Ask Me, Ask Me, Ask Me

February 2, 2014 8:31 PM

Kati Morton is a videoblogging MFTI who has created an extensive library of chatty and engaging informational videos on topics such as "What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?" "What are intrusive thoughts?" "How do I forgive others? Or myself?" and "Neediness, dependency, & boundaries," as well as many potentially triggering issues, usually prompted by questions taken via social media.
posted by Monsieur Caution (10 comments total)

The first time I started noticing my intrusive thoughts pop up as part of my Panic/GAD/OCD I just about flipped my shit. I had an instant panic attack. I was admitted to a PHP program but it made me felt I was getting much worse. I must admit even among the psychology field they aren't really well known because not only did my (severely underqualified for talking about anxiety and diagnosing my now oh so obvious OCD) then therapist not notice this but my case worker in the PHP program didn't have a clue either.

Now I'm thankfully with a therapist that understands what exactly is going on but god damn, the first time you get them and *REALLY* notice them, it's an absolutely fucking terrifying thing.
posted by Talez at 11:31 PM on February 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

In case anyone else was curious, MFTI stands for Marriage and Family Therapist Intern.
posted by threeants at 11:51 PM on February 2, 2014 [3 favorites]

Interesting.. sort of like Felicia Day with a professional degree... Snark aside, I'll watch these..thanks for the links.
posted by HuronBob at 3:28 AM on February 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

I watched the forgiveness video and I wasn't impressed.

These seem like useful topics to cover on YouTube, but it really seemed like she wasn't yet ready to be presenting them. (In the forgiveness video, she's basically reading an article aloud, not really offering helpful reflections or examples of the difficult stuff and how to do it.)

What's more, a lot of this really does seem like it ought to be discussed with a licensed professional rather than read aloud by an unlicensed intern.

That said, if you find anything here helpful, that's wonderful! Don't let my concerns get in your way.
posted by anotherpanacea at 4:37 AM on February 3, 2014

I agree with anotherpanacea... there's a certain lack of maturity and experience that shows through, but, there is some information that might be useful for folks.

However, I'll give her an "A+" for marketing (youtube, facebook, tumbler, twitter, linkedin, pintrest, google+, web site, fan page, there's not a social media site out there that she isn't on)...gotta wonder how she finds time to actually practice her profession..
posted by HuronBob at 4:52 AM on February 3, 2014

Personally, a good bit of what I appreciated about these videos was the element of demystification. It's a therapist showing the process of becoming a therapist as she does it. She lets the gaps in her memory show. She makes mistakes (note the shift in what she says about thought-stopping in two of the videos). She lets you know when she's reading from articles or flash cards. Etc.

So it's interesting in part because it undermines one traditional therapeutic concept called le sujet supposé savoir by fairly clearly exposing to the potential analysand how much the analyst doesn't know. I doubt that much is intended, but her practice of showing a bit of the human being behind the curtain is probably a useful reminder that, while her videos show a little of what a therapist would say on these topics, they're also intrinsically limited.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 5:09 AM on February 3, 2014 [6 favorites]

(I should add that, at least from a layperson's point of view, she does seem to be saying plenty of practical and meaningful things about her topics themselves. I linked to her explanation of what an MFTI is in part so folks would hear how far along she is in the process and what her hours of experience are.)
posted by Monsieur Caution at 5:24 AM on February 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

I made it about 2 minutes into the intrusive thoughts one and had to stop listening before I burst into tears. Just hearing somebody talk about it in a matter-of-fact way is so confusing and disorienting and distressing. Which is not a bad thing. I think.

The hand gestures, expressions and off-hand tone actually work well with the material, I think. It's non-threatening, except for the part where it's all terribly threatening and yikes.
posted by mittens at 6:20 AM on February 3, 2014 [2 favorites]

This is a bit of a derail, but I was watching the Intrusive Thoughts video and holy crap is the trope of YouTube pop up touts the most distracting thing ever. Whether or not Kati's content is good or not, having "Click to join my circle!" pop up, or "Click to subscribe!" pop up is tasteless at best or irritating at worst. Sad face.
posted by danhon at 8:39 PM on February 3, 2014

Especially if you turn off annotation boxes, and then you are left with someone gesticulating into the air, referring to imaginary boxes floating around their head... and you are supposed to be taking their advice on mental health seriously.
posted by MysteriousMan at 9:08 AM on February 4, 2014