Michael Scheeringa, MD

Kathryn interviews Author Deborah Cole. Deborah Cole pulls from her own experience as a woman growing up in the South with the expectations and conformities placed upon her that never truly fit. Too constrictive and heavily influenced by an antiquated mentality that women should 'Be ladylike,’ she pulls the reader through her struggles and triumphs to adapt and find her own space in business and life. 'Fighting for her own place at the table’ she redefines a woman’s role in the South from the perspective of 35 Texas female business owners. Cole, former business owner and leader, is a speaker, writer and visual storyteller with years of experience leading teams and managing multi-million-dollar projects while shifting her focus and lens to a documentary-style photographer and writer.Kathryn also interviews Author Michael Scheeringa, MD. Toxic stress is the theory that severe psychological stress can permanently change the brain's physical structure and wiring. Yet, research does not show that psychological stress can permanently alter neurobiology. Dr. Michael Scheeringa highlights the gaping holes in the concept of complex PTSD (as opposed to regular PTSD) and discusses the dangers of adhering to an unproven theory. Scheeringa draws on his experience as both a practicing clinician and the principal investigator on five large, federally-funded research projects on the topic of PTSD in children and adolescents to support a shocking claim: that the widely accepted idea of 'toxic stress' is based on ideology rather than scientific evidence. Dr. Scheeringa, a tenured professor at Tulane U School of Medicine, has been a consultant to several national efforts including the National Academy of Sciences and the DSM-3.