It’s Not Therapy! with Liana Kerzner

For most people, being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer represents the end of their life's journey, but for Tim McDonald it was the beginning of a new path. Tim, a stage four colorectal cancer survivor and liver transplant recipient, talks to Liana about how he turned his struggle with his health crises into a renewed purpose as a patient advocate, speaker, host of the "Advocacy at Work"podcast and author of the book "From Patient to Advocate: Turning Survivorship into Impact". Tim's tale is inspiring and important listening for people experiencing life-threatening illnesses and those who love and support them.

No, this episode isn't about politics, but the recent social media tirade from US President Trump threatening to militarily destroy Iran and its people, expressed in vulgar language, is a prime example of how behaviour once considered unfit for public display has now become normalized. Not only normalized, but held up as examples of strength, honesty and courage. Liana takes apart this troubling trend, influences which motivate it, illnesses which may contribute to it, and how we push back against it - without ourselves exhibiting the same behaviour.

Duty of Care means ensuring that you take reasonable steps to provide a safe environment for others. It's a simple definition for a complex practice that takes on many different forms in different situations. Liana shares personal stories to reveal how that care can be applied - and misapplied -in ways that can make a situation less safe and supportive than you intend. Ultimately, a reasonable duty of care means finding a balance between support and the respect of an individual’s autonomy.

Most of us try to be friendly, kind, supportive people. Yet all those things could be true and you still, inadvertently, say something that makes you look like a a*hole, and you don't even know why! Liana takes us through a journey of ways you may unintentionally be acting like an a*hole.

Many people fear that A.I. represent the end of our world as we know it. Liana sees A.I. for what it is - a tool that can be used for good or ill - and she relates her experiments with A.I. as a means of bettering our lives. Helping with "adulting"? Good. Helping to visualize emotions? Good. Replacing human connection with chatbots? Bad. While AI doesn't "think" or "feel," it can help take the terror out of engaging with the world.

Confidence is about self-assuredness, self-acceptance and the strength to be flexible when facing challenges. What's being packaged as 'Confidence' in some quarters is the opposite - fear presented as bluster, extreme need for external validation and fragility projected as 'strength'. Liana lays out her personal journey for learning the difference between the two versions of confidence and how to spot and deal with those confusing ass-ertiveness for assuredness.

If there's one thing you can find an endless free supply of, it's advice. Sometimes, that's a good thing. Other times, not as much. But how can you tell the good advice from the bad? And how do you know if the advice you're giving will help or hurt? Liana takes you through her 9 types of bad advice, in her first list of 2026!

Resentment is the feeling of having been wronged — by a person, a group, or a situation — and it often spins off into anger, bitterness, and indignation. Those emotions can quietly weigh us down, draining energy while doing nothing to heal what hurts. In this episode of It’s Not Therapy, Liana Kerzner opens up about her own personal history and struggles with resentment. With her signature blend of honesty, humour, and thoughtful reflection, Liana explores where resentment comes from, why it lingers, and how it can shape our reactions and relationships if left unchecked. This is not about suppressing feelings or forcing forgiveness. It’s about understanding resentment, connecting with it honestly, and learning how to release the burden it creates — so it stops running your emotional life. A compassionate, relatable conversation for anyone who’s ever felt stuck carrying anger they didn’t ask for — and are finally ready to put down.

Meep Meep. Run.What can Wile E. Coyote's nemesis the Road Runner tell us about gaining greater control over our lives? A lot! And so can Steven Puri of thesukha.co, an expert in helping people create order from the chaos of daily living. What's your chronotype? Why are you tying yourself in knots to meet the expectations of others? Liana talks to Steven about all of this and more, with simple steps to simplify your life.

Be a Man! What is a "Man" in 2025? It's a question that has been plaguing men and boys as former rites of passage fade away leaving a void for self-definition - a void too often filled by agents of anger and grievance. Aaron Tait, author of Far Horizons: A Journey From War To Peace, grew-up with a "man's man" father and went off to war after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, beginning a long journey where he re-defined himself was being a man is. Liana's talks to Aaron about his evolution and how his experiences can help inform other men how to feel comfortable and confident in their own definition of masculinity.

Yes you can! Self-improvement, two simple words that fuel a multi-million dollar industry of books, videos and seminars. But personal growth needn't be expensive or complicated. Liana's friend Bianca of Myself and Comics on YouTube, talks about her journey to self-empowerment, which started from an unexpected place!

"Go with The Flow!" - Call it your groove, your mojo, Steven Puri calls it his Flow State, that mental state of peak focus, creativity and energy focused on the task at hand. Flow is a challenge for many remote workers. Steven, a former Hollywood executive, founded The Sukha Company to offer tools and platforms for remote workers to improve focus and productivity. Liana talks to Steven about his journey, the obstacles remote workers may face to enter a Flow state and how to overcome them.

An artist with autism? Doesn't fit the stereotype, does it? That's because the stereotype is wrong, and Bobby Calloway is living proof. A professional actor and author from Ireland, Bobby joins Liana to discuss the realities of his autism, how he has overcome any challenges his autism has posed, which contains relatable steps that can help all of us overcome obstacles in our lives.Bobby's book, Joanna and the Twelve Crowns, is available on Amazon. https://a.co/d/hRELHsG