The Optimal Life

Elliot Barnett
  • 5.0 (2)
  • MENTAL HEALTH

People are struggling with their mental health, and the industry desperately needs to evolve to be more affordable, accessible, and effective.  Join Elliot Barnett in inspirational and educational discussions to empower your understanding of the latest science and research in the mental health industry. Through thought-provoking discussions with experts, researchers, and changemakers, Elliot pushes past the boundaries the mental health industry has established. You’ll learn not just how to think differently about mental health, but how to create real, lasting change in yourself and others, empowering people to live their Optimal Life. It is time to usher in the new era of mental health!

Episodes

  1. JAN 18

    The Science of Thought and the Power of Narratives

    I was inspired to record this episode after reading a post recently that said, “your thoughts drive how you feel”. It’s a sentiment I have heard before. If you have negative thoughts, you’ll feel negative, and if you have positive thoughts, you’ll feel positive. The problem with that sentiment is, it has the causal relationship backwards and confuses thoughts with thinking. Understanding the relationship between thoughts, thinking, and your mental health can make all the difference. This episode will help you understand: where thoughts come fromthe difference between thoughts and thinking and why that mattersthe power of personal narrativesMake sure to head over to ElliotBarnett.com and check out associated articles and the certification programs for Cognitive Response Therapy and the ARAEt framework!

    20 min

  2. 12/14/2025

    The Science of Awareness

    There's a reason that the first phase of the ARAEt framework is Awareness Management, and why the first phase of a mental health journey leveraging Cognitive Response Therapy focuses on awareness. It is foundational to helping yourself or others live an Optimal Life.  Becoming both internally and externally aware of what you are currently unaware of is crucial to a healing journey. You can't heal what you aren't aware of, and you can't resolve something that you don't understand the source of. In this episode, the fundamental aspects of Awareness Management are introduced along with practical and actionable steps that you can immediately implement in your life and help your clients do the same.  Make sure to head over to elliotbarnett.com to become certified in CRT and the ARAEt framework so you can truly empower yourself and others to live an Optimal Life.

    23 min

  3. 11/30/2025

    The Power of Language for Mental Health

    In this episode, we discuss the power of language and how language shapes and can reshape mental health When it comes to mental health, we tend to talk about behaviours, habits, motivation, trauma, mindset, and emotions — but we rarely talk about the tool that shapes all of those things: language. Language is the most important invention humans have created, but it is not just a communication device. It is a cognitive technology — one that shapes identity, determines self-perception, and silently reinforces habitual cycles that become a person’s life. In fact, the science of predictive coding shows that the brain is constantly generating predictions about the world, the body, and the self — and language is the powerful mechanism the unconscious uses to communicate its intentions to our conscious awareness. This is why Cognitive Response Therapy (CRT) places such a strong emphasis on language. It uses language not merely as a tool for talking about the mind, but for revealing the structure within it. In this episode, Elliot breaks down how language shapes psychological identity, how it ties into predictive coding, and how CRT uses structured language systems to empower clients on their mental health journeys. Remember to head over to elliotbarnett.com to learn how to become an Agent of Change in the new era of mental health by engaging in the certification programs for Cognitive Response Therapy and the ARAEt framework!

    25 min

  4. 11/16/2025

    The Power of your Predictive Brain

    In this episode, Elliot introduces the groundbreaking research that pushed Cognitive Response Therapy to an all-new level, the research of predictive coding. Your mind is constantly generating predictions that drive how you show up in the world, which then drives habitual patterns, which then becomes your life. If this model holds true — and the mounting evidence suggests it does — then the implications for mental health are enormous. It means that disorders aren’t diseases in the traditional sense. They’re maladaptive prediction patterns. It means therapy isn’t about managing symptoms — it’s about retraining the prediction system itself. And it means transformation isn’t about fighting who we are — it’s about teaching the mind to expect something better. That’s the foundation of Cognitive Response Therapy, and why it represents a key part of the new era of mental health.

    32 min

  5. 11/02/2025

    The Challenging History of the Mental Health Industry

    People are struggling with their mental health more than ever. To understand why, we not only have to understand where we are, but also where we came from. In this important episode, Elliot goes through a brief history of the mental health industry, helping you understand why we face the challenges we face today and why it is so important for all of us to become agents of change in the new era of mental health.  For more information, head over to elliotbarnett.com!

    33 min

  6. 10/26/2025

    The Stress of Identity Dissonance

    We all know the impact stress has on our physical and mental health. But did you know one of the major contributors to sustained everyday stress is related to identity? Specifically, the disconnects between who we want to be and who we actually are. Put another way, the disconnects between how we want others to see us as and who we actually are inside.  In this powerful episode, Elliot describes the science of personas and identities, and the root cause of the underlying stress that is linked to a decrease in subjective well-being and an increase in mental health symptoms. You will learn immediate actions you can take to start resolving these internal disconnects and be inspired towards living your Optimal Life! For more information about the strategies and the science behind them talked about in this episode, head over to elliotbarnett.com. The certifications in Cognitive Response Therapy and the ARAEt framework provide a complete system that enables you to help yourself and help others resolve these issues and more.

    23 min

  7. 10/19/2025

    The Challenge of Change

    We all want to live our ideal life, our Optimal Life. But nothing changes unless it is willfully changed! Why do people struggle to make changes, even when they desperately want to? Why do people disengage from therapeutic or coaching journeys? Why do other people resist the change someone is making in their lives? Why do people stay in bad or unhealthy situations? Why do we procrastinate? In this episode, Elliot provides actionable insights to these questions and more. You will understand why you and others struggle to move forward in life and evolve towards living the life we all want, an Optimal Life!  As always, for more information, head over to elliotbarnett.com!

    26 min

  8. 10/12/2025

    The power of the unconscious mind

    In this episode, Elliot goes into detail about one of his favorite topics and main areas of research, the unconscious mind. You will learn the role of the unconscious mind in mental health and why it is so important to understand what is working behind the scenes and on your behalf. Elliot lifts the hood to reveal the inner workings of what drives you in your life and provides some tips to help start to understand how to influence the powerful biological machine that is the unconscious to help you live an Optimal Life. For more information, head over to elliotbarnett.com and check out the certifications in CRT and the ARAEt framework. You can be an Agent of Change in the new era of mental health.

    21 min

  9. 10/06/2025

    The research that empowers Cognitive Response Therapy

    In this episode, Elliot Barnett discusses the three original research studies that laid the groundwork for Cognitive Response Therapy. He discusses where the foundational concepts came from, how they were developed, and how each study built upon the others to create the groundbreaking therapeutic approach of CRT. The approach and results are discussed along with the future possibilities to come. Listeners will come away with powerful concepts that can be leveraged in existing coaching, mental health practices, and everyday life.

    23 min
  10. Ushering in the new era of mental health

    09/28/2025

    Ushering in the new era of mental health

    In this episode, we explore the origins of Cognitive Response Therapy and where the concept of living an Optimal Life came from.  We answer questions such as, if the mental health industry has evolved so much, then why are so many people still struggling? What's missing? And, what can we do about it? With mental health still being unaffordable, inaccessible, and largely ineffective, Elliot explains how we can challenge the accepted paradigm and all be agents of change in the mental health industry, ushering in the new era of mental health.

    17 min
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

People are struggling with their mental health, and the industry desperately needs to evolve to be more affordable, accessible, and effective.  Join Elliot Barnett in inspirational and educational discussions to empower your understanding of the latest science and research in the mental health industry. Through thought-provoking discussions with experts, researchers, and changemakers, Elliot pushes past the boundaries the mental health industry has established. You’ll learn not just how to think differently about mental health, but how to create real, lasting change in yourself and others, empowering people to live their Optimal Life. It is time to usher in the new era of mental health!

Information

  • Creator
    Elliot Barnett
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Optimal Life
  • Show Website
    The Optimal Life