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
Send us your questions for Fishbowl 6!
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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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
How do you learn to do psychotherapy? An exploration with Dr. Erin Jacklin
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
09/27/24 • 77 min
Send us your questions for Fishbowl 6!
In this season 6 opener Dr. H sits down with Dr. Erin Jacklin of the Catalyst Center in Denver to explore how we learn to the deeply complex and consistently challenging work of doing good therapy.
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
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
Sex Hormones and Psychiatric Illness with Dr. Neill Epperson
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
02/28/25 • 63 min
Send us your questions for Fishbowl 6!
Dr. H sits down with Dr. Neill Epperson, chair of the University of Colorado Department of Psychiatry, to talk all things hormonal.
"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
BFTA on IG @backfromtheabysspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/backfromtheabysspodcast/
BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/
Meds can't fill the trauma hole-- Attachment, maternal wounding, and the challenges of coming off meds
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
04/25/25 • 54 min
Send us your questions for Fishbowl 6!
Here Dr. H sits down with Lisa, a pediatric nurse practitioner, to witness her story of developmental trauma, concomitant chronic depression, and eventually her path of healing and rebuilding trust and connection, largely through psychotherapy. During her years of intermittently crippling and suicidal depression, she was put on various psych meds, which might have helped at the time, but later became shockingly difficult to try to taper and stop. This is a story of overcoming shame, a story that looks at the question of whether people need meds for life....and it turns out, surprise surprise, that what’s causing or driving depression actually really matters....and when that’s a Mom wound, most psych meds are really just acting as flimsy bandages.
"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
BFTA on IG @backfromtheabysspodcast
https://www.instagram.com/backfromtheabysspodcast/
BFTA/ Dr. H
https://www.craigheacockmd.com/podcast-page/
Ketamine in context-- From substance abuse to psychedelic therapy
Back from the Abyss: Psychiatry in Stories
12/31/21 • 72 min
Send us your questions for Fishbowl 6!
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/
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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 136 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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