8. Petting a Cat Backwards and Asking Leading Questions (ft. Bobbie Melton, LPC)

This week Jazmin learned how to let go of a little bit of her imposter syndrome and have confidence in claiming her own skills and expertise. Jazmin and Karen discuss navigating the common belief/myth that more time or longer experience always equals better counseling performance or outcomes. Today we’re talking with Bobbie Melton. She’s a Licensed Professional Counselor who specializes in treating eating disorders. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Texas A&M University - College Station and a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Texas A&M University - Central Texas.She currently works in solo private practice and before that she worked at an eating disorder hospital in various roles and at all levels of care. She often describes her clinical work as helping people trust their body again. With Bobbie we talk a lot about what it’s like to work in a private practice setting with people struggling with eating disorders and how that’s different from working in an in-patient setting with this population. She talks about the necessity of building a team of other professionals and networking to find good fits, as well as the importance of finding a balance in the specific types of counseling work one does. Bobbie shares with us how she often experiences her therapy work as more like a negotiation than a willing collaboration with clients, and how she wishes she had learned earlier that there are more effective ways to work with individuals who are not really ready to consider making any changes. We discuss with Bobbie some specific tools that she has found to be helpful for her in her practice working with a lot of “ego syntonic” (new word!) diagnoses/behaviors/attitudes. Tune in to learn more! Resources mentioned: Never Split the Difference by Christ VossForrest Gump (1994)Circle M Counseling, https://circlemcounseling.com/ (subscribe for Sunday Soothies!)Thank you for listening! To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.Follow us on social media: Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ Thoughts? Questions? Email us at [email protected] (And, if you’re reaching out to recommend a guest, please write “Guest Suggestions” in the subject line.)Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole.