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PODCAST

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics and Film

Dr. Emilia Brown and Keeden Hopkins

Welcome to Bat Therapy, mental health through the lens of comics and film. What is a psychologist to do when they have a passion for mental health treatment as well as all things Batman? They start a podcast, of course! This podcast lets you be a fly on the wall (or a bat in the cave), listening in on a friendship built out of a love for talking Batman and other superheroes, comics, and the everyday struggle to achieve mental health and happiness. Emilia (psychologist) and Keeden (educator and

tv & film animation & manga

All Episodes

51:34

Avengers Doomsday: Season Wrap-Up

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/09/09

We give our last thoughts about the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday movie now that we have two trailers and the official Disney+ watch before seeing watchlist.

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69:09

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/08/26

Spoilers (duh). Watch this movie immediately. Yes, suspend some disbelief that Frank Castle is in something that isn’t Rated R, but we really enjoyed this movie. Lots of great psychologist related topics related to Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, and even Black Widow / Yelena Belova.

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41:45

Avengers Doomsday: Wild Cards

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/08/13

There are so many characters we have not talked about that might be in Avengers: Doomsday. We took some time to chat about some of them. Nick Fury, Dr. Strange, Peggy Carter, Spider-Man, Deadpool, Scarlet Witch…who can say?

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59:54

Young Avengers with Dr. Sasha Jaquez

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/07/29

The MCU has hinted enough – give us the Young Avengers! While preparing for this episode, Keeden started to wonder what the difference is between psychotherapy for adults and for children and adolescents. We asked Dr. Sasha Jaquez, a board-certified clinical health psychologist with over 10 years of experience working with children and young adults, to join us to talk about psychotherapy for teenage superheroes.

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54:41

Avengers Doomsday: Who’s Left?

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/07/15

We discuss the confirmed characters for Avengers: Doomsday that we have not discussed yet this season. Is Loki going to have sage wisdom or continue being his prankster self? What in the heck has Shang-Chi been up to? Is this Gambit going to be with the other X-Men? And how stressed out is poor Sam Wilson after all this Captain America and Avengers nonsense?

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57:41

Avengers Doomsday (?): Frank Castle

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/07/01

Psychologist Dr. Emilia Brown provides her Recruitment Assessment for the Avengers Initiative on The Punisher / Frank Castle. Spoiler Alert: Probably not a good fit. We highly recommend The Punisher: One Last Kill. Excellent from a psychological perspective.

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37:05

Avengers Doomsday (?): The Marvels

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/06/17

Wait. There’s an MCU team-up with HEALTHY approaches to relationships and team dynamics? Heck yeah there is! We love The Marvels. Watch it. Then watch Ms. Marvel, because Kamala Khan continues to be one of the most delightful characters we have talked about. We have no idea if these characters will be in Avengers: Doomsday, but we hope so.

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54:43

Avengers Doomsday: Ant-Man & Wasp

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/05/27

Psychologist Dr. Emilia Brown provides her Recruitment Assessment for the Avengers Initiative on Scott Lang, the current Ant-Man. Do Scott Lang’s optimism and easy-going nature make him a prime candidate for the Avengers or is he too prone to getting himself caught? Dr. Brown and Keeden may disagree about whether his biggest worth to the Avengers is that he is expendable, but one thing is for sure. Scott Lang is likely the most resilient and mentally healthy Avenger. Also, Wasp would be a great

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47:56

Avengers Doomsday (?): Daredevil / Matt Murdock

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/05/13

Psychologist Dr. Emilia Brown provides her Recruitment Assessment for the Avengers Initiative on Daredevil / Matt Murdock. Although he might not be in the upcoming movie (we shall see!), his character could have potential uses for an Avengers team. We discuss the start of season two of Daredevil: Born Again, and Dr. Brown reacts to Dr. Heather Glenn’s unethical use of the MMPI.

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42:50

Avengers Doomsday: Wakanda

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/04/22

With all the death and restructuring of leadership, how will Wakanda show up in Avengers: Doomsday? And what will the combination of Shuri, M’Baku, and Namor look like given what happened in Wakanda Forever? A psychologist weighs in.

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45:51

Avengers Doomsday: X-Men

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/04/15

We explore the unique experiences of mutants with the x-gene and what helps them create such effective teams. We speculate about how the X-Men will appear in the upcoming Avengers movie.

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48:49

Avengers Doomsday: Thor

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/03/25

Psychologist Dr. Emilia Brown provides her Recruitment Assessment for the Avengers Initiative on Thor, God of Thunder. Perhaps the Avenger with the most personal growth in the MCU, how might Thor be different in Avengers: Doomsday? And what is it that makes someone worthy to wield the hammer Mjölnir?

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42:08

Avengers Doomsday: Steve Rogers

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/03/11

Psychologist Dr. Emilia Brown provides her Recruitment Assessment for the Avengers Initiative on Steve Rogers. What character traits are relevant when considering him for the Avengers? How might his becoming a father affect his ability to self-sacrifice? Can he maintain a sense of identity without being the one called Captain America?

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56:45

Who are The Avengers?

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/02/25

In preparation for Doomsday, we use psychology to explore the team dynamics of the MCU’s Avengers. We look at what makes this team so hard to keep together and why not every superhero is the best teammate. Bonus: hear us argue about whether Tony Stark is Marvel’s version of Bruce Wayne.Psychology Source: https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/teamwork

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41:52

Psychologist Prepares for Avengers: Doomsday

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2026/02/11

We introduce our season, a series of psychological case studies of the MCU characters who will return in Avengers: Doomsday. Keeden shares what he’s found out about the upcoming movie while Dr. Emilia Brown talks about what a ‘case study’ is and why case studies can help us love the MCU even more.

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56:18

Tony Stark & Ozymandias: Comic Book Tech Bros – with...

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2025/11/26

Journalist Jacob Ward joins us as we use Tony Stark and Ozymandias to explore the psychological dangers of when technology is created and distributed without limits. Bonus: stick around until the end to find out Jake’s perspective on how journalists are portrayed in comics!Jacob Ward has a background in technology journalism and behavioral science with experiences that include 6 years as technology correspondent for NBC News and hosting "Hacking Your Mind" (NSF-funded PBS documentary series). He

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41:25

Can Bruce Wayne be a billionaire AND a good guy?

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2025/11/20

Keeden brings the comic book knowledge and Dr. Emilia Brown brings the psychology research to help us figure out if Bruce Wayne can truly be a superhero when he has so much money. We also explore whether psychology can answer the age-old question: Is Batman’s superpower his wealth?Source: https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/wealth-empathy

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44:53

Dr. Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic: Autism Spectrum...

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2025/11/12

We use the Fantastic Four’s Mister Fantastic to explore the similarities and differences between high intellect and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Brown shares information on autism and the importance of finding good sources when trying to self-diagnose.Source: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/autism-spectrum-disorder

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45:48

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2025/11/05

This episode has SPOILERS about the newest Fantastic Four movie. We share our thoughts on the movie, including Keeden’s annoyance at enjoying the movie. Dr. Brown explores if people’s reaction to Mister Fantastic’s directness and honesty in this multiverse would be an expected psychological reaction in our own.

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46:51

Halloween: Van Helsing

Bat Therapy: Mental Health through the Lens of Comics... ·

2025/10/30

For our Halloween episode we went with one of Keeden’s favorites, Van Helsing. We explore how Van Helsing’s personal experiences help to overcome prejudice and the struggle we all have in trying to overcome our initial reactions to a “monster” like Frankenstein’s who may be the most human of them all.

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236 results

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