Edge of the Couch

Ending Sessions on Time 13.05.2026 39min

We're currently on tour, but we are so excited to share this conversation with you! In this episode, we discuss all the interesting layers of this instagram reel by Jen Sims from The Redwood Center for Children & Families. As a trauma therapist herself, she decided to terminate therapy with her own therapist after the first session ran significantly over time. This sparked a huge conversation among therapists about what it means to end on time (or extend beyond the scheduled time.) People...

The Role of Emotion in Therapy 06.05.2026 39min

Emotion is the heart of our work as therapists. They can be slippery and elusive, hard to access, scary to tap into and feel fully. There are countless frameworks for understanding emotion, and in this episode we talk about how we personally conceptualize these phenomena. Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon.com/edgeofthecouch, share your thoughts and questions via DM on Instagram, or email us at connect@edgeofthecouch.com. We have partnered with Janeapp, our favourite a...

How to Avoid Being Harmful on Social Media 29.04.2026 39min

Even though we discussed being a therapist on social media fairly recently, we thought it was important to talk about it again because a therapist with a huge following (therapyjeff) posted things that were objectively harmful, intentionally or not, in recent weeks. It ignited a larger conversation across platforms about best practices for therapists on social media, because it's a good reminder: we can do actual harm, and it's important we take this risk seriously. But how? In this episode, ...

Has a Client Ever Hurt Your Feelings? 22.04.2026 43min

You guessed it-- we saw something online this week that got us thinking. This time, it was a reel where a therapist claimed that clients cannot hurt her feelings. But... of course they can...? We're human, after all. But knowing when to process our emotional response directly with clients and when to let it lie and process it elsewhere is worth deeper reflection. Has a client ever hurt your feelings? What did you do about it? Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon.com/edgeoftheco...

Confrontation is a Key Part of the Job 15.04.2026 36min

This episode is all about confrontation, challenging, 'calling in'. We talk about how gentle confrontation is an essential part of our work as therapists. We believe it is ultimately a disservice to clients to avoid challenging their thoughts, beliefs, or patterns. The tricky question is when and how to confront people in therapy. It's so scary when you're new! What is the hardest part for you when it comes to (gently!) challenging clients? Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon....

If You Want a Village, You Have to be a Villager 08.04.2026 35min

In this episode, we talk about how this phenomenon shows up in the therapy room. Some clients feel their asking for help is burdensome to their friends, so they keep to themselves, even when they want to develop deeper relationships. Some people are discarding friendships for seemingly innocuous mistakes. This idea that we 'don't owe anyone anything' is costing us connection. As therapists, we can support these folks to approach their relationships in alignment with the kind of relationships ...

PATREON PREVIEW: Therapist Red Flags 02.04.2026 19min

This week, we wanted to give you a peek into what our content on Patreon looks like. Breaking with our usual format, we are a little looser, a little more personal, a little more controversial. So, if you want to join us over there, go to patreon.com/edgeofthecouch. We have over 120 bonus episodes of speaking off-the-cuff, with no notes, no ads, no edits. We also want to give our deep thanks to our patrons. Without your support, we would not be going on tour, period. Times are tough, so...

Therapists as Wet Blankets 25.03.2026 39min

In this episode, we talk about how therapists can be humourless, anti-love, bubble-bursters. Not really... but maybe a little bit? We believe being the wet blanket is actually an important part of our jobs as therapists. We see when humour is being used as a defence mechanism. We spot love-bombing and other red flags. Exactly how we bring those observations to the client, that's more delicate work. How do we help clients see the full landscape of a situation rather than one angle of it? And w...

Touching in Therapy: A Relational Perspective 18.03.2026 33min

You probably heard this in grad school: "Never, ever touch your clients." But you know, for us, things are rarely black-and white. What about high fives? What about comforting touch? Hugs at termination? The conversation about using physical touch in therapy usually centres around liability and the 'slippery slope' to abusing our clients. While those are essential considerations to this topic, we are taking a different focus: the impact on the client and the therapeutic relationship. Ou...

It's Not Morbid to Talk About Death 11.03.2026 42min

Are you comfortable talking about death with your clients? Not just around their grief and losses, but also about their own future deaths. Some clients will be open about their anxieties, while others unconsciously express their feelings through things seemingly entirely different-- like making big life decisions about romantic partners and whether or not to have children. We also discuss MAID, suic*de, and the prospect of death adding to the meaningfulness of life. Listen to learn about our ...

Where Story Meets Science 04.03.2026 40min

Inspired by the new research article critiquing and perhaps 'debunking' polyvagal theory, we are sitting with the tension between adjusting to emerging neuroscience findings while also offering clients frameworks that genuinely help them make sense of their experiences and feelings. We talk about brain scans and bold claims that researchers sometimes make, what sounds science-y versus what actually shows up in people's psychology and physiology in session. We must translate these complex conc...

Should We Bring Back Shame? 25.02.2026 37min

Hear us out... we know that so many of our clients are in therapy specifically to work through chronic shame, and we work alongside them to pull back the layers and find self-compassion. To learn more about that process, you can listen to our episode on Working with Shame. We came of age professionally, so to speak, when Brené Brown's perspectives on shame and guilt were at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. According to Brené, shame is 'I'm bad', while guilt is 'I did something b...

The Problem with Therapist Promises and Guarantees 18.02.2026 33min

Therapists should not be out here guaranteeing results! That is a big red flag. But false assurances aren't just for those "bad therapists" over there; we, too, can fall into the trap of making promises we can't keep. Have you ever told a client you'll never abandon them? That therapy will save their marriage or "cure" them of anxiety or depression? Listen to learn why it can be harmful to make such strong claims, and what we could be doing instead to create realistic expectations and support...

Show and Tell in Therapy: When Clients Want to Share Videos, Text messages, or Poetry with Us 11.02.2026 34min

Clients bring in photos, videos, and artwork—and we love it. It helps us see their world more clearly. But what happens when the sheer volume becomes overwhelming, boundaries get blurry, or we take away something they didn't intend to share? Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon.com/edgeofthecouch, share your thoughts and questions via DM on Instagram, or email us at connect@edgeofthecouch.com. We have partnered with Janeapp, our favourite all-in-one practice management softwar...

For the Record... Neutrality Doesn't Exist 04.02.2026 35min

It's time for a refresher about why it's harmful when therapists put on a front of "neutrality". Especially during this time in history, people need therapists to be a place to land, to meet a real person, to talk about their completely understandable fears and have those validated and held. Heads up: this conversation is a little messy and unfinished. We're curious about what you think. Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon.com/edgeofthecouch, share your thoughts and questions ...

Our Thoughts on Acceptance and Forgiveness 28.01.2026 37min

In the finale of Season 9, we discuss the concepts of acceptance and forgiveness, and how they show up in therapy. Therapists can have strong opinions about these, and we are no exception! While this is the finale, because we have our tour coming up, we won't be taking a break this time. We'll be back next week for Season 10. Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon.com/edgeofthecouch, share your thoughts and questions via DM on Instagram, or email us at connect@edgeofthecouc...

Permissive Parenting, Spanking, and The Therapist's Conundrum 21.01.2026 41min

We started this episode with the working title, 'When You Watch Childhood Trauma Happening in Real Time', but as the conversation unfolded, so much of what we were talking about was a mixed bag of parenting choices that often fall within the cultural norm, even if, as therapists, we understand might have long-term consequences. We talked about screen time and spanking, being strict with teens, and having age-inappropriate expectations of young children. What is a therapist to do in this situa...

Naming The Culture of Thinness in the Room 14.01.2026 43min

Inspired by conversations with clients about GLP-1s, today we're talking something particularly tender and nuanced: the cultural shift towards thinness and the myriad ways that is showing up in our work. We talk about our duty to our clients, and balancing that with respecting self-determination and stage of change. We discuss how exactly to bring up disordered eating, and whether and when self-disclosure can be helpful. We also talk about countertransference and how that can add layers to th...

Working With Clients Who Know Each Other 07.01.2026 38min

Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon.com/edgeofthecouch, share your thoughts and questions via DM on Instagram, or email us at connect@edgeofthecouch.com. We have partnered with Janeapp, our favourite all-in-one practice management software. You can learn more at Jane.app/mentalhealth. Or, if you are ready to get started, mention Edge of the Couch in the note during sign-up for a free one-month grace period on your new account. Alison McCleary www.woodstovewellness.ca Jordan...

Heated Rivalry and Why We Need to Know What Our Clients are Watching 31.12.2025 35min

In this episode, we talk about how we can use our shared experience of media to enrich therapeutic work and deepen our relationships with our clients. We mention recent media like Heated Rivalry and the Oprah special on parental estrangement. We also talk about media that stays relevant, like Inside Out. If you enjoyed this episode, join us on patreon, where we often discuss pop culture and current events, in the context of therapeutic work. Join us on Patreon for bonus content at www.patreon...