Beyond the Couch

Let’s be honest: most therapists weren’t trained well in sexual health. So what happens when clients bring it up? In this episode, Tim White and I explore discomfort, avoidance, and how to move toward more confident, ethical, and impactful conversations. Join us for part 2 in our sexual health series.

Our next episode starts a series on sexual health with Tim White. He specializes in sex therapy, relationship trauma therapy, sex addiction, and sexual health. We go through the 6 major principles of sexual health, and break them down so therapists can apply them to their own practices. As you'll see, Tim's knowledge and experience in working with sexual health is very impressive. At the same time, we try to make this conversation fun. We believe talking about sex shouldn't be awkward or embarrassing, and we approach this series from that stance. Whatever your beliefs and values are around sexual health, I'm sure there's something for everyone here. Enjoy!

If “treat everyone the same” worked, it would’ve worked by now. In this episode, Joyce Jacquote, Dr. Felicia Holloway, and I talk about what it really means to be equitable. From tests that favor one prototype, to what everyone needs, we give ideas on what equality really means any how we can get there. Our field is prime for approaching this area. Our convictions ought to extend beyond the couch of therapy and into the world of everyone's needs. Enjoy this episode.

Angela Hayes and I continue our DEIJ series with Luce O'Brigid. Luce has a deep philosophy of Inclusion that speaks to all people, heaven, and ourselves as therapists. The conviction in Luce's beliefs of inclusion are inspiring, contagious, and humbling. As people who work with people, this episode speaks directly to us. What an important area of DEIJ, our profession, and of what it means to be a people of inclusivity. Enjoy this episode!

What's the difference between being addicted sex or drugs? How do we even define addiction? How does addiction start in someone's life? Jeffrey, who specializes in sex therapy, helps us talk through these questions. He also leads us through gaming addiction, social media addiction, and the overarching philosophy behind being addicted. As therapists, this episode is broadly useful to our clients and to what people are living with in their addictions. Enjoy this talk with Jeffrey.

We continue our DEIJ series with Elliott Connie, who is helping us think through Justice. Elliot is a Solution-focused Brief Therapist, he goes all over the world training therapists, and he is also a lead thinker in DEIJ. He shares with us personal stories of how he’s encountered injustice, how he’s overcome those experiences, and how he has advocated for Justice. We also talk about why this is important to our field and how we, as licensed professionals, have the responsibility to advocate for Justice. Elliott is an amazing person to talk to, and we’re very lucky to have him support TAMFT. Enjoy this episode.

We're with Dr. Matt Brown, host of the Manspace podcast. He specializes in working with men's mental health in his practice, which is why we're talking about toxic masculinity in this episode. Dr. Brown and I go over our own definitions of toxic masculinity, the responsibility men hold with it, and why this is important to our lives. Toxic masculinity has the potential to leak into our everyday interactions, and Dr. Brown and I help make us aware of its impact. This is useful for clinicians, but it's also helpful for everyone who deals with harmful issues of masculinity. We dig deep into our psyche to think through what it means to be a masculine presence today.

We are launching series dedicated to DEIJ, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. Each episode in the series will focus on one of these aspects. In this episode, we talk to Brittney Tolar on Diversity. We discuss the overall definition of diversity, why it's important, who is a part of diversity, and potential cognitive blocks to believing in diversity. Angela Hayes co-hosts with me, who is also a member of our Ethics and Social Justice Committee. Brittney is a LCSW who specializes in addictions treatment. Her expertise also lies in issues of race equality and diversity. She is a passionate advocate for mental health and DEI. She is someone who is also very dear to TAMFT. Enjoy this series.

Lizee Love is a first year doctoral student at Virginia Tech University, and she just finished serving her term as President to the Texas Student Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to be a doctoral student in Blacksburg, Virginia, how her current research impacts supervisors and supervisees, and how the political climate can potentially effect future students. We also talk about what it’s like to blend research with clinical practice, and what that means for our professional journey. For all grad students, there is lots of good information for you in this episode. Enjoy!

In 2022, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy began a strategic plan to move towards license portability across all 50 states. The AAMFT Board of Directors initiated Access MFT to identify specific barriers to license portability and to work on overcoming them. Since then, AAMFT has worked with several states to give legislative attention to license probability. We are happy to announce that TAMFT has officially joined with AAMFT and their Access MFT campaign. In this episode, I talk to Amanda Darnley and Roger Smith of AAMFT to go over what portability is, how it benefits us, and what we can do to help the overall goal. If you're not familiar with Access MFT, here is the link to see what states are a part of the mission. https://networks.aamft.org/portability/home

Ilyse Kennedy is the owner of Moving Parts Psychotherapy in Austin, Texas. She holds multiple certifications, provides a lot of services to the Austin community through her practice, and she is an accomplished author. In this episode, we talk about IFS and parts work, trauma literature and what it's lacking, EMDR and how to be creative with it, the journey of healing, and self-care. If you're interested in what Ilyse is doing, see the links below. Enjoy this fun conversation.The Tender Parts: A Guide to Healing from Trauma through Internal Family Systems Therapyhttps://a.co/d/5w1yAtOMoving Parts Psychotherapyhttps://www.movingpartspsychotherapy.comSocialshttps://www.instagram.com/movingpartspsychotherapy/?hl=en

Austin AMFT and TAMFT have long shared the same mission: to support and provide opportunities to the MFT community. In this episode I talk to the Austin AMFT leadership to see how both organizations can make our missions a joint effort, and we strategize in how to provide the best care for our license. Enjoy this very productive conversation.

Taking the national licensing exam can be daunting. That's why Dr. Sara Salkil's student exam prep course is one of the best things you can do to prepare. In this episode, Dr. Salkil and I go over the mental and emotional prep for the national exam, the work going into it, and how to recover from it. We also talk about the importance of how to land in your own identity without the exam defining you. Enjoy this very helpful conversation.

In this episode, we talk to Ross Young with Clinical Notes AI. We discuss how AI can enhance our clinical practice, help us in the everyday minutia of documentation, and ultimately give us more time to be present. We also talk about the philosophical approach to being human in the world of AI. This is a way to help us be more human, and to enhance our clinical practice. Check out Clinical Notes AI here: https://www.clinicalnotes.ai/enterprise.html?utm_term=clinical%20notes%20ai&utm_campaign=Brand_Core_Exact&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=1271474644&hsa_cam=21016333903&hsa_grp=159620378158&hsa_ad=707408174760&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-2233820290740&hsa_kw=clinical%20notes%20ai&hsa_mt=e&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAqup-83UnrOJOd-q5OudEg9aMmAAl&gclid=CjwKCAiAxKy5BhBbEiwAYiW--84hS6lBCFRsfLyCMrr2MSvH7vnQyv8mYsTKBQQMIx7ktsnKQ3uBchoCcEkQAvD_BwE

Welcome to Beyond the Couch. We're excited to share TAMFT's latest platform for conversation, exploration, and ways to reach the MFT community. This is where we share ideas that will help our clinical work and help us think beyond that. We will talk to other organizations, dive into technology, and discuss important issues around our work. We love to see our community thrive, and this is the space to share it with you. So join us in the coming episodes for all things beyond the couch. Music by Charlie Jewell