Published April 17, 2024 by Zencare Team
With so much content out there, how do you know what’s worth your time? This is especially true about mental health content and particularly mental health or therapy-related podcasts. With so many mental health podcasts available, it can be to decide what to play while you work out, drive, or cook dinner — or what to recommend to clients who want to learn more about a particular topic.
That’s why we’ve come up with our top six mental health podcasts for mental health professionals, so you don’t need to sort through dozens of podcasts to find out which ones include high quality, evidence-based information. As a therapist, these podcasts can help you in your practice by teaching you more about certain topics, populations, or therapy approaches. Mental health or therapy podcasts are a great way to listen to other perspectives for a more robust, comprehensive understanding about mental health and well-being.
1. Mental Illness Happy Hour
The first podcast we’ve chosen to highlight is called Mental Illness Happy Hour. This podcast weaves some fun into conversations about mental health and therapy. The host is comedian Paul Gilmartin. Gilmartin interviews mental health professionals, including therapists of all backgrounds. While he’s not a mental health professional himself, his content speaks to people who are interested in learning more about mental health issues like depression or anxiety, providing them with education and different perspectives on various mental health disorders and life challenges. There are over 600 episodes to pick from, each one between 1-2 hours, giving listeners their choice of topics to explore.
2. The Positive Psychology Podcast
The Positive Psychology Podcast is a podcast created and hosted by Kristen Truempy, who has a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology and has been making podcast content for over 10 years. Positive psychology is a branch of psychology, and it focuses on concepts like gratitude, mindfulness, positive emotions, and healthy connections to others. This podcast is a wealth of information about how we can all live joyful, fulfilling lives. It gives plenty of useful tools to use in everyday life, making it a great podcast for therapists and clients alike, as everyone can learn from its episodes.
Visit the podcast’s Spotify page
3. Meditation Minis
The podcast Meditation Minis is a great tool for individuals to use when they want to grab a quick mindfulness session without having to resort to a paid meditation app. These episodes, which last anywhere from a quick 60 seconds to 10 minutes, provide listeners with a guided meditation that can break up a busy schedule and provide much-needed quiet time for the mind. The host, Chel Hamilton, has a soothing voice that exudes a sense of calm. Hamilton doesn’t stick to any one mindfulness ideology, rather she provides listeners with bursts of meditations that can brighten their day. These meditations are great to share with clients or to practice during times of stress — or whenever you have a break in your day.
4. Therapy for Black Girls
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford is a Licensed Psychologist and host of the brilliant podcast Therapy for Black Girls. In each episode, Dr. Bradford interviews a different mental health professional about different topics across the mental health or therapy landscape. She also interviews researchers, academics, authors, and artists. The conversations might cover topics like grief, imposter syndrome, being a woman of color in a professional setting, parenting, the latest episode of a popular TV show, and more. Dr. Bradford’s passion for mental health and advocacy for the recognition of the Black experience provide listeners with an enjoyable experience rooted in curiosity and compassion.
5. Trauma Rewired
The next podcast we recommend is Trauma Rewired. This podcast has two hosts, Jennifer Wallace and Elisabeth Kristof, who explore different aspects of trauma and how trauma impacts a person’s mind and body through interviews. Listeners learn more about the nervous system and how trauma interrupts the mind-body connection, which can be hugely helpful when navigating traumatic experiences or processing through painful memories associated with trauma. Trauma Rewired gives listeners ideas and tools to use in the healing process, especially those that focus on how to heal the body after trauma.
6. Let’s Talk About Mental Health
The last podcast on our list is Let’s Talk About Mental Health. This podcast, which has weekly episodes, distills complicated mental health topics to make them accessible for easy understanding. The host is Jeremy Godwin, who is a mental health professional and a writer. His emphasis is on how to improve mental health, and listeners get practical tips based on psychological research to carry into their own lives.
Ready to put on your headphones and learn more about mental health and well-being? With these podcasts, exploring different mental health topics is easy and enjoyable. Therapists who enjoy engaging in continued education get to keep up with the latest research through podcasts, and podcast content is a great way to augment the therapy journey for clients. With these six podcasts, there’s an unlimited amount of learning to be had with a few laughs sprinkled here and there.