It’s Not Therapy!

The Trumpertantrum!

No, this episode isn't about politics, but the recent social media tirade from US President Trump threatening to militarily destroy Iran and its people, expressed in vulgar language, is a prime example of how behaviour once considered unfit for public display has now become normalized. Not only normalized, but held up as examples of strength, honesty and courage. Liana takes apart this troubling trend, influences which motivate it, illnesses which may contribute to it, and how we push back against it - without ourselves exhibiting the same behaviour.

Independent Living With Disabilities - Forget All The Happy-Smiley Words

"Disabled" works just fine for Todd Vaarwerk: Chief Policy Officer for West New York Independent Living, he's more interested in results. Todd uses a wheelchair due to the effects of cerebral palsy, so nobody is better at separating efforts which are useful support for disabled people from the 'well-meaning but useless' or counter-productive steps taken. And he does it with a rich sense of humour in conversation with Liana, who shares her own stories of 'accommodation' that really wasn't.

Duty of Care: Supportive or Stifling?

Duty of Care means ensuring that you take reasonable steps to provide a safe environment for others. It's a simple definition for a complex practice that takes on many different forms in different situations. Liana shares personal stories to reveal how that care can be applied - and misapplied -in ways that can make a situation less safe and supportive than you intend. Ultimately, a reasonable duty of care means finding a balance between support and the respect of an individual’s autonomy.

What Is "Reasonable Accommodation"?

The unfortunate occurrence at the BAFTA Awards, where an attendee who has Tourette's Syndrome shouted racial epithets at two Black award presenters (and the way BAFTA chose to handle that), has given prominence to the question of 'reasonable accommodation' of people with disabilities. Liana speaks with LJ, a brilliant scientist whose disability has deterred potential employers, about what he sees as reasonable accommodation and, importantly, how some well-meaning accommodations actually make things more difficult.

Are you (Accidentally) An A**hole?

Most of us try to be friendly, kind, supportive people. Yet all those things could be true and you still, inadvertently, say something that makes you look like a a*hole, and you don't even know why! Liana takes us through a journey of ways you may unintentionally be acting like an a*hole.

Self Image and Media: Art, Culture, or Porn?

As a member of the Girls Gone Wild tour of the late 1990s Courtney Kocak had a front-row seat to the "good, clean fun" which that media was marketed as. Courtney also felt the impact of sexualized media, how it affected her self-image and sense of healthy femininity. Courtney, author of the forthcoming autobiography Girl Gone Wild, shares with Liana her experiences in the belly of the beast and how she turned her rocky journey into a chronicle that can help other women shed the mental conditioning of sexualized messaging. Also, has "prestige cinema" become indistinguishable from pornography?

The Good News About AI and Mental Health

Many people fear that A.I. represent the end of our world as we know it. Liana sees A.I. for what it is - a tool that can be used for good or ill - and she relates her experiments with A.I. as a means of bettering our lives. Helping with "adulting"? Good. Helping to visualize emotions? Good. Replacing human connection with chatbots? Bad.  While AI doesn't "think" or "feel," it can help take the terror out of engaging with the world.
 

The Truth About A.I. and Mental Health

A.I. Artificial Intelligence. It's definitely the former and not the latter. What's being called "intelligence" does not actually think and the information and advice it offers can be not just wrong, but dangerous. Liana deconstructs how "AI" operates, shares the red flags to be aware of and how to reclaim your thoughts that AI has polluted. 

True Confidence

Confidence is about self-assuredness, self-acceptance and the strength to be flexible when facing challenges. What's being packaged as 'confidence' in some quarters is the opposite - fear presented as bluster, extreme need for external validation and fragility projected as 'strength'. Liana lays out her personal journey for learning the difference between the two versions of confidence and how to spot and deal with those confusing ass-ertiveness for assuredness.

Madness Misdiagnosed

While the overwhelming majority of mental health professionals listen closely to their patients and work diligently to provide the best in care, there are some whose attempts at healing lead to misdiagnosis with serious adverse effects. Liana talks to Benton Savage, author of the book "Wrong Side Out - Madness Misdiagnosed" about his experience with his mental illness being misdiagnosed, how such things happen, how he uncovered his actual condition and how you can learn from his experiences.