Free Association The Podcast

Kick your feet up, grab a glass of wine (or don't, especially if you're driving), and catch up with us! In this episode, we give updates on our lives. You'd think we hadn't seen each other in ages--the fact is, we've seen each other more than once in the past week and just didn't record it. We missed you and are excited to go back to our podcasting roots--just chatting.

We bring in someone from Lacey's Way Back Machine, a friend named Imani who is a sex therapist! She lets us know about common misconceptions about sex therapy, what she's learned in her education and practice, and how yes, even therapists can be manipulated by their clients. There's a lot of laughing, a lot of knowledge, and a lot of conversing about the birds and the bees. Let's talk about sex, freebies.

In honor of Intellectual Developmental Disorder/Disability month, we have a guest we've been waiting a long time to have on the show! Meet Brandon, friend of the pod who lives every day with his disability--but there is SO MUCH more behind the assumptions others may make about him. He talks with us about dating, his advocacy surrounding the disability community, his interest in sports, and much more. Please welcome Brandon, the knowledge he brings, and partner-of-the-pod Matt (slash emotional support person) to learn more about living life with a disability. We all have lots of room to grow.

Welcome our buddy, Hillary! Something we don't learn in depth in grad school (that might have been helpful) is how difficult it can be to take your therapist licensure across state lines. Hillary has lived it firsthand and shares with listeners the trials, tribulations, and gives support to those who might mirror her journey. We love having our friends on the pod, almost as much as we love our listeners for paying us ear service. Thanks for listening!

Sweet dreams are made of us. Most of us have had issues sleeping at one time or another, but do you actually know why? In this episode, we dive into the myths about sleep and how it affects your mental health. And turns out, a lot of us are doing sleep all wrong! Listen to learn more about your sleep health, or maybe our soothing voices can lull you off. Either way, we appreciate you!

This week we have a special friend on the pod: Corey! Corey is a school counselor, drama enthusiast, and hug extraordinaire. He tells us about how school has changed for the teens growing up in a pandemic, and how he has remained a supportive adult and ally through it all. Corey's activist personality and creative ways captivate his students, and his voice is here to captivate your ears! Please enjoy this very special person, and learn more about ways to support the children in your life.

Honestly cannot believe we've never used this title before. Today, we talk about Lacey's new job! (well, if you count being 6 months old as "new"). Working with those addicted to alcohol and drugs is hard, but is even harder (and more rewarding) when clients are so much more than those labels. Listen to the intricacies, difficulties, and the night cap of irony that is guzzling wine while talking about treating people with substance abuse disorders!

We, like many of you, needed some time apart and then a fresh start. Welcome 2021, goodbye to the wild ride that was 2020. We catch up with each other and catch up with you. We missed you. Here's to a more positive, real, and self-care-filled year.

During times of unrest and (rightful) anger within our marginalized communities--particularly the Black community--it seems irrelevant to focus our episodes on much else. People think of Black people as the opposers of police and vice versa. But what's it like to hold both of these identities? We have friend of the pod Marcellus, a young Black man who's also a police offer, explain his position, thoughts, and feelings that arise when he's on and off the line of duty. He's also entertaining as hell. Give us a listen.

With “everything that’s going on in the world” (i.e. one pandemic of a virus and the other of police brutality against Black people), we wanted to take a new approach to the episode this week. We talk about intergenerational trauma, historical trauma, and how it informs the lives of BIPOC today. If you’re new to this topic, welcome. Keep going. If you’re not, thank you for listening, and hopefully we bring you some new information. If you turn this off because it’s too uncomfortable, or any other judgments you may carry, we urge you to listen. We cannot remain silent on this issue, and we need all the people we can to use their privilege to instill change. If we get anything wrong, as neither of us experience being Black in America firsthand, don’t be afraid to call us out. Email freeassociationthepodcast@gmail.com, or reach out on instagram. And, finally, if you on any level don’t believe that people of all color deserve an equitable, nonviolent country--fuck off :). We thank those who have submitted their therapy stories, and we’ll share those next pod. Here are the resources we used for this episode: Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, hosted by Dr. Joy Harden Bradford https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb9_qGOa9Go https://extension.umn.edu/mental-health/historical-trauma-and-cultural-healing https://www.huffpost.com/entry/generational-trauma-how-we-can-heal-our-selves-through_b_595ba894e4b0c85b96c66482 https://sundial.csun.edu/156293/opinions/stopping-generational-trauma-in-communities-of-color/ https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/intergenerational-trauma-black-women/ https://atlantablackstar.com/2016/06/05/post-traumatic-slave-syndrome-and-intergenerational-trauma-slavery-is-like-a-curse-passing-through-the-dna-of-black-people/ https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/he-angry-at-46-i-m-angry-at-31-you-angry-at-16-video-shows-trauma-of-protests-in-the-u-s-1.4962931 Mari Andrew’s Instagram, @bymariandrew

Today, we are not your hosts. The podcast will be hosted by 2 of our listeners, guests, and friends, Michael and Kaira. They share with you their first times in therapy. Hopefully, if you're on the fence, the vulnerability and insight of our guests will help push you to invest in your mental health. If you want to be a part of this, email your story of being a client in therapy to freeassociationthepodcast@gmail.com, share on Google-Drive, DM us on insta, or submit via this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSemdUchsAVeoou8Ysx5Xn3VhiFgngj9MDWyP87FSgDNXPDbgw/viewform?usp=sf_link.

No, not that one. We tell you about our first times as clients in therapy. If you would like to share your first time for this series, send a 10-20 minutes recording to freeassociationthepodcast.com. We want to take out the stigma and put in some confidence. Even if it wasn't a Cinderella moment--every experience means something.

Happy (indefinite) Quarantine Episode 3. Between the two of us, we are living nearly every stage of a love life: break up, dating, and moving in together. All of this plus a global pandemic has been...interesting. Whether you're feeling lucky or unlucky in love, we hope this episode can give you some perspective. The grass isn't always greener, we all have complicated emotions, and we want you to let those feels fly free along with ours. Hang in there!

Seriously though, you better be home. This week's episode was a listener request! We talk all things telehealth: different programs you can use as well as experience providing it. These are tough times, but we can still laugh and feel thankful for what we provide. Hear what's keeping us sane, and email freeassociationthepodcast@gmail.com for requests!

This week we dive into mental health in animals. Our fuzzy (sometimes scaly, sometimes feathery) friends are more complex than some of us believe. While Lacey rants, Haley reasons. This is part 1 of our Quarantine series. Keep yours and your pets' mental health in mind during this rough and weird time!

Our first Michael is here to share his story! We talk therapy methods, our experiences as children with mental health issues, and kicking our dad in the balls (seriously...sorry, dad). Michael shares his history learning about mental health and learning about himself, and we are so lucky he was willing to share!

Yeah, you know me (us.) Today, we take a deep dive into one of the most well-known therapy practices: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or, CBT). We talk to you about people making sense of their thoughts, sometimes while making minimal sense ourselves. There are many ways CBT can be an amazing therapeutic technique--and ways it can be difficult to grasp. We hope this episode makes this piece of therapy jargon more accessible to you!

The alternative title: Don't Feed Your Cats Taco Seasoning (srsly). This week we are talking about body image and the long, difficult, and exhausting road to reach body positivity. Haley shares her profound, mindful, and incredibly relatable story of how she learned to appreciate her body. Lacey tells about her insecurities and REALLY TRIES to be nice to her childhood self. If you're having one of those days where the body you live in doesn't seem worth it, let us assure you that it is.

Spoiler alert: Haley never finds her memes. We are ringing in 2020 by drinking ourselves silly with champagne, laughing a whole lot, and answering our friends' and listeners' questions. Thank you to everyone who submitted! We hope you survive our tangents and get to laugh along with us. Plus, we play MASH. What's not to love?

Here it is...the track we thought would never be released. It's our first remotely-recorded episode, and if we do say so ourselves (minus the few glitches here and there), we did a damn good job. Finances can be stressful all the time, but especially during the holiday season. Listen as we talk about how it affects suicide rates, family culture, and our own mental health. Make sure to submit your questions for our end-of-the-year episode where we'll drunkenly answer anything you ask! Email freeassociationthepodcast@gmail.com.

We are so excited to have our first, non-therapist guest on here (Taylor doesn't count). Our buddy Madison is here to eloquently share about her mental health journey. We talk to our teenage selves, to each other, and to ghosts. Listen to relate, possibly cry, and learn why only five sharks die a year! Visit Madison's website, glasscactus.wixsite.com/artwork or follow her @glass.cactus.artwork.

Everyone in life is searching for the Perfect Fit. Whether this be in your relationships, profession, or in that pair of nude velvet heels that are perfect for a wedding you're in but OF COURSE not in your size. We digress. Today, we're talking about finding the Perfect Fit in terms of which type of therapy you might find most helpful. If you're confused about what to look into in terms of taking care of your mental health, you've come to the right place.

This one is a listener request--and we couldn't think of a punny title for a subject so ever-present in our lives. We talk about how mental health is portrayed in the media, particularly within the shows and movies that we come across daily. Here are the tropes and triumphs, the stereotypes and spearheaders that the public absorbs constantly. We hope it helps you look at what you consume with a more critical eye (but ofc we still want you to go ahead and binge 90 Day Fiance with abandon).

Boundaries and expectations and needs--oh my! This week we dive into how we know what's best for us, and how we notify others of it. Boundaries are tough to find and tough to keep, just like friends. Listen to two good friends talk about our pasts and what we need for our future. As always, thanks for listening.

...Well, it's about thought traps, anyway. This episode we talk about cognitive distortions--or, from what one of our sources call it, "stinkin' thinkin'." We talk about our coping skills (both deep and shallow), irrational thoughts we frequent (but don't say that to our faces), and ways to combat them (non-violently). Stop those thoughts in their traps.

Hello, dear listeners. If you've been wondering why we put you through that horrible hiatus last month, we explain it in this episode (it wasn't our fault)! You'll relate if you've ever been through heartbreak, grief, and self-discovery. Send Haley some love for sharing her vulnerable and enlightening experience...and as always, we love you for listening.

Hi, Mimi! (And everyone else). It's good to be back! Thank you for putting up with our hiatus--we were dealing with life--and welcome back. We're talking about attachment styles--Anxious/Preoccupied, Secure, Avoidant/Dismissive, and Preoccupied/Anxious. Get ready to overanalyze yourself and your partner/anyone you've ever been with! It'll be fun, we promise. We missed you. Links: http://the-love-compass.com/about-the-love-compass-erica-djossa/ https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/

Sometimes therapy isn't what you expect and the reasons you go change over time. This week we are exploring the directions and hope to go.

"Burnout" has become a trend-setting buzzword in the mental health field and in the media in the past few years. Much like its cousin term, "mindfulness". It's thrown out a lot in the world and grad programs alike, but what does it even mean? This week, we did research *gasp* and we analyzed our own habits and lives. Will you sit with us at the burnout table?

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, Lacey is ready to talk about her transition to her new job! Grab your tissues and pull up a seat, it's time to learn the honest truth about what it's like to follow your gut. And you're going to want to save this episode because chances are your future self is going to need to hear the things she is about to say.

We have a special guest today!! Our friend and yours, Kenzie Black, is joining us to recap another year working in School Services therapy. Good News: we didn't die. Bad News: you'll have to listen to find out. We talk transitions, philosophical thoughts, and how much we love each other. Duh.

You've heard of him. The man, the myth, the legend: Taylor. Our wonderful producer and editor. Lacey interviews Haley and Taylor about their relationship, their identities, and how mental health plays into both. Listen to appreciate him as much as we do!

*** For the first time, Haley has come up with the title for the podcast!*** Today the girls answer questions out of a bowl, what will they pick? Lot's of inflection and introspective attitudes ahead.

This is basically Deathcast part 2. This week, we talk more about how the Grim Reaper has impacted our lives through affecting the lives of our clients. We also tell fun stories about camp and fire (which are completely unrelated in this context). Listen to find out how we try to help people who are grieving, or to recieve validation if you're in that space right now. We're here for you!

Let's talk about you and me. We have some changes and heavy stuff for you all this week. Grief is a hard subject and most of the time comes up unexpectedly. Trigger Warning: There is talk of car accidents and traumatic death in this episode. Stay with us.

Otherwise known as "The One Where Haley Screams". This episode, we talk about the favorite part of our jobs: Productivity. Screw helping children with their problems. Screw everything we went to school for. We love reducing humans into numbers! Listen to see if we are being sarcastic or not, and remember to subscribe and leave us a review!

We'll be honest... we're late to upload this week. But honesty is on-brand for our last two episodes. This is another episode of vulnerability, confessions, and learning how to respect boundaries for ourselves and those of others. In this job it's hard, but in this life it's necessary.

Some days just don't go right. But close-knit relationships, coping skills, and a little bit of wine go a long way.

"Behind every great woman is another great woman answering her frantic texts in the middle of the night" These are 3 of our Great Women. This week, we dive back into the complexities of romantic relationships--with 3 therapists in various stages. Bri is single, Kenzie is engaged, and Kaira is married. Listen to them share their wisdom, shit shows, and laughs. Happy Galentines!

We teased about our love lives last episode... listen to us describe them in this one! There will be occasional dumpster fires (of our own ignition), success stories, and some mild shit talking. If you're our exes, we're kind of sorry? Definitely grateful. Thank u, next.

We time travel back into 2018 to reminisce on our best (and worst) decisions and our greatest (and not so great)experiences. It's a new year, but it's the same us.

Our first special guest! Welcome Kaira to the podcast, an LPC (and good friend) who has an interesting job. Listen to find out what population she works with as well as what populations we would never work with. We hope you're a more compassionate human being at the end of it -- we sure are.

One of us just went to therapy for the first time. One of us has been in therapy forever. This episode means a lot to us. If you're on the fence about therapy, we hope this changes your mind.

This week, we get personal. If you love the holidays, you'll love this episode. If you hate the holidays, you'll love this episode. Listen to us talk about our families, both past and present.

This week's episode: internships. What are they? How'd we get them? Did they crush our souls as they have the souls of millions of other millenials? Listen and find out.

Are you considering Grad school? Do you like your life? Listen to us talk about our experiences in Grad school.

We are Lacey and Haley. We are licensed to talk to people about their lives. Listen to us talk about ours.