What do therapists really talk about when they're out of session? Hang out behind the scenes with practicing therapists and friends Craig James, Johnny Pierce, and Matt Christian.
The Therapy Research Nobody Talks About - And What We Got Wrong (+ dealing with the holidays!)
Decades of head-to-head research keep landing in the same uncomfortable place: when you compare major therapy approaches against each other, almost none comes out meaningfully ahead. Researchers call it the dodo bird verdict — everybody wins, everybody gets a prize.So if the model isn't what predicts whether therapy helps, what is?Matt Christian, LCSW, LSATP, Craig James, LCSW, LSATP, MAC, and Johnny Pierce, PsyD get into what the research actually says, where it breaks down (OCD and specific phobias are real exceptions), and the harder problem underneath it: how is anyone supposed to tell a good therapist from a bad one when therapists themselves are terrible at judging it?They also talk through the holidays, why family gatherings pull grown adults back into old roles, and what each of them has changed their mind about clinically — including Johnny on why he stopped telling people to walk away from difficult relationships.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:44) The Holidays and Psychology
(10:00) Does the type of therapy matter?
(22:13) What we changed out mind about
Follow the Insights & Actions for new episodes.Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightbehavioralcentersFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsightBehavioralCentersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insight-centersInsight Into Action Therapy: https://insightintoaction.comInsight Recovery Centers: https://insightrecoverycenters.com
17 Aug 2026
Split Brain Experiments, Back to School, and 3 Year Celebration
Your brain's left hemisphere fabricates stories about your own behavior. In this episode, we unpack the split-brain research that reveals the brain's built-in "interpreter," and what it means for therapy, relationships, political beliefs, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. Plus: we celebrate three years of podcasting together, and close with real talk on back-to-school anxiety, including why your kid might be fine and your own anxiety might be the problem.Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:19) 3 Years of Insights & Actions(06:07) Split Brain Research, the Interpreter, Narratives(21:19) Back to School Anxiety and Advise for ParentsMatt Christian, Dr. Johnny Pierce, and Craig James are licensed mental health clinicians at Insight Into Action Therapy in Ashburn and Fairfax, Virginia.Follow Insights & Actions for new episodes.Websites:Insight Into Action Therapy: https://insightintoaction.comInsight Recovery Centers: https://insightrecoverycenters.comFollow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightbehavioralcentersFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsightBehavioralCentersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insight-centersOffices in Ashburn and Fairfax, Virginia.
24 Jun 2026
Do Therapists Believe in Self-Care? | Insights & Actions
Self-care has become one of those terms that can mean everything and nothing. We decided to actually examine it. In this episode, Matt, Johnny, and Craig do question it — where the concept came from, how it got commercialized, why it sometimes shames people more than it helps them, and what might actually be more useful: structure, honesty, and human connection.We dig into the real history of self-care (it's more interesting than you'd expect), why "mental health days" can be problematic, the difference between rigidity and flexibility, and why Craig wants to bring back pagers.Matt Christian, Dr. Johnny Pierce, and Craig James are licensed mental health clinicians at Insight Into Action Therapy in Ashburn and Fairfax, Virginia.Subscribe to Insights & Actions for new episodes.Websites:Insight Into Action Therapy: https://insightintoaction.comInsight Recovery Centers: https://insightrecoverycenters.comFollow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insightbehavioralcentersFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/InsightBehavioralCentersLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insight-centersOffices in Ashburn and Fairfax, Virginia.
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100
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41
Social presence
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YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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