xanyland Episode 4: Ry Doon or Ryan Muldoon: From Comedian to Therapist to Comedian-Therapist

Can you believe it only took me 4 episodes to bring on another therapist!? In this ep, I talk with Ryan Muldoon, comedian and therapist extraordinaire. Ryan and I actually work together under my practice here in LA. We are both originally from Boston, have both pursued stand-up (Ryan more so than me), both became therapists and are both Pisces. The freaky coincidences keep rolling in. All this to say, it’s no wonder we would get along in such infinite ways. 

Ryan (stage name Ry Doon) was hard launched in comedy on VINE — ‘member that?! — and I deemed him the first influencer. And if I say it on the pod it must be true. So Ry Ddoon was what some might call the original influencer. He has been performing stand-up for decades and while he is re-launching his comedy presence on the internet (Follow @rydoon on all social platforms!) he has more recently been deep in the therapist chair. 

He is doing a really lovely thing where the two passions, comedy and therapy, do not stand apart but rather influence each other. He even said he has started working some therapy into his stand-up. Doing crowd work to diagnose the audience, stuff like that. To say I was cackling during this episode would be an understatement. He’s hysterical. This conversation was so near and dear to me. Ryan is awesome, nuff said. Hire him!

Emotions and mental health go pretty hand in hand. Emotions can wear many hats like being an awe-struck authentic experience or a cover-up for another emotion. Our conversation jumped off with anger—maybe the easiest emotion for men and boomers to access. It looks loud: yelling, slamming doors, getting in someone’s face. Rage gets mistaken for strength because it’s active. But what is anger, really? It’s rarely just aggression. More often, it’s a disguise. Anger shows up to protect softer stuff underneath—like fear, grief, shame, or helplessness. Screaming feels powerful. Crying feels exposed. So we pick the one that makes us feel in control, even when we’re anything but.

But on the flip side, some people can’t access anger at all. For many women, anger gets turned inward. Instead of rage, they feel helplessness, depression, or self-hatred. It’s anger denied, swallowed whole. In those cases, I have to teach people that anger isn’t dangerous—it’s necessary. Expressing it, safely, can be transformative. We talk about music, movement, and even shaking it off. Because here’s the thing: feeling your feelings isn’t the same as acting out your feelings. The goal isn’t destruction—it’s digestion.

Do you have songs that are paired with moments in your life? Maybe a song that makes you think of a loved one or a successful achievement? What about a time you felt sad? Do certain songs bring up feelings you didn’t know were there? Sometimes it’s the safest way to feel something fully.

Eminem was “anger” for me. I credit Eminem for helping me process my feelings. Ryan claims he’s 9 Inch Nails biggest fan! Their music releases something for him. Like somatic therapies, music can make feelings physical. Something about the vibrations and frequencies along with the permission of aligning with the artist's feelings. 

Good talk therapy can do something similar. It’s all training the brain to process fear and trauma in a way that works for you…without shame.  Whatever you do, don’t just hold it in and act on it. 

So what’s the deal with hypnotherapy? I LIT UP when Ryan said he’s been trying hypnotherapy. It fascinates me, and hey if it works.  He said it feels like a guided meditation and has led him to use visualization not only in his personal growth work but in his comedy! Since this episode, many people have reached out asking me about hypnotherapy. I plan to have a bonus episode with my bestie, who happens to be a hypnotherapist, in June. 

I seriously asked if Ryan thought being a comedian made him a better therapist and vice versa. I knew the answer was a yes. Obviously it’s person by person but for the two of us, having levity in therapy has helped immensely. Making my clients laugh is one of the best feelings in the world. Therapy is so much about active listening and connecting dots which both help with comedy. Improv is all about listening and callbacks. If you really think about it, every conversation is an improv. Ryan said being a therapist is also about reading the room and finding the right language for a given situation. We have both seen how humor helped in moments of crisis or trauma with clients and with ourselves. It all just blends together in the most awesome way. More comedian therapists, please!!! 

Obviously Ryan has done a lot of work on himself, but even for therapists, our self-discovery is never over. He shared some really valuable information about sobriety. He attends regular Al-Anon meetings. Al-Anon and ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) are both support groups for those affected by someone struggling with alcoholism. Ryan spoke briefly about his own struggles with addiction, attending AA and offering SMART Recovery as an alternative to a 12-step type program. He said SMART Recovery gives you power over alcohol or whatever addiction you are facing. Recovery Dharma was another resource he gave that is more mediation and spiritually based. Thanks for the resources, Ryan. 

I get to talk to Ryan all the time and I hope this ep left you as joyful as it left me. Also, I promise to never use the word “dysregulated” around RyDoon ever again. IYKYK.

Watch the episode below, or find xanyland on your favorite podcast platform.