Today's episode is a candid and vulnerable one for me. Recently my wife and I decided to end our marriage. The couple months leading up to that decision were filled with emotional ups and downs. I wanted to bring on a close friend, Heidi Savell, who's been through similar stuff, and talk about what it's like to be a counselor while feeling emotionally upset and mentally preoccupied. We talk about how I've handled it so far, what I could have done better, how hard it can be to be present for your clients when you're not feeling grounded and much more.

Jeff and Dr. Peter Addy talk about psychedelic integrative therapy. Dr. Addy has a long history in researching the effect of psychedelics. They discuss what psychedelic integrative therapy is and why someone would want to use psychedelics (LSD, Mushrooms, MDMA) in a therapeutic environment. Jeff asks Dr. Addy if it's true that people can get the benefits of 10 years of therapy in one session. They talk about common experiences people have and the powerful healing effects that can occur. Psychedelic therapy is picking up a lot of steam these days and could be the next big development in psychology.

Alana, a self-described fat, black femme in her 30's received some strong messages about therapy as a middle-schooler. She was told that therapy is for white people and black people go to church. In college, she was an activist who tried her best to create more diversity at the campus counseling center. Later in life she and her spouse decided to open their relationship. She was looking for a therapist that was sex positive, poly competent, anti-racist and body positive.

Here is a statement that should be incredibly non-controversial: All online therapist directories that allow potential clients to filter therapists by gender should include at least three gender options. They should be "Trans/Non-binary", "Female" and "Male".

The leading online therapist directory, Psychology Today, does not allow people to filter for therapists that are transgender or non-binary. That needs to change. Sign the petition urging them to fix this now.

Sign the petition: http://chng.it/MW9SyYrhQj

Jess, a woman who decided to open up her relationship while going to counseling, had to decide if she wanted to continue therapy with her current counselor who was critical of her relationship choices, or if she should find a practitioner who was more open, trained and non-judgmental of her polyamorous relationship. Jess, and guest host Heidi Savell, talk about what to look for when seeking a therapist who provides counseling to poly and non-monogamy folks. They define some common terms and language used in the poly community while also talking about the unique issues that can come up in counseling when addressing non-monogamy in session.