You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist

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Today we were going to air the first “Psychedelics and Christianity” panel, but then a crisis hit our family: my husband fell and broke both bones in his left forearm, while rock climbing with our kids.
When I got his call from the ER, I was 2500 miles away, working remotely on ROGD Repair from a peaceful Airbnb in Holualoa, Hawaii, where I was recharging on a solo trip. Needless to say, the news hit hard; it felt like the ground dropped out from under me.
There was a crisis whirlwind: catching up to speed on the situation; coordinating with my husband, doctors and nurses, friends and family; and figuring out how to get home quickly, despite his insistence I stay in Hawaii and somehow “enjoy” my birthday there despite knowing the love of my life was suffering without me.
When I got home, I was thankful to our amazing friends who had risen to the occasion and cared for him in my absence, but it was clear that the severity of the situation had been downplayed. My first full day back was spent handling the chaos of our home in disarray, coordinating overworked and saintly friends, and quickly catching up to speed on his pain, medications, mobility issues, caregiving needs, and surgery plan. Not to mention the psychological adjustment to finding the man who'd spent so much time taking care of me suddenly being the helpless patient in need of tending. That day also happened to be my birthday, which I'd originally planned to spend boogie boarding and whale watching. Bless my husband’s heart — he still made sure a friend picked up a dessert for me. But I chose to save most of the presents he’d prepared well in advance for a day with a more celebratory mood. What mattered was that he be able to have surgery as quickly as possible, that we be adequately prepared, and that he not further injure himself while his bones were loose.
Thankfully, the orthopedic surgeon was able to get my husband in the very next day, and despite the sickening level of anxiety I felt in the waiting room, the procedure went as well as it could have: he had great bones, a clean fracture, excellent range of motion and an ideal recovery prognosis.
My husband now has plates and screws in his arm; a bandage/splint/sling situation; and a schedule of pain relief, ice, and elevation. He’s encouraged to move gently, and will begin occupational therapy in two weeks when the sutures are removed. Meanwhile, I'm adjusting to my new role as my responsibilities have drastically increased to include both nursing him, and taking over all the chores and errands he used to handle. I'm in one of those chapters where all you can do is focus on the next thing you must do.
Although my husband should be resting, we are also dealing with a completely separate issue, a private family situation causing loads of stress and costing even greater loads of money. So while he's on the couch with his arm elevated and iced, he's still working remotely on what he can to ameliorate the other thing.
We were prepared for a rainy day, even a stormy one. We just weren't prepared to be pelted with hail the size of golf balls.
This feels like a sneak preview into the reality of aging.
With his one good hand, my poor sweet husband was going to try to make sure to get you this week’s episode as usual. But I see no reason not to save that for next week with all we’re going through. Especially not when I have this amazing recording we can use. This took him minutes to assemble, not hours.
See, before the accident, one morning in Holualoa, HI, I woke up before dawn. The chorus of birds, frogs, and insects there is normally amazing, especially at that time of day, but it was even more incredible that morning with the rain. There is something so magical about being in a place teeming with life all around you. So I opened my voice memos app and started a new recording; sat my phone down carefully on the ledge of the lanai; and sipped coffee as quietly as possible while listening to the chorus, hoping my phone’s mic would hear it as keenly as my ears did. I am pretty pleased with how the recording turned out, and I wanted to turn it into a track that could be looped, if only for myself. But I decided to share it with you too. It's pretty perfect if you ask me, aside from the occasional vehicle motor humming in the background.
So today, in honor of my husband’s healing, I bring you ten minutes of a glorious chorus of tropical birds, insects, frogs, and rain. It feels like bringing home a little piece of my time on the island, making up for the trip being cut short. Studies show 20 minutes of birdsong a day improves mental health. I hope this brings you peace.
I’m explaining everything in the notes here, and not including any speech in the podcast, both because that’s easier, and because it allows you to loop this track for sound therapy. You can listen to it over and over. I recommend playing it in the morning while waking up.
If you want to help us out while my husband is unable to work, you can send money via Venmo or Paypal. Better yet, refer every parent of a gender-confused kid you know to my course, ROGD Repair, which now comes with unlimited access to AI assistant, RepairBot. The income from the course helps us stay stable during these tough times. Thanks as always for your support.

To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!
Learn more about Do No Harm.

Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.
Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.
Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.
Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.
Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.
Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals co...

Social psychology expert Brant Elwood joins me to explore the fascinating and often troubling world of unconscious group dynamics. Brant brings a unique perspective, having spent four years as a field guide in wilderness therapy—accumulating over 10,000 hours working with small groups—before transitioning into organizational psychology and leadership consulting.
We dive deep into the phenomenon of scapegoating: why groups unconsciously select certain members to carry their collective anxiety, how the scapegoat often cooperates with this unspoken contract, and what happens when that person leaves. Brant shares compelling examples from Tavistock group relations conferences and primate research to illustrate how these dynamics play out across species.
I also share my own experience of being scapegoated in a T-group during grad school, and we explore how our childhood wounds create "Velcro" for these projections to stick. We discuss the role of humor as a potential escape route, what healthy leadership looks like, and why some organizations become addicted to crisis. The conversation takes a meaningful turn toward Nathaniel Brandon's work on self-esteem—what it truly means beyond the smarmy 90s version—and how a leader's unintegrated material gets amplified throughout an organization. This episode offers valuable insights for anyone navigating workplace dynamics or seeking to understand group psychology.
Brant Elwood has a MA in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. He has held consulting roles and leadership positions within several therapeutic treatment organizations. During the pandemic, he directed a non-profit that utilized myth and archetypal theory to conduct rites of passage work with young men in the southeast US. Brant draws from the mythopoetic lineage of Robert Bly, Robert Johnson, and others in an attempt to establish a novel style of thinking about groups in communities and organizations. He first attended a Tavistock-style group relations conference in 2015. Follow him on X @thegrouplens. Find his book on Amazon: Gods, Heroes, and Groups: Relational Dynamics Through Mythic Archetypes.
[00:00:00] Start
[00:00:38] Introduction to Brant Elwood
[00:01:40] Background in Wilderness Therapy
[00:04:01] Tavistock Group Relations Conferences
[00:15:59] The Psychology of Scapegoating
[00:28:19] Projective Identification and Personal Wounds
[00:40:47] Qualities of Healthy Organizations
[00:45:30] Toxic Workplace Dynamics Case Study
[00:54:21] Nathaniel Brandon's Self-Esteem Framework
[01:09:00] Christian Perspective on Self-Worth
[01:15:45] Crisis of Faith in Therapy Field
[01:17:29] Where to Find Brant and His Book
ROGD REPAIR Course + Community gives concerned parents instant access to over 120 lessons providing the psychological insights and communication tools you need to get through to your kid. Now featuring 24/7 personalized AI support implementing the tools with RepairBot! Use code SOMETHERAPIST2025 to take 50% off your first month.

PODCOURSES: use code SOMETHERAPIST at LisaMustard.com/PodCourses

TALK TO ME: book a meeting.

PRODUCTION: Looking for your own podcast producer? Visit PodsByNick.com and mention my podcast for 20% off your initial services.

SUPPORT THE SHOW: subscribe, like, comment, & share or donate.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order.

MUSIC: Thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude & permission.

 ALL OTHER LINKS HERE.

To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!
Learn more about Do No Harm.

Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.
Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.
Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.
Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.
Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.
Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Dr. Travis Morrell, chair of Colorado Principled Physicians and a senior fellow at Do No Harm Medicine, joins me to pull back the curtain on what he calls the "medical mafia"—the intricate web of organizations led by the American Medical Association that manufactures the illusion of consensus on controversial medical practices, particularly pediatric sex trait modification.
We explore how the AMA maintains its power despite only 15% of American doctors being members. The answer lies in a government-mandated monopoly: the AMA holds the copyright on CPT codes—the procedural codes every healthcare provider in the country must use to bill insurance and Medicare. This generates hundreds of millions in revenue annually, which the AMA then uses to lobby politicians, influence other medical organizations, and train activists within specialty societies to align with their positions.
Travis explains how this money flows into shadow organizations like Race Forward to push diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that ultimately tie back to gender ideology in medicine. We discuss the physical harms of cross-sex hormones on women—including vaginal atrophy, pelvic floor dysfunction, and incontinence affecting over 95% of female patients on testosterone—and why Travis compares these effects to female genital mutilation. We also discuss what everyday people and physicians can do to push back against this institutional capture, and why speaking up—even privately—is a moral duty.
Travis Morrell, MD, MPH, is a dad, husband, and physician. A lifelong learner to a fault, his postgraduate medical training in five specialty departments and medical leadership gives him a broad perspective of his profession. He is published in the top journals of multiple fields and in popular media. Dr. Morrell is a Senior Fellow at Do No Harm Medicine. He is Chair of Colorado Principled Physicians, a grassroots organization of physicians promoting evidence-based medicine and classical liberal values.
The X thread mentioned
X: @MorrellMDmph
Protect Kids Colorado
Colorado Principled Physicians
Stop the Harm Database
[00:00:00] Start
[00:00:46] Introducing Dr. Travis Morrell
[00:09:30] The AMA's $450 Million Empire and CPT Code Monopoly
[00:17:34] How the AMA Controls Other Medical Organizations
[00:30:53] Who's Driving the Gender Ideology Agenda
[00:44:35] Cross-Sex Hormones as Female Genital Mutilation
[00:49:06] Physical Harms of Testosterone on Women
[01:07:01] What Doctors and Patients Can Do
[01:10:51] Why Doctors Alone Won't Save the Day
[01:17:43] Compassion for Affected Kids and Families
[01:18:47] Where to Find Dr. Travis Morrell
ROGD REPAIR Course + Community gives concerned parents instant access to over 120 lessons providing the psychological insights and communication tools you need to get through to your kid. Now featuring 24/7 personalized AI support implementing the tools with RepairBot! Use code SOMETHERAPIST2026 to take 50% off your first month.

PODCOURSES: use code SOMETHERAPIST at LisaMustard.com/PodCourses

TALK TO ME: book a meeting.

PRODUCTION: Looking for your own podcast producer? Visit PodsByNick.com and mention my podcast for 20% off your initial services.

SUPPORT THE SHOW: subscribe, like, comment, & share or donate.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order.

MUSIC: Thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude & permission.

ALL OTHER LINKS HERE.

To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!
Learn more about Do No Harm.

Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.
Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.
Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.
Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.
Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.
Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Licensed clinical social worker Tammy Weitzman dedicated 23 years of her career to caring for cancer patients—from the moment of diagnosis through treatment, survivorship, and sometimes end of life. But her stellar track record as a source of comfort to ailing patients in their hour of need wasn’t enough for her to keep her job. Tammy’s story reveals how DEI ideology can infiltrate even the most sacred spaces in healthcare, ultimately costing her everything she'd worked for.

Tammy describes how her workplace at Seattle's Fred Hutch Cancer Center transformed after 2017, when self-described "social justice warriors" entered her department. She was called a "white kike" by a colleague, harassed for her friendship with someone in the Trump administration, and subjected to mandatory DEI sessions that dismissed her own experiences with antisemitism. When she pushed back against an email encouraging therapists to bring political conversations into patient care, she received a three-page complaint accusing her of "white privilege"—and was terminated ten days later for "lack of ethnic sensitivity."

We explore what it means when institutions prioritize ideology over their core mission, how the female-dominated helping professions have become breeding grounds for social aggression masked as compassion, and what it takes to rebuild after your career and character have been destroyed. Tammy shares how she filed a lawsuit that settled quickly, relocated across the country, and rebuilt her practice from the ground up—all while becoming a source of support for others experiencing similar persecution.

A licensed clinical social worker for 25 years, Tammy Weitzman has presented her work around the world. Born and raised in Toronto, she completed her graduate degree in New York. Tammy spent most of her career caring for cancer patients and their families, particularly those undergoing treatment of hematologic malignancies such as leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and stem cell transplantation. Although gifted at her job, her career took a downturn when “woke” colleagues created a hostile working atmosphere, harassing her with antisemitic slurs. After she objected to a colleague sending a biased political article to social workers over company email, Tammy was abruptly terminated from her job in Seattle. Tammy now counsels in private practice as an LCSW in North Carolina.
Tammy's counseling website
Email: [email protected]

Books mentioned in this episode:

- Imagine Heaven by John Burke
- Imagine the God of Heaven by John Burke

[00:00:00] Start
[00:07:22] Why Oncology: Father's Death from Cancer
[00:11:57] Wisdom from a Dying Patient
[00:20:41] 2017: Social Justice Warriors Arrive
[00:34:28] Called a "White Kike" by Colleague
[00:44:00] Friend in Trump Administration Exposed
[00:54:19] Terminated for "Lack of Ethnic Sensitivity"
[00:56:01] Decision to Fight Back
[01:09:52] Filing Lawsuit and Rebuilding Life
ROGD REPAIR Course + Community gives concerned parents instant access to over 120 lessons providing the psychological insights and communication tools you need to get through to your kid. Now featuring 24/7 personalized AI support implementing the tools with RepairBot! Use code SOMETHERAPIST2025 to take 50% off your first month.

PODCOURSES: use code SOMETHERAPIST at LisaMustard.com/PodCourses

TALK TO ME: book a meeting.

PRODUCTION: Looking for your own podcast producer? Visit PodsByNick.com and mention my podcast for 20% off your initial services.

SUPPORT THE SHOW: subscribe, like, comment, & share or donate.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order.

MUSIC: Thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude & permission.

ALL OTHER LINKS HERE.

To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!
Learn more about Do No Harm.

Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.
Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.
Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.
Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.
Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @affirmationgeneration.
Have a question for me? Looking to go deeper and discuss these ideas with other listeners? Join my Locals community! Members get to ask questions I will respond to in exclusive, members-only livestreams, post questions for upcoming guests to answer, plus other perks TBD.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

In the spirit of celebrating my first Christmas as a Christian, this week is the perfect time to share a delightful conversation I had with Chris Legg. As both a licensed professional counselor and the lead pastor of a church, Chris has a rare combination of expertise he describes as being "a bit of a unicorn." Chris is also the founding owner and clinical director of Alethia Family Counseling Center, which now operates six locations across Texas with thirty therapists on staff.
We explore the intersection of faith and psychology, discussing how secular therapy approaches to self-esteem fall short without a spiritual foundation. Chris challenges the contemporary affirmation-based therapy model, arguing that true humility comes from an accurate understanding of who we are in light of who God says we are. We discuss the persistent human tendency toward self-deception, examining why building identity solely on ourselves is fundamentally delusional—and what happens when we recognize ourselves as treasure through God's eyes instead.
Our conversation ventures into controversial territory, including the relationship between Christianity and psychedelics, where Chris explains his measured "five out of ten" stance. He shares clinical examples of clients whose severe addictions were transformed through professional psychedelic-assisted treatment, while also emphasizing the need for Christian voices to remain engaged in this conversation rather than retreating into reflexive rejection. 
We discuss the theology of the Father, father wounds, and how childhood experiences shape our intuition of God. We examine prayer through the lens of the persistent widow and the friend at midnight, exploring what it means to approach God boldly as his children rather than with practiced piety. Chris shares insights on marriage, sacrifice, and how his son co-authored their book "Sex and Marriage" after witnessing the congruence between his father's theology and his treatment of his mother. Finally, we touch on near-death experiences, spiritual integration, and the beautiful, ongoing process of faith deconstruction and reconstruction that characterizes a lifetime of spiritual growth.
Pastor Chris Legg, LPCs, and his wife Ginger have been living out the parable of God’s love for His people since 1993 and have been blessed with five great kids. He is the Lead Pastor at South Spring Baptist Church in Tyler, TX and is also the founding owner and clinical director of Alethia Family Counseling Center, which offers training, counseling, speaking and business consulting in several locations in Texas. He and his son, Mark, are the authors of the book Sex and Marriage, which is intended to restore to marriages the power God intended. He also writes on Substack and hosts the Reconstructed Faith podcast.

Books Mentioned in This Episode:
Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Abba's Child by Brennan Manning
Lion and Lamb by Brennan Manning
Imagine Heaven by John Burke
Imagine the God of Heaven by John Burke
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis
Sex and Marriage by Chris Legg and Mark Legg
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Joe Dispenza

[00:00:00] Start
[00:01:09] Meet Chris Legg: Pastor and Therapist
[00:11:54] The Father Wound and Our Intuition of God
[00:18:45] Bold Prayer: Keep Hounding God
[00:32:35] The Problem with Self-Esteem
[00:40:00] Affirmation-Only Therapy Will Be Replaced by AI
[00:43:15] Psychedelics and Christianity
[01:05:00] Paul on Intention and What's Truly Forbidden
[01:16:10] Chris's Vulnerability on Lifelong Addiction
[01:32:30] Chris's Book: Sex and Marriage
ROGD REPAIR Course + Community gives concerned parents instant access to over 120 lessons providing the psychological insights and communication tools you need to get through to your kid. Now featuring 24/7 personalized AI support implementing the tools with RepairBot! Use code SOMETHERAPIST2025 to take 50% off your first month.

PODCOURSES: use code SOMETHERAPIST at LisaMustard.com/PodCourses

TALK TO ME: book a meeting.

PRODUCTION: Looking for your own podcast producer? Visit PodsByNick.com and mention my podcast for 20% off your initial services.

SUPPORT THE SHOW: subscribe, like, comment, & share or donate.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order.

MUSIC: Thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude & permission.

ALL OTHER LINKS HERE.

To support this show, please leave a rating & review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe, like, comment & share via my YouTube channel. Or recommend this to a friend!
Learn more about Do No Harm.

Take $200 off your EightSleep Pod Pro Cover with code SOMETHERAPIST at EightSleep.com.
Take 20% off all superfood beverages with code SOMETHERAPIST at Organifi.
Check out my shop for book recommendations + wellness products.
Show notes & transcript provided with the help of SwellAI.
Special thanks to Joey Pecoraro for our theme song, “Half Awake,” used with gratitude and permission.

Watch NO WAY BACK: The Reality of Gender-Affirming Care (our medical ethics documentary, formerly known as Affirmation Generation). Stream the film or purchase a DVD. Use code SOMETHERAPIST to take 20% off your order. Follow us on X @2022affirmation or Instagram at @a...