What do documentary filmmaking, executive leadership, and Nelson Mandela have in common? According to Ingrid Gavshon — everything.

This week on Shrinks Rap, Dr. James H. Bramson sits down with Ingrid Gavshon — leadership communications expert, executive coach, award-winning filmmaker, and faculty member at University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business — for a conversation about storytelling, human connection, and the kind of leadership people actually want to follow.

Ingrid has spent her career helping leaders find their authentic voice — whether behind a camera, in a boardroom, or standing in front of a terrified MBA class trying not to die during a presentation. Drawing from her work producing a thirteen-part documentary series on Mandela, she shares the leadership qualities that made him transformational: presence, humility, deep listening, moral courage, and the ability to make people feel seen even in conflict.

Together, Jim and Ingrid explore:

• What modern leaders misunderstand about charisma

• Why storytelling is more powerful than authority

• How empathy changes workplace culture

• The surprising overlap between filmmaking and executive coaching

They also discuss how Ingrid uses filmmaking techniques, experiential learning, and coaching to help aspiring leaders at Haas develop confidence, emotional intelligence, and authentic executive presence — without sounding like corporate robots reading from LinkedIn posts.

Part leadership masterclass, part creative exploration, part value clarification for overachieving professionals, this episode asks a timely question:

In a world full of noise, what does it mean to truly connect?

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

In this timely and eye-opening episode of Shrinks Rap, Dr. James Bramson sits down with Veronika Mesheriakova, adolescent medicine physician, addiction specialist, and founder of Northern California Adolescent Speciality Center, to discuss the growing mental health and addiction crisis facing today’s teens. Dr. Mesheriakova completed her pediatrics residency at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital followed by a 3-year Adolescent Medicine fellowship at UCSF, and previously served as a faculty member in the division of Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine at UCSF. She will also be a featured speaker at the Human Potential Conference in Berkeley October 22nd. Together, we explore the rise in high-potency cannabis use, fentanyl exposure, vaping, and polysubstance use among adolescents—many of whom are struggling emotionally while simultaneously insisting, “Relax, Mom, I’m totally fine,” while wearing a hoodie indoors and surviving primarily on Takis and DoorDash.

Dr. Mesheriakova explains why today’s cannabis is not the “weed” many parents remember from earlier generations. With dramatically higher THC concentrations, heavy cannabis use can contribute to anxiety, depression, psychosis risk, motivational decline, emotional dysregulation, and addiction—particularly in developing adolescent brains. We also discuss the frightening rise of fentanyl contamination in counterfeit pills and recreational substances, turning experimentation into something potentially deadly. The conversation highlights how parents can approach teens without escalating shame, secrecy, or nightly hostage negotiations over vape pens, curfews, and screen time.

We also discuss why family involvement is critical to recovery, how many adolescents believe they could stop using substances if they wanted to—but often don’t yet believe they need to—and the important role medication can play in helping manage withdrawal, cravings, anxiety, and stabilization. Throughout the episode, Dr. Mesheriakova emphasizes that successful treatment is not simply about removing substances, but about helping teens reconnect with hope, purpose, belonging, and a future worth showing up for. The conversation balances realism with compassion, science with practicality, and clinical wisdom with humor—because sometimes surviving adolescence requires both evidence-based treatment and a very deep breathing practice for parents.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

This week on Shrinks Rap: what happens when a theater guy walks into the boardroom and accidentally teaches Fortune 100 executives how to have feelings?

Dr. James H. Bramson sits down with Dr. Mark Rittenberg — executive coach, leadership whisperer, former actor, Fulbright Scholar, South African bridge-builder, and possibly the only man alive who can quote Shakespeare while fixing your corporate culture.

From Harvard to Soweto to Silicon Valley, Mark has spent decades teaching leaders how to communicate like actual humans instead of PowerPoint templates with pulse rates. We talk about his journey from the theater to the boardroom, the profound influence of Angeles Arrien, and why empathy may be the most radical leadership skill left in modern civilization.

Somewhere between authentic leadership, multicultural transformation, executive coaching, and stories that sound too cinematic to be real, we also explore:

• Why the best leaders know how to listen — and actually know their employees

• How acting and presentation skills can rescue broken organizations

• The origin story behind his Executive Coaching program at University of California, Berkeley

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

When you walk into the elegant home of Dr. Peter Carnochan, you’re greeted by a statue of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Over the course of our dinner together and podcast conversation, it becomes clear that the figure is not decorative. It’s emblematic of Peter himself.

Peter Carnochan is something of a paradox. He describes himself as half California hippie and half East Coast WASP. He came up through alternative schooling that centered art and creativity. From there, he studied at Harvard University, earning a degree philosophy—an intellectual backbone that now undergirds everything he does.

Both in real life, and in the award-winning documentary, Andre Is an Idiot, Peter played the real life role of Andre Ricciardi’s psychologist. His client, Andre, is dying of colon cancer and, in many ways, becomes a kind of embodiment of “infinite jest”—finding humor in everything, even in the face of death, while documenting the experience. Peter’s defining qualities are on full display: infinite compassion paired with grounded wisdom. The result is a remarkable film that captures humor, courage, and an almost defiant vulnerability. In several scenes, Peter offers guidance that is both clinically precise and deeply human, gently expanding Andre’s capacity to face reality while staying connected to the people he loves.

Today, Peter has returned to his Silicon Valley roots, working as an executive coach to some of the titans of the tech world. He brings to that ecosystem not just strategy, but a grounded life philosophy that blends compassion, insight, and a deep respect for the complexity of being human.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

What if the real issue isn’t that you lack confidence—but that you’ve been living from the wrong kind of consciousness? And what if worth isn’t something you earn, but something you are born with?

In this episode, I sit down with Dawna Daigneault, author of Understanding Self-Worth: A Guide to Worth-Conscious Theory and Psychotherapeutic Practice (Routledge, 2026), to explore a fresh and clinically compelling framework for understanding self-worth. Dawna introduces Worth-Conscious Theory (WCT), a model she has been developing for over a decade, which distinguishes between self-consciousness—a state rooted in evaluation, comparison, and performance—and worth-consciousness, a more grounded, inherent sense of being enough.

We unpack how many individuals struggle with what Dawna calls “systemically denied self-worth,” and how this shows up in anxiety, perfectionism, relationships, and the relentless pressure to prove oneself. She also walks us through the “Conscious Moment” technique—an accessible, ACT-informed intervention designed to help clients (and the rest of us) shift out of self-judgment and into a more stable, compassionate awareness of worth.

This conversation bridges theory and practice, offering clinicians and everyday listeners a powerful lens—and practical tools—for rewiring the inner narrative from “Am I enough?” to a deeper, quieter knowing that you already are.

If you’ve ever felt caught in the loop of self-doubt or driven by the need to earn your worth, this episode offers a meaningful way out.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

Dr. Jim interviews Dr. Julia Sheffield, professor at Vanderbilt University and clinician specializing in psychotic and delusional disorders. She discusses her research and her interview with The New York Times on how AI chatbots may unintentionally reinforce or contribute to delusional thinking.

Dr. Sheffield explains how AI can mirror and amplify distorted beliefs by bypassing reality testing, raising concerns about vulnerable users forming unhealthy attachments — reminiscent of Her starring Joaquin Phoenix where a man falls in love with a bot and slowly loses his grounding.

Invoking the image of being “10 feet tall” — a nod to - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - people ask Dr. Sheffield how not to fall into the rabbit hole. How altered perception, magnified meaning, and distorted reality can take hold in both human psychology and AI-mediated experience.

Dr. Sheffield frames psychosis on a spectrum and challenges the field’s overreliance on the medical model, emphasizing that therapy can be highly effective. She calls for clinicians to engage more confidently with this often-avoided yet deeply treatable population.

A timely conversation at the intersection of AI, attachment, delusion, and reality.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

Featuring Dr. Lauren Hartman M.D.

Dr. Jim sits down with Dr. Lauren Hartman, a double board-certified specialist in Adolescent Medicine and Pediatrics, contributor to Psychology Today, and author of the forthcoming book Freeing Children & Young Adults from Shame, Scales & Stigma.

In this episode, Dr. Hartman breaks down what every parent, clinician, and educator needs to understand about eating disorders—and why it’s not your fault. She highlights the essential role families can play in the healing process and offers practical guidance for supporting adolescents with compassion and clarity.

We explore the Barbie effect, the rise of GLP-1 medications, and how social media and comparison culture fuel distorted body image and perfectionism. Dr. Hartman underscores the absurdity of our societal ideals: the original 1959 Barbie, scaled to human size, would stand 5’9”, weigh 110 pounds, measure 39–18–33, and—ironically—would meet criteria for anorexia. And Barbie’s measurements haven’t improved much since.

Zooming out, we look at the cultural forces that perpetuate body shaming and misunderstanding about what “healthy” truly means. Dr. Hartman shares how to talk with adolescents about their eating disorders, what treatments show the strongest evidence, and how to navigate parental shame without derailing recovery.

Finally, we discuss the powerful role of Internal Family Systems (IFS) as an integrative therapeutic approach for adolescents and families—an essential model for clinicians working in this space.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone supporting young people on the path toward healing, nourishment, and self-compassion.

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

Featuring Drs. Hardy, Freed, Peterson, and Ehrensaft • Hosted by Dr. Jim Bramson

In this special episode, four brilliant clinicians explore what it means to parent mindfully in an age of rapid change, digital overload, and cultural uncertainty. Each expert brings a unique blend of curiosity, expertise, humor, and heart to the conversation.

Dr. Robyn Hardy reflects on the risks of “Dr. Google” and the gap between online advice and true clinical expertise—especially when parents are overwhelmed by information.

Dr. Dan Peters challenges the term “failure to launch,” offering a compassionate reframing: young adults often need more time to find their place in today’s complex world, and that’s not a failure. He also dives into the experiences of twice-exceptional (2E) children in dialogue with Dr. Hardy.

Dr. Diane Ehrensaft discusses current research on gender-affirming care, the stressful political climate facing transgender youth and the professionals who support them, and what all parents can learn from the resilience and wisdom of queer and gender-diverse clients.

Dr. Richard Freed brings his signature wit and clarity to the topic of persuasive design, attention hacking, and the addictive architecture of modern video games. He unpacks how Silicon Valley profits from keeping kids online—and why mindful parenting requires understanding the commoditization of a child’s attention span.

This episode offers grounded, practical, and deeply human guidance for navigating parenting in our increasingly uncertain times.

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here