Latest Episode:
Episode 62 - Overcoming Systemic Transphobia in Mental Health (with Rachel Bennett and Dr. David Nylund)
Rachel Bennett shares her experience navigating the historically misguided gatekeeping requirements for gender reassignment surgery. She discusses how therapists can better advocate for trans-affirmative care, and we speak with Dr. David Nylund to explore a paradigm that challenges the oppressive notion that transitioning is a psychiatric issue. Plus, how can feedback-informed treatment be used as a tool of social justice?
Episode 41 - Less Advice, More Transparency
This week’s story from Farah touches on many common themes of bad therapy: disempowerment, unsolicited advice, misrepresenting qualifications, and more. We explore how early-career therapists can be transparent about their lack of experience while still creating client buy-in, what research suggests about giving advice to clients, and the importance of feedback. Plus, Carrie reflects on the gender power dynamic on this podcast and between male therapists and female or non-binary clients. Stay tuned afterward for a teaser of the most recent VBT Patreon episode!
Episode 35 - What is Pastoral Counseling? (with The Reverend Meredith Harber)
The exploitation of uneven power and emotional vulnerability is, of course, not limited to the field of psychotherapy. Today’s guest Megan shares her experience of very bad pastoral counseling, and we speak with the Reverend Meredith Harber to explore the nuances of Megan’s story and what proper pastoral care looks like with a contemporary understanding of power dynamics, boundaries, and gender norms.
Episode 14 - Women Don't Want to Work
In 2019, there somehow exists at least one psychotherapist who feels that it is helpful to tell a female client that her entire gender is biologically predisposed to prefer domestic life to a professional career. We cringe-laugh our way through an engaging interview with Aviva before diving into the research on societal biases, gender norms, and gender matching in the therapeutic relationship. Climate change is real.