What if you could turn a collection of research papers into a podcast, create practice questions from professional guidelines, or build an infographic from dozens of sources? In this episode of Beyond the Bot, Dan Florell and Adam Lockwood explore the features of Google’s NotebookLM and show how it can change the way mental health professionals learn, organize information, and share knowledge.

They demonstrate how to create AI-generated audio overviews, ask questions during an interactive audio discussion, generate video summaries, build flashcards and quizzes, and organize research with infographics and mind maps. They also discuss how these tools could support exam preparation, professional development, and accessible educational resources for families and students.

The conversation also highlights an important distinction: AI can make information easier to understand, but that doesn’t mean its output should be trusted without review. Dan and Adam explain why these tools may be useful for everyday learning while requiring greater care when working with high-stakes information, such as psychological reports and educational decisions.

If you’re a mental health professional, school psychologist, educator, or graduate student looking for practical ways to use AI in your work, this episode offers plenty of ideas to explore.

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“Be well, and stay psyched"

CBT has strong research behind it, but does that mean it’s the right approach for every client? And what should therapists do when progress stalls?

In this episode of Psyched to Practice, Paul Wagner and Dr. Ray Christner explore the limits of cognitive behavioral therapy and why effective treatment sometimes requires a different perspective. They discuss how case conceptualization, supervision, and the client’s environment can shape treatment outcomes, along with the risks of labeling someone as treatment resistant.

You’ll also hear how therapists can integrate psychodynamic, existential, and somatic approaches into their work without abandoning their primary therapeutic framework. From understanding the role of shame and guilt to recognizing when a client’s environment needs to change, this conversation challenges clinicians to look beyond symptoms and consider the full picture.

If you’ve ever struggled to understand why a client isn’t responding to treatment as expected, this episode offers practical ways to rethink your approach, recognize when something isn’t working, and find a better path forward.

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“Be well, and stay psyched"

What if you could ask questions about hundreds of research articles, find the exact sources behind an AI-generated answer, and even turn your reading materials into a podcast? In this episode of Beyond the Bot: AI and Mental Health, Dan Florell and Adam Lockwood explore Gemini Notebook, formerly known as NotebookLM, and what source-based AI could mean for mental health professionals and school psychologists.

Dan and Adam walk through practical ways to use this tool to organize research, review professional guidelines, support psychological report writing, find citations for research papers, and create shared knowledge libraries for teams. They also discuss how AI can help professionals spend less time searching through documents and more time applying what they learn.

But there’s an important catch: AI is only as reliable as the information it uses, and being able to trace an answer back to a source doesn’t mean you should automatically trust it. Dan and Adam explain why checking citations, choosing strong research, and protecting confidential information remain essential.

Whether you’re a school psychologist, counselor, researcher, or other mental health professional, this episode offers practical ideas for using AI more thoughtfully in your work.

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To hear more and stay up to date with Paul Wagner, MS, LPC and Ray Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP visit our website at:

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“Be well, and stay psyched"

Psyched to Practice is teaming up with Guilford Press to create new ways for mental health professionals to learn from some of the most respected authors and clinical resources in the field.

In this episode, Paul and Ray talk about what led to the partnership, how Guilford’s extensive collection of mental health books can become new learning opportunities, and why they believe professional development can be more interactive and connected to real clinical practice.

They also share a preview of an upcoming professional book club that will combine reading, discussion, continuing education, and the chance to ask questions directly to the author. Rather than simply reading a book and moving on, participants will have opportunities to discuss the material, explore how it applies to practice, and earn CE credit along the way.

The first books will be announced soon, along with more details about how you can take part.

Psyched to Practice + Guilford Press

We’re excited to partner with Guilford Press to bring you more opportunities to learn from leading authors and experts in mental health and school psychology. Through this collaboration, we’ll be developing new webinars, podcast content, and continuing education opportunities that connect great professional resources with practical clinical learning.

Read the Press Release →

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To hear more and stay up to date with Paul Wagner, MS, LPC and Ray Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP visit our website at:

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“Be well, and stay psyched"

AI is moving into mental health practice at a pace that is hard to ignore.

In this episode of Beyond the Bot, Dan Florell and Adam Lockwood look beyond AI report writers and talk about how psychologists, school psychologists, and other mental health professionals are actually using AI in their work. They discuss the rapid growth in adoption, the role AI is playing in reports, treatment plans, recommendations, emails, documentation, and other everyday tasks, and what current research is beginning to tell us.

They also tackle some of the concerns that come with this shift, including confidentiality, bias, environmental impact, hallucinations, and the risk of relying too heavily on technology.

One of the bigger questions throughout the conversation is whether AI should simply give us answers or become something closer to a working partner. Dan and Adam discuss how customization, feedback, professional judgment, and psychology-specific tools may shape the way AI fits into clinical practice.

The technology is moving quickly. The question for mental health professionals is how we use it without giving up the knowledge, judgment, and responsibility that still belong to us.

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To hear more and stay up to date with Paul Wagner, MS, LPC and Ray Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP visit our website at:

http://www.psychedtopractice.com

“Be well, and stay psyched"

Private practice is often presented as the goal for mental health professionals. But what if it isn’t the right goal for you?

In this episode, Paul Wagner and Dr. Ray Christner talk about the many directions a mental health career can take. They discuss what clinicians can learn from community mental health and school-based settings, how to recognize when it may be time for a change, and why moving too quickly can sometimes mean leaving valuable growth opportunities behind.

Ray also shares how his own career developed through mentorship, supervision, teaching, private practice, consulting, writing, presenting, test development, and entrepreneurship. Along the way, the conversation challenges the idea that clinicians need to follow one straight path or eventually own a private practice.

The bigger question is not simply what you should do next. It is what you actually want from your career, what you enjoy, what you are willing to take risks on, and how your interests outside of mental health might create unexpected opportunities within it.

Your career does not have to be a straight line. It can grow, change, and take you places you never expected.

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To hear more and stay up to date with Paul Wagner, MS, LPC and Ray Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP visit our website at:

http://www.psychedtopractice.com

“Be well, and stay psyched"

Are we more likely to trust AI when we know less about a subject?

Dan and Adam explore the surprising gap between how experts and novices use AI, and what that could mean for mental health and school psychology. They talk about the risks of relying on AI when you do not know enough to spot mistakes, the importance of using multiple sources to check AI-generated information, and why AI should support professional judgment rather than replace it.

The conversation also covers major AI developments discussed at the APA conference, including AI report writers, electronic medical records, school data systems, AI agents, and recent changes to Google NotebookLM. Along the way, Dan and Adam consider a bigger question: How can professionals use increasingly powerful AI tools without losing the skills and critical thinking that make them experts?

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To hear more and stay up to date with Paul Wagner, MS, LPC and Ray Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP visit our website at:

http://www.psychedtopractice.com

“Be well, and stay psyched"

What happens when we start treating normal human experiences as symptoms of a mental disorder?

In this episode of the Psyched to Practice Podcast, Paul Wagner and Dr. Ray Christner take a closer look at the line between normal distress and clinical pathology. They discuss how referral bias, self-diagnosis, rating scales, symptom matching, and even our own clinical expectations can lead us to see a diagnosis before we fully understand the person sitting in front of us.

They also explore why context, culture, proportionality, persistence, and functional impairment matter when deciding whether a reaction is clinically significant. From grief and anxiety to ADHD, OCD, sleep problems, food preferences, and passive suicidal thoughts, the conversation looks at why a symptom alone does not tell the whole story.

Most importantly, the episode asks a difficult question for clinicians: What if our attempts to help can sometimes reinforce the idea that normal emotions are problems that need to be eliminated?

Mental health is not about never feeling sad, anxious, angry, or uncomfortable. It is about developing the capacity to experience those emotions without becoming controlled by them.

For clinicians, this episode offers a reminder to slow down, stay curious, and understand the experience before deciding what it means.

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To hear more and stay up to date with Paul Wagner, MS, LPC and Ray Christner, Psy.D., NCSP, ABPP visit our website at:

http://www.psychedtopractice.com

“Be well, and stay psyched"