318 - Can Therapy Evolve Beyond the Medical Model? with Dr. Danica Harris, The Empowered Therapist
“This is part of what I think is changing about our field. People want human connectedness. We are lonely. We are disconnected. We are disconnected from others. We're disconnected from ourselves. People are yearning for human connection.” ~Dr. Danica Harris
Why trauma-informed therapists are questioning the medical model, rethinking therapist education, and redefining what healing can look like in a disconnected world.
In my ongoing effort to “future-proof” the field of therapy, I’m encouraging practitioners to dream beyond the conventional session model. How do we move our profession and the world closer to a truly person-centered ethos? How do therapists expand our professional capacity to welcome (or, at least tolerate) interpersonal nuance, spiritual inquiry, somatic experiences, and/or political difference?
My guest, Dr. Danica Harris, suggests that therapists begin by loosening their death grip on the one-on-one billable hour, among other things. Danica is the somatic experiencing practitioner behind The Empowered Therapist on Instagram. She’s also a complex trauma expert working internationally as a coach, facilitator, presenter, and educator. Trained as a counseling psychologist, Danica prioritizes helping folks heal so they can live more embodied and empowered lives. She's deeply invested in equity, social justice efforts, and de-stigmatizing mental health treatment.
If you’re gonna chart a course for a utopian professional future, you’re gonna want Danica along for the ride!
Key points in the conversation include:
Why the medical model is failing many therapists and clients
The growing divide between therapy education and real-world healing
How trauma shows up in therapists themselves
Why younger clinicians are challenging old systems
The role of spirituality, embodiment, and vulnerability in healing
What hope looks like during times of collective trauma
“I'm a big believer that healing requires us to consider all options, expand beyond what we know, experiment, be curious, be open, and be receptive.” offers Danica. Now, I get that pushing our professional boundaries beyond institutionalized knowledge makes many uncomfortable. Therapists are fearful people. Danica agrees. “I know that there's this resistance therapists have to working differently, showing up differently.”
Danica’s desire for greater access to different modalities and unconventional tools compelled her to transition to coaching. “I very much believe in therapy, in trained psychologists,” she clarifies. But the narrow focus of the medical model and the rigidity of insurance billing felt increasingly restrictive. “I want to allow more flexibility in my work,” Danica says. “I wanted to have all of these options (like tarot and reiki) at my disposal without having to worry about am I doing something unethical?”
Therapists and therapists-in-training have a lot ot contend with right now––the TikTok-ification of trauma language, the glacial shift away from harmful modalities, the distrust between younger generations and elders with more experiential authority––but there's so much more that we should explore.
The future we seek exists beyond our self-imposed limitations.
GUEST CONTACT & BIO
Dr. Danica Harris (she/her) is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and complex trauma expert, working internationally as a coach, facilitator, presenter, and educator. Trained as a Counseling Psychologist, Danica prioritizes helping folks heal so they can live more embodied and empowered lives. She is deeply invested in equity, social justice efforts, and destigmatizing mental health treatment, and utilizes her Instagram platform, The Empowered Therapist, to provide education and support to the broader community.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Revolutionary Practice Summit 2026
NARM - The NeuroAffective Relational Model
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Shawna Murray-Browne - Anti-oppressive and Liberation-focused
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