Therapists on Your Couch

Curt and Katie talk about the nuance of treating therapists in therapy. We look at the unique dynamics in the therapeutic relationship as well as common traps to avoid.

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

In this episode we talk about:

The lack of research or guidance on how to treat therapists in therapy
How different are therapists as therapy clients
What it is like to have a therapist for a therapy client
What to assess for with therapists
The importance of looking at what the presenting problem is
The expectation that therapists would be different that other clients
The therapeutic alliance and dual relationship conversations
The dynamic of making assumptions about therapists as clients
The theme of competition between client and therapist
Therapists overidentifying with therapist clients and making inaccurate assumptions
A different type of presenting problem and length of treatment
Common coping strategies (i.e., rationalization, focusing on cognition, non-judgmental, disconnect from feelings) that need to be overcome more with therapist clients
Clarifying the role and rules in the room, so we can take off the armor
Avoiding the temptation of staying in intellect and insight
Pushing for some comparison to other clients – reassurance, validation, vulnerability, trying to please or take care of the therapist
The importance of the therapist holding the container, so the therapist-client can do their work
How to navigate the differences between being a therapist and a supervisor or a manager
How therapists are like other clients, but totally different

Resources mentioned:

We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links.

Therapy Reimagined 2020 Call for Speakers

Relevant Episodes:

Therapists in Therapy

Connect with us!

Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group

Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2020 (and TR2019 Virtual Conference)

Our consultation services:

The Fifty-Minute Hour

Who we are:

Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, the CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making “dad jokes” and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: http://www.curtwidhalm.com

Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt’s youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: http://www.katievernoy.com

A Quick Note:

Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.

Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.