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Bear Psychology Podcast


Dr. Anna Baranowsky is a Canadian Clinical Psychologist, CEO of the Traumatology Institute, Founder and President of the Board at Trauma Practice. She is the author of two books on trauma, numerous courses to help train professionals in trauma mental health and the developer of the Trauma Recovery Program for Self-Guided trauma care. She works with trauma survivors and those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on post-traumatic growth and recovery.

Through her work she believes that when we share, dialogue and feel supported, it provides a powerful foundation for forward movement in our understanding and the care needed. In her own words "I have found that the most profound changes occur when a person truly feels heard and understood - I like to think of it as deeply BEARING WITNESS to life evolving. We can feel incredibly stuck when we live with our fears, stressors and troubles in isolation."

Dr.Baranowsky is the host of the Bear Psychology Show, focusing on bearing witness to Evolving Mood, Mind, Health. Her talks revolve around recovery, relationships, work and life adventures.

She is dedicated to assisting organizations and health professionals who help trauma survivors to ensure a trauma informed lens of care can grow in community health networks. With that vision in 1998, the Traumatology Institute Canada (TIC) was established. TIC has trained thousands of individuals nationally and internationally.

Dr. Baranowsky serves on the board of directors of the Academy of Traumatology and is a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress through the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and is recognized by The National Center for Crisis Management. She has published in the area of Post-Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue, and therapeutic relationships (the Silencing Response).

Copyright:  Dr. Anna Baranowsky, 2020

Jan 28, 2019

Understanding habits is the key to breaking or building them. We can set goals and be aware of the need for change, but how do you go about making that change? This episode discusses how habits are formed in the body and brain, and how to channel the power of habits for good.

Emotions form an incredibly important tool at our disposal as long as we sit with them and experience what is happening within ourselves. Keep in mind that lecturing and shaming yourself won’t help you change behaviour. Once a habit is formed, it happens without a lot of thought. You need to explore new behaviours and repeat them deliberately. Embrace the possibility of growth and put in the work!

Charles Duhigg has dedicated his work to studying and empowering people to harness their habits. He wrote a book ‘The Power of Habit’ that you can learn about here or purchase here. He also has many resources on his website that you can explore here.

Bad habits that you hold over long periods of time are the basis of addictions. Gary Zukav discusses how addictions exist to mask and cover pain, and how they form one of the strongest parts of your personality. To learn more about addictions and how to create authentic power to grow spiritually and overcome them, you can visit his website here.

Another helpful resource is this TED talk by Judson Brewer entitled 'a Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit'. In this video Judson breaks down the anatomy of a habit as a trigger, behaviour and reward. He suggests that you need to be aware of what you know cognitively about the bad behaviour so that you can focus on why it is bad for you. After that you can begin to replace bad behaviours with good ones. To view the full video, click here.

This radio show was aired on Realityradio101.com on Thursday, September 27, 2018.