Things You Learn in Therapy

Beth Trammell PhD, HSPP
  • 4.5 (24)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

A behind-the-scenes look at the best tips and techniques from clinicians around the world. This podcast shares practical techniques for a wide range of mental health topics, from parenting to substance use, mindfulness, anxiety, depression and so much more. If you are looking for great mental health advice from experienced therapists & psychologists, you are in the right place! AND... if you are you are a clinician who is looking to learn new techniques, this podcast is right for you, too!Listen, like, and subscribe!

  1. 3d ago

    Ep 172: What If Your Body Remembers More Than You Do with Scott Stolarick

    Send us Fan Mail Trauma doesn’t have to be catastrophic to be real and “it wasn’t bad enough” might be the most common thought that keeps people from getting help. We sit down with Scott E. Stolarick, LCPC, CCTP, a trauma-informed therapist and the owner of Mosaic Pathway Counseling, to unpack why trauma isn’t a competition and why two people can live through the same moment and walk away with completely different nervous system responses. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re overreacting, whether you should just get over it, or whether therapy is “for people with bigger problems,” this conversation is for you.  We talk about how validation works in trauma therapy and why so many clients come in hoping a professional will “rate” their experience. Scott offers a grounded reframe: you’re the author of your story, and your internal reaction deserves attention even when outsiders don’t understand it. We also explore how disclosure is shaped by the responses people get from family, partners, and communities, especially when the trauma is sexual abuse or another topic that gets minimized, doubted, or brushed aside.  Then we get practical about EMDR therapy, a trauma treatment modality that can feel more structured than traditional talk therapy. We cover informed consent, readiness, why EMDR can move quickly, and why the therapist’s role is often to create safety and then get out of the way so your mind and body can process. We close with one of the most underrated tools in healing: repair, accountability, and honest feedback inside the therapy relationship.  If this helped you name something you’ve been carrying, subscribe for more, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find trauma-informed mental health conversations. This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    33 min

  2. Jun 5

    Ep171: What If Summer Had Just Enough Structure?

    Send us Fan Mail Summer doesn’t need to be a “go with the flow” free-for-all to be fun. I’m Dr. Beth Trammell, and I’m sharing a simple, therapy-informed way to plan a season that actually matches your life: your work schedule, your home projects, your relationships, and the kind of rest you want to feel when fall arrives. We start with practical goal setting that works. If your goals sound like “work out more” or “drink more water,” they’re probably too vague to stick. I talk through how to make goals specific, how to keep them realistic based on where you’re starting, and why aiming too high often leads to quitting two weeks later. We also get honest about setbacks. Summer is full of obstacles, from parties and family reunions to ice cream stops and buffet tables, so we plan strategies before temptation shows up. Then we shift to parenting and summer routines for kids. Summer has a different rhythm than the school year, but kids still benefit from structure, clear expectations, and simple routines. I share a real example from my own home, including a daily checklist with creativity time, reading, thinking time, movement, together time, and hydration. We wrap with an important topic that can save you a lot of stress later: maintaining a consistent sleep-wake cycle so the return to school doesn’t become a painful reset. If you want a calmer, more intentional summer without overplanning it, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find the show. **Replay from 2024 This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    11 min

  3. May 29

    Ep170: Sometimes the Best Conflict Skill is Shutting Up with Paula Yost

    Send us Fan Mail Most conflict doesn’t end a relationship. The lack of repair does. I’m joined by Paula Yost, a rare blend of attorney and licensed clinical mental health therapy supervisor, to talk about what she sees when people walk into a law office on the worst day of their lives and why legal training often misses the trauma, grief, anxiety, and mental illness sitting right in front of it. We dig into the practical overlap between mental health and the legal system: why clients repeatedly ask the same question when they’re dysregulated, how cognitive behavioral therapy and nervous system skills can make someone a calmer, clearer client, and why attorneys should build real referral relationships with therapists. We also address a point that protects clinicians: a subpoena is not automatically a green light to hand over your entire file, and confidentiality still matters even when court pressure shows up. From there, we move into the heart of it: relationship repair. We talk about why “let’s just not talk about it” keeps hurt alive, how scorekeeping grows when accountability never comes, and why family estrangement can be the final stage of years of unaddressed pain. Paula shares concrete repair tools that work in everyday conflict, including better timing, curiosity questions that de-escalate, and what an actual apology sounds like when it includes ownership and a plan to change. We also connect the dots to modeling healthy repair for kids, so they learn what constructive conflict looks like instead of silence or explosions. If you want better boundaries, stronger relationships, and more peace after hard conversations, listen now. Subscribe, share this with someone who avoids the repair talk, and leave a review with the skill you’re practicing this week. This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    39 min

  4. May 22

    Ep 169: Grief Is Not Just Death with Jillian Oetting

    Send us Fan Mail Grief can feel like a private storm, but it’s also one of the most universal experiences we share and it doesn’t only arrive after a death. I sit down with licensed professional counselor and advanced grief counseling specialist Jillian Oetting to name the kinds of loss that often get ignored: anticipatory grief with dementia or terminal illness, disenfranchised grief after pregnancy loss or infertility, ambiguous loss in estrangement or addiction, and the identity grief that can follow career shifts or postpartum change. We also challenge the idea that grief has a clean finish line. Jillian shares a powerful “rock in your pocket” metaphor: the rock doesn’t shrink, but you grow around it, and grief bursts can still surprise you years later. From there, we dig into grief counseling frameworks that feel realistic, including the dual process model of moving between loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping, plus the tasks of mourning that focus on accepting reality, processing pain, adjusting to a changed world, and finding an enduring connection through meaning making. Then we make it practical for real relationships. We talk about what to say when you’re afraid of saying the wrong thing, why platitudes like “everything happens for a reason” can land as dismissal, and why “let me know what you need” often adds pressure. Jillian offers concrete, caring alternatives: bring food, handle a small household task, keep showing up months later, and keep saying the person’s name so love and memory can keep breathing. If someone you love is grieving or you are carrying your own rock, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one supportive sentence you wish people would say more often? This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    46 min

  5. May 15

    Ep 168: Stop Telling Yourself to Calm Down with Laura Sgro

    Send us Fan Mail Your body reacts before your brain can explain it and that can feel confusing, embarrassing, or downright discouraging. We sit down with licensed therapist Laura Sgro to make the “nervous system” conversation concrete, starting with what people usually mean online: the autonomic nervous system that drives automatic functions like breathing, heart rate, digestion, and your threat response. From anxiety and burnout to shutdown and dissociation, we talk about why these patterns show up and how they can change with awareness and repetition. Laura walks us through polyvagal theory as a simple ladder you can actually use. We unpack ventral vagal regulation, sympathetic fight-or-flight activation, and dorsal vagal collapse, plus how neuroception can misread safety when you’re exhausted, stressed, or carrying trauma history. We also challenge the idea that one state is “good” and the others are “bad” because each has a purpose. The goal is not perfection, it’s flexibility and choice. Then we get practical: how to find your baseline, how to map what each state feels like in your body, and why “just calm down” is sometimes the wrong move. We share downregulation tools like the physiological sigh, upregulation ideas like gentle movement and sensory cues, and how co-regulation works in real relationships without sliding into codependency. You’ll leave with a clearer nervous system vocabulary and a kinder way to measure progress.  Subscribe, share this with someone who’s been feeling stuck, and leave a review with your favorite “glimmer” of safety from your day. This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    45 min

  6. May 8

    Ep167: When High Achievement Hides Emotional Burnout with Dr. Akua K. Boateng

    Send us Fan Mail Success can be a brilliant strategy and a brutal one. When you’re wired for performance, you can push through pain, outwork exhaustion, and even “do therapy” like it’s another assignment. But what happens when the grind starts costing you sleep, intimacy, health, and the ability to feel anything at all? We sit down with Dr. Akua K. Boateng to unpack the high achiever mindset and the emotional blind spots it can create. We talk about harmony instead of balance, why harmony has no metric, and how surrendering the constant striving can bring you back to a grounded center that’s already there. We also explore how ambition can operate as a defense or even a trauma response, making slowing down feel like a threat rather than relief. From a therapist’s perspective, we get practical: why high performers can excel at CBT homework while still avoiding emotional discovery, how to work collaboratively without getting dazzled by proficiency, and when it helps to name the neuroscience in real time (amygdala activation, chronic limbic override, prefrontal cortex coming back online). We also zoom in on body-based signals like insomnia, high blood pressure, fatigue, forgetfulness, and volatility as early “micro-fractures” worth investigating before everything collapses. If you’re a high performing professional, caregiver, athlete, or leader who’s quietly cracking, this conversation offers language and strategies for emotional wellness without losing your edge. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest “that’s me” moment you heard. This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    43 min

  7. May 1

    Ep166: When One More Thing Is Too Much with Jacque Tyrrell

    Send us Fan Mail One small request can feel like a breaking point when you’ve already been carrying too much and you’re not sure where the extra capacity is supposed to come from. We sit with that exact moment, the “I’m quitting everything” feeling, and unpack why it shows up for so many people across work, parenting, relationships, and caregiving. When overwhelm hits, it’s rarely about the final task. It’s about the invisible load behind it. Our guest, therapist and private practice owner Jacque Tyrrell, helps us name the hidden cost of constant adjusting: the emotional energy it takes to pivot, replan, brace for outcomes, and regulate fear over and over again. We also talk about how quickly we label that internal work as “rumination,” and how reframing it can replace shame with compassion. If you’ve ever wondered why a “tiny” detail like a school form can trigger tears, this conversation offers a grounded explanation that actually fits real life. We also keep it honest about privilege and access. Not everyone can outsource tasks or carve out time for ideal self-care, and advice that ignores that can feel like one more demand. We share practical strategies that scale: delegating where you can, communicating what’s realistic, sorting tasks by urgency, loosening perfectionism, and choosing one next step instead of ten. If you’re tired of hustle culture telling you to push harder, this episode offers a better question: what do you have the capacity for right now? If this resonates, subscribe, share it with someone who’s carrying a lot, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What’s the “one more thing” that feels like too much lately? This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    43 min

  8. Mar 27

    Ep 163: Therapy Without Silos with Essence and Emily

    Send us Fan Mail Therapy collaboration gets praised constantly, yet most people never hear what it actually costs, what it risks, and what it can unlock for clients when it’s done with care. I sit down with Essence and Emily Deming-Rivers, two married licensed psychologists who collaborate inside the same practice, to talk through the real mechanics of integrated care: trust, confidentiality, informed consent, and the daily choices that keep therapy ethical and human. We dig into why collaboration feels easier in residential treatment settings and why it can get messy in private practice. They name the practical barriers most clinicians feel but rarely say out loud: non-billable coordination time, financial pressure, and the fear that collaboration turns colleagues into competitors. From there we get concrete about how they do it differently, including transparent conversations with clients, asking permission before consulting, and even inviting the other therapist into a session for one targeted concept when it genuinely improves treatment. Because they live and work together, they also share what happens when client crises hit and both partners carry the weight, plus the boundaries that protect their relationship and their clinical judgment. We talk about ethics as guardrails rather than handcuffs, why “playing telephone” can steal growth from clients, and how their combined perspectives support couples and families navigating ADHD differences, chronic illness, LGBTQ identity, and other intersectional realities. We close with where you can find them at Customized Behavioral Health Care and their organizational consulting work at Deming River Social Club focused on psychologically safe workplace culture. If you care about better therapy outcomes, sustainable mental health work, and collaboration that doesn’t compromise consent, hit subscribe, share this with a colleague, and leave a review. What boundary or collaboration practice has helped you most? This podcast is meant to be a resource for the general public, as well as fellow therapists/psychologists. It is NOT meant to replace the meaningful work of individual or family therapy. Please seek professional help in your area if you are struggling. #breakthestigma #makewordsmatter #thingsyoulearnintherapy #thingsyoulearnintherapypodcast If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health concerns, please contact 988 or seek a treatment provider in your area. If you are a therapist or psychologist and want to be a guest on the show, please complete this form to apply: https://forms.gle/ooy8QirpgL2JSLhP6 Feel free to share your thoughts at www.makewordsmatterforgood.com or email me at Beth@makewordsmatterforgood.com Support the show www.bethtrammell.com

    38 min
See All (249)

4.5
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

A behind-the-scenes look at the best tips and techniques from clinicians around the world. This podcast shares practical techniques for a wide range of mental health topics, from parenting to substance use, mindfulness, anxiety, depression and so much more. If you are looking for great mental health advice from experienced therapists & psychologists, you are in the right place! AND... if you are you are a clinician who is looking to learn new techniques, this podcast is right for you, too!Listen, like, and subscribe!

Information

  • Creator
    Beth Trammell PhD, HSPP
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    249
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Things You Learn in Therapy
  • Show Website
    Things You Learn in Therapy

You Might Also Like