Jedi Counsel

Latest Episodes:

Jedi Counsel Podcast 104 – Mental Health Themes in Queer Eye Aug 31, 2018

Show notes

Hello, Jedi Counsel listeners! In this episode, we talked about some of our favorite moments from the Netflix series Queer Eye and how they map on to concepts in the field of psychology. We talked about advice given in the show that is consistent with principles of behavioral activation for depression, exposure for social anxiety, oppose-to-emotion action from dialectical behavior therapy, and acting “as if” and reframing unhelpful thoughts in cognitive-behavioral therapy. Overall, the show is sweet, heartwarming, and funny. We hope you enjoy our discussion of it – let us know what the show has meant to you!

PS – If you hear trickling water in the background, it is Brandon’s in-home hydroponic garden!

Jedi Counsel Podcast 103 – Geek Culture in Therapy with Dr. Patrick O’Connor Aug 11, 2018

Show notes

We spoke to Dr. Patrick O’Connor, who was a pioneer in the use of geek culture (e.g., comic books, science fiction movies, video games) in therapy! He is a professor who uses innovative teaching methods like gamification of learning to engage students in his psychology classes. Dr. O’Connor has published and presented on his use of superheroes in therapy and created a database of comic book stories categorized by therapeutic themes. It was fascinating to hear all about Dr. O’Connor’s work and his connections to Geek Therapy!

Check out more of Dr. O’Connor’s work at his website: http://www.comicspedia.net/ and on Twitter: @Comicspedia.

Thank you for listening! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, & Patreon!

Jedi Counsel Podcast Episode 102 – Sharing Psychology with the Public with Dr. Ali Mattu Aug 03, 2018

Show notes

We spoke to Dr. Ali Mattu, who is a licensed clinical psychologist in New York City. In addition to treating individuals with anxiety and related disorders, he also does an admirable job of sharing accurate mental health information with the public. He does this through his YouTube channel on The Psych Show, through his blog on the psychology of science fiction (Brain Knows Better), and through co-hosting a weekly podcast (GT Radio). We spoke to Ali about how he got interested in clinical psychology, what it’s been like sharing his personal mental health stories with the public, and how he embraces his identity as a geek in his work. Ali also talked to us about what The Simpsons character, Apu, meant to him growing up and about media representation. We concluded with discussion of Ali’s future projects. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode – we had a lot of fun recording it!

Check out more of Dr. Ali Mattu’s work at his website: http://alimattu.com/ and on Twitter: @AliMattu.

Thank you for listening! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, & Patreon!

Jedi Counsel Podcast 101 – Science and Fiction with Dr. Aaron Hanlon Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

Dr. Aaron Hanlon is an Assistant Professor of English at Colby College and a visiting scholar in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He is a literary historian with expertise in the Enlightenment, 18^th century literature, epistemology and the organization of knowledge, and fictionality. He also writes articles on a variety of topics for national media outlets. We talked to Aaron about philosophy of science (including Popper’s The Logic of Scientific Discovery), misconceptions about English professors and humanities disciplines, and his research on the ways that fiction and science influence each other.

You can learn more about Aaron and his work by going to his website: http://www.aaronrhanlon.com/ or by following him on Twitter: @AaronRHanlon.

Thank you for listening! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, & Patreon!

Jedi Counsel Podcast 100 – Frasier Crane Day Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

It’s our 100^th episode of the Jedi Counsel Podcast! We are grateful for all of our listeners, readers, and other people who we have connected with through Jedi Counsel! Frasier Crane celebrated 1000 radio episodes with Frasier Crane Day, so we decided to celebrate 100 podcast episodes with Frasier Crane Day as well. We talked about the difference between psychology and psychiatry, the ethical issues faced in Frasier, our favorite episodes/moments, and the mental health of the main characters. Thank you so much for listening!

In this episode, we talked about Daphne & Marris showing symptoms of eating disorders. For more information about eating disorders and their treatment, please see the Academy for Eating Disorders website. We also discussed potential obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms in Niles. Please see the International OCD Foundation for more information about OCD. Finally, Frasier showed signs of depression, which you can learn more about here.

You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, & Patreon!

Jedi Counsel Podcast 99 – Podcasting, Mental Health, & Humor with Aryeh Cohen-Wade Jul 20, 2018

Show notes

We spoke to Aryeh Cohen-Wade, who is the executive editor of bloggingheads.tv and meaningoflife.tv, the host of the podcast Culturally Determined, an excellent writer, and a funny tweeter. First, he provided us with some background on bloggingheads.tv and walked us through his podcasting process. Culturally Determined includes discussions of a broad range of controversial and interesting topics (e.g., cultural appropriation, the Rick & Morty fandom, body positivity) with diverse guests (e.g., David Litt, Osita Nwanevu, Natalie Wynn of ContraPoints). Next, we discussed a particularly powerful Culturally Determined episode on long-term antidepressant use with Danielle Tcholokian. Aryeh told us what it was like to share some of his own experiences with depression on that episode. We concluded with a discussion about mental health and humor, and Aryeh recommended listening to The Hilarious World of Depression.

Check out more of Aryeh’s work and writing at his website: https://aryehcw.wordpress.com/ and on Twitter: @AryehCW.

Thank you for listening! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, & Patreon!

Jedi Counsel Podcast 98 – Ask Us Anything Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

In this episode, we responded to super-interesting questions that we received through Twitter and e-mail from you all! We opened up by responding to a letter that The Black Goat podcast received (you should totally check out their excellent podcast about psychological science: http://www.theblackgoatpodcast.com/!). The questions ranged from whether it is appropriate to have a podcast if you’re a clinical psychology graduate student to the psychology behind Harry Potter being willing to self-sacrifice to defeat Voldemort. We hope you enjoy this very informal discussion, and please feel free to send us questions and thoughts any time on Twitter (@Jedi_Counsel) or e-mail: jedicounselblog@gmail.com,. Thanks for listening!

Jedi Counsel Podcast 97 – Reunite Families who were Separated at the Border Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

We are completely opposed to children being separated from their parents after crossing the border into the United States. The purpose of this episode is to 1) suggest resources with research and information on the long-lasting, damaging effects of parent-child separation and 2) suggest actions that you can take to fight this abhorrent policy. While an executive order may have ended the practice of separation, it’s still vitally important that families who have already been separated get reunited. We also discussed some of our suggestions for balancing your mental health needs in the face of this news. For more detailed information, please check out our blog post: https://jedi-counsel.com/2018/06/20/stop-the-separation-of-families-at-the-border/.

Jedi Counsel Podcast 96 – Superhero Therapy with Dr. Janina Scarlet Jun 15, 2018

Show notes

We were profoundly moved after hearing about Dr. Janina Scarlet’s life story and her contributions to the mental health world. Dr. Scarlet was born in Ukraine and experienced radiation poisoning as a toddler due to the Chernobyl disaster. Then, she and her family experienced dangerous anti-Semitic threats until they were eventually granted refugee status. Once in the United States, Dr. Scarlet was targeted by bullies and experienced mental health struggles. Her connections to superhero stories helped her to cope and feel empowered in the face of hardships. Dr. Scarlet went on to become a psychologist and now she is helping others through Superhero Therapy, which places evidence-based mental health intervention techniques (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy) in the context of popular culture and relatable stories. She now travels the world training mental health professionals and connecting with people about their experiences. We hope you enjoy this episode! It was an honor for us to interview Dr. Scarlet. You can check out all of her wonderful work at http://www.superhero-therapy.com/.

Jedi Counsel Podcast 95 – Suicide in the News Jun 09, 2018

Show notes

Hello, wonderful listeners. There was a lot of heartbreaking suicide-related news this week. We tragically lost Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain to suicide, and the CDC released a report showing that suicide rates have increased in the United States. This brief episode is about tending to your mental health needs, helping someone if they have suicidal thoughts, and pointing out some misconceptions about suicide. We hope for a future with the resources needed to effectively prevent suicide.

For additional information, please visit:

American Association of Suicidology

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Trans Lifeline

The Trevor Project

Veterans Crisis Line

Effective Child Therapy

Research-Supported Psychological Treatments

If you have any questions for us, please contact us on Twitter or e-mail us at jedicounselblog@gmail.com. Thank you for listening!