Nature & Nurture #15: Dr. Katie Gordon - Clinical Psychology & Suicide Prevention

Dr. Katie Gordon is a licensed clinical psychologist, co-host of the Psychodrama Podcast, and the author of The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook. Learn more about her work and find her book and podcast at: https://kathrynhgordon.com/ 

In this episode we discuss Katie's background in clinical psychology, her work as a therapist, suicide prevention, and tips for managing mental health.  

Timestamps:  0:00 - Introduction 0:59 - How Katie became interested in clinical psychology 2:37 - Introduction to psychology research 4:35 - Working in a mental hospital before grad school 5:37 - How to manage one's own emotions when working with suffering patients  7:24 - The types of patients Katie works with 9:06 - Nature vs. nurture in mental illness 13:23 - Therapy's role in society 15:39 - Tools from therapy that everyone can use in their relationships  17:40 - What progress looks like in therapy 21:04 - Teaching patients to solve problems rather than solving their problems 22:21 - How it feels to see a patient improve 26:15 - Suicide prevention 28:17 - The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook 29:40 - Suicidal ideation 32:18 - Suicidal thoughts 34:40 - Sex differences in suicidal behavior 36:10 - Suicide attempt survivors  37:25 - Suicide in popular media 39:47 - How being a therapist has influenced Katie's personal relationships 42:27 - The Psychodrama Podcast 43:56 - Comedians and therapists 46:21 - Honesty in therapy 47:17 - Mental health diagnoses and misconceptions 49:31 - Unconditional positive regard