44. Who Sets the Agenda in a Therapy Session?

In the first question, a listener gets really nervous around her therapist and wonders if it's even worth it. Our second question (at the 16:40 minute mark) is from someone who wonders why her therapist isn't talking about the diagnosis on her invoice. We take a few tangents including: the perils of overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis; the limitations of our diagnostic system; the over-identification with labels. It has a slight soapbox vibe but it's not too bad. In the third question (at 32 minutes), a listener has noticed that we talk about our therapies in very different ways and wonders what makes a good therapy relationship. David finally discloses more about his experience. You'll hear feedback from episode 28 at 14:30. Go Team Sarah. If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) on our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also message us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists.

8 Mars 202342min

In the first question a listener is struggling with her boyfriend's need to crowdsource information before making any decisions--from sharing personal details of their relationship with his family to checking Reddit to find the best pasta sauce.  We start by discussing the lack of boundaries in the family. At 09:45 we start offering some advice on how to navigate the dilemma (it gets better the more you listen). At 14:19 we pivot to the demand that everything is rated on a 5 star scale. By 16:43 we move on to the work of psychologist Barry Schwartz and his popular book The Paradox of Choice. We discuss optimizers and satisficers as a way to try to understand the boyfriend.  The second question (at 25 minutes) is from someone trying to understand an idea he came across: that a patient must first view their therapist in a positive light but eventually must learn to hate them.  We try to unpack this lazy quotation using Dr. Mahler's theories on separation and individuation. The listener wonders about his own therapy which we discuss starting at 33:16 and at 36:47 Abby discusses her own "rageful hate" towards her therapist and how powerful it was to resolve it.   Feedback from the last episode is at 24:04  If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) on our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also message us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists. Barry Schwartz's TED talk about his book The Paradox of Choice: https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_the_paradox_of_choice

22 Feb 202337min

This episode is all about interpretations. We have questions from both sides of the therapy room. The first question comes from a listener who is a therapist. She wonders how to recover from the sting when an interpretation she makes doesn't land well. The second question (18 minute mark) is from someone in therapy with a similar problem: how does she move forward when she isn't in agreement with her psychiatrist's observations. If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) on our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also interact with us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists. The full quotation mentioned in the episode: "I am human, I think nothing human is alien to me" --Publius Terentius Afer (Terence)

1 Feb 202334min

A listener finds security in her therapist's office and wonders about the thought that goes into the decor of an office.  Our second question (starting at the 16 minute mark) comes from someone longing for her therapist and is curious where this comes from and why she monitors his physical appearance and body language so closely.  Finally (at minute 24), a mother plans to stop her kids from playing football but is concerned about the emotional and social fallout in her Texas community.  There's also feedback on episode 25 and a brief discussion of psychiatrist Dr. Valerie Kinbott from Netflix's Wednesday.  If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) on our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also interact with us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists.   American Academy of Pediatrics position paper on tackling in youth football: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/136/5/e1419/33807/Tackling-in-Youth-Football?autologincheck=redirected JAMA article mentioned in this episode about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2645104

18 Jan 202351min

Our listener in part 1 is worried because his therapist doesn't think he's trying hard enough to get better and he's afraid his treatment will end as a result.  In part 2 (around 19 minutes) a listener says the antidepressant drug he is taking has helped but he struggles with accepting this newfound state as himself--that he's "under the influence." If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) on our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also interact with us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists.

4 Jan 202335min

To celebrate our first birthday, listeners ask us about the show. Among other things, we discuss our motivation for doing a podcast, what we've learned, and the experience of having patients listen to the show.  It's self-indulgent; it's filled with neuroticism. It's like having family over for the holidays. So come and celebrate with us.  There's also feedback from episode 5 and a final question related to the previous episode about Stutz.  If you have questions or feedback please send a message (audio message or email) on our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also interact with us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists

14 Dec 202259min

In this episode we have a listener who has a question about terminating a long-term therapy. They ask, "How do you know when you're done?" We then discuss the new Jonah Hill documentary _ Stutts _ in which Jonah profiles his psychiatrist and his approach to psychotherapy. (The Stutz discussion starts at 25:58). If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) at our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also interact with us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists.

30 Nov 202255min

What can we learn about therapy from the FX original show _The Patient_ (streaming on Hulu)? We talk about internalizing your therapist, feeling held hostage (figuratively) by a patient and taking care of people where it may be hard to mobilize empathy. We discuss some of the therapeutic interventions in the show and try to keep our quibbling about the plot to a minimum.  If you have questions or feedback please send a message (voicemail or email) at our website: https://www.callthepsychiatrists.com You can also interact with us on Facebook or Instagram @callthepsychiatrists.

9 Nov 202227min