DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast

Jazmine Russell
  • 5.0 (9)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
DEPTH Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast

DEPTH Work is a podcast for those who love to dive into transformative healing practices. We talk about mental health, madness, trauma, mind-body practices, energy work, ancestry, spirituality, societal change, somatics, and more. As a complex trauma survivor, holistic counselor, and co-founder of a transformative mental health training institute (IDHA-NYC.org), I believe that our deepest pain is guiding us towards our greatest transformation. Let's dive in! Become a Subscriber: https://anchor.fm/jazmine-russell/subscribe

  1. JAN 17

    99. Creative Liberation: The Intersection of Mental Health, Neurodivergence, and Gender Queer Experiences with Lyo-Demi Green

    Building visions towards a liberatory future will take creative power, vulnerability, radical imagination, and the capacity to honor difference in all its beauty. Lyo-Demi exemplifies this courage and power in their writing and poetry: “My diagnosis of “bipolar disorder,” in my opinion, is both a sensitivity towards and reaction to traumas (both personal and systemic) that yields strength, creativity, and passion, and my diagnosis of “gender dysphoria”…well that just makes me fabulous.” (From essay: Not Confused, Not Crazy) As we ‘reinvent the world,’ many of us have to wade through the nuances of adopting or rejecting labels, and find ways to support ourselves and each other, both within and outside systems. In this episode, Lyo-Demi and I talk about DSM categories, the generative and difficult aspects of mental health concerns, and the gift and power of creativity. In this episode we discuss: the power of mutual aid and peer support reframing and depathologizing mental health diagnoses generative aspects of what gets labeled bipolar and mania honoring difference at the intersection of neurodiversity and gender queerness using creativity, graphic novels and stories to build visions toward liberation Bio Lyo-Demi Green (they/them) is a queer and non-binary writer, graphic novelist and tenured community college professor living in the San Francisco Bay Area on Ohlone Land. They have been published on Salon, The Body is Not an Apology, Foglifter, and elsewhere. They have been featured at dozens of reading series, slams, showcases, and workshops in schools, colleges, and open mics locally and across the country. They co-edited We've Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health with Kelechi Ubozoh, published by North Atlantic Books and distributed by Penguin Random House in 2019. They authored Phoenix Song, published by Black Lawrence Press in 2022. They received a BA from Vassar College and have an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College. LD has attended the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, was a Lambda Emerging Writers Fellow, and was selected for Tin House and Stowe Story Labs. LD’s queer and trans rom-com fantasy screenplay Journey to the Enchanted Inkwell was a finalist in several national contests. With the help of the Sequential Artists’ Workshop, they adapted this project into a YA graphic novel script. They met their collaborating artist Jamie Kiemle through the online community Kids Comics Unite. LD is a decades-long fan of graphic novels, and they have taught them for over a decade at places like the San Francisco Art Institute and others. They are represented by literary agent Jennifer Newens of Martin Literary and Media Management. Links @leoninetales on IG and Threads www.ldgreen.org http://www.ldgreen.org/graphic-novel.html https://blacklawrencepress.com/books/phoenix-song/ Not Confused, Not Crazy Essay Resources: Find videos and bonus episodes: ⁠DEPTHWORK.SUBSTACK.COM⁠ Get the book: ⁠⁠Mad Studies Reader: Interdisciplinary Innovations in Mental Health⁠ Become a member: ⁠The Institute for the Development of Human Arts⁠ Train with us: ⁠Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

    53 min

  2. 12/09/2024

    98. Does Mental 'Illness' Have a Purpose or Function? Madness as an Adaptive Strategy with Justin Garson

    “I wish somebody had presented these ideas that what we call mental disorders, they're not like diabetes. They're not like cancer. They're more like fever or pain. They're meaningful responses to something going on in your life. And they are part of your inner self trying to tell you to look more closely.” - Justin Garson If you’ve ever felt as though there may be a purpose or function to the experiences that get labeled as a ‘mental illness’, you’re not alone. Justin Garson spent his career advocating for the idea that madness should not be seen as purely dysfunctional, but rather that it can be an evolved signal or feature with a purpose in our lives. Rather than being a sign of a ‘broken brain’, madness may play an important protective or illuminating role in our lives. In this episode we discuss: The 1980s prozac revolution & changing landscape of mental health Why viewing madness as a dysfunction is so ubiquitous How depression or other mental health concerns can be an evolved signal or designed response to a life crisis Who gets to decide what’s functional or dysfunctional? The importance of alternative frameworks Meaningful pluralism Bio Justin is Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, and a contributor for PsychologyToday.com, Aeon, and MadInAmerica.com. He writes on the philosophy of madness, evolution of the mind, and purpose in nature. He is the author of The Madness Pill: The Quest to Create Insanity and One Doctor’s Discovery that Transformed Psychiatry (St. Martin’s Press, forthcoming). He also has two recent books: Madness: A Philosophical Exploration (Oxford University Press, 2022) and The Biological Mind: A Philosophical Introduction, 2nd ed. (Routledge, 2022). Links: Website: www.justingarson.com Twitter: https://x.com/justin_garson Recent Book: Madness: A Philosophical Exploration Madness-as-Strategy as an Alternative to Psychiatry’s Dysfunction-Centered Model Resources: Get videos and bonus episodes: ⁠DEPTHWORK.SUBSTACK.COM⁠ Get the book: ⁠⁠Mad Studies Reader: Interdisciplinary Innovations in Mental Health⁠ Become a member: ⁠The Institute for the Development of Human Arts⁠ Train with us: ⁠Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

    1h 15m

  3. 11/22/2024

    97. Rethinking ‘Madness’ : Mad Studies, Sanism and the Politics of 'Normal' with Alisha Ali, Bradley Lewis and Jazmine Russell

    Have you ever felt frustrated by the narrow, rigid ways we’re encouraged to think about mental health and experiences considered ‘madness’? Whether you are a person with mental health experiences and feel discouraged by the lack of options or support, a family member or clinician concerned by the way people are treated, a scholar who wants to think outside the box, or an activist combatting discrimination, you may be excited to hear about a field of study. In this very special episode, Dr. Alisha Ali, Dr. Bradley Lewis, and I discuss the emerging field of Mad Studies and the way it challenges conventional mental health narratives. IDHA is hosting an online event December 8th from 12-6pm EST for those who want to dive into this field, get tickets here: https://www.idha-nyc.org/mad-studies-symposium In this episode we discuss: what is mad studies and how is it different from anti-psychiatry and critical psychiatry/psychology? our cultural unquestioning reverence for science and how it deters important scholarship how specialization in academia can lead to reductive research and scholarship The power of language to shape how we think about madness and what’s ‘normal’ connections between activism and academia biologizing ‘normal’, the hyperfocus on the brain, and neurodiversity movements the struggle against sanism across social movements Alisha Ali is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University where she heads the Advocacy and Community-Based Trauma Studies (ACTS) Lab. Her research examines the mental health effects of various forms of oppression... including racism and poverty. She is co-editor (with Bradley Lewis and Jazmine Russell) of the upcoming book “The Mad Studies Reader” (Routledge Press). Her current projects are investigating the effects of empowerment-based interventions for domestic violence survivors and low-income high school students, and the impact of an arts-based intervention to treat the effects of traumatic stress in military veterans. Alisha received her PhD in Applied Cognitive Science from the University of Toronto and completed her postdoctoral fellowship training in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto Bradley Lewis is a psychotherapist/psychiatrist in private practice and a humanities professor at New York University. He is devoted to enriching everyday life and clinical practice through integration with the arts, humanities, and cultural/political/religious study. In addition to co-editing the Mad Studies Reader, his books include Experiencing Epiphanies in Literature and Cinema; Narrative Psychiatry; and Moving Beyond Prozac, DSM, and the New Psychiatry: Birth of Postpsychiatry Jazmine Russell is the co-founder of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts, a transformative mental health educator, trauma survivor, and host of "Depth Work: A Holistic Mental Health Podcast." She is an interdisciplinary scholar of Mad Studies, Critical Psychology, and Neuroscience, and a postgraduate student at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain. Jazmine has worked in the mental health system as a crisis counselor and later as a peer counselor specializing in working with those experiencing 'psychosis.' Becoming disillusioned with the system, she became a grassroots mental health organizer and holistic counselor across many modalities since 2015. JOIN US FOR THE MAD STUDIES SYMPOSIUM ONLINE DECEMBER 8th  Links The Mad Studies Reader - https://www.routledge.com/Mad-Studies-Reader-Interdisciplinary-Innovations-in-Mental-Health/Lewis-Ali-Russell/p/book/9780367709082  https://imsj.org/what-is-mad-studies/ Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counselin

    1h 8m

  4. 11/08/2024

    96. Understanding ‘Delusional’ Beliefs: How Compassion and Curiosity can Help a Polarized Society with Lisa Bortolotti

    In everyday life, we might label irrational, illogical, or absurd beliefs as ‘delusional’, and dismiss the person who expresses them on these grounds. This tendency is common when it comes to conspiracy beliefs or beliefs held by individuals labeled with psychosis, where such views are frequently pathologized. But can beliefs themselves really be pathological? What if they can also be meaningful, informative, and important? We all hold some beliefs that, to others, might appear “delusional.” Communicating more effectively with those whose beliefs differ radically from our own is a crucial skill to develop. Dr. Lisa Bortolotti, philosopher and author of “Why Delusions Matter” advocates for a more compassionate approach—one that respects the agency of those with unconventional beliefs. Especially in a world of increasing political divide and a loss of trust in our broader systems, media, and government, it’s crucial to be able to find some common ground and develop the capacity to listen well. In this episode we discuss: The roles of curiosity and compassion when engaging with those who hold fundamentally different beliefs Why delusions in clinical and everyday contexts share significant similarities How conspiracy thinking often stems from a legitimate loss of trust and can serve adaptive purposes The potential value and meaning embedded in delusional beliefs Why epistemic justice is essential Lisa Bortolotti is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, working in the philosophy of psychology and interested in belief, agency, self-knowledge, and mental health. Her latest book is Why Delusions Matter (Bloomsbury, 2023) and she is the editor in chief of *Philosophical Psychology* (a Taylor and Francis journal). Lisa is the founder of the Imperfect Cognitions blog, and of The Philosophy Garden, a virtual philosophy museum gathering resources to bring philosophy to everyone. Currently, Lisa is co-investigator in project EPIC, a six-year project funded by a Wellcome Discovery Award, investigating epistemic injustice in healthcare. Links Launch of project EPIC: What interests me about epistemic injustice. (Project EPIC, 2024). Brief video. Delusions and Philosophy (Awais Aftab's Mixed Bag Psychiatry at the Margins series, 2023). Online article. How to give young people agency in mental health. (McPin Foundation, 2021). Podcast. Why Delusions Matter by Lisa Bortolotti Resources: Find videos and bonuses: DEPTHWORK.SUBSTACK.COM Get the book: ⁠Mad Studies Reader: Interdisciplinary Innovations in Mental Health The Institute for the Development of Human Arts Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

    1h 1m

  5. 10/25/2024

    95. Disability Identity, Chronic Illness and Community: Owning Your Story with Sarah Napoli

    “It is valuable for our culture and our society to work towards disability rights, disability justice, and a disability inclusive lens, because it's going to benefit all of us.”- Sarah Napoli Each of us, at some point in life, will have some type of disabling experience whether that’s from natural aging, illness, burnout, trauma, accidents or structural factors. Building communities of care and mentorship, and undoing ablism is integral to our collective sustainability and wellbeing. In today’s episode, disability activist Sarah Napoli and I talk about visible vs. invisible disability, why chronic illness and experiences like long covid count as disability, and the bridges between mental health and disability communities. In this episode we discuss: the importance of disability identity and mentorship why ablism isn’t just about access invisible disability and overcoming the ‘pity’ or ‘superhero’ narratives why disability rights benefit all of us owning your own narrative why chronic illness communities should start to use disability and power in unity learning different types of rest dating and having relationships with disabilities difference between disability rights, disability inclusion, and disability justice mental health and disability intersections passions hobbies and the things that make us feel alive - bridging hip hop and activism Bio Sarah Napoli has been teaching and training in the field of social justice, diversity and inclusion, intercultural relations, advocacy and human rights for over 20 years. She is originally from northwest Indiana, outside of Chicago and has called Japan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Washington, Vermont, England, New York and currently New Jersey home. She is the learning services director at the Disability & Philanthropy Forum. From 2019-2023, she acted as the lead disability inclusion project officer within the people and culture Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity team at Open Society Foundations, where she developed and facilitated disability inclusion learning and embedded proactive disability inclusive practices throughout the global network. Sarah spent many years teaching and conducting training on social justice and advocacy in higher education and nonprofits, most recently as the director for the inaugural Center for Inclusion at Manhattanville College and as the assistant head of Goodricke College at the University of York, England. She specializes in facilitating engaging workshops and designing curriculum that challenge and encourage participants to foster a culture of inclusion. She holds two MA degrees, one in social justice in intercultural relations from the SIT graduate institute and one in applied human rights from the University of York. She identifies as a proud disabled person and enjoys chatting about Geek culture—all things fantasy and sci/fi and her former life as a hip hop researcher and dancer. Her research on how hip hop creates human rights identities was recently published in the University of Michigan press text, For the Culture: Hip Hop and the Fight for Social Justice. She has conducted workshops and training all over the USA and in the world, including Japan, Guatemala, throughout Europe, South Africa, and Canada. Sarah's LinkedIn The Disabled Mindset - Embracing My Disability Identity For the Culture: Hip Hop and the Fight for Social Justice Links Skin tooth and bone by Sins Invalid Black Disability Politics book The Future is Disabled book Institute for the Development of Human Arts: www.IDHA-nyc.org Get The Mad Studies Reader: Interdisciplinary Innovations in Mental Health Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of

    1h 5m

  6. 10/18/2024

    94. Embracing Wholeness through Existential Kink & Shadow Work with Carolyn Lovewell

    “As long as we insist that we absolutely don't want dark, freaky, unpleasant things, a major part of our full spectrum human curiosity gets cut off, repressed, denied, and made unconscious.”- Carolyn Lovewell, Existential Kink With the rise in popularity of shadow work, inner child work, and healing unconscious pain and trauma, many are eager to explore the depths of our wholeness. However, a willingness to do this work requires an acceptance of the dark, “yucky”, and uncomfortable things that can be hard for us to forgive or acknowledge in ourselves. Carolyn Lovewell wrote “Existential Kink,” a hallmark book in this area drawing on jungian psychology and western esoteric traditions. She explains the importance of ‘unironically’ embracing the parts of ourselves that may have been repressed - not to change ourselves, or spiritually bypass - but to truly accept the full spectrum of our wholeness In this episode we discuss: the windy path from academia to magic links between existential kink & erotic energy embracing the parts of ourselves that are hungry for experiences of pain shadow work, the unconscious, and repression dealing with a divided will a short intro shadow work practice Bio Dr. Carolyn Lovewell has helped thousands of people around the world transform their lives for the way-better using shadow work and applied occult philosophy.  She's the author of the cult-classic creativity guide, Awaken Your Genius, and the book that rocked the coaching world, Existential Kink: unmask your shadow and embrace your power.  She's the co-founder of the world's only in-person Mystery School in the Western Esoteric Tradition, Sleep Over Mystery School. She earned her doctorate in Critical and Cultural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her family.  She offers online courses and memberships in magick and transformation via the Immortal College. Dr. Carolyn Lovewell adept of the Immortal College leader of Sleep Over Mystery School author of Existential Kink: unmask your shadows and embrace your power co-host of The Sleep Over Podcast with Carolyn and Laila Free Breathwork Practice: https://depthwork.substack.com/p/free-meditations-practices-and-workbooks Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

    59 min

  7. 08/16/2024

    93. Neoliberalism and the Global Export of Psychiatry: Toward Epistemic Humility with Psychologist Justin Karter

    Commercialized psychiatric and psychological knowledge encourages us to think of ourselves primarily as consumers and promotes a set of values that suggest some of us have minds or brains that should be ‘fixed’ with particular products or services. These neoliberal values have led to a great deal of institutional corruption and also has been exported beyond the western world across the globe. Many researchers, clinicians and activists have rallied together to fight against medicalized global mental health initiatives which promote a narrow westernized notion of wellness and defined how treatment should look, often at the expense of local healing practices and without the participation of people with lived experience. Justin Karter, couseling psychologist, and research news editor at Mad In America, has spent a long time advocating for epistemic justice in the psy disciplines and helping to expose practices and policies that undermine people’s human rights and agency. In this episode we discuss: how the political and psychological meet within and outside of therapy commercialization of psychopharmaceuticals and institutional corruption how neoliberalism and capitalist values are embedded in psychiatry the global mental health movement and psychiatric export as a neocolonial practice the ways in which global advocates with lived experience uniting and fighting back the need for epistemic justice, humility, and polyphony legal updates from the UN Committee for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities psychological humanities, mad studies, and other exciting emerging disciples of study Bio: Justin M. Karter, PhD, is a Counseling Psychologist in private practice in Boston and an instructor for the Center for Psychological Humanities & Ethics at Boston College. He is also the long-time research news editor of the Mad in America webzine. He completed his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2021. Justin does research in critical psychology, critical psychiatry, and philosophy of psychology. He is currently working on a book on the activism of psychosocial disability advocates in the context of the movement for global mental health. Links: Exploring the Fault Lines in Mental Health Discourse - Mad In America - https://www.madinamerica.com/2022/10/interview-psychologist-justin-karter/ Can Psychosocial Disability Transform Global Mental Health? - https://www.madinamerica.com/2023/08/can-psychosocial-disability-decolonize-mental-health-a-conversation-with-luis-arroyo-and-justin-karter/ Boston College Psychological Humanities - https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/Psychological-Humanities-Ethics/About.html#tab-mission_and_history Justin’s Research Gate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin-Karter Resources Mentioned Psychiatry Under The Influence by Robert Whitaker and Lisa Cosgrove - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137516022 Vikram Patel lancet article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02241-9/abstract UN CRPD: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-Disabilities.html Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

    54 min

  8. 07/26/2024

    92. Shaping Countercultural Mental Health Narratives: From Anarchist Punk Rock Subculture To Radical Therapist Values with Sascha Altman DuBrul

    The language we have for describing mental health challenges and suffering can constrict or expand the realm of possibilities for how we define ourselves. Sascha Altman DuBrul has spent his life challenging mainstream assumptions about mental health, what’s normal and abnormal, and built a community around shifting the narrative. Drawing from his personal experiences of getting locked up in a psych ward, he co-founded a radical mental health support group and media project (The Icarus Project) which proliferated the language of mental health concerns as ‘Dangerous Gifts,’ to be harnessed and worked with rather than obliterated and erased. Today we talk about lessons learned, the challenges and necessity of community organizing, developing ethical values as a provider outside the system, and visions for the future of mental health. In this episode: 02:30 Sascha’s Story & The Icarus Project07:53 From Punk Rock Subcultures to Radical Mental Health 11:11 Challenges and Transitions in Mental Health Organizing 17:14 Dangerous Gifts and other language 26:46 Using Internal Family Systems to Process Shame42:35 Self-reflection in Community Organizing 51:30 A Vision for the Future Bio Sascha DuBrul is a writer and educator that has been facilitating workshops and community dialogues at universities, conferences, community centers and activist gatherings for more than two decades. From the anarchist squatter community in New York City to the Lacandon jungle of Chiapas, Mexico, to the Earth First! road blockades of the Pacific Northwest, Sascha is a pioneer in urban farming and creative mental health advocacy. He is the co-founder of the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library, the first urban seed library in North America, and The Icarus Project, a radical community support network and media project that’s actively redefining the language and culture of mental health and illness. He is currently working in private practice and raising two children in Oakland, California. Sascha’s Website & Private Practice: https://www.saschadubrul.com/ Underground Transmissions Substack : https://undergroundtransmissions.substack.com/ The Icarus Project Archive and Resources: https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/about-us Icarus Project Archive Survey 2024https://forms.gle/3EvDGq7NoyHa2Rzr9 Get bonus episodes now on substack! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://depthwork.substack.com/⁠ Sessions & Information about the host: ⁠⁠JazmineRussell.com⁠⁠ Disclaimer: The DEPTH Work Podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Any information on this podcast in no way to be construed or substituted as psychological counseling, psychotherapy, mental health counseling, or any other type of therapy or medical advice.

    1h 2m
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DEPTH Work is a podcast for those who love to dive into transformative healing practices. We talk about mental health, madness, trauma, mind-body practices, energy work, ancestry, spirituality, societal change, somatics, and more. As a complex trauma survivor, holistic counselor, and co-founder of a transformative mental health training institute (IDHA-NYC.org), I believe that our deepest pain is guiding us towards our greatest transformation. Let's dive in! Become a Subscriber: https://anchor.fm/jazmine-russell/subscribe

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