You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist

When your child says they are trans, where can you go for guidance, support, or advocacy? How do families navigate current trends in the counseling and medical fields and get children the help they need without submitting to a path of lifelong medicalization? On today’s episode, I am joined by two moms who have undertaken a challenging journey through gender ideology in order to help parents by pr...

Brace yourself! This week we are discussing female anatomy, the pressures that women face to change their bodies, personal trauma, and what it takes to change the culture surrounding women’s reproductive care. In one of my more blush-worthy conversations to date, activist Jessica Pin fills us in on how she learned the hard way that medical professionals are woefully uneducated on female anatomy. I...

Dating in the modern world has changed drastically with dating apps, swipe culture, loosened norms, a cultural divide, and a political ideology coloring the landscape of human values. There’s no wonder why it’s so difficult to find a trustworthy long term partner with these detrimental trends becoming increasingly wide-spread. How can survivors of domestic violence and emotional abuse learn to tru...

In a world of deception, how can we accurately discern what is true, real, good, and right? I had the pleasure of consulting one of America’s sharpest modern intellectuals for guidance. James Lindsay delivers a working education of the psychological warfare that plagues our modern social and online environments. Drawing inspiration from his background in fields as disparate as martial arts and mat...

With Conservatives being largely ostracized in contemporary American culture, where can they go to solve personal issues? As a therapist, it’s important to me that people of all walks of life are able to access mental health services, regardless of their politics. However, in recent years, the field of psychology has been influenced by notions of social justice that have resulted in politically le...

My old friends forage for medicinal mushrooms and mineral resins, and concoct customized herbal tinctures for their clients. Today, I had the delight of interviewing them about their adventures in tonic herbalism. So, what exactly is Tonic Herbalism? Well, according to DJ and Jenny Ankenbrandt, tonic herbalism is so ancient that it precedes Taoism. A select number of time-tested plants and fungi a...

Is therapy dead? Can it be revived? How can we move forward? What are the virtues and pitfalls of alternatives to therapy, like coaching or wellness related practices? Typically, therapists go to graduate school and complete postgraduate internships and exams to develop a particular set of psychological tools to address mental illnesses that many of us are faced with. But Bizzie has done something...

As we discuss often on this podcast, “gender affirming care” can appeal to trauma survivors as an enticing way out of pain. Some of these people go through the entire process of medical intervention only to find themselves pursuing detransition. This week I am joined by Torren Danowski, a detransitioner who found himself in this exact situation. Torren and I discuss his unique story from his strug...

Is it possible to fall in love over the internet? Today I welcome two very special guests about to welcome their first baby, whose love story began on Twitter. This was my first time interviewing a couple, and it was utterly delightful. Zach Elliott and Cynthia Breheny of The Paradox Institute join me this week to delight us with their love story, touch us with the personal experiences that direct...

In a recent past episode of this podcast, we discussed issues related to fertility care. But what about maternity care? In this week’s episode, Kallie Fell and I discuss the nuances of informed consent in reference to maternity care along with the in’s and out’s of risk mitigation during pregnancy, physician concerns and pressures, the what may be best for children in the long run. This is an espe...

Cat Cattinson is a detransitioned woman who was featured in our documentary, Affirmation Generation. Cat shares her experience in reclaiming her singing voice after realizing that medicalizing her gender dysphoria was not the right path. For Cat, the loss of her singing voice became the catalyst that led her to detransition. Now, Cat is thriving as a musician again, while serving as the spokespers...

What happens when we die? Do we go to a great beyond somewhere? Are we punished for what we’ve done wrong? Many religions have tried to tackle this problem for as long as humans have recognized the significance of death. What we know for sure is that someone will have to take care of our remains. This week, Josh Slocum provides a realist vision of what happens when we die, flowers are purchased, c...

Has Critical Social Justice completely captured clinical psychology? So many people seek out therapy in hopes of improving their lives and the lives of those around them through traditional therapeutic practice. What happens when those practices are no longer taught and therapists are instead activists seeking to derail the normative behavior of others? In this week’s episode, I am joined by Briti...

How does life transform after questioning everything you thought you knew about the world? As we grow into adulthood and consider the axioms we live by, we are sometimes left to adjust to a world we see radically differently than before, and must find new ways of being. In this week’s episode, Meghan Murphy discusses how she came to view the world after confronting her biases, and what she has dis...

How does discomfort drive the therapeutic process? Is it required to successfully navigate our uniquely difficult stations of life? This week, I am joined by Tessa Jacques, LMFT to discuss how therapeutic solutions are being harshly impacted by the instant gratification of the modern era. Join me as Tessa and I discuss the nuances of how modern culture creates a weakness in patients by discounting...

I’ve spoken with many guests about the harms of marketing invasive, experimental, life-altering procedures to children in the name of so-called “gender affirmation.” But the cosmetic surgery market’s thirst for young blood doesn’t begin and end with its exploitation of gender dysphoria. Simon Esler exposed the connections between adolescent angst, self-harm, body image, and this sociopathic indust...

What is the overarching perspective of a detransitioner as they move through their awakening journey? This week I am joined by Laura Becker, a detransitioner turned influencer who is featured on the recent documentary Affirmation Generation to talk about her journey through the detransition process and her recent experiences providing a safe space for others to do the same.  Laura Becker is an art...

In recent years, surrogacy has become a staple in the medical field with little regard or thought of the impact surrogacy has on the human reproductive and evolutionary process. This week, I am joined by Registered Nurse Jennifer Lahl in a conversation about the lesser known tribulations that surrogate mothers face in contemporary society including health risks, contractual exploitation, and famil...

Does woke ideology in psychotherapy education damage the field of professional counseling? Therapists are being evaluated more and more on the fundamental axioms that underlay critical social justice theory instead of the traditional principles that empower counselors to effectively and respectfully treat their patients. In this week's episode, I am joined by Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist...

Is Christianity responsible for racism? According to Amy Gallagher in her fight against the UK’s NHS, the answer is no. Two years ago, Amy Gallagher was told she was unfit to engage with her patients since she disagrees with Orwellian principles foundational to woke ideology that view white people as the “problem of our time.” Today, I am joined by Amy Gallagher to discuss the shortcomings of this...

Canada is front and center of the growing controversy around its expansion of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) policy as heated debates on the euthanization of children, trans identifying people and the mentally ill have swept its legislative bodies. I am joined by writer and host of the podcast Our Canadian Journey Darshan Maharaja, who is sounding the alarm on the increasingly contentious...

In their desperation to protect their children from lifelong medicalization, parents of trans-identifying youth are often at risk of losing sleep, jobs, and even marriages. In this episode, I talk with life coach and ROGD parent, StoicMom, about how ROGD parents might save their sanity and develop pathways forward in support of healthy family dynamics. StoicMom presents solutions to parents outlin...

If you appreciate conversations about detransition, you’re not going to want to miss this episode. Today we are graced by an elder psychotherapist who has been helping people with transition regret, including men who have had irreversible surgeries, revert to living as their biological sex ever since I was a child.  Bob Withers is a Jungian analyst with over 35 years’ experience as a psychotherapi...

Once upon a time, Jason loved his job facilitating social and emotional learning in public schools. Then, in 2017, a new ideological framework began to take root in school SEL programs that eroded the foundation of goodwill that his work was based upon. But instead of giving into nihilism or despair, Jason forged a new path. He developed a new philosophy rooted in his values of dignity, integrity,...

Pamela Garfield-Jaeger, aka The Truthful Therapist, empowers parents with the knowledge necessary to navigate the world of therapy infected by the deceptively-named so-called “social justice” lens. Working in the field for over twenty years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she understands the importance of choosing the right therapist, especially for vulnerable children.  In this episode, we...