What can tarot offer in a therapy room, without turning therapy esoteric?

In this episode, Johanne talks with Elizabeth Ritchie, an EMDR-certified and IFS-trained counsellor, about using tarot imagery as a reflective tool with clients who are open to it. They explore how images can help clients connect with parts of themselves, find a way into experiences that are difficult to put into words, and create new space for reflection.

Elizabeth shares examples from her practice, including how she introduces the cards, when she might choose not to use them, and how she keeps the client’s own meaning and agency at the centre. The conversation also touches on trauma-informed work, online sessions, client choice, and the difference between exploring what an image brings up and treating it as a prediction.

To finish, Elizabeth pulls a card for Johanne, offering a small glimpse of how this kind of image-based reflection can unfold.

In both clinical training and modern pop psychology, therapists are often sold the illusion of the "neutral therapy room", that is, a space where systemic structures and power dynamics are magically left out in the waiting room. But what happens to our clients when we avoid naming and dealing with the macro systems that actively shape their mental health?

In this episode of Therapy Talk, Johanne is joined by Moulud Wahedi, a systemic, relational therapist who specializes in cross-cultural and queer relationships. Originally recorded as a live session, Moulud helps dismantle the myth of clinical neutrality and explore what it really takes to decolonise our therapeutic practice. The difference between cultural competence and cultural humility is discussed, as well as why therapeutic buzzwords like "empowerment" and "resilience" can unintentionally uphold oppressive structures, and why leaning into this uncomfortable friction is a profoundly liberating act for therapists.

Resources & Links mentioned in this episode:

• Connect with Moulud Wahedi: Find more about her work here.
• Book Mention: The Other Significant Others by Rhaina Cohen (discussed by Johanne regarding marriage supremacy and centering friendship).
• Join our Live Sessions: Want to be part of these conversations in real time? Sign up to our community here.

Connect with the Show:

• Follow It's Complicated, Johanne or Moulud on Instagram.
• Learn more about Johanne’s work here.

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps us continue to bring these important conversations to the surface.

AI is already shaping how people seek comfort, reassurance, and even intimacy. So what happens when more and more turn to machines for therapy? In this live-recorded conversation, Johanne sits down with psychodynamic psychotherapist Aaron Balick, author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking and an early voice on the digitally extended self, to talk about what hyper-validation and frictionless companionship do to our capacity for real relating.

What is covered: The algorithmic self, relational complexity, sycophancy and the tolerance of otherness, what psychodynamic thinking brings to a debate dominated by measurables, and advice for therapists whose clients are using ChatGPT.
Show links:

• Aaron Balick's Substack Newsletter Depth Psychology in the Digital Age
• The unedited video recording of the live-streamed conversation
• Details for the Rupture & Repair Conference, Berlin, June 6–7, where AI in the Therapy Space, will be one of the presentations