Where Values, Ethics, and Neutrality Collide

“Neutrality is a privilege—not every therapist gets to claim it.”

Can therapy ever truly be apolitical? Or does staying “neutral” simply mean taking the side of the status quo?

In this thought-provoking roundtable, we unpack one of the most debated questions in mental health today: Should therapy be political?

From clients fearing deportation to navigating racial trauma, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and unequal access to care, politics already shape the therapy room. But what does that mean for the therapist sitting across from you?

✨ What we dig into in this episode:

• 🔥 What does “political” even mean in therapy?

• ⚖️ Is neutrality a clinical strength or a cop-out?

• 🏳️‍🌈 How should therapists respond when clients bring politically charged pain or harmful beliefs into sessions?

• 📜 What do ethical codes say about advocacy, bias, and boundaries?

• 🌍 Can a therapist in 2025, or at any time ever, really stay “neutral”?

This isn’t just an academic debate—it’s personal. And the personal is political.

Join us for a candid conversation with diverse voices as we explore the messy, complicated intersection of values, ethics, and identity in therapy today.

We want to hear from you: Has politics ever come up in your therapy—on either side of the couch? DM us, email us, or leave a voice note for a chance to be featured in an upcoming episode!

Want to keep the conversation flowing? As always, follow us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ or email us at [email protected]!

Being a therapist is... a LOT, and it's SO good sometimes! Today, the gals are relishing in the joy, the good, and the memorable moments that help sustain the passion we have for what we do.

Want to keep the conversation flowing? As always, follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ or email us at [email protected]!

After a whirlwind of an Autism Acceptance month, new CDC statistics, and a lot of dialogue from the US government, the gals thought it was high time to sit down and talk about it!

Join us for an off-the-cuff conversation surrounding autism acceptance and how we're continuing to hold out hope for the communities we support.

This episode has a few ad breaks from our very own Noa and Alyssa! Noa's company, Spectrum Creative Arts, is hiring for a July start date. You can learn more at spectrumcreativearts.org/employment/ AND Alyssa's company, Dynamic Lynks, is hiring for an August start date. You can learn more at dynamiclynks.com/careers

Want to keep the conversation flowing? As always, follow us on Instagram or email us at [email protected]!

This week Alyssa and Courtney sit down & sip coffee with their younger selves! Sparked by the social media trend, Alyssa and Courtney explore questions their younger selves would ask them today because Alyssa & Courtney have known each other a looooong time.

Previous episodes mentioned:

• Combatting Compassion Fatigue

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on Instagram @CoffeeAndTheraTea or email us, [email protected]

This week Alyssa, Noa, and Sarah talk all things compassion fatigue and burnout: What is it? How do we combat it? AND the realities of therapeutic work in the long-term sustainability of a career.

Like this topic? You might love:

• The Burnout is REAL with Stephanie Leavell of Music for Kiddos
• Mental Health and Burnout
• The Work/Life Balancing Act
• Allison Thomas' Unveiling Private Practice - the creator of the compassion fatigue and burnout definition Alyssa shared on today's episode!

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on Instagram @CoffeeAndTheraTea or email us, [email protected]

What can we say? The world is chaos and we're just living in it. Sit down with the gals to have a laugh, have a cry, and check in at the start of this never-ending new year!

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on Instagram @CoffeeAndTheraTea or email us, [email protected]

Join the gals for a quick review of 2024, a recap of 3 years of podcasting together, and their goals for the year ahead!

Episodes to tide you over until 2025:

We can't wait to spill, sip, and share with you in 2025. Thank you to all of our listeners and top fans who have supported us this year!

Keep the conversation flowing and follow us on Instagram @CoffeeAndTheraTea or email us, [email protected]

This week that gal's talk all about Dan Siegel's Window of Tolerance! If you are unfamiliar with Window of Tolerance, it is all about navigating optimal arousal levels. The gals talk more about how to support them, confront them, and navigate them in therapy sessions.

Window of Tolerance Resources:

Previous Episodes Discussed:

If you want to learn more about Window of Tolerance and see Alyssa present on self-regulation at the Music for Kiddos Symposium on Friday, November 8th, you can grab your tickets here!

Thoughts, questions, ideas? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and keep the conversation flowing on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@coffeeandtheratea⁠

Today Alyssa sits down with Allison Thomas from Running Your Practice and Mainstay Music Therapy to talk ALL things private practice!

Allison was inspired by a recent podcast episode, Red Flags of Music Therapy Business to talk about the pros, cons, and qualms of small-business private practice.

In this episode, we will:

• ​Explore topics in Allison's new e-book which is loaded with resources for navigating private practice as a prospective employee and as an employer
• ​Dive into the differences between agencies and private practice
• ​Discuss salary vs. hourly and what that means for you as a therapist
• ​And get transparent with what it means to be a private practice owner

This episode is brewing with resources and Allison has even more in her e-book. Yes, we are fangirling, it is that good! You can get 20% off Allison's Unveiling Private Practice e-book for the month of October ONLY by using code MainstayBrew at https://mainstaymusictherapy.com/product/private-practice-unveiled/ 

Link will be active as of 10/1/2024

Not only do you get the 40-page resource, but you also get fillable templates for analyzing wages with a video walkthrough of how to use the template from Allison herself.

Want to learn more from Allison? Check out her socials!

• ​Running Your Practice
• ​Mainstay Music Therapy
• ​Learn with Mainstay

You can join Mainstay's free resource list with monthly private practice tips, music therapy intervention ideas, and AAC information from a previous Coffee and TheraTea guest, Shelley Anderson!

Thoughts, questions, ideas? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and keep the conversation flowing on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@coffeeandtheratea⁠

It's back to school season which means time for ALL the evaluations! Join Alyssa and Courtney as they take a drive through the Evaluation Station and give you tips, tricks, and tangible tools to implement play-based, neuro-affirming evaluations across settings.

MT Assessments of Note (ba-dum-chuh):

Alternative ABA Assessments:

Additional Resources Discussed:

Thoughts, questions, ideas? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and keep the conversation flowing on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@coffeeandtheratea⁠