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July 1, 2025 151 mins

In this heartfelt conversation, clinical psychologist Dr. Alison Greco challenges modern assumptions about emotional distress, uncovering why our everyday struggles with grief, anxiety, and life transitions shouldn’t be hastily labeled as disorders. Drawing on her experiences from prisons to college counseling and community mental health, Alison reveals an overlooked truth: not every emotional struggle is a pathology needing therapy. She shares eye-opening insights about how our current healthcare system forces therapists into diagnosing individuals simply to secure insurance coverage, and how this creates false narratives about our mental health.

In this episode you’ll learn:

- Why OVER-PATHOLOGIZING emotions like grief, stress, and exhaustion is BAD.

- How emotionally IMMATURE parents NEGATIVELY influence their children’s development.

- Practical ways to GENUINELY support someone during difficult life transitions without ASSUMING their emotional state.

- The untold risks of MISLABELING CHILDREN with disorders such as AUTISM or ADHD due to misunderstanding their true needs.

- How finding a MENTOR with a BIGGER VISION for you than you have for yourself can transform your life and career.

This conversation sheds much-needed light on understanding human emotions authentically, while redefining how we seek and offer emotional support.

Thank you for listening.

 

SHOW LINKS:

Support the Show on: Patreon

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OUTLINE:

00:00 Introduction

01:08 Alison’s Background

08:10 Are We Over-Pathologizing Feelings?

13:17 Grief, Gender & Emotional Expression

22:18 Clean vs Dirty Pain

24:38 Helping Loved Ones in Crisis

33:28 Diagnoses, DSM-5 & Autism

48:01 Parenting, Misdiagnosis & Medication

01:04:51 People-Pleasing & Immature Parents

01:14:09 Psychologist vs Psychoanalyst

01:30:36 Women, Mentorship & Workplace Power

01:45:30 Victimhood, Power & Safety

02:09:36 Men’s Reactions to Female Leaders

02:14:45 Visionary Mentorship & Personal Growth

02:25:13 Final Thoughts & Outro

 

ALISON GRECO LINKS:

Parathera Website

Parathera Instagram

Alison's LinkedIn

 

CONTACT LINKS:

Click here to come on the podcast, share feedback, ask a question, or reach out for any other reason.

 

This episode has been co-produced by Kate van Leeuwen.

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