Inner Path Seekers | Mental Health Support

Show notes can be found here: https://theipsproject.com/2026/04/reason-we-stay-addicted-kevin-cornelius/Addiction is complex, deeply human, and often misunderstood.In this episode, we take a grounded and practical look at what addiction really is and how it can be treated effectively.I’m joined by Kevin Cornelius, a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical director at the Feeling Good Institute Silicon Valley. Kevin specializes in TEAM-CBT, a powerful and evolving therapeutic approach developed by psychiatrist David Burns.What I am hoping you get out of this episode, besides learning some of the reasons why people stay addicted, is that you will learn some practical techniques to start taking a small step toward freeing yourself from whichever addiction you might be struggling with.If, after this episode, you’d like to learn more about the effects addiction has on the brain, do have a listen to the episode I did with Dr. Grisel, titled The Brain on Addiction.📚The IPS Academy📚If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out ⁠The IPS Academy⁠, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.Simply go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theipsproject.com/academy⁠⁠⁠⁠. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course. Again, check them out at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theipsproject.com/academ⁠⁠⁠⁠y⁠

For nearly 10 years, when Dr. Grisel was younger, she was a daily drug user. She dropped out of school multiple times and was even homeless at one point.Something one might read with surprise, especially knowing that today Dr. Grisel is an internationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist and a professor of psychology at Bucknell University, who joins us in this first episode in our series on addiction.I always love having guests on the show who not only have professional knowledge of the topic being discussed, but who have also personally walked the path and therefore know what it’s like to go through it.To me, Dr. Grisel isn’t just an incredible researcher, but also a role model for anyone struggling with addiction — showing that it doesn’t have to define you, and that your future might hold more potential than you realize.Don’t forget to follow us to stay tuned for the next episode in this series on addiction.And follow us on Instagram, or sign up for our newsletter, to stay notified when the next health expert appears on the show — so you can send in your questions.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innerpathseekers/Newsletter: https://theipsproject.com/newsletter/📚The IPS Academy📚If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out ⁠The IPS Academy⁠, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.Simply go to ⁠⁠⁠https://theipsproject.com/academy⁠⁠⁠. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course. Again, check them out at ⁠⁠⁠https://theipsproject.com/academ⁠⁠y⁠

As the year comes to an end, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the things we did here at Inner Path Seekers — the highlights of 2025, what’s ahead in 2026, and to hear from you about how we can do better and what you’d like to see more of. ✨Besides sharing the highlights and what’s to come, I care deeply about making Inner Path Seekers better — and I want to do that together with you. Therefore, I’ve created a short, anonymous feedback form where you can share what’s been helpful, what could be improved, and what you’d like to see next. 📝You can fill in the form here 👉 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSepF1h_mmqLWovO4h085jLQOy33zksnwDbXcFHTXpbc2oTO0A/viewform?usp=headerBest holiday wishes to you all 🎄✨And see you again in 2026. 🌟

I lost my father when I was four years old. I’m 32 now.In this episode, I share what I’ve learned over these 28 years of losing my father at a young age — the realizations, lessons, and moments of healing that have shaped my journey.Losing him hasn’t been easy. Far from it. And if you’ve lost someone significant in your life, I imagine you understand that kind of pain too.In the Western world, at least from my experience, there’s a deep mismatch between the depth of grief people carry and how society tends to respond to it. We often rush past loss, when what it truly needs is space, honesty, and depthThat’s why I dedicated a full series on the podcast of Inner Path Seekers to loss and grief — conversations with people who’ve lost loved ones and with a mental health professional.Simply scroll through the podcast app you’re using to find the previous episodes on grief and loss.______📚The IPS Academy📚If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out ⁠The IPS Academy⁠, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.Simply go to ⁠⁠https://theipsproject.com/academy⁠⁠. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course. Again, check them out at ⁠⁠https://theipsproject.com/academy⁠______Timestamps:The Two Memories I Still Have of My Dad 00:00 – 01:40The Intention of This Video 01:40 – 03:10You Learn to Live Better with the Pain 03:10 – 05:34It’s Beautiful That It Hurts 05:34 – 06:33Have an Outlet for Your Pain / Do Something with Your Pain 06:33 – 09:43Keep Talking, Don’t Run Away from the Pain 09:43 – 11:34It’s Lonely — We Fail as a Society at Being There for Each Other 11:34 – 15:42Last Few Words 15:42 – 18:01

Grief and loss touch us all, yet they’re often the hardest to talk about. In this episode, I speak with Bridget Sumser, a licensed clinical social worker with over a decade in palliative and end-of-life care. She has stood by the bedsides of hundreds of dying people, trains professionals in palliative principles, co-edited Palliative Care: A Guide for Health Social Workers (2019), and works with Mettle Health offering online support.If you’ve lost someone or simply want to better understand grief, I truly hope this episode can bring you comfort, insight, and guidance.______📚The IPS Academy📚If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out ⁠The IPS Academy⁠, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.Simply go to ⁠https://theipsproject.com/academy⁠. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course. Again, check them out at ⁠https://theipsproject.com/academy⁠

Show notes can be found here: https://theipsproject.com/2025/08/phil-cohen/Phil Cohen lost his 14-year-old son, Perry, at sea in 2015. What followed was a journey through grief that transformed his life. It’s not a journey Phil ever wished for, but it’s the one he got, as those who have lost someone dear will understand very well.  In this conversation, Phil Cohen, also known as The Grief Guy, shares his profound journey of loss and how he navigated the depths of grief—so that you may find insights, takeaways, and, most of all, support if you are going through your own grieving process.Today, Phil helps others who have lost someone through his workshops, which you can learn more about at philcohen.com.I sincerely hope this episode, along with the others we have done and will do in this series on grief and loss, provides a beacon of hope on the dark path that is grieving.

Show notes for this episode can be found here: https://theipsproject.com/2025/07/both-my-parents-died-frank-watkinson/In this series episode on loss and grief, I sit down with Frank Watkinson, also known as Virtual Grandad. A YouTube musician with over 1 million subscribers, Frank, who is quite the rockstar, talks to us about his experiences with loss and grief.Frank lost his dad when he was 9 years old, and just a few years later, at 11, he lost his mom as well. Thus, he became a foster child.We don’t talk much about loss and grief in Western society, and there isn’t much space for these conversations. Often, we’re expected to ‘move on’ as quickly as possible. Yet, it’s only when you lose someone dear that you realize it’s not such a simple task.Hopefully, this episode—and the others we’ve done—can provide a space, a moment where you can feel that there is no rush and no judgment, that you can allow feelings like grief to be there if you’ve recently lost someone, or even if it’s been years.

In this series of Inner Path Seekers, we open up a conversation about loss and grief—a topic often whispered about but rarely given the space it deserves. We take the time to do just that by speaking with psychologists and health experts who specialize in grief, as well as with people who have experienced the deep pain of losing someone they love. In this episode, we sit down with Laura Maliszewska.Laura shares her deeply personal journey of losing her mother, Sylwia, to pleural cancer six years ago, just as Laura was turning 24. She speaks openly about witnessing her mother’s seven-year battle with cancer and tells the story of Sylwia—a physical education teacher who became a beacon of strength for everyone around her, continuing to run marathons and lift weights even as she faced her illness.This episode explores the raw, often messy complexities of grief, reminding us that it is not a straight path, and it’s okay to have ups and downs along the way. But it’s also a path we don’t have to walk alone. We hope that these conversations on grief and loss offer you comfort, answers, and a sense of support if you are moving through a season of loss yourself—and that this first episode with Laura might help you feel a little less alone.Show notes for this episode can be found here: https://theipsproject.com/2025/06/losing-my-mom-at-a-young-age-laura-maliszewska/

Show notes for this episode can be found here: https://theipsproject.com/2025/06/coping-with-teen-depression/In this episode, I'm opening up about something deeply personal I've never fully shared before: my journey through depression during my teenage years.From ages 12 to 18, my life often felt like a blur—a confusing and lonely time marked by self-isolation, self-harm, and a constant need to escape reality.Over the last 14 years, I've had a lot of time to think about that period in my life and about why I ended up with such severe depression.Combined with my studies in psychology (I'm currently studying to become a clinical psychologist), I’ve started to see more and more of the puzzle pieces—the ingredients—that led to this dish called depression.My goal here isn’t just to tell my story, but to shed light on the common “ingredients” that often contribute to depression.Through my psychology studies, I’ve seen these patterns show up repeatedly, and if you’re struggling with depression, you might recognize them in your own life too.Of course, I’m also sharing what finally helped me get out of that depression. I could have shared countless things, but looking back, there were only three that truly had a significant impact on me.And I believe they can have an impact on you as well—not only because they changed my life so deeply, but also because I’ve seen them come up again and again in my psychology training.Whether you're currently struggling with depression, supporting a loved one, or simply curious about mental health, I hope this video offers insight, hope, and a sense that you’re not alone.If you're looking to talk to someone, know that I’m here. You can always get in touch with me through email or on Instagram. Whilst I might not reply right away, I will respond.

Joe Tudor, the founder of Reconnect—a platform that provides tools and organizes events that help people deal with their mental health and connect with others going through similar experiences—once faced depression and struggled with his own mental health. This experience inspired him to start Reconnect.In this episode, Joe shares his story and what his journey through depression looked like. While this episode won’t magically cure you if you’re currently facing depression, hearing the stories of others—how they navigated it and found their way through—can provide hope, help you feel less alone, and possibly guide you toward taking a step forward.At least, that is my sincere hope—and I can only assume Joe shares that hope—that this conversation might be meaningful for you.Show notes for this episode can be found here: https://theipsproject.com/2025/03/joe-tudor/