The Therapist Thrival Guide

Latest Episodes:

38. How to Cope When You Lose a Client or Supervisee to Suicide Sep 06, 2023

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September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and we are highlighting this important topic throughout the podcast this month. As we work together to de-stigmatize the societal beliefs around therapy and increase access to outpatient care, we recognize there's a LOT we can do to bring this often taboo topic into a new light while raising awareness about suicide as a public health concern, educating about prevention, and by supporting the healing of those affected by suicide.This week Keith Myers, LPC joins the podcast to discuss his personal experience with losing therapy clients and a clinical supervisee to suicide. He provides advice for how he coped with these losses and offers support to therapists that might be going through similar experiences.Keith Myers has worked in clinical mental health for almost 20 years. He received his PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision at Mercer University and his Master’s in Community Counseling at Southeast Missouri State University. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Approved Clinical Supervisor. Much of his clinical practice and research is about traumatic stress and military issues and resulted in his first book, Counseling Veterans: A Practical Guide (2021). He works with couples, survivors of interpersonal violence, and trauma therapists who are experiencing secondary trauma. He is an adjunct professor with both Walden University and Richmont Graduate University.OUR HOSTS:

Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW, has been practicing as a therapist for several years. She previously worked as a child protection investigator, adoption social worker, case manager, and the Director of Brand Content at Ellie Mental Health. Follow her on⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LinkedIn.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dr. Lucas Volini, LMFT, has been practicing as a marriage and family therapist for over ten years. He has worked as a couple's therapist, a graduate and undergraduate professor, researcher, author, and the Senior Director of Innovation at Ellie Mental Health...But he mostly sees himself as a professional recreational golfer.

The Therapist Thrival Guide is a podcast by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ellie Mental Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We want to move therapists beyond surviving and into the realm of thriving by covering all the things that graduate school didn't teach you! This mental health podcast is hosted by Miranda Barker, LICSW and a rotating cast of seasoned therapists. Each episode features a therapist speaking to their areas of expertise to help us learn how to thrive as therapists.⁠⁠

Ellie is a national mental health brand organized around community-based outpatient mental health clinics. It all began with a single office in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2015, and has expanded to an explosive number of locations across the country.

37. Sand Tray Therapy with Kids and Adults Aug 30, 2023

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We are continuing our children's mental health series this week by discussing sand tray therapy! We are joined by Neal Petersen, LPCC, RPT and Jenni Kahmeyer, MA, LPCC. Neal is a registered play therapist and his main therapeutic interests include play therapy, sand tray, and using tabletop games in therapy. Jenni is one of the Clinical Operations Director at Ellie, and she enjoys using the sand tray with adult clients and clinical supervisees.OUR HOST:

36. Principles of Building Attachment Aug 23, 2023

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We are continuing our children's mental health series this week by discussing attachment-building strategies for therapists and parents! Sara Feld, LGSW joins our episode this week to discuss this topic and why attachment is important. Sara Feld is a licensed graduate social worker with years of experience working with children and families at a school based outpatient mental health clinic. Sara has experience using play-based and relational therapies to help children and families who are struggling with a variety of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and trauma. Sara’s area of specialty is attachment-based therapies. She believes that rebuilding strong connections and healthy attachment bonds between caregivers and children is crucial to the well-being of all family members.

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35. Working with Teenagers Aug 16, 2023

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Sara Livingston-Burke, LPCC and Emily Weidenbacher, BA, MA join the podcast today to talk all about building rapport with teenagers, issues that teens face, and how to do the best therapeutic work with this population.

Emily graduated with her Master’s in counseling and is working towards being independently licensed with her (LPCC). Emily has previous experience working in local day treatments, school settings across metro districts, and college campuses. Emily has been in the mental health field since 2012, and she specializes in seeing children and teens, and also has a niche for working with maternal mental health.

Sara spent several years working in domestic violence shelters, and then teaching clients skills-based work through the ARMHS and In-Home Therapy program as well as helping her clients discover their best selves through a client-centered approach in a therapeutic setting. Sara practices as an Adlerian therapist with CBT techniques. Sara also works with individuals in the ARMHS program by teaching coping skills, daily routines/activities, medication management, and healthy living activities.

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34. Using Play Therapy with Kids Aug 08, 2023

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We are BACK with a whole new season and all-new content! This month we are focusing on children's mental health and bringing on therapists that specialize in working with kids. Today we are discussing play therapy methods, modalities, tools, and interventions. We are joined by Neal Petersen, LPCC, RPT. Neal is a registered play therapist and his main therapeutic interests include play therapy, sand tray, and using tabletop games in therapy.OUR HOSTS:

33. Talking About Culture in Therapy (Rerun for BIPOC Mental Health Month) Jul 11, 2023

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It's BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month, so we are re-sharing one of our favorite episodes!

How much did graduate school *actually* teach you about culture and how to talk about culture in our sessions? We are joined again by Xoel Gonzalez, LPCC to discuss this important topic, why this is hard to talk about, self-disclosure, and how to approach culture and religion in therapy sessions with clients.

- Watch the video episode ⁠here⁠.

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32. Using To Treat Kids' Mental Health Issues - Interview with Mightier Jun 28, 2023

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Earlier this season we discussed how technology can be used in therapy and as an intervention for kids struggling with ADHD, ASD, or anger. As a continuation of that episode, Miranda had a conversation with Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, Associate Clinical Director at Mightier to discuss how this technology was developed and exactly how this works!- Link to episode about Technology in Therapy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pb8zhO4c0Bc&t=253s - Link to Mightier: https://www.mightier.com/?gclid=Cj0KC...OUR HOSTS:

31. Therapy Modalities: Somatic Experiencing Jun 21, 2023

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We have had numerous listeners ask that we begin covering more therapy modalities in depth, so we are starting off with a trauma therapy called Somatic Experiencing (SE)!

Tracy Blad, LMFT is a certified SE practitioner and she joins this episode to share all about this modality, what it's helpful for, what the research shows, and how to get trained in this practice.

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30. We Don't Treat Autism Spectrum Disorder Jun 14, 2023

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We want to be clear -- as therapists we don't seek to treat the ASD as much as we treat the SYMPTOMS of neurodivergence that create DISTRESS for the kids. In this episode kid therapist Kelly Pieper, LICSW and child psychiatrist Dr. Claire Garber are discussing symptoms of ASD in kids, therapeutic treatments for distressing symptoms, and common medications prescribed for this population. We also talk about how therapists and prescribers can work together to serve clients, professionals can best support family members of clients, and tips for how families can be supporting their autistic loved ones.Please note that you might be used to hearing about “person-first language,” which is typically the best practice when referring to others. (For example, this means saying “person with epilepsy” instead of “epileptic person.”) However, some of our autism experts and therapists discussed that “identity-first” language is typically what autistic folks prefer. You'll hear us using both in this episode.According to Raising Children, “Many autistic people and autism experts and advocates prefer identity-first language because it indicates that being autistic is an inherent part of a person’s identity, not an addition to it.” Sources: https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/learning-about-autism/about-autism/autism-language-on-raisingchildren.net.au "How To Support Your Autistic Loved One" blog: https://elliementalhealth.com/how-to-support-your-autistic-loved-one/OUR HOSTS:

29. Working with Court-Involved Families with Deb Link, LMFT Jun 07, 2023

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Deb Link, LMFT is back to talk about working with couples and families that are in high conflict divorces or navigating the family court system. She dives into attachment work, parent alienation, and reunification therapy. Deb is a licensed marriage and family therapist and professional clinical counselor specializing in high-conflict family therapy and reunification therapy. She is also a mediator, early neutral evaluator, parenting coach, parenting consultant, and custody evaluator. She works most often with parents to help them better the lives of their children through a safe a cooperative co-parenting relationship. She is THE expert when it comes to working with these families! OUR HOSTS:

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