What Your Therapist Thinks – Details, episodes & analysis

Licensed Therapist Ashley Hudson joins Kristie and Felicia to explore the complex and heavy topic of parental emotional abuse. They discuss why this form of abuse is so difficult to identify, why parents engage in it (often unconsciously), and the long-term impact it has on children as they transition into adulthood.

Some takeaways:

• Why emotional abuse is harder to spot than physical abuse
• The "good kid": How fear of a parent's reaction creates anxious compliance
• Strategies for coping like setting "quiet boundaries"
• Letting go of the "good kid" identity and accepting being labeled as the "bad guy"

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Connect with Ashley: https://www.ashleyhudsontherapy.com/

Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Drama Therapist Arianna Wheat joins Kristie and Felicia to explore emotional numbness as a coping mechanism for when we feel overwhelmed by intense emotions or past trauma. Arianna believes healing begins with connection—to one’s past, present, and with someone who sees them fully.

Some takeaways:

• How to regulate your nervous system
• Hyper and hypo-arousal: what are they and why are they relevant?
• Challenging the “shoulds”
• Radical acceptance of your emotions

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

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Connect with Arianna:

• https://www.soulinsession.com/
• https://www.instagram.com/soulinsession

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Therapist Halle Thomas joins Kristie and Felicia to unpack the exhausting reality of hypervigilance, a.k.a the survival mechanism rooted in trauma that has no "off switch." Through conversation and Reddit stories, they expose how hypervigilance manifests and leads to self-fulfilling prophecies in relationships. You’ll also hear validating, practical strategies for healing and why making mistakes is a crucial part of recovery.

Some takeaways:

• Healthy vigilance vs hypervigilance originating from trauma
• Hypervigilance as social anxiety or shutting down curiosity
• Why your nervous system is stuck in "always-on" mode
• Strategies for healing, such as "dosing safety"

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

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Connect with Halle:

• https://www.besttherapists.com/profile/halle-thomas-lpc
• https://www.chicorycounseling.com/

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Coming soon to your headphones! A mental health show where actual, licensed therapists open up about what they’re really thinking, while answering the internet’s most burning mental health questions. And by burning mental health questions, we mean the stuff you’re posting about anonymously on Reddit in the middle of the night.

Each week, you’ll hear from expert therapists to break it all down: from emotional numbness and trauma to self-worth and healing. First episodes drop September 10.

*Watch full episodes on youtube.com/@WhatYourTherapistThinks

*Connect with us on Instagram: @wytt_podcast

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Ketamine specialist Shannon York joins Kristie and Felicia to chat about the transformative world of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP). Shannon breaks down how it’s different from purely medical ketamine treatment, debunks common myths, and explores how (KAP) can quiet the brain's default mode network to accelerate healing.

Some takeaways:

- Ketamine as a medical treatment vs. an assistant to psychotherapy

- Why setting a clear intention is a non-negotiable step

- How KAP can make you more receptive to change

- The importance of a strong therapeutic alliance to experience this safely

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

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Connect with Shannon.

Get Shannon’s freebie for Loved Ones here!

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Licensed and multi-certified therapist Kathryn Wood joins Kristie and Felicia to demystify Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and intrusive thoughts. They break down what OCD actually is (and isn’t) and differentiate reality from pop psychology stereotypes.

Some takeaways:

• The difference between a fleeting thought and a persistent, intrusive thought
• Why typical “advice” can actually make OCD worse
• How OCD can manifest: from perfectionism to fears of causing harm
• Learning to sit with uncertainty as healing

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

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Connect with Kathryn:

• Kathryn's website: emboldenedtherapy.com
• Kathryn’s profile on BestTherapists.com

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• TreatMyOCD.com
• International OCD Foundation

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Licensed Therapist Mary Beth Somich joins Kristie and Felicia to demystify the concept of enmeshment in families, especially between mothers and sons. They look at what enmeshment actually means (hint: blurred boundaries and no space for individuality), where it comes from, and why it’s so tough to break free from.

Some takeaways:

• How enmeshment manifests in real life
• The effects of enmeshment on adult romantic and family relationships
• Why setting boundaries can often feel like “rocking the boat”
• How to shift to healthy connections without cutting ties

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

Follow WYTT on Instagram

Connect with Mary Beth: www.yourjourneythrough.com

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Licensed marriage and family therapist Dr. Cassidy Freitas joins Kristie and Felicia to unpack everything on co-regulation in parenting. Dr. Freitas breaks down advice like how a parent's calm presence can regulate a child's nervous system, and the crucial difference between gentle parenting and permissiveness.

Some takeaways:

• What it means to be a calm anchor for your child's nervous system
• The crucial difference between gentle parenting and permissive parenting
• Why understanding your own triggers is the first step to co-regulation
• The power of "repairing" after conflict to build a stronger connection

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

Follow WYTT on Instagram

Book Mentioned: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Resource for Teachers in early childhood education: Teaching through Emotions.

Connect with Dr. Cassidy:

• Cassidy's Website
• Listen to Holding Space Podcast
• Subscribe to Cassidy's Substack
• Follow Cassidy on Instagram
• The Crafted Practice and The Established Therapist Toolkit

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Somatic trauma therapist Chloe Bean joins Felicia and Kristie to talk everything people-pleasing. Drawing from her expertise in high-functioning anxiety, Chloe breaks down people-pleasing as a learned trauma response. She explains how it can originate from a childhood need for safety and why prioritizing others leads to resentment and losing yourself.

Some takeaways:

• How people-pleasing works as a survival habit
• The connection between people-pleasing and losing yourself
• How prioritizing others' needs often leads to exhaustion and resentment
• Shifting from fear to setting authentic boundaries

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow WYTT on Instagram

Follow Felicia on Instagram

Connect with Chloe:

• IG: @chloebeantherapy
• Website: www.chloebeantherapy.com
• Freebie: https://chloe-bean-therapy.kit.com/freebie

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.

Licensed clinical social worker Kenny Levine joins Kristie and Felicia to explore the destructive power of contempt in relationships. Drawing from the Gottman method, Kenny breaks down the "Four Horsemen" of conflict, explaining how to identify warning signs like contempt and why addressing this early is a must for maintaining a healthy partnership.

Some takeaways:

• How contempt is a red flag for a relationship's health
• The difference between resentment and contempt
• Maintaining a five-to-one ratio of positive to negative interactions
• Why addressing issues early on is key to preventing the buildup of hopelessness

For sponsorships, please reach out to wytt@besttherapists.com

Be the first to join the upcoming WYTT Substack

Follow Felicia on Instagram

Follow WYTT on Instagram

Resources:

• Connect with Kenny Levine
• Kenny's Coaching Practice

*Hosts: Kristie Plantinga and Felicia Keller Boyle

*Watch full episodes on YouTube: What Your Therapist Thinks

*Brought to you by BestTherapists.com

*Produced by PodVision.

If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe, rate, and leave a review, or share it with a friend who might need it!

This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you’re struggling, please reach out to a licensed therapist or call your local crisis line for support.