Geek Therapy: Using Anime, Marvel, & Harry Potter to Connect with Teens | Teens: No Cap Ep. 56
Teens Uncharted: the PodShow Notes
Welcome back to another episode of Teens: No Cap! In episode 56, host Charity Chaffee, a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts, sits down with the amazing Yasmin Miranda. Yasmin is a licensed mental health counselor in Florida, Maryland, and Pennsylvania who specializes in working with teenagers and young adults.
In this episode, they dive deep into the incredible value of bringing a teen's favorite fandoms—from anime and superheroes to shows like Ginny & Georgia and Harry Potter—directly into the therapy room. Whether you are a clinician looking to connect better with your younger clients or a parent trying to understand your teen's obsession with a certain character, this conversation is packed with insight and practical takeaways!
In This Episode, We Cover: 🎧 Yasmin discusses her diverse background working in community mental health, youth facilities, juvenile drug court, and prisons. She also shares her recent transition into running her own virtual private practice. 🎧 Both therapists reflect on how graduate school programs often gloss over adolescent development. They also note that these programs frequently fail to prepare students for the business side of private practice. 🎧 Yasmin explains her unique therapeutic niche of using fiction, comic books, and TV shows to build trust with teens. She shares a specific success story of using My Hero Academia to help shy twin clients open up. 🎧 The conversation highlights how externalizing conversations through fictional characters creates a safe space for teens. This method allows them to explore difficult, heavy topics like eating disorders, self-harm, and peer pressure without feeling judged. 🎧 Yasmin and Charity discuss how analyzing complex or polarizing characters, like Severus Snape or Daryl Dixon, can help teens process their own struggles. These character arcs help teens see that they are still capable of growth and bravery despite their flaws or past mistakes. 🎧 Yasmin encourages therapists to embrace the "beautiful chaos" of adolescence and not fear bringing media into sessions. She emphasizes that you do not need to be an expert in a fandom to let your client teach you and use it effectively in therapy.
About Our Guest: 👤 Yasmin Miranda is an LMHC licensed in FL, MD, and PA, offering virtual counseling primarily for teens and young adults in their 20s and 30s. Be sure to check out her TikTok series where she breaks down mental health diagnoses through relatable pop culture lenses! 👤 https://care.headway.co/providers/yasmin-miranda 👤 https://www.mind-diagnostics.org/listing/234783-Yasmin-Miranda
Join the Teens Uncharted Community: Clinicians: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BHi1bkcXZ/ Like our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575657270757 Join us in Skool: https://www.skool.com/teens-uncharted/about Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teens.uncharted/
#TeensNoCap #TeenTherapy #GeekTherapy #MentalHealthPodcast #TherapistLife #PopCultureTherapy #AdolescentMentalHealth #TherapyForTeens #ParentingTeens #FandomsInTherapy
More from Teens Uncharted: the Pod
In Episode 69 of Teens Uncharted: the Pod, host Charity Chaffee sits down with Oklahoma City-based licensed clinical social worker Laura Jacobs to discuss the nuances of doing authentic therapy with adolescents. Laura shares her personal journey through teen mental health struggles and how it inspired her 21-year career in the field.
Have you ever had a brilliant, articulate teen in your office who can explain exactly why they do what they do, but absolutely cannot stop doing it?
If you work with or raise a neurodivergent teen, you know that finding the right support can be challenging. In Episode 67 of Teens Uncharted: the Pod, host Charity Chaffee sits down with Dr. Diane Hudson. Dr. Hudson is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and former school psychologist who specializes in helping older autistic kids, teens, and their people.
What if the very things that make a teenager feel "weird" are the exact traits we should be protecting? In episode 66 of Teens Uncharted: The Pod, host Charity Chaffee sits down with author Cynthia Baseman to discuss her new young adult novel, Weirdos Welcome. Drawing from her personal experiences raising neurodiverse sons and witnessing her niece's journey with a late diagnosis, Cynthia explores the complex realities of high school for teens navigating autism, ADHD, OCD, and anxiety. This conversation challenges the traditional parenting goal of helping kids "fit in" and instead advocates for helping them become so comfortable with themselves that fitting in no longer matters.
Raising teenage girls can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, especially when you are simultaneously navigating your own hormonal changes like perimenopause. In Episode 65 of Teens Uncharted, host Charity Chaffee sits down with pediatric nurse, seasoned dance mom, and author Amy Young to discuss the reality of the mother-daughter relationship.