You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist

Long-time listeners of this show have heard from numerous voices in the post-trans community, all of whom feel that the beliefs and medical practices surrounding transgender identification have been …

David Teachout is a licensed therapist specializing in religious abuse, as well as the host of Humanity’s Values podcast and author of Journeys of a Spiritual Atheist. In today’s episode, we explore:…

The twentieth century saw enormous gains in our understanding of children’s psychological development. So why is our school system still designed as if children are miniature adults? 

Education expert…

In today’s modern world, we are constantly fed mental shortcuts that can influence our thoughts and ideas. We aren’t required to do a lot of deep thinking into what we’re consuming, because all too o…

Society is divided over how to conceptualize “human rights,” particularly when it comes to transgender medicalization and school policies. Political scientist Leor Sapir is uniquely qualified to help…

When you entrust a therapist with your personal struggles, you expect her to see you as a unique individual, and greet you with non-judgmental curiosity. The last thing anyone wants in their counseli…

At times it seems that the institution of marriage is crumbling. Yet a happy, trusting, long-term intimate relationship is one of life’s greatest joys, and the ideal environment for raising well-adju…

“Why don’t you just detransition?” Corinna Cohn is tired of fielding this question, but gracious enough to address it with me on today’s episode. Corinna has lived as a transsexual woman for his enti…

Ten years ago, at the tender age of 21, Brian needed professional help. He’d been severely bullied as a child, and the messages his father modeled about masculinity didn’t help Brian understand himse…

Before he reached 40, Corey was told he had a 27% chance of surviving stage 4 prostate cancer. Up until this point, he had been pushing through grueling 15-hour days in the film industry, despite his…

Jayme knows better than most people what’s like to feel “born in the wrong body,” and to be treated differently. Born premature with cerebral palsy, she had to grow up quickly, managing the pain, lim…

Abortion is a fraught issue many people can hardly step near without turning red. I’m pro-choice, while my colleague, Robin Atkins, LMHC, is pro-life. Yet we’re not at each other’s throats. What’s ou…

Karl Marx famously declared religion to be “the opiate of the masses,” implying we’d be better off without it. But can human beings really live without a religion of any kind? Perhaps when we try to …

When our egos become entrenched in our views, life becomes stale, growth stagnates, and we lose out on valuable perspectives. Ada Akpala has made it part of her daily practice to challenge her pre-ex…

When did it become okay to hate someone based on the color of their skin — as long as that skin is the color deemed the acceptable one to hate? More concerningly, when did it become okay for therapis…

Half of our listeners are in the US and more than a quarter are in the UK, while the news on gender matters is rapidly evolving in both countries. So the time is ripe for a check-in with a gender cri…

Ollie had no history of childhood gender dysphoria. But he was lonely, nihilistic, troubled by a legacy of intergenerational trauma he hadn’t yet unpacked, and reckless with his health. In his 20’s, …

British psychoanalyst Marcus and his wife Susan were among the first whistleblowers at the Tavistock Centre’s Gender Identity Development Service program. Together, Marcus and Susan wrote the book Ge…

How can a culture obsessed with mental health be so unwell? Dr. McFillin and I explore the problems of diagnostic expansion and over-medicalization; secondary gain from identifying as ill; and the pa…

Growing up without a father can leave voids to fill. Like so many other disadvantaged young people, Adam and I both struggled in our searches for meaning, safety, wisdom, and a healthy understanding …