Have you ever held a mirror to the chaos of your past and seen it reflected in your present? Our latest episode offers just such a journey, as our brave guest opens up about a life tinged with anxiety stemming from a childhood shrouded in turbulence and the rigors of military life. We traverse together through personal chronicles of control struggles and the quest for peace amidst the storms of anxiety. Our guest's voice brings to life the burning sensations of a nervous stomach, the heart's palpitations, and the struggle to emerge from the silence that anxiety often imposes. Brace yourself f ..read more

This podcast episode starts with a structured exercise where the guest is encouraged to reflect on various aspects of her life and articulate her feelings and experiential state in short phrases or single words. The guest recounts her journey from a chaotic childhood through various life stages including adolescence, early adulthood, military life, marriage, and parenthood, noting a consistent theme of anxiety and chaos that has intensified in the last three years into frequent panic attacks. The session aims to explore these feelings further, particularly focusing on the guest’s chronic anxie ..read more

In this podcast episode, the conversation delves into the complex dynamics between a client and her therapist, highlighting the challenges of communication, understanding, and personal growth within the therapeutic relationship. The client expresses a desire for her therapist to comprehend her actions and the impact on their relationship, emphasizing the importance of effective communication to meet their mutual needs and advance the relationship positively. We discuss the difficulty of balancing when and how to express her feelings and needs, aiming for a constructive outcome without revertin ..read more

My guest presented for therapy with a self-reported struggle with intimacy and vulnerability, particularly in therapeutic contexts, which often leads to prematurely discontinuing therapy. She expressed a disconnect between self-perception and others' perception of her, with a negative self-view especially related to her role as a mother. While cognitive-behavioral therapy has been utilized in the past, she reports it was not effective due to a perceived inability to alter her self-perception despite evidence of successes.  My guest engaged in reflection exercises during the session and fo ..read more

This psychotherapy session focused on the client's self-discovery and growth. The main themes the client is working on include: Developing a sense of self-worth and self-acceptance: The client recognizes an increase in self-esteem and self-understanding, suggesting he's making progress in his personal development. Preparing for a couples therapy session: The client intends to prepare for a joint session with his partner, facilitated by another therapist. He hopes to learn and apply healthier interaction strategies. Understanding the concept of 'giving space': The client grapples with understa ..read more

Presenting Problem:  My guest, Tom, reports high levels of stress and is seeking to manage it effectively. Mood and Affect:  Tom’s mood appeared to be tense and distressed as evidenced by his one-word description of his current experience: stress. Summary of Session:  Tom identified his current emotional state as being under significant stress. He expressed a desire to gain practical tools from our session to help manage this stress. Specifically, he is interested in tools that can be easily implemented and form part of a sustainable daily practice, lasting around five to ten ..read more

In this therapy session, I failed to push the record button immediately and so we pick up on Olivia expressing her frustration with her parents a couple of minutes into the interview, primarily surrounding their lack of engagement with her and her child… She feels they are not interested in being grandparents and wish they would engage more with her son…  Olivia describes her relationship with her parents as surface-level and distant, a pattern that she stated has been longstanding. Her relationship with her parents is further complicated by her perception of her sister as the 'golden c ..read more

During the therapy session, our guest expressed feelings of depression and inadequacy as the provider for his family, primarily due to consistent job loss and recent firing from a cab company. His self-esteem has taken a hit, leading to a negative self-image where he identifies himself as a "fuck up". He also grapples with honesty in his relationship due to fear of conflict and disappointment. Our guest experienced a range of emotions, including anger, sadness, and anxiety, largely tied to his struggles with employment and relationship. He is hard on himself for not meeting expectations and p ..read more

Our guest, Katie, presents a heightened state of curiosity and nervousness about the therapeutic process and its potential outcomes. She describes a general desire to explore her thoughts and emotions but lacks specificity in her goals, possibly indicating uncertainty or difficulty in self-reflection. Katie identified a key challenge she faces: a tendency to dissociate from certain experiences, which she tends to avoid discussing. This avoidance response seems to manifest as freezing up when similar situations or topics arise in conversation. Throughout the session, Katie exhibited a range of ..read more

Introductory music and remarks ..read more