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In this New Year’s episode, I explore the very real consequences of last year’s Past Year Review. Most notably, I decided to retire from a beloved community mental health clinic and launch Park West Integrative Psychiatry — sparked by a desire for creativity, continued learning, and a growing belief in integrative trauma-informed approaches such as EMDR, Internal Family Systems, ketamine-assisted therapy, hypnosis, and breath-based practices.

This episode reflects on how intentionally examining meaning and purpose can lead to significant life changes — changes that invite both opportunity and risk, excitement and fear.

To close the episode, I share a recording of my retirement speech from the clinic, which turns into an unexpected sing-along and a fitting ritual for marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

Chapters

0:13 — Nerves and a Big Career Pivot
0:52 — Last Year’s Review and 2025 Intentions
1:46 — Leaving a Beloved Community Clinic
2:46 — Why Change Now, and What’s Next
3:09 — New Directions in Trauma Treatment and Psychiatry
4:05 — Building Park West Integrative Psychiatry
5:02 — Fear, Complexity, and Finding Balance
6:00 — A Cautious Note on Year-End Reviews
6:20 — Reflections on Podcast Growth
7:06 — Upcoming Group Therapies and Retreats
7:54 — Yellowstone Lessons and Old Friends
8:40 — Gratitude, Global Listeners, and What’s Next
9:11 — Retirement Speech and Sing-Along

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Theme music by The Thrashing Skumz.
Developing Meaning is produced by Consilient Mind LLC.

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Happy New Year! It's time to do a meaning inventory in order to set intentions for 2026. Toward that end I am re-posting my meaning inventory from last year. Our next episode will delve into how these unfolded and are leading to major career changes.

This episode invites listeners to engage in a meaningful past year review, turning away from traditional resolutions toward a more insightful approach to personal growth. By exploring the themes of beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and the importance of consilience, Dr. Dirk Winter provides a framework for navigating mental health and self-discovery

We cover:.

• Dissecting the concept of a past year review
• Sharing personal peaks and lows from 2024
• Introducing guiding themes for 2025: beginner's mind, questioning assumptions, and consilience
• Exploring the significance of various healing modalities
• Challenging traditional mental health assumptions
• Encouraging listeners to conduct their own past year review and set meaningful intentions

Go ahead, do your past year review, get yourself maybe into some beginner's mind question patterns, look for areas of consilience, or come up with your own ideas or mantras for the coming year.

Them Music by The Thrashing Skumz
Produced by Dirk Winter

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Mike Mandel is a world-leading hypnotist with over 50 years of professional experience. He's performed nearly 5,000 stage shows, trained over 10,000 students at his Toronto hypnosis academy, and co-hosts the Brain Software podcast.

Our conversation bridges hypnosis, Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy, pain management, and meaning-making—showing how different healing traditions can discover the same truths about how minds heal.

Whether you're a therapist curious about hypnosis, an IFS practitioner, or simply fascinated by how minds work and heal, this conversation will expand your understanding.

You'll hear:

• The "bungalow model" of ego states and stunning parallels with IFS therapy
• How hypnosis stopped a severe burn from forming (tiny firemen with liquid nitrogen!)
• The history of hypnosis from ancient Egypt to Milton Erickson
• Why you need at least three models of reality (not just one)
• How Mike reframed chronic pain from suffering into a reminder he's alive
• Kitchen surgery stories that will blow your mind
• Rapid-fire questions about meaning, legacy, and what matters most

⚠️ WARNING: Mike starts with a brief hypnotic demonstration. Pay attention—the more you focus, the more you'll experience it. We unpack how he did it at the end.

Key Timestamps

• 05:50 - The Forgetting Demonstration
• 07:28 - Ego States & The Bungalow Model
• 15:23 - IFS & Hypnosis: Stunning Parallels
• 21:50 - The Frozen Baby: A Profound Healing Story
• 35:25 - Pain vs. Suffering
• 40:52 - The Burn Treatment Story
• 45:55 - What IS Trance?
• 56:26 - History of Hypnosis: Mesmer to Erickson
• 1:07:44 - How the Forgetting Demo Worked
• 1:18:18 - Rapid-Fire Meaning Questions

Resources

• MikeMandelHypnosis.com
• Brain Software Podcast

Developing Meaning is NOT AFFILIATED WITH ANY INSTITUTIONS and is NOT INTENDED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.

Theme Music by The Thrashing Skumz.

Produced by Dirk Winter and Caroline Hinton

Brought to you by Consilient Mind LLC.