The "With That In Mind" Podcast · Red Bird Mental Health Services

Episode 57: With That in Mind | The Journey of a Therapist: Exploring Narrative Therapy with Katlyn Michaels

·49 min·3 clips

Narrative therapy helps people separate themselves from “their problem” and rewrite the stories they carry.

1. The With That In Mind Podcast episode focuses on Dr. Megan Bellozorzi speaking with Kaitlin Michaels about becoming a therapist and the methods she uses at Redbird Mental Health. 2. Dr. Meg is the host and owner of Redbird Mental Health, and Kaitlin is a newer staff therapist whose training matters to the episode’s practical focus. 3. The episode asks how Kaitlin’s path from teenager to therapist shaped the way she works with clients. 4. Kaitlin says she was drawn to “people and their stories” and that a therapist she saw as a teenager changed the trajectory of her life. 5. She says that session made her stop applying to English and journalism programs and start applying to psychology programs as a junior in high school. 6. Kaitlin describes going to Shippensburg University, later earning her master’s there, and eventually switching from psychology into social work. 7. She says her professors were either experienced in the field or still actively working in it, which made graduate school feel practical rather than purely theoretical. 8. She explains that social work appealed to her because it took less grad school time through an advanced standing program and because it includes a social justice component. 9. Kaitlin names marginalized communities, people of color, and LGBTQ people as groups she thinks about through that lens. 10. Dr. Meg compares the different training paths in psychology, social work, and counseling, and the two agree that different degrees can lead to similar therapy work. 11. Kaitlin says her main orientation is humanistic therapy, built on the idea that people already have the capacity to heal. 12. She rejects the idea that a therapist’s job is to “fix somebody” and says her job is to create a space where clients feel seen, supported, and safe. 13. She connects that stance to Carl Rogers, unconditional positive regard, empathy, and genuineness. 14. Kaitlin says she does not hide her facial expressions well, and she prefers clients to know she is present as a real person rather than a “blank slate therapist.” 15. Dr. Meg says the therapy field has moved away from early medical-model thinking that pathologized everything and treated people like broken problems. 16. The conversation turns to AI, and both say chat-based or animated models may offer some guidance but cannot replicate sitting in the presence of another person. 17. Kaitlin says telehealth still has value and good outcomes, but in-person work lets her notice subtle body language, fidgeting, and small changes that a webcam can miss. 18. She says that difference matters especially with children and teens, even though schedules and access sometimes make telehealth the practical option. 19. Listeners who like therapy models, social work, or clinician self-reflection will get the most from the episode. 20. Listeners wanting a fast celebrity interview or light entertainment may skip it.

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