Portrayals of Mental Health and Therapy in the Media: An Interview with Danah Davis Williams, LMFT Curt and Katie interview Danah Davis Williams, LMFT on the portrayals of mental health and therapy in the media. We explore responsible portrayals as well as the harmful practices that some writers and studios engage in. We also talk about the opportunities for modern therapists to have an impact on how diagnoses and mental health treatment are represented on film and television. Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com! An Interview with Danah Davis Williams, LMFT Danah Davis Williams is a Licensed Psychotherapist, an Actor, a Psychological Creative Consultant, a Podcast Host and current Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT). As a therapist, Danah is in private practice in Santa Barbara, California (California Coastal Counseling) where she specializes in helping people break destructive patterns of coping through the use of practical, evidenced-based coping skills and personal process. She is extensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). As a consultant, Danah provides personalized psychological consultation for filmmakers, executives and creatives committed to socially responsible, captivating storytelling through authentic characterization of mental health, its treatment and interpersonal impact. She runs a psychological consulting business helping entertainment industry leaders ensure accurate representation of mental health: working with filmmakers, writers, execs, and high-profile actors from networks like FX, CBS, ABC, NBC, Freeform and MGM. Danah is also the host, producer and co-creator of the Reel Psychology Podcast on Fireside, where she and Jon Lee Brody are raising mental health awareness by talking about fictional characters and their mental health. In this podcast episode, we talk about how the media often portrays mental health We invited our friend Danah Davis Williams to join us to talk about mental health in the media. What does the media get wrong when portraying mental health and therapy? Inaccurate portrayals of diagnoses Manipulative or unethical therapists The problems with “guilty pleasures” that include inaccurate or harmful portrayals “I really feel that one of the ways that we can see more authentic representation is to have more diversity and more people with mental health background in storytelling, in the writers’ rooms, or becoming creators themselves – because people write what they know.” – Danah Davis Williams, LMFT The opportunities for therapists to be creators and consultants Translating clinical work into consulting and creating Vulnerability when sharing journey as a therapist Using skills from practice building to create opportunities as a creator The process of consultation for scripts and what to consider when providing feedback Ethical thoughts related to representations How to build a network and consulting business How the storytellers look at mental health and healing “What I've had multiple times is a filmmaker or studio coming to me, and they're looking for the silver bullet. They have a character that has had some trauma or struggling with a specific diagnosis or relational conflict or what have you. And they want to know, what's the silver bullet, one- or two-page scene that we can include? (And sometimes not even that.) What's the five second dialogue that we can include that shows that they have worked on their mental health, they have recovered, and they are thriving? And it's like, it doesn't work that way.” – Danah Davis Williams, LMFT The silver bullet that “heals” the client Inaccurate portrayals of therapy or healing and the impact on clients Ethics to consider (especially given you’re not acting within your profession with an ethical code) The challenges of unscripted shows Shows that get it right when it comes to mental health and treatme