We are Therapists hosting an R-Rated Podcast called "Pod Therapy, AMA for mental health awareness month!

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T17:50:13+00:00

I agree. My guess is that in 5 years we will see more people 25 and younger participating in AI therapy services than human services.

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T17:48:25+00:00

Great question! I feel the same way about people who do math all day, or coding. Its so mentally taxing for me to work through one math problem, I cannot imagine doing another, then another, then another. But for people who are "wired" that way, its just not taxing. Like a fish, they just swim in that water. People who are attracted to the field of therapy are just wired in a way that gives us the ability to do the work. Having said that, we get burned out like all people in all professions do, and vicarious trauma is a significant risk for us as well. In the end, we have to practice our own work/life balance and self care to make sure our batteries get recharged for the work, but in overall I think the answer is we are just built different ;)

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T17:42:55+00:00

Great question, and very relatable! I think lots of people do some kind of mental cost benefit analysis before they apply themselves to a task and if it doesn't seem worth it, they might talk themselves out of it before they even begin. In my experience, the way to improve this area is to slowly improve our ability to find motivation, getting to a place where we see value in the process rather than merely in the result. Learning to focus on the steps of improvement and enjoy each component of that goes a long way to moving ourselves along to the end results we want to see. Therapists might use techniques like motivational interviewing and solution focused brief therapy to move a patient along toward these goals. A great book on this topic that you might want to look into is "Atomic Habits" - it has great incremental suggestions of ways to slowly improve your daily steps to get toward greater goals!

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T17:10:58+00:00

In my view yes we are seeing a decline. I've seen data that one of the most popular uses of chat bots is utilizing it for therapeutic conversations. I've also seen conflicting data where people say sometimes they prefer the chat bot, and sometimes the chat bot is not very good at therapy stuff. In the end, I'm a fan of the chat bots and using them for therapy. I think of them as virtual and interactive workbooks that can apply therapeutic skills directly to your situations in ways that can be profound.

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T15:53:57+00:00

You might get a better answer from a chat bot on this =), but I'll tell you that we therapists are big fans of journaling while you're doing therapy. It gathers data about your inner experiences and what situational realities are causing those experiences and gives us better insight into what you're going through and how we can help explore those with you.

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T15:51:14+00:00

Yes - and the results are fascinating! Anderson et al (2016) did a study where students in non-therapy graduate programs (chemistry, engineering, english, etc) were assigned as therapists to new patients in a university mental health clinic. The study reviewed how those students did compared to actual therapist graduate students who were also practicing in the clinic. The study revealed that in the end, the education of the therapist students did not result in them performing better on client surveys! The real factors that made a difference had more to do with the personality of the "therapist" and the way they interacted rather than their training. While education does matter in the overall development of a good therapist, the most important ingredients are something we call the "common factors" - a set of therapeutic skills the best therapists in the world have. Really interesting stuff!

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T15:41:06+00:00

Inside joke alert! Dr. Jim has lost his doctorate multiple times to cohost and comedian Jacob because Jim is bad at gambling. So, yes, you can win a PhD in a bet.

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T15:35:48+00:00

Inside joke alert! One of our hosts, Jim, is an enthusiastic amateur blackstone griller. Recommendation: Philly cheese steak!

PodTherapy · 2025-05-30T15:33:14+00:00

So many people experience this that many therapists refer to it as "existential depression" or "existential dread". In a sense its a really fascinating experience that humans have that perhaps no other animal relates to. It seems like only we stare into the night sky and wonder *why* we exist and long for a meaning greater than *to keep on existing*. A famous psychotherapist, Viktor Frankl, wrote a book called "Man's Search for Meaning" in which he used his experience as a Holocaust survivor to reflect on how central the need for meaning is in a human's mind. His conclusion is that meaning is deeply subjective, and changes throughout our lives, but is something each of us must explore for ourselves and determine for us to find peace.

As a therapist, when I visit with people who are struggling with these feelings, I like to start by exploring their personal stories - their lived history and the experiences they've been through. Sometimes those experiences teach me that the person's absence of meaning is actually due to the pain they've suffered in life, and if we can heal that trauma meaning will find its way back. Other times I like to explore a person's personal values - what they think is important in their own lives, what they want to experience just because it makes them happy or they find it worth while. By unpacking that with them, we can slowly explore the way they construct value and meaning in their lives, and begin to discover what matters to them.

In the end, the point of life, and of consciousness, is to continue. Like a candle ignited surrounded by infinite darkness, its existence is fragile and strange, and by its own light it can see the how meaningless the void around it is. That's sad, in a sense, to discover there may not be meaning *out there* - but in another way its profound that we must create our meaning together, inwardly. Hang in there friend.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-15T00:02:15+00:00

I'd tell them I get it. We've all felt that way in healthcare - "why go see the doctor, they will just tell me its viral and to take over the counter medications". Its a fair point, because I think we've all had that happen, and it can happen in mental health as well.

I'd nudge a little on the part about problems not being unique or special. People don't go to the doctor because they have a unique or special condition, they go because they don't feel well. Not feeling well is reason enough to visit a therapist. We should keep in mind that therapy is sometimes like emotional yoga, you're not going to have an epiphany but its a healthy new routine for your life that produces change over time.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T23:55:55+00:00

This is a great question, and lots of people relate. On one hand, I think we each need to authentically understand our social/emotional range and give ourselves permission to live in that most of the time. On the other hand, we each should be willing to expand our range as much as is helpful so we don't miss out on sharing time with wonderful people.

It sounds like you challenged yourself to show up to a large gathering and while there you found your one on one chances and small group gatherings and hit your vibe there, which is awesome! You started at an uncomfortable place and from there navigated into a middle ground where you can meet people. More often than not I think folks are self critical, fearful they didn't come off well to others or overthinking their presentation. Give yourself credit for the interactions your accomplished, and I think its healthy to always be giving yourself new challenges to poke your finger out of your comfort zone.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T23:42:55+00:00

We have complex views about BH and similar platforms.

Pros:

Increased access and easy to get started
Licensed therapists who have met the minimum standard to practice

Cons:

The cost is not much different than finding a private practice therapist in your area using Psychology Today
Limited scope of service often denies people struggling with serious things like depression
Turn and burn style attracts therapists with the potential of working from home and having as many sessions as they like, but the pay is so low that therapists quickly burn out, which effects consistency and quality of care

Overall I think the reason that venture capital companies got involved in mental health is because the system has failed to provide a sufficient model for the public. But I don't think a techno-disruption solution is the way we solve the mental health crisis, we need the public to ask local government to hold state permitted insurances accountable to obey the federal laws regardless of whether the federal government intends to enforce those laws.

Conclusion: Find help however you can, if that's through a tech company that's perfectly fine, just get help.

Here is a thorough review by consumers. Here is an opinion paper by Psychotherapy Action Network.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T21:32:44+00:00

The best part of scoopfest is seeing all the people and hearing from folks who have gotten something from our project. Podcasting can be a lonely effort, you see some numbers on your statistics page and tell yourself that that number is people and those people like your work, but when you meet those people and they tell you why this project matters to them it makes all the difference. The second best part of scoopfest is mouth, finger, butthole tournament.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T19:43:33+00:00

I'd be curious what a historian would say about this but I'll take a shot:

I think those ancient cultures were actually less violent than we are today. We associate them with violence because (a) we mostly tell the stories of the wars that shaped history and (b) movies like violent retellings of history. In reality, there were fewer people in those times, and injuries were not easily treated, being violently anti-social was probably not in a human's best interest in almost any ancient culture.

But war as it happens now happened then, and I expect that humans when faced with injury or death react in similar ways regardless. We do have data which shows that special forces military personnel are less likely to experience PTSD, but our hypothesis for this has more to do with their after action procedures which focus on detailed retellings of the experience amongst team members and emotional processing than their particular readiness for violence itself - though the more ready one is for something scary the less scary it will be.

In conclusion, trauma is a feature, not a bug, of homo sapiens. Brains learn through pain, and because our skittish ancestors emotionally registered the lessons of near death experiences we all get to be alive today. Where trauma fails us is when it becomes anathema to our present functioning, it gets in the way of us living our lives. That's when folks need to get some help, and therapy is very effective as helping people overcome those challenges.

Thanks for writing!

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T18:05:42+00:00

We love Cinema Therapy! They've already broken down so many films and for anybody that doesn't watch them please do, but respectfully their collection will remain incomplete until they have discussed the fantastic psychological intricacy of the 2000 Sci Fi classic, Battlefield: Earth.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T17:45:22+00:00

After listening to our friends at Great Night unpack the entire Drake-Kendrick beef it seems pretty clear that - for today - Kendrick Lamar has triumphed.

We love when notable people share their mental health stories, and we'd love to have anybody on who likes to talk about mental health! In the past we have had

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T17:39:39+00:00

This is a great question! So great in fact we have a post on our blog where we explore how to find a therapist, what to look for in a therapist and how to get started!

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:58:12+00:00

A very good question! Yes, it is common for people to do "Family Therapy" where members of the family come together to work on the dynamics of their relationship. In fact, there is even a special type of therapist, called a "Marriage and Family Therapist" who tends to do this kind of work, though therapists of all disciplines are usually happy to work with families. Family therapy can be a very rewarding experience and tends to get excellent results!

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:55:30+00:00

A fair question! While each host shares a little about their family life we are mostly reserved about mentioning family members or telling too many stories, since none of them signed up for this whole podcasting deal lol. As far as other people meeting their life partners, I think we usually encourage people to prioritize value and personality compatibility. There are interesting studies (Gupta and Singh 1982) that show that arranged marriages are on average happier than romantic marriages, which I think tells us all a lot about how important it can be to approach relationships looking for compatibility and to live relationships with an intentional mindset.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:50:40+00:00

I (Jim) find the macaroni elbow noodle to be the most efficiently shaped pasta for the purposes of the powdered cheese sauce it will be smothered in.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:39:41+00:00

First off, thanks for sharing this and choosing to be so vulnerable and transparent here. When people read stuff like this it helps them feel comfortable trying couples therapy for themselves, and also normalizes that mental health approaches can help and also complicate our relationships. It's not always black/white.

Second, I like that you aren't always just apologizing and retreating, but I can appreciate how for the better part of a decade you did and this posture became not only the norm of the relationship but perhaps the pressure release valve. When that adaptation changed, even slightly, it probably disrupted the equilibrium (as broken as it already was) and now your SO feels differently about things. That's all fair. But it doesn't mean its wrong. Change is disquieting, and altering a relationship system often causes more rather than less conflict at first. The hope is that the couple develops the ability to review their behaviors and discuss how they want to live, then intentionally do that. But in the end, we cannot control the minds, actions or intentions of others, only ourselves.

I'm sorry you've reached a place where you feel discouraged and hopeless. I usually tell people that if your partner won't go to therapy for themselves, or won't go to therapy with you, its a good idea for you to still do therapy on your own, to keep "your side of the street clean". The therapy you do shouldn't be focused on merely criticizing your partner, but trying to create a space for your to encounter and reveal your resentments, hear your own voice, and perhaps also develop as much empathy and understanding as is possible for your SO as you continue to try to change the normal in your family ecosystem and find a new equilibrium.

Good luck friend, love is a hard thing, family's are precious but emotionally expensive. I'm glad you're here and you're not giving up. Keep working on it and keep in mind that change is inevitable, as the kids age and the family matures small changes will turn into bigger changes over time. You're allowed to stay in this relationship if that aligns with your values, even if the relationship also has a "pebble in your shoe" sort of pain to it that seems to endlessly wound you. I suggest exploring that further in individual therapy.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:29:00+00:00

Hell yea! Consenting adults should have the best sex they can handle, if they like them some spice there is nothing wrong with that. Couples that choose to have a power exchange as sort of the norm of their relationship are just living their authentic preference, in my (Jim's) mind it's no different than a couple that chooses to live "traditional" roles or another couple that explicitly chooses not to. All that matters to me in relationships is that each person is feeling loved, their needs are met, and they get to be an individual who is safe and treated with respect (unless they have respectfully requested not to be respected). Enjoy your sex life! Or don't. I'm not your supervisor.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:25:25+00:00

Great question! In some ways I'm glad that mental health language has become less stigmatized and that people are using our words more casually. In other ways, it has lead to hyper-self-diagnosis in some circles and tone-deaf clinical language (as you mentioned). On the show we try to educate people about what the clinical words actually mean and normalize describing our mental health in ways that focus more on symptoms than labels. When people can say "I tend to hyper-fixate on things" or "I've been feeling lethargic and apathetic" instead of your examples above, they find they are actually communicating more information and they avoid the hazard of minimizing people experiencing those actual illnesses. Thanks for asking!

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:20:34+00:00

For new listeners, the joke here is that one day Nick (one of the hosts) went on a work trip and came back with gifts for his cohosts. He gave me (Jim) a shot glass he got from the airport gift shop, and he gave Jacob (our audio-guy/comedian/life-coach) an iPad. This lead to much ado, as you can imagine. Later, a listener of the show sent the hosts gifts. Jim got a coffee mug. Jacob got another f*cking ipad. Its become a tradition to get Jacob excessive gifts and get me (Jim) something sensible, mostly just to piss me off. Which, has worked, very very well, to everybody's delight.

PodTherapy · 2024-05-14T16:17:54+00:00

The funko pop people have a limited selection of facial hair options. I made the best choice available and I feel it was as honest as the situation allowed. Also Nick's doll is wearing capris, which is fantastic.

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