pay for the length of time and intensity of the treatment.
Some of my favorite quotes on listening psychodynamically… add your own, if you have another!
"Most of the ways that therapists talk during the clinical hour are intended to demonstrate that they are listening" (McWilliams, 2004 p 134).
@elonmusk
@CensoredMen
Here is my summary as a psychiatrist actually treating depression:
Depression is brain related and it is more complex then too little serotonin:
First line in my mind is therapy (which changes the brain) and the connection is more important then the…
My mentor and supervisor Dr. Tarr passed June 12th 2023 at 94 years old.
He was my teacher from July 2011 to June 2014.
We co-taught classes together from July 2014 to May 2023 2-5 hours a week.
He was a psychiatrist & psychoanalyst. He trained under the leadership of Franz…
New article and podcast on Narcissism with
@JonathanShedler
released today. Going to post the whole article/links below:
Narcissism with Jonathan Shedler
Nha Nguyen, Catalina Baas, Jorge Salazar MD, Jonathan Shedler, PhD, David Puder, MD
Itunes link:
…
Episodes I have done with
@JonathanShedler
1. Psychodynamic therapy:
2. Obsessive Compulsive Personality
3. Narcissism:
4. Beginning treatment:
Please comment what should be next...
Interviewing
@JonathanShedler
today on:
Beginning the treatment
Developing a treatment contract
Developing a genuine working alliance (an alliance around shared understanding of the purpose of therapy and the methods of the therapy)...
Any questions for him on these topics?
This article discusses an apparent case of mania triggered by Psilocybin.
In my experience, I have observed a severe episode of psychosis resulting from Psilocybin use, which was only mitigated through the administration of a high-dosage antipsychotic.
New episode! “Beginning Treatment” with
@JonathanShedler
Big wins:
1. How to find an initial purpose of treatment
2. Role play !!
iTunes:
Spotify:
YouTube:
About to record a podcast episode with
@JonathanShedler
on Narcissism. Please post any questions below you desire him to address... Please check out the prior episodes we did:
1) Episode 144: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Jonathan Shedler, Ph.D
Squatting is one of the best exercises for your brain. Why? Because your muscles are Neuro-endocrine organs. Stronger people have lower rates of depression and anxiety. Squatting is a powerful way to release tons of positive brain stimulating substances.
@SS_strength
#squat
Happy to have so many requests to have Nancy McWilliams back on the podcast! And you too
@JonathanShedler
!! Some have asked for both of you at the same time.
Nancy McWilliams: Mental health in relationships is depicted through showing love and devotion to another person by accepting them as they are. This includes several other capacities, such as:
•Being fully emotionally honest.
•Being able to acknowledge …
My body feels nervous for the first time in podcasting.
Interviewing Robert Sapolsky Thursday.
@Dr_SueJohnson
in 2 weeks.
4 am wake up without an alarm… my body knows.
2 people who have influenced my life I have never met.
In 8 years of medical school and psychiatry residency I had one lecture on how diet can impact mood from
@DrewRamseyMD
.
Subsequently as an attending,
@FeliceJacka
's SMILES trial, in 2017, rocked my understanding regarding diet on depression:
RCT for 12-week study, 67 people...
Each time I step beyond the confines of the psychology-focused Twitter, I bear witness to a disheartening display of unkindness and unnecessary provocation. It seems like there's a distinct lack of effort to comprehend differing viewpoints. I appreciate you, my friends!
In my mind, the gold standard for moving out of mental illness is:
1. Enough therapy- where you experience empathy, connection and progressively share more uncomfortable material with less shame
2. Exercise- both cardio and strength training
3. Diet lacking highly processed foods
Feeling sadness over the passing of Dr. Sue Johnson on April 23, 2024. As the founder of Emotionally Focused Therapy, she profoundly impacted both my personal and professional journey. I'm grateful to have hosted her on episode 194 of my podcast.
I fear for our field.
For those seeking to educate themself on transference:
“By categorizing past close relationships, we can be prepared for meeting new people. Our early attachment relationships are always alive in the present. We have transference with every person, in…
Many of you liked
@JonathanShedler
’s episodes on obsessive compulsive personality and narcissism. What type of personality would you like him to cover next? Here is a link to his article on them:
After ten years in personal therapy, diving deep with patients often brings me back to my own past traumas and developmental challenges. Just as patients develop strong feelings onto me, both real and informed from early attachments, I too am deeply affected and go through my own…
Working on an ACE (adverse childhood experiences)
episode is difficult. Reading about trauma after working with patients who are in the midst of it, is hard. Heavy data analysis can seem like intellectualization in the midst of the reality of the suffering ... behind the numbers.
Exercise (cardio and strength training) is a prescription I like to write for all patients.
For some it is complex. Strength training 2x per week, making small gains.
For others who have an average of <500 steps per day, it is to increase their steps by 500 every week.
Remember my 205th episode with
@JonathanShedler
"Beginning the Treatment"? This is the article POSTED TODAY we co-wrote about our role play with extra commentary.
I reveal this part was real for me:
I once had a therapist who said I wasn't idealizing her enough...…
Woke up at 4 am to my son having a bad dream. I regulate his body with my calmness. He said "daddy don't tell me what it means till the morning"... I precede to get up and read the following studies as I prepare for recording an episode on reflective function:
@PeterFonagy
and Bateman origin story — mentalization based therapy— effective treatment for borderline personality disorder!!!
Deeply honored to even meet with them. Their chemistry should be watched— you will see love.
📢 Just released an extraordinary episode featuring my interview with Dr. Michael Garrett, husband of Nancy McWilliam, on connecting with patients with psychosis. I personally found his approach to be truly paradigm-shifting, and other MDs share the same sentiment. Prepare to be…
Better Help was fined 7.8 million by the FTC for sharing patient data (email addresses, IP addresses and health questionnaires) with meta and Snapchat. Was this enough? Seems like not even a wrist slap to me. I am highly disturbed by this commercialization.
Therapy, medications, and exercise are pillars of my psychiatric practice. Here's me powering through a weightlifting session this morning.
#psychiatry
Examples Of Reframing “You” Statements To “I” Statements:
“You never text me when you’re at work.” → “I wish you’d text me when you’re at work.”; “I fear you’re losing interest in me.”
Adverse childhood experiences increase odds of most mental health issues.
Odds of having Ptsd or dissociation increases a ton when >4 ACEs.
iTunes:
Deep dive handout:
I learned about psychosis by learning about malingering psychosis …
Dr. Resnick - first listened to him in residency and was mesmerized… talking to him was a gift.
Recognizing the daunting task my podcast faces in combating the barrage of misinformation propagated by corporations with billion-dollar budgets. The misleading information often includes:
1) Overstating the efficacy of newer medications, even when they're not more effective…
Today I picked up a 100+ pounds of books from my mentor who passed, Dr. John Tarr. I have many of the books, but do not have his underlines and notes. I am blessed to continue to find mentors with gifts to give.
@JonathanShedler
, Nancy McWilliams, Michael Cummings, and more…
Still waiting for a Twitter psychiatry critic to open up a clinic for treatment resistant depression or treatment resistant schizophrenia… one famous critic last time I had someone call- charged >1k per hour, and screened out anyone not wanting to do all her diet…
I soon realized after joining this app that "mental illness" means something very different to those who have never sat across from a patient who tried to dig the "thought-monitoring electrode" out of his brain with a kitchen knife.
Why do some see flaws others can't? Ever wonder why certain individuals are hyper-aware of their appearance? Dr. Katharine Phillips, a 30-year BDD expert, sheds light on this in "Psychiatry & Psychotherapy Podcast with Dr. David Puder".
#BDD
#BodyDysmorphiaFacts
…
Reviewing my episode with
@Mark_Solms
on consciousness. Would be curious where you land on the determinism-free will spectrum.
"I Feel, Therefore I Think, Therefore I Am"
You Tube:
If CBT were the gold standard, then only 20% more then wait list would get better according to this large study. Instead gold standard for therapy should be:
1. Strong therapeutic alliance and empathy
2. Therapist effect is stronger then modality
3. Enough treatment (see…
How come “gold standard” never means providing adequate session frequency and treatment duration to *meet the patients actual mental health needs?*
All the “gold standard” talk about therapy is a magician’s trick. It’s called misdirection.
Episode 209, titled "PTSD and Cognitive Processing Therapy," is now available. Dr. Resick, with decades of experience in treating trauma and conducting research, shares invaluable insights for professionals in this field.
"Listening in a professional capacity is a disciplined, meditative, and emotionally receptive activity in which the therapist's needs for self-expression and self-acknowledgement are subordinated to the psychological needs of the client" (McWilliams, 2004 p 133).
“In the case of the borderline-level narcissist, the defense of splitting takes the form of ascribing all good and admirable qualities to themselves and projecting limitations, failures, and bad feelings onto others. Thus, they experience themselves as all-good and all-important…
Tonight I am reading notes I took from my late mentor and psychoanalyst Dr. John Tarr.
Here are some quotes:
"If you can't integrate mother and father then can you integrate an image of yourself? Emptiness, vagueness, not a solid core of conviction in things."
"Many…
When people say they know how the mind and psychology work on social media…
—>Yet don’t actually see patients
—>Yet don’t read articles that counter their ideas
—> Yet don’t build a strong man argument for the opposing side
—> Yet are 100% sure…
@DrDave_99
Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is a psychodynamic treatment for borderline personality disorder. It uses the relationship between patient and therapist, and the emotions and behaviors that emerge ('transference'), to understand and manage the patient's complex emotional…
“AI therapy" isn't therapy; instead, it should be considered as advice or coping strategies that, at best, will likely outperform pop psychology self-help books. This misconception is akin to the term "social media," a misnomer, considering it's only 5% social. The remaining…
"The idea of sitting in front of another person & telling them your biggest secrets fills a lot of people with dread & this adds to the appeal of AI therapy"
They don't understand working through that sense of dread *IS* the therapy
There are no bypasses
This is simply not true.
In the Mass Shooter Database, out of the 182 cases there were only 43 that had ever been prescribed psychiatric medications (the rest had no evidence of ever being on a psychiatric medication).
@MattWalshBlog
spreading stigma and incorrect data on the link between school shooter and medications.
Here is the truth:
In the 2022 update of the Mass Shooter Database, out of 182 cases of mass shooters, there were only 34 with known mental health treatment in the past 6…
TFP, DBT, MBT, SFT all have equal outcomes when compared head to head.
The problem we have is the length of the treatments (successful in the studies) is denied by insurance.
Misattributing & externalizing blame will not help those suffering…
@SteveStuWill
“More Effective” is just not something the evidence says- yet. Comparing one effect size to another is not helpful sometimes because controls are different. Here is my summary:
There is a beauty to grow in a curiosity about our countertransference - we hear, we see, and we feel.
What we feel and are drawn into might give us awakened deeper empathy.
Empathy —> Connection —> Beauty
@Gilberator
@elonmusk
@CensoredMen
We all have bias. But I would love Twitter depression slayers to open up a treatment center and actually sit with patients for several years and see if their ideas work.
New art by my daughter … she wanted to make it for an older student paired with her. Encouraging my kids to express gratitude might be one of the biggest gift I leave them with.
Every Mental Health Professional Should know about Xylazine (also known as “tranq” or the “zombie drug”)!
It a clonidine analogue and alpha-2 adrenergic agonist with effects in both the central and peripheral nervous system. It functions as a powerful sedative, analgesic, and…
Xylazine, a dangerous vet tranquilizer, is in the S.F. drug supply and contributed ~2% of overdoses deaths in SF this year. All these deaths involved fentanyl too. Protect your life by stopping or reducing drug use. Recovery is possible: Call 888-246-3333 for treatment today.
Grateful for the support and warm-heartedness of our podcast audience. Your reviews fuel my commitment to: 1) Upholding data-driven, effective clinical practice 2) Maintaining integrity by declining pharmaceutical sponsorships 3) Discerning 'no' to maintain focus 4) Featuring…
If we do therapy right, it allows a patient to explore themselves: "The appropriateness of any intervention or therapeutic stance should be judged by the criterion of whether it increases the patient's ability to confide, to explore more and more painful self-states, and to…
What do you see? Try to comment your first unfiltered thoughts that come to your mind. I will post my reflections on this graphic art I made below.
Watch expert
@JonathanShedler
discuss this personality here:
Take a moment to think about how different generations were raised:
Silent Generation (1928-1945): Radio, Print media
Baby Boomers (1946-1964): Television, Print media
Generation X (1965-1980): Television, Early Computers, Internet
Millennials/Gen Y (1981-1996): Internet,…
I did an episode with Judith Beck on CBT in 2024…
1) highly interpersonal, high empathy
2) therapeutic alliance seems central
3) stoic philosophy informed cbt
tell me your thoughts:
iTunes:
Spotify:
Consciousness deep dive with
@Mark_Solms
now up. 1) consciousness is not cortex dependent 2) I feel therefore I think therefore I am 3) Panksepp updates Freud (and more)::>
Nerding out today on the reflective function manual by Fonagy and
@HowardSteele1
Reading this slowly & taking notes to better understand this attachment masterpiece. Made up a story for my son: a boy’s superpower of perfect reflective function
Here is some info in case you don’t know how important treating OSA is with a CPAP:
Undiagnosed OSA symptoms:
•Excessive sleepiness
•Loud snoring
•Frequent awakenings
•Breathing pauses
•Morning headaches
•Dry mouth, sore throat
•Irritability, mood disturbances
•Poor…
Be aware and very cautious when asking "why" questions. Why questions are likely to arouse the same defensive, emotional reactions that occurred when the patient, as a child, was asked "Why did you do that?". At times, "Why?" can communicate disapproval.
If you wake up and your brain feels like mush, and you feel lethargic. Try a quick 10 minute workout followed by a cold shower for 3 minutes. Comment below if you feel better!
@JonathanShedler
Deep dive here:
1. Social media is only 5% social
2. “Doom scrolling”
3. It is not just the hours on social media- it is the hours not doing real engaging things
My heart goes out today to those who found out they did not match. I myself was once there too. It was a real punch in the gut. After I heard in my head “psychiatry” which I had not applied to initially. Reach out if you want some empathy!
Had a patient use chat GPT and it sent them into a strong dissociation. Can’t give details - but imagine the hard truth (or inaccurate assumption) leading to extreme disorientation.
Of course it's an illusion
And it's a safe bet someone who feels "heard & warm" with a bot has little experience feeling heard & connected in real relationships. They don't know what intimacy looks, feels like, or how to create it
That's what we address in real psychotherapy
New Podcast Episode: Schizophrenia Treatment: Clozapine, LAIs, Technology and Equity with John Kane, MD and Lauren Hanna, MD
Authors: Jason Wong, BA, Joseph Flaxer, MD, MPH, Julia Tartaglia, MD, David Puder, MD
Only Dr. John Kane has any potential reported conflicts of…
It is not that they are continuing to explore things they know they want to share, but things they did not even have access to until you listened in a way that reduced shame and fear and, therefore, allowed them to elaborate and to talk about themselves in deeper ways.
I am always curious why the critics don’t open up their own treatment resistant depression clinic with all their good ideas and publish their results…
Instead they:
1) Tweet their ideas
2) Promote placebos
3) Believe a science fiction based religion that psychiatrists are…
I tweeted about my father having benefited from ECT and triggered this response.
Unlike the poster, I don’t consider being hospitalised for mental illness as anything to be ashamed about, but I don’t think sectioning is an appropriate way of dealing with a tweet they don’t like.
@nntaleb
Feeling out of breath during initial exercise phases, especially climbs, is common. Reasons:
1) Warm-up effect: Body adjusting blood flow.
2) Oxygen Debt: Initial anaerobic muscle work.
3) Lung Adaptation: Respiratory system adjusts to oxygen demand.
4) Mental Factor:…
Fun examples (add your own): “The phenomenological experience of our therapeutic alliance seems tinged by the vicissitudes of projective identification, wherein disavowed aspects of your self are unconsciously attributed to me, altering my countertransference and shaping our…
I'll stick my neck out & say (again) it's disingenuous to speak in psychobabble & "therapy speak"
Legit therapists don't talk that way. They speak plain English & help patients do the same
If someone come out of therapy speaking psychobabble, something has gone horribly wrong
2/8 When asked how they feel about something, someone with OCP will instead tell you what they think. The overuse and overvaluation of thinking, reasoning and logic is a defense against emotional life.
@JonathanShedler
I talk about this in my episode coming out tomorrow on ACE. With new research on ACE we don’t necessarily need new types of treatments- just most of the good that we have talked about.
Interview with
@Dr_SueJohnson
recorded yesterday! Posting next week!
1) the pursuer’s tone of anxiety and pressured voice, with underlying desire for their partner to open up — causes the withdrawal oriented partner to speak less out of a sense of danger
When
@JonathanShedler
treated Chuck Norris, he discovered a new therapeutic approach: instead of talking about feelings, the feelings talked about how they felt around Chuck.
I do not practice a "type" of psychotherapy. The therapy I provide is based on my case formulation for a specific person. I have never provided the same therapy twice.
It is therapy for that person alone.
This is something outcome researchers seem incapable of grasping.