The Character's Toolkit
The Character's Toolkit
Podcast Description
In every episode, therapist (and reader!) Marisa Gelfand chats with novelists and therapists to explore the mental health struggles of fictional characters.
Characters don’t have access to a therapist’s insights, but you do, and you walk away with the skills.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on mental health themes as they relate to fictional characters, with episodes covering topics like coercive relationships, mental filtering, and sports performance anxiety. For example, episodes dive into the nuances of controlling relationships with insights from experts, explore cognitive distortions, and examine the psychological challenges faced by athletes.
In every episode, therapist (and reader!) Marisa Gelfand chats with novelists and therapists to explore the mental health struggles of fictional characters.
Think, bibliotherapy: mental health with a literary twist.
Characters in books and literature don’t have access to a therapist’s insights, but you do, and you walk away with the skills.
Marisa chats with Shana Youngdahl, author of A Catalog of Burnt Objects, and therapist Danielle Palomares to explore the emotional aftermath of wildfire and the complexity of trauma. They discuss how people cope with loss while life continues, how the nervous system responds to crisis, and how grief, resilience, and connection can coexist in the wake of disaster. Together, they examine what it means to rebuild practically and emotionally, and how moments of safety can emerge even in a world that feels uncertain. Want more? Follow @TheCharactersToolkit on Instagram!
The Character’s Toolkit is a bibliotherapy-based mental health podcast where novels and fictional characters are used to explore therapy concepts and coping skills.
Disclaimer
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