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Aug 26, 2019

An interview with Paul Puri, M.D., about how we can make therapy better. Curt and Katie interview Dr. Puri about how technology and better clinical training can improve therapy outcomes as well as the responsibility we have as experts to impact social change through education and art.

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. We are human beings who can now present ourselves as whole people, with authenticity, purpose, and connection. Especially now, when therapists must develop a personal brand to market their practices.

To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

Interview with Paul R. Puri, M.D., Psychiatrist, TV Writer, CMO of OOTify

Dr. Puri is a psychiatrist, TV writer, and an entrepreneur. In his private practice in Los Angeles, he practices multiple forms of psychotherapy, including hypnosis, in addition to managing medications. He attended medical school at University of Rochester, and specialty training in psychiatry at UC San Diego. He is currently a clinical Assistant Professor at UCLA, and the president-elect of the Psychiatric Clinical Faculty Association. In his non-clinical time, he consults and writes for TV, and is the Chief Medical Officer for an online mental health hub, OOTify -- OOTify.com

In this episode we talk about:

  • How Paul has found the different ways that he is helping transform mental health
  • The history of psychotherapy and psychiatry and how training changed to match the reimbursement model
  • How psychiatry training is shifting to reflect the modern needs
  • How therapy is changing, how technology is entering into the picture, and what is driving research and evidence-based treatments
  • The importance of therapist matching in the success of treatment (and how machine learning can help this process)
  • The internal work that therapists have to do to improve their clinical work
  • The importance of getting different perspectives to become the therapist you are supposed to be rather than becoming a duplicate of your supervisor
  • How Paul is trying to represent our field accurately and well in his writing on Chicago Med
  • The impact of entertainment on mental health stigma
  • The social responsibility of having a larger microphone or platform
  • How much to push beyond the current reality to effect social change
  • How we make therapy and therapists better
  • The noise that has developed in the “personal branding” era of private practice
  • The responsibility we have to help potential clients find the best fit – and how we are frequently failing at it
  • The problem with only seeking out “evidence-based” treatment without considering what the evidence means
  • How to move outside the office and add your voice to the social landscape
  • The Public Health responsibility we have to educate with the expertise we have
  • The balance of making sure you’re not weighing in unsolicited, but rather strategically
  • The nuance of talking about your knowledge without over-disclosing, breaking ethical and legal guidelines, or speaking outside your scope

 

Our Generous Sponsors:

This episode is sponsored by Center For Discovery.
Center For Discovery provides evidence-based treatment for eating disorders, binge eating disorders, mental health, substance use, and co-occurring conditions nationwide. Discovery offers gender inclusive and gender-specific treatment with separate programming for adolescent and adults. Programs have a high staff to client ratio because individualized attention is critical when it comes to providing effective and efficient treatment. Learn more about these clinical programs at CenterForDiscovery.com. Discovery offers free resources including weekly support groups, a recovery app, free evaluations, and treatment scholarships. Learn more about Discovery's Free Weekly Support Groups, for those struggling and loved ones, at SupportInRecovery.com. Center For Discovery is a preferred provider and in-network with all major insurance companies.

 

Relevant Resources:

We’ve pulled together any resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links:

Paul’s Website

OOTify

Chicago Med

Article: Where is the Evidence for “Evidence-Based” Therapy?

 

Relevant Episodes:

Giving and Getting Good Supervision

Getting the Supervision You Want

The Brand Called You

Bad Marketing Decisions

Millennials and Telehealth

 

Connect with us:

The Modern Therapists Group on Facebook

Therapy Reimagined 2019

Who we are:

Curt Widhalm is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is a Board Member at Large for the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, a Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine University, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more about Curt at www.curtwidhalm.com.

Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant. As a helping professional for two decades, she’s navigated the ups and downs of our unique line of work. She’s run her own solo therapy practice, designed innovative clinical programs, built and managed large, thriving teams of service providers, and consulted hundreds of helping professionals on how to build meaningful AND sustainable practices. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more about Katie at www.katievernoy.com.

A Quick Note:

Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.

Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.

Stay in Touch:

www.mtsgpodcast.com

https://www.facebook.com/therapyreimagined/

https://twitter.com/therapymovement

https://www.instagram.com/therapyreimagined/

Credits:

Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/