Episode 31 - Nell Ash - Psychotherapist & Writer

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Not a Rich Kid - Instagram

Class Therapy: Working-Class Mental Health, Power, and the Limits of “Therapy Speak”

Kath Dolheguy interviews Nell Ash, a psychotherapist and creator of the Instagram project Class Therapy, which shares accessible, compassionate, class-informed mental health insights. Nell explains how counseling training felt shaped by middle-class sensibilities and “professional neutrality,” and how nearby 2024 race riots involving men she knew underscored that conventional therapeutic frameworks wouldn’t reach many working-class people. They discuss barriers to class-aware therapy, including cost, being read through stigmatising labels, power and surveillance dynamics, and clients spending paid time educating therapists about working-class life. The conversation critiques shallow social-media “therapy speak,” attachment theory, CBT’s individualism, and grift-y relationship/wellness culture, emphasising context, community, grace, and practical tools. Nell’s writing is becoming a toolkit-style book planned for 2027.

00:00 Content Warning

00:19 Meet Nell Ash

02:12 Class Therapy Origins

04:42 Growing Up

07:28 Becoming Class Aware

09:32 Therapy Titles Explained

10:46 Frameworks Built for Flanders

13:36 Therapy Speak and Capitalism