Therapy Tea: Demystifying the Mental Health Profession

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Podcast by Jazmin Crookes, LPC and Karen Jennett, LPC

Therapy Tea: Demystifying the Mental Health Profession

Why, oh why, did I become a therapist? What was I thinking?!? Am I losing it? Or was I just misinformed?.... Join Therapy Tea hosts, Jazmin and Karen, two licensed professional counselors, every other Wednesday, as they, with the help of other mental health professionals, seek to find the answers to these deep, gut-wrenching, existential questions. Each episode, they interview fellow counselors and other professionals working in the mental health field to discuss mistakes they’ve made, career mis-steps, and those “ah-ha!” and “AHHHHHHH!!!!” moments that shift perspective. They cover the real-life practice of mental health work through a pretentious-free lens and reveal the out-of-the-textbook realities of counseling theories. All the while, they hope desperately to gain some hindsight insights on all the things they wish they had known before becoming counselors.
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Latest episodes

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30 April 2025

29. Loving Your Overhead Projector and Keeping Your Dream Alive (ft. Kristin Sharp, LCSW-S)

This week Jazmin learned she might have a previously unrealized session number threshold level. We talk about paying attention to one’s own feelings and emotional reactions when working with clients and the lack of education and preparation around termination, which is another skill needed for private practice that we didn’t know we needed. 

This week we are sharing our conversation with Kristin Sharp who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker Supervisor in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and a Masters of Science in Social Work also from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Kristin currently runs her own private practice in Austin, Blue Psychotherapy, where she focuses on adolescents, young adults, and families with a very intentional attachment approach. She is also an Adjunct Faculty Professor at UT Austin where she teaches one semester a year. 

With Kristin we discuss how she job hopped her way into her most satisfying job situation at present! She talks about how we as counselors are not responsible for “fixing” people, instead she emphasizes the importance of being with. Kristin is fun, engaging, and the kind of person we hope you feel just as comfortable with as we do!

Resources mentioned: 

  • You Are the One You’ve Been Waiting For: A New Approach to Intimate Relationships with the Internal Family Systems Model by Richard C. Schwart
  • The Class: https://www.theclass.com/ 
  • The Notebook (2004 film/novel by Nicolas Sparks)
  • Kristin’s practice, Blue Psychotherapy: https://www.bluepsychotherapy.com/ 

Thank you for listening! By the way, if you're curious about how we produce this show, we use Alitu. It's straightforward to use and has made podcasting actually sustainable for us. Use code tea50 at Alitu.com for 50% off if you want to try it yourself!

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at therapyteapod@gmail.com 

Listen to us on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmM3_WRulJpvstPLZiKOBQ

Follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 

Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ 

To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.

Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole.

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16 April 2025

28. Having Grit and Constructing the New System (ft. Kaimi Mattila, LCSW)

This week Karen learned about poverty. Karen shares details about her experience participating in a poverty simulation - which we learned about from Kaimi - including the emotions triggered and insights gained. We encourage everyone to find a poverty simulation near you to participate in because there’s a difference between intellectually getting it and experientially getting it.

In our interview, we talked to Kaimi Hideyo Mattila who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Supervisor in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Family Services from the University of Northern Iowa and a Masters in Social Work from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Kaimi currently runs her own clinical supervision practice called Empowered Clinical Supervision where she provides supervision for social workers, even though that’s not what we focus on in this conversation. We highlight instead the real systemic change that Kaimi is a part of in her role as the Mental Health Court Administrator for the Hays County Mental Health Court. With Kaimi we discuss what a mental health court is and does, as well as what it is like to work with people with mental health issues who intersect with the justice system. Kami is so passionate about her work and the work of mental health specialty courts all over. 

Disclaimer: All views included herein are solely Kaimi, Karen, and Jazmin’s personal views and do not represent the views of the Hays County Mental Health Court or Hays County. 

Resources mentioned: 

Thank you for listening! To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.

Listen to us on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmM3_WRulJpvstPLZiKOBQ

Follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 

Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ 

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at therapyteapod@gmail.com 

Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole. 

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02 April 2025

27. 1st Anniversary Episode: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Podcasting

In celebration of the one year anniversary of publishing Therapy Tea episodes, we are releasing a super special episode! (whoo hoo!)

Today, we’re opening up about our journey into the mental health podcasting fray, sharing the origin story of the Therapy Tea podcast, the details of our planning and preparing stage, and - of course - what we wish we had known before we started podcasting. 

We are being vulnerable, sharing our imperfections and deep fears, and outlining exactly what’s been awesome about this and what has totally sucked about this. We’re sharing specific details about mistakes and fuck ups we’ve experienced so far, and what we’ve learned from those incidents -- so hopefully you can side-step them when you start your very own podcast! THANK Y'ALL for listening, for supporting, and for joining us on this journey as we try to stumble our way into something great!

Especially in this episode we want to reiterate that we love using Alitu to record, edit, produce, and release our episodes. We are affiliates and appreciate your supporting us by using our code to try Alitu out for yourself. Use our code tea50 at Alitu.com for 50% off your first month!

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at therapyteapod@gmail.com 

Listen to us on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmM3_WRulJpvstPLZiKOBQ 

Follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 

Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ 

To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.

Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole.

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19 March 2025

26. Puking up Rocks and Treating Animals with Radical Acceptance (ft. Liz Stein, LPC)

This week Jazmin goes into the impacts of being ill-equipped in graduate school to properly identify and assess for personality disorders. It’s been such an eye-opener to get out into the actual work of counseling and find high-conflict personalities, disordered personalities, and attachment disordered folks just running amok and wrecking havoc, while also feeling shell-shocked and ill-prepared to handle that. Let’s all get more educated on this stuff together!

This week we are sharing our conversation with Liz Stein who is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Texas A&M. She also has a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Texas State University. Also, along with her co-counselor, Rusty the poodle, she has a certificate in Animal Assisted Counseling from Texas State AAC Academy. 

Liz currently works at a partial hospitalization program, primarily working with adolescents and their families. With Liz we explore what it’s like to work at a higher level of care with higher acuity clients every day, including notes on crayon wrappers, managing parent expectations, and collaborating directly with outpatient clinicians. While Liz’s job sounds like a ton of work, she affirms that she is enjoying the chaos of it right now. 

Liz often works with Rusty the poodle as her co-counselor and so we dig into what that’s like, including the differences between a therapy dog designation and an animal assisted counseling certification, how she handles setting boundaries with her clients and her dog, and her pet peeves about others’ treatment of animals. 

Resources mentioned: 

  • Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling 4th Edition by Cynthia K. Chandler
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • Animal-Assisted Counseling Academy at Texas State: https://aac-academy.clas.txst.edu/ 

Thank you for listening! By the way, if you're curious about how we produce this show, we use Alitu. It's straightforward to use and has made podcasting actually sustainable for us. Use code tea50 at Alitu.com for 50% off if you want to try it yourself!

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at therapyteapod@gmail.com 

Listen to us on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmM3_WRulJpvstPLZiKOBQ

Follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 

Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ 

To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.

Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole.

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05 March 2025

25. Trauma Conscious Embodiment and Revising the Gauntlet Years (ft. Jennyfer Rosado, LPC-S, LCMHC)

This week Karen talks about the frequent reality of crunching CE requirements immediately before a license renewal. It’s tough always having the best intentions to get ahead, but then still ending up putting most of it off until the last minute. Why is it so hard to change this pattern?! There’s a tension between wanting to learn and complete CEs and having to block off time to not see clients in order to do that, so around and around we go.

This week we are sharing our conversation with Jennyfer Rosado, who currently runs a medium-sized group practice, Selah Trauma Counseling Center, in Wichita Falls, Texas. She’s a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) in New Hampshire and a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas. She also has several certifications in trauma work, including Brainspotting and polyvagal. Jen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Chadron State College in Nebraska. She also has two Masters degrees, one in Forensic Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and one in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University. 

With Jennyfer we discuss her many, many moves around the country and how she ultimately found her therapeutic home working with trauma from a deeply authentic and integrative way. The group practice that Jennyfer has built in Wichita Falls embraces the idea of being trauma conscious in all aspects of the practice and her mentorship. Jennyfer has such a compassionate perspective about the experience of young and new professionals trying to find their way, especially into ethical and competent trauma work with clients. We know you’ll find Jen’s voice and vibe to be as soothing and safe as we did!

Resources mentioned: 

Thank you for listening! By the way, if you're curious about how we produce this show, we use Alitu. It's straightforward to use and has made podcasting actually sustainable for us. Use code tea50 at Alitu.com for 50% off if you want to try it yourself!

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at therapyteapod@gmail.com 

Listen to us on YouTube!: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjmM3_WRulJpvstPLZiKOBQ

Follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 

Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ 

To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.

Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole. 

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19 February 2025

24. Tearing up the House and Mastering the Scary Insurance Learning Curve (ft. Kelly Martin, LPC-S)

This week Jazmin learned that she just needed to finally finish reading The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog in order to get out of her “do I even know what I’m doing?” rut. We also share our favorite books for an effectiveness refresh!

This week we’re sharing our conversation with Kelly Martin! She’s a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas, a Board Certified Music Therapist, and Certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Therapy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy (and a minor in flute performance!) from Sam Houston State University. She also has a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Bowie State University as part of the University of Maryland University systems.

Kelly is a Triple B! - A Bad. Business. Bitch. And we absolutely vibe with her! Kelly currently runs a medium-sized group practice, KM Counseling Services, in Schertz, Texas. She’s a hard-working, no-nonsense multi-tasker who is both relatable and intimidating. We are all just plain lucky to get on her calendar! 

With Kelly, we dig into what it was like for her to build a thriving, multi-counselor private practice from the ground up. She absolutely insists that figuring out insurance is totally doable and, even though there are several gatekeeping mechanisms involved, it’s not impossible and there are mentors out there like her that want to make access more accessible. We discuss with Kelly her experiences taking the NCE while pregnant in Japan, working with adolescents at a short-term stabilization hospital, and the importance of having good boundaries and a thick skin as a private practice counselor. This one’s full of nuggets, y’all! 

Resources mentioned: 

Thank you for listening! To support the show and receive access to regular bonus episodes, check out the Therapy Tea Patreon community https://www.patreon.com/TherapyTeaPodcast.

Follow us on social media: 

Facebook: Therapy Tea Podcast https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552953196482 

Instagram: @therapyteapod https://www.instagram.com/therapyteapod/ 

Thoughts? Questions? Email us at therapyteapod@gmail.com 

Disclaimer: This podcast is not therapy and does not establish a professional, therapeutic counseling relationship. All statements made on this podcast by hosts and guests are their individual personal perspectives only and are not necessarily shared by anyone else. The hosts and guests on this podcast are not speaking on behalf of all mental health professionals or the profession as a whole.

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