How to Be Patient

How to Be Patient

You may have noticed a new trend lately. Everyone is loud and proud about their mental health struggles (and thank goodness)! For practitioners, this movement is as exciting as it is frustrating. As each mental health taboo falls by the wayside as it enters the cultural zeitgeist, a new aspect of our specialty thus emerges. One we just don’t have enough hours in the day to keep track of, let alone engage with. From better understanding our patients’ (and our own) relationships with their conditions in a changing world, it’s more important than ever that we learn: HOW TO BE PATIENT! Each week, join Dr. Preston Roche (Psychiatry Resident & Digital Influencer) and Dr. Margaret Duncan (Psychiatrist & Content Creator) on their quest to better understand the patients we dedicate our lives to and the evolving paths they’re bound to travel beyond the clinic. By engaging with stories and perspectives that challenge our shared understanding of a condition, we hope you’ll similarly gain new perspectives as we look at our patients, and their mental health struggles, with further nuance and empathy. (And with Dr. & Lady Glaucomflecken producing, we've been mandated to include plenty of weird medical jokes too). Speaking of which, a key part of this is hearing YOUR stories! What’s changed your understanding of patient care? Do you have an experience that shines new light on something we’ve discussed on-air? Get in touch at: howtobepatientpod.com

Episodes

January 26, 2026 54 mins
Today, we try to tackle the easy and simple topic of death. Inspired by the writings of Irvin Yalom in Existential Psychotherapy, Preston attempts to describe the four maxims of existentialist theory in therapy and how they may apply to patients. Join Patreon Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/howtobepatientpod If you’re ready to simplify the business side of your practice, now the perfect time to try SimplePractice. Do it with ...
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In this episode, Margaret and I are joined by the legendary host of the podcast Psychiatry Bootcamp, Dr. Mark Mullen. As a clerkship director of the psychiatry rotation himself, Dr. Mullen adds his insights as we discuss the “high yield” (if you will) tips to learning and transitioning into residency. We share our triumphs and failures as interns and indulge you with our new segment called “5-minute chalk talks!”  Join Patreon H...
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In this episode, which could be titled “Neurocognitive Assessments for Silly, Cool, Fun People” (that’s us—we are the silly, cool, fun people), Margaret and I describe five neurocognitive domains often used in psychometric testing. We also cover the associated simple yet elegant tests you can do at the bedside. These tests help provide better insight into the functioning of certain regions of the brain and the underlying processes ...
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On this episode of HBP, we interview Brooke Resche (CookwithDrBrooke on TikTok and Instagram) and answer some of your questions of how to feed yourself to help your brain, even when struggling with ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, or stress. We get into concrete strategies for each difficulty one might have with getting meals together and eating, and talk with Dr. Brooke about tips she uses with patients and how to talk about food and fo...
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December 29, 2025 72 mins
In this episode, Margaret and I do our best to define the elusive diagnosis of dementia. We describe what the actual clinical definition of the cognitive disability is, explore the most common types of diseases that can cause dementia, and how to pick up on them clinically, especially when they start to look like other illnesses.  Join Patreon Here: https://www.patreon.com/c/howtobepatientpod -- Want more Amanda Stuckey Dodson...
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 It’s one thing to think about optimal routines, and the internet is often very fixated on the “best”, but what about when you’re stressed, burnt out, or struggling with your mental health? On this episode, we have a conversation with clinical social worker and life skills specialist Amanda Stuckey Dodson to discuss how to care for yourself or someone you love when motivation, health, or just general stress have taken over. This ep...
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Today, we present to you our first Journal Club episode, in which we feature a primary author of an important piece of research. Online, content supercedes context, and when it comes to emerging hypothesis around big topics–like AI–this loss of context can lead to polarizing views. Today, we are excited to share a longer form interview with one of the leads of the MIT Media Lab’s study that was published as a pre-print this summer:...
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December 8, 2025 53 mins
Welcome back for season 3! For our first episode, we have on a food scientist to discuss from the industry side food myths, which we combine with our own readings from the psychiatry literature. We touch on red dye 40, the minerals in the soil, and how to slow down information from social media grocery store aisle walkers.  For our bonus section with Hydroxide, check our Patreon, where this season we will have bonus segments for e...
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Margaret and I pivot into mentor mode a little in this episode, it’s targeted towards medical students and the vicissitudes of the match. We know these are tough times and we wanted to share some advice about what to look for in a psych program and how to pick a  place to train that is right for you. We also debrief the end of season 2 and take a wrap on 40 episodes! As always, thank you for listening! -- Watch on YouTube: @its...
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November 3, 2025 75 mins
By popular demand, Margaret and Preston are back with another therapy episode. The topic this week? Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a third wave behavioral therapy that Margaret happens to be trained in and love for her patients and her own life. In this episode we talk about the founder of ACT and its roots in behaviorism, what an ACT therapist “sounds like”, and the 6 core processes of psychological flexibility that enco...
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In this episode, we bring on Kristin Flanary, who is currently doing her own investigation into dissociations associated with trauma from both her own experience as a survivor and as an academic. We discuss the current media landscape of trauma and dissociation, the neurological mechanisms of dissociation, and therapeutic approaches clinicians can use with a patient who is experiencing dissociation. Citations: Modesti MN, Rapi...
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Today we are joined by the host of the “calling in sick” a pod run by our good friend Alex (familiarly) to discuss the rigamoroll that is navigating the healthcare system through the eyes of a patient with debilitatig conditions. Alex shares her story from Investment banker, to patient to podcaster all the while coloring things with her own levity and resilience. -- Watch on YouTube: @itspresro Listen Anywhere You Podcast: Appl...
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This episode is a slight excursion from our regularly scheduled program. Today we are chatting with Will Flannery, who is in many ways our content “dad” if you will. We will talk about the art of including humor into our daily practive, when it goes right, when it goes left, and where we go from here. Dr. Glaucomflecken also has some fun and new projects he’d like to share with you at the end.  -- Watch on YouTube: @itspresro Li...
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Margaret and I are back with part two of our conversation with Dr. Drew Ramsey and this time, things get personal. I volunteered my real-life food log for a full nutritional psychiatry breakdown… and let’s just say my “ultra-processed protein” lifestyle did not escape unscathed. What started as a casual diet review turned into something deeper. A mentoring session about joy, creativity, and what it actually means to feed your brai...
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We sat down with Dr. Drew Ramsey to talk about something we all think we understand and don’t: how food shapes mood. In Part 1, we get practical and personal: what to reach for when you’re anxious, what to cook when you’re depressed, and how to think about nutrition when you’re busy, broke, or just not in the headspace to sauté anything. We talk simple swaps, what actually belongs on a “brain food” plate, and why perfection is the ...
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September 22, 2025 75 mins
In this preston-led episode, we take a deep dive into the history of lithium and its use in psychiatry. But because Preston is very literal, we are starting at the very beginning, inside of stars where lithium was formed at the beginning of the universe. Then we will follow this wonderful atom through history and past its FDA approval in 1970 to where we are today.  Takeaways: Lithium was once sold in Seven Up as a mood-lif...
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September 15, 2025 80 mins
This week, Margaret and I sat down with Dr. Jhilam Biswas, psychiatrist and expert on the intersection of law and mental health, for one of the hardest—and most important conversations we’ve had on the show. Together, we take a close look at how our justice system responds to mental illness: what happens when people in crisis are incarcerated instead of cared for, and how the prison system has become a stand-in for mental health tr...
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September 8, 2025 53 mins
What is aphasia, really and what happens when your brain no longer cooperates with your ability to speak or understand language? In this episode, Preston and Margaret tackle the messy, frustrating, and often isolating world of language disorders, focusing on the real-life implications of aphasia. They walk through the clinical causes, what it looks like day-to-day, and how aphasia differs from other speech and cognitive issues. Al...
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September 1, 2025 73 mins
Is it all in your head or is pain more complex than we’ve been led to believe? In this episode, Margaret and I dig into the psychological and biological factors that shape our experience of pain, including how the brain processes physical discomfort, the emotional toll it takes, and what role medications actually play. We also share stories from our own lives and clinical work that highlight how pain shows up in complicated, often ...
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Margaret took the captain’s chair for this one, and I was just along for the ride—straight into the deep waters of psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy. We start with the basics: what do these words actually mean, and why do they still make some clinicians roll their eyes while others swear by them? From Freud’s infamous couch to modern relational therapy, we unpack the myths, the methods, and the mysteries that still define th...
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