Deconstructing Therapy

About Deconstructing Therapy

A podcast redefining the way we approach healing, relationships, and mental health. We challenge the status quo and traditional therapy frameworks that often fall short in today’s rapidly evolving society. Through conversations with therapists, activists, and thought leaders, we explore bold, community-centered approaches to mental health that honor the complexities of our world. Together, we’ll uncover how connection, shared stories, and innovative practices can adapt therapy to the needs of our time. Let’s reimagine what healing looks like in the here and now.

Publisher

Alefyah Taqui

Category

health & fitness · news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 Jan 2025

Latest episode

27 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Mar 2026

   SEASON 2 FINALE: Healing Is Not Neutral: Therapy, Power, and the Systems That Shape Us with Maria Fakouri, MA, RP

   Deconstructing Therapy – Season 2, Episode 7 Healing Is Not Neutral: Therapy, Power, and the Systems That Shape Us with Maria Fakouri, MA, RP What happens when therapy can no longer ignore the world we are living in? In this season finale of Deconstructing Therapy, Alefyah sits down with Maria Fakouri, a Palestinian therapist whose work challenges the limits of Western psychotherapy and calls us into a more honest, relational, and liberatory practice. Maria shares how the past two years disrupted the illusion that therapy exists outside of politics, systems, and collective trauma. As both a therapist and someone directly impacted by genocide, she found herself navigating an impossible tension—holding her own grief while witnessing a field that often refused to name the very realities shaping that pain. Together, Alefyah and Maria explore what it means to practice therapy in a world on fire—and why neutrality is not only impossible, but harmful. This conversation asks therapists to reckon with a deeper question: Are we helping people heal… or helping them adjust to systems that harm them? Throughout the episode, we explore: The disorienting split between therapist identity and lived reality in times of collective trauma How dominant therapy models reinforce individualism while ignoring systemic harm The concept of “spiritual bypassing” and how it shows up in clinical spaces Why clients are seeking therapists who can hold both personal and collective pain The shift from individual-focused intake to starting with the world and its impact The role of authenticity, vulnerability, and therapist self-disclosure in liberatory practice How therapy can either reinforce or challenge systems like capitalism, racism, and colonialism The emotional labor of witnessing violence while continuing to show up as a therapist Maria also speaks to the courage required to move away from the “white gaze” in therapy and toward a practice rooted in community, truth-telling, and collective care. Her work reminds us that sometimes the most powerful thing a therapist can do is not to fix—but to name, to witness, and to stand alongside. Ultimately, this episode invites us to reimagine therapy not as a tool for adaptation, but as a space for awareness, resistance, and transformation. Because healing is not neutral. And neither is the work we do. Maria Fakouri, MA, RP is a Palestinian therapist offering anti-oppressive, trauma-informed psychotherapy in Ontario, Canada. Her work centers the lived experiences of Palestinians and others navigating trauma under systems of oppression. Maria writes and speaks through a liberation-focused, anti-colonial, and neuro-queer lens, inviting both therapists and communities to move beyond individualistic models of care toward approaches that are relational, culturally grounded, and rooted in justice. Instagram: @mar._underscoreunfiltered Practice: Decliance (Ontario, Quebec, and select Canadian provinces) Booking: mariafakhouripsychotherapy.jnapp.com Email: ⁠mariafakhouripsychotherapy@gmail.com⁠ Website: DeconstructingTherapy.com Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @DeconstructingTherapy BuyMeACoffee.com/DeconstructingTherapy Special thanks to George Alvarez for his steady presence and support behind this work, and to Rayana Sims Consulting and Chanson Brummett for their contributions in helping bring this episode into the world. #EmotionallyFocusedTherapy #EmotionallyFocusedCouplesTherapy #EmotionallyFocusedTherapist #DeconstructingTherapy #RelationalHealing #CulturallyResponsiveTherapy #DecolonizeTherapy #LiberationPsychology #PalestinianVoices #QueerTherapist About the GuestConnect with MariaConnect with Deconstructing TherapySupport the PodcastSpecial ThanksHashtags

2. 

   12 Mar 2026

   S2E6: The Sacred Mess of Becoming: Finding Beauty in Impermanence with Brandon Liu, LMFT

   Deconstructing Therapy – Season 2, Episode 6 The Sacred Mess of Becoming: Finding Beauty in Impermanence with Brandon Liu, LMFT What happens when therapists stop trying to be the expert and instead allow their humanity into the room? In this episode of Deconstructing Therapy, Alefyah sits down with Brandon Liu, a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified Emotionally Focused Therapist whose work centers cultural identity, relational attunement, and healing through authentic connection. Brandon shares how his journey toward becoming a therapist began with a childhood desire to heal others, shaped by growing up in a medical family and navigating a complex Asian American identity. But it was a transformative undergraduate course on family psychology that helped him see the powerful impact of intergenerational patterns, masculinity, emotional expression, and cultural expectations. Together, Alefyah and Brandon explore how our cultural histories shape the ways we relate to vulnerability, work, identity, and emotional intimacy — and how therapists must grapple with their own stories in order to show up authentically for others. This conversation also dives deeply into what makes Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) unique: the understanding that healing is not a one-way process. When therapists allow themselves to be emotionally present, therapy becomes a bi-directional relational experience, where both client and therapist grow. Brandon also reflects on his own recent relationship loss and how that experience has deepened his empathy for clients navigating grief, ambiguity, and the loss of imagined futures. Throughout the conversation, we explore: How intergenerational family patterns shape our emotional worlds The subtle ways masculinity and cultural expectations influence vulnerability Why many therapists enter the field seeking answers for their own inner chaos The difference between therapeutic self-disclosure and emotional overexposure The importance of authenticity and humanity in the therapy room Cultural expectations of work, productivity, and success in Asian immigrant families How therapists must care for their own nervous systems while caring for others The beauty of messy healing and relational authenticity Brandon introduces the Japanese philosophy Mono no Aware — the bittersweet awareness of life’s impermanence — and how recognizing the temporary nature of relationships, moments, and experiences can deepen our presence, gratitude, and connection. Ultimately, this episode invites therapists and listeners alike to embrace the messy, vulnerable, and deeply relational nature of healing. Because therapy isn’t about perfect expertise. It’s about two humans meeting in the sacred space of connection. Brandon Liu, LMFT is a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified Emotionally Focused Therapist. He works with individuals and couples, with a particular focus on Asian men, Asian couples, and healthcare professionals navigating relational and emotional challenges. Brandon is a Supervisor in Training in Emotionally Focused Therapy, holds a certificate in Medical Family Therapy, and serves on the board of the Chicago Emotionally Focused Therapy Community. He is also connected with the Community of Asian Therapists in Chicagoland (CAATCH). He is the founder of Hazakura Counseling, a practice dedicated to fostering relational health and e...

3. 

   3 Feb 2026

   S2E5: Safety Is Not a Feeling: Power, Privilege, and Listening Deeply with Jay M. Seiff-Haron, Psy.

   Host Alefyah Taqui interviews Jay M. Seiff-Haron, Psy.D., who explores how therapists can address power, privilege, and safety with clients by challenging their own worldviews and practicing deep listening.

Who has been a guest on Deconstructing Therapy

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Jay M Seiff-Haron PsyD
• Liliana Baylon
• Jasmine Brown
• Dr James “Doc Hawk” Hawkins
• Dr Pauline Yeghnazar Peck

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

83

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 53 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

62

Social presence

91

YouTube

63

Engagement

0

Contact Deconstructing Therapy

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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