What are the different ways that psychotherapists hide from their patients? It has long been our assertion that many of us enter this work to stay behind the analytical lens and to guard ourselves from exposure. But what about those who don’t have the option? Rachel Newcombe is a psychoanalyst and writer who works on rural Orcas Island in the furthest corner of the Pacific Northwest. She sat down with John to discuss how she holds an intimate framework in a place where patients are certain to...

On today's episode, John sits down with his friend and colleague Katie Wilson to discuss her relationships with other therapists, how she uses her anger in session, and her discovery of her own limits as a woman in the field. Support: www.patreon.com/betweenus Contact: [email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/betweenuspodcast/ Twitter: twitter.com/BetweenUsPod Instagram: www.instagram.com/betweenuspod/

Whitney Erickson is a young therapist who is constantly emerging into further layers of herself: from coming out as queer, to leaving the Mormon Church, to a recent epiphany about her own eating disorder- while working with clients who suffer from eating disorders. She takes the discoveries in stride with a sense of wonder about herself, her clients and the world around her. Principles of authenticity and integrity allow Whitney to trust the Universe and herself as she heals and sheds...

Dr. Adrienne Harris is a foundational figure in the world of contemporary psychoanalysis, both as a faculty member at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and as a prolific writer on the topics of gender, trauma and subjectivity. Several years ago she formed a consultation group with her colleagues Dr. Susan Klebanoff and Dr. Margery Kalb. The journey this group took together was unexpected and resulted in two books- Ghosts in the Consulting Room, and Demons in the...

What are the everyday tragedies you experience? From the universal affliction of aging to the specific harm of racism and sexism, our culture is talented at ignoring the daily trauma of human existence, and normalizing the grievous. In our episode today, John sits down with Dr. Karen Weisbard to discuss her process of waking up to these realities and what it means to occupy different spaces as a therapist- between the consulting room, the mountains, and even the tennis court. Find "Between...

Between Us finally returns. In our Season Three debut, host John Totten discusses his long absence, his ambivalence about his colleagues, and the social graces of the therapist community. Do you like hanging out with therapists? We listen to your responses. Find "Between Us: A Psychotherapy Podcast: Original Soundtrack" on iTunes today. Support:...

In which we ask for your opinion...

In which we account for our delayed absence...

Just a note that our soundtrack is now available on iTunes. "Between Us: A Psychotherapy Podcast (Original Soundtrack)" contains thirteen tracks of our favorite compositions from our first two seasons. Including the one you are hearing, John's personal favorite of Mason's contributions. If you want to support Season Three, you can purchase this volume of songs on the iTunes store. Just search for us, or Mason Neely. We hope you enjoy and we'll talk to you in Season Three.

Dr. Galit Atlas joins us for the finale of Season Two. Her new book, The Enigma of Desire: Sex, Longing, and Belonging in Psychoanalysis, is a comprehensive study of sexuality and desire through her unique dual lenses of pragmatism and enigma. A renowned psychoanalyst, professor, and contributor to the New York Times, Dr. Atlas spoke with our host, John Totten, about the process of writing the book, some of her cases, and what happens when arousal enters a treatment. Season Two of Between Us...

One of two episodes about sex, our episode today is a reactionary one. Reactionary against the dogma that John and his guest, Leanna Ramsey, respectively grew up struggling against. What does it mean to be sex-positive? Our premise today is that a stance of curiosity is the only way to therapeutically address differing sexualities, and yet the field continually fails to approach the topic with such a stance. John speaks to sexuality and gender expert Sinclair Sexsmith about such a case....

Writer Ijeoma Oluo is angry and that’s okay. She wants white men to be okay with their anger too, as long as they understand where their anger actually comes from. She is a powerful essayist and cultural critic who is not afraid to be vulnerable in public about things that anger her, things that terrify her, and even her own mental health. In this discussion, Ijeoma talks with our host John Totten about the limited access to mental health for people of color, the authenticity of genuine...

This week we continue our discussions with Steve, Jeff, and Nick- three men in three stages of life, all managing three different manifestations of bipolar disorder. They sit down with John to talk about the path to living happy, fulfilling lives full of gratitude and how they keep themselves healthy. Season Two of Between Us is sponsored by MetaFi, a free download on iOS and Android. Contact: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betweenuspodcast/ Twitter:...

Three men at three stages in life. Three different manifestations of bipolar disorder. Often consisting of manic episodes, delusions of grandeur, and days without sleeping, bipolar disorder is a widely misunderstood illness that sci-fi legend Carrie Fisher spent much of her days demythologizing. In the first episode of our two-part interview, three men who volunteer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness sit down with John Totten to describe the onset of their mental illness and how they...

Poet Molly Peacock had a relationship with her psychoanalyst for forty years, even after her analyst had a career-ending stroke in 2012. Molly’s new collection, titled The Analyst, is inspired by the relationship she describes as “Oliver Sacksian” in reference to the renowned neurologist who, himself, was a patient for five decades. Is psychotherapy a treatment that should be ended like a course of antibiotics? Molly sits down with John to share her unique experience of long-term...

It is one of our premises for this show that the work of healing in a relational context is countercultural. On this episode, Roy Barsness, a professor and psychologist, sits down with John Totten to discuss his new book, Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis. In the qualitative study that formed the foundation for his work, Roy found a particular way of being in relationship that included radical healing through genuine encounter and ultimately, love. Season Two of Between Us is...

Does music have a real effect on our emotional health? Do the songs that speak to us actually speak to us? Jason Dodson is the singer and songwriter for the band The Maldives. Their new album, Mad Lives, was written as a therapeutic process in response to a fracture in Jason’s life. In this discussion, he tells us about that process and his own mental health journey, including his struggles with anxiety and dissociative tendencies. And John reveals the classic rock song he listens to for...

Psychoanalysis has not been a field that is particularly progressive in its deconstruction of prescriptive gender roles. The feminist presence that exists today had to be forged. Our guest, Sally Bjorklund, is an alumni of that feminist movement. She has a keen sense of her own outsiderness, from her childhood as an adopted tomboy in the evangelical midwest of the 1960s, to finding her path as a psychoanalyst thirty years ago. Sally and our host, John Totten, discuss her experience of being...

For our premiere of Season Two, we attempt to get topical. What happens next in healthcare? Is our mental health coverage in jeopardy? Professor Aaron Katz teaches health policy at the University of Washington. He has a knack for explaining complex policy in layman terms. Aaron sat down with our host, John Totten, to discuss the Affordable Care Act, what it does, why some people like it, and why some people don’t. Season Two of Between Us is sponsored by MetaFi, a free download on iOS and...

For the finale of our first season, we are joined by renowned psychoanalyst and philosopher, Dr. Robert Stolorow. Dr. Stolorow’s writing on intersubjectivity and emotional trauma has shaped the field of psychotherapy for forty years. In this conversation, our host John Totten and Dr. Stolorow discuss a wide range of topics- from his own experience of emotional trauma after losing his wife, to the role of delusion in American narcissism, and even how Harry Potter has helped shaped his...

Jonathan Merker took part in so-called "gay conversion" ministries as a young college student. In this episode, we continue our three episode arc on culture and trauma as we discuss his journey out of a harmful religious culture and into his own career as a therapist, much in part due to the help of his own subversive counselor. Contact: [email protected]

To close our first season, we begin a three episode series on cultural trauma. Jennifer Henderson is a therapist who has worked in the trenches of traumatized communities, all while having her own family history of suffering due to racism and police violence. In this episode, we discuss the ubiquity of systemic racism, transgenerational trauma, and the effect it has on her as a therapist and a mother. Contact: [email protected]

Dr. Heide Island is a researcher and professor of psychology at Pacific University. Her research on neurochemicals and their relationship to temperament has been used by dating services to understand attachment and companionship. In this episode, she discusses the anticipatory effect of dopamine, the neuroscience of attachment, and how change happens. Contact us at [email protected]

No interview today. Just pure, unadulterated processing. John and Mason discuss their reactions to the election, through tears and laughter, and we hear contributions from people who might feel it the most.

There is no better week to discuss the brokenness of humanity. Lynn Shelton is a filmmaker whose films such as Touchy Feely and Your Sister's Sister capture her unique vision of regular people and the ubiquity of psychological pain. She also directs television shows such as Fresh Off the Boat, Casual, and Master of None. She sat down with John following a shoot and discussed her experience of mind and how it shows up in her work.