Asking for help can put us in a vulnerable space. For some, asking for help feels like an admission of failure or weakness. However, many (including the POTC crew) would argue that asking for help demonstrates incredible strength, intelligence, and bravery. On this episode of POTC, our co-hosts, Jill, Yael, and Debbie, gather to discuss the importance of asking for help. They provide clinician-approved methods for identifying appropriate help, asking for help, and overcoming common barriers to asking for help. Listen in to this help-filled episode, today!
Listen and Learn:
- Why our co-hosts are drawn to the topic of asking for help
- Barriers to asking for help when you need it most
- Practical strategies to reframe shame and guilt related to asking for help
- Specific challenges related to seeking out professional help through therapy or coaching
- When to seek professional help vs. emotional support from your loved ones
- Important differences between therapy and friendship
- Clinician-approved methods for finding a therapist who’s a good fit for you and your needs
- Cultural challenges to finding a therapist and starting treatment
- Expert-approved ways to build out a reciprocal “helping network” with people you feel comfortable with
Resources:
- Read Yael and Brad Stulberg’s Washington Post piece, Therapist or coach: Understanding the difference and how to pick one
- Read Debbie’s Psyche article, How to ask for help
- Check out Flynn and Lake’s research on asking for help
- Read Zoe Chance’s Influence Is Your Superpower: The Science of Winning Hearts, Sparking Change, and Making Good Things Happen
- Check out Dr. Jessi Gold’s article, Your Therapist Is Not Your Friend, Take It from a Psychiatrist
- and Heidi Grant’s TED Talk on How to Ask for Help and Get a Yes
- Check out Debbie, Yael, and Jill’s websites to access their offerings, sign up for their newsletters, buy their books, and more!
About our co-hosts:
Dr. Debbie Sorensen is a clinical psychologist with a Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She works with adults in her private practice in Denver, Colorado, and is a part-time clinical research psychologist at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center. She is a co-host of the Psychologists Off the Clock podcast, and has co-authored the book ACT Daily Journal: Get Unstuck and Live Fully with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. She loves living in her home state of Colorado with her husband, two daughters, and dog, and getting outdoors in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
Dr. Yael Schonbrun is a licensed clinical psychologist who wears a number of professional hats: she has a small private practice specializing in evidence-based relationship therapy, she’s an assistant professor at Brown University, and she writes for nonacademic audiences about working parenthood. She has a B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and completed her postgraduate training at Brown University. In all areas of her work, she draws on scientific research, her clinical experience, ancient wisdom (with an emphasis on Taoism), and real life experiences with her three little boys. You can find out more about Yael’s writing, including her forthcoming book on work and family, and about her research by clicking the links, and can follow her on Twitter and on Facebook where she posts about the science and practice of work and family. Yael’s book, Work, Parent, Thrive comes out in November and is available for pre-order now!
Dr. Jill Stoddard is the director of The Center for Stress and Anxiety Management in San Diego. She got her PhD in clinical psychology from Boston University where she trained at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders; it was there that her passion for treating anxiety using evidence based methods took root. She also loves to write, speak, and now podcast! She’s written two books based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Big Book of ACT Metaphors: A Practitioner’s Guide to Experiential Exercises and Metaphors in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Be Mighty: A Woman’s Guide to Liberation from Anxiety, Worry, and Stress Using Mindfulness and Acceptance. When she’s not writing, counseling her fierce clients, speaking, or podcasting, she’s spending time with her amazing family, friends, and dogs, and feeling grateful for her mighty life.
Related Episodes:
- Episode 232. Grounded to Soar Into 2022 with Brad Stulberg
- Episode 152. Helping the Helper with Susan David
- Episode 246. Burnout and Boundaries with Tammie Chang
- Episode 158. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone with Lori Gottlieb
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