If you’re a therapist, then you know that online therapy goes beyond the one-on-one with your clients. Many therapists are avid readers of books for therapists and listeners of podcasts and audiobooks to help them with their work, to keep up on mental health issues in their field, and just to stay entertained while they’re driving or getting ready in the morning. The trick is finding podcasts that can be of real value to you. To help you narrow down your options, we’ve created a list of the best podcasts for therapists.
If you’re not familiar with podcasts, here’s a brief rundown: Essentially, podcasts are audio recordings that are streamed over a variety of digital platforms and devices. Most people listen to podcasts using Spotify, Apple iTunes, or Google Podcasts, but there are many podcasting apps available for mobile devices. There are also many different types of podcasts in terms of subject matter, even within the realm of therapy practice, so you’re sure to find several you’ll enjoy.
Being a therapist can be stressful; you likely struggle to market your services, fill up your calendar, build trust with patients, bill insurance correctly, and maintain a work/life balance. Wouldn’t it be nice to know you’re not alone in your struggles? Better yet, wouldn’t you love to find solutions to the challenges you face?
That’s exactly what the best therapy podcast can provide. By listening to podcasts daily, you’ll develop new skills and acquire useful knowledge about things such as marketing, billing, deep listening, and other topics relevant to your success as a therapist. And best of all, this information is all wrapped up in a format that’s both interesting and entertaining.
The hardest part is finding great content in a sea of mediocre podcasts. The best mental health podcasts provide valuable insights that are directly applicable to being a successful therapist. You don’t want to waste hours of your time listening to a podcast if all it provides is vague, unhelpful information. Here’s some criteria to help you sort out the great podcasts from those that aren’t worth your time.
The Podcast Is Informative and Insightful: Above all, a great psychology podcast should be informative. But this shouldn’t be the type of information you can easily Google—it should provide insights into the latest trends, topics, and research in psychology, helping you to evolve into a better therapist.
The Podcast is Relatable: While there are plenty of therapist podcasts out there, chances are you won’t relate to every single one. The information you learn in a therapy podcast does you no good if you can’t apply it to your work as a therapist. To get the most out of podcasts, find those that clearly connect with your own personal experiences.
The Podcast Offers Professional Support: When you listen to a good podcast, you should feel like you’re participating in a community of mental health practitioners. Too often, therapists find themselves isolated from one another. Through great podcasts, you have access to valuable resources, tips, and connections to provide you with the professional support you need.
The Podcast Makes You Appreciate Being a Therapist: Podcasts aren’t meant to be an hour-long complaint session. Yes, being a therapist is challenging—you already know that. You’re not seeking out podcasts just to listen to other peoples’ issues with the profession. Instead, truly great podcasts focus on finding solutions to the challenges that face modern-day therapists.
There are tons of podcasts available to help entertain and educate you, but few cater to the unique needs of therapists. Whether you’re looking for practical advice on how to handle certain types of patients or just want to listen to others that share your passion for mental health, these podcasts are perfect for any therapist in practice today
The Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide is hosted by Curt Widhalm and Kate Vernoy. The purpose of the podcast is to help support mental health professionals as they learn what it means to practice therapy in the modern era. Topics covered include modern marketing techniques for private practice therapists, social activism, removing the stigma surrounding mental health, serving with authenticity, and more.
Developed by the American Psychological Association, this podcast was created to explore advanced, innovative research and therapy techniques that’s currently being conducted by experts in the field of psychology. Podcast episodes typically discuss the latest trends in behavioral psychology and mental health, covering topics such as pain, grief, social anxiety, personality, and social media. Therapists and other mental health professionals will find the topics covered to be insightful and beneficial in their work.
The Voice of Counseling is a relative newcomer; launched in 2021 by the American Counseling Association, the goal of this podcast is to help educate psychology students and professional counselors on essential issues like racial justice, social advocacy, and equality. Hosted by the ACA’s 70th president, Dr. S. Kent Butler, this podcast has consistently received high ratings from its listening audience.
Hosted by Laura Regan LCSW-C, Therapy Chat is a mental health podcast that educates listeners on a variety of therapeutic approaches. Many of the podcast episodes include interviews with successful therapists and other mental heath professionals. Topics on the podcast vary with each recent episode covering therapist burnout prevention, mindfulness, overcoming trauma, how to be a successful therapist, and self care for counselors or therapists.
Psychiatry and Psychotherapy is a podcast hosted by Dr. David Puder, an award-winning psychiatrist with expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, medication management, and more. As the name implies, this podcast covers a wide variety of topics within the realm of psychiatry and psychotherapy. Podcast episodes often focus on clinical research and exploring the experiences of practicing psychiatrists with the goal of helping mental health professionals improve their personal and professional lives.
The Billing Breakthroughs podcast has a very specific focus. Can you guess what it is? While few therapists actually enjoy the billing process it is unfortunately a part of doing business. Thankfully, this podcast is around to help therapists navigate the often-confusing world of mental health billing. Episodes often cover topics such as clearinghouses, copays, telehealth billing, claims, etc.
Therapist Uncensored is hosted by Ann Kelly and Sue Marriot, two experienced psychotherapists from Austin, Texas. For years, this podcast has been providing its audience with professional insight on topics like relational neuroscience, attachment, and trauma through interviews with experts. Their approach to podcasting is friendly, straight-talking, and refreshing, making their episodes both educational and enjoyable.
One of the longest-running podcasts on this list is The Psychology Podcast with Dr. Scott Barry Kaurman. Since 2014, this podcast has been providing listeners with insights into human behaviors, how the brain functions, and human potential. Dr. Kaufman makes a point of bringing on different guests for each episode, which keeps the material fresh and interesting. If you want a better understanding of your clients’ behavior (and your own) this is a great resource to turn to.
Hosted by Dr. Christian Jarret, PsychCrunch is a podcast created by the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest. The purpose of this podcast is to discuss scientific studies and their findings in a way that’s easy to comprehend. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this podcast is that the hosts attempt to find practical applications for the findings of each study—something that’s very helpful for mental health practitioners.
Not only does Shrink Rap Radio have a clever name, but it’s also been around for a very long time; this weekly podcast first got its start way back in 2005. Hosted by Dr. David Van Nuys, a clinical psychotherapist and professor at Sonoma State University, the podcast’s primary focus is on brain health and neuroplasticity. With more than 700 episodes recorded so far, topics run the gamut from motivation, resilience, and self-image to dreams, spirituality, and social issues.
The Practice of the Practice podcast is an excellent resource for therapists who either work in private practice or are considering starting one. Developed by Joe Sanok, the Practice of the Practice has been recognized as one of the world's most popular podcasts with more than 100,000 downloads every month. The purpose of the podcast is to help therapists in private practice build and manage their businesses. Topics include setting rates, marketing, hiring practices, systems to streamline your practice, and passive income opportunities.
Now that you’ve had a chance to look over our list of podcasts for therapists, do you think you can find time in your day to listen to one or two of them? Making room in your schedule might seem like a challenge at first, so here are some suggested listening times to help fit podcasts into your routine. You can listen:
With over 400,000 podcasts on the market today, it can be overwhelming to find the ones worth listening to. Thankfully, you don’t have to listen to all of them to find podcasts that bring you the most value; just try several from our curated list of podcasts for therapists---you’re sure to find ones you love!
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