Light Up The Couch

Dr. Jamie Marich addresses clinical fear and stigma about dissociation, and explains dissociation in a holistic manner with appreciation of historical context, societal influences, and modern knowledge from the field of traumatic stress studies. Presentation also includes discussion of Dr. Marich's first-hand experience with dissociation. Presentation-style.

Dr. Lyneia Richardson discusses common traumatic pregnancy and childbirth experiences of Black women and themes around mothering as a Black woman in America; suggestions on how helping professionals can best provide a supportive space of healing for this population is also discussed. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT. Note: This episode uses various terms to describe people who gestate and chestfeed, including terms like women, mothering, breastfeeding, childbirthing people, etc. Please note that the terminology to describe child birthing people is continually evolving; we encourage use of lexicon that is specific to each individual and his/her/their self-identification. We also want to note that this episode includes discussion of medical emergencies and traumatic experiences relating to childbirth.

Elizabeth Irias, Therapist, discusses the clinical value of confronting clients and reasons therapists shy away from challenging clients. They explore the power of confrontation, the role it plays in therapy, and the approaches for effective confrontation. They also discuss the importance of confronting conflicts and providing feedback in relationships. Additional resources for improving skills in confronting clients effectively are recommended.

Dr. Russell Siler Jones, LMHC, provides helpful rationale for attending to spiritual and religious issues in psychotherapy, including discussion about countertransference and meaningful interventions to welcome a client's meaning-making into the room. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT.

Grief therapist Londyn Miller, LMFT, explores some of the societal norms which shape our unconscious responses to grief (encompassing all kinds of grief, not just grief relating to illness or death), including discussion about common bereavement myths. Critical self-care strategies for managing social pressures and creative ideas to help clients manage their grief around holidays are also discussed. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT.

Dr. Melissa Munro Boyd, a specialist in child therapy, teams up with Elizabeth Irias, a licensed marriage and family therapist, to tackle how children can navigate adult-sized problems. They explore important methods for helping kids manage emotions, including mindfulness and art therapy. The conversation highlights the significance of open communication during tough topics like loss and change. They also discuss the role of children's literature in facilitating emotional discussions, ultimately empowering young minds to build resilience in a complex world.

Dr. Irv Yalom candidly explores the role of a therapist, the intermingling of personal life and career, and his perspectives on existentialism, including the impact of therapist self-disclosure on the therapeutic relationship. Also includes retrospective discussion about his use of ‘here-and-now’ psychotherapy work with terminally ill and bereaved clients. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT

Dr. Julia Mackaronis, licensed clinical psychologist, explores the benefits of exploring values- and principle-based supervision techniques instead of focusing heavily on specific therapeutic interventions in order to build clinical confidence and flexibility in supervisees. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT.

Dr. Elyssa Helfer, LMFT, provides helpful context and education about the kink community as well as the ways clinicians can more impactfully serve them. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT.

Dr. Sonja Sutherland, LPC, dives deep into the mental health impact of systemic racism on BIPOC children and how to supervise early-career clinicians in more effectively serving this population. Interview with Elizabeth Irias, LMFT.