Therapy, Treating Trauma & Other Life Challenges | Dr. Paul Conti

My guest this episode is Dr. Paul Conti, M.D., a psychiatrist and expert in treating trauma, personality disorders and psychiatric illnesses and challenges of various kinds. Dr. Conti earned his MD at Stanford and completed his residency at Harvard Medical School. He now runs the Pacific Premiere Group—a clinical practice helping people heal and grow from trauma and other life challenges.

We discuss trauma: what it is, its far-reaching effects on the mind and body and the best treatment approaches. We also explore how to choose a therapist and how to get the most out of therapy, as well as how to do self-directed therapy. We examine the positive and negative effects of antidepressants, ADHD medications, alcohol, cannabis and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics (e.g., psilocybin and LSD), ketamine and MDMA.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking or already doing therapy, processing trauma and/or considering psychoactive medication. Both patients and practitioners ought to benefit from the information.

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Dr. Paul Conti Links
Website: https://www.drpaulconti.com
Pacific Premier Group, PC: https://www.pacificpremiergroup.com
Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic: How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal From It: https://amzlink.to/az01KBLaUX3m6

Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Paul Conti, Trauma & Recovery
00:02:30 ROKA, InsideTracker, Blinkist
00:07:00 Defining Trauma
00:14:05 Guilt & Shame, Origins of Negative Emotions
00:21:38 Repeating Trauma, the Repetition Compulsion
00:28:23 How to Deal with Trauma & Negative Emotions/Arousal
00:37:17 Processing Trauma, Do You Always Need a Therapist?
00:45:30 Internal Self-talk, Punishing Narratives & Negative Fantasies
00:51:10 Short-Term Coping Mechanisms vs. Long-Term Change
00:53:22 Tools: Processing Trauma on Your Own, Journaling
00:57:00 Sublimination of Traumatic Experiences
01:02:34 Tool: Finding a Good Therapist
01:07:20 Optimizing the Therapy Process, Frequency, Intensity
01:14:51 Tool: Self-Awareness of Therapy Needs, Mismatch of Needs
01:16:35 Self-talk & Journaling, Talking to Trusted Individuals
01:19:00 Prescription Drugs & Treating Trauma, Antidepressants, Treating Core Issues
01:28:35 Short-term vs. Long-Term Use of Prescription Drugs, Antidepressants
01:32:18 Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) & Prescription Drugs
01:37:31 Negative Effects of ADHD Prescription Drugs
01:40:37 Alcohol, Cannabis – Positive & Negative Effects
01:44:53 Psychedelics: Psylocibin & LSD, Therapeutic Uses, Trauma Recovery
01:54:32 Sentience, Language, Animals
01:55:48 Psychedelic Hallucinations, Trauma Recovery
02:00:01 MDMA (Therapeutic Uses)
02:04:47 Clinical Aspects of MDMA
02:07:28 Language, Processing Trauma, Social Media, Societal Divisions
02:15:09 Defining “Taking Care of Oneself”
02:21:13 Dr. Conti, Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter

The Huberman Lab Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.