Food As Medicine / Dr. Leslie Wicholas

07/31/20 • 59 min

Small Conversations for a Better World Podcast

In navigating her own way through a severe chronic pain condition, Dr. Leslie Wicholas experienced for herself the role of inflammation in both pain and mood disorders. She is now at the fore in the burgeoning field of Nutritional Psychiatry. Join us as we dive into the many ways that inflammation and microbiome affect mood, pain and health. Diet is the foundation for healing.
About Dr. Leslie Wicholas
Dr. Leslie Wicholas graduated from the University of Calgary Medical School in 1998, and completed her specialty training in Psychiatry at UBC in 2003. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at UBC Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Wicholas practiced on the Provincial Child Inpatient Unit at BC Children's Hospital until 2016, working intensively with children and families facing a wide range of psychiatric and medical challenges. In her role as Clinical Director, she introduced and piloted a new model of trauma-informed care, transforming the way psychiatric care is delivered to patients.
Most recently, Dr. Wicholas' interests have focussed on the burgeoning field of Nutritional Psychiatry and the role of inflammation in both mood and pain disorders. She has trained with the Institute of Functional Medicine which utilizes a unique, mechanism-based approach to identifying and treating the root causes of chronic disease.
Dr. Wicholas designed the food as Medicine program to treat depressive mood disorders and fibromyalgia at the Mood Disorders Association of BC. She and naturopath Dr. Caroline Coombs first piloted this program in July 2016. Dr. Wicholas has continued to deliver this service at MDA since then.
More About Food As Medicine
Mood Disorders Association of BC (MDABC)
MDBAC's Food As Medicine Program
The "Smiles Trial:" A Randomized Controlled Trial of Dietary Improvement for Adults with Major Depression

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Divine Diversity / Michele Fogal & Caroline Wedderspoon

Diversity and inclusive schools, companies and communities are key as 1/3 of our youth identify as not-heterosexual. Divine Diversity joins us to discuss privilege, pronouns, gender, sexuality, and the current human rights revolution. Baby Boomers and Gen Z and beyond need to bridge the communication gap about gender and queerness so we can move forward together.
Michele Fogal
Michele is a diversity educator, communications consultant and business coach on the North Shore. She has a BFA in Creative Writing, is a traditionally published author of 3 books, and speaks internationally about diversity at writing conferences. She was Small Business BC’s social media expert for 4 years and now works for the West Vancouver School Board. She has begun a master’s program in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a focus on equity and education. Michele is a queer woman, a parent and a lover of story. Her pronouns are she/her.

Caroline Wedderspoon
Caroline is a diversity educator and a registered clinical counsellor. She works on the North Shore, in several different environments. She is in private practice at Alyson Jones and Associates, and works as a therapist at WorkBC and at CMHA (The Canadian Mental Health Association). Until recently, she worked at Qmunity, Vancouver’s LGBTQ+ Resource Centre. One of her areas of specialization is working with the LGBTQ+ community. Caroline is a queer, cisgender woman and a parent of four. Her pronouns are she/her.

About Divine Diversity
Michele and Caroline first created the Divine Diversity team to support their own community on the North Shore. They provide diversity presentations, workshops, consultation and strategy. Their clients include non-profit societies, community organisations, governmental departments and schools. Their goal is to facilitate an evolution beyond tolerance, through acceptance, and into celebration of the divine wealth diversity brings.
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divinediversity.com
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Science vs. Story / Lissanthea Taylor

When and where does someone's personal health story and science meet? How can a clinician listen deeply to hear between the words used in the telling of the story? Why would a patient wish to have a health practitioner use Narrative Medicine skills in their patient interactions? Lissanthea is a fascinating combo of Physiotherapist and Entrepreneur that challenges herself to listen deeply. Here's why.
Bio: Lissanthea Taylor, Co-founder and teacher at narrativerx.com, author at PainChats, clinical director and co-founder at Brain Changer.

Lissanthea is a physiotherapist by trade, and a writer, educator and entrepreneur by design. She describes herself as a reluctant clinician, always cautious about the certainty that she was expected to have in judging people's health and healing. Her love of literature and art made narrative medicine a natural fit for teaching skills to re-humanize healthcare. She's resisted the seductive pull of academia in favour of using technology, business and clinician education to apply interdisciplinary research to the massive social and economic challenge of chronic pain.
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Check out Brain Changer Digital Pain Recovery Program
www.brainchanger.io.

Discover Small Conversations on Social Media
Instagram
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Find Susannah Steers at www.movingspirit.ca and on social media @themovingspirit.

Find Gillian McCormick at https://physiogillian.com/ and on social media @physiogillian