#263 How To Be Your Own Therapist with Dr Julie Smith

Social media has its flaws – but it can also be a force for good, creating communities and offering help to people who might not otherwise receive it. And my guest today is someone who uses her platform to do just that.

Dr Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist, who’s passionate about making the tools of therapy accessible to all. And she has a real talent for doing so, to her audience of over four million people across social media, and now with the number one Sunday Times bestseller Why Has No One Told Me This Before?

Julie has worked in the NHS and been in private practice for more than a decade, helping a diverse range of clients through difficult times. But she felt frustrated that it was only those clients sitting in front of her who were able to benefit from her years of training and experience.

Therapy is about talking and working through your problems, but it also has an educational component, Julie explains. You learn about how your mind works, so you can influence your mood and cope better day-to-day. She realised this was something she could teach online so, back in 2019, set about posting short videos to Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. These quickly went viral, earning her hundreds of thousands of followers. Recent topics include breathwork for when you feel overwhelmed, how to recognise addiction, and how to help someone having a panic attack.

If you already follow Julie, you’ll be aware of her warm and friendly approach to helping us all build resilience. I think she’s brilliant at demystifying our thoughts, feelings and behaviours and encouraging small steps towards self-care. During this conversation we cover many of those steps, such as meta-cognition, journaling, emotional vocabularies, self-soothing and recognising your attachment style.

As with all of Julie’s tools and teachings, the common theme is self-awareness. She’s helping people get a bird’s eye view on their life, notice patterns and perhaps make different choices. And, as we discuss, this can help not only our mental health and emotions, but our physical health too.

I had such fun chatting to Julie and this is a wide-ranging and empowering conversation that I think can help all of us improve our mental well-being and resilience.

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Show notes available at https://drchatterjee.com/263

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