The ReProgram

Oooo this is such a timely and potent episode with the light, wise and innovative Wendy Synder, Parent Coach and author of the forthcoming book Fresh Start Your FamilyPowerful Parenting to Restore Peace in Your Home. Having been in the parenting field for roughly two decades each, Wendy and I explore what it really means to parent with both firm boundaries and deep connection without falling into shame, fear, or control.We tackle the tricky balance many modern parents struggle with of how to discipline your child without yelling, how to stay connected when your nervous system is on fire, and how to raise strong, emotionally healthy kids while repeating our own old patterns with less intensity, frequency, and shame. We unpack the truth behind positive parenting vs. permissive parenting, and why the real goal is powerful, connection-based parenting where rules plus relationship equal respect (heal yes!). I share a real-life parenting moment from my own home (hello, dishwasher standoff), and we break down exactly how to move from guilt, frustration, and reactivity into grounded, authoritative leadership that actually works.We also, of course, touch on the time we're parenting in, how parenting is a spiritual practice and how it calls on every cell in our being to stretch and trust and love in a way we never have before, and we're still expanding into. Wendy. is such a kindred spirit, I know you'll love her like I did! You can access her body of work on her website: https://freshstartfamilyonline.com/ and her book releases May 26th!

What does somatic healing actually look like for a millennial mom in the middle of real life?In this episode I sit down with Allie McQuaid to talk about the specific emotional landscape millennial moms are navigating right now — burnout, identity, boundaries, and the societal and patriarchal pressures that shape so much of the motherhood experience without us even realizing it.We cover somatic reparenting and inner child work, what emotional regulation actually requires from us, how media and culture have shaped our sense of self, and what reclaiming joy and personal power looks like in practice.It's an honest, wide-ranging conversation about the real work of motherhood — and what becomes possible when we stop performing and start healing.Allie only sees Mamas locally, but you can access her IG for inspiring and educational content! https://www.instagram.com/millennialmomtherapist/

This episode with Tricia Wilson, fellow facilitator of the Circle of Security Training, hits to the root of all we need to know as parents. Circle of Security is a simple, powerful way of understanding what children actually need from us. Essentially, it shows us that kids move out into the world to explore (the top of the circle), and then come back to us for comfort, connection, and regulation (the bottom of the circle). Our role is to be the “secure base” they can go out from, and the “safe haven” they can return to—watching over them, delighting in them, helping when needed, and welcoming them back when things feel hard. That’s it. Not perfection—just presence.I was introduced to this framework as a clinician when my children were small, and it organized my parenting and helped me streamline my energy to the place of the highest importance, I tell may anecdotes in the episode to illustrate what Circle of Security did for me (and my kids)!And this isn’t just a nice idea—it’s deeply rooted in decades of attachment research. From Bowlby’s early work on attachment, to Mary Ainsworth’s observations of how children organize around safety, to modern neuroscience showing how co-regulation literally shapes the developing nervous system—this model reflects what we know to be true: children thrive when they experience consistent, attuned, and repairing relationships. Security isn’t built through getting it right every time. It’s built through connection, rupture, and repair.Tricia is also a mother of 5, she birthed three boys who she parented the traditional high control/high punishment way, and then adopted two girls who had experiences attachment trauma, pushing her to find something that actually worked. Tricia is the author of the book "Adopting Grace; A Parenting Journey from Fear to Freedom," and she also has a prolific substack where she writes about family life, social justice and deconstructing from high control shame-based religion. You can find her work here: https://triciawilson.com/blog/Enjoy the episode!

What an important conversation with wise seasoned clinician, writer, and somatic couples therapist Jordan Dann we have for you today. Jordan illuminates how implicit attachment dynamics play out in couples (that alone is worth the listen!), we talk about the drama triangle (something that was so powerful for me to learn and work with in the last year), shifting from codependence to interdependence, and we really touch on and tackle this exact moment, where these dynamics are playing out on the national stage. She talks about "trauma porn," and this exact moment our society is in, witnessing heaps of harm without repair and what that does to our systems, and we both get teary talking about the human-to-human connection we can have in the streets, the post office, and how it feeds the field of humanity we're all swimming in. This was such an honor to speak with Jordan, and anyone struggling with their partner right now would so benefit from her work! She has a course for couples on her website here: https://jordandann.com/And her IG links all of her work, including her passionate wise Substack. Enjoy the episode!! 

Ready for to exhale? My goodness, my ancestral healer Kathryn Blau is here to groundedly expand our awareness into the ancestral support available to us all, and my Lord we need it more than ever down here on this motherloving earth plane. Kathryn is a mama herself, and was trained by Dr. Daniel Foor, one of the leading experts in ancestral healing for personal and cultural transformation. I wanted to wait until I finished working with Kathryn and all four of my faily lines (you'll understand what that means soon) before recording with her, and offering her up to you all. And I'm so glad to finall have the space to tell you the many many magical healing stories of my work with her, and how this aspect of healing has been essential in my healing process and navigation of very challenging logistics in my personal life, especially in the past year. In times like these, we need all the assistance we can get, and our ancestors are dying (I couldn't help myself) to help!Ancestral Intervention y'all, that's the AI we're into. You can connect with Kathryn and her work here. So many of my friends and clients have worked with her (she offers individual and group work online) cannot recommend her enough! https://www.regenerate-healing.com/