In January 2017 I wrote a list of recommended mental health podcasts. Since then additional quality podcasts have been created. Here is my 2018 list of recommended podcasts.
This podcast made the list last year as well. Host John Totten and producer Mason Neely are both therapists and musicians. This creates an educational podcast with quality guests and a professional soundtrack. Topics range from music’s effect on emotional health to personal stories of three men with bipolar disorder. Between Us is currently between seasons, which makes this the perfect time to catch up on past episodes.
Another podcast that I recommended in 2017 is The Hilarious World of Depression. This interview show features Joe Moe, the host, interviewing comedians and other entertainers about their depression. They have frank talks, but, as the name implies, also discuss the more humorous side of depression. This podcast makes the topic of depression more accessible to those who may be uncomfortable with mental health talk.
Selfie is the newest podcast on this list. While it is not specifically about mental health, it focuses on self-care and general psychology topics, such as the Myers-Briggs test. This podcast is lighter than some of the others on this list and shorter than most. Since starting listening to it, this podcast has inspired me to take more time on self-care activities as basic as styling my hair and giving myself a manicure.
Beginning in May 2017, this podcast is the second newest on the list. Shrink on the Couch is hosted by David H. Wever, a therapist. Each week, Wever interviews a different professional in the mental health field. He asks each guest to explain how therapy has helped them in their life, and/or why the got into the mental health field. He then asks them about their own practice and discusses their primary therapy model, such as DBT, CBT, Mindfulness, or EMDR.
Terrible, Thanks for Asking is a podcast in which the host, Norma McInerny talks to people who have a difficult story to tell from their life. Each story shows a reason why someone wants to answer that they are doing “terrible, and thanks for asking” when asked “how are you?”. Nora’s father died of cancer mere weeks before her first husband died from a rare form of brain cancer at age 35. This made Nora a fatherless single mom and a widow at age 31. Nora took her pain and turned it into a club of sorts, one where people could answer honestly when asked how they are doing. The resilience her guests show is inspiring, and while this podcast is not specifically about mental health, it is an excellent example of how people live through all sorts of seemingly impossible life events; events that would damage anyone’s mental wellbeing.
Another new podcast, Where Should We Begin is produced by Audible. In this podcast, renowned marriage and family therapist Esther Perel brings the listener into a marriage therapy session. The couple has previously agreed to be recorded for their first and only session with Perel. I have only recently discovered this podcast but find myself eager each time it comes up on my playlist. This podcast is helpful for a listener two-fold. It gives an idea of how a session may go if they were to go to a marriage counseling session. It also educates the listener about skills that are important in a marriage.
Don't Stigmatize me 