Grief, Shiva, and the Jewish Wisdom of Mourning | Ep16

Grief, Shiva, and the Jewish Wisdom of Mourning | Ep16

This episode is sponsored by NURP [http://start.nurp.com/doctors] NURP helps busy physicians grow their wealth through AI-powered algorithmic trading designed for demanding careers. No day trading, no guesswork, and no constant market watching required.  Ready to put your money to work? Visit start.nurp.com/doctors  [http://start.nurp.com/doctors] to learn more.  Trading involves risk, and results may vary. This is not financial advice. ----------------------------------------- What does it mean to truly sit with grief, and how can ancient traditions help us do it well? In Episode 16 of Healing People, Not Patients, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle sits down with Nancy Zionts in a warm, intimate conversation (complete with a schnauzer guest appearance) about Jewish practices of mourning, the superpower of “ruling shiva,” and why structured rituals matter for healing. Nancy shares her journey, from becoming a kaddish for a young widow at age 18 to supporting countless families through loss, while reflecting on her own experiences as a daughter, widow, and mother. The discussion covers the structure and purpose of shiva (the seven-day mourning period), the importance of community, food, storytelling, and music in mourning, saying Kaddish, the value of “new to me” memories, and why grief is ultimately an expression of love. They also connect these themes to broader work on end-of-life conversations, the Closure project, and how healthcare professionals can better support patients and families facing serious illness and death. A rich, heartfelt exploration of ritual, resilience, and what it means to honor the dead while continuing to live. TOP 3 TAKEAWAYS * Shiva as Structured Healing: The Jewish tradition of sitting shiva for seven days removes daily obligations and creates space for grief. Giving yourself over to the process, supported by community, stories, and practical care, helps the body and soul begin to heal rather than rushing back to “normal.” * Grief Is an Outlet for Love: True grief stems from deep love. Traditions like annual yahrzeits, memorial prayers during holidays, sharing stories, and asking for “new to me” photos keep the person’s memory alive and give grief healthy outlets instead of letting it build up or be trivialized. * Support Mourners Actively: Don’t just say “I’m sorry.” Visit, bring food, lead or attend services, listen to stories, and avoid burdening mourners with thanks or tasks. Healthcare providers especially should practice radical honesty, prepare families for trajectories, and remember that presence and clear communication are among the greatest gifts. Episode Mentioned:  Episode 1: high-priests-of-medicine-has-healthcare-become-its-own-religion-ep1 [https://healing-people-not-patients-bb069895.simplecast.com/episodes/high-priests-of-medicine-has-healthcare-become-its-own-religion-ep1] Episode 7: healing-and-humanity-ideas-for-the-next-generation-of-medicine-ep7 [https://healing-people-not-patients-bb069895.simplecast.com/episodes/healing-and-humanity-ideas-for-the-next-generation-of-medicine-ep7] Blog Post(2020) : https://healerswholisten.com/listen-self/ [https://healerswholisten.com/listen-self/] About the Show Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship. "Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul [https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul]." About the Guest Nancy Zionts is a longtime community leader in Pittsburgh’s Jewish community, known for her deep knowledge and practice of Jewish mourning rituals. A chemist by training and strategic planner by profession, she has been instrumental in initiatives like the Closure project focused on improving end-of-life conversations. Nancy has supported countless families through shiva and mourning and continues to lead services and build community support for mourners. She is also a mother, grandmother, and widow who draws on personal loss to help others. About the Host: Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on  patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being. He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients. 🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com [https://healerswholisten.com] 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a [http://linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a] 📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen [https://www.instagram.com/healerswholisten] 📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle [https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.weinkle]   The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

Beyond the Prescription : A Relational Approach to Psychopharmacology | Ep15

What if prescribing medication meant more than following an algorithm,  it meant walking alongside patients in their stories? In Episode 15 of Healing People, Not Patients, Dr. Warren Kinghorn and Dr. Abraham Nussbaum discuss their co-authored book Prescribing Together: A Relational Guide to Psychopharmacology. Drawing on the Hasidic story of the Turkey Prince, they challenge the dominant “vending machine” model of psychiatry and emphasize meeting patients where they are, understanding the personal and narrative  meaning of symptoms like hallucinations, depression, or emotional dysregulation. The conversation covers collaborative prescribing for conditions including schizophrenia/psychosis, depression (and SSRIs), eating disorders, bipolar, and borderline personality disorder. They highlight the importance of diagnosis as a provisional tool that should open helpful pathways forward, the value of social prescribing and therapeutic relationships, de-prescribing when appropriate, and reclaiming psychiatry as a deeply human, meaning-centered practice. Top 3 Takeaways: * Relational Prescribing Over Dispensing: Move beyond symptom checklists and quick prescriptions to build trusting alliances, understand patients’ life stories, and collaborate on what will help them regain meaning and function even if the illness isn’t fully “cured.” * Engage the Meaning of Symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions, or emotional states are not just targets to eliminate; their personal significance to the patient, and potential overlap with trauma/PTSD matters. Questions like “What do these voices mean to you?” or “Do you want them to go away?” restore agency and open richer treatment possibilities. * Good Diagnosis Leads to Helpful Pathways: Labels should guide effective care rather than lock patients into unhelpful medication-heavy paths. Combine medications thoughtfully with social connections, presence, and when needed, de-prescribing. About the Show Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship. "Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul [https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul]." About the Guests Dr. Warren Kinghorn is a psychiatrist and theologian, and co-director of the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School. He is passionate about psychiatry as a relational practice rooted in practical wisdom and human connection. Dr. Abraham Nussbaum is a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Denver Health, where he serves as Chief Education Officer. He is a writer and educator who emphasizes narrative approaches in medicine and the importance of restoring patients’ stories. Together, they are the authors of Prescribing Together: A Relational Guide to Psychopharmacology. Connect with the Guests Dr. Warren Kinghorn: warren.kinghorn@duke.edu | Duke Faculty Page [https://divinity.duke.edu/faculty/warren-kinghorn] Dr. Abraham Nussbaum: Abraham.Nussbaum@dhha.org | abrahamnussbaum.com/contact [https://abrahamnussbaum.com/contact/] About the Host Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on  patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being. He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients. 🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com [https://healerswholisten.com] 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a [http://linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a] 📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen [https://www.instagram.com/healerswholisten] 📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle [https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.weinkle]   The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

Five Keys to Sustaining Your Career in the Helping Profession with Dr. Brian C. Miller | Ep14

Can healthcare professionals remain compassionate while working inside systems that often undermine compassion itself? In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle continues his discussion with therapist, researcher, and author Dr. Brian C. Miller about sustaining meaning and emotional wellbeing in the helping professions. Together, they tackle the difficult reality many clinicians face: systems overloaded with bureaucracy, time pressure, documentation demands, and emotional exhaustion. Rather than ignoring those systemic failures, Brian argues that clinicians must learn how to remain active participants in their work instead of passive victims of broken institutions. Through concepts like “un-gloving” instead of “armoring up,” cultivating ease rather than constant fight-or-flight, and shifting from earned compassion to radical compassion, Brian reframes resilience as an ongoing practice of emotional regulation, connection, and meaning-making. The episode also explores Brian’s CE-CERT model, practical strategies for reducing emotional labor, and the importance of narrative in sustaining a career in healthcare. Blending psychology, spirituality, medicine, and personal reflection, this conversation offers clinicians a hopeful but realistic framework for staying human in environments that often feel dehumanizing. Top 3 Takeaways: * Burnout Is Fueled More by Systems Than by Patients: Dr. Brian Miller explains that the greatest sources of emotional exhaustion are often not traumatic patient encounters, but systemic failures like excessive documentation, bureaucracy, and broken healthcare structures. Sustainable healing work begins by acknowledging those realities while still finding meaningful moments of human connection within them. * Compassion Requires Ease, Not Constant Self-Protection: Clinicians cannot experience true compassion while stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Brian emphasizes the importance of creating moments of emotional ease and nervous system regulation throughout the workday, even through small practices like conscious breathing, body awareness, or brief pauses between patient encounters. * Radical Compassion Means Caring Before Patients Earn It: Some patients naturally elicit empathy, while others trigger frustration, defensiveness, or emotional distance. Brian argues that true healing work involves cultivating compassion even for the most difficult patients by becoming curious about their suffering rather than reacting to their behavior. About the Guest: Dr. Brian C. Miller is a therapist, researcher, and author specializing in secondary traumatic stress, emotional resilience, and sustainability in the helping professions. He holds a PhD in social science research from Case Western Reserve University and has worked extensively in behavioral health with both adults and children. Brian is the author of Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress: Skills for Sustaining a Career in the Helping Professions, where he challenges conventional burnout narratives and offers practical approaches for cultivating empathy, emotional boundaries, and resilience in caregiving professions.  🔗 Connect with Dr. Brian C. Miller: Website: https://www.cecertmodel.com [https://www.cecertmodel.com/] 📚 Book: Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress: Skills for Sustaining a Career in the Helping Professions [https://www.amazon.com/Reducing-Secondary-Traumatic-Stress-Miller/dp/0367494574]   ABOUT THE SHOW: Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship. "Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul [https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul]." ABOUT THE HOST: Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on  patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being. He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients. 🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com [https://healerswholisten.com] 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a [http://linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a] 📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen [https://www.instagram.com/healerswholisten] 📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle [https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.weinkle]   The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

We're Thinking About Burnout All Wrong with Dr. Brian C. Miller | Ep13

Is burnout really caused by caring too much? In part one of this two-part episode  of Healing People, Not Patients, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle welcomes Dr. Brian C. Miller for a powerful conversation that challenges conventional wisdom around burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion in healthcare. Drawing from his book Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress: Skills for Sustaining a Career in the Helping Professions, Brian argues that compassion itself is not draining, rather, genuine compassion can become a source of energy and resilience. Together, they explore the difference between empathy and emotional over-identification, the role of humility in patient care, and why emotional boundaries are essential for sustaining meaningful work. Brian shares insights from his experiences as a therapist and from the devastating loss of his son to leukemia, reflecting on how healthcare professionals can remain emotionally open without becoming overwhelmed. Through stories, psychology, and spiritual narrative, the episode reframes burnout not as a failure of resilience, but as a challenge of meaning, boundaries, and connection. Top 3 Takeaways: * Compassion Is Not the Cause of Burnout: Dr. Brian Miller challenges the popular idea of “compassion fatigue,” arguing that compassion itself is energizing rather than depleting. What exhausts clinicians is emotional labor rooted in ego, defensiveness, and poor boundaries. Genuine empathy combined with healthy self-other distinction allows healthcare professionals to care deeply without absorbing patients’ suffering as their own. * Humility Creates Better Patient Connections: Through stories from therapy and medicine, Brian explains how setting aside ego helps clinicians truly hear what patients are saying beneath anger, fear, or criticism. Rather than reacting defensively, providers can ask, “Where does it hurt?” This shift toward humility transforms difficult interactions into opportunities for authentic connection and healing. * Sustainable Healing Requires Both Caring and Letting Go: The conversation explores the “twin dynamics” of caring and not caring. Clinicians must remain emotionally open while also maintaining boundaries that protect their own emotional wellbeing. By cultivating emotional agility and a meaningful narrative around their work, helping professionals can stay engaged without becoming consumed by the suffering they witness.. About the Guest: Dr. Brian C. Miller is a therapist, researcher, and author specializing in secondary traumatic stress, emotional resilience, and sustainability in the helping professions. He holds a PhD in social science research from Case Western Reserve University and has worked extensively in behavioral health with both adults and children. Brian is the author of Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress: Skills for Sustaining a Career in the Helping Professions, where he challenges conventional burnout narratives and offers practical approaches for cultivating empathy, emotional boundaries, and resilience in caregiving professions. 🔗 Connect with Dr. Brian C. Miller: Website: https://www.cecertmodel.com [https://www.cecertmodel.com]  📚 Book: Reducing Secondary Traumatic Stress: Skills for Sustaining a Career in the Helping Professions [https://www.amazon.com/Reducing-Secondary-Traumatic-Stress-Miller/dp/0367494574]   ABOUT THE SHOW: Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship. "Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul [https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul]." ABOUT THE HOST: Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on  patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being. He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients. 🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com [https://healerswholisten.com] 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a [http://linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a] 📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen [https://www.instagram.com/healerswholisten] 📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle [https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.weinkle] The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.

Singing in Exile: Music, Hope, and the Passover Seder | Ep 12

Can we sing songs of joy when our world feels broken? In this special pre-Passover episode, Dr. Jonathan Weinkle delivers a powerful live session from the Conference on Medicine and Religion. Starting with Psalm 137 (“By the rivers of Babylon”), he weaves together biblical texts, Jewish history, the trauma of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, and live musical performances to show how music becomes medicine for the soul in exile. Through original songs, traditional melodies, and wordless niggunim, Dr. Weinkle demonstrates how we hold both grief and hope. He explores the four levels of Jewish interpretation (PaRDeS) and ends with the core message of the Exodus: because we were once slaves, we are called to empathy and to ease the suffering of others. Top 3 Takeaways: * Singing in the Strange Land: Even when we feel exiled by illness, grief, displacement, or trauma, we can still create and share music that carries memory, praise, and hope. * Music as Soul Medicine: Songs help us process pain while reminding us of wholeness, human dignity, and the divine spark   vital for both patients and healthcare professionals. * Empathy from the Exodus: The Passover story transforms our suffering into compassion. Because we were strangers and oppressed, we must work to stop the suffering of others. About the Show: Healing People, Not Patients explores ways to enhance medical practice by infusing it with compassion, humanity, and a deeper sense of purpose, aiming to help healthcare professionals rediscover the "soul" of their work. Framed around the four questions of the Passover Seder, it probes how to transform medicine for the better, promoting an empathetic and supportive approach that empowers patients to create meaningful, sober lives, while drawing on Jewish teachings about community and friendship. "Our theme song, "Room for the Soul," is available on Bandcamp at https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul [https://jonathanweinkle.bandcamp.com/track/room-for-the-soul]." About the Host: Dr. Jonathan Weinkle is an internist and pediatrician who practices primary care at a community health center in Pittsburgh. He strives to be a "nice Jewish doctor" focused on  patient-centered healthcare, emphasizing effective communication and holistic well-being. He teaches the courses, “Death and the Healthcare Professions” and “Healing and Humanity” at the University of Pittsburgh, authored the books Healing People, Not Patients and Illness to Exodus, and runs ‘Healers Who Listen’, where he blogs on healing and Jewish tradition. Once an aspiring rabbi, he now integrates faith and medicine to support other physicians and his own patients. 🌐 Website: healerswholisten.com [https://healerswholisten.com] 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a [http://linkedin.com/in/jonathan-weinkle-3440032a] 📸 Instagram: @HealersWhoListen [https://www.instagram.com/healerswholisten] 📘 Facebook: @JonathanWeinkle [https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.weinkle]   The Healing People, Not Patients Podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult qualified professionals regarding your personal or organizational decisions.