Privileged and Biased

An interview with Jeff Guenther, LPC, about how therapy has been whitewashed and biased for a very long time. Curt and Katie talk with Jeff about his efforts to use his privilege to increase inclusion and diversity and to shine a light on biases that we all hold. 

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. We are human beings who can now present ourselves as whole people, with authenticity, purpose, and connection. Especially now, when therapists must develop a personal brand to market their practices.

To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

Interview with Jeff Guenther, LPC

Jeff Guenther, LPC, is a therapist in Portland, OR. He has been in private practice since 2005. Jeff is the creator and owner of Portland Therapy Center, a highly ranked therapist directory. He also hosts a podcast called Say More About That about trending mental health topics. Jeff has launched a new progressive therapist directory at TherapyDen that fights racism, homophobia, transphobia and all other forms of discrimination. Sign up for a profile at TherapyDen and get your first six months free.

In this episode we talk about:

• Jeff’s entrepreneurship and his focus on creating access for mental health
• Therapy directories and how he came to identify the need to use the directory to fight against racism, transphobia, homophobia, etc.
• Using privilege for good and to support inclusion and access for mental health services
• Looking at the controversy in developing a progressive therapist directory
• The goal to be inclusive, not solely politically progressive
• White privilege and bias
• The problems with Psychology Today and how this directory is slowly seeming to respond and start addressing racial and gender diversity
• The white washing of therapy and the fight to increase access and diversity
• Understanding the bias that is being reinforced by Disney Movies
• How bias can show up in the therapy room, your marketing, and in your intake
• Addressing systemic bias
• The history of therapy and how it continues to influence bias
• Looking at how implicit bias can be addressed by individual therapists
• The biases that are less understood or addressed
• The responsibility of therapists to actively work toward societal inclusion
• The ability to change things in one generation