Do I Need Therapy in the New Year?
ShrinkChicks
Jennifer Chaiken, LMFT and Emmalee Bierly, LMFT
4.9 • 755 Ratings
🗓️ 29 December 2025
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on ShrinkChicks, Em & Jen wrap up 2025 with a topic that might just be on all of our minds: Do I need therapy going into the new year? They talk about how tough this year felt for many people, how finances and burnout impact mental health care, and what “needing” therapy even means.
They answer questions about feeling lost professionally, the fear of crying in therapy, worrying that starting therapy will make things worse, and how to tell the difference between pausing therapy and running from it. They also discuss how therapists can gauge whether they need consultation, supervision, or their own therapy, and what to do when a therapist simply isn’t a fit. In Dear Em & Jen, they respond to a listener navigating a shared mental illness with their partner, and conflicting opinions within their treatment teams.
Tune in to gain insight, awareness, and action! PS: Fast forward to around 8:30 to skip the intro and get straight to today’s content.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I have had so many times where people have come in for the first time in therapy, they come to |
| 0:04.8 | their intake session and they're nervous because of course you are. It is nerve-wracking to be like, |
| 0:11.4 | I'm about to unleash on this person that I've never met before. And I've had so many times |
| 0:17.6 | where people say, I feel so much lighter. Like, lighter, I feel like is the word that I hear |
| 0:24.5 | over and over and over again. Welcome back to another episode of shrink chicks. |
| 0:39.0 | Take a seat on our virtual therapy couch and get ready to learn all about, well, you. |
| 0:44.3 | I'm Emily Beirley. |
| 0:45.4 | And I'm Jennifer Chakin. |
| 0:46.7 | And we're both licensed, marriage and family therapist and relationship experts. |
| 0:50.8 | We're the owners and founders of the therapy group, a nationwide psychotherapy practice with down-to-earth therapists just like us. |
| 0:58.0 | Your session is starting, so get ready to know yourself and grow yourself. |
| 1:05.8 | This message is sponsored by Seed. On shrink checks, we explore habits that are steady, kind to your mind, |
| 1:12.2 | and realistic to maintain. And personally, I'm always looking to add small, feel better habits |
| 1:17.4 | into my routine. That's why when I first heard about seeds, DS01 from a colleague I trusted, |
| 1:23.2 | I tried it, and I now recommend it to friends and family. And as the new year approaches, |
| 1:27.4 | I'm trading |
| 1:28.1 | in my resolutions for more doable routines. Running the therapy group keeps me busy so DSO1 |
| 1:33.9 | lives right after brushing my teeth. If I can track client notes and staff birthdays, I can take two |
| 1:38.9 | capsules. DSO1 is a daily symbiotic probiotics plus a prebiotic formulated with 24 clinically and scientifically studied strains to support whole body benefits. |
| 1:52.1 | Gut health, skin health, heart health, immune health, gut barrier integrity, gut microbiol balance, and micronutrient synthesis in just two capsules a day. It also supports |
| 2:03.7 | healthy regularity and members love it. 92% have recommended DSO1 to someone they care about. |
| 2:10.9 | Sees reminder, consistency matters. Think brushing your teeth, simple, daily, done. Personally, |
... |
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