20 Best Therapy Podcasts to Inspire Practitioners

While psychotherapists come from many different backgrounds and practice in various settings, they all benefit from initial and ongoing training.

Podcasts provide a valuable and reliable resource for gaining new insights into the field of psychotherapy.

Easy to stream or download and listen to on the go, interviews and talks are available to understand every aspect of working as a psychotherapist.

In this article, we’ve gathered some of the best podcasts about learning new skills, strengthening existing ones, and improving how you manage your business and become part of a professional community.

Try out a few podcasts, find hosts that are both engaging and knowledgeable, and follow those that deepen your understanding while maintaining your enthusiasm.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download three Positive Psychology Exercises for free. These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology including strengths, values, and self-compassion and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

4 Best Psychotherapy Podcasts

A successful psychotherapist must be skilled at helping people with mental illnesses and emotional difficulties and also be able to find clients and run a successful business. As a result, it is essential to become part of the broader community of psychotherapy professionals and maintain awareness of the latest best practices and advances in mental health.

The following four podcasts provide a blend of talks and interviews with expert guests, covering how to manage and grow your practice and practical ways to engage with and help your clients.

The coverage is broad, while also delving deep into specific areas such as how to increase revenue, what might be holding clinicians back, mental wellbeing, and helping clients enjoy life.

1. The Private Practice Startup

The Private Practice Startup podcast is presented by psychologist Jessica Dolgan, CEO of TherapyPartner.

She helps psychotherapists grow and better manage their practices while meeting their clients’ needs.

She pays particular attention to creating a sustainable practice using the best technology, accounting practices, and business skills.

Highlights include:

Hear how Kate Campbell and Katie Lemieux from The Private Practice Startup began and continue to grow their mental health practices; particular insights include branding and marketing.

2. Mental Illness Happy Hour

While a little different from the typical podcast, Mental Illness Happy Hour is a weekly offering exploring mental health and illness through interviews with psychologists, comedians, and artists.

Hugely entertaining, brutally honest, and covering all aspects of mental wellbeing, it is worth trying out a few of the interviews and exploring some of the modern challenges we all face.

Highlights include:

Emotional Neglect featuring psychologist and author Dr. Jonice Webb explores how parents can be more attuned to their children’s needs and discuss what happens when that relationship goes wrong.

3. All in the Mind

ABC Radio National’s All in the Mind with Lynne Malcolm explores mental health with a strong scientific influence, discussing topics including neuroscience and how to manage workplace bullying.

Each episode is packed with science, providing insight into both the mind and the physical brain.

Highlights include:

The Reflections on Shame episode featuring coach and neuroscientist Dr. Alex Korb is a fascinating discussion on how we experience shame in today’s digital age.

4. Shrink Rap Radio

Shrink Rap Radio, winner of the APA Presidential Award for Pioneering Psychology Podcast, is presented by Dr. David Van Nuys, professor of psychology at Sonoma State University.

With over 700 episodes, the podcast covers every aspect of mental health from self-confidence to motivation and includes interviews with therapists, psychologists, and academics.

Highlights include:

In Discussing Developments in Brain Health, Dr. John Randolph discusses his research into resilience, brain health, and the potential for neuroscience to improve your life.

PositivePsychology.com Podcast

Our very own positive psychology researcher and practitioner, Hugo Alberts, PhD, and entrepreneur Seph Fontane Pennock explore a wide range of topics as they focus on using positive psychology to improve mental health in the PositivePsychology.com Podcast.

Highlights include:

Listen to this episode for a fuller understanding of what separates Effortless Being from an effortful existence.

3 Family and Teen Therapy Podcasts

There are plenty of podcasts that provide valuable insights into the complex area of family relationships and the issues and concerns faced by teens.

Each series of podcasts explores parenting guidance and how to strengthen connections with family members to build a better home life.

1. Psych Central

The incredibly accessible Psych Central weekly podcast hosted by Gabe Howard has some fascinating interviews and discussions around both family and teen-related issues.

Explore the wide-ranging subject matter, including teen dating, child grief, and being a better parent.

Highlights include:

In Stealing Cinderella, Mark Diehl, author of Stealing Cinderella, openly discusses his difficult childhood with an emotionally unstable mother.

2. Your Teen With Sue and Steph

Your Teen With Sue and Steph is hosted by best friends and cofounders of Your Teen Media, Susan Borison and Stephanie Silverman.

Created out of their concerns as parents for their own teens, they cover issues faced by many on the journey to adulthood, including school life, parental divorce, starting college, and building relationships.

Highlights include:

Parenting in the Age of Anxiety discusses the pervasive issue of social media, the pressure it brings, and the wide availability of sensitive material on the internet.

3. Power Your Parenting

Family therapist Colleen O’Grady walks you through the ups and downs of parenting in the Power Your Parenting podcast.

With a wealth of experience, resulting from over 50,000 hours of working with parents and teens, Colleen discusses building a stronger relationship with your teen.

Highlights include:

There are plenty to choose from, but Are You a Reactive or a Responsive Parent? investigates the strategies and tools to move from reaction to response for a better way of relating to your child.

2 Relationship and Couples Therapy Podcasts

Couples therapy can offer an open and safe forum for exploring relationships, overcoming issues, and improving communication in intimate situations.

The following two podcasts offer extensive insights both for therapists working with couples and clients attending sessions.

The Couples Therapist Couch

Finding himself without a therapist community, Shane Birkel set up The Couples Therapist Couch podcast to create virtual connections.

In each episode, he raises questions and discusses how best to offer support to those in need of relationship advice.

Highlights include:

The Relational Therapy episode is an opportunity to hear more about how relational therapy differs from other forms.

The Virtual Couch

The Virtual Couch is hosted by Tony Overbay, a marriage and family therapist who covers everything from marriage to sexual addiction.

With a new episode each week, this podcast covers communication, anxiety, and working toward stronger relationships.

Highlights include:

Couples Communication Tune-Up Time uses the Emotionally Focused Therapy model to advise couples on spending quality time together in close quarters.

Interesting Podcasts on Trauma Therapy

While trauma can lead to mental health issues, it can also result in growth and mental wellbeing.

Listen to some of the following shows exploring the complex issues involved and how experiencing difficult times can lead to positive outcomes.

The Trauma Therapist Podcast

The Trauma Therapist Podcast was created to inspire and educate trauma therapists while forming a community for like-minded individuals.

Each episode includes interviews with professionals in trauma and discusses the issues to overcome and useful techniques for increasing wellbeing.

Highlights include:

In Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and Trauma, psychiatrist Mark Epstein talks through how a mindful and meditative approach can benefit those who have been through trauma.

Therapy Chat

In Therapy Chat, psychotherapist Laura Reagan interviews guests regarding their experiences with trauma.

Episodes cover topics such as witnessing violence, personal trauma, and how to manage in a crisis.

Highlights include:

When It’s Time for Trauma Therapy + When It Isn’t includes experienced trauma therapist Dr. Odelya Gertel Kraybill, who has worked with survivors of trauma worldwide.

The Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Podcast

The Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Podcast is hosted by the author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, educator and trauma specialist David Treleaven.

Episodes feature guests speaking about mindfulness in trauma and guides therapists toward helping clients manage difficult times.

Highlights include:

Liz Stanley’s journey is fascinating. Professor, author, and veteran, she is well equipped to discuss the impact of trauma on her own and others’ lives.

Group Therapy Podcasts

While few podcast episodes focus on group therapy, the episodes below provide some useful, if perhaps unusual, discussions.

Join Psych Central’s Support Groups for Mental Illness – What Are They? to understand the different forms support groups can take.

Returning to Shrink Rap Radio, listen to the Group Projective Dream Work episode to hear about the host’s work with dream groups.

On Art Therapy

Art therapy is an incredibly powerful technique for working through mental health issues in a safe environment.

Used for emotional, behavioral, and mental health problems, the medium of art offers a practical means for communication and expression during psychoanalysis.

The following podcasts provide interesting resources for ideas, approaches, techniques, and sessions.

1. Thirsty for Art

The Thirsty for Art podcast encourages art therapists to grow as professionals while building their online businesses.

Episodes include discussion on social media, marketing, and finding clients.

Highlights include:

The Advice to Future Art Therapists episode is particularly useful for newly graduated art therapists feeling uncertain about their new career.

2. The Mindfully Creative Podcast

The Mindfully Creative Podcast explores the use of art in projects for personal and community healing, including creativity and mental health awareness, and as a tool for healing trauma.

Highlights include:

In Creativity as a Tool for Healing in Alternative Settings, Kelli Sinock, founder of Inspiration Matterz, describes how she teaches art therapy in a prison setting and its value in rehabilitation and self-empowerment.

3. Art for Mental Health

Returning to the All in the Mind podcast, try out the Prescribing Art for Mental Health episode to deepen your understanding of how art can help with mental health conditions.

A Look at 3 Podcasts on CBT and DBT

Learning and improving your knowledge of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) can significantly enhance your clients’ abilities to understand and accept difficult feelings.

The following podcasts explore the approaches and tools that can help.

1. To Hell and Back

The excellent To Hell and Back podcast, by Charlie Swenson, MD, author of DBT Principles in Action, focuses on what can go wrong in life, how these situations occur, and the coping mechanisms to survive them.

Highlights include:

In Living With Cancer, Seth Axelrod, professor of psychology at Yale University, takes the listener through his cancer journey and how DBT tools have helped him cope.

2. Let’s Talk About CBT

In the Let’s Talk About CBT podcast, Dr. Lucy Maddox interviews experts and those who have been helped by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

The series is an excellent way to gather additional skills and insights into the CBT process and gain inspiration from success stories dealing with uncertainty, anxiety, and self-harm.

Highlights include:

In CBT for Clinical Perfectionism, we see how striving for achievement can get in the way of our happiness and the approaches that can help form realistic expectations.

3. Ask the Therapist

In the Ask the Therapist podcast, Sarah Rees shares her expertise based on 20 years as a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist.

She interviews professionals on a range of issues from chronic fatigue syndrome to wellbeing and grief.

Highlights include:

In Sarah’s Being Interviewed, Sarah talks about her vast experience as a mental health practitioner and some of her career highlights.

A Take-Home Message

Psychotherapy can be hugely beneficial to individuals with emotional challenges, mental health problems, and certain psychiatric disorders. It provides many methods and approaches to help clients and patients explore and understand their emotions and what makes them feel happy, depressed, or anxious.

A client’s interests may be served best by a combination of approaches, including talking sessions, art therapy, role-play, and one-to-one, couple, or group sessions.

For psychotherapists to help with addiction, depression, and family disputes, they require a deep understanding of human nature and critical skills and competencies that will lead to positive changes in how clients feel.

While a practicing psychotherapist requires initial training, qualifications, and clinical experience in their chosen field, it is equally important to keep up to date with new advances and discussions within the broader profession.

Podcasts provide insight into other mental health professionals’ lives and practices and a portable, always available, learning experience.

While not a replacement for a continuing relationship with the psychotherapist community, they can help practitioners feel part of a larger group of professionals with the common goal of helping people with emotional difficulties and mental illnesses.

And if you are still considering a therapy career, consider reading our article How to Become a Psychotherapist for guidance on this excellent occupation.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free.