CBT SoCal’s Dr. Jason von Stietz appears on Sanity Podcast discussing the use of pop culture metaphors in therapy
Most people have a favorite movie or television series. Often times, people draw lessons and inspiration from those stories that can act as powerful metaphors to be utilized during therapy. CBT SoCal’s Dr. Jason von Stietz recently joined a panel discussion held on the Sanity Podcast, hosted by clinical psychologist Dr. Jason Duncan. The panel also included Drs. Simon Rego, Kristin Szuhany, and Sandra Pimental, all of which are distinguished clinical psychologists practicing in New York. This podcast episode continued a discussion that began during this year’s Anxiety and Depression Association of America conference held in Denver, Colorado where the group gave a presentation called, From Avengers to Zombies: The Power of Pop Culture Metaphors to Engage CBT Consumers and Enhance CBT Outcomes.
Why should therapists use pop culture metaphors?
During the discussion, Dr. von Stietz discussed his experience discussing HBO’s Game of Thrones on the PsychRally podcast with other CBT SoCal therapists Dr. Martin Hsia and Kristin Howard, LMFT. He described having fun discussing the various mental health issues and psychological strengths and vulnerabilities of the characters. He was then pleasantly surprised to learn that other therapists had listened to the episode and discussed the insights from the podcast episode with their own clients.
During the discussion, Dr. Szuhany pointed out how much people enjoy discussing and learning about mental health through the lens of pop culture metaphors. Furthermore, Dr. Szuhany discussed how people would be likely to continue the discussion of pop culture metaphors that started in a therapy session with their friends and family, which would both reinforce their own learning as well as further disseminate important information about mental health.
Pop culture metaphors can make therapy seem less daunting and more fun. Contact us for a free phone consultation to find out if cognitive behavioral therapy utilizing pop culture metaphors would be helpful for you.