The Best Tool to Learn English for Clinical Psychology

What if I told you there was a free, easy way to access the English psychologists need to work with international clients? Here’s why you need to start listening to podcasts ASAP, which ones to choose and how to learn from them.

Podcasts have become more and more popular over the past few years, with new, fascinating content being released all the time. They are an incredible free tool for clinical psychologists who want to work in English. There are so many out there, however, that, at first, it can feel a little overwhelming.

Which ones should you listen to?

For me, podcasts in which a therapist has a session with a client are the most practical, efficient way of learning. Esther Perel’s, “Where should we begin,” (couple’s therapy), “Esther Calling” (individual therapy) and “How’s work?” (two workmates working through an interpersonal issue) are all extremely useful. As far as I know, she is the only podcast host who also gives listeners access to the transcripts via her website.  

Lori Gottlieb and Guy Winch’s “Dear Therapists” is another highly insightful option. Here, there is the added benefit of being able to compare both therapists’ styles.

Finally, “Other People’s Problems” with therapist and researcher Hillary McBride is another great option. Because it’s less “edited",  the sound is not as clear and it might initially be harder to listen to. But McBride’s gentler style is a very interesting contrast from Perel’s more directive techniques, so it’s worth listening to both. What’s more, unlike the podcasts mentioned above, the participants are regular patients who come to sessions again and again, not people who come to one session. This means the discussion about the therapist-patient relationship is richer. 

Why should you listen to them?

Firstly, this exercise obviously improves listening comprehension skills. Practising this skill is key to understanding clients of different nationalities, ages, and socio-economic backgrounds. When you listen to a podcast, you have no visual input. This means you have to focus completely on what you can hear. In my opinion, this is a great way to practice, because it can help to prepare you for challenging listening situations such as an unreliable internet connection when providing teletherapy, or client dysregulation (i.e. when a client is sobbing or speaking very quickly).

Secondly, listening to the specific podcasts I recommend helps you learn highly specialized vocabulary and expressions. When broadening your vocabulary, it’s crucial to try to assimilate words you will actually use with clients. Trust me: learning new words just for the sake of it sounds like fun until you have a list of 100 new words to revise each week.

Not only do you learn specific vocabulary in these podcasts, but you also discover the clinical and linguistic context in which to use it.

Sometimes we think of words as individual concepts, like “Love”. The problem is, we don’t usually use words like that, they form what we call “chunks,” or small groups. It’s more realistic and useful to learn the word “love” in its real contexts, with other words like prepositions and collocations around it (ex. I love to + dance / other infinitive verb, real/ true + love, fall in love /fall out of love). If this all sounds a bit confusing, don’t worry. The most important thing is to check what kind of sentence your new word appears in and try to copy that formula.

How should you listen to these podcasts?

Of course, you can simply press play on the platform you use (I use Spotify) and listen to the whole episode in one go. However, I encourage my students to try different strategies.

When it comes to Esther Perel’s podcasts, for example, you can start by visiting her website. Go to a specific episode’s page (such as this one) and start by reading and thinking about the episode themes (scroll down to the section that says what to listen for in this episode). Then, try to listen to the podcast twice. Listen freely the first time, getting a general idea of what is going on and the interaction between the therapist and client(s). Then, the second time, try listening to 15-minute intervals in a more focused way, taking notes of vocabulary and expressions you find useful. It’s ok if you’re not sure how to spell something, you can compare your notes to the transcript later.

Once you’ve listened to the episode twice, go back to the themes. How do you feel about them now that you understand the context? Maybe you could write a short personal reflection about any insight you might have gained. Then, revisit your notes. Choose a maximum of 10 expressions or words that you find particularly interesting or useful. Go to the transcript and copy the sentence in which this language was used. Could you use these with your clients? Or are these words you think your client is likely to use with you? In either case, it’s useful to invent and write down new sentences for these words or expressions. Finally, remember to revisit these words/ expressions from time to time, for example by making flashcards or using a free website like Quizlet.

To conclude, specialized podcasts are a great way to improve your listening skills and range of vocabulary. But remember: it’s better to choose fewer types of podcasts or episodes, and listen to them actively than to passively consume as much content as possible, without thinking about how to apply everything you learn.

I hope you found this post useful! If you want to work with clients in English this year, remember to book your free 60-minute consultation with me so we can discuss your level, needs and objectives.

Otherwise, if you want more specialized tips on how to provide therapy in English, feel free to join my free email list here.