{"podcast":{"title":"You Must Be Some Kind of Therapist","slug":"you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist-5142473","podcast_index_feed_id":5142473,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist","website_url":"https://www.sometherapist.com","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/kKSwO8C4wLrjRyUIWjlyIr2zfV-lqxogMZ4PRqp_ams/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzI1NzQ0LzE2NDQy/NzA3NjktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.jpg","author":"Stephanie Winn","episode_count":221,"summary":"A podcast at the intersection of psychology and culture that intimately explores the human experience and critiques the counseling profession. Your host, Stephanie Winn, distills wisdom gained from her practice as a family therapist and coach while pivoting towards questions of how to apply a practical understanding of psychology to the novel dilemmas of the 21st century, from political polarization to medical malpractice. What does ethical mental health care look like in a normless age, as our moral compasses spin in search of true north? How can therapists treat patients under pressure to affirm everything from the notion of \"gender identity\" to assisted suicide? Primarily a long-form interview podcast, Stephanie invites unorthodox, free-thinking guests from many walks of life, including counselors, social workers, medical professionals, writers, researchers, and people with unique lived experience, such as detransitioners. Curious about many things, Stephanie’s interdisciplinary psychological lens investigates challenging social issues and inspires transformation in the self, relationships, and society. She is known for bringing calm warmth to painful subjects, and astute perce…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-20T16:18:10.386697+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist-5142473"},"episode":{"title":"196. Unconscious Group Dynamics and the Psychology of Scapegoating with Brant Elwood","slug":"196-unconscious-group-dynamics-and-the-psychology-of-scapegoating-with-brant-elwood","published_at":"2026-01-12T09:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist-5142473/196-unconscious-group-dynamics-and-the-psychology-of-scapegoating-with-brant-elwood","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist-5142473","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/37a4549f","audio_url":"https://pdcn.co/e/media.transistor.fm/37a4549f/52d7329e.mp3","summary":"Social psychology expert Brant Elwood joins me to explore the fascinating and often troubling world of unconscious group dynamics. Brant brings a unique perspective, having spent four years as a field guide in wilderness therapy—accumulating over 10,000 hours working with small groups—before transitioning into organizational psychology and leadership consulting. We dive deep into the phenomenon of scapegoating: why groups unconsciously select certain members to carry their collective anxiety, how the scapegoat often cooperates with this unspoken contract, and what happens when that person leaves. Brant shares compelling examples from Tavistock group relations conferences and primate research to illustrate how these dynamics play out across species. I also share my own experience of being scapegoated in a T-group during grad school, and we explore how our childhood wounds create \"Velcro\" for these projections to stick. We discuss the role of humor as a potential escape route, what healthy leadership looks like, and why some organizations become addicted to crisis. The conversation takes a meaningful turn toward Nathaniel Brandon's work on self-esteem—what it truly means beyond the smarmy 90s version—and how a leader's unintegrated material gets amplified throughout an organization. This episode offers valuable insights for anyone navigating workplace dynamics or seeking to understand group psychology. Brant Elwood has a MA in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. He has held consulting roles and leadership positions within several therapeutic treatment organizations. During the pandemic, he directed a non-profit that utilized myth and archetypal theory to conduct rites of passage work with young men in the southeast US. Brant draws from the mythopoe…","meta_description":"Social psychology expert Brant Elwood joins me to explore the fascinating and often troubling world of unconscious group dynamics. Brant brings a unique p…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4806,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist-5142473/episodes/196-unconscious-group-dynamics-and-the-psychology-of-scapegoating-with-brant-elwood/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/you-must-be-some-kind-of-therapist-5142473/196-unconscious-group-dynamics-and-the-psychology-of-scapegoating-with-brant-elwood.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}