The Therapist Thrival Guide

All month we are discussing everything about couple's therapy: methods, research, skills, and tools. Subscribe for every episode! This week we are diving into John and Julie Gottman's research and methods for couples therapy. Eva Greenwell, MA, CMHC, LPC, LCDC-I joins this episode to share her wisdom and experience as a Gottman Level 3 trained couple's therapist. What Makes Love Last b...

Founder of Ellie Mental Health, Erin Pash, LMFT is back this week to discuss the nitty-gritty of couple's therapy and how to be a kick-@$# couple's therapist. Erin has more than ten years of experience working with couples in therapy, and she discussed what brings couples to see her, tools every therapist should know, and how to work with couples that are thinking about getting divorced. O...

Saroni Kandu joins this episode to discuss how her difficult experiences with navigating the mental health system for her family and then the loss of her sister after suicide drove her to open an Ellie Mental Health location in her community. Saroni's franchise is located in Concord, MO. September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and we are highlighting this important topic throughout th...

This episode is a re-release for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Suicide is a topic that can be difficult to talk about-- and sometimes it's even hard for therapists to talk about this with their clients! Instead of shying away from this topic, we brought suicidologist Brittany Miskowiec, LICSW on as a guest to discuss how to talk about this with clients and what to do if a client says tha...

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and we are highlighting this important topic throughout the podcast this month. As we work together to de-stigmatize the societal beliefs around therapy and increase access to outpatient care, we recognize there's a LOT we can do to bring this often taboo topic into a new light while raising awareness about suicide as a public health concern, ed...

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and we are highlighting this important topic throughout the podcast this month. As we work together to de-stigmatize the societal beliefs around therapy and increase access to outpatient care, we recognize there's a LOT we can do to bring this often taboo topic into a new light while raising awareness about suicide as a public health concern, ed...

We are continuing our children's mental health series this week by discussing sand tray therapy! We are joined by Neal Petersen, LPCC, RPT and Jenni Kahmeyer, MA, LPCC. Neal is a registered play therapist and his main therapeutic interests include play therapy, sand tray, and using tabletop games in therapy. Jenni is one of the Clinical Operations Director at Ellie, and she enjoys using the sa...

We are continuing our children's mental health series this week by discussing attachment-building strategies for therapists and parents! Sara Feld, LGSW joins our episode this week to discuss this topic and why attachment is important. Sara Feld is a licensed graduate social worker with years of experience working with children and families at a school based outpatient mental health clinic. Sa...

Sara Livingston-Burke, LPCC and Emily Weidenbacher, BA, MA join the podcast today to talk all about building rapport with teenagers, issues that teens face, and how to do the best therapeutic work with this population. Emily graduated with her Master’s in counseling and is working towards being independently licensed with her (LPCC). Emily has previous experience working in local day treatments, s...

We are BACK with a whole new season and all-new content! This month we are focusing on children's mental health and bringing on therapists that specialize in working with kids. Today we are discussing play therapy methods, modalities, tools, and interventions. We are joined by Neal Petersen, LPCC, RPT. Neal is a registered play therapist and his main therapeutic interests include play therapy,...

It's BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month, so we are re-sharing one of our favorite episodes! How much did graduate school *actually* teach you about culture and how to talk about culture in our sessions?  We are joined again by Xoel Gonzalez, LPCC to discuss this important topic, why this is hard to talk about, self-disclosure, and how to approach culture and religion in therapy sessions with...

Earlier this season we discussed how technology can be used in therapy and as an intervention for kids struggling with ADHD, ASD, or anger. As a continuation of that episode, Miranda had a conversation with Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, Associate Clinical Director at Mightier to discuss how this technology was developed and exactly how this works!- Link to episode about Technology in Therapy: https:...

We have had numerous listeners ask that we begin covering more therapy modalities in depth, so we are starting off with a trauma therapy called Somatic Experiencing (SE)! Tracy Blad, LMFT is a certified SE practitioner and she joins this episode to share all about this modality, what it's helpful for, what the research shows, and how to get trained in this practice. OUR HOSTS: Miranda Barker,...

We want to be clear -- as therapists we don't seek to treat the ASD as much as we treat the SYMPTOMS of neurodivergence that create DISTRESS for the kids. In this episode kid therapist Kelly Pieper, LICSW and child psychiatrist Dr. Claire Garber are discussing symptoms of ASD in kids, therapeutic treatments for distressing symptoms, and common medications prescribed for this population. We als...

Deb Link, LMFT is back to talk about working with couples and families that are in high conflict divorces or navigating the family court system. She dives into attachment work, parent alienation, and reunification therapy. Deb is a licensed marriage and family therapist and professional clinical counselor specializing in high-conflict family therapy and reunification therapy. She is also a mediato...

What are all of the different levels of care in mental health treatment, and how do I know if my client is in the right level for them? There are PHPs, IOPs, day treatment, outpatient services, inpatient services, and residential treatments and sometimes it's hard to know when a client needs to step up and step down. Dr. Suzanne Jasberg joins this episode to discuss what these different levels...

In this week's episode we are covering perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, postpartum anxiety, and OCD. Our guests are passionate about this topic and making sure that new parents feel supported and cared for. RESOURCE LINKS: The Post-Adoption Blues: Overcoming the Unforseen Challenges of Adoption book by Karen Foli: https://amzn.to/3MU5...

Most of us have loved ones or clients that have experienced miscarriage or infant loss. In honor of Maternal Mental Health Month, we invited Laura Lammar-Binder, MA to join and share her own experiences with loss and postpartum depression. This episode is for therapists supporting loved ones or clients that have experienced miscarriages or infant loss OR that are looking for support through this t...

This episode is for therapists that are experiencing infertility themselves or supporting loved ones or clients that are walking through infertility. In honor of maternal mental health month and infertility awareness week, Sara Livingston-Burke, LPCC and Jennie Karnish, LPCC join to discuss the impact of infertility on one's mental health, how to support loved ones or clients walking through i...

Founder and CEO of Ellie Mental Health, Erin Pash, LMFT joins the episode this week to discuss Ellie's rapid growth and how they are filling gaps in mental health care in new ways. Erin talks about the history of Ellie, why they chose the franchise model rather than corporate growth, and how she sees Ellie's continued growth in the future. OUR HOSTS: Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW, has been pr...

Every therapist has to do clinical supervision when they first enter the field, but not every therapist has a great supervisor. This can make all the difference when learning practice management, diagnosing, and how to navigate ethical dilemmas. In this episode, we are joined by Karna Boynton, LMFT and Gina Young, LICSW to discuss attributes of the best and worst supervisors they have had and what...

We promised a part two, so here it is! Lucas and Miranda are back to discuss and review the show that is making a splash in the therapy (and non-therapy) world: Shrinking. We are joined with two special guests: Licensed Clinical Psychologist and movie-lover, Dr. Terri Bly, and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, BJ McElrath. This show brings up the topics of grief, work-life boundaries, trau...

Today we are bringing Dr. Suzanne Jasberg back to the podcast today with Claire McGinn, LCSW to talk about symptoms of psychotic episodes, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder and the best ways to treat people with psychotic disorders, including through CBT-P, medication, and family support. They challenge our assumptions about treatment, progress, and remission of symptoms with research an...

Dr. Robyn Janssen, PsyD and Dr. Justin Gerstner, MD join the podcast this week to discuss one of their favorite topics: how to treat OCD. They describe the symptoms of OCD, common misconceptions about the diagnosis, and what the research says works best, including Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy, CBT, and common medications. Link to our episode about technology in therapy. Link to Y...

It's common for students in Marriage and Family Therapy programs or other types of counseling programs to learn about the importance of family therapy. They might even hear the term "cybernetics" thrown around, but many fail to really understand why this concept is so important, and how it actually relates to psychotherapy. In this episode Kile Minnis joins us to break down this topi...