EZ Conversations Furkhan Dandia

In this week's episode, I welcome Dr. Heather Browne. Dr. Browne helps people recognize the power of communication.  It is one of our most important skills, yet we don’t consider our understanding, approach, and belief, and, therefore, miss our possibilities.  Living with a paranoid schizophrenic mother gave Dr. Heather a unique and powerful awareness that no one has the same reality, though we believe we do.  Utilizing this revolutionary awareness has allowed her to transform communication within herself and other relationships.  This is the hidden key to acceptance.  And this is her mission to share.    

As a relationship expert, Dr. Heather Browne has worked with thousands of individuals and couples in psychotherapy.  She has been published in hundreds of journals, has an active YouTube channel, has been featured on ABC-7 news, was the relationship expert on KDOC Daybreak OC, and has been published in Inc., Toronto Sun, Thriving Family Magazine,  Light + Life, BRAINZ, Scary Mommy, and Psychology Today.  She is a regular guest blogger for both Links for Shrinks and Marriage Friendly Therapists.  Two books in the final stages of pre-publication, and a TedX speaker coming 9-23! She offers a weekly newsletter packed with tips and techniques to improve relationships and has monthly workshops!



In this episode, Dr. Browne and I highlight the importance of communication within the family system, how we sometimes fall into specific patterns, and how we can consciously change those patterns. Just like many of our relationships, communication is crucial. Dr. Browne expands on her own experiences in her family and some things she focuses on around communication.

You can go to her website! https://www.drheatherbrowne.com/ And here’s a gift for the viewers: https://www.drheatherbrowne.com/conscious-communicator 




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I am honoured to welcome Dr. Romi Ran to this week's episode. Dr. Ran is a British Clinical Psychologist, Coach and Speaker. She has over 15 years of experience working with individuals across the age span looking to transform their lives. 
Dr. Ran's specializations include:
- Food, Eating and Body Image
- Wellbeing and Conscious Living
- Cultivating Work and Life Satisfaction
- Relationships, Parenting and Family Support
- Improving Mental Health
- Eastern Meditative Practices
She provides 1:1 sessions to clients from across the globe. In addition, she conducts workshops, webinars, and retreats to the world's largest businesses, hotels, and wellness venues across the UK, Europe and the Americas. 
Romi received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Oxford in the UK. Before that, she worked as a Research Coordinator in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University, where she was involved in several research studies on self-harm and suicide. 
Romi has also devoted much of her time and interest to practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Her continual studies and meditative discipline both inform and enhance her professional work. She is especially interested in sharing the often unknown overlap between Eastern and psychological traditions and recognizes the need for both to ensure transformational growth. 
In this episode, Romi and I discuss how fasting has become mainstream. Romi shares her experience with fasting and explains that individuals must do their due diligence when it comes to fasting and knows their bodies. We also talk about how fasting is not for everyone, and in some cases, it can cause more harm than good. This is a topic both Romi and I thought was important to discuss. While I was practicing Ramadan while recording this episode and do intermittent fasting outside Ramadan, I have experienced improved focus and less sluggishness than before I started intermittent fasting; However, I also know people who have struggled with fasting. Therefore, I felt it was valuable to have this discussion and get a different perspective.
Please find Dr. Ran on Instagram @drromiran or her website: www.drromiran.com


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In this week's episode, I welcome Dr. Victoria Harris. Dr. Harris is an accredited psychotherapist who works with children and adults and is the author of children's books. For her doctorate, she researched creative techniques in psychotherapy supervision. She finds them useful when experiencing a lack of clarity and discomfort and helps with insight. She has a middle-grade book series focusing on the heroine's journey and a picture book that teaches skills to regulate the body/mind. She has worked in many different settings, such as forensic, psychiatric, family services, and private practice, and helped to develop mindfulness videos for a mental health school programme in Ireland. Recently she began a YouTube channel offering guided relaxation.



In this episode, Dr. Harris and I discuss the importance of play for children and the value of engagement. We explore how the lack of space and healthy attachments can adversely impact children and often lead to an inability to emotionally regulate and cope with stressful situations. Dr. Harris and I also talk about the different forms of play children can engage in. We finally talk about the impact of screens on the development of children and the roles parents can play to support children with managing their screen times.



Please find Dr. Harris on Instagram @drvharris and online: at www.drvharris.com




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In this week's episode, I welcome Skylar Schock. Skylar is a Northern California native about to graduate with her MFA in Performance from UNLV. You may have seen her perform her stand-up comedy at Jimmy Kimmel's Comedy Club opening for Michael Yo and Matt Iseman. Her recent theatre credits include her one-woman show It's Not My Fault; I'm the Problem at Vegas Theater Company, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Varya in The Cherry Orchard at the Nevada Conservatory Theatre. She was awarded Special Congressional Recognition for her stand-up comedy project "Laugh Until You Cry". She starred in and produced the short film She Had it Coming, directed by Gedde Watanabe, which was a 25X Film Festival selection. She has also received her BA in Communications from The University of California - San Diego in La Jolla, California.


In this episode, Skylar shares her journey of becoming a stand-up comedian and why she has found stand-up to be powerful in mental health. Skylar and I talk about how sometimes the industry can be difficult on the performer's mental health and what are some things the professionals themselves do for their well-being. We touch on the value of laughter and how stand-up comedy can be therapeutic.



Please find Skylar on Instagram: @sschocking



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In this week's episode, I welcome Jayme Minor. Jayme is the purest definition of Sober Fun in Calgary. He is a part owner of both MAXgreen windows and the endorphin garage, taking sober sales to the next level.

He founded oktSOBERfest, Calgary's first drug and alcohol-free music festival.

He will release his first full music album, “ Phoenix Rising,” a self-help musical guide to addiction struggles and mental health issues this year.

You may have also seen him playing the trumpet at the Calgary Flames games as the official TrumpetGuy

Jayme’s vision is to positively impact as many lives as possible during his time on earth by promoting Sober Fun and Self Love.


In this episode, Jayme shares the incident that led him to rehab. He also walks us through his rehab journey and how he embodied his sober self, including returning to the Calgary Flames hockey games as the Trumpet Guy. Jayme also shares all his work in the community to bring awareness around sobriety and supporting others on their journey.



Please check out Jayme on Instagram @jayme_minz




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In this week's episode, I was excited to welcome Carlos Collares. Carlos is a medical toxicologist and occupational medicine physician who became a psychometrician, educationalist and entrepreneur. He moved from Brazil to the Netherlands to bring computerized adaptive testing to Dutch medical students, to popularize alternatives to multiple choice questions and to explore cognitive diagnostic modelling, a new approach to assessment for learning. Recently, he left his tenured position at Maastricht University to start his online course to help researchers with quantitative data analysis, educational measurement, and psychological assessment.


In this episode, Carlos walks us through his journey and why he was passionate about becoming an educationalist and entrepreneur. Carlos also describes the challenges we often encounter with testing mechanisms in the education system. Carlos also expands on psychometrics and cognitive diagnostic modelling, and we discuss what people need to look for when reviewing the validity and reliability of research findings. Finally, we cap the episode off with a brief discussion about Artificial Intelligence and some things we can be mindful of on the data side.

I was excited to speak with Carlos on this episode because of what I got from it and because his passion for his work is obvious. I also wanted to help understand the nuance behind research work that often is not discussed. There are a lot of discussions where people cite research results; however, it is important to review some of these details to truly determine the validity and reliability of these research findings before we can make conclusions.

Please find Carlos online:



Instagram: Psychometricsacademy

TikTok: Pyschometricsacademy

YouTube: Psychometricsacademy

LinkedIn: Psychometricsacademy

Twitter: Pyschometricsa




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