Psych Talk

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss grief therapists and other mental health professionals experience after the death of a client. This is not something readily talked about in graduate school or that mental health professionals are necessarily prepared for. I discuss the unique challenges therapists face when it comes to grief, how many of us do not feel we can grieve in "traditi...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss interventions for suicidal behavior. I discuss primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention for suicidal behavior, screening and risk assessment, and means restriction. I further discuss psychotherapy interventions that are effective in reducing suicidal behavior, as well as suicide-specific interventions that can be used as an adjunct to treatment as...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Z, a licensed clinical psychologist, about chronic suicidality. Dr. Z first discusses the spectrum of suicidality, as well as the difference between passive and active suicidal thoughts. We discuss chronic suicidality vs. acute suicidality, as well as some interventions used to manage chronic suicidality. Dr. Z discusses what both clinicians and...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Lauren Cook, licensed psychologist, speaker, and author, specializing in millennial and Gen Z mental health. Dr. Lauren is the author of the book Generation Anxiety in which she discusses why Millennials and Gen Zers are the most anxious generations. We discuss the unique challenges that millennials and Gen Z are facing and how to cope with anxi...

September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month with World Suicide Prevention Day falling on September 10th. In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss 988 - the three digit number for the United States' national crisis and suicide lifeline. 988 became the new number for the hotline in July 2022, replacing the old 10 digit phone number in hopes of increasing ease of rememberin...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Khalida Himes, LCSW a school social worker, speaker, and content creator. Khalida shares her journey to becoming a school social worker and why she is so passionate about working with students. We discuss the role of a school social worker, as well as misconceptions about what school social workers do. Khalida shares insights about the mental health...

We have officially hit 150 episode of Psych Talk! Thank you to everyone who has tuned in, whether you have been here from the beginning or are a new listener, I appreciate every single one of you. For this episode, I am doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything). From questions about repressed memories, major life changes, phobias, and asexuality, to finding out if I still wear that lobster onesie I got in Ma...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Z a licensed clinical psychologist who works psychiatric inpatient. Dr. Z discusses the multidisciplinary approach to psychiatric inpatient care, the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach for both the team and the patient, as well as the challenges to working in an inpatient hospital setting. Dr. Z addresses the misconceptions about inpatient...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I discuss the rise of "therapy speak" or the use of therapy-related or mental health words and phrases in every talk. Although "therapy speak" is not innately bad, there is a lot of misuse of common certain terms, which can have negative consequences such as intentionally or unintentionally spreading misinformation, undermining the experienc...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Nicole Lippman-Barile, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist, about the connection between dietary patterns and mental health. Dr. Nicole discusses what the research states about the connection between nutrition and mental health and highlights the differences between the claims we see on social media and what the literature actually supports. D...

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, also known as BIPOC Mental Health Month, and raises awareness of the challenges that affect the mental health of racial and ethnic minority groups. This month was developed to honor the efforts of Bebe Moore Campbell, an American author, journalist, teacher and mental health advocate, who was driven to bring awareness to the unique mental he...

What is the difference between a psychiatrist and psychologist? What is the difference between a therapist and a psychologist? Should I go to counseling or therapy? There are a number of different professionals in the mental health field and it can be confusing understanding what each one does and how they were trained. A recent [deleted tweet] by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psych...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss various strategies to better your mental health outside of therapy. Therapy is inaccessible to so many people, yet, there are evidence-based ways to improve mental health and reduce depressive and anxious symptoms that individuals can implement in their every day life. In this episode I discuss a variety of strategies to improve your mental health, r...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. André Austell, PsyD a clinical sports psychologist. Dr. Austell discusses a little bit about his background and his journey to becoming a psychologist. He discusses what a sports psychologist is and what they do, as well as specific areas that sports psychologists may assist with including performance enhancement, mental skills training, coping...

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss the current sociopolitical climate with regard to LGBTQ+ rights. First, I give a brief history of the Stonewall Uprising and Pride Month. Then, I discuss current anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the United States, highlighting both general themes and specific bills. I discuss what the bills say and problems and potential outcomes with th...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Nick Thompson from Netflix's hit reality series Love is Blind . Nick is a human connections expert, marketing executive, podcast host, mental health advocate, and founding member of the UCAN foundation, which aims to provide legal and mental health support to past, current, and future reality TV cast members. In this episode, Nick discusses his...

In today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Dr. Thai Alonso (aka Dr. T) a licensed clinical psychologist, all about the challenges of being a therapist. Dr. T shares a little about her background and clinical work, as well as why she feels it is important to discuss the challenges of being a therapist. We cover a variety of challenges therapists face, ranging from not feeling good enough, tra...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) which is classified as an eating disorder added to the DSM-5 in 2013. In this episode, I discuss what ARFID is and what it is not. I provide information about causes of, risk factors for, correlates of, prevalence rates, and gender-related data on ARFID, given the limited information we currently have...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Dr. Kristen Casey, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, all about insomnia. Dr. Kristen discusses her journey to becoming an insomnia expert and how she happened to fall in love with sleep. She defines what insomnia is for listeners and discusses the differences between acute and chronic insomnia. Dr. Kristen discusses some of the causes of insomnia and...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Emily Maynard, LMFT in California about purity culture and religious trauma. Emily discusses her own experiences in purity culture and how she started deconstructing her beliefs. Emily defines purity culture for listeners and a highlights the multiple aspects that purity culture encompasses. We discuss the negative impact of purity culture on indiv...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I chat with Christina Ennabe, LCMHC about Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ICBT) for OCD. Christina is an OCD specialist who, after working with clients with OCD, was diagnosed with OCD herself. We discuss Christina's experience getting diagnosed with OCD and how that impacted how she approaches treatment with her clients. Christina defines fo...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so for today's episode of Psych Talk I address many of the current trends in mental health. First, I summarize findings of Mental Health America's "The State of Mental Health In America" survey that looks at rates of mental health and substance abuse disorders in the United States, as well as topics related to access to care. Next, I discuss...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I discuss the symptom overlap in mental health diagnoses as classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. As many people are aware, there are various symptoms of mental health disorders that are found across multiple diagnoses, which can complicate getting the correct diagnosis or result in individuals receiving multiple diagnoses ba...

In today's episode of Psych Talk, I speak with Jalon Johnson, a podcast host and human who is using his voice and platform to share about his healing experience. The episode opens with Jalon reading a piece of his writing about his healing journey. We discuss his experiences with mental health and therapy growing up, his experiences as a black man in relation to the discussion of mental health...

On today's episode of Psych Talk I chat with Rachel Forbes, LCSW about Internal Family Systems (IFS). Internal Family Systems is an evidence-based psychotherapy intervention that focuses on getting to know parts of ourselves so that our whole self can be come integrated and heal. Rachel describes how she first became introduced to IFS and how it impacted her own healing journey. She then goes...