It's Not Just In Your Head

This is a snippet of the full episode where we talk with Talia Smith, tenant organizer with Omaha Tenants United and Autonomous Tenants Union Network. Is "rent abolition" actually possible? Email us with your thoughts on the topic at [email protected]. Support our podcast at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead to get access to early releases of full episodes and patron-only perks.

Omaha Tenants United: https://omahatenantsunited.org/

Autonomous Tenants Union Network: https://atun-rsia.org/

Here is a crossover episode we did with the hosts of Social Medicine On Air, a podcast very similar to our own but run by two physicians. Listen to the original episode here and be sure to check out their other episodes, all of which are extremely important fascinating! https://anchor.fm/social-medicine-on-air/episodes/14--Mental-Health--Individualism--and-the-Economy--Its-Not-Just-In-Your-Head-eo8ieq

"Welcome  to Social Medicine On Air, a podcast where we explore the field of  social medicine with healthcare practitioners, activists, and  researchers. Social medicine hopes to work for a world of justice and  health - especially for the most marginalized - and connects clinical  care to the deeper causes of health and illness. Through our  conversational interviews, we hope to create a warm and welcoming space  to learn about social medicine and meet the amazing people you'll find  there.

"It's Not Just In Your Head" is a podcast  with Harriet Fraad (@harrietfraad) and Max Golding, two mental health  professionals who explore how our capitalist economic system impacts our  emotional lives, from precarious housing and employment, to  unaffordable healthcare, to endless debt -- it's not just  in your head!  Dr. Harriet Fraad is a mental health counselor and activist in New York  City with over 45 years of experience, who writes and speaks on the  intersection of politics, economics, and personal life; her work can be  found at harrietfraad.com. Max Golding is a licenced marriage and family  therapist from California who is interested in tenant and labor  organizing, and connecting the struggle for mental health with other  struggles for justice and liberation.

Their recommended resources:

Mark Fisher. (2009). Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? Winchester, UK: Zero Books.

Capitalism Hits Home (podcast) with Dr. Harriet Fraad & Julianna Forlano, link

Kate Pickett & Wilkinson, Richard. (2010). The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone. London: Penguin Books."

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Ecological Engineering Phd student Sam Francis joins us for this episode to talk about climate anxiety: the very real and "not just in your head" problem of millions of people fearing the onslaught of terror caused by climate change. Should we all just try our best to recycle, eat less meat and, if we can afford it, buy electric cars? Harriet and Sam explore whether a "central planning" government approach is the only way out while Max spirals into a depressive stupor and wonders if his therapist would understand. We would love listener feedback on this and any other episode. Contact us at: [email protected]. Support us at: Patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead. To hear more from Harriet and Juliana Forlono on "Capitalism Hits Home" produced by Democracy At Work go to www.harrietfraad.com.  Contact Sam on Twitter at @samthejamminman

Sam's references:

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Get early access to the FULL podcast episode at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead. Email us at [email protected]. 

Harriet proposes in this episode that for Americans to have good mental health, we have to decommodify all parts of the economy related to human need so that people don't feel depressed or anxious about things which all humans need and deserve. These aspects of the economy are primarily related to food, water, air, and housing. Currently, nutritious, organic and quality food is too inaccessible and expensive for millions of Americans. Privatized bottled water competes with public water so that when disasters like Flynt, Michigan occur, those who can afford bottled water for drinking and washing themselves, and those who can't may die. Air may not appear to be commodified, but areas where air is polluted (near fossil fuel extraction sites, for example) is cheaper to live near. The unequal distribution of access of food, water, and air across the U.S. shows patterns of inequality that sustain themselves as long as these aspects of commodified needs remain commodified (reinforcing our heavily racialized class divide in the U.S.).  

Both therapists explore what decommodification of housing might look like. Max describes what authors of "In Defense Of Housing" call the hyper-commodification of housing since the Reagan Era, wherein random capitalists from all over the world can make financial decisions that can mass-evict tenants within cities because their housing is an "under performing asset." Max also tries to figure out if he and Harriet are advocating for social democracy (strong capitalist economy with heavy taxes to pay for social programs) or more traditional socialism (getting rid of the capitalist economy altogether).   --  

Support us at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead 

Contact us at [email protected] 

Books referenced: In Defense Of Housing by Peter Marcuse and David Madden Capital City by Sam Stein

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Trailer for Ep24: Decommodify All Parts Of The Economy Related To Human Need

Harriet and Max interview two therapists who also act as "shop stewards" with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) - Jackie Schalit LMFT and Elizabeth White LCSW. Both talk about what got them involved in union organizing within the mental health field, and why the labor movement still matters more today than ever. Why was there a "civil war" within Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and why did it lead to the formation of NUHW? Why should mental health workers unionize? How can unions improve the lives of everyday people? Listen to this episode to find out!

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Teaser for the full episode where we talk to two NUHW members - union therapists fighting for better client care and workers rights.

"We are a cooperatively-run mental health practice located in Bushwick, Brooklyn" - from the Alliance Psychological Services website which also reads "Seeking Licensed Clinical Social Worker to Join Radical Psychotherapy Practice." Meet worker-owners Juliet, Kara, and Billy - who run this cooperative. What makes a worker cooperative different from regular business enterprises? Are co-ops inherently "revolutionary"? How do they make money? Why is the mental health field mostly disconnected and uninformed about workplace democracy and worker-owners? Why are therapists and social workers often considered professionals and not workers?  If you're an LCSW in NYC wanting to join Alliance: http://www.alliancepsych.nyc/joinus Learn more about Alliance here: http://www.alliancepsych.nyc If you're a mental health therapist or social worker wanting to start a worker cooperative, or have other questions/comments for them, email them at [email protected] Learn more about worker cooperatives here: https://institute.coop/what-worker-cooperative

ATTENTION! This is a Boring Dystopia/Obligatory 'don't sue us' message:  This podcast provides numerous different perspectives and criticisms of  the mental health space, however, it should not be considered medical  advice. Please consult your medical professional with regards to any  health decisions or management.

Sneak peek of our conversation with members of one of the only existing mental health provider worker cooperatives in existence -- Alliance Psychological Services, from Bushwick, Brooklyn New York. If you're a therapist or social worker interested in joining their team, go to http://www.alliancepsych.nyc/joinus or email [email protected]. Full episode to be released later this week! Get immediate access to the full episode by joining at patreon.com/itsnotjustinyourhead.