Episodes

What happens when the thing that feels frightening, unpredictable, or even traumatic is your own brain? For people living with OCD and anxiety, intrusive thoughts can feel terrifyingly real. You may find yourself questioning your memories, searching for reassurance, or performing rituals because the possibility of something bad happening feels impossible to tolerate. And when these experiences begin to shape your daily life, they can feel traumatic in their own right. In this episode, I sit do...

What happens when a mother knows something is wrong, desperately seeks help, and is repeatedly told she’s fine? In this powerful and deeply moving episode, I sit down with Aaisha Alvi, author of A Mom Like That: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis, to talk about her experience with postpartum psychosis, the devastating impact of being dismissed by medical professionals, and the long road toward getting the care she needed. Aaisha shares what it was like to experience frightening changes in her th...

What if being apart from your child doesn’t mean you’re any less connected? In this episode, I sit down with actress, author, content creator, and co-host of The Mother Daze podcast, Sarah Wright Olsen, to explore one of the hardest parts of parenting: separation. Sarah is the author of the beautiful picture book When I Am Not With You, inspired by a simple question she and her children have shared for years: “When I am not with you, where am I?” The answer? “In my heart. In my head.” Togeth...

Why do so many couples feel like they’re talking but not actually understanding each other? In this episode, I sit down with therapist, author, and podcast host Eli Weinstein, LCSW (aka The Dude Therapist) to talk about the missing pieces in modern relationships; especially when it comes to emotional communication and understanding. Eli shares what inspired his new book From I Do to We Do, including his own struggles with writing, ADHD, and the deeper motivation behind wanting to bring a stron...

What happens when the life you imagined for your child suddenly changes? In this deeply moving episode, I speak with author and advocate Jodi Michele Cutler to explore her journey into post-traumatic parenting after her son was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at just 11 months old. What began as a dream, moving to Italy with her newborn and starting a new chapter, quickly shifted into a moment that would change everything. Jodi shares the emotional impact of receiving her son’s diagnosis...

What if the way your family functions wasn’t something you had to figure out as you go… but something you could actually design? In this episode, I sit down with Nancy Shapiro Rapport, co-founder of Our Family Culture, to explore what it really means to parent with intention and how to create a family culture that reflects your deepest values. Because the truth is, every family has a culture but most of us are living in one by default, not by design. For post-traumatic parents, this can feel e...

What is the cost of families and specifically children growing up online? In this conversation, I speak with journalist and author Fortesa Latifi, M.A. to talk about the rise of momfluencers and kidfluencers, and why this topic resonates so deeply with post-traumatic parents. What used to be limited to a small group of highly visible families (i.e. reality TV households) has now expanded into thousands of children growing up online, their lives documented and shared in real time.We explore wha...

What if the hardest parts of your parenting journey are actually pointing you toward your greatest growth? In this deeply honest and powerful conversation, I sit down with psychologist and parenting educator Anna Seewald, host of the Authentic Parenting Podcast, to explore how trauma, loss, and early life experiences shape the way we show up as parents. Anna shares her personal story of losing her mother at a young age and how that profound loss resurfaced when she became a parent herself, bri...

What happens when food, feeding, and our kids’ bodies trauma shows up in ways we don’t always expect? In this deeply honest and compassionate conversation, I speak with eating disorder specialist Ali Spotts-De Lazzer to unpack what’s really going on beneath eating struggles for both kids and parents. Together, we explore why feeding your child can feel so overwhelming, how fear and control get tangled up in “healthy” choices, and why even the most well-intentioned parenting strategies can some...

What if your child’s “behavior problem” isn’t a behavior problem at all? In this deeply practical and paradigm-shifting conversation, I sit down with clinical psychologist Dr. Ross Greene, originator of the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) approach, to rethink everything we’ve been taught about parenting, discipline, and so-called “challenging behavior.” Dr. Greene, author of The Explosive Child and Lost at School, shares how years of working with children and families led him to on...

What if the pressure to “get parenting right” is actually coming from your trauma? In this powerful and deeply validating conversation, I sit down with Stephanie Foo, author of What My Bones Know, to unpack what it really means to parent while healing from complex PTSD. Together, we explore the intense fear many trauma survivors carry into parenting; the belief that one wrong move could damage their child forever. We also discuss how modern parenting culture often amplifies that fear instead o...

What if the deepest wound a child carries isn’t what happened to them, but the feeling that they don’t matter? In this episode, I speak with John Miles, host of the Passion Struck podcast and author of You Matter, Luma, to explore the hidden impact of emotional invisibility, achievement culture, and what it really means for a child to feel seen. John shares his personal journey from high-achieving executive to feeling “invisible” in his own life, and how that experience led him to a deeper mis...

What if the symptoms you’re ashamed of once saved your life? In this powerful and deeply human episode, I sit down with Sally Maslansky, LMFT author of A Brilliant Adaptation and longtime patient of Daniel J. Siegel, to explore dissociation, DID, adoption, attachment, and what it truly means to make sense of your story so your child doesn’t have to carry it. Sally shares her extraordinary journey of living with Dissociative Identity Disorder — and fully healing from it — through relational, at...

What if the very fact that you’re worried about passing on your trauma means you probably won’t? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Frank Putnam, one of the world’s leading researchers on child maltreatment, dissociation, and intergenerational trauma, for a profound and deeply hopeful conversation about what really happens to the brain and body after childhood abuse… and what actually breaks the cycle. Dr. Putnam shares insights from his 35+ year longitudinal study following sexually abused gi...

What if stepping away from a harmful family relationship wasn’t an act of betrayal, but an act of healing? In this episode, I’m joined by Eamon Dolan, author of The Power of Parting and longtime book editor, for a deeply honest conversation about childhood abuse, estrangement, boundaries, and what it really means to break generational cycles. Eamon shares his personal journey of growing up with severe psychological and physical abuse, the long road to recognizing how deeply it shaped his inner...

What if the very act of nurturing your child could rewire your traumatized brain? Today I explore how parenting changes your brain with neuroscientist and author Greer Kirshenbaum. As someone who couldn't co-sleep because of my PTSD flashbacks, I was deeply moved by what Greer revealed about the science of parental transformation. We discuss why some parents feel disconnected from their bodies and struggle with physical closeness, yet still can create secure attachments with their babies. Greer...

What if your childhood trauma isn't just yours to carry? What if emotional inheritance means your kids are already carrying pieces of it too? Today I'm talking with Dr. Galit Atlas, whose book "Emotional Inheritance" completely changed how I think about the invisible legacies we pass to our children. We get real about something that happened to both of us: being told we couldn't possibly have PTSD because we were "too functional." (Spoiler: that's not how trauma works.) We explore why some pare...

What happens when you desperately want to give your children the secure childhood you never had, but you have no instincts to guide you? Raising securely attached kids becomes incredibly complex when your own childhood left you with PTSD, depression, or chronic feelings of never being enough. Today I'm sitting down with Eli Harwood, the attachment expert. Together we explore why chronic childhood neglect often creates more lasting damage than single traumatic events, and how even well-intention...

Have you ever caught yourself yelling at your kids and thought, "I sound just like my parents"? Peaceful parenting offers a different path—one that breaks the cycle of fear-based discipline without becoming permissive. I sit down with Sarah Rosensweet, certified peaceful parenting coach and founder of Reimagined Peaceful Parenting, to explore how we can set firm limits with empathy, even when our own childhoods were anything but peaceful. Sarah shares practical strategies for those morning batt...

What happens when mindful parenting feels impossible because you're still having nightmares about your own childhood? Today I'm talking with Hunter Clarke-Fields, bestselling author and host of the world's top parenting podcast. We get real about the shame of being the mom with the temper when society expects you to regulate everyone's emotions. Hunter shares how she went from cowering behind doors as a child to repeating her father's rage—until she discovered it was her nervous system, not her...

Have you ever struggled with intense emotions while parenting that seem to come out of nowhere? In today's episode, I sit down with Bonnie Weiss, an internationally known trainer in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS). I was blown away by Bonnie's compassionate approach to understanding the complex parts within us that influence our parenting. She explains how IFS helps separate our reactive "parts" from our true self, allowing us to parent with more awareness and less shame. We explore how g...

Are you struggling with a child whose aggression triggers your own trauma responses? In today's episode on parenting boys peacefully, I'm joined by Tosha Schore, parenting coach and founder of the Parenting Boys Peacefully Project, to talk about how aggression is often fear in disguise. Tosha will share her mission of creating a more peaceful world "one sweet boy at a time" and offer practical ways to set loving limits without shaming our children. We'll discuss how our own trauma triggers can ...

What if your "good" childhood still left emotional scars that impact your parenting? Emotional intelligence parenting requires us to confront our own histories, even when they seem picture-perfect on the surface. In today's episode, I speak with Stephanie Pinto, author of "From Chaos to Connection," who shares her remarkable story of how her body literally shut down through fainting episodes because she couldn't process certain emotions. We’ll discuss how well-meaning parents can unintentionall...

What if you could replace timeouts with a more effective approach that actually strengthens your connection with your child? Generation Mindful founder Suzanne Tucker joins me to explore the revolutionary "time-in" approach that's changing how parents respond to big emotions. As a mom of four who grew up in a "happy-happy" household, Suzanne will share how her own trauma and loss led her to create tools that give both children and parents permission to feel all emotions. You'll hear practical w...