Beyond the Couch

This episode, Deanna Barrett and I discuss Community Affinity Networks—spaces designed to foster connection, representation, and belonging among members. We talk about why these networks matter, how they can strengthen relationships across the profession, and the role they play in helping members feel seen, supported, and connected. You will also hear how they can get involved and contribute to bu...

In this episode, Marion Vickerman and I talk honestly about therapist insecurity—the doubts, comparisons, and internal pressures that can show up at every stage of clinical work. Rather than treating insecurity as a weakness, we explore how it can become an invitation to greater self-awareness, humility, supervision, and growth. This conversation is for clinicians, supervisors, and students who ha...

Let’s be honest: most therapists weren’t trained well in sexual health. So what happens when clients bring it up? In this episode, Tim White and I explore discomfort, avoidance, and how to move toward more confident, ethical, and impactful conversations. Join us for part 2 in our sexual health series.

Our next episode starts a series on sexual health with Tim White. He specializes in sex therapy, relationship trauma therapy, sex addiction, and sexual health. We go through the 6 major principles of sexual health, and break them down so therapists can apply them to their own practices. As you'll see, Tim's knowledge and experience in working with sexual health is very impressive. At the s...

If “treat everyone the same” worked, it would’ve worked by now. In this episode, Joyce Jacquote, Dr. Felicia Holloway, and I talk about what it really means to be equitable. From tests that favor one prototype, to what everyone needs, we give ideas on what equality really means any how we can get there. Our field is prime for approaching this area. Our convictions ought to extend beyond the couch...

Angela Hayes and I continue our DEIJ series with Luce O'Brigid. Luce has a deep philosophy of Inclusion that speaks to all people, heaven, and ourselves as therapists. The conviction in Luce's beliefs of inclusion are inspiring, contagious, and humbling. As people who work with people, this episode speaks directly to us. What an important area of DEIJ, our profession, and of what it means to be a...

What's the difference between being addicted sex or drugs? How do we even define addiction? How does addiction start in someone's life? Jeffrey, who specializes in sex therapy, helps us talk through these questions. He also leads us through gaming addiction, social media addiction, and the overarching philosophy behind being addicted. As therapists, this episode is broadly useful to our cl...

We continue our DEIJ series with Elliott Connie, who is helping us think through Justice. Elliot is a Solution-focused Brief Therapist, he goes all over the world training therapists, and he is also a lead thinker in DEIJ. He shares with us personal stories of how he’s encountered injustice, how he’s overcome those experiences, and how he has advocated for Justice. We also talk about why this is i...

We're with Dr. Matt Brown, host of the Manspace podcast. He specializes in working with men's mental health in his practice, which is why we're talking about toxic masculinity in this episode. Dr. Brown and I go over our own definitions of toxic masculinity, the responsibility men hold with it, and why this is important to our lives. Toxic masculinity has the potential to leak into our everyday in...

We are launching series dedicated to DEIJ, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Each episode in the series will focus on one of these aspects. In this episode, we talk to Brittney Tolar on Diversity. We discuss the overall definition of diversity, why it's important, who is a part of diversity, and potential cognitive blocks to believing in diversity. Angela Hayes co-hosts with me, who is al...

Lizee Love is a first year doctoral student at Virginia Tech University, and she just finished serving her term as President to the Texas Student Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to be a doctoral student in Blacksburg, Virginia, how her current research impacts supervisors and supervisees, and how the political climate can potentially effect...

In 2022, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy began a strategic plan to move towards license portability across all 50 states. The AAMFT Board of Directors initiated Access MFT to identify specific barriers to license portability and to work on overcoming them. Since then, AAMFT has worked with several states to give legislative attention to license probability. We are happy to...

Ilyse Kennedy is the owner of Moving Parts Psychotherapy in Austin, Texas. She holds multiple certifications, provides a lot of services to the Austin community through her practice, and she is an accomplished author. In this episode, we talk about IFS and parts work, trauma literature and what it's lacking, EMDR and how to be creative with it, the journey of healing, and self-care. If you&#39...

Austin AMFT and TAMFT have long shared the same mission: to support and provide opportunities to the MFT community. In this episode I talk to the Austin AMFT leadership to see how both organizations can make our missions a joint effort, and we strategize in how to provide the best care for our license. Enjoy this very productive conversation.

Taking the national licensing exam can be daunting. That's why Dr. Sara Salkil's student exam prep course is one of the best things you can do to prepare. In this episode, Dr. Salkil and I go over the mental and emotional prep for the national exam, the work going into it, and how to recover from it. We also talk about the importance of how to land in your own identity without the exam defining yo...

In this episode, we talk to Ross Young with Clinical Notes AI. We discuss how AI can enhance our clinical practice, help us in the everyday minutia of documentation, and ultimately give us more time to be present. We also talk about the philosophical approach to being human in the world of AI. This is a way to help us be more human, and to enhance our clinical practice. Check out Clinical Notes AI...

Welcome to Beyond the Couch. We're excited to share TAMFT's latest platform for conversation, exploration, and ways to reach the MFT community. This is where we share ideas that will help our clinical work and help us think beyond that. We will talk to other organizations, dive into technology, and discuss important issues around our work. We love to see our community thrive, and this is the space...