Hi there - Joy Gerhard, your host, here. I’m not a therapist. I’ve just done a lot of therapy.  So I started a podcast to demonstrate therapy skills on myself in the hopes of making them feel less theoretical and more accessible to you! Let’s therapize some shit, shall we?

Introducing “Let's Therapist That Shit" - an unrehearsed podcast.

I'm Joy Gerhard, your host. As we go down this therapy rabbit hole, what makes me qualified to talk about therapy skills? Well, I'm not a therapist.

But what I have done is a lot of different types of therapy. Talking things through with the therapist has been super helpful for me. But even more helpful are the skills that I learned in therapy that I can use outside in the world when dealing with shit. My specific shit is complex PTSD.

And major depressive disorder, along with an assortment of other shit.

You certainly don't need to have been diagnosed with anything to use therapy skills. Anyone can use them and benefit from them.

So each episode I talk about a skill or collection of skills that I've used to cope with... oh let's see: anxiety, depression, PTSD, intrusive thoughts, urges you name it. And no, wait, that's not right. I don't just talk about the skill. I actually use the skill.

In the middle of recording while you're listening. I give you a snapshot of my thoughts, body sensations, and emotions that I'm having as I use the skills in real time describing in detail what I'm doing, what the purpose is, and what impacts they're having.

Mostly skills use is about learning to actually feel emotions, not make things worse, and getting to a grounded enough place where you can actually be effective. Full disclosure, none of this makes shit disappear, AND using skills has radically helped me cope with my shit.

And hopefully we'll help you with yours.

This podcast is going to be messy. It's going to be vulnerable. It's going to have some very grim humor.

And my hope is that when you listen to me applying these skills to myself, they'll feel less theoretical and more accessible to you.

So join me and let's go therapize some shit!