47. Bonus: Finding the Hero in the Journey with Dr. Darin Cairns (Full Conversation)
In this episode, I speak with clinical psychologist Dr. Darin Cairns about the power of the stories we tell ourselves. This is a bonus episode in which I share our full, largely unedited 2.5-hour conversation.
We discuss
- Why stories exist
- Why storytelling is essential but can also keep us stuck
- How Darin uses these concepts in his therapeutic work
- How Darin helps his clients translate these concepts into the real world to bring about meaningful change
In this bonus episode, you'll also hear about
- Darin's fascinating work in autism spectrum disorders
- Darin's role in helping teachers find agency in the classroom.
- What Darin would put in a TikTok video to make his work more accessible to the youth
- More about Darin’s origin story
Want a shorter version of this episode?
This week, I also will share a 1 hour episode (The Power of Story to Get Unstuck #46) with a compilation of the key clips from this conversation.
In last week's episode (Sleep, Resilience and Agency #45), I shared a 15 minute clip from this conversation in which we discussed the critical role of sleep in bringing about meaningful change and moving towards the lives we want, how fatigue influences the narratives we construct about ourselves, and how our beliefs about the value of sleep can undermine our ability to care for ourselves.
ABOUT DARIN
Dr. Darin Cairns has over 17 years experience in treating children, adults and families for a range of psychological disorders. Clinically, Darin has expertise in child, adolescent, family therapy and developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorders. He also has extensive experience in adult mood disorders and works as a single expert witness. He was initially trained in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), Clinical Behaviour Analysis and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. After many years working with developmental specialists and clinicians, his frustration at not being able to bridge the gap from ABA to complex behavioural and emotional domains led him to Relational Frame Theory (RFT). He has since applied Relational Frame Theory (RFT) to hundreds of developmental programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and let this inform his work with therapies developed from RFT such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and other third wave Cognitive Behavioural Approaches.
TAKE THE FIRST STEPS TO IMPROVE SLEEP: www.decodeinsomnia.com/start
ABOUT
In the DECODE Project Podcast, sleep physician and psychiatrist Dr. Cara Ooi uncovers the insights, strategies, and tools that make the biggest difference in doing hard things and bringing about difficult change, starting with sleep and going from there. Dr. Ooi created the DECODE Insomnia Clinic, a virtual clinic in Ontario, Canada that provides chronic insomnia treatment with the DECODE Insomnia Program and OHIP-covered consultation.
Music by Micheal Lerner
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DISCLAIMER
The content of this podcast provides general information and is not intended to replace medical advice from a qualified healthcare provider. The provided content should not be relied upon for medical diagnosis or management. Please direct questions or concerns to your physician and/or qualified health care provider.
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