Episode #14: Jodie Cariss
Jodie Cariss is the founder and Creative Director of Self Space and www.carisscreative.co.uk. She is a Therapist with over 15 years experience in the field and a Tavistock trained executive coach. She has a direct and dynamic approach to her practice and a deeply empathic and approachable manner to the way she works. She is a Sesame trained drama and movement therapist and uses a mixture of tools in her practice.She began her career as a children’s presenter working for many years in the industry.
Continuing her academic training some years later as a drama therapist, she teamed her therapeutic work for The Learning Trust Specialist Intervention Team with a private therapeutic practice and corporate consultancy, working with leading global creative and media agencies to develop models that promote social and cultural change. She believes in solving genuine problems with innovative solutions, understanding human behaviors and real life challenges to pave a way forward for change. She is dedicated to growing awareness and raising the profile of mental health and in supporting individuals, groups and companies to be the best version of themselves. She believes her role is to support and illuminate a journey towards reaching full potential personal and collective.
When you picture a typical therapy office, you might imagine something tucked away in a big office building, recognizable only by the small sign on the door. Self Space, founded by Jodie Cariss, is just the opposite. With its storefront location and flexible booking options, the modern therapy practice is like nothing you’ve encountered before. And that’s 100% intentional, because Jodie wants to normalize the idea that it’s okay to talk about how we feel with someone who can help. On today’s episode, Jodie and I discuss why it’s critical to hear outsider perspectives when we’re facing challenges, why she thinks a therapy session should be the price of a haircut, and how Self Space is seeking to change the status quo in the mental health service world. (I’ve also done my best to convince her to open a practice in NYC, but for now, you’ll have to visit London to check out Self Space for yourself.)
“We’re very accustomed to going to the gym, to taking care of ourselves with green juices, but when it comes to the question of how are you feeling, we’re still quite shy of that.”
Here are some of the things Jodie and I chatted about:
How her training as an actress sparked her interest in becoming a therapist
Why she doesn’t like the idea that you have to feel unwell to seek mental health
How being able to book a session online normalizes the idea of talking to a therapist
The flexibility built into Self Space’s model, and how it removes barriers to access
How having a storefront changes the whole dynamic of the therapy experience
The trends she has noticed among clients, and how they relate to conventional therapy
How Self Space partners with companies to support employees in a confidential way
Her thoughts on the stigma around mental health, and why it makes it hard to get help
Why an outsider’s perspective is sometimes required to bring about real change
The cultural shift that needs to happen so that it’s NOT taboo to talk about your feelings
Her practical advice for people who are curious about therapy, but reluctant to dive in
“I also think that there’s a sense of shame around it still. We’re not proud of talking about how we feel and I think that’s where we can really help. We can say, look, this is going to propel us forward in the same way learning does.”