Therapist Confidential

The System Wasn’t Built for You: Elijah Murphy on Hope, Racism, and PhDing While Black

Therapist Confidential

Show Notes

What does it take to pursue healing while acknowledging systemic injustice? Travis Heath sits down with rising scholar Elijah Murphy — PhD candidate in clinical psychology and soon-to-be predoctoral intern at MUSC — for a candid conversation about racial trauma, radical hope, and the hidden curriculum of academia. They talk mentorship, the role hope plays in healing, why clinical psychology is falls short when it comes to working with race and racism, and Elijah’s honest advice for students that want to pursue a career in clinical psychology.

The post The System Wasn’t Built for You: Elijah Murphy on Hope, Racism, and PhDing While Black appeared first on Psychotherapy.net.

More from Therapist Confidential

Oct 21, 2026

What happens when the “text me” is better than the actual me?

Oct 14, 2026

“In a dimensional approach, no person is left behind … no two people fit in exactly the same place.”

Oct 7, 2026

Who are you, really, underneath everything else? In this solo, Travis Heath questions a common assumption in therapy and everyday life: that a true, authentic self is waiting beneath our cultural expectations, family influences, and insecurities to be uncovered.

Sep 30, 2026

What do you say when a stranger in line at Universal Studios taps you on the shoulder and announces, “We all have a bet going — what are you?” Derrick Paladino, professor of counseling and department chair at Rollins College, has spent decades turning that question into “me-search.”

Sep 23, 2026

What if the goals we chase are quietly working against us? In this solo episode, host Travis Heath admits something that feels almost taboo for a therapist to say out loud: he thinks goals are overrated. He unpacks why the clients and grad students he works with so often hit a wall of “what’s next?” right after reaching a long-sought goal, why “achievement culture” quietly raises the bar until yesterday’s dream becomes today’s minimum expectation, and why chasing “more” may be the most dangerous goal of all.

See all episodes →