Episodes

In this episode, I sit down with Amine (whyamino) a med student and content creator who recently went viral for his skits about engaging with patients from different cultural backgrounds. Due to pressure and complaints of “promoting stereotypes,” the content was eventually taken down. The audience feels some ambivalence about this, and it raises questions about portrayal and stereotypes. Is their portrayal uniformly bad, or can demonstrating a knowledge and nuance of a subgroup through humor be a way to demonstrate cultural and, by extension, clinical competency?

Margaret and I take on our own freedom in today’s episode, which is part two of a four-part series on Existential Psychotherapy. The existential postulate that we are all ultimately free to make our own decisions (and therefore must live with those decisions) can be a source of distress, but also a path to the pursuit of a meaningful life. It all comes down to how you go about it. And we will chat about it all, freely.

In this episode, we break down what DBT actually is (and what it’s not), why it was originally developed, and how it’s grown into something that’s useful far beyond one diagnosis. We talk about emotional regulation, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and that mysterious concept of “wise mind”, which sounds cheesy until you actually need it.

In this episode, we explore the current political climate and the possibility of the return of institutionalized long term psych care. Though this is not a political podcast (I think Preston says that 5 times), all of medicine is political, and it’s important to discuss the overlap.  Tune in to the Patreon section to directly support the creators and for more discussion about how institutionalization is handled in other countries!

In this episode, Margaret and Preston cover one of their most-requested clinical topics: diagnosing and treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. Along the way, we review popular TikToks about OCD, including one Margaret made, and offer evidence-based approaches to treating OCD, along with a message of hope for anyone struggling with it.

Today, we try to tackle the easy and simple topic of death. Inspired by the writings of Irvin Yalom in Existential Psychotherapy, Preston attempts to describe the four maxims of existentialist theory in therapy and how they may apply to patients.

In this episode, Margaret and I are joined by the legendary host of the podcast Psychiatry Bootcamp, Dr. Mark Mullen. As a clerkship director of the psychiatry rotation himself, Dr. Mullen adds his insights as we discuss the “high yield” (if you will) tips to learning and transitioning into residency. We share our triumphs and failures as interns and indulge you with our new segment called “5-minute chalk talks!”

In this episode, which could be titled “Neurocognitive Assessments for Silly, Cool, Fun People” (that’s us—we are the silly, cool, fun people), Margaret and I describe five neurocognitive domains often used in psychometric testing. We also cover the associated simple yet elegant tests you can do at the bedside. These neuropsychological assessments help provide better insight into the functioning of certain regions of the brain and the underlying processes of cognition.

On this episode of HBP, we interview nutritional psychiatrist Brooke Resche and answer some of your questions of how to feed yourself to help your brain. We get into concrete strategies for each difficulty one might have with getting meals together and eating, and talk with Dr. Brooke (CookwithDrBrooke on TikTok and Instagram) about tips she uses with patients and how to talk about food and food habits, even when struggling with ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, or stress.

In this episode, Margaret and I do our best to define the elusive diagnosis of dementia. We describe what the actual clinical definition of the cognitive disability is, explore the most common types of diseases that can cause dementia, and how to pick up on them clinically, especially when they start to look like other illnesses. Join Patreon Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/howtobepatientpod -- Want more Amanda Stuckey Dodson All socials: @nestingyourlife -- Watch on YouTube: @itspresro Listen Anywhere You Podcast: Apple, Spotify, PodChaser, etc. — Produced by Dr Glaucomflecken & Human Content Get in Touch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtobepatientpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

It’s one thing to think about optimal routines, and the internet is often very fixated on the “best”, but what about when you’re stressed, burnt out, or struggling with your mental health? On this episode, we have a conversation with clinical social worker and life skills specialist Amanda Stuckey Dodson to discuss how to care for yourself or someone you love when motivation, health, or just general stress have taken over. This episode centers on all the skills, tools, and mindsets she writes about in her new book, out now, Tidying the Abyss, and on her TikTok and Instagram @nestingyourlife. Join Patreon Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/howtobepatientpod -- Want more Amanda Stuckey Dodson All socials: @nestingyourlife -- Watch on YouTube: @itspresro Listen Anywhere You Podcast: Apple, Spotify, PodChaser, etc. — Produced by Dr Glaucomflecken & Human Content Get in Touch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠howtobepatientpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today, we present to you our first Journal Club episode, in which we feature a primary author of an important piece of research. Online, content supercedes context, and when it comes to emerging hypothesis around big topics – like AI – this loss of context can lead to polarizing views. Today, we are excited to share a longer form interview with one of the leads of the MIT Media Lab’s study that was published as a pre-print this summer: Your Brain on ChatGPT.

Welcome back for season 3! For our first episode, we have on a food scientist to discuss from the industry side food myths, which we combine with our own readings from the psychiatry literature. We touch on red dye 40, food fears, the minerals in the soil, and how to slow down information from social media grocery store aisle walkers.

Margaret and I pivot into mentor mode a little in this episode, it’s targeted towards medical students and the vicissitudes of the match. We know these are tough times and we wanted to share some advice about what to look for in a psych program and how to pick a place to train that is right for you. We also debrief the end of season 2 and take a wrap on 40 episodes! As always, thank you for listening!

By popular demand, Margaret and Preston are back with another therapy episode. The topic this week? Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a third wave behavioral therapy that Margaret happens to be trained in and love for her patients and her own life. In this episode we talk about the founder of ACT and its roots in behaviorism, what an ACT therapist “sounds like”, and the 6 core processes of psychological flexibility that encompass what this type of therapy does. Finally, Margaret and Preston go through their own values, and try to apply the ACT principles to two particular problems in their own lives.

In this episode, we bring on Kristin Flanary, who is currently doing her own investigation into dissociations associated with trauma from both her own experience as a survivor and as an academic. We discuss the current media landscape of trauma and dissociation, the neurological mechanisms of dissociation, and therapeutic approaches clinicians can use with a patient who is experiencing dissociation.

Today we are joined by the host of the “calling in sick” a pod run by our good friend Alexandra Wildeson (familiarly) to discuss the rigamoroll that is chronic pain and navigating the healthcare system through the eyes of a patient with debilitating conditions. Alex shares her story from Investment banker, to patient to podcaster all the while coloring things with her own levity and resilience.

This episode is a slight excursion from our regularly scheduled program. Today we are chatting with Will Flanary, who is in many ways our content “dad” if you will. We will talk about the art of including humor into our daily practive, when it goes right, when it goes left, and where we go from here. Dr. Glaucomflecken also has some fun and new projects he’d like to share with you at the end.

Margaret and I are back with part two of our conversation with Dr. Drew Ramsey and this time, things get personal. I volunteered my real-life food log for a full nutritional psychiatry breakdown… and let’s just say my “ultra-processed protein” lifestyle did not escape unscathed. What started as a casual diet review turned into something deeper. A mentoring session about joy, creativity, and what it actually means to feed your brain. Margaret brings her psychodynamic insight, Dr. Ramsey brings the science, and I bring… a whole lot of protein powder and self-reflection. If you’ve ever tried to optimize your health but ended up missing the soul in your routine, this episode is for you.

We sat down with Dr. Drew Ramsey to talk about something we all think we understand and don’t: how food shapes mood. In Part 1, we get practical and personal: what to reach for when you’re anxious, what to cook when you’re depressed, and how to think about nutrition when you’re busy, broke, or just not in the headspace to sauté anything. We talk simple swaps, what actually belongs on a “brain food” plate, and why perfection is the enemy of getting fed.

In this Preston-led episode, we take a deep dive into the history of lithium and its use in psychiatry. But because Preston is very literal, we are starting at the very beginning, inside of stars where lithium was formed at the beginning of the universe.

This week, Margaret and I sat down with Dr. Jhilam Biswas, psychiatrist and expert on the intersection of law and mental health, for one of the hardest—and most important conversations we’ve had on the show. Together, we take a close look at how our justice system responds to mental illness: what happens when people in crisis are incarcerated instead of cared for, and how the prison system has become a stand-in for mental health treatment in the U.S. Dr. Biswas helps us unpack the reality of solitary confinement, forced treatment, and the impossible choices clinicians face when caring for patients inside a system built for punishment, not healing. Alongside Margaret, I reflect on the human cost—on families, on providers, and on the people trapped in cycles of crisis and incarceration. This isn’t just a policy issue—it’s a deeply personal one. And it’s urgent.

What is aphasia, really and what happens when your brain no longer cooperates with your ability to speak or understand language? In this episode, Preston and Margaret tackle the messy, frustrating, and often isolating world of language disorders, focusing on the real-life implications of aphasias. They walk through the clinical causes, what it looks like day-to-day, and how aphasia differs from other speech and cognitive issues. Along the way, they share stories of miscommunication, explore the frustrations of being misunderstood, and dig into how patients and clinicians can better work together when words are hard to find.

Is it all in your head or is pain more complex than we’ve been led to believe? In this episode, Margaret and I dig into the psychological and biological factors that shape our experience of pain, including how the brain processes physical discomfort, the emotional toll it takes, and what role medications actually play. We also share stories from our own lives and clinical work that highlight how pain shows up in complicated, often misunderstood ways. If you've ever wondered why your body hurts when your heart is breaking, or why painkillers don’t always work, this one’s for you.