Beyond Therapy Podcast

Comics and Mental Health

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In this episode, our panel will include professionals and avid comic fans Felix Morton, IV, Wesley Wade, and Anna Hayes. We'll discuss issues related to identity, portrayals of mental illness, and the personal impact comics have had on our guests.
 
Learning Objectives
Explore the role of comics and art in representation of cultural and racial identity
Identify personal connection points between comics and identity
Explore how comic hero arcs map onto specific underrepresented groups
Question the complex relationship between art and oppression
Learn more about our guests here.

Managing Inappropriate Client Behaviors

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Almost all of us have had to navigate uncomfortable situations in which clients crossed boundaries or engaged in behaviors that made us feel uncomfortable or outright victimized. Today’s episode will explore dealing with inappropriate client behaviors. We’ll discuss personal examples and talk with Licensed Psychological Associate Amber Margareten about setting boundaries and seeking support in her work with clients in prison, inpatient, and memory care settings. We’ll also hear from a physician’s assistant working in an outpatient clinic about her experience dealing with sexual behavior and stalking by clients.
 
Learning Objectives
Identify examples of inappropriate sexual behavior that counselors may experience in their work with clients
Understand the potential impact of inappropriate sexual behavior on the counselor and counseling relationship
Identify specific strategies for addressing inappropriate sexual behavior
Explore potential supervisory and policy-based approaches to providing more scaffolding and support for counselors in advance of and in response to inappropriate client behaviors.
Meet our guest
Amber Margaretten is a licensed psychological associate and is licensed to practice psychology in North Carolina. She went to Appalachian State University and North Carolina State University for her undergraduate degree in psychology and obtained her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from North Carolina Central University. Amber has been in the mental health field for about nine years. Much of her work as apsychologist was in various prisons performing individual therapy, group therapy, and psychological assessments where she worked with all custody levels from minimum custody to death row. She supervised all mental health services and mental health staff at her last facility and developed their treatment program.
Other areas of experience include geriatrics, chronic pain, psychoeducational evaluations, working in group home settings, providing critical incident care to first responders, and providing affirming care to diverse populations. Currently, she is the owner and sole provider at Worry Free Psychology, PLLC, a company primarily focused on conducting psychological evaluations.

Therapy Speak On Trial

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In this episode, Dr. Aisha Al-Qimlass and I will debate the risks and benefits of therapy speak and social media phenomena that relate to mental health. We’ll explore a specific example of therapy speak being used to break up with a friend and discuss the role of social media in stigma, service access, and mental health awareness.
Learning objectives:
Define therapy speak in social media contexts
Identify research findings related to the impact of social media in a variety of populations stratified by ethnicity, SES, and age. 
Explore specific ethical principles including non-malfeasance, justice, and beneficence that are implicated in the relationship between social media and counseling
Identify strategies for counselors to integrate the realities of social media into work with clients.

Tarot in Counseling : History and Potential Applications

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Summary
In this episode, I'll be talking with therapist and author Dreya Blume about her experience integrating Tarot into her work with clients. We'll explore a brief history of tarot, significant social aspects of the practice, and adaptations that make tarot useful for client introspection and self awareness.
Learning Objectives
Understand historical development of tarot in social contexts
Explore Jungian archetypal images represented in traditional tarot
Understand the transition of tarot's use as a supernatural tool to a projective psychological tool.
Identify strategies for incorporating tarot into counseling work including ethical issues around informed consent.
Meet our guest
Dreya Blume, LCSW been a licensed clinical social worker for almost twenty years, the same amount of time she's been working with tarot cards. She's always been interested in how therapists can integrate tarot cards into their sessions, and has written several books on the topic.

Let’s Get Critical: Harry, Meghan, and Mental Health

It's the season finale! What a fun journey this has been with you all. We will be back in July with Season 2, which will include
Using tarot in counseling
Supervising neurodivergent counselors
Helping clients develop intuition post trauma, and MORE!
In the meantime, our CE membership program launches April 1st for more information, head over to https://beyondtherapy.thinkific.com
Summary
The "Let's Get Critical" series explores current social and cultural movements, moments, and events from a counseling perspective.  In this episode, Dr. Aisha Al-Qimlass discusses how public fascination with Prince Harry and Meghan Markel impact perceptions of family estrangement and mental health stigma.
Learning Objectives
Identify types of family estrangement - precipitating factors, relational types, and common beliefs
Understand the role of gender on social perceptions of family estrangement
Identify difference between speculation and confessional phases of celebrity mental health disclosure
Explore ways to mitigate socially conditioned expectations around mental illness and treatment in counseling and counselor education.
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Social Media Marketing for Counselors: Ethics Barriers, and Resources

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Summary
Self promotion can feel outside of our scope as counselors. In today's episode, we'll talk with social media specialist, Devon Brown, about her work helping BIPOC therapists overcome internal and external barriers to marketing their practices and products.
Learning Objectives
Identify potential uses for developing a social media presence as a counselor
Identify ACA ethical codes that address social media use in the field and their application to self-promotion
Explore values-based ways to approach marketing as a counselor
Identify specific strategies for promoting your practice or other income streams with attention to time, financial, and emotional resourcing.
Meet Our Guest
Devon Brown is the owner of Let’s Write Your Future and is dedicated to helping successful mental health professionals become industry thought leaders using social media. Much of her expertise was cultivated when she worked as a travel influencer and a writer, having written for Time Out New York and National Geographic Traveler.
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Decolonizing Grief Work: Indigenous and Ancestral Healing Practices in Counseling

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Summary
Today's episode looks at decolonizing counseling practice and narratives of grief that are central to this work. Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Shaniqua Ford shares her unique approach to incorporating indigenous wisdom practices into work related to transitions, grief, and identity.
Learning Objectives
Define the difference between decolonizing and deconstructing as it relates to counseling
Identify strategies for incorporating social determinants of health into support frameworks
Illustrate the role of community and connection in indigenous and ancestral grief processes 
Identify community and family challenges associated with attaining higher education through predominantly white institutions and systems
Explore the connection between capitalism, ambiguous grief and self worth.
Meet our guest
Shaniqua Ford, LCSW is a group practice owner in the state of Illinois. She earned her MSW from the University of Chicago. Shaniqua has over 10 years of experience holding space for folx within ministry and professional training through transition, loss and grief. As a spiritualist and therapist she helps folx utilize their faith traditions to cultivate healthy healing rituals to navigate both physical and ambiguous grief.
 
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Counseling Male-Identified Survivors of Sex Trafficking

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In this episode, I'll be talking with Anna Smith, MSW, LCSWA, RYT500 about her experience working with and advocating for male sex trafficking survivors.
Learning objectives
Define trafficking and its impact on counseling clients
Identify critical changes that have come about through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and how these changes affect mental health service seeking and provision.
Understand the role of white feminism as a barrier to mental health care for male-identified survivors
Identify strategies for assessing for trafficking history in outpatient therapy settings
Examine vulnerability factors for individuals who are trafficked to improve counselor awareness of risk in counseling settings.
Meet our guest
Anna Smith, MSW, LCSWA, RYT500 has spent nearly 10 years working in therapeutic services, focusing on developing an understanding of the mind-body connection and best approaches for clinical interventions. Prior to coming to clinical work, she collaborated with trauma experts to develop innovative approaches to care for boys and men who’ve exited the life of sex trafficking. As a result of her findings she co-produced a full length documentary film on the issue. Anna is also an adjunct faculty at Metropolitan State Denver, School of Social Work and UNC- Chapel Hill School of Social Work.
As an anti-trafficking advocate, Anna enjoys using her knowledge and personal experience to strengthen and stand in freedom with others through speaking, writing, teaching, and consulting. Journeying through her own recovery process, she understands that healing is a painful yet beautiful path we must take to receive freedom. Anna believes healing is possible for everyone, no matter age, gender, or situation - it is possible.
 
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Counseling Caregivers from Culturally Diverse Backgrounds

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In this episode, I'll be talking with Dr. Marie Huggins about the unique challenges facing caregivers from diverse cultural backgrounds, with an emphasis on working with caregivers of color. We'll look at systemic factors that impact the wellness of caregivers, and learn strategies for connecting and providing effective support. 
Learning objectives
Define caregiving
Identify cultural narratives that impact the experience of caregiving
Understand the importance of taking an ecological over individual stance in the counseling relationship
Identify strategies for assessing caregiver needs in a counseling setting
Examine systemic factors that impact stress and wellness of caregivers of color, and ways to address these in the counseling relationship.
Meet our guest
Dr. Marie Huggins, PhD, NCC, LCMHCA (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate in North Carolina and holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; as well as M.Ed. in Counselor Education and Supervision with a concentration in College Counseling and Student Development in Higher Education and a BA in Applied Psychology and Africana Studies Minor from North Carolina State University. She also holds the credentials of National Certified Counselor and a Global Career Development Facilitator. She currently works as an counselor at Duke University. Dr. Huggins has provided counseling to various culturally diverse adults who have been caregivers and also been a primary caregiver for her immediate and extended family members. 
 
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Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders - Medical and Social Perspectives

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In this episode, I'll be talking with Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Michelle Helms about working with folks experiencing Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADS). We'll explore the impact of stigma, culture, and social messaging about motherhood on the course of this family of disorders. We'll also discuss the nuances of treating these conditions based on fetal development, parent choice, and resourcing.
Learning objectives
Define PMADS diagnostic features in a counseling context
Identify vulnerability factors that contribute to the development of PMADS that may be assessed in a counseling setting.
Understand the role of culture, systemic inequities, and socialization in how clients seek mental health and/or medical treatment  for PMADS
Identify resources for ongoing support for clients with PMADS
Examine the role of exposure related to treated and un-treated PMADS for mom and baby as it may present in a counseling setting.
Meet our guest
Michelle Helms, PMHNP-BC, PMH-C has been a nurse for over 30 years.  She was a women's health nurse practitioner working in OB for almost 10 years prior to becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner.  She holds an additional certification for perinatal mental health through Postpartum support International.  She works as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner treating women's mood disorders across the lifespan with a specialty focus on women's mood disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
 
 
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