Things You Learn in Therapy

Send us Fan Mail The moment you ask for something small a knock before entering, a little privacy, a basic respect and the conversation somehow ends with you apologizing, you are not “too sensitive.” We dig into why interactions with emotionally immature parents and other emotionally immature people can feel so disorienting, especially for adult children of dysfunctional families carrying complex trauma. When your nervous system has learned that needs lead to backlash, even healthy boundaries...

Send us Fan Mail Therapy is “just listening” the way surgery is “just holding a scalpel.” Barbara Sheehan Zeidler joins me to name the thing many clinicians feel but rarely say out loud: our presence is the intervention. Barbara is a licensed professional counselor, an EMDR approved trainer and consultant, IFS Level 3 certified, and a proud polyvagal nerd, and she breaks down why grounded attunement, self-awareness, and compassionate empathy create the safety that makes any modality actually ...

Send us Fan Mail Most of us were taught to talk about emotions with the same six words, then we wonder why conflict keeps repeating and connection feels hard. I sit down with licensed marriage and family therapist Tatiana Rojas to slow the whole thing down and get practical: what’s the difference between emotions, feelings, and moods, and why does that difference change the way we communicate, parent, and handle stress? We dig into how emotions show up as fast body-based signals, how feeling...

Send us Fan Mail Ever find yourself thinking, “Why are we here again?” when a familiar argument fires up? We dig into the hidden patterns that run your relationship on autopilot, and we show how to replace blame with growth by building emotional safety first. With Liz—an Emotionally Focused Therapy clinician, supervisor, and group practice owner—we trace the domino effect inside conflict: the trigger, the quick reaction, the story each partner tells, and the feeling that never gets airtime. O...

Send us Fan Mail Forget the checklist of letters and numbers. The real predictor of a strong start to school is whether a child feels safe, can settle their body, and can use words to get their needs met. We walk through a practical, research-aligned way to rethink kindergarten readiness so families spend time on what actually moves the needle in a real classroom. Across the conversation, we share what teachers see every fall: kids who manage frustration, follow group directions, and handle ...

Send us Fan Mail Ever catch yourself packing everyone’s lunches, smoothing every conflict at work, and composing the perfect text so no one gets upset—then wonder why you’re exhausted and resentful? We dig into the quiet engine behind that burnout: overfunctioning, the reflex to manage other people’s needs, emotions, and outcomes at the expense of your own. With therapist and maternal mental health specialist Megan MacCutcheon, we map how overfunctioning forms in families, workplaces, and pa...

Send us Fan Mail In case you missed it, I'm reposting this episode because it seems to come up over and over and over. Even if you've listened before, maybe hearing it again will bring fresh light. Ever say the “right thing” and watch it land the wrong way? We unpack three phrases that sound supportive but often sting—calm down, everything happens for a reason, and let me know if you need anything—and trade them for language that actually regulates, validates, and helps. Drawing on real...

Send us Fan Mail The ground under therapy keeps moving, and we’re digging into why. We sit down with returning guest Marie Sloane, LPC, to trace how telehealth became the default, why insurance cuts and clawbacks are reshaping private practice, and what it really costs to keep care accessible without burning clinicians to ash. Marie shares the realities of leaving agency life, navigating panels directly versus using intermediaries, and the surprising leverage you can gain by simply asking for...