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Two counselors trade jokes about inbox guilt, dying Durangos, and overpowered espresso while wrestling with a deeper question: how much real life belongs in the classroom. We explore program culture, student shock, and what it takes to build identity, grit, and readiness for hard cases.

• inbox pressure, family interruptions, and guilt
• digital clutter vs responsibility to students
• humor as relief and as teaching tool
• old car frugality and tradeoffs in priorities
• guest plans and student-centered goals
• boundaries around oversharing in class
• the value of honest case examples
• program culture: grit, support, and balance
• supervision during tough cases and growth
• helping students find authentic clinical identity

We got a guest speaker coming in next week
For the following three weeks we got a guest speaker

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

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Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

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Two counselors trade jokes, parent stories, and supervision lessons while wrestling with a simple truth: everyone needs real feedback. We talk about clean wins, messy systems, and how saying “good job” can change students, clinicians, and kids.

• late start, banter, and ACA mic confession
• supervision realities, randomness versus fit, ethical referral
• parenting story on cheating, grit, and clean competition
• raising “everywhere kids” and a shift toward 90s-style freedom
• faculty transparency, what we share and why
• the need to name strengths without losing rigor
• moving from ego validation to usefulness and calibration
• awards, humility practice, and trust as the new metric
• parallel needs for validation between educators and students
• closing notes on worksheets, cadence, and upcoming guest

We got a guest speaker next week, yeah. We got a guest speaker next week, yeah.

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

Instagram: thetwintherapists

Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

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A hike-time call from Pop-Pop, a birthday cookie “failure” that turns into a win, and a catastrophic Lego implosion set the stage for a conversation clinicians rarely hear plainly: some supervisors grow you, and some supervise to manage risk—and the difference matters. We trade stories that are funny and a little painful, then map them onto the realities of clinical training: reflective supervision vs documentation-first oversight, what “stagnant” or oversaturated supervision looks like, and why expecting growth from a role built for compliance can leave you feeling unseen.

We break down the two lanes with compassion. Managers keep clinics safe—billing straight, notes clean, risk low. Growers get into the weeds—countertransference, values, person-of-the-therapist, and how your history shows up in the room. The best supervisors flex between both, but many settings reward one side. That mismatch isn’t always incompetence; it’s incentive and identity. If you’re a supervisee stuck in a manager-heavy site, we offer scripts to name your need without burning bridges, ways to split the lanes (do compliance there, find growth elsewhere), and how to sit with “sucky” sites while learning what you’ll never emulate. If you supervise, we invite you to self-scan for oversaturation, explain your choices to model thinking, and shift from “try my way” to “find your way.”

Under the humor is a simple promise: you can get the support you need by being specific about the support you need. Bring your notes ready, ask for 15 minutes of reflective work, build a consult circle, and protect your professional reputation while your clinical voice emerges. If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a colleague who’s navigating supervision, and leave a quick review telling us what kind of supervision helps you grow.

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

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Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

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We explore childhood memories of our elementary school club "The Midnight Players" and share essential advice for new therapists struggling with performance anxiety in clinical sessions.

• Our childhood club "Midnight Players" had airbrushed sweaters, monthly dues, and official roles including a "Sergeant-at-Arms"
• Childhood clubs reveal our deep desire for belonging and community-building from an early age
• Creating a supportive environment at sports tournaments shows how community forms around shared experiences
• Three essential principles for new therapists: Be Slow, Be Lazy, Be Dumb
• Being slow means creating spaciousness in therapy and resisting the urge to rush through client stories
• Being lazy means trusting the therapeutic process rather than forcing predetermined interventions
• Being "dumb" in session (while smart outside session) means approaching clients with genuine curiosity instead of presumed understanding
• New therapists often try too hard to analyze clients rather than being present in the relationship
• The golf lesson analogy: sometimes simpler approaches yield better results than technical overanalysis

Reach out to us if you're doing something innovative in the counseling field and would like to be featured on a future episode!

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

Instagram: thetwintherapists

Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

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We explore the complexities of parenting, professional growth, and navigating difficult conversations in therapeutic and educational settings. From toddlers mimicking adult language to teaching children independence, the episode weaves together insights about embracing discomfort as a pathway to growth.

• Discussing the challenges of children saying inappropriate things in public while balancing professional identity with parenting reality
• Exploring the parallel between helping a child climb down a ladder independently and guiding therapy students through practicum challenges
• Examining how suffering becomes useful when embraced rather than avoided, particularly in therapeutic contexts
• Addressing how existentialism informs therapeutic practice by making suffering a "best friend" in the growth process
• Confronting the challenge of difficult classroom dynamics, particularly in multicultural courses where sensitive topics arise
• Balancing responsibility between students and faculty in maintaining respectful learning environments

If you have questions for us, reach out at thetwintherapists@gmail.com. We'll be back next week as we continue our commitment to consistency!

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

Instagram: thetwintherapists

Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

Send us a text

The twin therapists explore the concept of outgrowing your therapist and when it's appropriate to end a therapeutic relationship despite feelings of loyalty.

• Distinguishing between dependency and loyalty in the therapeutic relationship
• Recognizing when clients have achieved their therapeutic goals and are ready to move on
• The responsibility therapists have to acknowledge when they can no longer facilitate further growth
• Drawing parallels between the loyalty to barbers and loyalty to therapists
• The importance of "warm handoffs" when transitioning clients to new therapists
• How difficult it can be for therapists to initiate the end of a therapeutic relationship
• Why successful therapy ultimately leads to the client no longer needing the therapist

If you have questions for us, reach out to thetwintheapist@gmail.com. Stay until the end of the episode to hear a special message from our grandpa – the last voicemail he left before he passed away.

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

Instagram: thetwintherapists

Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

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Twin therapists Jude and Julius Austin share a candid, humor-filled conversation about finding peace, love, and self-care in the counseling profession while staying true to your authentic self.

• Peace in counseling isn't about perfection but creating structures that allow for freedom and authenticity
• Jude finds peace through session structure while Julius finds it through permission to be real
• Treating counseling as your "second relationship" helps maintain realistic expectations
• Differentiation from the profession is essential – get value and purpose from multiple life areas
• Self-care evolves developmentally throughout your career beyond basic "drink water" advice
• Client expectations have changed – today's clients want authentic therapists, not just techniques
• Taking care of yourself includes charging what you're worth and setting appropriate boundaries
• The real relationship with clients requires being your true self, not a sanitized professional facade
• Creating contracts with fellow professionals to genuinely care for each other throughout careers
• Finding a balance between structure and authenticity allows for deeper therapeutic connections

Come see us at ACA 2026 where we'll be presenting and signing our books. Look for our upcoming book "The Business of Counseling" – the business class we wish we had in graduate school!

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

Instagram: thetwintherapists

Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com

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The hosts return to discuss AI's growing role in mental health therapy and what makes human therapists irreplaceable despite technological advances.

• The rising trend of AI applications in clinical psychology beyond administrative tasks
• A UK startup called Limbic developing AI "agents" for intake, triage, and therapy delivery
• How AI therapy could make mental health support more accessible and affordable
• The "technician" therapists who follow rigid protocols may be more vulnerable to AI replacement
• What human therapists uniquely offer: instinct, timing, authentic connection, and lived experience
• Why mastering the "art" of therapy rather than just the technical aspects protects against obsolescence
• The importance of student initiative and self-challenge in clinical training programs
• Personal stories highlighting the unpredictable human elements of both parenting and therapy

Check back next week as we continue our exploration of therapy evolution and practice challenges in our regular weekly episodes!

If you have any questions about any counseling related topics or would like the twins to share their thoughts about a particular counseling case - reach out with the info below:

https://thetwintherapists.com/

Instagram: thetwintherapists

Contact: thetwintherapists@gmail.com