S* Your Therapist Reads

State of Affairs

 
In this episode, we tackle Esther Perel's State of Affairs. We discuss the causes and treatment of infidelity, compare sex and love here and in other countries, and debate the merits of couples therapists' "no secrets policy" Take a listen and let us know what you think! 

Polysecure

Valentine's Day is approaching, and being couples therapists, we decided to kick off the month by discussing Polysecure. We talk about what it takes to make ethical non-monogamy work (and how monogamists could learn a lot from their ENM peers); we debate the use of the term co-dependent; and Erica makes the case for gatekeeping the mental health profession. 

Season 2: More

In our first episode of the new year, we discuss More: A Memoir of Open Marriage. We talk about how open marriage is...not quite what folks think it is, and the challenges of being a mom while being a whole person. 

The Art of Money

In our final episode of the year, we're joined by friend of the pod, Jillian Knight, to talk about the Art of Money. We discuss the new-ish field of financial therapy, how different cultures talk (or don't talk) about money, and how your finances do actually care about your feelings.

What it Takes to Heal

In this episode, we are thankful to have friend of the pod, Meagan Chevalier, MS, LMFT to talk about Prentis Hemphill's book, What it Takes to Heal. Not that we're biased or anything but Meagan is like, the therapist we all want to be our therapist??? In our conversation, we discuss when therapy meets the body (somatic therapy), getting comfortable with being afraid, and how therapy can play an important role in community and activist spaces. 

Motherhood

For this spooky edition of the podcast, we're discussing motherhood (I mean, really, what could be scarier?)
We discuss 3 books about being a mom in our time: the Mamas by Helena Andrews-Dyer, the School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan, and Screaming on the Inside by Jessica Grose. We talk about how the role of motherhood has shifted over time, the impossible and contradictory standards mothers are held to, and mothering as a woman of color. 
Check out the episode and let us know what you think in the comments! 

How Do You Feel?

We are so excited to have our first guest author on the podcast! Dr. Jessi Gold joined us to talk about her new book, How Do You Feel, that just came out this month. We discuss core themes from her book including burnout, being a mental health professional navigating your own mental health, and the unreasonable demands made of those who work in the medical and mental health fields. 

Bad Therapy

Oh boy. So in this week's episode, we tackle the book Bad Therapy, and discuss what this book claims is bad therapy, what we wish it actually addressed about the failures of mental health treatment, and make a case for why telling kids to just "man up" is not the move.
You know, in each episode of our podcast we talk about who a book is for, and for this particular book our answer is...no one. 

Borderline

We are unfortunately without our fearless friend Christina in this episode  but May and I hold down the fort. We discuss the recently published book, Borderline, and talk about the common (mis-)understandings of this disorder in our field and in popular culture, including its reputation for being 'untreatable.' Finally, May and I debate the role and value of diagnosis and discuss its origins in the psychoanalytic tradition. 

Minor Feelings

In this episode we discuss Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning, and talk about the complexities of Asian American identity, having vulnerable conversations about race, and getting comfortable with the uncomfortable.