DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast
Episodes
107. Confronting Uncertainty: Philosophical Inquiry in Mental Health with Cristiano Bacchi and Giacomo Piselli Fioroni
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We use frameworks and concepts to protect ourselves from the discomfort of not knowing, but these very concepts, when taken for granted, can prevent u...
106. Class Divides in Mental Health Treatment: Policies & Systems of Containment and Control with Sociologist Neil Gong
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
I speak with sociologist Neil Gong about his book: Sons, Daughters, and Sidewalk Psychotics, which explores how mental health care in the U.S. is deep...
105. The Joy of Movement: Embodied Curiosity, Injury Recovery, and Playfulness with David Bantje
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“One reason why it can feel so hard to listen to your body is because it is not normalized to move in a variety of ways that you would want to. Ther...
104. Being an Anti-Racist Clinician: On Moral Injury, Resistance and the Future of Psychiatry with Rupi Legha
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Your questioning and critiquing is everything that is needed for 2025 and beyond. And if or when it is construed [by the system] as as a deficiency...
103. The Link Between Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)/Hypermobile Spectrum Disorders & Anxiety and Nervous System Dysregulation with Derik Anderson
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
20% of the population is on the hypermobile spectrum and can struggle with chronic pain because of it. At the more extreme end of the spectrum is Ehle...
102. Healing Traumatic Brain Injuries & Chronic Pain with Kayleigh Stack
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Our brains are one of the most adaptable and dynamic parts of the body. Brain injuries, however, can disrupt all facets of our lives from personality ...
101. Rethinking Assumptions Within Psychiatry & Developing Conceptual Competence with Awais Aftab
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Any movement that aspires to be critical must be self-critical. There is value in approaching 'critical' not as an identity, a label, or a ...
100. Remembering Where You Come From: Thoughts on the United States from an Indigenous Ancestral Healer of Zulu and Swazi Lineage, Thabiso Mthimkhulu
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“One thing that I want people to understand is that if you live in America, you live in a business and you are a customer in that business.” - Tha...
99. Creative Liberation: The Intersection of Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and Gender Queer Experiences with Lyo-Demi Green
17 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Building visions towards a liberatory future will take creative power, vulnerability, radical imagination, and the capacity to honor difference in all...
98. Does Mental 'Illness' Have a Purpose or Function? Madness as an Adaptive Strategy with Justin Garson
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“I wish somebody had presented these ideas that what we call mental disorders, they're not like diabetes. They're not like cancer. They're more like...
97. Rethinking ‘Madness’ : Mad Studies, Sanism and the Politics of 'Normal' with Alisha Ali, Bradley Lewis and Jazmine Russell
22 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever felt frustrated by the narrow, rigid ways we’re encouraged to think about mental health and experiences considered ‘madness’? Whet...
96. Understanding ‘Delusional’ Beliefs: How Compassion and Curiosity can Help a Polarized Society with Lisa Bortolotti
08 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In everyday life, we might label irrational, illogical, or absurd beliefs as ‘delusional’, and dismiss the person who expresses them on these grou...
95. Disability Identity, Chronic Illness and Community: Owning Your Story with Sarah Napoli
25 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“It is valuable for our culture and our society to work towards disability rights, disability justice, and a disability inclusive lens, because it's...
94. Embracing Wholeness through Existential Kink & Shadow Work with Carolyn Lovewell
18 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“As long as we insist that we absolutely don't want dark, freaky, unpleasant things, a major part of our full spectrum human curiosity gets cut off,...
93. Neoliberalism and the Global Export of Psychiatry: Toward Epistemic Humility with Psychologist Justin Karter
16 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Commercialized psychiatric and psychological knowledge encourages us to think of ourselves primarily as consumers and promotes a set of values that su...
92. Shaping Countercultural Mental Health Narratives: From Anarchist Punk Rock Subculture To Radical Therapist Values with Sascha Altman DuBrul
26 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The language we have for describing mental health challenges and suffering can constrict or expand the realm of possibilities for how we define oursel...
91. Is Schizophrenia a Metabolic Problem?: Research Update on Nutritional Interventions
19 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Are most mental health concerns a result of issues with cellular metabolism? In this episode, I discuss Dr. Chris Palmer’s 'brain energy theory,...
90. The Mental Health - Chronic Illness Overlap: Surprising Root Causes & Ways to Intervene
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Our mental health is a cumulative product of the story of the body.” Why do mental and physical health concerns seem to go hand in hand? At which...
89. Transforming Heartbreak, Betrayal, and Grief with Sara Avant Stover
21 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“A new order will emerge from within the chaos” - Sara Avant Stover Being human means experiencing loss. If we let it, these moments can propel us...
Podcast Update! Here's What You Need To Know...
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
https://depthwork.substack.com/
88. The Power of Gut Health, Motility & Simple Nutrition with Supriya Rao
31 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Its becoming more well known that gut health impacts mental health, but with the rise of ‘wellness culture’ how do we separate fact from fiction? ...
87. Finding Freedom From Psychiatric Drugs with Chaya Grossberg
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Millions of people are put on psychiatric drugs each year. For some, these drugs are desired and effective, but for many, whether taken willingly or b...
85. Suicide Prevention: What Traditional Mental Health Care Gets Wrong
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
"When someone says that they want to end their life, it just means that they don't want to be living the life that they're living" (...
84. The Mind-Body Problem in Psychiatry: How to Be A Holist with Philosopher Diane O’Leary
26 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“When medical doctors or psychiatrists entertain incoherent ideas about the mind and body, they make bad decisions about how to assist us in being w...
83. Healing Thyroid Autoimmune Issues Using Holistic Practices with Fern Olivia
19 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes it takes a healing crisis to get to the roots of chronic illness and transform our life into something more sustainable and purposeful. For ...
82. Building Bridges Across Generations with Abby Kamen
05 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ever have an existential crisis that made you upend all your beliefs about who you thought you were in life? Abby has, and today she speaks to the pow...
80. From Disillusionment with Mental Health Treatment to Collective Power with Therapist Denise Ranaghan
08 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
They say many therapists get into this work for deeply personal reasons, but not many have held so many roles the way today’s guest, Denise Ranaghan...
79. Why Forced Psychiatric Interventions are More Common Than We Think with Journalist Rob Wipond
01 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Some of the most egregious harms have been done in the name of “help,” and this is especially true when it comes to forced psychiatric interventio...
77. Eating Disorders, Addiction & Complex Trauma: Using Expression to Heal with Katie Kilbourn
09 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In popular culture, we tend to think of eating disorders as a reaction to toxic societal messages about our bodies. While this may in part be true, fo...
76. Menopause, Trauma & Psychosis: Holistic Approaches in Midlife & Undoing Patriarchal Conditioning with Leah Harris, Lynda Wisdo & Marie Brown
02 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most overlooked experiences is menopause and perimenopause and impact on mental health. Societally we treat it like a disease or an ‘unta...
74. Returning Home to Our Bodies: Somatic Practice & Undoing Ableism with Abigail Rose Clarke
12 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“If I don't feel like I fit in to these linear and binary systems, it's because I don't. It's because they're not actually refle...
73. Healing Intergenerational Trauma & Being a Cycle Breaker with Mariel Buqué
05 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Cycle-breakers see the pain that flows through their families and say: this pain ends with me.” - Dr. Mariel Buqué Through family narratives, st...
71. Healing after an Abusive Relationship and Breakup with Chandni & Jazmine
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ever been in a relationship or went through a breakup that had you feeling completely confused, disoriented, made you lose trust in yourself and impac...
69. Functional & Integrative Psychiatry: Nutrition & Mental Health with James Greenblatt
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Whatever happens in the body affects the brain, and what happens in the brain affects the body” - Dr. James Greenblatt. The biomedical model of m...
68. To Forgive or Let Go of Family Members Who Have Caused Harm
24 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s common for survivors of trauma to feel pressure to forgive and/or to let go of relationships with family members who have caused harm. There ar...
67. Your Voice as Your Channel: Sacred Self-Expression & Tender Discipline with Jocelyn K. Glei
03 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"My Voice is My Channel" So many of us experience fear around our self expression. We may prefer to be in the role of "curator," h...
65. Decolonizing and Politicizing Our Mental Health Practice with Jennifer Mullan
20 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Rage has many facets, and grief cannot be separated from rage.” If you’ve worked in mental health, social work, psychology, healing or mutual a...
64. The Somatics of Trauma with Luis Mojica
06 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“It is incredibly subversive to say that our body has a wisdom of its own, that we can heal and release shame and pain, and trauma.” Luis Mojica W...
63. The Future of Mental Health Education with Noah Gokul & Jessie Roth
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Traditional mental health practices and treatment have garnered a lot of critique from concerned clinicians, researchers, and activists. However, when...
61. Best of Depth Work Part 2: Holding a Personal and Collective Vision for Change
01 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are celebrating 1 year and 61 episodes of Depth Work in this very special compilation episode. Hear from clinicians, healers, activists, and expert...
60. Best Of Depth Work Part 1: Redefining Mental Health & What Truly Helps
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We are celebrating 1 year and 60 episodes of Depth Work in this very special compilation episode. Hear from leaders and experts on redefining mental h...
59. Asking Better Questions: Compassionate Self-Inquiry & Questions That Have Changed Me
04 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The quality of the questions we ask can drastically shape our lives. We consciously and subconsciously ask questions throughout our day, but how many ...
57. Desire As a Compass & Honoring Discontent
28 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We've been raised to fear the ‘yes’ within ourselves, our deepest cravings - Audre Lorde The distrust of our desires and of pleasure is a huge...
56. Creating Wellness Plans to Rally Community in Times of Need
21 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Wellness plans and crisis plans (sometimes called psychiatric advance directives) are documents that outline our mental health needs and can even help...
55. Depression as a Messenger: Decoding the Deeper Purpose, Meaning and Healing Potential
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Depression can be a challenging, incredibly painful experience, but it can also pave the path to change and transformation. Experiences of numbness, d...
54. Surviving Twenty Years in a Psych Hospital & Cultivating Creative Liberation with Issa Ibrahim
07 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What’s it like to spend 20 years locked up in a psychiatric asylum? Issa Ibrahim knows this intimately. As a survivor of complex trauma, drug-induce...
53. Unlearning Inner Child Self-Protection Strategies for Deeper Connection and Vulnerability
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If we want more Intimacy and connection with others, it requires vulnerability. We all have ways that we protect ourselves from potential rejection, p...
51. Undoing Martyrdom & Self-Sacrifice: Feeling ‘Enough’ in our Relationships and Work
23 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“If you've come here to help me, then you're wasting your time. But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, the...
50. Autoimmunity, Psychosis & Trauma: The Role of Inflammation in Mental Health
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Celiac disease is an unfortunately common autoimmune disorder that affects about 1 in 100 people. That’s 1%, a HUGE proportion of the population. Wh...
49. The Physiological Roots of Mental Health: A Functional Medicine Approach to Autoimmunity & Childhood Trauma with Randall Gates
09 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Functional medicine and psychoneuroimmunology is on the rise as a more integrative way of understanding the physiological roots of mental health conce...
48. Tending to Our Nervous Systems: Healing Chronic Pain & Communicating with Plants with Asia Suler
02 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“We arise out of the very conditions that will heal us.” - Asia Suler In this episode, herbalist, nature philosopher, and author Asia Suler shares...
47. The Problem with Mental Health Diagnoses: Critiques of the DSM in 2023
27 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why are so many mental health professionals, researchers, and activists critiquing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)? In...
46. How Women Without Kids are Transforming Society with Ruby Warrington
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“There's something incredibly dangerous to the status quo about us no longer feeling ashamed for choosing lives that are right for us, and withi...
45. Harm Reduction, Capitalism, Psychedelics & The Opioid Epidemic: Fighting The War On Drugs with David Levine
12 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Harm Reduction Specialist and Peer Counselor, David Levine, and I discuss the social and political context of the war on drugs in the United States an...
44. Centered Self-Accountability: Undoing The Impact of Shame & Blame
05 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this much-requested episode, we explore the topic of shame and blame, how we can become mired in these emotions, whether by taking on too much resp...
42. How Psychology & Psychiatry Fall Short: Science vs. Ideology with Trauma Specialist & Clinical Psychologist Noël Hunter
28 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“I think in this day and age the field of psychology/psychiatry is our modern day religion come together around these sets of ideas that tells us ho...
41. Hearing Voices, Empath Struggles, and Healing intergenerational Trauma with Psychic Therapist Brittany Quagan
14 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever felt like you’re “going crazy,” heard voices, or had strange and unusual experiences, you’re not alone. My guest today, Britt...
40. Holistic Mental Health : What Are The Roots of Mental Health Concerns?
07 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“The questions we ask ourselves when we’re in the midst of crises have the potential to either liberate or confine us." Mental health concern...
39. Trauma-Informed Relational Healing: Building Connectedness In Romantic Partnerships & Society With Rebecca Nidorf
31 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our capacity to authentically relate to one another is shaped not only by our life experiences, early childhood, and attachment, but the broader cultu...
38. Working with Core Emotional Wounds: An Intimate Process for Getting Unstuck
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Recently, as I've been caring for a sick relative in his death process, an old familiar feeling arose for me - the fear and pain of abandonment th...
37. Two Mental Health Workers In Love: On Communication, Processing Conflict, and Learning from the Past with Leah Pressman & Jay Stevens
17 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In all of our relationships, we bring our history, the roles we’ve played, our strategies for belonging, our privilege, and our worldview to the dyn...
36. Navigating Addiction, Trauma, & Sobriety Through a Relationship to Spirit with Vedic Astrologer Daryl Rocco
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“As long as there’s breath there’s still hope for a change.” - Daryl Rocco. Addiction is not a moral failing nor an unrecoverable disease. Add...
35. Redefining “Crazy” & The Initiation Process with Swaziland Healer Thabiso Mthimkhulu
03 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“You have a lot of sickness [in the United States] because people are trying to behave in a way that will look “normal,” but that’s one thing ...
33. Psychic & Intuitive Development : Answering the Call to Use Your Magical Gifts with Christopher Rhodes
24 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"The only way it works is when you can allow yourself to be like water and take to it." - Christopher Rhodes. Energy healing, psychic work a...
32. Healing Codependency, Toxic Monogamy, and Attachment Wounds with Polyamorous Professional Dominatrix Caitlyn Lune
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“You don’t learn how to not be codependent by avoiding intimate relationships. That’s not the antidote." - Caitlyn Lune. Codependency has l...
31. Building Trust in Intimate Friendships: Conflict, Repair, Authenticity, and Commitment with Caitlyn Lune
17 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
There is no cap to the depth and intimacy of our friendships. Yet most of us never learn that we can have this kind of intimacy outside our romantic r...
30. Knowing Your Authentic Values & Living in Integrity
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"What you risk, reveals what you value" - Jeanette Winterson. Our values inform every decision and aspect of our lives. Knowing what we valu...
29. Grounding & Feeling Safe in Your Body
03 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Grounding” or cultivating feelings of presence and safety in the body is not only about integrating a few practices into your life. There are oft...
28. Becoming an Ancestor Worthy of Praise with Veronica Agard
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to become an ancestor who is worthy of praise? To leave a legacy? How do we become the kind of ancestor our familial or collective f...
27. Narrative Healing: Reclaiming Your Story & The Power of Cross-Movement Organizing in Mental Health with Jessie Roth
20 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It takes courage to own your story, especially for trauma survivors. Jessie Roth shows us, in this episode, the power of storytelling, showing up as y...
26. A Candid Conversation on Childhood Sexual Abuse, Radical Self-Responsibility & Kink with Jagger Waters
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is one of the most intimate and refreshing conversations I've ever had on childhood sexual abuse. As my guest and long-time best friend of 15...
25. Creating Your Life Like a Work of Art: Visioning & Goal Setting The Easy Way
06 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Creating your life like a work of art starts with having a vision and being deeply intentional about what we desire (while also leaving room for the m...
24. Legacies of Activism, Being a Peer Specialist, and Radical Imagination with Noah Gokul
30 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It takes radical imagination to envision a future of mental health that is rooted in community support and multiple ways of approaching healing. Noah ...
23. Psychedelic Assisted Therapy, Spiritual Emergence, and Altered States with Katrina Michelle
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
People have been experiencing altered states of consciousness since the dawn of humanity, whether it's through plant medicine, meditation, spiritu...
22. Sensitivity Is A Gift
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There is no such thing as being "too sensitive," we simply live in a world that doesn't honor the gifts of sensitivity. This week we'...
21. Building Psychiatric Alternatives: The WeglaufHaus in Berlin with Kim Wichera
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to mental health crises, there are incredible and highly effective healing alternatives to psychiatric institutionalization all over the...
20. Practices for Invoking Creativity & Motivation for Multi-Passionate People
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I’m a multi-passionate person who spent most of my life feeling scattered in a million directions. Such is often the cost of living a really creativ...
19. Deconstructing Institutional Racism & Reclaiming Our Heart-Centered Humanity with Milta Vega Cardona
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“For us to truly reach equity we must all be involved in this process of reconnecting and recovering our humanity" - Milta Vega Cardona. In t...
18. Chronic Health Conditions and Navigating The U.S. Medical Industrial Complex with Lilly King
18 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this beautiful intimate conversation with Lilly King, we discuss the realities of navigating mental and physical health concerns within a fractur...
17. Global Mental Health & Human Rights Activism with Brazilian Psychologist Ana Florence
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week I got to talk to my friend and colleague, Ana Florence, Brazilian clinical psychologist and researcher, about the impact of globalization, t...
16. Healing Ancestral Trauma & Impostor Syndrome
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many of the wounds, patterns, and emotions we carry in our bodies are not only our own. Some emotional wounds that get conceptualized as personality t...
15. Building Our Capacity for Joy
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why do we get nervous when things start to feel really good? Why does the mind often sabotage moments of Joy or bliss? Joy is a wonderful, expansive s...
14. Indigenous Holistic Psychologies and Ancestral Wisdom with Elmina Bell
21 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
“Don't shrink the power of your cultures and ancestors to fit into oppressive systems” - Elmina Bell Have you been curious about ancestral hea...
13. Holotropic Breathwork For Emotional Release and Trauma Integration
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's common to utilize breathing techniques to help with anxiety, slow down the mind, or support relaxation, but breathwork can also be incredibly...
12. Normalizing Mystical Experiences
23 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mystical experiences are more common than we may think, but we live in a world that views them as strange, pathological, or only available to a “spe...
11. Inner Child Work: Foundational Practices & Principles
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Inner Child work is a practice of getting in touch with your subconscious feelings, beliefs, and wounding that may have been stuffed down since childh...
10. The Fertile Void: Navigating Confusion, Lostness, and Emptiness
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The "fertile void" is the concept that moments in life marked by massive transitions, emptiness, lostness, and confusion can also be moments...
09. Honoring Anger and Rage
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Anger is one of the most misunderstood and repressed emotions. There are many ways we dishonor our anger culturally and societally, yet there is so mu...
08. Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse & Complex Trauma
26 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Healing from childhood sexual abuse is far more complex than healing somatically. Often we must confront challenging family dynamics, betrayal, attach...
07. When & How to Deal with Emotional Triggers: Depth Work vs. Width Work
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is there such a thing as healthy distraction when it comes to processing emotions? How do we know if we need a break from healing work? How do we know...
06. Increasing Emotional Wisdom and Our Capacity To Feel
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our emotions are vital, and yet we have deep set cultural myths that often prevent us from feeling, expressing, and releasing our emotions. What if th...
05. Making Impactful Changes in a Fractured System: Why I Quit Working in Public Mental Health
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For many social workers and counselors, working in the mental health field is unsustainable and rife with ethical violations. Many of us feel complici...
04. The History of the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Mental Health
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Research showing that the chemical imbalance theory of mental health is a myth has just hit news cycles again, but this is not the first time this the...
03. Beyond the Biomedical Model: 5 Myths about Mental Health Diagnoses & Treatment
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The biomedical model of mental health, which posits mental health issues are purely biological and only treatable with medication, has dominated the f...
02. The Root Causes of "Psychosis”: Mental Health Crisis as An Opportunity for Healing
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of a severe mental health crisis, we may think of experiences that get labeled as psychosis, schizophrenia, or other extreme states that...
01. What is Transformative Mental Health?
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The field of Mental Health is in need of drastic change, but we need a vision to get us there. What would it look like in practice to build a system t...
Welcome to DEPTH Work!
12 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome! Here's what we'll be diving into. Get bonus episodes on substack! https://depthwork.substack.com/ Disclaimer:...