#22 Early Experiences, PTSD & Depression: Emerging Paths to Healing | Mark Baxter
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Mind Your Being. Whether you're a returning listener or a new listener, I'm so grateful to have you here. Can you believe it's February already? I feel like this year is flying so fast. Now I know we all get caught up in our crazy schedules at time but I hope you're taking some regular time out just for yourself each week to check in, to care for your well-being and to have some fun. Now this episode is the longest episode to date. It runs for about an hour 40 minutes which is huge but I want you to know I don't take your time for granted, but this is a really human, beautiful conversation and I think there's bits in here for everyone. So don't feel like you have to listen to the conversation all at once.
You can listen to it over a number of days or you can look at the chapter list. You can skip back and forth between the chapters that you're interested in. And as always, please feel free to provide any comments or feedback, suggestions for future episodes, either on social media, Instagram or Facebook or through our Mind Your Being contact page on the website. I'd love to hear from you. Thank you again for being here to take time to mind your being. In today's episode, I'm joined by clinical psychologist Mark Baxter, who is the director of the psychology spot here in my local community, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Mark has spent over two decades helping people heal from trauma, PTSD, depression, and the lasting effects of adverse childhood experiences.
This is a really wide-ranging conversation. It was so relaxed and free-flowing. At times I forgot we were recording a podcast. But together we explore how early life experiences shape the beliefs we carry about ourselves, beliefs about our worth, our safety, our lovability, and how those beliefs quietly influence our behaviors, our coping strategies, and our relationships. We talk about depression as more than a label. We unpack how trauma can become stuck in the nervous system. We talk about evidence-based treatments like EMDR, but I also asked Mark to come on to talk about the emerging space of psychedelic-assisted therapies, including MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression.
But at the heart of this conversation is something deeply human, the idea that healing isn't just about fixing yourself, it's about understanding yourself. It's about self-awareness, self-compassion and ultimately self-acceptance. This is a beautiful conversation and I find it really hopeful and I hope you will too. Please enjoy. So welcome to Mind Your Being, Mark. Thank you for being here today.
Thanks.
I wanted to let the listeners know that we've been connected through a mutual friend. Shout out to Ricky.
Yeah.
When he found out I was doing the podcast, he had mentioned you over the years. And I'm like, oh, could you reach out and see if he's maybe interested in coming on? And yeah, thank you for agreeing to come on.
Yeah, yeah. Rick's been a friend forever. He's a great person. Yeah, the best.
Yeah. To start off with, could you please share a little bit about your background as a clinical psychologist and maybe what first motivated you to work in mental health?
Yeah, that's a big question. You know, I was 17 when I had to decide what to do at uni and I was going to do forestry and go to Canberra. And then I realised that when the time came, I didn't want to go to Canberra. All my friends were in Wollongong. My second pick was psychology and I kind of remember why. And I just decided at the last minute to do that, mostly because I just wanted to stay around Wollongong and the lovely place we've got here. And so I did that and it wasn't until I sort of left, went overseas, did some stuff, worked and came back to Australia after a period of travel. Got a job in the field, the practical application of kind of the work and just went, oh, I love this. And then went back and did some postgraduate work and stuff like that.
Realized I loved the field. Actual being a psychologist, working with people, being with people, that kind of thing.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:08–10:41
2
How do early life experiences shape our beliefs and identities?
10:41–12:59
3
What is the connection between trauma and mental health?
12:59–16:08
4
How does EMDR therapy help in processing trauma?
16:08–17:14
5
What is the importance of the therapeutic relationship in healing?
17:14–32:59
6
How is MDMA-assisted therapy being used for PTSD?
32:59–35:27
7
What are the potential benefits of psilocybin-assisted therapy?
35:27–44:20
8
How can self-acceptance facilitate healing?
44:20–1:44:53
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Mind Your Being Podcast
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