Episode 23: What the Heck is Therapy Anyway? Breaking the Silence Surrounding Therapy

Hannah and Alexa discuss lots of things related to therapy including how to find a therapist, how therapists are trained and credentialed, and what happens in therapy.

Hannah updates listeners about her stolen car. Alexa shares about her upcoming graduation from her Master's program. She reflects about what she's learned in her graduate program and how it's prepared her to become a therapist.

Hannah educates listeners about the various educational paths people take to become therapists. She explains the licensing and credentialing process, and describes the process for becoming independently licensed as a mental health provider. Alexa describes the transition from student to provisional licensure to full licensure.

Hannah shares her own journey to becoming a therapist and about some of her early experiences as a social worker helping people with severe and persistent mental illness.

They discuss the medical model of mental healthcare, which has developed over time, in part due to a parity act mandating health care insurers and providers to treat physical and mental health similarly. Hannah discusses how this has led to the creation of a system that pathologizes mental illness and encourages treatment providers to focus on diagnosis, labeling, brief and limited treatment, disability, and a goal of stabilizing and discharging patients.

Hannah shares that more recently, many people have sought out a different model of therapy. She describes that increasing numbers of people come to therapy voluntarily, not because something is "wrong" with them, but because they want to optimize their lives, to grow and to improve their lives, investigating patterns and areas of their lives that are lacking or seem limited.

Alexa mentions something she heard on another podcast about soul work and how public opinion and awareness has changed over time and has led to increasing numbers of people wanting to do deeper "soul" work. 

Hannah educates listeners about the Hierarchy of Needs, a theory and model developed in 1943 by psychologist Abraham Maslow. She discusses the levels of the model and the importance of accepting that people have differing goals and needs, and that it's completely okay for people to occupy various levels and to be okay staying at a level. She also describes the impact of the country's relatively stable and secure economic and political situation in this country, combined with increased access to resources and information, which seems to be allowing people greater mobility on this ladder of needs.

Hannah and Alexa discuss recent research that has shown that membership in churches and other formal religious organizations has declined in recent years. They discuss concerns regarding a decrease in the level of community involvement and support provided by faith communities as membership decreases. 

They discuss how these increased opportunities, improved and stable economic conditions, and greater mobility and technology have led to people having many more varied and rich opportunities for relationships and education and occupations and experiences, but this doesn't necessarily correlate to increased happiness or satisfaction. 

Hannah and Alexa discuss the therapy process and what typically happens in therapy sessions. They discuss reasons why people come to therapy, how people typically find and begin the process of therapy, how to identify goals for therapy, and possible outcomes of therapy.

They discuss the "Magic Wand' question and how people can discover what they are looking to gain from therapy. They talk about ways therapists help clients identify what they want to change in their lives.

Hannah and Alexa educate listeners about various types and modalities of therapy including CBT, DBT, EMDR, bibliotherapy, walking therapy, yoga therapy, virtual therapy, individual, couples and group therapy.

They discuss what happens in therapy sessions. The typical structure and what to expect.

The process of finding a therapist is discussed. Hannah and Alexa share important qualities to seek in a therapist. They talk about various ways to find therapists and how to decide who to see. They also share about some of the different ways therapists practice.

Hannah talks about evidence-based treatment--what that means, how it came about, how evidence is demonstrated, how insurance companies authorize treatment, and how this model doesn't allow for some therapists and types of therapy to be covered.

Hannah talks about her decision to not participate with any health insurance company or system. She talks about the freedom of practicing and of seeking therapy outside of the traditional medical model of mental health care and the benefits of seeking therapy and not using health insurance benefits.

Resources:

Hannah and Alexa both practice at Omaha Psychotherapy

omahapsychotherapy.com

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