The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Want to Fix Mental Health Workforce Shortages? Speed up the Licensing Boards: An interview with Dr. Ben Caldwell Curt and Katie interview Benjamin E. Caldwell, PsyD, about licensing board inefficiencies leading to incredible delays in folks getting licensed. We talk about the impacts of paperwork processing delays as well the inadequate infrastructure of most licensing boards. We also explore poli...

REPLAY - Structuring Self-Care  We’re still on vacation, but wanted to share another one of our favorite episodes with all of you. We start with a quick reflection on the episode and what we’ve learned since it originally aired. Today’s replay is of Episode 141: Structuring Self-Care. We talk about structuring self-care into your business practices. We look at how to incorporate self-care best pra...

REPLAY - Therapists Are Not Robots: How We Can Show Humanity in the Room We’re on vacation, but wanted to share one of our favorite episodes with all of you. We start with a quick reflection on the episode and what we’ve learned since it originally aired. Today’s replay is of Episode 255: Therapists Are Not Robots: How we can show humanity in the room. We talk vulnerably about how we have managed...

What Do Therapists Need To Do About Medicare? Opting in or out for 2024: An interview with Joy Alafia, CAE Curt and Katie interview Joy Alafia, Executive Director of California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, on the journey for MFTs and Counselors to become eligible to be Medicare providers. We look at the high-level tasks that every therapist needs to take. We also talk about the d...

How Can Therapists Take a Real Vacation? Curt and Katie chat about how therapists can take extended time away from their therapy practices. We talk about how to budget time and money for vacation as well as what therapists need to have covered when they’re gone. We also look at how to mitigate foreseeable risk and manage continuity of care. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpod...

Religious Trauma and High-Control Religion: An Interview with Anna Clark Miller, LPC, LMHC Curt and Katie interview Anna Clark Miller about religious trauma. We explore what religious trauma and high-control religions are. We look at common mistakes therapists can make when working with religious trauma survivors as well as what therapy and healing can look like for these folks. Transcripts for th...

How Much Autonomy Do Therapy Clients Deserve? Balancing client autonomy with therapist skill Curt and Katie chat about client autonomy. We look at what patient autonomy is and what therapists need to understand about this very complex topic. We explore how therapists can overstep or abdicate their role in supporting their clients in making decisions. We also look at what true informed consent is a...

What’s Confidential and What’s a Secret? Navigating “No Secrets” Policies Curt and Katie chat about no secret policies. We look at what they are, what needs to be in these policies, how to navigate secrets in therapy, the importance of these policies in relational therapy, and the complexity of “no secrets” when working with kids and teens. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpod...

Is This My Stuff? How therapists can sort through countertransference: An Interview with Dr. Amy Meyers, LCSW Curt and Katie interview Dr. Amy Meyers on countertransference. We talk about what countertransference is, how therapists typically struggle when working in the transference and countertransference, how the profession’s relationship to countertransference has changed, and what therapists c...

Decolonizing Therapy: A Movement - An Interview with Dr. Jennifer Mullan Curt and Katie interview Dr. Jennifer Mullan about decolonizing therapy. We discuss what it means to decolonize therapy and the importance of doing so, as well as the challenges therapists face when they are looking to decolonize their practices and incorporate cultural and community healing. We also explore rage, the tendenc...

Should Therapists Admit to Making Mistakes in Therapy? Curt and Katie chat about what therapists can do to effectively navigate their own mistakes in the therapy room. We look at what constitutes a mistake in therapy, the types of mistakes that therapists make, and considerations on how to address mistakes. This is an ethics continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be avai...

Is BPD a Genuine Diagnosis or a Dismissive Label? Curt and Katie chat about whether (or not) Borderline Personality Disorder is a useful diagnosis. We look at the difficulty in differential diagnosis, the huge overlaps with other diagnoses, and the harm caused by misdiagnosis and dismissal of these clients. We also explore whether BPD is just complex PTSD in disguise. We don’t come to total agreem...

Dealing with “Therapy Doesn’t Work” Curt and Katie chat how to engage with people who doubt the efficacy of therapy. We look at how to address general skeptics, mandated clients, hesitant prospective clients, and uncertain longer-standing clients. Spoiler alert: validation, understanding, and coming back to the relationship go far. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!...

Is Your Therapist Website ADA Compliant? An Interview with Anita Avedian, LMFT Curt and Katie interview Anita Avedian, LMFT about her recent experiences related to an ADA complaint on her website. Anita shares with us how she has navigated this lawsuit and what she’s learned about ADA Compliance for websites. We also talk about the predatory lawsuits on small businesses in California and the benef...

We Answer the Question: Is EMDR a Pyramid Scheme? Curt and Katie chat about an episode of Very Bad Therapy that asks the question, Is EMDR a Cultish Pyramid Scheme. This is our response to that question. We talk about what EMDR is, common misconceptions of the model, the concerns with people doing EMDR poorly, and the benefits of this model. We also talk about clinician factors that impact whether...

Your Modern Therapist Ethics Questions Answered: Digging into the mail bag to identify how to behave ethically in modern times Curt and Katie discuss tricky ethics questions we’ve received from listeners and colleagues over the years. We look at dual relationships, documentation, therapists in the public eye, fee setting, and when (and whether) we should report each other to the board. This is a l...

Family Therapy: Not Just for Kids - An Interview with Adriana Rodriguez, LMFT Curt and Katie interview Adriana Rodriguez, LMFT about the tendency of therapists (even Marriage and Family Therapists) to avoid working with couples and families. We talk about the challenges in working with groups rather than individuals, how to identify the most appropriate treatment unit, and the benefits of working...

Modern Therapist Reflections on Preventing a School Shooting Curt and Katie chat about an incident within Curt’s practice. We look at how therapists are called upon to make challenging risk assessments. We look at threat to other assessments including threats of serious violence. We explore the therapist’s experience during these intense risk assessments and the tasks that follow. We identify acti...

Why Do Therapists Feel They NEED to be Coaches? An Interview with Jo Muirhead Curt and Katie interview Jo Muirhead about the increasingly common trend of therapists becoming coaches for other therapists. We talk about what coaching actually is, mistakes therapists make when pursuing coaching, how therapists can identify if someone is a good (or bad) coach, problems with some coaching for therapist...

Humor in Psychotherapy Curt and Katie chat about the benefits and challenges of using humor in the therapy room. We look at the research exploring how humor is used, potential risks, and best practices. We work to infuse humor, even as we take our therapeutic humor pretty seriously. This is a continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this...

How Therapists Can Deal with the Crisis of the Week Curt and Katie chat about a typical dynamic that can happen in therapy sessions, namely the “crisis of the week.” We look at how this dynamic comes up and what therapists can do to deal with it more effectively. We identify both clinician and client factors and suggest strategies to improve therapy sessions. Transcripts for this episode will be a...

Making Sense of Insurance Billing and Client Referral Services for Therapists Curt and Katie chat about a lot of the different services that therapists can sign up for to provide therapy. We talk about Alma, Headway, TalkSpace, BetterHelp, etc. We also look at what therapists should consider when deciding which service to sign up for (or whether they should).  Transcripts for this episode will be...

Choosing Yourself as a Therapist: Strategies to address burnout, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma Curt and Katie interview Laura Reagan, LCSW-C, of the Trauma Therapist Network. We engage in real talk about burnout and compassion fatigue. We look at why therapists are especially susceptible to burnout, what therapists can do to take care of themselves, and what systems we can set up to try...

Building Your Treatment Team in Private Practice: Essential Networking Skills for Therapists Curt and Katie chat about treatment teaming, especially for clinicians in private practice. We look at the benefits of a treatment team, how to effectively create an interdisciplinary treatment team (including some networking skills), the qualities of a strong team, and the practicalities for therapists to...

Revisiting SEO and AI – Ethics and best practices: An Interview with Danica Wolf Curt and Katie interview Danica Wolf, COO of Simplified SEO Consulting, on the basics of SEO and how AI is being used in marketing. We look at best practices and ethics for both SEO and AI. We also talk through the potential pitfalls and cautions in the current state of AI for marketing.   Transcripts for this episode...