TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Viewers may be used to seeing meteorologist Allie Potter tracking storms on television, but her new podcast, The Other Side of OK, is exploring completely different territory: mental health.<\/p>\n
In the premiere episode, Potter opens up about her personal mental health journey, which began about a year and a half ago. To break down common misconceptions and anxieties about seeking therapy, she sat down with licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) Nicole Moore \u2014 a close friend who originally encouraged Potter to seek support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think of mental health, sometimes you think of the doom and gloom,\u201d Potter said. \u201cGoing through therapy and walking through that journey has literally been life-changing. I want this to be inspiring to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finding the right fit: \u2018Therapy shopping\u2019<\/p>\n
One of the most daunting steps for newcomers is simply finding a provider. Moore described the process of finding a therapist like \u201cshopping\u201d or even a professional matchmaking process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, research backs this up: it\u2019s the relationship,\u201d Moore explained, noting that the therapeutic connection is often the single most critical factor in achieving results.<\/p>\n
Key advice shared in the episode includes:<\/p>\n
Take advantage of free consultations: Many providers offer 15- to 20-minute introductory phone or video calls. Use this time to \u201cinterview\u201d them, share brief goals, and gauge whether your personalities and communication styles mesh.<\/p>\n
Match training to your specific needs: Look for clinicians specialized in what you want to address, whether that is trauma, grief, couples counseling, or family dynamics.<\/p>\n
Trust your instincts: If you don\u2019t feel heard, supported, or comfortable after a consultation or initial session, it is completely acceptable to keep looking.<\/p>\n
Privacy, telehealth, and putting in the work<\/p>\n
For those worried about privacy, Moore emphasized that confidentiality is legally protected under strict medical privacy standards, making the therapy room a secure space for honest conversation.<\/p>\n
The episode also tackles the rise of virtual care. While in-person sessions offer dedicated, neutral spaces, telehealth has eliminated traditional barriers, allowing clients to attend sessions from home, parked cars, or quiet offices during a lunch break.<\/p>\n
Ultimately, Moore reminded listeners that therapists aren\u2019t there to wave a \u201cmagic wand,\u201d but rather to guide clients through the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy clients are doing the heavy lifting,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI\u2019m just walking along their healing journey with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
New episodes of \u2018The Other Side of OK\u2019 dive deeper into mental health topics, including upcoming discussions on pediatric and child therapy, dropping every Monday.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 13 News. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Viewers may be used to seeing meteorologist Allie Potter tracking storms on television,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900684,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[469415,64,63,137,469417,514,515,469419,469418,469416,39080,103406],"class_list":["post-900683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-allie-potter","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-kold","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-nicole-moore","tag-shopping-for-a-therapist","tag-the-other-side-of-ok","tag-therapy","tag-tucson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900683"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900683\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}