The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour - 02.14.11

One of my most inspiring shows!  On this Valentine’s Day, I share thoughts about love with my dear friend, Dr. Adrianne Johnson--love in marriage and in every other aspect of life including therapy and the workplace.  And we disclose a lot about ourselves along the way.  What is love?  Is there love at first sight?  How to heal a broken marriage or friendship?  The difference between love and relationship?  How to overcome extreme loneliness?  Steps to take to find other people to love? We move back and forth between inspiring ideals and the details and practicalities of maintaining and growing a loving relationship.  And the first time ever, my wife Ginger surprises me by calling into the radio show to join us on the air.  I’ve always wanted her to do so, and now she does it as present to me on Valentine’s Day.  It's a show about happiness and how to achieve it.   You can meet Adrianne, along with Ginger, at our upcoming Empathic Therapy conference (www.empathictherapy.org), April 8-10 in Syracuse.

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

Today’s guest is Ronald W. Light, editor and author of The Risks of Prescription Drugs. Unless you are a world class expert on pharmaceutical companies, the FDA, and the drug approval process—this will be an incredibly enlightening hour. In fact, even the experts should learn from this analysis of medication risks associated with psychiatric and non-psychiatric drugs. Dr. Light will also join me in a special presentation at our upcoming Empathic Therapy Conference, April 8-10 in Syracuse New York (www.empathictherapy.org).

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

“Matt D” from “All Addicts Anonymous,” a residential community, is my guest as we delve into the meaning and value of 12-Step Programs.  Are they applicable to all of life’s problems?  Do psychiatric meds have any role?  Does empathic counseling contribute anything?  What can  everyone learn from AA principles and practices?  Can they help with psychiatric drug withdrawal?  You can also hear Matt D and dozens of other exciting presenters from around the world April 8-10 in Syracuse, NY at our Empathic Therapy Conference (www.empathictherapy.org).

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

The healing properties of laughter! Today’s guest is Grace Sweet who teaches and practices Laughter Yoga. Do you believe that laughing about nothing can release your energies and give you a fresh spiritual start? Do you think it can become an integral part of legitimate therapeutic practices, including counseling? Do you think it has a scientific basis? Grace Sweet may make a believer out of you.

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

Search the ends of the Earth for two of the world’s most caring, courageous, honest and intelligent psychiatrists, and you will find my two guests:  Doug Smith, MD from Juneau, Alaska, and Albert Fergusson, MD from Columbia, South America.  The show begins with Doug and I talking about the essence of good therapy and good personal relationships, and then about spirituality in therapy and life.  We are joined by Alberto who shares his view of the same common values.   All three of us treat patients who are labeled “schizophrenic” without medication, but with nuanced differences in our approaches.  You can also meet and hear both doctors at our Empathic Therapy Conference, April 8-10, 2011 in Syracuse, NY (www.empathictherapy.org).

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

My guest is Cris Rowan from British Columbia, the author of “The Virtual Child,” who calls herself “an impassioned occupational therapist.”  Cris helps parents to wean their children from addiction to technologies like TV, social networking, cell phone texting and videogames.  She believes that many childhood diagnoses in reality reflect a combination of addiction to technology and a corresponding lack of meaningful relationship and personal engagement in the family.  Cris’s observations will make you think more critically about childhood immersion in technology and how to overcome it.

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

If you want to be inspired to change your life into what you’ve always wanted or if you want your loved ones, friends and clients to find the courage to pursue their dreams, this is the place to start. If you want to turn your experiences of abuse and disappointment into the energy of your creativity, listen to this hour. I interview Pamela Glasner and we focus on how in her mid-fifties she transformed her life to become a novelist, screenwriter, and public speaker--and a woman of unanticipated courage and determination. Learn what it means to feel “the cosmic boot.”

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

Today’s guest was Robert Foltz, PsyD, a psychologist in private practice and professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Bob and I describe the specifics of what’s needed to help children and families come back together to create responsible, respectful and loving relationships. The focus starts with the child and then encompasses the family. This hour is a must for parents, older children, teachers, therapists—anyone with a stake in improving the lives of children through their lives in the family. It's basic lessons in living can help adults, with or without children, to improve their relationships and their lives.

The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour

My guests are Tom and Diane Vande Burgt. If you want a vivid real-life introduction to what’s the matter with biological psychiatry and better alternatives, this is it. In the first half hour Tom describes what happened to him when he came back from Iraq with “PTSD” and was immediately put on four psychiatric drugs at once and thrust into a downhill course of medication spellbinding. In the second half hour, his wife Diane describes how she developed a family-oriented alternative called Lest We Forget, a PTSD support group. The show dramatizes what’s wrong and provides a model for what’s needed.

December 6, 2010