Mental Health through Storytelling - with Dr. Allison Battles

Today's episode features Dr. Allison Battles, a Queer and Pagan licensed clinical psychologist, trauma specialist, and Certified Therapeutic Game Master.  Yes - Game Master!  Allison and I consider topics as far afield as how science can sometimes be unwieldy in healing, using Dungeons & Dragons for identity exploration, and that Dark Elf you made in WoW, but should likely be ashamed of.

REFERENCES:
Dr. Allison Battles's company, BattleRobin Counseling: https://battlerobincounseling.com/

• (00:00) - Opening credits
  


• (00:37) - Show opening
  


• (01:30) - Introducing Allison Battles
  


• (03:45) - Dodecahedron in a square hole
  


• (09:51) - Be yourself...just not too much
  


• (13:57) - Healing the system itself
  


• (17:00) - We are more than pathologies
  


• (22:24) - The overscientification of mental health
  


• (26:35) - How much evidence is enough to notice?
  


• (31:09) - Pathologization and acceptable healing
  


• (37:30) - Does Western medicine prize healing at all?
  


• (40:03) - Telling new stories about who we are
  


• (45:37) - Exploring gender through tabletop RPGs
  


• (51:52) - Quick nerding out on Buffy and Xena
  


• (54:28) - Making Queer exploration natural
  


• (59:07) - How to find Dr. Allison Battles on the internet
  


• (01:01:27) - Show closing
  


• (01:02:05) - Closing credits