In this candid and deeply human conversation, Cynthia Marks sits down with Mädchen Amick—actress, director, writer, and co-founder of the inclusive mental health foundation Don’t Mind Me—to talk about what happens when a family is forced to navigate a system that doesn’t work. Mädchen shares how her son Sylvester’s first major episode in college thrust their family into emergency rooms, misdiagnoses, and a long search for truly qualified mental health care. She explains why mental illness remains so stigmatized, and how education helped her separate “my son talking” from “his disorder talking,” shifting the entire family dynamic. Together they explore the staggering lack of access, the predatory cost of treatment, and why the brain needs real time to heal—more like recovery from a heart attack than a quick fix. Mädchen describes Don’t Mind Me’s mission: vetted resources, scholarships for treatment, and an ambitious brick-and-mortar “holistic campus” that bridges the gap between crisis stabilization and long-term recovery. She offers practical guidance for families—stay loving, stay present, and don’t confuse fear with leadership. The episode closes with a message of collective responsibility: mental health is not “them and us”—it’s all of us, together.

00:00 — What “Don’t Mind Me” Means + Why Stigma Persists

07:10 — The Broken System

14:20 — The Cost of Care: Insurance Gaps and “$100k a Month” Quotes

21:30 — Crisis Stabilization vs Residential Treatment

28:40 — Sylvester’s Diagnosis Journey

35:50 — Psychiatry on Staff, Tracks, and Long-Term Care

43:00 — How Families Can Help

50:10 — Genetics, “Superpower,” Community, and Support

In this thoughtful return episode, Cynthia Marks welcomes Dr. Tom Paris, a retired psychotherapist whose practice centered on dreamwork and the teachings of Dr. Bernard Bail. Together they explore “the masculine” through the lens of the mother’s imprint—the emotional and unconscious material a fetus absorbs while “marinating” in a mother’s inner life. Tom explains how the imprint becomes a lifelong survival strategy: we learn early to monitor and manage the mother’s emotional state, often at the expense of knowing who we truly are. From there, the conversation expands into power, privilege, and why gender inequality persists—sometimes reinforced by both men and women through culture, fear, and the comfort of the status quo. Cynthia and Tom discuss father involvement in pregnancy, how men can be supported to develop emotional fluency, and why mothers also need permission to raise sensitive boys. They connect personal change to cultural change: progress often comes in small steps, with backlash, and requires courage. The episode ends with a hopeful invitation—use your dreams to know yourself, clear the “trash,” and build a world where men and women share equal space.

00:00 — What the Imprint Is

06:10 — Babies, Survival, and Losing the Self

12:15 — Why Men Don’t Engage in Pregnancy (and Why It Matters)

18:20 — Power, Privilege, and the “Less-Than” Training

24:30 — Culture Change: Steps Forward, Backlash, Repeat

30:40 — Idealizing Parents, Repeating Patterns in Love

36:50 — Feelings, Empathy, and Raising Boys Differently

43:10 — What Equality Could Look Like + Closing Invitation

In this illuminating episode, Cynthia Marks and psychotherapist Dr. Lauren Dolinsky zoom in on the unconscious—the vast “unseen” mind that shapes feelings, choices, and relationships. They explore dreams as a nightly bridge from the unconscious to the conscious, and why facing the “swampland” of scary feelings actually frees us. Lauren explains personal vs. collective unconscious, notes why intellect alone can’t heal us, and shares how wisdom is emotional, embodied, and relational. Cynthia brings three striking dreams: a booming “NEVER!” from the dark (don’t look), a designer’s house with misaligned floors and doors (don’t settle), and a final vision of lifting blackness to reveal a warm, triangular light—love as invitation. Together they show how dreamwork realigns the inner “architecture,” syncing heart and mind, and how that inner shift radiates outward. The takeaway is simple and radical: ask your dreams to speak, listen for feeling, and let love lead.

00:00 — What Is the Unconscious?

05:45 — Dreams: Bridge From Night to Day

11:30 — Why We Avoid It (Monsters & “Protection”)

17:15 — Dream 1: “NEVER!” in the Dark

23:00 — Dream 2: The Misaligned House

28:45 — Wisdom vs. Intellect (Feeling Leads)

34:30 — Dream 3: Lifting Blackness, Finding Light

40:16 — Conclusion: Invite Dreams, Let Love Lead