WMH Season 3 Ep 7: Breaking Therapy and Mental Health Care Down to Basics

This is a transcript of Watching Mental Health Season 3, Episode 7 which you can watch and listen to here:

Katie: Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of Watching Mental Health, and I'm really excited today because we're going to be talking about a topic that is on everyone's mind and that's therapy, and I think that it's important to talk to an expert about this. And so with that, I'm going to bring on Dr. Julie Robinson. She's a licensed marriage and family therapist, and she holds a doctorate in psychology as well. She brings over 26 years of experience at the intersection of mental health, business and human connection. She's the founder of Undercover Productions Inc. And the Las Vegas Therapy Center where she integrates clinical expertise with an entrepreneurial vision to create transformative experiences for individuals, teams, and communities. She's a passionate advocate for mental health care and an active member of the American Association from the Marriage and Family Therapy, A MFT, and the Queer Trans Advocacy Network, WBEC West, and the Nevada Psychological Association. So needless to say, she's really involved in the community. She's been ingrained here for a long time, and so I'm excited to bring on Dr. Julie Robinson to the show and talk a little bit more about mental health.

Dr. Julie: Hey Katie, so nice to be here with you. Thank you so much for having me.

Katie: Thank you so much for being here. And I'm just really excited because like I said, therapy is a hot topic these days, but a lot of people don't know how to get involved. They don't know what the first step might look like. And then also you are very ingrained in this community, and I just love talking to people who want to make a difference in the community. And so I just think that it's really, really cool. So I'm excited to talk about all these things, but first, the first thing I'm going to ask is just tell us a little bit more about who you are in your own words and why mental health matters to you.

Dr. Julie: Thank you so much. I appreciate this opportunity. And my name is Dr. Julie Robinson, as you mentioned, and I'm from St. Joseph, Missouri, the Midwest, and grew up with a close-knit family. And the minute I turned 18, I couldn't wait to leave and start my dance career, which I did in Las Vegas. I got lucky and got a job with Sammy Davis Jr. And Jerry Lewis when I was 18 at Valley's, and we opened the show for them 10 tap dancers, and it was a great opportunity. And then that led to more jobs. I didn't plan on coming to Las Vegas, but it happened to work out. So I kept working in shows. I was in Legends in concert, I was the Relief Mermaid in Splash, full-time Shark. Cool. And lots of shows.

Katie: Vegas is a place to be a dancer, so I love that.

Dr. Julie: Exactly. Singing and dancing. And then I started, my family got married and started my family and I wanted to work from home and wanted to stay within entertainment because I love it so much. So I opened my own entertainment production company. I'm a choreographer. One job that I did that I love is I choreographed the 100 person flash mob for Barry Manilow's return after the pandemic. I, I'm a big fan. Hello. Yeah, so that was great. I love doing choreography and shows and entertainment and as I was home and working and doing things, I went back to school

And got degrees, a degree in education in positive psychology, a marriage and family therapist degree. And then I became licensed as a marriage and family therapist. And it was an interesting change going from producing events and then hopping into the telehealth chair and doing therapy. But what I had found is that it was a lot like working in events where you're talking to people and it's about human connection and you want to make someone feel comfortable. That was my job as an entertainment producer, is to help the client feel comfortable. Same here. And I found those skills really helped me to have experience with that customer service element where you're really treating a client like the special person that they are. They've come to you for help. And so that aspect was natural. And also talking to people about how they are feeling and what's happening with them as a performer to help bring the best performance out of them. Those are also kind of the same skills that you get in a therapy session where someone is focused on you and is trying to help you be the best version of you that you can be.

Katie: Wow.

Dr. Julie: So there's some similarities.

Katie: That is so cool. What an amazingly unique journey and an intersection of those two. But I think you're so right. Connection is what matters here. And whether you're a producer or a therapist or anyone, that connection with other people is valuable. But it sounds like you had some skills that really then you were able to hone during the pandemic or during the time when you wanted to kind of be more at home. And then you came out the other side of this, I think with just a really unique kind of skillset coming from that entertainment background. Have you noticed that with your clients? Have you noticed that with how you approach your clients or your treatments?

Dr. Julie: Yes, I think it has helped both directions. It's helped me as the president of Undercover Productions and the way I integrate and work with people, understanding that everybody you meet is going through something any day. We're all going through something and we're 95% in our own heads. So a lot of times we'll meet someone and we'll think, oh my gosh, what do they think? We'll be real hypervigilant about how they're perceiving us when in actuality they've got their own things going on. And so compassion and empathy in all of our interactions, just recognizing that everybody's going through something. And that just by bringing kindness and compassion into the moment, it's going to help every interaction and help everybody feel more at ease. And then with the therapy clients, it also helps. The experience I bring helps because I've lived a full life.

A lot of people will come to me who are starting a business or want to start a business, and I've got a lot of practical advice, a lot of practical experience that I can share there or people who are creative and want to know what it's like I have can help them to understand the power of truly stepping into your authentic self. If you are creative and you're doing a non-creative job right now and not feeling happy, stepping fully into that, I know how that wakes you up completely and how you will become your full self when you are in the career that really lights you up.

Katie: Wow, that's amazing. So I mean, I was looking at, and we'll talk a little bit more about this next, I was looking at your therapy center at the website, and it seems like you do, you treat a variety of people, but it seems like you do that because you have these experiences, these life experiences that can help these people who are maybe creatives or CEOs or executive or anything in between, right? Because you kind of have these experiences backing you up a little bit.

Dr. Julie: For sure. And I've had my own traumatic events in my life. I was attacked by a dog when I was 14. So when I work with people with PTSD, I can truly help them to understand that this isn't something you're going to get rid of, which can bum some people out. But this is, you learn to live with this. This is an aspect of you, just like everything that happens in your life every day, a thread in the fabric of you, that one experience does not define you. However, it is a part of you and you learn to live with it in a way that isn't disruptive to your functioning. Because hear a dog barking and I'm like triggered and it could be a chihuahua, but my nervous system is triggered. And there are people that you'll walk around who allowed noise will trigger them, or a horn honking or someone just randomly yelling can set someone's nervous system off. And recognizing that within yourself, if you're starting to feel heightened, your heart's starting to raise to take some deep breaths and recognize that you can have subconscious triggers that can set you off, and then you're not really having the conversation you meant to have. You're not the version of yourself you intended to bring. And that can cause frustration.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. And this kind of reminds me of, it brings me back to kind of what you were saying earlier, just your approach here because you have your other business that is that creative outlet, and then you have your therapy business and you're able to bring them together in a way that I think is really clever because it keeps you, I think, going and keeps you happy with what you're doing. And it shows your clients that you can integrate therapy into whatever it is that you're doing. You can integrate wellness into anything that you do to make it better.

Dr. Julie: Definitely. And I'm a living example that you can go back to school as an older woman and have an entire, I mean, I have another 30 years I hope in this career as well, in my 26th year with Undercover. And it does help that you don't have to do one thing. We can see ourselves as if I don't pick the right thing. A lot of the young people I work with, I don't know if this is what I want to do, but that education is going to help you. And when you finish that, you perception and your awareness is in that new place, and you'll see the situation and opportunities differently. So not to judge and not to worry. You can go back to school when you're 40. It's never too late. And to help people yet to recognize that. And I also am a caregiver. My husband has had three strokes, so I live that. I know what that's like. I can help people. So yeah, life experience helps therapists. I've experienced loss. My brother passed away from the AIDS virus. I'm very involved with the L-G-B-T-Q community. I love it with all my heart and that all people should be accepted and loved no matter what the specifics are about us. We're all human beings. We all showed up here on planet Earth. None of us are really more aware of the other of how we got here or what this is all about. So just being kind and compassionate to all beings, because we probably are all more on a spectrum in personality than we have ever been able to really develop because of culture and expectations about gender roles. But really the full expression of people is a lot more rich and vibrant, and we shouldn't be afraid to be the full expression of who we are.

Katie: Yeah, totally. And I think you really represent that. So that's beautiful that you say that. For those people who are maybe struggling right now, excuse me, what would be a way for them to reach out for help? I know that reaching out for help is often the most terrifying step, and it's often the hardest step for someone to make when they are struggling. And before you answer that, my first part of the question is when should somebody reach out for help with therapy? When is it time to ask for a therapist or to look for one

Dr. Julie: Right? When you start to feel, because everybody experiences negative symptoms, when you start to feel that these symptoms are interfering with your daily functioning, when the lack of sleep and the anxiety is causing you to zone out at work, you're not able to focus, you're driving and you're not really focusing situations where you're safety or your family safety could be in danger. Or also if you are finding yourself not being able to control your heightened automatic reactions and being angry or yelling at the kids or yelling at your partner, that's another reason when you're starting to feel that things are becoming unmanageable. And I've actually had a few clients this week that are brand new to therapy, and they went through that stage of how do we find someone, which is so daunting because there are so many therapists and you see little pictures and it's hard to know, and there's a little video sometimes. Psychology Today is a good resource where you can actually go on and look at different therapists and they'll say which insurance they take, because unfortunately that's a part of it that you can meet someone great and they don't take your

Katie: Insurance, right?

Dr. Julie: So the search continues. Yeah,

Katie: Exactly. The search continues. And it is a challenge I think for people who maybe don't have insurance or unfortunately insurance companies who don't play by parody, which is just actually having these mental health services available for people who are insured with them. What would you recommend to someone who maybe their first response is, I don't have insurance and I don't have money. I don't know.

Dr. Julie: Then I would say in the little 10 to 15 minute consultation I have with them, I would share as many strategies as I could, because my intention is I'm truly in this to help people. So whether we're in a session or not, I want to try and give them a few strategies to help them. Mindfulness strategies, breathe. It's so overlooked. Underestimated the power of breath. But if you're shallow breathing, lead to more shallow breathing, which leads to your heart feeling like it's racing, and then you can become kind of hyperventilating symptoms in your face. Yeah, I've done that. So calming down and helping people to breathe, be present, and put yourself first. You can't take care of anyone if you're not in a place to do that. And the stigma is that we should somehow, it's all right. If anything goes wrong with any other aspect of our physical body. Our toe, our foot, there's no judgment. Go to the doctor. Thyroid, no judgment, go to the doctor. But mental health, there's such a judgment that is, it is interesting because it's wonder, it's so deep, and in some cultures it's even more pervasive that you do not talk to anybody about what's going on in your head. But the interesting thing is, a therapist is supposed to provide a non-judgmental space where some people feel, hopefully a therapist can give it. It takes energy, but unconditional positive regard and love is not an overstatement where some people have never received that. That no matter what you tell me, I care about you because that's where I am. I'm your therapist. I want you to thrive. I care that these things have happened to you. A therapist can validate these things that maybe you've never talked about. And then all of that is such a weight off of you that you're not alone in that. And your therapist is there to help you, a professional, to see where you're at and help guide you, help you to become more awake to your own thinking because we all have the capabilities and the capacity to be our own healing agents.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. I find, yeah, no, we do just need help. And I find that so interesting that you've been in therapy doing therapy for less than 10 years, but you see the stigma and it's still very prevalent. It just shows me that the stigma is still incredibly prevalent, that people still really do struggle to reach out because of that fear of judgment or fear of consequence. And you see it right now in 2025

Dr. Julie: Today. Yeah. People are worried that somehow it will come back to bite them, that they'll say something or they'll be revealed in some way. And not all therapists are great. I mean in any profession, but most have the intention otherwise they wouldn't go into the field. That a genuine intention to help people and want to share what they've learned and to help someone awaken to their own understanding. It's not a therapist isn't an expert in your life. We're supposed to be up on all the evidence-based strategies so that we can see where you're at and say, oh, well, your thinking is distorted here, so we can use CBT and we can help you slow this down. And how are you interpreting this that causes you to react in a certain way and get to the heart of it. Or you may have a DHD and a lot of productive type A women can have a DHD undiagnosed and not know it and not realize that and be able to use that. It's not a bad thing. It's not something you're trying to get rid of. This is how, this is the vehicle you're in. How do I drive this car? I got stick shift. Okay, I got learning how to drive your vehicle. Everybody's different.

Katie: Yeah, yeah. You're helping them. You're a part of that village, a part of that support system. So I want to shift a little bit. I think one of the people that you support are parents because you do have this book that's out there that I think is brand new. So tell me a little bit more about your book and about how this came about.

Dr. Julie: Yes, I'm very excited. Thank you so much. I happen to have it. Here it is. Yeah. Parents, please stop spanking your children. This came from my own personal experience. I was spanked. My dad had the biggest heart in the world. You can be one of the very best parents and be misguided and think that discipline means physical discipline. Discipline mean to be disciplined is to be structured, is to be pragmatic, is to stick with things, to make a plan and stick with it. Some people think, I got to discipline my child. That means I have to whack them over the head. That's not what discipline means. That's physical discipline. And you do not have to physically discipline your kids to get them to listen. I promise you. You do not. I have children, I work with small children. And the more you watch the natural world, I've been watching the Big Bear Eagles. I don't know if you've been watching Jackie and Shadow the Eagles that just had baby eagles. They just

Katie: Had the babies and it finally worked. It took them so long. They

Dr. Julie: Have two beautiful babies. And the beautiful part that I love watching them is because they are being amazing parents. They're not talking. No one yells. It really shows that it's power versus force. It power is hitting. Force is the energy. It's different helping them. You want to help them be better, not be afraid. People will say, well, if you hit a kid, they'll listen. Well, they'll listen for a minute. They'll be afraid of you. That's not long-term sustainability. As soon as they're teenagers, that will be not, you won't be able to do that to them. And then they will not like you because you've shown them that someone can tell you they love you and hit you, which is a very confusing message. And then it can be difficult to have self-love when somebody else that pivotal in your life expresses they don't love you or approve of you just as you are mistakes and all. You can find it very hard to love yourself.

Katie: Yeah, absolutely. And kids face so much today. I mean, the numbers speak for themselves, right? And I'm sure you saw the pandemic really did just an awful job on our youth mental health. So I'm sure you've seen that. And then adding in that physical punishment on top of these struggles that they're already having, it's a lot of confusion for kids. I just think it's a lot of confusion.

Dr. Julie: Well, and parents turn to that because they're frustrated and stressed, and as you mentioned, the pandemic made that worse because now they're all together 24 7 and their parents are losing their mind and the kids are going crazy. But the book, in the book, what I offered that's helpful. That is really helpful for any unwanted automatic reaction. It can sound simple. It's a five step process, but it is to pause, breathe, ask, listen and reframe. So the pausing people will say, well, it's an automatic reaction. I can't pause, but you're the only one who can do it, and you have to do it. It's like if a door is slamming very gently, place your foot or something in there so the door won't slam. The pause is that tiny break. And I've had people who, and some people who have said, this is just how I am. I can't change who have said, you know what? I've been pausing. And it really is making a difference. That one thing, pausing and taking a deep breath. Because when you take a deep breath, you genuinely change your physiology. We are these biological beings, your hormone levels, and you drink something and that changes it. It's all very changing. And so when you realize that taking a deep breath, you then see the situation from a new way. So for this example, you walk in and you texted your kid, be ready. We have to leave when I get home. Okay, you walk in the door, there's stuff all over the door. They haven't done anything. So you could interpret that. You could interpret that as disrespect and be so mad, and I got to tell this kid how it is. Or you could walk in and realize they're a kid and they didn't remember and surprise, surprise. And to not be shocked by that or have the expectation that they're going to have that. And then you interpret it in a different way and you have a different reaction. So if they walk in, so pausing and breathing give you the opportunity to make a conscious interpretation of what's happening. You're driving in your car, somebody crosses in front of you, flip 'em off, get mad, but you could realize you could take, that's an automatic reaction. Scream out your window. You could instead somebody's in a big hurry and let them go.

Katie: Oh, okay. Actually that's probably good advice for me.

Dr. Julie: You don't realize it, but we're making thousands of assumptions all the time. Their assumptions, and sometimes they can be negative. Conscious Awareness can allow you to make a positive assumption. It's not written in stone. That negative assumption is fact. We don't even know the objective fact from inside our car.

Katie: Exactly.

Dr. Julie: You know what I mean? There's a bigger picture.

Katie: And like you said, it's like everyone's fighting a battle and we don't know. We're too busy fighting our own battles. And kids are the same way. I think a lot of people don't realize that kids have their own minds, their own battles, their own thoughts that we didn't necessarily put in there, right? They're living and they have their own life.

Dr. Julie: People can minimize children. They are human beings having their same life experience. They're just at that age. It's not lesser. They're not worth less. Their opinion is not less valid. And a lot of times their opinions are less biased. So it's good to listen to them. They're our greatest teachers. So take a breath, pause, take a breath. Ask means what is happening here?

Give yourself a chance to go. Is this person really being disrespectful? Is this person having a big problem? I need to help what's happening? Listen, really being open to, oh, this isn't, I don't need to react to this. This is just my kid. They have their bag ready. They'll clean the house up later. You know what I mean? It's not a big problem. And then reframe. Reframe is from cognitive behavioral therapy, and it's literally looking at something in a different way that's more supportive, truthful. You can't fool yourself, won't be sustainable. And there are millions of truthful explanations. So find another one that's truthful and more supportive. So my child got distracted and then I'm not going to overreact. And then so all of that's great. Okay, there's a five-step process. Do that live life, it's all happy. But here's the problem. People are exhausted. They're exhausted, especially people with kids. They're tired, they're overworked, they're stressed out. They can't have, even if they pause and take a breath, they may be so elevated that they can't manage a healthy interaction at that time. So it's on the parent to realize, I'm really stressed out. I'm just going to smile and wave and go to my room and cool down, and then come out and not just be traumatic, like, oh, I had a terrible day and just blah all over everyone realizing that you play a role and that this isn't the right time for me. I can all go in my room and I'm going to relax and chill out.

Katie: For sure. We all need a break sometimes. Yeah. No, that's great advice actually. If you're feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated over emotional, take that step back. Take that time for yourself. You need to heal yourself before you can take care of your child.

Dr. Julie: And in the book, I call it a chill out, so not timeout, which got kind of distorted and twist. The intention was good with that. It was to try and get people to not spank the guy who invented it

Katie: Some space, but it turned into this kind of negative...

Dr. Julie: It turned into a punishment, and that's what, it's not supposed to be punishment. You're having a heightened emotional reaction. Let me give you love. Why am I going to give you crap and be hard on you when you're already dysregulated? So I'm going to give you love. Hey, go chill out. Let's chill out. Let's make a chill out space. You're feeling stressed. It's like a beanbag chair. It's all purple. Whatever makes you happy. And it's got little lights and you go in there and you feel better. It's got aromatherapy. Maybe there's a smell of oranges with citrus is very good with raising your mood. So creating a chill out space, that's what I recommend instead of time out. And one for the parent too,

Katie: Right? Yeah. Parents get one too.

Dr. Julie: Everybody needs to chill out. We all need, that isn't the end of the world. Everything is, we're going to handle all this stuff that comes up what we have to do.

Katie: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Oh my gosh. Well, so you touched on this a little bit earlier, but every time I have a professional on, I always ask the same question to round out the interview. So I'm going to ask you, do you think that a mental health challenge or a diagnosis is something that someone can overcome or something that someone should accept and as a part of them and realize that they always will need to treat that part of them?

Dr. Julie: Well, I think both are true. I think you accept it. And then what was the first part again? Tell me again. Do I accept it or do I overcome it? Overcome it, right. Overcoming how it disables you. You accept it and you overcome it, and you find ways to live with it. Some things may not. You may have a traumatic event happen and you have a stress reaction, but it lasts a month or two and you get help, and it doesn't develop into post-traumatic stress, and that doesn't last forever.

Katie: But some things do,

Dr. Julie: Some things do. Some people are going to have anxiety their entire life, and so you get wound up sometimes you find yourself overthinking, ruminating, catastrophizing, and then you recognize that and you comfort give yourself love. Not judgment. You're catastrophizing because you're worried it's going to be all right. Not like, why do you think this way? Not talking negatively to yourself. That's never helpful. Some people will say that tough love is good. I don't agree with that. It could work, but it doesn't mean it's the best way you could. I can't think of a note, but do something that chop it up. Or you could do it the scalpel. But that is the kind of thing that we all have emotions where you're not going to get rid of your emotional reactions. You can learn to manage them more effectively since when they're coming on. But yes, all those things you said are true. You will overcome them disabling your daily life where you can still drive the car even though you have anxiety, you have strategies of self hypnosis strategies, calming, deep breathing, and you drive your car and you manage.

Katie: Yeah, I love that. What a great analogy. And I do agree. I do think that there are times where it's a part of our lives, but it should never be in the driver's seat.

Dr. Julie: And that's when it is. It's in the driver's seat. That's when you need to seek a therapist.

Katie: Yeah,

Dr. Julie: That's a great way to think of it. Yeah, when you're no longer the one.

Katie: Absolutely. So for someone who maybe is out there struggling right now and who feels like they're not in the driver's seat and maybe they want to learn more about your services, tell us a little bit more about do you accept insurance or do you do cash pay? And how can somebody reach out to you to get that consultation you mentioned?

Dr. Julie: Okay. Yes. Wonderful. It's the Julie@losslvtherapycenter.com is the email.

And on the website, there's a contact us button, and I do take insurance, and they are listed there, Aetna, Optum, Optum, and Cigna. And there are a lot of plans underneath those major companies and cash pay, I do accept cash pay, and I do have a sliding scale. There are people that I work with that there's no judgment. We're at times in our life and people need help, and I will help them at the degree that I can. So I'm definitely open to that and want people to reach out because even if they have a consultation and they decide they don't want services, they've opened the door and they've taken a step that then allows them to be in a new place of viewing themself and their situation. They've taken some control. So I do advise people to go get some consultations, meet some people, because it is very personal. This is a person you're going to talk to and share with, and it may work for a while and then not after. So be open to that. A therapist shouldn't take that personally. This is the client's journey and we're here to help whoever we can help.

Katie: That's right. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I always tell people, you got to shop around your therapist. If you don't like the first one, don't give up. You keep trying. You keep going out. There'll be someone out there who can help you. So are you taking clients right now?

Dr. Julie: Yes, I am accepting new clients. I have a few spots, but yeah, because some people will come and therapy is a rotating, people will be there as long as they need to be there. But yes, I'm accepting new people right now and look forward to meeting. And I work with a lot of couples, so a lot of couples are having difficulties and children, I have children as little as four that can do telehealth. People will think that telehealth isn't as intimate. But as you can see on this podcast, I mean if I were with you in the room, we might not be looking as close at each other and you're looking around. It's a very intimate space, and you can see how someone's feeling. You can notice body language, and it's effective and you're in your own home safe space. I like it. I think it's a good way to

Katie: Have it. Absolutely. I think Teletherapy can be great for some people, and then you as a therapist can also see their home environment in some ways. It can give you kind of a bigger eye in some areas.

Dr. Julie: I've heard a lot, some parents yelling and then realize that the child's on therapy and then the more curated version of them will come out. It's funny.

Katie: Yeah. Yeah. So you see things for sure. And yeah, I mean I do think that Teletherapy is really valuable. It's one of the few things that was a positive from the pandemic I felt was that this opening up to accepting of teletherapy

Dr. Julie: Don't have to drive. Yes, less limitations. You could be in bed if you needed to and talk.

Katie: I think that's amazing. I can already think of a couple of people I might want to send your way, but I am just so grateful for your time today and for your insights and wisdom because you are a therapist who didn't start off as a therapist. You are a therapist who started off with real lived experience just in life. And I think that that's brought so much more depth to your services. So thank you so much for being here and for sharing your wisdom with us.

Dr. Julie: Thank you. And thank you, Katie, for doing this show. It's so important and it helps to remove the stigma and make it an easier conversation, which is going to help a lot of people. That's a great thing you're doing.

Katie: Thank you so much. Absolutely. And we're doing the show live every first and third Wednesday of the month. So if you're out there listening in, come tune in every first and third Wednesday. And if you miss the show, that's okay. You can see all of the episodes on my website at katierosewaechter.com. And then of course we're on Spotify, YouTube, all of that. So thank you so much to everyone out there, and we will see you next time. Bye. Thank you.