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 ★ Support this podcast ★