In this episode Mariska and I explore if it is ok for person to have a preference for a partner with a single certain trait, if that prevents them from dating someone who checks all the other boxes. We also explore ways of viewing self esteem more generally.

In this episode Mariska and I break down some client dreams and offer some out of the box methods of journaling for folks (like me) who struggle to journal conventionally.

In this episode Mariska and I explore a term that was new to me , High Functioning Depression, which I learned about on another podcast, A Slight Change of Plans: When Productivity Becomes Pathological | A Slight Change of PlansI observe how in my experience there is often a connection between this type of depression and substance abuse challenges.

In this episode Mariska and I talk about 3 simple (not easy) steps to become more successful in your own estimation. Which ultimately is the only view point that matters.

In this episode Mariska and I evaluate how well mental health challenges are portrayed in several films and tv shows. What did they get right, and wrong?

On this episode Mariska and I discuss how to help clients manage their grief about both the choices of terminating a pregnancy and giving a child up for adoption, as well as how a therapist may decide to disclose if they have been through one of these issues.

In this episode Dan reads two AI generated stories about therapy that he prompted. We also talk about how to use AI in a productive way to study for an exam.

In this brief episode Mariska and I share our thoughts on using AI to get life advice. More importantly we put out the call to ask listeners to write in to [email protected] to tell us what kinds of questions you ask AI and how you decide which AI to use.

In this episode Mariska and I talk about several clients who have struggles with finding joy on a day celebrating family and Mothers in particular.

In this episode Mariska and I unpack hard conversations of talking about death with small children and some victories both for former client and the incredible feeling for a therapist when a client breaks through shame and shares their trust.