Catalyze Therapy

Catalyze Therapy Blog

﻿Neuroscience in Wicked and in the Therapy Office﻿﻿﻿﻿
﻿The Dance of Connection﻿
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﻿With its compelling storyline, powerful soundtrack, big name actors and sheer magnetism, it’s no surprise that 2024’s Wicked has set box office records and become a pop culture phenomenon.  ﻿
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﻿In one of the film’s most moving scenes, Elphaba, a fierce and generally self-assured outcast, begins a sort of bizarre but lovely expressive dance amidst a mocking crowd. When the charismatic Prince Fiaro comments, “I’ll say this much; she doesn’t give a twig what anyone thinks,” flawless and ever-popular Galinda solemnly and knowingly responds,“of course she does."﻿
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﻿...Connection isn’t just a feel-good idea, on-screen or in our real lives—it’s fundamental to our very survival as a species....﻿
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﻿By Lauren Demshar Abbott LCSW, SAC﻿
﻿November 10, 2025﻿

﻿Should you use DBT in your practice?﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿What Your Graduate Program Didn’t Teach You About Dialectical Behavior Therapy ﻿
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﻿You have probably heard the name Dialectical Behavior Therapy in your time as a therapist. It is one of the most ubiquitous therapeutic modalities out there, and with good reason: it’s also one of the most effective. ﻿
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﻿But as we have discussed before, grad programs barely cover therapeutic approaches beyond the basics. And getting officially certified in DBT can be a lengthy and expensive endeavor. How do you know if it’s something that would work with your caseload? Frankly, how do you even know what it is....﻿

﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿November 3, 2025﻿

﻿Neurodiversity and Queerness: Is there a connection?﻿﻿﻿﻿
﻿Mental health clinicians are trained to thoroughly assess clients using a biopsychosocial perspective. Doing so helps us to recognize patterns, in terms of both diagnosing and treating different conditions as well as overall trends in our client population.﻿
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﻿Since 2020, one shift I have noticed as a clinician is an increase in identity exploration outside the therapy room. While it certainly happened before the pandemic, in the past five-odd years, I have had a record number of clients present with a hunch that they might be queer, trans, neurodivergent, or some combination of the three....﻿
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﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿October 20, 2025﻿

﻿What is Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care?﻿﻿It seems like our culture cannot stop talking about gender-affirming care these days. From conservative commentators decrying it in the media to the hundreds of proposed bills banning access for patients under 18, gender-affirming care is a hot topic.﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Most of these laws restrict access to medical transition, including hormone treatment and surgery. But some, including Ohio’s HB68, passed in April 2024, limit access to gender-affirming mental health care, too....﻿

Sign with text Gender Affirming Care Saves Lives

﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿October 6, 2025﻿

﻿Navigating the Mental Load with Queer Couples﻿﻿﻿﻿
﻿If you’re like me, you are hearing about “the mental load” in sessions a lot lately. Seasoned therapists know that whatever is in the zeitgeist will make its way into our work eventually, for better or for worse. But the mental load isn’t just pop psychology – it’s a real thing, and the people carrying it are exhausted. ﻿
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﻿Several years ago, “You Should Have Asked,” by Emma Clit, a French cartoonist, began making the rounds online...﻿
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﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿September 22, 2025﻿

﻿How Therapists Really Use CBT﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿What Your Graduate Program Didn’t Teach You About Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ﻿
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﻿One of the most common complaints of new social work graduates is that their program did not teach them how to do therapy. Over 530,000 social workers were in the behavioral health workforce in 2022. Ironically, social work grad programs focus on generalist curricula, teaching you how to practice in a broad range of settings. Psychotherapy is just one of the jobs that a social worker can do....﻿

﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿August 25, 2025﻿

﻿Why Don’t Therapists Talk About Sex?﻿﻿﻿﻿
﻿As a sex therapist, I find that my clients often bring in topics that carry stigma. Whether it’s pelvic floor dysfunction, reconnecting with your postpartum body, or exploring ethical non-monogamy, clients report a sense of relief that they can finally talk about that thing. The thing that they have been carrying around like a heavy, shameful secret in their back pocket...﻿

﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿August 18, 2025﻿

﻿Why Therapy Can’t Be Apolitical﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Many of us were taught in our graduate therapy programs to be a tabula rasa – a blank canvas for our clients to project upon (Bergkamp et al., 2023). Historically, our profession has emphasized the importance of separating ourselves from our work as a means of preserving professional boundaries. But the therapeutic relationship is widely thought to be the most important factor in effective treatment. If that is true, how can therapists who hold politicized identities remain “blank slates”...﻿

﻿By Madeline Korth, MSSA, LISW-S﻿
﻿November 4, 2024﻿

﻿Rethinking Motivation: The Power of Compassion over Judgement﻿﻿﻿﻿
﻿At a recent case consultation with a group of respected therapists in my clinic, I presented a patient case causing me some frustration. I have been working with said patient for several years. Despite good rapport, consistency of appointments and stated desire to make changes...﻿

﻿By Lauren Demshar Abbott LCSW, SAC﻿
﻿October 21, 2024﻿

﻿How to Identify ADHD in Your Clinical Practice﻿Commonly Misdiagnosed Symptoms and Co-Occurring Disorders﻿﻿The notion that ADHD is a diagnosis reserved for hyperactive, fidgety boys prevails. But research demonstrates that ADHD can﻿...﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿

hands holding paper cutout of head with ADHD

By Olivia Lynn Schnur, MA, LMHC, LPC, CYT-200﻿ ﻿
﻿October 14, 2024﻿

Catalyze Therapy Blog

Neuroscience in Wicked and in the Therapy Office

Should you use DBT in your practice?

Neurodiversity and Queerness: Is there a connection?

What is Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care?

It seems like our culture cannot stop talking about gender-affirming care these days. From conservative commentators decrying it in the media to the hundreds of proposed bills banning access for patients under 18, gender-affirming care is a hot topic.

Most of these laws restrict access to medical transition, including hormone treatment and surgery. But some, including Ohio’s HB68, passed in April 2024, limit access to gender-affirming mental health care, too....

Navigating the Mental Load with Queer Couples

How Therapists Really Use CBT

Why Don’t Therapists Talk About Sex?

Why Therapy Can’t Be Apolitical

Rethinking Motivation: The Power of Compassion over Judgement

How to Identify ADHD in Your Clinical Practice

Commonly Misdiagnosed Symptoms and Co-Occurring Disorders

Start today and try the platform for 90 days.

No commitment, no credit card required.

1:1 Onboarding to set you up for success

Email support

Catalyze Therapy Blog

﻿Neuroscience in Wicked and in the Therapy Office﻿

﻿Should you use DBT in your practice?﻿

﻿﻿﻿

﻿Neurodiversity and Queerness: Is there a connection?﻿

﻿What is Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care?﻿

﻿It seems like our culture cannot stop talking about gender-affirming care these days. From conservative commentators decrying it in the media to the hundreds of proposed bills banning access for patients under 18, gender-affirming care is a hot topic.﻿

﻿﻿﻿

﻿Most of these laws restrict access to medical transition, including hormone treatment and surgery. But some, including Ohio’s HB68, passed in April 2024, limit access to gender-affirming mental health care, too....﻿

﻿Navigating the Mental Load with Queer Couples﻿

﻿How Therapists Really Use CBT﻿

﻿﻿﻿

﻿Why Don’t Therapists Talk About Sex?﻿

﻿Why Therapy Can’t Be Apolitical﻿

﻿﻿﻿

﻿Rethinking Motivation: The Power of Compassion over Judgement﻿

﻿How to Identify ADHD in Your Clinical Practice﻿

Commonly Misdiagnosed Symptoms and Co-Occurring Disorders

﻿

Start today and try the platform for 90 days.

No commitment, no credit card required.

1:1 Onboarding to set you up for success

Email support

Neuroscience in Wicked and in the Therapy Office

Should you use DBT in your practice?

Neurodiversity and Queerness: Is there a connection?

What is Gender-Affirming Mental Health Care?

It seems like our culture cannot stop talking about gender-affirming care these days. From conservative commentators decrying it in the media to the hundreds of proposed bills banning access for patients under 18, gender-affirming care is a hot topic.

Most of these laws restrict access to medical transition, including hormone treatment and surgery. But some, including Ohio’s HB68, passed in April 2024, limit access to gender-affirming mental health care, too....

Navigating the Mental Load with Queer Couples

How Therapists Really Use CBT

Why Don’t Therapists Talk About Sex?

Why Therapy Can’t Be Apolitical

Rethinking Motivation: The Power of Compassion over Judgement

How to Identify ADHD in Your Clinical Practice