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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15 April 2026

48. PART 2: Perseverance and Chipping Away at the Old, White Man System (ft. Katie La, LPC-S)

This week we are sharing the rest of our conversation with Katie La who is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Houston Baptist University and a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Katie owns a group practice called Cognitive Revival in Frisco, Texas, which provides a wide range of counseling and clinical services. Katie is trained in EMDR, somatic therapy and brainspotting and works as a clinician and a supervisor with a decolonized approach.

Resources mentioned:

  • Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma, and Politicizing Your Practice by Jennifer Mullan
  • I Am Sam (2001 film)
  • Katie’s practice website: www.CognitiveRevival.com
  • Katie’s social media: IG: CogRevPLLC, TikTok: CogRevPLLC

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/

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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08 April 2026

48. PART 1: Perseverance and Chipping Away at the Old, White Man System (ft. Katie La, LPC-S)

This week Karen learned the American Counseling Association is updating their Code of Ethics and wants feedback from you! Better late than never, we always say, so, please join us in participating in moving our profession into the modern era! ACA Code of Ethics | Counseling Nexus: ACA’s Digital Press, Elevating Access to Counseling Knowledge

This week we are sharing Part 1 of our conversation with Katie La who is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Houston Baptist University and a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Katie owns a group practice called Cognitive Revival in Frisco, Texas, which provides a wide range of counseling and clinical services. Katie is trained in EMDR, somatic therapy and brainspotting and works as a clinician and a supervisor with a decolonized approach.

With Katie her nontraditional approach to becoming a counselor, to being a counselor, and to running a group practice. Katie talks about how she took a break from her education and internship process to be a stay at home mom and how that impacted her perspective in the field. Katie shares her approach as a practice owner in how she makes sure to outsource as much as she can so she can keep only what works best for her on her plate. A big thing we explore with Katie is her perspective about decolonizing the profession and her way of counseling as she seeks to uncover who people really are.

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/

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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01 April 2026

47. RE-RELEASE: Alason Rides Again for our 2nd Anniversary! (ft. Alason Polanco, LPC)

Today, in honor of our 2nd (what!?!) anniversary, we’re re-releasing our very first ever interview with the fantastic Alason Polanco, who has been down for whatever with Therapy Tea Podcast from the start! We hope you enjoy hearing from her again because what she talks about is still relevant today. We also hope you revel in how far we've come...sound quality, editing, it's all getting super professional over here, but we're still just having a blast with our friends!

Alason is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas and a Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. She is currently working for a company that specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and mood disorders as a Travel Senior Primary Therapist. While she is primarily Austin, Texas based, she is also working on getting her counseling licenses in both Washington and Maryland.

With Alason we discuss her experience growing up in a Hispanic immigrant family where emotions and mental health were not discussed, how she learned about setting personal and professional boundaries the hard way, and what it was like to white-knuckle her way through active depression and untreated ADHD while attending college. We talk about neurodivergence, the minority experience in eating disorders, and founding a queer teen group in a small Texas town. We discuss her passion for advocating and standing up for yourself along with the importance of therapists going to therapy, making friends in grad school, and taking every minute of your PTO.

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/

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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25 March 2026

46. PART 2: Ketamine Ambassador and the Flexibility of Nursing (ft. Tatyana Gustafson, PMHNP)

This week we are sharing the rest of our conversation with Tatyana Gustafson who is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Human Development from Texas Tech University, a Master of Science in Nursing with a certification as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, and a Post Masters certificate in Psychiatric/Mental Health. Tatyana is the owner of Sol Psychiatry with offices in the Austin area where she offers medication management and ketamine assisted psychotherapy.

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/

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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18 March 2026

46. PART 1: Ketamine Ambassador and the Flexibility of Nursing (ft. Tatyana Gustafson, PMHNP)

This week Jazmin learned that she’s changing her therapeutic style as she’s moving through her ABA (applied behavior analysis) program. Have you ever noticed your style change as you work in this field? What have been the triggers for that for you?

This week we are sharing Part 1 of our conversation with Tatyana Gustafson who is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse and a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies and Human Development from Texas Tech University, a Master of Science in Nursing with a certification as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, and a Post Masters certificate in Psychiatric/Mental Health. Tatyana is the owner of Sol Psychiatry with offices in the Austin area where she offers medication management and ketamine assisted psychotherapy.

With Tatyana we talk about what ketamine is, how it has been historically used in medical and mental health treatment, and how it has become a treatment method that she is super passionate about championing. Tatyana shares about her journey becoming a nurse and realizing how much she liked staying present with people grappling with their feelings through life’s challenges. Tatyana is so great at explaining complex things in ways that make sense and we loved talking psychedelics in mental health care with her!

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/

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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11 March 2026

45. PART 2: Not Interested in Private Practice and Rejecting Any Shame in That (ft. Nicole Garcia, LPC)

This week we are sharing the rest of our conversation with Nicole Uhlenbrock Garcia who is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Texas A&M University Master of Arts in Professional Counseling from Texas State University in San Marcos. Nicole currently works part-time as a school counselor in the San Antonio area and PRN (on an as needed basis) as a case manager and group counselor at an inpatient hospital for adults.

Resources mentioned:

  • Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas: https://cbcst.org/
  • ESC-20, Education Service Center, Region 20 trainings: https://www.esc20.net/apps/pages/pd-home
  • ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
  • Nicole recommends that everybody meal prep!
    • Nicole’s meal prep salad recipe: HEB baby spring mix, HEB bagged sweet kale chopped salad (with poppyseed dressing), shredded/matchstick carrots, broccoli florets, and shredded cooked chicken (use instant pot)

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/

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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