I have a confession to make. I am an addict. I guess that’s the best way to describe my binge-watching of the power washing and garden makeover channels on YouTube. I thought it was just a phase, but after 3 months I am still mesmerized by watching people clean up disaster areas and I wonder why. More often than not I am moved to tears. Have I literally gone mad?

There is one man (or should I call him a bloke) who lives in England and does all of his work for free. Yep, the proceeds he gets from his social media sites afford him the luxury of seeking out those who are elderly or strapped for money and lending them a hand. I keep wondering why am I so fixated on his channel?

I gravitate to people who are trying to make a difference on the planet. Lord knows that the state of affairs around the world aren’t the best. Day in and day out I hear a lot of complaining about politics at home and around the world, but when people roll up their sleeves and try to do something about it, it warms my heart.

Trying to make comparisons of what I do and what this YouTuber does is pretty lame. I too give free services to those who are in a bind and may kill themselves, knowing that if someone doesn’t intervene, they may end their life. I haven’t advertised this because I’ve wanted to keep my charity to a minimum. I’ve learned that people who get free treatment don’t get the most out of it. When you invest in something, it makes you want to get the most out of it. Otherwise, it can be a waste of the person’s time and my staff’s time.

This channel is a good emotional outlet for me. For therapists, it is extremely important to practice proper self-care. All day long we hear people venting their anger and frustration, and if I am not properly caring for myself, it is easy to take all this negativity to heart. The 3-mile daily walks help me, as do my regular acupuncture treatments and individual counseling, but this YouTube channel seems to wash away the emotional residual that has remained. So I watch, I cry, and above all, I get inspired.

I wonder if this is the possible for future of mental health treatment? I don’t know if it will be as popular as the restoration channels on YouTube. These people have hundreds of thousands of followers and because of this make an incredible wage – affording them to do their work for free. Shoot, the one guy returned to a home he had cleaned up 6 months earlier and tried to return what was paid to him and the couple refused. His heart was in a good place regardless.

People undergoing deep, emotional work on the internet has its pluses and minuses. A plus is educating the public on how therapy is conducted – though, my type of therapy isn’t the norm. My education is unique, taking into account the health of your soul. My channel would expose the public to how to process through a problem for the last time by tracking back an emotional reaction to its core, apply love to the wounded part of us that has been festering, and heal. This type of psychology is rare but has had rave reviews ever since I began practicing it at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center and before.  

Another benefit of a psychological channel is helping people who have limited funding. With a popular site, thousands are made each month and if the funding is there, it would open access to people on welfare and the elderly, two populations that are underrepresented.

Look, I cannot offer free services currently because I run a business. Yes, I’ve kept my costs down, tightened my own belt, and rarely take off time or travel so that I can help those in distress. With a steady following on YouTube, for example, nobody could be turned away due to financial difficulties.

I wonder if I did have a therapy channel on YouTube, how would I handle it? I’d probably start off with a catchy musical tune that I composed, give a little disclaimer that it was a demonstration and people that needed help needed to seek a counselor and be properly worked with, and then I would tell a little blurb about my background.

It would be interesting to have eyes into our Intensive Outpatient Program. People would be shocked at how different our approach is. Many who have attended therapy in the past are blown away by our approach because it almost feels like school. We will educate clients on different psychological approaches, branch off into duos where people in the group pair off, practice the approach, and both switch off being the counselor and then the client. We did this approach in graduate school and all of the student body healed! I figured that if it worked in grad school, why not in a clinic? Introducing the public to this type of therapy would take the mystery out of Psychology and show the public how user-friendly our approaches are.  

Then we could offer cute little items for sale. I always wanted to print out an eye on a can as a giveaway. You know, the “I Can” – get it? Also, a t-shirt “Hokie Pokie mental health – the place you turn yourself around” – get it? Oh, I have lots of these silly ideas. On the serious side, my book on Amazon – “Self-Helping” describes step by step our approach and has wonderful exercises in it, which has had a lot of praise.

Now, on the other hand, the detriment to broadcasting the groups is it’s a breach of confidentiality. Perhaps I can haze out a person’s face or disguise their voice. I’ve run this idea by a few clients who stated they would have no problem with airing out their problems. One said, he hoped that others would learn about his plight and hoped it would help them.

I’m curious if this type of channel would breed hatred and revenge. You hear about these influencers who get harassed because of jealousy. Or, perhaps a person that is in the group who took advantage of others may be at risk. I’d probably have to stagger the release of the episodes and release it to the public after that particular group had ended.

I personally feel that the positives outweigh the negatives. If somebody had done me wrong and I saw them on this program, I would be happy they were trying to improve their life and learn from their mistakes. I’ve learned that holding onto resentments only harms myself.

I used to watch a home improvement show where they sent the residents away for a few weeks and then invited them back for the great unveiling. I was transfixed by this show for years! At the time of the final unveiling, the whole neighborhood showed up, with of course the cheerleader squad, and the energy in the air was palpable. Everybody was in tears when the house was revealed – especially me.

I know it is weird to hear a man talking about enjoying his feelings, but why judge it? Happiness comes out in a variety of ways, and I’d rather have this emotional release than bottle it up and cause physical, mental, and emotional ailments.

Is psychotherapy more compelling than watching a man with his pressure washer, goofing around with his silly father, and unveiling a beautiful driveway that has been neglected for decades? Probably not. First of all, you cannot see the mud getting washed away, but you can witness the light appear on a person’s face.

At the end of my episodes, I’d make a shout-out to my Patreon supporters who have donated enough money to allow 10 people to attend treatment this month. Can I do this? I can.