My guest today is Dr. Joe Oliver. Joe is a consultant clinical psychologist, author, and the founder of Contextual Consulting, a leading international training provider that has trained over 60,000 practitioners in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He also serves as an associate professor and the programme director for the University College London’s postgraduate programme in CBT for Severe Mental Health Problems. Joe is an active member of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) and a peer-reviewed ACT trainer He is also the author of six ACT books, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy & Mindfulness for Psychosis and most recently, ACTivate Your Life. His extensive contributions to the field also include several textbooks, such as Acceptance and Commitment Coaching, ACT: 100 Key Points and Techniques, and The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Self-Esteem.Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:- How ACT first came into Joe’s life- His work on using ACT to support psychosis - Fusion to aspects of the self and identity- Relational frame theory and its early influences in childhood development- And Joe’s new book, ACTivate Your Life—————————————————————————Contextual Consulting: https://contextualconsulting.co.uk/ACTivate Your Life: https://contextualconsulting.co.uk/resources/activate-your-lifeJoe’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXyoggevWPfFjvhbYlM3x8A—————————————————————————Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:Sign up for PsychFlex through the Mentally Flexible link! PsychFlex.com/MentallyFlexibleYou can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexiblePlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truthCheck out my new album, Holding Space! https://open.spotify.com/album/0iOcjZQhmAhYtjjq3CTpwQ?si=nemiLnELTsGGExjfy8B6iw
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54:00
Pepper Stetler | One Mother’s Reckoning with the IQ Test
My guest today is Pepper Stetler. Pepper is the author of A Measure of Intelligence: One Mother’s Reckoning with the IQ Test, which we discuss in this episode. She is also a professor of art history at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She has written extensively on issues facing people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Slate. She lives in Oxford, Ohio.Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:What inspired Pepper to write this bookWhat Pepper learned through having a daughter with Down’s SyndromeUnhelpful assumptions about learning and intelligenceThe history of IQ testingThe relative recency of the concept “normal”Pepper’s vision for change—————————————————————————Pepper’s Website: https://www.pepperstetler.com/—————————————————————————Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:Sign up for PsychFlex through the Mentally Flexible link! PsychFlex.com/MentallyFlexibleYou can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexiblePlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truthCheck out my new album, Holding Space! https://open.spotify.com/album/0iOcjZQhmAhYtjjq3CTpwQ?si=nemiLnELTsGGExjfy8B6iw
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53:36
Dr. Emily Edlynn | Parenting with Nuance, Flexibility, and Compassion
My guest today is Dr. Emily Edlynn. Emily is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric health psychology who works in private practice with children, teens, and adults. Emily spent almost ten years working in children’s hospitals before pivoting to private practice, which allowed her to start a writing career. Emily’s writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Parents, Scary Mommy, Good Housekeeping, Motherly, Psychology Today, and more. Her first book, Autonomy-Supportive Parenting: Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent Confident Children earned an Indies Foreword award for a best book in 2023. She also writes about modern parenting in her Substack newsletter and co-hosts the popular Psychologists Off the Clock podcast. Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:- Emily’s reflections on first becoming a parent - How misguided parenting advice inspired Emily’s writing- The importance of the repair process in relationships- The trap of overcorrecting from our childhood experiences- The value of being authentic as a parent- Autonomy-supportive parenting vs controlling parenting- And tapping into a child’s intrinsic motivation —————————————————————————Dr. Edlynn’s website: https://www.emilyedlynnphd.com/Autonomy Supportive Parenting: https://a.co/d/ja3ahmq—————————————————————————Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:Sign up for PsychFlex through the Mentally Flexible link! PsychFlex.com/MentallyFlexibleYou can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexiblePlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truthCheck out my new album, Holding Space! https://open.spotify.com/album/0iOcjZQhmAhYtjjq3CTpwQ?si=nemiLnELTsGGExjfy8B6iw
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59:34
Trevor Jones | Bringing the Heart of ACT into Performance
My guest today is Trevor Jones. Trevor is a Mental Performance Coach with the Aware Performance Group and has spent the last nine years studying and training in ACT and its underlying theories. A former professional golfer, he won a national championship and competed on the European Tour.Now, he works with high-performance clients across various domains, including golf, water polo, baseball, and stock market investing. He is currently co-authoring a book with sports psychiatrist Jorge Aguilar, MD, on one of sports’ biggest performance barriers—the yips—set for publication later this year.Trevor lives in the UK with his two sons and two dogs, where they enjoy climbing a mountain or three.Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:Trevor’s background with performance and ACT“Socially Transmitted Dogmas” in sportsThe “6 Breaths” experiential exerciseThe YipsSelf as context And The connection between pain and values—————————————————————————Aware Performance Group: https://www.awareperformancegroup.com/Trevor’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevorjones_aware/—————————————————————————Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:Sign up for PsychFlex through the Mentally Flexible link! PsychFlex.com/MentallyFlexibleYou can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexiblePlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truthCheck out my new album, Holding Space! https://open.spotify.com/album/0iOcjZQhmAhYtjjq3CTpwQ?si=nemiLnELTsGGExjfy8B6iw
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58:48
Lou Lasprugato, MFT | Yearnings and Vulnerabilities in Relationships
My guest today is Lou Lasprugato, MFT. Lou is an internationally recognized trainer and behavioral health provider. He’s a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, with private practices in both California and Virginia (United States), and Peer-Reviewed Trainer in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, for which he also serves as chair of the Training Committee. Lou has taught mindfulness meditation to health care practitioners and facilitated dozens of training events on ACT and Relational Frame Theory (RFT), as well as co-created courses on nutritional psychology and integrative mental health. Some of the topics we explore in this episode include:Reflections on parentingLou’s clinical background and how he first discovered ACTHow Lou uniquely applies ACT within couples workCore yearnings and vulnerabilities in intimate relationshipsHow these apply to the therapeutic relationshipAnd balancing the content and process levels in a therapy session—————————————————————————Lou’s website: https://www.loulasprugato.com/—————————————————————————Thank you all for checking out the episode! Here are some ways to help support Mentally Flexible:Sign up for PsychFlex through the Mentally Flexible link! PsychFlex.com/MentallyFlexibleYou can help cover some of the costs of running the podcast by donating a cup of coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/mentallyflexiblePlease subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It only takes 30 seconds and plays an important role in being able to get new guests.https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mentally-flexible/id1539933988Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentallyflexible/Check out my song “Glimpse at Truth” that you hear in the intro/outro of every episode: https://tomparkes.bandcamp.com/track/glimpse-at-truthCheck out my new album, Holding Space! https://open.spotify.com/album/0iOcjZQhmAhYtjjq3CTpwQ?si=nemiLnELTsGGExjfy8B6iw
Join psychotherapist Tom Parkes as he has meaningful conversations to help you build mental flexibility. Each episode will explore topics related to psychology, mental health, and creativity. With an open mind and a sense of curiosity these conversations will help you better understand yourself, others, and the world around you.
New Zealand