Recorded during Mental Health Awareness Month, this episode of Inside the Session features Drs. Jason Branch and Cheryl Fisher in conversation with MACC colleague Dr. Kristen Curry, a longtime community mental health practitioner, counselor educator, and Alliant alumna. Drawing from nearly two decades of experience, Dr. Curry candidly explores the realities of burnout, compassion fatigue, and working within increasingly strained mental health systems. Together, the trio unpacks the myth of the counselor as savior, the importance of therapists seeking therapy themselves, and the necessity of building sustainable self-care practices that go beyond buzzwords. The discussion also addresses the impact of funding cuts, the rise of AI as a substitute for therapy, cultural humility in clinical work, and how counselor educators can better prepare students for the emotional demands of the profession. Ultimately, the episode reframes counseling as an act of holding space rather than carrying clients’ burdens, reminding listeners that effective helping begins with caring for ourselves.

In time for Pride Month, this episode of Inside the Session features Drs. Jason Branch and Cheryl Fisher leading a deeply personal and educational conversation with Drs. Elizabeth Watters and Winter Wiorkowski on LGBTQIA2S+ identity, advocacy, and affirming mental health care. Through candid storytelling and clinical insight, the guests unpack key concepts including gender identity, nonbinary experiences, pronouns, asexuality, polyamory, and the realities of navigating safety, stigma, and systemic discrimination in today’s sociopolitical climate. The discussion highlights the importance of curiosity over judgment, the role of education in dismantling bias, and the responsibility clinicians have to create culturally responsive, affirming spaces for clients. Centered around the idea that “education is liberation,” the episode ultimately challenges listeners to move beyond fear and assumptions toward empathy, accountability, and authentic human connection.

Inside the Session returns with Drs. Jason Branch and Cheryl Fisher inviting fellow Alliant MACC faculty member Dr. Ashley Diaz for a compelling discussion on social justice in mental health, centered on the idea of “cultural wealth”: the strengths, traditions, and lived experiences clients bring into the therapeutic space. Drawing from her experiences as a Latina counselor educator, Dr. Diaz examines how systemic inequities, stigma, and lack of access continue to impact marginalized communities, while highlighting the importance of cultural humility, cultural responsiveness, and radical empathy in addressing these gaps. The conversation emphasizes the need for clinicians to engage in ongoing self-reflection, embrace discomfort, and make intentional, culturally attuned changes in their practice, ultimately reframing care to both challenge inequities and celebrate the richness of clients’ cultural identities.