Reality Test

By: Dr.s Kay & Ray
Listen for free

  • Summary

  • Two Psych Doctors Spill the Tea on Mental Health Concepts & Presentations Shown in your Fave RealiTV Shows!
    Ever find yourself wanting to debrief that reality tv episode with your therapist? Or maybe you've wanted to ask them questions about something you've learned from the reality tv interactions, castmates, or news cycle?

    Come debrief with two female licensed psychologists as they illuminate & explore what we can all learn about ourselves, our relationships, and our society from our fave reality television shows on Netflix, Peacock, Bachelor Nation, Bravo, and beyond! Dr.s Kay & Ray hope to inspire further discussion about psychological and sociopolitical aspects of reality TV, offering rough draft thoughts and ideas for us all to continue thinking about, while highlighting the power dynamics, sociohistorical context, and intersecting forms of oppression, marginalization, and privilege that are present. After all, reality television ultimately provides an engaging format for learning about our behavior, mental health, and sociopolitical systems—let’s learn together!

    Why REALITY TEST? We ALL reality test when testing a given thought, emotion, or interaction against "objective"* (or shared) reality--did I see that right? Was that really sexist? Dr.s Kay & Ray spill all the tea on how the producer antics and castmate claims about mental health stack up against "objective" reality off-screen and the field of clinical psychology that they have learned about as practicing psychotherapists and research psychologists.

    What are you talking ABOUT? Reality Test has a general focus on relationships, social privilege, and mental health. Dr.s Kay & Ray also acknowledge their sociopolitical identities and lenses through which they view reality television, as feminist, bi+, white allies. So, if you've been itching to discuss how that episode was brimming with misogyny, heterosexism, &/or white privilege (from a white, ever-dedicated-to-developing-their-antiracism, perspective), or to critically assess how the producers portrayed a given scenario or interaction, while celebrating the hope & empowerment that can be found, you've come to the right place!

    DISCLAIMER: In the context of this podcast, Dr.s Kay & Ray are not acting as therapists, neither for you nor for the reality castmates they discuss. They are, instead, bringing in their whole human selves, supplemented by mental health and psychology knowledge. They cannot ethically diagnose castmates or speak with certainty about their dynamics without conducting formal psychological assessments. Thus, their opinions will be merely (easily erroneous) opinions, informed by their biased perspectives, and while they may discuss diagnoses, they will avoid assigning them to castmates.

    CO-HOSTS' NOTE: We've spent many years developing our professional roles (as psychotherapists, professors, supervisors, and consultants), but we are new to podcasting--as you'll notice! So, thank you in advance for your patience and feedback :) This will be an imperfect, but growth-fostering process, and we appreciate your engagement with it and with us! Thanks, y’all. <3

    * "Objective" is in quotes to indicate the co-hosts' shared belief in social constructionism, and the idea that there may never be a way to assess a truly objective reality, because we all live our own realities that we co-construct in the context of relationships--informed by our own biased memories & subjectivities--and that color our examination of an "objective" reality.

    © 2025 Reality Test
    Show More Show Less
Art Relationships Social Sciences
Show More Show Less
Episodes
  • A Resident Sloppy Player | The Traitors Recap | ssn3 ep.5 ::} 076

    A Resident Sloppy Player | The Traitors Recap | ssn3 ep.5 ::} 076
    Jan 30 2025

    **We're putting an extra episode out this week, due to needing to take next week off, while Dr. Ray travels for work. We'll be back a week from Monday!**

    In this recap episode of The Traitors, Dr.s Kay & Ray are summarizing and discussing the 5th episode of season 3!

    Dr.s Kay & Ray continue using the new psychology-focused segments for gaming show while recapping The Traitors season 3. For example, what psychological concept would make a given game tactic or strategy more SUCCESSFUL? Which player is playing a strategically/politically SMART OR SLOPPY game? For example, one player has become the resident sloppy player…

    Listeners are invited to visit the Patreon for free at patreon.com/RealityTest & check out some of the benefits of a free membership & the paid tiers! For example, all members (including free members) get longer trailers for the tier III videos and polls, first tier (“Community Members”; $5/mo.) gets access to the full podcast, including the archive of the first 30 episodes (currently $15 for a one-time purchase); second tier (“Friends”; $10/mo.) get video versions of the podcast episodes (see what the hosts look like!); and third tier (“Family Friends”; $20/mo.) gets access to our behind-the-scenes videos, Mental Health Check-Ups (audio episodes with deeper exploration of various relevant psychological concepts), Mental Health InfoVids (videos with excerpts from reality tv shows matched with mental health or relational lessons & recommendations), Dr. Kay’s Rants (video of one of Dr. Kay’s rant by video episodes), & VIP access to our live Q&A sessions! If you want to remain a free member, you’ll get alerted when new content is dropped, which will include free content, like polls and lengthy infovid trailers, etc.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Reality testing is when we check an emotion or thought we’re having against objective reality.

    So, here in Reality Test, we’re going to be testing the thoughts, emotions, interactions, and producer antics of reality television against what we know, as licensed psychologists, about objective reality.

    Come Reality Test with us!

    Support the show

    Get access to our full archive of episodes at patreon.com/RealityTest

    Hosts: Dr. Kay & Dr. Ray
    Thank you to our sound extraordinaire, Connor!

    Patreon: patreon.com/RealityTest
    Instagram:     @drkaypods @drraypods
    TikTok: @dr.realitv
    Facebook Page: Reality Test Pod
    YouTube Channel:     @RealityTestPod
    Email:     realitycheckpodding@gmail.com
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Sexual Violence Trauma, Ableism, & Bystander Reactions | RHONY Recap | ssn15 ep.15 ::} 075

    Sexual Violence Trauma, Ableism, & Bystander Reactions | RHONY Recap | ssn15 ep.15 ::} 075
    Jan 27 2025

    In this special recap episode, Dr.s Kay & Ray recap the finale of Real Housewives of New York–the episode heard round the world! Brynn & Ubah’s reactions both make complete sense, while the bystander reactions (including those of the other women on the show &, now, the public) make much less sense. What can we learn from applying a trauma-sensitive lens to the events of that night?

    Dr. Kay’s MHCU from earlier in the week takes a deeper look at what applying a trauma-focused lens tells us about Brynn–the sad truths & the hard truths–as well as what could’ve been handled differently and what we can learn, at large, from how audiences have reacted to the finale. Check it out!

    The Traitors recap episode will still be coming out later this week!

    Listeners are invited to visit the Patreon for free at patreon.com/RealityTest & check out some of the benefits of a free membership & the paid tiers! For example, all members (including free members) get longer trailers for the tier III videos and polls, first tier (“Community Members”; $5/mo.) gets access to the full podcast, including the archive of the first 30 episodes (currently $15 for a one-time purchase); second tier (“Friends”; $10/mo.) get video versions of the podcast episodes (see what the hosts look like!); and third tier (“Family Friends”; $20/mo.) gets access to our behind-the-scenes videos, Mental Health Check-Ups (audio episodes with deeper exploration of various relevant psychological concepts), Mental Health InfoVids (videos with excerpts from reality tv shows matched with mental health or relational lessons & recommendations), Dr. Kay’s Rants (video of one of Dr. Kay’s rant by video episodes), & VIP access to our live Q&A sessions! If you want to remain a free member, you’ll get alerted when new content is dropped, which will include free content, like polls and lengthy infovid trailers, etc.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Reality testing is when we check an emotion or thought we’re having against objective reality.

    So, here in Reality Test, we’re going to be testing the thoughts, emotions, interactions, and producer antics of reality television against what we know, as licensed psychologists, about objective reality.

    Come Reality Test with us!

    Support the show

    Get access to our full archive of episodes at patreon.com/RealityTest

    Hosts: Dr. Kay & Dr. Ray
    Thank you to our sound extraordinaire, Connor!

    Patreon: patreon.com/RealityTest
    Instagram:     @drkaypods @drraypods
    TikTok: @dr.realitv
    Facebook Page: Reality Test Pod
    YouTube Channel:     @RealityTestPod
    Email:     realitycheckpodding@gmail.com
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 27 mins
  • EMERGENCY POD: Brynn & Ubah, with a societal conversation about Sexual Violence | Mental Health Check-Up

    EMERGENCY POD: Brynn & Ubah, with a societal conversation about Sexual Violence | Mental Health Check-Up
    Jan 25 2025

    In this emergency podcast, Dr. Kay shares her unpopular position that reject any making or taking of sides between Ubah & Brynn, and rather look at what happened with a trauma-focused lens, which changes how we understand the events. We can understand the contexts of both Ubah & Brynn, while still holding Brynn, as well as the bystanders, accountable for what they could have improved in such a high-activation scenario. Mental Health Check-Ups are typically only available for our Patreon members, but given the importance of these topics, this episode is currently available to all listeners!

    Love yourselves & one another--it takes all of us working together to subvert the societal oppression we face every day <3333

    Support the show

    Get access to our full archive of episodes at patreon.com/RealityTest

    Hosts: Dr. Kay & Dr. Ray
    Thank you to our sound extraordinaire, Connor!

    Patreon: patreon.com/RealityTest
    Instagram:     @drkaypods @drraypods
    TikTok: @dr.realitv
    Facebook Page: Reality Test Pod
    YouTube Channel:     @RealityTestPod
    Email:     realitycheckpodding@gmail.com
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 7 mins

What listeners say about Reality Test

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.co.uk reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available