Shrinksrap.com was selected for MillionPodcasts’ 2026 Top 100 Psychology Podcasts list.

Dr. Jim Bramson & Lisa Rosenthal interview Daria Flowers and her Dude, Greg

What happens when the woman you love enters perimenopause and suddenly neither of you got the instruction manual?

In this episode of ShrinksRap, Jim and Lisa sit down with women’s health professional, educator, and author Daria Flowers and her husband, Greg—aka “The Dude”—for a funny, candid, and compassionate conversation about menopause, marriage, and the fine art of not trying to fix everything.

Daria was inspired to write her book while navigating her own perimenopause and its impact on her health, identity, and relationship. Greg readily confesses that he has lived every chapter. His hard-earned Dude wisdom? Be patient. Stay curious. Be humble. Stop trying to fix it. And keep your sense of humor.

We explore what happens when estrogen and progesterone start behaving like they’ve misplaced the car keys: brain fog, night sweats, sleep disruption, weight and mood changes, shifting identity, and changes in sex and intimacy. Women can feel like strangers in their own bodies, while partners may feel confused, rejected, lonely—or simply wonder, “Dude, where's my wife?”

But menopause doesn’t have to untether a relationship. It can be an opportunity to adapt, laugh, communicate, and grow closer. The key for Dudes everywhere: educate yourself, don’t take everything personally, and learn to show up without immediately reaching for the toolbox.

With Daria’s practical hacks and Greg’s lessons from the front lines, this episode offers a roadmap for navigating one of life’s biggest biological—and relational—transitions together.

Your wife hasn’t disappeared, Dude. The operating system is just getting an update.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

Shrinksrap.com was selected for MillionPodcasts’ 2026 Top 100 Psychology Podcasts list.

What can being a lifelong Detroit Lions fan teach us about addiction, recovery, resilience, and life? Apparently, quite a lot—something yours truly, a long-suffering Lions fan, knows all too well.

In this episode of ShrinksRap, Dr. James Bramson sits down with Joel Walkowski, author of Honolulu Blues: How Loving a Losing Football Team Created a Winning Man, to explore the unlikely intersection of football, comedy, recovery, and learning to love something almost certain to let you down.

Joel describes being a Lions fan as being a musician on the Titanic: every Sunday the ship may be sinking, but you still show up and play. The Lions haven’t won an NFL championship since 1957 and have never appeared in a Super Bowl. Yet we diehards keep coming back.

Joel explores the parallels between football fandom and addiction—the obsession, anticipation, emotional highs and lows, magical thinking, and eternal belief that this time will be different. Recovery taught him to feel disappointment without staying stuck in it. Sometimes that means heading straight to the basketball court after a Lions loss rather than spending Sunday marinating in Honolulu Blue misery.

One of the most touching moments involves Joel’s dying father, “Banjo Bob,” who encouraged him to attend the Lions’ 2023 NFC Championship Game—where, naturally, Detroit blew a second-half lead. Bob’s humor remained intact to the end, wearing a shirt declaring, “I’m Not Dead Yet.” Clearly, funny runs in the family.

Joel also takes us from living in a van in Vallejo to completing his education, working in stand-up comedy and celebrity roasts, and ultimately helping others through SMART Recovery.

It’s a conversation about football that’s really about life: acceptance, resilience, recovery, humor, and learning to keep showing up when life doesn’t follow the script. Joel may have discovered the elixir for Lions diehards like me: how to keep winning at life even when your favorite team is losing.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here

Shrinks Rap was recently ranked #2 among psychotherapy podcasts and included in MillionPodcasts’ 2026 Top 100 Psychology Podcasts list. Thank you listeners!

Can eye movements really help heal trauma? Is joy actually one of our most vulnerable—and least expressed—emotions? And how do trauma therapists spend their days swimming through other people’s pain without needing EMDR themselves after every session? In this episode of ShrinksRap, Dr. James Bramson sits down with nationally recognized trauma expert Dr. Jason N. Linder to explore the powerful intersection of EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT),
mindfulness, and attachment neuroscience. Together, they discuss how these approaches complement one another, when each is most effective, and why healing isn’t simply about reducing symptoms—it’s about creating safety, secure connection, resilience, and the freedom to fully engage in life. The conversation also ventures beyond the therapy office to explore what gives therapists joy
and meaning, why the ability to say “no” is essential for emotional safety and effective clinical supervision, and how today’s immigration climate is affecting Latino and immigrant communities. Along the way, Dr. Linder shares practical wisdom for clinicians, hope for those recovering from trauma, and lessons learned from decades of helping people heal. Whether you’re a therapist, psychology student, or simply fascinated by how people grow and recover, this episode is filled with warmth, clinical insight, and just enough humor to remind us that even
trauma therapists occasionally laugh… usually after making sure everyone has completed their resourcing exercise.

Credits:

River is High, Ticketless Traveler

Carl Reisman, guitar, singer, and songwriter

Jenny Goodwine, vocals

James Singleton, bass

Johnny Vidocovich, drums

Dave Easley, steel guitar

Produced by Morgan Orion Reisman

for more information, carlreisman@gmail.com

Copyright 2025

WCMI networking group
A networking group for mindfulness-focused clinicians dedicated to learning together & collaborating for more information click here