#1: Behind the name: The Therapy Alchemist

A change of pace. A Colorado therapist breaking the norm of mental health social media and diving into the nuances of change and growth. 

This episode is about the meaning behind the name of The Therapy Alchemist. Follow for more and share with your friends to help get the word out! 

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*This is not a substitute for therapy nor is it therapeutic advice. If you would like to find a therapist in your area check out psychologytoday.com, goodtherapy.org, or therapyden.com

Transcript

0:14

Welcome to the Therapy Alchemist podcast. I'm your host, Katrina Austin, a therapist in Colorado. I'm here to talk not only about the science behind mental health, but the magical process of transformation.

MacBook Air Microphone: 0:28

Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining me today on podcast episode number one. So for the first episode, I want to talk about why I chose the name of the therapy Alchemist. So let's begin with a quote by the infamous psychologist, Carl Rogers, who said. We cannot change. We cannot move away from what we are. Until we thoroughly accept what we are. Then change seems to come about almost unnoticed. There's a lot of research out there about what to do, how to grow, what steps you needed to take to be a better version of yourself. And although those things are incredibly helpful as a clinician in a person. I found that the stuff, isn't the thing that brings about the biggest aha moments. It's these tiny moments that happen unnoticed. It's the unconscious background changes to lead to massive transformation. That is where the magic happens. So I own a private practice here in Colorado, and I've had to combat some misconceptions about mental health. That's portrayed online. There's an entire pop psychology world that focuses on certain areas that are somewhat helpful, but can also cause a lot of shame. This podcast is meant to not only fill in the gaps of mental health and what is talked about, but also to challenge the status quo, pop psychology. When I sat down to write out the why of my podcast, this is what I put. I want to have a voice so that people see how disruptive and shaming discussions are around mental health. We already know how to heal and love and grow. We just stopped listening to our internal guide. I want to teach people how to lean into authenticity and trust it. Thousands of years of being a part of the human species. I want to free people from the laundry list of things that they are told to do to be mentally healed. The list of actions they need to do to make the right choice. It's not about that. I want people to trust themselves again. And find self love. Again, it's actually very easy. In the mental health field is complicating. What we innately know. Not to mention we are perpetrating narcissism all the time. Now don't get me wrong. I love research. I love the information it provides us. Science is the study of things of literally anything. However last year I went through a massive change in the way I viewed mental health and I began getting very frustrated with the entire field. What I realized in my own personal journey is that there's so much talk about how I am lovable just as I am. However, there are endless resources on what you need to do to attract the right partner heal from trauma, et cetera. In fact, everything nowadays is a trauma. If it hurts you and you think about it for more than a day. Yup. That's a trauma and you need to heal. But wait. Hi. I thought you said I was lovable just as I am right now, today. That's confusing. Science gives us an entire list of things that we need to do to heal our attachment style. Do inner child work, practice, nervous system regulation. How to set boundaries, whatever. And it's an endless list of things to do to be a better you, because clearly the version you are today, isn't good enough. But yet they say, love yourself. Okay, well, fucking pick one. I'm either lovable as I am, or I am lovable once I quote, do the work. So the list of things that the research tells us as long. And I have clients every day, come in, citing the list of things, telling me what areas they are failing in because they aren't sleeping enough, eating healthy, doing inner child work, sitting with their feelings, whatever it may be. But what I realized is that this list of things is really just a shame list. Because being lovable just as I am today. And having a list of ways to fix myself cannot coincide. So pop psychology tells us that this is a roadmap to healing, self love, and happiness. This list is a way to get there. But that's not true. I know, like I know that we are lovable as we are right now in this moment. And we get to choose our individual roadmap, not research. Research is just the road signs along the way. They are just the things that say, Hey, heads up roads may be icy when, what. You can still choose to go down that road because maybe when the researcher went down that road. Uh, majority of the time it was icy, wind wet, but for you in your path and your timeframe, Maybe it's sunny and 75. That's why I'm here. I want to teach you how to trust your own instincts and use the research to help you get where you want to go, not follow the research. Like it's a detailed map of your path. Heads up. There's no clear path. You get to choose a plan, a. And if plan a doesn't work out, guess what? You get to choose from a thousand different plan BS. And there is always a plan B to be excited about. You know, When I stepped back and provide a relationship with my clients and myself. I find that they innately know what they need to do to change. They just need a safe space to do it so we can analyze the data all day long, but nothing changes the soul of a human, like the freedom to follow their own personal legend. Now. Getting more into the name of my podcast. Hopefully those of you who are fans of the Alchemist caught that one. If you haven't read the book, the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Pause this right now and go download a copy. You will not regret it. As you can tell. Possibly one of my all time. Favorite books is the Alchemist. I did a little digging of what the definition of an Alchemist actually is. It is a person who transforms or create something through a seemingly magical process. The book is about the internal calling that we all have to follow our personal legends. When we surrender to the calling, all of the universe aligns in helping us to achieve that goal. And I believe that that's true as I've lived it in my own life. And I've watched the outcome of others following their true soul. Plus the universe always seems to leave us many omens as a book, calls them. To help remind us that we are on the right path. So. When I chose a name that therapy Alchemist. I had several people, men, especially who said it sounded a little too witchy and kinda like pseudoscience. Which made me laugh for many reasons, because frankly I am a little witchy myself, but if someone who is deeply creative and in tune with my authenticity, I know in my soul, it's the right name. When I sit across from my clients and travel my own journey of growth and change. I noticed my client's eyes glazing over. Anytime I bring out a worksheet or try to do a different technique. I'm not here to make up things that aren't real. But I am here to question and entertain new ideas of thinking around change. Because my clients every single day, Make decisions that don't align with research and best practices. And yet they are making massive changes in themselves without even trying. I feel like as a therapist. I'm not here to just share research. I'm here to help my clients chase after their own personal legend, regardless of what the research says. While also taking note of the research road signs along the way. It's all about balance, balancing the known with the unknown and sometimes coming up with a brand new approach to life. AKA. Alchemy. I'm going to be sharing stories from my own life. Stories from those. I have known topics that I believe can help you along your personal journey. Interview people I believe who have mastered the art of their own journey and maybe sprinkle in a few topics, dress for fun. I like to leave you with a final quote from Carl Rogers. He was describing what it was like to be a psychologist. To sit across from these people whom he deeply cared for. He made it a point later in his career to show up fully authentic. Once he did that, he discovered something. Magical. People are just as wonderful as sunsets. If I can let them be. When I look at a sunset. I don't find myself saying. Soften the orange a bit on the right hand corner. I don't try to control a sunset. I watched with awe as it unfolds.

9:05

Thank you all for joining me on today's episode. Hit that follow button to stay up to date with all the new episodes coming out. As a reminder, this is not a substitute for therapy or therapeutic advice. If you find that you are needing professional therapeutic services, there are several therapist directories, such as psychologytoday. com, goodtherapy. com and therapyden. com. Again, thank you for joining me. Hit that subscribe button. I'll talk to you soon.