Ep. 8 - Ask the Shrink with Dr. Jake Kagan

Are depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders 'curable?' How safe are anti-depressants and which ones are 'the best?' What's the difference between 'mental health' and 'mental fitness?' These are some of the questions we dive into in this week's episode with board-certified psychiatrist, Jake Kagan, M.D.

Hear Dr. Kagan explain the differences between mental health care providers, how to find 'the right' therapist (and get the most value from therapy), what doctors do (and don't) know about how the brain works, which mental disorders are 'curable,' and why he thinks everyone should try meditation and breath work as part of their daily mental fitness routine.

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Episode Highlights:

3:05- Dr. Kagan's path to becoming a psychiatrist

4:38- The difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist (plus other mental health professionals)

6:10- Mental health as a spectrum

9:06- Receiving treatment for mental health and diagnosis

12:36- How to have a plan of action with your therapist

14:49- The stigma around mental illness and disorders

19:02- The treatability and curability of mental illnesses

24:08- The brain-gut connection and mental health

27:09- How new mental health medications are evaluated by the FDA

30:02- Data and mental fitness

33:46- Dr. Kagan answers a listener question about how their partner is struggling with severe anxiety and depression

36:19- Resources for patients to self-asses and evaluate their mental health care providers

40:18- Dr. Kagan's take on the importance of mental fitness

Quotable:

"I think particularly in the therapy realm, there's problems all over, and I could probably talk about this for an hour, but in the therapy and then sort of self-help realm, there's a real lack of the evidence and the data to support some of these things. And that's a challenge. And we actually need to get better at defining objectively what these techniques are and then studying them.."

"It's incredibly important to have people also then feel empowered that there are things they can do to set themselves up to feel better even when they're struggling with mental illness."

"I think everybody can benefit from therapy through almost all of their adult life and probably adolescents in childhood."

About our Guest:

Dr. Kagan is an Adult Psychiatrist and physician executive dedicated to the design and implementation of system-level solutions that ensure all Americans have equitable access to excellent Behavioral Healthcare. Dr.Kagan currently serves as the Vice President and Senior Medical Director for Behavioral Health at the Massachusetts-based non-profit health plan Commonwealth Care Alliance(CCA). Prior to joining CCA in 2021, he held the position of Chair for Behavioral Health at Atrius Health for 7 years, overseeing a series of state and nationally recognized care model transformations. Dr.Kagan graduated Magna Sum Laude with Research Honors from Amherst College, received his M.D. from Cornell Medical College, and completed Adult Residency training at Cambridge Health Alliance.

Hosted by:

Marta Kagan

Stef Ziegler

Connect with Dr. Jake Kagan:

Dr. Kagan's Linkedin