Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
Craig Heacock MD
How do we find a way out of the darkest depths of despair? Psychiatrist Dr. Craig Heacock hosts a deep dive into powerfully moving stories of hope and healing, as well as topical explorations of psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, and psychedelics.
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Top 10 Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Understanding Depression
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
01/17/20 • 7 min
In this mini-episode Dr. H explores the critical implications of thinking about Depression as a syndrome rather than as a meaningful clinical diagnosis. The diagnosis of Depression is but the first tiny step in the journey of exploring biological, psychological, and interpersonal causes and factors which might then point toward effective treatment.
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
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Ketamine in context-- From substance abuse to psychedelic therapy
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
12/31/21 • 72 min
Expectation, set, setting, dosage, and route of administration provide the context and scaffolding for psychoactive drugs. An IV morphine drip can make unbearable pain completely manageable, while IV heroin, which is immediately converted to morphine once it crosses the blood brain barrier, destroys tens of thousands of lives a year. A benzodiazepine such as lorazepam, when taken orally at sensible doses, can stop a panic attack in its tracks, yet snorting or injecting benzodiazepines, or mixing them with alcohol, can lead to complete blackout and terrible consequences. Taking psilocybin mushrooms with friends out in nature vs at night alone in the darkened streets of an unfamiliar city vs with a trained trauma therapist in a healing setting—- the resulting risks, benefits, and experiences are mind-blowingly different.
In today’s story we hear Graham’s long and winding road with various drugs and alcohol in the context of childhood trauma and bipolar disorder, with a particular emphasis on his complicated relationship with ketamine. For years, he used and abused massive quantities of ketamine, yet now he has transitioned to using ketamine in a therapeutic context with Dr. H, and the experience of ketamine, the consequences, and the end results are just shockingly different....all because of expectation, set, setting, dosage, and manner of administration.
Audio note: Graham's emotional support dog makes some intermittent appearances on his microphone
BFTA on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/backfromtheabysspodcast/
BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/
The clinical moment in psychotherapy
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
12/22/20 • 55 min
Dr. H sits down with Dr. David Puder, a psychiatrist and host of the Psychiatry and Psychotherapy podcast, to explore the beauty and challenge and mystery of psychotherapy.
What are Chris and Craig wanting for Christmas...??? How about writing us a review!
Dr. Puder and the Psychiatry and Psychotherapy podcast
https://www.psychiatrypodcast.com
Dr. H essay on psychedelic healing for CNN.com
https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/20/opinions/psychedelics-trauma-healing-this-is-life-heacock/index.html
BFTA and Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
How healing happens
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
03/29/21 • 68 min
What's the special sauce of psychological and psychiatric treatment? How do we change, particularly in relationship with others? Here Dr. Hillary McBride, a psychotherapist, researcher, author, and podcast host (Other People's Problems) opens up about the details of her years of psychiatric treatment, what worked (often surprising!), what did not, and how she had to leave home to find a home in herself.
Dr. Hillary McBride
https://hillarylmcbride.com
Hillary's new book-- The Wisdom of Your Body
https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Your-Body-Wholeness-Connection/dp/1587435527/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=hillary+mcbride&qid=1617029987&sr=8-2
BFTA
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
In the room with Hillary McBride and Saj Razvi--- A moment to moment exploration of psychedelic somatic trauma therapy
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
01/03/25 • 65 min
Saj Razvi and Hillary McBride return to BFTA, this time together, for one of the most compelling and fascinating episodes we have featured on the podcast-- an in depth, in the room exploration of the moment to moment unfolding of a psychedelic-assisted trauma session.
During her training to work with Saj’’s psychedelic somatic model, called PSIP, Hillary did a profound session with Saj that led to some very unexpected gifts for Hillary. Interestingly, the psychedelic used for this session was THC— Saj has spoken extensively in past BFTA episodes why he considers vaped THC a particularly potent catalyst for somatic trauma work, to rapidly cut through dissociation and heighten autonomic reactions.
First we’ll hear Saj give some background context and an introduction to the theory of his work, then we’ll hear Hillary enter into a very emotional and often physically grueling session, with both Saj and Hillary weighing in occasionally with commentary about the process, then finally we hear them both summarize what happened, how they understand the meaning and the story.
A heads up, Hillary’s session gets very intense at times, if you don’t feel ready to hear someone walk the fires of their nearly annihilating trauma, maybe save this episode for another time.
"I Love You, I Hate You, Are You My Mom?" A intensive experiential workshop exploring transference with Dr. H and Dr. Hillary McBride, May 28-30 in Victoria BC
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-love-you-i-hate-you-are-you-my-mom-tickets-1112117516429?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Dr. Hillary McBride
https://hillarylmcbride.com/
Saj Razvi and the Psychedelic Somatic Institute
https://www.psychedelicsomatic.org/
BFTA on IG @backfromtheabysspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/backfromtheabysspodcast/
BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/
Bright and Shiny and Exciting!
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
01/31/20 • 32 min
Life is much better on Adderall, until it's not.
In this episode, Dr. H and Dan Ronken, a Boulder-based psychotherapist and addiction specialist, explore the double edged sword of stimulants. Using Dan's ADHD and addiction story as a launching point, they explore questions including: Do stimulants make us smarter and more productive? What is the saliency circuit and why is it so relevant here? Are some stimulants safer than others? Can they safely be used by people in active addiction or in recovery? What behavioral strategies are helpful with ADD? Can you ever get that same dopamine rush without drugs? They then transition to the question of whether ketamine therapy is safe for people in recovery.
Dan Ronken
https://www.inclusionrecovery.com
Dan's Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/danronken
Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Desperately NOT seeking meth
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
08/07/19 • 21 min
Sobriety can sometimes be a bridge too far. In a last ditch attempt to escape his methamphetamine-drenched life, Larry moved 1000 miles away to live with his father, he threw away his cell phone, gave up all drugs and alcohol, started running, got a good job...and found himself increasingly overwhelmed by the need to put a needle in his arm.
His eventual solution wasn't perfect, but it may have saved his life.
Links
Harm reduction
https://harmreductionjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1477-7517-6-35
Marijuana and cognition
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037578/
Suboxone/buprenorphine
https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment/treatment/buprenorphine
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/20/15937896/medication-assisted-treatment-methadone-buprenorphine-naltrexone
In Session
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
07/07/20 • 39 min
Step inside Dr. H's office to eavesdrop on a therapy session with his patient Jasmine (from the Delta Flight Attendant episode in season 1). This session explores an extremely painful but ultimately transformative relationship that Jasmine had with a much older man just prior to starting therapy. Relationships are human growth machines, and Dr. H and Jasmine unpack what she learned about idealization, her defaulting to black/white thinking, setting boundaries, what it means to be a "friend", and assigning guilt and blame/shame.
Dr. H/ Back from the Abyss
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Why is it so hard to find a good psychiatrist?
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
02/09/21 • 10 min
In the context of an increasingly severe shortage of psychiatrists, Dr. H discusses some uncomfortable truths about why finding a good outpatient psychiatrist is even more difficult than ever.
Psychedelics and Psychiatry-- Dr. H on The Third Wave Podcast
https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-112-craig-heacock/
BFTA and Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com
Developing field awareness: Working with transference and countertransference
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
03/14/25 • 70 min
This is an interview that Dr. H recently did on a podcast called "The Web: Weaving Psychology and Soul in Circle" where he goes deep into his own journey learning how to work with transference and countertransference.
Carrie Haynes and "The Web"
"I Love You, I Hate You, Are You My Mom?" An intensive experiential workshop exploring transference with Dr. H and Dr. Hillary McBride, May 28-30 in Victoria BC
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-love-you-i-hate-you-are-you-my-mom-tickets-1112117516429?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
"Bringing Therapy into Med Management"-- a psychotherapy training intensive with Dr. H for psych NPs and PAs
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/training/
BFTA on IG @backfromtheabysspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/backfromtheabysspodcast/
BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/
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FAQ
How many episodes does Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories have?
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories currently has 133 episodes available.
What topics does Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories cover?
The podcast is about Suicide, Addiction, Health & Fitness, Psychology, Mental Health, Bipolar, Depression, Medicine, Podcasts and Psychiatry.
What is the most popular episode on Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories?
The episode title 'Understanding Depression' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories?
The average episode length on Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories is 52 minutes.
How often are episodes of Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories released?
Episodes of Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories are typically released every 14 days.
When was the first episode of Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories?
The first episode of Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories was released on Jun 18, 2019.
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