326: Therapeutic Gaming And Nerd Culture with Charlene Macpherson

04/15/22 • 49 min

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Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C speaks with friend and colleague Charlene MacPherson, LCSW-C about Charlene's work bringing therapeutic gaming to adults in Linthicum, Maryland. Laura and Charlene discuss how embracing one's authentic self as a therapist helps clients who are looking for what is unique about us to feel seen and understood in therapy settings. Charlene talks about her journey to acceptance as a self-proclaimed nerd and how she learned to embrace her gifts and use them to help her clients. This is a beautiful conversation that will inspire you to embrace the parts of you that might be hidden when wearing your therapist hat. Additionally, Charlene talks about how Role Playing Games can be used therapeutically and what a therapeutic RPG looks like. Self-proclaimed nerd and licensed psychotherapist, Charlene MacPherson uses nerd culture to create a safe and fun environment to explore the therapy process. She's also a mother, wife, Lutheran, podcaster, and owner of Nerd Adventure Therapy 2.0 (NAT20).
Charlene's been playing Role Playing games for 15 years and Game Mastering for 3 years. She's been in the mental health field as a Licensed Certified Social Worker- Clinical for 12 years.
Charlene offers Therapeutically Applied Role Playing Game social skills therapy groups for adults age 25 and up as a part of her therapy services in Linthicum, Maryland. She's a certified Therapeutic Game Master in the Game to Grow method of TTRPG therapy. She's also in the process of completing certification with Geek Therapeutics. And she has a podcast called Mental Health Quest which is about demystifying and destigmatizing therapy. Resources: Find NAT20Therapy on Facebook and Twitter Check out Charlene's website here! (it's very cool) Find Charlene's podcast, Mental Health Quest, here.

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This episode is also sponsored by Trauma Therapist Network. Learn about trauma, connect with resources and find a trauma therapist near you at www.traumatherapistnetwork.com. We believe that trauma is real, healing is possible and help is available.
Podcast produced by Pete Bailey - https://petebailey.net/audio

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Previous Episode

325: Navigating The Legal System As A Survivor with Kaytee Gillis

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week's episode is about a sensitive topic - finding safety via the legal system following domestic violence and stalking. If this topic hits close to home for you, please take care of yourself while listening. Today host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Kaytee Gillis, LCSW, a Louisiana-based psychotherapist, advocate and author. Her recent book, "Invisible Bruises - How A Better Understanding of the Patterns of Domestic Violence Can Help Survivors Navigate the Legal System" is out now. In this conversation, Laura and Kaytee discuss the limitations of protective orders, what therapists need to know about supporting survivors of relationship violence and how survivors can get help. Kaytee talks about some of the specific barriers LGBTQ+ survivors face when navigating the legal system for protection. Kaytee Gillis, LCSW-BACS, is a psychotherapist, advocate, and author with a passion for working with survivors of family trauma and the LGBTQ+ community. She received her BA in psychology from Clark University, and her Master's from Tulane, where she focused on sexuality and promoting effective and accurate sex education in Louisiana schools. Her work focuses on assisting survivors of psychological abuse, stalking, and other non-physical forms of domestic violence and family trauma, and assisting survivors with navigating the legal system to receive protection. Her recent book, Invisible Bruises: How a Better Understanding of the Patterns of Domestic Violence Can Help Survivors Navigate the Legal System, sheds light on the ways that the legal system can perpetuate the cycle of domestic violence by failing to recognize patterns that would otherwise hold perpetrators accountable and protect survivors. Gillis provides training on recognizing patterns of domestic violence and family dysfunction, treating the aftermath of abuse and trauma, and helping survivors move forward. Resources: Find Kaytee's blog on Psychology Today here. Find the Invisible Bruises book here. Get in touch with Kaytee via her website: www.kaytlyngillislcsw.com Access the National Domestic Violence Hotline online or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) if someone may be monitoring your online activity.

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Next Episode

327: Bioenergetic Therapy with Laurie Ure

Welcome back to Therapy Chat! This week, host Laura Reagan, LCSW-C interviews Laurie Ure, LICSW, who is a clinical social worker and Certified Bioenergetic Therapist in Massachusetts.
Laurie explained what Bioenergetics is, how she uses it in her work, and guided Laura through a practice. You'll learn about energetic boundaries and using Bioenergetics in therapy through this fascinating discussion. Laurie Ure, LICSW, has practiced as a Certified Bioenergetic Therapist in Gloucester, MA, for over 25 years. She trains bioenergetic therapists in the U.S. and internationally. In addition, she leads workshops, speaks, plans conferences, and writes about topics related to bioenergetic analysis. Her involvement with this approach began in 1986 as a client of a bioenergetic therapist. She has studied with Alexander Lowen, M.D., founder of bioenergetic analysis, and has directed the Massachusetts Society for Bioenergetic Analysis. Laurie has also taught at Salem State College School of Social Work. She publishes articles on the blog of Psychotherapy Networker, in the NASW Focus magazine, on Medium, in the Elephant Journal, in WomanBeeWell magazine, and on the blog of her website at www.laurieure.com. Currently, she is writing a book about the bioenergetic approach to treating depression. In addition to her work, she enjoys traveling, swimming, walking her dog, and kayaking. Resources You can find her on Instagram: https://instagram.com/laurieure Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurie_ure Facebook: https://facebook.com/LaurieUreLICSW Medium: https://medium.com/laurieure and LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/laurie-ure-7487a429/ Visit Laurie's website at www.laurieure.com, Learn more about the North American/New Zealand Institutes for Bioenergetic Analysis at www.nanziba.com and Visit the International Institute for Bioenergetic Analysis www.bioenergetic-therapy.com Thank you to TherapyNotes for sponsoring this week's episode! TherapyNotes makes billing, scheduling, notetaking, and telehealth incredibly easy. And now, for all you prescribers out there, TherapyNotes is proudly introducing E-prescribe!

Find out what more than 100,000 mental health professionals already know, and try TherapyNotes for 2 months, absolutely free.

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