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 mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about no secrets policies in therapy In our continuing eff...
Nov 20, 2023•37 min
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 can do to better understand themselves. We also talk a bit about the blank slate. Transcripts for thi...
Nov 13, 2023•45 min
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 tendency to pathologize big emotions, and the impact of historical trauma. Transcripts for this episode wil...
Nov 06, 2023•43 min
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 available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about how modern therapists can navigate m...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 10 min
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 agreement, but we get a little bit closer on how we can move past the harmful elements of the BPD label. T...
Oct 23, 2023•33 min
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! In this podcast episode we explore how to talk with folks who don’t believe in therapy In response ...
Oct 16, 2023•40 min
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 benefits of becoming ADA compliant for therapists. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsg...
Oct 09, 2023•36 min
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 someone can do EMDR well. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In thi...
Oct 02, 2023•34 min
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 law and ethics continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsg...
Sep 25, 2023•1 hr 11 min
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 with adult families. We also discuss the importance of assessing power, privilege, intersectionality...
Sep 18, 2023•42 min
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 action steps for trauma informed support. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast....
Sep 11, 2023•35 min
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 therapists, and how therapists can future-proof their business (rather than turning to coaching for the answe...
Sep 04, 2023•45 min
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 podcast episode we talk about how therapists can best work within treatment teams Anecdotal evidenc...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 6 min
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 available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we explore how therapy can get stuck responding...
Aug 21, 2023•35 min
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 available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we explore therapist insurance referral service...
Aug 14, 2023•45 min
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 to avoid burnout and compassion fatigue. Laura also shared some ideas for group practice owners who ...
Aug 07, 2023•37 min
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 collaborate effectively in treatment teams. This is a continuing education podcourse. Transcripts f...
Jul 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min
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 will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! An Interview with Danica Wolf, MSW, Simplified SEO Consulting D...
Jul 24, 2023•41 min
How Can You Create an Ethical Faith-Based Practice? An Interview with Whitney Owens, LPC Curt and Katie interview Whitney Owens, LPC of Wise Practice, about faith-based practice. We look at what therapists can get wrong when considering incorporating faith into therapy. We also talk about what to do (and NOT do) when creating a faith-based therapy practice, specifically talking about ethics, using faith as a tool when requested, and the harm caused when therapists have a religious agenda in sess...
Jul 17, 2023•37 min
What Can Therapists Do When Clients Don’t Getting Better? Curt and Katie chat about what modern therapists can do when their clients don’t (or can’t) get better. We explore what “getting better" looks like in therapy, what can get in the way of clients improving, how we can support clients who are unable to reach traditional treatment goals, and how clinicians can take care of ourselves while doing this longer-term work. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this ...
Jul 10, 2023•38 min
Are You Actually Neurodivergent Affirming? An Interview with Sonny Jane Wise Curt and Katie interview Sonny Jane Wise, the Lived Experience Educator. We chat about therapists getting stuck in neuro-normative expectations and norms or refusing to accept medication or accommodations as neurodivergent affirming. We look at how you can get more creative and individualized to support neurodivergent individuals more effectively. We also look specifically at neurodivergent friendly DBT and whether skil...
Jul 03, 2023•35 min
Liability Hot Potato: Defensive Therapy practices that give clients inadequate care Curt and Katie chat about defensive therapy practices. We talk about how therapists avoid liability by practicing defensively, which can harm our clients. We look at common defensive therapy practices, like refusing to see clients with certain types of risk or too quickly hospitalizing someone. We explore the risks to our clients when we practice this way and how we can navigate risk to avoid practicing defensive...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Special Episode: Modern Therapist’s Consumer Guide on Thrizer Curt and Katie talk with Raunak Sharma, owner of Thrizer, a modern payment processing app for private pay therapists. Thrizer is a modern payments solution built for therapists. You can charge clients securely, receive payments seamlessly, and enable insurance reimbursements automatically. We chat with Raunak about Thrizer as well as his perspective on the finances of therapy, specifically out of network billing. We explore the challe...
Jun 22, 2023•43 min
How to Provide Culturally Appropriate Care for African American Families, An Interview with Mercedes Samudio, LCSW Curt and Katie interview Mercedes Samudio, LCSW, about working with African American Families. We talk about what therapists typically get wrong when working with these families, what therapists need to know about working with African American families, how to work cross culturally, and how both conscious and unconscious bias impact therapy. Transcripts for this episode will be avai...
Jun 19, 2023•36 min
The Future Is Now: Chatbots are Replacing Mental Health Workers Curt and Katie chat about what happened with the National Eating Disorder Association and their chatbot, Tessa, as well as new prompts to make ChatGPT act like a CBT therapist. We also look at the risks related to chatbots taking over mental health and crisis services. We also discuss what therapists can do to safeguard their practices in the wake of the robot revolution. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast...
Jun 12, 2023•39 min
The Sky is Falling: How Therapists Can Protect Our Industry, Patient-Centered Care, and Our Businesses, An Interview with Dr. Ajita Robinson Curt and Katie interview Dr. Ajita Robinson about innovation within the mental health industry that could threaten therapists in private practice. We chat about Value Based Care in insurance, insurance credentialing companies, and big tech disruptors. We also talk with Dr. Ajita (an income strategist) about ways that therapists can diversify their income le...
Jun 05, 2023•36 min
How Do Therapists Develop? Curt and Katie chat about how therapists can be rigid in their thinking at times and then seem to be performing mental gymnastics at other times. We look at the developmental stages of therapists (drawing from William Perry’s work) and identify where therapists get stuck, where they often regress, rebel, or sink into compliance. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about what typical development looks like f...
May 29, 2023•38 min
Teaching Wisdom: Best practices for decision-making to support your clients Curt and Katie chat about decision-making best practices. We look at how we make decisions, what the decision-making process looks like, what can get in the way of effective decision-making, and how therapists can support their clients in making the best possible decisions. This is a continuing education podcourse. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about ho...
May 22, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Does Your Social Media Make You Look Like a Bad Therapist? Curt and Katie chat about therapists putting out advice on social media. We look at how bad this advice can be and when it can even be harmful. We talk about what makes this advice bad and what to do instead. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about therapist influencers giving advice on social media We look at really bad relationship advice that seems to proliferate on soci...
May 15, 2023•33 min
Oklahoma Bureaucrats Want Your Mental Health Records Curt and Katie chat about some Oklahoma legislation about health information exchange. We talk about what a health information exchange is, the concerns with Oklahoma’s legislation related to health information exchange, and how therapists can advocate effectively (as modern therapists in Oklahoma have done). Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! In this podcast episode we talk about new Oklahoma legislation We loo...
May 08, 2023•40 min
