After the tragic mass shooting deaths of 19 elementary school kids and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022, America is, once again, doing some soul searching. We have had over 200 mass shootings thus far in 2022, and there's no end in sight. America is too great of a country to do nothing about gun violence. While there are no simple answers, we can do more than thoughts and prayers. The key to growth, change, and improvement rests in our ability to be flexible, reasonable, and skillful as we approach this complicated problem with open minds.

In this episode of The Reasonably Good Life, I interview licensed psychologist and ordained Zen Buddhist priest Dr. David Zuniga. Dr. Zuniga's a good friend of mine, and we've have many wonderful conversations in the past, so I thought it would be fun to interview him for the podcast. We cover Buddhism's influence on modern psychotherapy, human nature and interconnectedness, why we suffer, the myth of the self, and mindfulness and its connection to psychotherapy and well-being.

In this episode, I am interviewed by Karly Fritsch, who is in a master's program at St. Bonaventure University in New York - on her way to becoming a licensed professional counselor. We discuss a range of topics such as some of the challenges of being a therapist, treatment efficacy of different therapy models, ethical problems that therapists face, serving clients who have diverse needs and backgrounds, and getting feedback from clients on treatment progress. It was a lively and enjoyable discussion, and I hope you listeners enjoy it!

In this episode, I was interviewed by Emma Lian, who is a junior at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. She is a smart and studious young woman who reached out to me on her own accord to ask me some questions about the practice of psychology because she interested in career options in this field. We both thought it would be fun and interesting to record the conversation for The Reasonably Good Life podcast, so we did so! We had a great time discussing a range of topics including the differences between psychiatry and psychology, what it's like to be a psychologist/therapist, the increase in mental health issues among young people, mental health problems on a societal level, what helps people achieve greater life satisfaction, medication vs. psychotherapy to treat mental health issues, and general advice for young people to help increase happiness and well-being.

Are screens as bad for young people as we fear? This is the second part of my interview with Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson, a psychology professor at Stetson University, and one of the world's leading researchers on the effects that screens are having on young people. While there are definitely some legitimate concerns about screens and some reasonable limits are in order, we also need to keep in mind that the best research available does not support the scary headlines that screens are causing the vast majority of kids to spiral into depression, anxiety, screen addiction, aggression, and self-harm.

Are screens as bad for young people as we fear? We cover all of the important topics in this episode of The Reasonably Good Life (so much so that I had to break this into two episodes). In this episode, I interview Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson. Chris is a psychology professor at Stetson University, and one of the world's leading researchers on the effects that screens are having on young people. Chris has been researching and publishing papers on this topic for about two decades. Chris and I have been cyber colleagues/friends for several years now, but this is our first meeting in cyberspace! We had a fun, lively, and in-depth conversation, and we don't leave a stone unturned on this important and timely topic. Part 2 of this interview will be posted next week - enjoy!

We evolved to have an ego because having a coherent sense of self can help us to survive and thrive. However, our ego can become overly-attached to just about anything - status, power, prestige, other people, our team, tribe, or political party, possessions, and so on. When our ego becomes overly-attached, it can cause unnecessary suffering on both individual and societal levels. Having a better understanding of what the ego is and how it works can help us loosen the grip that it sometimes has upon us. As we do this, we are better able to make more skillful, effective decisions in life without the clouds of the ego obscuring our vision. Please join me, Dr. Mike Brooks, and my trusty intern and co-pilot, Patrick Kennedy, as we explore this important topic!

The more we are able to manage our suffering in life, the happier we will be. It's difficult to be happy when we are miserable! Of course, some suffering is part of the human condition and inescapable. Yet, we often suffer more than we need to or should. The Buddha taught how attachment is the root of our suffering, and he was onto something there. Some of our attachments are necessary and healthy, but when we become overly attached, we become vulnerable to suffering. Please join me, Dr. Mike Brooks, and my trusty intern, Patrick Kennedy, as we explore this topic within our series on suffering!